30
Apr
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Paranoid Android Says Hello To Halo – 'This Is How You Do Multi Windowing On Android'

Posted by in Android OS, Development, News

After some teasing, Paranoid Android has unveiled (in a lovely promo image) their plan for multi-window functionality on Android, which they promise to "get right," – Halo.

The premise is simple, yet extremely ambitious in scope – allow apps to give you notifications right on top of your screen, which allow you to pop into that app without leaving the one you're in (no matter what it is), take care of business, and resume your experience uninterrupted. The general concept, which rejects the notion of a distracting notification shade, and shuns implementations like "whacky s-multiwindow,"  is no doubt inspired by Facebook's admittedly awesome Chat Heads functionality, perhaps the most compelling feature of its new Home app.

29
Apr
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Paranoid Android Teases A Multi-Window-Like Feature, Not Yet Available For Use

Posted by in Development, News

Running multiple apps side-by-side is something that many users – especially those with tablets – have wanted on Android for a long time. And while we've seen a few implementations before (remember Cornerstone?), none have really taken off. Sure, Samsung has an option for multi-window on its more recent devices, but that's still a far-from-perfect solution, as it only allows certain apps to run together.

Given how oft-request/desired/lusted after this feature is, the devs behind the Paranoid Android ROM decided to try to bring it to life in a practical, usable way. However, it's probably not yet exactly what you're expecting, as it's little more than just pop-up windows with containerized apps held within.

04
Mar
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Verizon Preparing To Release 4.1.2 (VRBMB1) Update For Galaxy S III With Minor Improvements

Posted by in Galaxy S III, News, Verizon Wireless

It's not Jelly Bean yet. Well, I mean it is. It's the older Jelly Bean. Not the newer Jelly Bean. I'm sure this isn't confusing. However, Verizon is getting ready to roll out an update to the Galaxy S III that will bump the phone from 4.1.1 to 4.1.2. Unfortunately this isn't the 4.2 upgrade most users were likely hoping for. Among the listed improvements are a better keyboard and the ability to take pictures while on a call.

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Additionally, the update will bring a few minor tweaks such as adding a refresh button to the lock screen stock ticker (try saying that three times fast), better email syncing and improved Bluetooth performance.

04
Feb
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Samsung Canada: Multi-Window Is Coming To The Note II On 'National Carriers' Beginning February 6th

Posted by in Galaxy Note II, News

While Samsung may have made quite a splash with its new ad during "the big game" here in the States, its Canadian branch had a pretty big announcement of its own: an update that brings Multi-Window and Chinese language support will be coming to the Galaxy Note II on "national carriers" beginning this Wednesday. By "national carriers," we're assuming that means Canada's big three: Telus, Bell, and Rogers.

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For those who may not be familiar with the feature, Multi-Window is Samsung's claim to fame on the Note II, as it's the standout feature that allows users to run multiple apps on the screen at one time.

28
Dec
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US Cellular Updates Galaxy Note II To R950VXALL1, Adds Multi-Window [Full Changelog]

Posted by in Galaxy Note II, News, Samsung, US Cellular

US Cellular is issuing an update to their variant of Samsung's Galaxy Note II, bringing the baseband version up to R950VXALL1. The headline feature with this update, as may be expected, is multi-window support. That's not all the R950VXALL1 package brings, though.

The update, besides evidently bringing the device up to Android "4.1.4" Jelly Bean (did you mean to say "4.1.2" there, USC?), brings an armload of bug fixes, from a "Burst Mode" camera fix to occasional toggling between 3G and 1X, to minor UI changes including the replacement of the notification shade's "sync" button with a multi-window shortcut and a makeover for the phone's Sound icon, switching from gray to green.

27
Dec
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AT&T Re-Gifts Multi-Window Support, Gives It To Samsung Galaxy Note II Owners

Posted by in AT&T, Galaxy Note II, News, Samsung

Owners of the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note II have been patiently waiting for multi-window support on their enormous smartphones ever since launch, and just in time for an awkward after-Christmas present, the carrier has delivered. Today's over-the-air update brings software version JZO54K.I317UCALK7, Android 4.1.2, with the crucial addition of that useful desktop-style trick. T-Mobile Note II owners got the same treatment last week.

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If you're unfamiliar with Multi-Window, the new version that the Note II uses allows users to split the screen into two sections with fully-functional apps, which are no longer limited to TouchWiz (as on the the Note 10.1 tablet).

27
Dec
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Jelly Bean Update For The Original Galaxy Note Confirmed To Bring Enhanced Premium Suite With Multi-Window, Air View, And More

Posted by in Galaxy Note (GT-N7000), News

Ever since Samsung released the Note II with awesome new features like Multi-Window and Air View, owners of the original Note have been wondering if they would ever see these enhancements. Considering the Galaxy S III started receiving its Premium Suite update about a week ago, we all assumed that the Note would be next. Samsung has now confirmed that with a new microsite highlighting all of the features of the Jelly Bean Premium Suite for the phablet that started it all.

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The update is set to bring many of the features that make the Note II so great, including Multi-Window, Popup Note/Video/Browser, Easy Clip, Paper Artist, Air View, and more.

17
Dec
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OTA Update Coming To T-Mobile's Galaxy Note II Beginning December 19th, Brings Multi-Window And More

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

There's no doubt that the breakout feature of Samsung's Note II is multi-window, which allows users to run two apps side-by-side on the device's massive 5.5" display. The thing is, this isn't yet available on all versions of the Note II, though Samsung has been doing a pretty good job of getting updates ready and rolling out to all the different variants.

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Beginning on Wednesday, December 19th, T-Mo's Note II is next in line to receive multi-window in an OTA update. This will bump the device up to build T889UVALK8 - which is still Android 4.1.1 - and also brings a solution for an Exchange calendar sync issue, as well as an issue that prevented users from being able to swipe through emails in Gmail.

16
Nov
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Samsung Announces S Pen SDK 2.2.5 Update With Multi Window APIs, Bug Fixes

Posted by 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.