Welcome to the Android Police Podcast, Episode 59.
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!
QWERTY phones might be few and far between but they haven't died out completely. If you have a Motorola Photon Q and you're on C Spire, you might want to open your Settings menu and check for updates. The round sugary goodness of Jelly Bean is on its way.
The update brings a bunch of improvements in its wake:
Enhancements:
- Google Now
Added feature that generates real-time notifications throughout the day with relevant, contextual information such as weather, traffic, calendar. To access Google Now, press and hold the phone's search key.- Voice Search
Enhanced Voice Search to recognize questions asked in colloquial language, such as "Do I need an umbrella today?" Some questions may receive a spoken answer, while others will trigger a Google Search.
SEGA has a rich history of platfoming titles to draw upon as it makes the transition to mobile gaming. Alex Kidd. Sonic the Hedgehog. Nights. But one you might not have heard of is Hell Yeah!, a downloadable title from developer Arkedo Studio. After making waves on the PC and consoles last year, this tongue-in-cheek gorefest has been adapted into what might just be the strangest endless runner on Android.
You play as Ash, spawn of the Dark One, prince of Hell, and somehow, also a rabbit skeleton. For reasons that are not fully elaborated, Ash rides a rocket-powered drilling machine.
I know a few people who just love QWERTY phones, despite the fact that they're a dying breed. For those among you who happen to love QWERTYs and are on Sprint, there's a chance you're holding a Motorola Photon Q in your hand right now. And if that's the case, you should probably head into the Settings menu and check for updates – Jelly Bean is coming your way. Get excited.
The update brings a slew of enhancements along for the ride:
Enhancements/Fixes
- Google OS upgrade to Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
- Google Now
- Voice search enhancements
- Camera includes improved image quality and more intuitive panorama mode
- Ability to zoom out to filmstrip mode in the Gallery
- Keyboard includes improved dictionary and text to speech capabilities
- Notification enhancements
- resolved Quick Office closing when reviewing a document
- Improved GSM roaming connectivity for global use
- Improved streaming of Sprint TV when location services are turned off
- Enhanced security and ease of use on the face unlock feature
- Removed Quick Views, Speed Dial, and MOTOPRINT applications
- Improved accuracy and response of voice to text for texting, emailing, and web search
So, what are you waiting for?
Welcome to the Android Police Podcast, Episode 58.
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!
For quite some time, we've been hearing about the potential advantages of the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) spec, and a seemingly endless list of gadgets that could benefit from it. Unfortunately, while many modern flagship devices are equipped with the necessary hardware, Google has allowed the Android OS to languish without official support for the standard. Most of the top OEMs have built their own proprietary versions for the energy efficient protocol, but until now, only Motorola has freely shared access to its API. However, that changes today: Samsung is taking its BLE SDK public.
Since building their own custom frameworks, both HTC and Samsung have required developers to submit applications for access to the SDKs.
Ever since the WSJ dropped a hint about the mythical 'X Phone' back in December, the rumors have not stopped flowing. Which is great because, according to Motorola's CFO, the 18 months of product pipeline that Google acquired weren't exactly wow-ing anyone. However, according to Moto's design chief Jim Wicks, the next generation of hardware will be fantastic.
The handsets have been in the works for the last eight months (so since around August, for those counting), and will target the segments of the market that's looking for a "just right" screen size. Said Wicks:
"Certain people like a large screen, but there's a sweet spot for consumers that we're currently exceeding in the market.
Verizon just announced a new maintenance update for the DROID RAZR M that brings various fixes to the device, including improved Wi-Fi connectivity, voice call volume, and visual voicemail connectivity. The camera's touch-to-focus is now also better, apparently, and the camera itself will take better low-light photos. Expect the update to roll out in the next week or two. You can see the complete changelog in the image below.
The last update to roll out to the RAZR M was Android 4.1, back in November. It'll definitely be interesting to see how quickly Moto updates this handset (and others) to Android 4.2 in the coming year.
Back in September of last year, Google chairman Eric Schmidt told us that Android had reached 1.3 million daily activations every day. Today, he tells us that number is up to 1.5 million, which is actually not that staggering of an increase. Andy Rubin said the number was 900,000 per day in June of 2012, so the increase from there to September was much, much faster than the increase from September to now. Still, it's an impressive number on its own. Oh and the total number of devices activated will cross one billion in "six to nine months." Not bad.
And what's the secret to all that success?
This morning, at AllThingsD's Dive Into Mobile conference, Eric Schmidt was interviewed, and that interview was livestreamed. During that conversation, he said three words that are now sweeping the web. Leading up to said words was a question about Motorola, and the future role it would play in the mobile landscape, and as a part of Google. Schmidt provided a meandering, broad-strokes answer that really isn't important, but then started talking about future products. During that brief (like, literally one sentence) comment, Schmidt stated that he had seen some of Motorola's new products, and that they were 'phenomenal,' and that they should be thought of as 'phones-plus.'
At this point, it would be quite easy to devolve into a thousand word or so speculative essay based on various alleged 'leaks' surrounding Motorola's new products (examples of which I fully expect to see later today and tomorrow), and cross-reference a half-dozen or so articles in which Dennis Woodside - Motorola's new CEO - talks about disrupting the industry and doing new and exciting things.
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