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Mar

WSJ: Google To Open Online Store This Year, Will Sell Tablets Independently Of Retailers (Perhaps With The Launch Of Jellybean)

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Android OS, ASUS, Jelly Bean 4.1, News

A report from the Wall Street Journal offers new details on Google's expected shift in Android tablet strategy, and it's reportedly much more than a single Nexus tablet. The move is being likened to the Nexus One launch, with Google at the center of the distribution and support system for a line of branded tablets. The Nexus One might have been too much for Google to handle, but the search giant is apparently moving full speed ahead this go around, which includes plans to open its own online store where it will sell the rumored tablet line.

Back at CES 2012, Asus teased a magical $250 Tegra 3 Android tablet, but we haven't heard anything concrete since then.

Mar

[Download] Google Releases Full Flashable OS Images Of Android 4.0.4 (IMM76D) For GSM Galaxy Nexus (yakju) And GSM Nexus S (soju)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, Galaxy Nexus, Google, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju)

Last Updated: April 3rd, 2012

In the last 2 days, we've seen a whole lot of Android 4.0.4 goodies. First, Google unleashed the Android 4.0.4 AOSP code, then followed up by sending out incremental OTA updates to the Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, and XOOM Wi-Fi. Maintaining the momentum, today our favorite Android release engineer JBQ today put together full OS images for the GSM Nexus S and GSM Galaxy Nexus, which can be used to completely restore compatible devices back to stock.

Did a flash go wrong? Did you wipe /system by accident? Don't have an upgrade path to 4.0.4? Don't worry - with these full images you can forget your trouble and start with a clean slate.

Mar

For Developers: Android Developer Console Can Now Be Shared Between Multiple Team Members

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, News

Android developer console, which Android devs use to publish and manage applications, now supports multiple users without having to share a single account (and, more importantly, its password).

This may not be a big deal to one-person teams, but for larger companies it's pure gold. The addition of these user accounts also carries the benefit of fine-grained controls over permissions. Currently the only togglable permission is access to financial reports, but the Android team promised to roll out more in the future.

This is what the interface looks like before you invite anyone:

And here's what happens after you do:

Developers can check out the new feature under the Manage user accounts link in the console.

Mar

Partake In Some Self-Reflection With Google's New Account Activity Feature, Track Your Own Data For A Change

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

Google's data collection policies have been the subject of intense debate lately. From consolidating its privacy policies into one big document, to using personal Google+ info to power search results, Google and data have been making plenty of headlines. If it makes you feel any better, though, Google's totally willing to share that data with you! Enter Google's new Account Activity Feature.The service is opt-in and gives users a monthly report of their account usage.

If you decide to sign-up, Google will send you a monthly report of everything you do with your newly-unified Google account. The info isn't much different from what you'd normally find on your Account Dashboard, but it's nice to have the ability to get a reminder periodically of what Google's got on you.

Mar

[Updated] Google Pushes Source Code Of Android 4.0.4 (IMM76D) Into AOSP

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Source code for Android 4.0.4 (AOSP tag android-4.0.4_r1.1), the latest incremental update with "a few hundred changes over 4.0.3," is being pushed to AOSP (Android Open Source Project) as we speak by JBQ, one of AOSP's main sourcerers (yes, I just made that word up).

This is excellent news for any ROM developers compiling their ROMs from AOSP (such as CyanogenMod) - chances are 4.0.4-based ROMs will start appearing very soon, maybe even tonight. Oh, and, of course, it's even more excellent news for custom ROM users (raise you hands).

Earlier today, official 4.0.4 updates got pushed out to the Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi and the GSM Nexus S.

Mar

Star Defender 3 Is A Hidden Gem - A $1 Spaceship Battle Through Hordes Of Beasts

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Games, News

If you were a fan of Space Invaders or TI-83 classic Phoenix, you'll enjoy this: Star Defender 3. In a nutshell, it's a game where you pilot a spaceship against hordes of alien beasts. The description words it best:

Get ready to fight through hoards of alien beasts in Star Defender 3!

The highly anticipated game is finally here! The year is 2743 A.D., only two short years since the last war, and the Insectus have already prepared for their next wave, with new tricks to defeat you.

Blast through 8 huge missions is the most exciting space shooter game.

Mar

[Weekend Poll] Does The Google Play Store's Mobile Interface Need An Overhaul?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Polls

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see What Do You Primarily Use Your Tablet For?

A few days ago, a popular reddit post (heads up, NSFW language) drew attention to the fact that the Play Store looks like an absolute mess these days. And it's true - just about everyone on the team agreed with the statement. Liam (our resident designer) agreed so strongly he even went ahead and wrote a post about it, and even went a step further and by creating some renders of how he'd do things. Take a look at the current Play UI (top) and Liam's proposal (bottom):

We're curious, though: do people really think that Play even needs an overhaul?

Mar

Why The Play Store's Mobile Interface Is A Mess, And Some Much Prettier Suggestions To Fix It

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Off-Topic

Last Updated: March 24th, 2012

It's no secret – the mobile interface for Google's Play Store could use some help. A recent comment thread on Reddit points to the fact that many users feel that the Play Store's interface is just a mess. Others suggest that its level of finesse just doesn't jive with Google's overall habits of design. While Google's recent "toolbar" overhaul resulted in a pleasing, easy-to-use interface which successfully unified navigation between all of the search giant's services, the Play Store (at least on phones and tablets) is messy, jumbled, and just feels disorganized. If you haven't examined the mobile interface in a while, let's take a look:

What's Wrong

There are a number of issues that immediately jump out to me when looking at this interface.

Mar

PSA: Google's Authenticator Updated To v2, Except It's A Brand New App, And You Need To Install It To Get Future Updates (Old One Is Dead)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Google Authenticator, an important security tool that enables 2-step verification for your Google account, has racked up over 250,000 downloads over its lifetime, which is no small feat for any app in the Play Store. However, a few days ago, that version (previously available here) all of a sudden became obsolete and was consequently silently deleted.

Its replacement, which can be found here, bears version 2 (2.15 to be exact) and offers the following changelog:

New entry for Google Play, same great app

Updated look and feel

"Scan barcode" and "Manually add account" options moved to Menu > Add account.

Mar

Judge Decides Apple Doesn't Really Need All The Android Development Details, Tells Apple To Make Request Less Vague And Broad

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Motorola, News

Two weeks ago, the judge in Apple's case against Motorola ordered Google and Moto to hand over details on Android development. Naturally, Motorola appealed, and managed to change Judge Posner's mind. While the company isn't getting away scot-free (or at least, not yet), he did say that "[Apple's] motion is vague and overbroad and Motorola's objections are persuasive." In other words, Apple needs to tone down their request and make sure things are relevant and specific (or in my words, "Apple needs to stop requesting all the shit they can think of").

Presumably from here Apple will try to narrow things down as little as possible to get the request to hold, at which point Motorola will appeal it and both sides will hope for the best (before doing it all over).