Ron Amadeo - 15/19 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Ron Amadeo

Ron loves everything related to technology, design, and Google. He always wants to talk about "the big picture" and what's next for Android, and he's not afraid to get knee-deep in an APK for some details. Expect a good eye for detail, lots of research, and some lamenting about how something isn't designed well enough.

Nov

[Getting To Know Android 4.0, Part 4] Calendar's New Suit

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Features, Getting To Know Android, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0

Last Updated: August 10th, 2012

We're back with more Ice Cream deliciousness! I've exhausted most of the working Gapps, so we're down to the regular stuff in the emulator. Today we're looking at Calendar.

If you've just joined the series, we're taking a look at what Ice Cream Sandwich has to offer. Earlier we examined Gmail, Google Talk, and YouTube. The ICS screenshot are from the emulator, which gives a good approximation of what everything will look like, but has the occasional rendering issue.

We're all nice and upgraded to the latest system app leak: ICL23D. For those of you following this series, I can confirm there's been no meaningful changes to Gmail, Talk, or YouTube in ICL23D.

Nov

[Rumor Control] PayPal Support Coming To The Android Market Soon? Not Really, The Code Has Been There For Almost 4 Months

Posted by Ron Amadeo in News, Rumors

All day in my RSS reader, I've been hearing about how PayPal is coming to the Android Market. Someone ripped apart the latest Market APK and found references to PayPal, assumed this was new, and assumed that it meant PayPal support would be soon be hitting the Market.

The problem is it's not new, we found PayPal references in the market going all the way back to 3.0.26, the first release of the current market design. 3.0.26 came out in July.

Don't believe me? Go grab yourself a copy of 3.0.26, decompile it, and search the files for "paypal." There's a ton.

Oct

ice-cream-sandwich-launch-announcement-confirmed-by-android-developers-youtube-channel

[Getting To Know Android 4.0, Part 3] YouTube Grows Up

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Features, Getting To Know Android, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Last Updated: August 10th, 2012

YouTube is the ugly duckling of the Gapps family. That's right, I said it.

The 100% black design and horrible gradients make it look like a 13 year old boy's geocities page. It certainly doesn't look like it's from a professional company. It's only saving grace it that, since it's a video app, you aren't subjected to the UI that often when you are using at it. Thankfully, with the arrival of Ice Cream Sandwich, amateur hour is over.

You should know the drill by now. We're picking apart Ice Cream Sandwich and comparing it to the previous phone version of Android, Gingerbread.

Oct

[Getting To Know Android 4.0, Part 2] Google Talk Gets A Facelift

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Features, Getting To Know Android, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Last Updated: August 10th, 2012

Google Talk is one of my favorite parts about Android. If you have other Googly friends, between Android, Gmail, and G+, they are almost always available. In Android 2.3.4, Google Talk got a big upgrade in the form of voice and video chat.

There will be many similarities to the to the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Gmail, which was the subject of Part 1 of this series. So go read about it or risk falling behind the rest of the class. Just like that article, Gingerbread is on the left, Ice Cream Sandwich is on the right. The ICS pictures are all from the emulator, which has the occasional rendering issue, so don't judge too harshly.

Oct

[Getting To Know Android 4.0, Part 1] Gmail: Android's Most Important App

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Applications, Features, Getting To Know Android, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0

Last Updated: August 10th, 2012

For many people, Gmail is Android's killer app. It's the best email app on any platform, and one of the biggest draws to Android. So anytime there is a change, it's pretty big news. With Ice Cream Sandwich, Gmail got a huge revamp. Every inch of the app has changed. Today we're going to find out just what is so different.

I'm sure you've read other articles on the new ICS apps, but those are just rehashing what was shown in the Hong Kong demo. With the recent system apps dump and some SDK shenanigans, we can sit down with a real, working version of Gmail 4.0 and uncover its secrets.

Oct

The Galaxy Nexus' System Apps Have Been Dumped

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0

Last Updated: November 5th, 2011

Can't get enough of the Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich? P3droid has released a dump of the Galaxy Nexus' system apps. Most apps from the dump are only going to work on ICS devices, but you can probably load most of them up in the ICS Android emulator right now. On that note, hopefully developers can pick the apps apart and get some Ice Cream Sandwich crumbs working on current devices. If you'd like to take a shot yourself, hit up the source link and get to work. Just let us know about any secrets you uncover, ok?

The app list is as follows:

ApplicationsProvider.apk
BackupRestoreConfirmation.apk
BIP.apk
Bluetooth.apk
BooksTablet.apk
BrowserGoogle.apk
Calculator.apk
CalendarGoogle.apk
CalendarProvider.apk
CameraGoogle.apk
CertInstaller.apk
ChromeBookmarksSyncAdapter.apk
Contacts.apk
ContactsProvider.apk
DefaultContainerService.apk
DeskClockGoogle.apk
DownloadProvider.apk
DownloadProviderUi.apk
DrmProvider.apk
EmailGoogle.apk
ExchangeGoogle.apk
FaceLock.apk
Galaxy4.apk
GalleryGoogle.apk
GenieWidget.apk
Gmail.apk
GoogleBackupTransport.apk
GoogleContactsSyncAdapter.apk
GoogleEarth.apk
GoogleFeedback.apk
GoogleLoginService.apk
GooglePackageVerifier.apk
GooglePartnerSetup.apk
GoogleQuickSearchBox.apk
GoogleServicesFramework.apk
GoogleTTS.apk
HoloSpiralWallpaper.apk
HTMLViewer.apk
IMSFramework.apk
KeyChain.apk
LatinImeDictionaryPack.apk
LatinImeGoogle.apk
Launcher2.apk
LiveWallpapers.apk
LiveWallpapersPicker.apk
Maps.apk
MarketUpdater.apk
MediaProvider.apk
MediaUploader.apk
Microbes.apk
Mms.apk
Music2.apk
MusicFX.apk
NetworkLocation.apk
NfcGoogle.apk
NoiseField.apk
OneTimeInitializer.apk
PackageInstaller.apk
PhaseBeam.apk
Phone.apk
Phonesky.apk
PlusOne.apk
SDM.apk
Settings.apk
SettingsProvider.apk
SetupWizard.apk
SoundRecorder.apk
Stk.apk
Street.apk
SyncMLSvc.apk
SystemUI.apk
TagGoogle.apk
Talk.apk
talkback.apk
TelephonyProvider.apk
Thinkfree.apk
UserDictionaryProvider.apk
VideoEditorGoogle.apk
Videos.apk
VisualizationWallpapers.apk
VoiceDialer.apk
VoiceSearch.apk
VpnDialogs.apk
VZWAPNLib.apk
VZWAPNService.apk
YouTube.apk

Source: MyDroidWorld

Oct

Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) SDK and ADT 14 Released

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Developers, start your engines. Fresh Ice Cream Sandwich versions of the SDK and ADT have been released. There is a ton of new stuff to learn and play with. For starters, take a look at the 4.0 platform page here, download the 4.0 SDK here, and instructions for ADT 14 are over here.

I think I could write a book on all the new things in ICS, but here are the highlights for developers:

Unified UI framework for phones, tablets, and more - All the UI elements from Honeycomb, like the action bar and fragments.

Communication and sharing - "Applications can integrate contacts, profile data, and calendar events from any of the user’s activities or social networks." There are new APIs for Contacts, Calendar, and Visual Voicemail.

Oct

[Update 2: Full Press Release. Full Spec List] Galaxy Nexus Official Press Release, Release Date Narrowed Down To November

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: November 5th, 2011

Those lucky enough to fly all the way to Hong Kong have been given first access to the Galaxy Nexus Press Release - on a piece of paper.

Update: Here's a picture with full specs.

Here are all the details.

Galaxy Nexus – Main Features

Android 4.0 Ice Cream

4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED Screen with 720p resolution

1.2GHz dual-core processor

Redsigned UI in Android 4.0

Improved multi-tasking, notifications, Wi-Fi hotspot, NFC support, full web browsing

Android 4.0 features Software Navigation buttons – brand new

People App with Google+ Integration among other features

Redesigned camera with panorama mode, 1080p video, zero-shutter lag, silly faces and background replacement features

Face Unlock: Facial recognition to unlock your phone!

Oct

New 5-Minute Video Of Galaxy Nexus Emerges, Shows Off UI, Camera App, Widgets (Working Mirror)

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

Are you ready for some hot app drawer action?

Someone got a hold of the Galaxy Nexus and made a valiant attempt to film it. Unfortunately they didn't open anything of interest (like, for instance, Gmail) and it seems like the phone wasn't even connected to the internet. Still, there are a few tidbits of precious information in there. Have a look:

The original upload was taken down, but nothing is ever truly deleted from the internet. We've helpfully mirrored (and rotated) a copy of it, above.

Source: Youtube (Thanks @trsohmers)

Oct

Samsung Site Confirms Galaxy Nexus On Verizon And Posts A Picture

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Galaxy Nexus, News, Samsung

Last Updated: November 5th, 2011

Somebody jumped the gun over at Samsung.com.

A search for "Galaxy Nexus" on their web site will get you this page. It sports a fancy new press shot of the GS and a one line description, "Sign up to get the latest on the Galaxy Nexus from Verizon."

So there you have it. The Galaxy Nexus is on Verizon. The wording makes it sound like it's exclusive to Verizon, doesn't it? We'll find out soon enough.

Pay attention everybody. Things are about to get crazy around here.

Source: Samsung.com (Thanks, NG)