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May

[Hands-On | Update: G+ Works!] Google Glass ALREADY Updated To XE5, Brings G+ Notifications, Speed And Battery Improvements, And More

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Glass, Google

Wow. So when Glass was first making the rounds, we heard a few rumblings about a ridiculously fast update cycle; something like monthly updates. Sure enough, it seems like Google is delivering on that sort-of rumored promise:

Today, less than a month after the Glass unit left Google HQ, there's a new update: Version XE5. There's no public change log, but Phandroid says they emailed Google and got back the following list:

New features in XE5:

Change to sync policy: require power + wifi for background uploads

Crash reporting

Incoming G+ notifications (direct shares, comments, +mentions), including ability to comment and +1

Incoming Hangout notifications

Transcription of queries & messages is now wicked-fast

Long-press to search from anywhere in the UI (no longer just from off)

International number dialing + SMS

Hop animation on disallowed swipes in the UI

New On-Head Detection calibration flow

Show device Serial Number on Device Info card

More reliable estimation of battery charge remaining

New recipient-list mosaic

Google+ integration sounds awesome; ~~the only problem is it doesn't actually work right now.~~

May

[New App] WeatherSignal From OpenSignal Invites You To Share Your Local Weather With The World

Posted by Bertel King, Jr. in Applications, News

If you fancy yourself a budding meteorologist, OpenSignal's latest app release might just be the resource you've been waiting for. WeatherSignal turns your Android phone into a mobile weather station by tapping into sensors you didn't know your phone had in order to measure local atmospheric readings. With your consent, the app then submits this data to a collaboratively updated weather map for the world to share. Those of you who have used OpenSignal's previous app to find the best local WiFi connections might recognize the concept behind the company's latest initiative.

WeatherSignal is capable of measuring temperature, humidity, pressure, light, magnetic flux, and acceleration.

May

[For Developers] Smali / Baksmali Updated v2.0 Beta Is Out, Now Multithreaded For Your Pleasure

Posted by Cody Toombs in Development, News

If you're in the modding and theming community, your work is about to get a bit faster, because Smali v2.0 is now in beta and firing on all cylinders. The new version brings multithreaded processing and a few tweaks to the language that should result in cleaner-looking code.

Smali and baksmali are tools for assembling and disassembling the dex format used in Android apks. It's true that tools like this can be used for less than honorable endeavors, but they are also incredibly important to activities like deodexing apps for custom themes, tweaking functionality (like forcing portrait or landscape mode), and even digging around to learn more about various apps.

May

nexusae0_cyanogenmod-10-1-m-series-builds-rolling-out-now-for-select-devices-more-coming-soon_th1

CyanogenMod 10.1 Release Candidate 1 Now Rolling Out For 40 Devices

Posted by Cody Toombs in Development, News

Get ready to start downloading, as the CyanogenMod team has started pushing out its first release candidate for 10.1. The CM team only uses the RC moniker to describe software that is believed to be stable and reliable enough for regular daily use. If you are looking for a rock solid version of Android 4.2 for your phone, this is probably the one to get.

The timing is no coincidence, as this lands exactly one week before a new version of Android is expected to be announced at Google I/O 2013 (probably v4.3). As with previous OS releases, the CyanogenMod team usually pushes a final RC or stable release shortly after the launch of a new version from Google, immediately before integrating the latest code base with their own modifications.

May

T-Mobile Halts Optimus L9 Jelly Bean Update (Build P76920d)

Posted by Kyle Wiggers in LG, News, Optimus L9, T-Mobile

Uh-oh. According to a support doc released yesterday, T-Mobile has paused the Optimus L9's update to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean because of the new software's less-than-stellar stability. Several users have reported significant battery drain, difficulty receiving calls, and frequent app crashes. Accordingly, T-Mobile wants to "improve performance" before resuming the OTA upgrade.

T-Mobile announced and began rolling out the Optimus L9 Jelly Bean upgrade on April 22nd, so it's somewhat surprising it took so long to identify problems with the update. Still, better late than never.

As far as ETAs go, T-Mobile unfortunately doesn't know when the fixed update will begin rolling out.

May

Leviathan: Warships Review – You Wouldn't Buy A Speedboat With A Hole In It, Right?

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Apps/Games, Games, Reviews

The seas are a dangerous place, lads. The Marauders are thick amongst the waves, and you are but an inexperienced young commander, seeking to make a name at the helm of your fleet. Your ships are heavily armed, but it's going to take more than firepower to stay afloat in Leviathan: Warships. This game is heavy on strategy, long-term planning, and attention to detail. As good as some aspects of this game are, the controls threaten to sink it before we even get out of dry dock.

Gameplay

My first impression of Leviathan was that of another top-down real-time strategy game (RTS).

May

Sprint And AT&T Galaxy S4 Updates Incoming, App And Kernel Enhancements In Tow

Posted by Kyle Wiggers in AT&T, Galaxy S4, News, Sprint

Another day, another OTA, this time for Sprint's and AT&T's variants of the Galaxy S4. The updates – which are labeled as builds MDL and I337UCUAMDL, respectively - are beginning to roll out to all Ma Bell and Now Network owners of the GS4, and looks to include a few app, feature, and kernel changes.

Here's what the Sprint update includes:

SMS notification enhancements
S-Health enhancements

In addition, though not listed in Sprint's official announcement post, we believe this software contains a kernel patch that prevents unauthorized root access. More details can be found here.

Here's what the AT&T update brings:

Touch screen sensitivity improvement
Enhanced Multi window experience
New S-Health version

The updates weigh in at less than 50MB each.

May

AT&T Drops The Price Of The HTC First To $0.99, Probably The Best Damn Phone You'll Find For A Dollar

Posted by Cameron Summerson in AT&T, First, News

When I reviewed the First, I realized it was much, much more than just a Facebook experience device. Sure, it's sporting Home out of the box, flashes a Facebook logo during the boot process, and is adorned with that same logo on the back, but it's not just about Facebook. This little diamond in the rough is running stock Android 4.1.2 beneath Facebook Home, so you're quite literally three (or so) taps away from a Nexus-like experience.

No quicker than I could say good things about this device, however, people were trying to shoot it down, with the price playing a pretty large factor in that.

May

AT&T Flips On 4G LTE In 16 New Markets This Week

Posted by Kyle Wiggers in AT&T, News

AT&T continues to pursue an aggressive 4G LTE rollout strategy, activating towers in Missouri, Texas, and North Carolina over the past couple of days for a total of 16 new markets. It's all part of the carrier's larger plan to reach 250 million Americans with LTE coverage by the end of this year. AT&T's LTE network currently covers almost 200 million.

Here's a list of cities graced with AT&T's fastest this week:

Jacksonville, Texas

Manhattan, Kan.

Palestine, Texas

Sedalia, Mo.

Warrensburg, Mo.

Monroeville/Evergreen, Ala.

Vieques, Puerto Rico

Saginaw and Bay City, Mich.

Huntington, W.Va.

Ashland, Ky.

Beeville, Texas

Cookeville, Tenn.

Aberdeen, WA.

May

Spotify App Updated: Remembers Your Place, Filters Your Playlists, Looks Great In Your Pants

Posted by Kyle Wiggers in Applications, News

Spotify's bringing it down to the flo'. Nah, not really, but kind of. The crew behind the venerable music service has released an app update on Google Play, and among bug fixes and a playlist-sorting enhancement, a unique feature is listed in the changelog: "This app looks great in trousers."

The most significant change is playlist and track sorting. The app also now remembers what you were listening to when you last logged out. Couple that with playlist view improvements, and the new Spotify is perfect for a party in your... living room.

Spotify