09
Oct
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Here's What's New In Android 4.1.2 At The Low Level [Developer Commit Logs]

Posted by in Development, Jelly Bean 4.1, News

As a developer, I absolutely love days like today. If the high-level "improves performance and stability and fixes bugs" changelog of Android 4.1.2 isn't good enough for you, how about we dive into the actual low-level source code commit logs Android engineers made into AOSP since 4.1.1_r1.1 (JRO03D) all the way through today's release 4.1.2_r1 (JZO54K). These commit logs are spread over probably 100+ repositories, so hunting for all of them manually would probably take you days. However, thanks to Al Sutton, you can check them out all in one place.

Be prepared for lots of code jargon and incomplete git commit messages, which probably won't mean much to most of you.

06
Mar
amazonappstoretiny

Amazon Appstore Updated To v2.2, Finally Lets You Tweak And Disable Notifications

Posted by in Amazon, News

The Amazon Appstore is a great alternative to the Android Market. It's not perfect, however, and today the Appstore fixes a few of the most nagging problems. Not the least of which is those blasted app installation notifications. For those unaware, if you install an app on one device with the Amazon Appstore installed, you'll get a notification that you have a new app waiting on any others with the Appstore installed on. Annoying.

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Now, however, you can dive into the Appstore's settings and select which notifications you receive, if any. In addition, the update brings some improvements to messages about payment options and improved app compatibility checks.

07
Jan
unnamed (1)

Tasker Updated To Version 1.2 – Includes Fixes For ICS, Customized Graphical Interfaces, And More

Posted by in Android OS, Applications, News

Tasker, an extremely versatile (and popular) app which allows users to schedule (and control) various automated tasks, received an update today, bringing the app to version 1.2.

The update brings a handful of important changes, perhaps the most notable being the addition of "Scenes." Using this new feature, Tasker allows users to design custom graphical interfaces, which appear as overlays, dialogs, or full activities.

Besides Scenes, Tasker's latest iteration also fixes compatibility issues with Ice Cream Sandwich, and includes a tweaked home screen, which conveniently divides Profiles, Tasks, and Scenes in an intuitive tabbed interface.

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The update also brings the ability to group profiles, tasks, or scenes into "projects," a new Green Power Premium plugin, and a slew of bugfixes and other minor improvements.

31
Aug
Sprint

Sprint Changing Early Termination Policy, Upgrade Fee, And Dropping One-Year Contracts

Posted by in News, Sprint

It looks like Sprint is changing the way things are done in order to keep up with the competition, which doesn't always translate into good news for the consumer. The early termination fee (ETF) is getting an overhaul that will go into effect on September 9th, which will bump the ETF on "advanced devices" (read: smartphones, tablets, netbooks, and notebooks) up to  a maximum of $350, putting The Now Network's policy in line with that of VZW and AT&T. If you're in mid-contract and are thinking of jumping ship, just take the remaining amount of months left in your agreement and multiply by $20 to figure out your exact ETF -- if you have less than 4 months left, though, you'll be spending a minimum of $100.

27
Sep
verizon_fail

Verizon To Jump On The Capped Mobile Data Plan Bandwagon

Posted by in News, Verizon Wireless

It looks a lot like Verizon is going to follow in the much-criticized footsteps of AT&T and their tiered data plans, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Before you scream "travesty!", consider this: Nielson (the company that analyzes everything so others don't have to) has reported that 99% of the 60,000 phone bills they had looked at would benefit from a tiered pricing structure.

The average monthly consumption of mobile data has risen from last year's 90MB up to 298MB this year. This is, obviously, nowhere even close to 5GB that some "unlimited" plans include but also takes non-smartphone users into account.

04
Jun
android froyo

Everything You Need To Know About Android 2.2

Posted by in Android OS, Froyo 2.2, Other Reviews, Reviews
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

I’ve been using Android 2.2 (codenamed ‘Froyo’) on my Nexus One for a while now, and it’s packed with lots of additions and tweaks that make it the best version of Android to date. Although we’ve since been informed that the leaked version of Froyo is in fact a release candidate, and not a final release version, I’ve found it to be perfectly stable, and haven’t had any issues with it after constant use for the past two weeks.

 

Home Screen

The first thing you will notice when seeing Froyo for the first time is a slight tweak to the home screen.

11
May
"And One More Thing…" For HTC Hero Owners. Alright, A Few Things - Some Hands-On Notes On Android 2.1 On The Hero

HTC Hero Owners - Here Are A Few Subtle But Awesome Changes Android 2.1 Brings To Your Phone

Posted by in Development, Hero (Sprint, HeroC), HTC, Sprint
Last Updated: May 14th, 2010

As you may have seen, I've been running Android 2.1 on my Sprint HTC Hero for a few weeks now, and I'd like to follow up the mega [p]review of all the new features with a few subtle observations that made me, a long-time Hero user, happy.

These may be small things but it takes only a few of them to take the overall phone experience to a new level.

By the way, if you want to experience Android 2.1 on your Hero without waiting for Sprint/HTC to release it, you can proceed to this how-to that I compiled just for you: To All Complaining About Android 2.1 On HTC Hero – Step 1: Chill Out.