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May

PSA: The New Hangouts App Should Now Work On All Android Tablets - Go Grab Your Update And Leave Google Talk Behind

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Google, News, Tablets

There is no arguing that the new Hangouts Android app, which replaces Google Talk and aims to unify several communication methods, has had a rough start. One of the main issues we've run into from the very beginning was wonky tablet support. In fact, most people couldn't install it at all because instead of the Update button, only a lone "Open" button would show up on tablets. Dan Morrill, one of our favorite Android engineers (HOLOYOLO! No really, he yelled that at yesterday's Android Fireside Chat), has explained that this happened due to an unfortunate bug with telephony-related permissions, and that a fix would be rolling out shortly.

May

PSA: Removing Or Adding Sports Teams Or Stocks In Google Now Currently Causes It To Crash Endlessly

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Google, News, Tips & Tutorials

Listen up, Android users. If you're using Google Now, don't go to its Settings -> My Stuff and try to modify sports teams or stocks right now, as doing so completely borks the whole app. As soon as you go back to the main screen or click into Search, you will experience a force close. Repeated attempts to restart it will result in a crash as well:

The only thing that works is clearing out Google Search's data in Settings -> Applications, after which you need to re-enroll into Google Now. Changing your Home or Work locations does not seem to trigger the issue - it's just sports teams and stocks.

May

Nexus 4 Slipping Off Its Charging Orb? There's A 3D Printed Solution For That

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Accessories, Google, News, Nexus 4

As a recent convert to the Nexus 4 (after waiting months for my Sprint ETF to drop), I'm in love with the wireless charging orb. That's not to say it doesn't have issues (besides its price), though. While I've had nary an problem with the orb, I have heard a few times that it has one serious issue – failing to keep the Nexus in place as it charges.

A few days ago, I came across a potential solution to this problem – the Nexus 4 Charging Orb Cradle by Etsy user Pixil3D.

The 3D-printed cradle isn't necessarily the most elegant solution imaginable, and adding a $24 fix to a product that already costs $60 isn't exactly palatable to this writer, but the cradle has one thing going for it – it's 3D-printed, and anyone that has a 3D printer can make their own.

Apr

Sprint Galaxy SIII Set To Get Update To L710VPBMD4 Starting April 24 With Security Fix, Multi-View, More

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Device Updates, Galaxy S III, News, Sprint

Sprint Galaxy SIII owners fire up your "check now" fingers – you'll be getting a software update to version L710VPBMD4 soon, bringing a home screen security fix and a few other changes.

Specifically, the update – slated to start rolling out April 24 – brings Multi-View functionality (by which you can split the screen for multi-tasking purposes), enhancements to the camera and gallery apps, the addition of Samsung's Paper Artist photo editing app, and unspecified bulk SMS enhancements.

If you're the owner of a Sprint-bound Galaxy SIII and don't know the drill already, head over to Sprint's site for instructions on manually checking for your update, or simply wait for it to roll in.

Jan

T-Mobile's Galaxy Note II Getting A Bug-Fix OTA, Patches The 'Exynos Exploit'

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Galaxy Note II, News, T-Mobile

If you have a stock Note II on T-Mobile, it's time to hit the "check updates" button, because a fix for that nasty Exynos bug is on its way. If you're not familiar with said bug, it basically allowed any app to root and gain full access to any Exynos 4-powered system. And that's a bad thing.

Fortunately, Samsung recognized the issue and started working on a patch almost immediately. It has already rolled out to the Galaxy S III in the UK, and now it's coming to the Note II on T-Mo. Hopefully other carriers will follow suit shortly.

Dec

Google's Ruining Christmas Again: User Files Bug Report Over Sad Santa Emoji, Loses Holiday Cheer

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

Man, Google. You just can't stop screwing with Christmas, can you? First you cancel December, and now this? In a very real and totally serious bug report over on Google Code, one user is reporting a serious flaw in Android: If you use the Emoji keyboard to enter a Santa face, he looks decidedly unhappy. Emotionless at best. But, as everyone knows, "Santa should be jolly."

Okay, yes, so Google did fix that Calendar problem, and even went out of its way to build a special Santa Tracker, after Norad hired that other search engine.

Nov

Google Acknowledges 2.5-Year-Old Networking Bug, Promises Fix In Next Android Version

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Android OS, News

This likely won't affect too many average users, but if you happen to work in a business or university with an open wireless network that relies on an internal hostname within a domain for any redirection, you're in a bit of luck. Up until this point, there's been a bug in Android that makes it impossible for the system to resolve a hostname on a local domain to its proper IP address.

Here's the bug report filed by a user back in April 2010:

Shortly: When connected on WiFi to a network which specifies a domain name, hostnames in that domain do not resolve without appending the domain to the hostname.

Nov

Samsung Announces S Pen SDK 2.2.5 Update With Multi Window APIs, Bug Fixes

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Development, News, Samsung

In a continued quest to bring their handy functionality of the Note line's S Pen, Samsung has again updated the stylus' SDK, this time to 2.2.5 (a 0.0.5 bump over the previous update).

The update, which Samsung announced through its developer blog early this morning, brings one major feature – Multi Window and its related APIs. For those who haven't been keeping up with the Note line, Multi Window is a feature by which apps can share the screen by splitting it in half horizontally or vertically, sharing data through the clipboard or – in some cases – with simple drag-and-drop.

Nov

Apex Launcher Updated To Support Android 4.2, Adds A Few Minor Features Just For Kicks

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Apex launcher, following closely behind Nova Launcher, has updated to include support for the Android 4.2 update that's currently rolling out to various Nexus devices. If you like your launchers like you like your anterior corner of a butterfly's wings, you can download the update directly on your device. You'll also get a few new extras, including the option to close the app drawer after launching an app and better icon label handling. Here's the full changelog:

What's in this version:

* Added option to close drawer after launching apps
* Added option to toggle home screen alpha effect (leave it off for smoother transitions)
* Improved icon label handling (labels will not be cut off or hidden automatically)
* Fixed FC under Android 4.2
* Various bugfixes
* Updated translations

The update is live on the Play Store right now.

Aug

[Updated] Google Maps Update 6.11.1 Adds Biking Navigation, Appears To Resolve Boot Issues On HTC Phones

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, Google, News

Update: Not only does the update address the reboot issues, but it also brings about a very useful new feature: cycling directions for 10 different countries (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK)! This includes full turn-by-turn, voice-guidance in Maps Navigation for all 12 supported countries (all previously mentioned, plus the U.S. and Canada), as well. Getting around on your bike has never been easier!

Today, Google's most downloaded app, Maps, saw a small update. The changelog on the Play Store doesn't explain what's new, but according to some XDA users, it appears to fix an issue that caused some HTC devices to reboot while using Navigation.