David Ruddock - 40/143 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

David Ruddock

David's phone is an HTC One X+. He is an avid writer, and enjoys imparting a legal perspective on Android news where it is relevant. He also doesn't usually write such boring sentences.

Follow @rdr0b11

Nov

Galaxy Note 10.1 N8000 (3G / Wi-Fi) Jelly Bean Update Rolling Out In UK, Spain, And Nordic Countries

Posted by David Ruddock in Device Updates, Galaxy Note 10.1 (GT-N8000 / N8010 / N8013), Jelly Bean 4.1, News

After beginning its steady march to wide release in Germany a few weeks ago, the Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) update for the Galaxy Note 10.1 is making its way to more European nations today. The UK, Spain, and various Nordic nations (presumably Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland) have the firmware available now (grab it here or here), if you're feeling impatient. Otherwise, just keep hitting that "check update" button over the next week or two, and sweet Jelly Bean goodness should be on its way to you shortly.

This presumably includes the "Premium Suite" upgrade we covered last week, that enhances multi-windows functionality, adds air view, and many other features found on the Note II smartphone.

Nov

Google: Chrome Releases To Align Across All Platforms - Including Android - Starting "Early Next Year"

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Applications, News

Chrome for Android is expected to start aligning with desktop releases of the browser by "early next year," according to a post by the Chrome team on Google+.

Q. Chrome for Android is still at v18, while regular Chrome is at v23. When will Chrome for Android catch up?

A. Soon! We expect an update to Chrome for Android starting with a developer update to happen before the end of the year, and we’re actively working towards aligning releases across all platforms, including Android, starting early next year.

(emphasis ours)

So, what does this mean? At some point next year, Google is going to begin the process of aligning Chrome releases across all platforms, meaning the guts in each platform's respective release will be more similar, and features across platforms will vary less.

Nov

Nexus 4 Shipping Emails Being Sent En Masse, Shipments Going Out "This Week"

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Nexus 4

Google is sending out emails to many of those who ordered Nexus 4's during the first day of availability, and were subsequently told they'd be waiting up to three weeks to get their phones. We're now hearing from numerous tipsters that Google is sending out an email indicating those orders will ship this week. Members of our team have received the email, as well. Here it is:

Your Nexus 4 order is scheduled to ship this week. We’ll send you a notification, including tracking information, when it’s on the way.

Please note that your order will be charged in full when it ships. As a courtesy and to thank you for your patience, you’ll then receive a credit for the shipping charge within 7 business days.

Nov

HTC Ramping Up Wide Europe / Asia Rollout Of Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) To The One X

Posted by David Ruddock in Device Updates, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, One X (Endeavor)

If you have a European or Asian model One X (read: Not AT&T), start frantically hitting that check update button - it's ~~peanut butter jelly~~ Jelly Bean time. We're hearing from multiple sources that HTC is beginning to roll out Jelly Bean to the One X in various regions today.

This update brings Android 4.1.1 and Sense 4+. Expandable notifications, Google Now, and some fairly minor tweaks like a new Gallery app in Sense are in tow. Sense also now has wonky holo blue highlights throughout the OS, so that's cool, I guess.

If you can't see the update on your phone, we've got a pretty easy explanation: your particular CID (a regional hardware identifier code, typically by country or carrier) hasn't had Jelly Bean rolled out to it.

Nov

Sony MDR-X10 Headphones Review: So Much Bass That Even I Feel Old

Posted by David Ruddock in Accessories, Other Reviews

I can't claim to have a solid grasp of what exactly makes dubstep appealling, nor can I understand Bieber Fever. I don't get swag. I do, though, know what the kids are into putting on their ears these days: Beats.

Let's not beat around the bush: the Sony MDR-X10's are ridiculously overwrought, flashy, made out of plastic, and endorsed by Simon Cowell. The Beats market is squarely in Sony's crosshairs with this headphone. Even the price point ($300 - street and MSRP) matches up with Dr. Dre's previously top-of-the-line Studio model.

I'm not being particularly fair to Sony here, though, by immediately lumping the X10's unceremoniously into the "designer headphone" pile - they're certainly not without their own points of distinction.

Nov

AnTuTu Benchmark Updated To V3.0, Adds A Whole Bunch Of Things

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

AnTuTu is quickly becoming one of the most popular benchmarks on Android, and for good reason: the devotion of its developer to providing timely updates is admirable (even if his talent for GUI design isn't... at all). The bump to version 3.0 brings a host of major changes, including a brand-new OpenGL ES 2.0 3D benchmark, along with a new 2D benchmark specifically for testing (wait for it) 2D gaming performance.

The UI has apparently been updated, too, but that's sort of like spotting the rearranged living room furniture in an episode of Hoarders.

Of course, benchmarks aren't really about aesthetics (well, maybe Vellamo is), so much as they are numbers.

Nov

Samsung Posts 13-Minute Walkthrough Of The Galaxy Camera, We Try To Stay Awake

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy Camera, News, Videos

Do you have 13 minutes to kill? Is the Galaxy Camera something that might interest you? Then you may as well watch this 13-minute long video Samsung posted about it. It'll tell you stuff. Stuff about the Galaxy Camera. Personally, I like it with a glass of warm milk before bed, but we thought we'd share it, as the Galaxy Camera's features are laid out quite completely and thoroughly. If you can survive the narration.

As a reminder, the 3G-enabled Galaxy Camera is currently available on AT&T in the US, for $500.

YouTube

Nov

[The Android Police Week In Review] The Biggest Android Stories Of The Week (11/18/12 - 11/25/12)

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Week In Review

Welcome to the Android Police Week In Review - your source for the biggest Android stories of the week. Don't forget, you can catch a lot of these stories (and more) on our weekly podcast.

Features

Getting to know Android 4.2, part one of Ron's twelve-volume epic.
Android 4.2's kinda-sorta broken.
Black Friday / Cyber Monday buyer's guide: don't end up with a phone / tablet that makes you want to hurt yourself or others.

Product Reviews

Nov

[The Android Police Podcast] Episode 37: Geeks In Trench Coats And Katanas

Posted by David Ruddock in Podcast

Welcome to the Android Police Podcast, Episode 37. Don't forget - the Android Police Podcast's live broadcast is every Thursday at 5PM PST (www.androidpolice.com/podcast). The unedited video version of the podcast can be found here - and will likely include various verbal expletives, technical snafus, tangents, and probably a good 5-10 minutes of pre-podcast banter as we prepare. Watch at your own risk!

Subscribe to the Android Police Podcast:

The Cast

Matthew Smith, Host
Bob Severns, Editor, A/V
Cameron Summerson, Co-host
David Ruddock, Co-host
Eric Ravenscraft, Co-host

Nov

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[Black Friday Giveaway] Win A Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 LTE From AT&T And Android Police

Posted by David Ruddock in Contests / Giveaways, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1

Last Updated: December 4th, 2012

A winner has been selected. Congrats to April!

You didn't think we'd miss a chance to give something away on this day of all things cheap, did you? Of course not. So we've teamed up with AT&T to give you a little Black Friday promotion of our own - in the form of a free Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 with LTE.

The Tab 2 10.1 LTE is a lot like its Wi-Fi sibling, though it's packing a much quicker Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, along with the aforementioned LTE support for the AT&T network. Here's a quick spec breakdown: