Jan

Android: A Look Back To 2012, And A Look Forward To 2013

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Editorials, News, Rumors

Last Updated: January 7th, 2013

Happy New Year! It's that time again; with the new year comes our new annual prediction post. I tackled this last year, and rather than do a bunch of crazy, pulled-from-thin-air predictions, I ended up with a link-filled research-fest for the year. It worked out pretty well, so that's what's on the docket for today. First though, I'll take a look and see just how many of last year's predictions and rumors came true, and provide some updates for the more important topics.

A Look Back To 2012

What a crazy year. 2012 brought us two versions of Jelly Bean: 4.1 and 4.2. We saw a complete transformation of Google Search with the Knowledge Graph, Google Now, voice output, and Google Goggles integration.

Dec

Tired Of Waiting On The Play Store? Staples Has The 32GB Nexus 10 In Stock, Ready To Ship [Update: Out Of Stock]

Posted by Liam Spradlin in News, Nexus 10, Samsung

Update: At the time of writing, Staples has marked the Nexus 10 "Out of Stock." We'll let you know if and when it reappears.

It's no secret that the Nexus 10 has been sold out in the Play Store for some time now. Anxious would-be customers who are tired of waiting for the ten-inch Nexus with the fabled 2560x1600 (300ppi) display now have another solution, though – Staples has the 32GB Nexus 10 listed in stock, and estimates a delivery time of 2 business days.

The tablet was listed on Staples' website a few days prior to the time of writing, but was "out of stock." Today, however, it's ready to ship, though the Nexus' availability appears to be limited to the office chain's website and perhaps a few lucky physical locations.

Nov

Android 4.2.1 (JOP40D) Rolling Out To Nexus 10, Nexus 7 Wi-Fi, And Nexus 7 Wi-Fi/3G – Manual Update Available [Updated]

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in News, Nexus 10, Nexus 7

If you just can't wait for the 4.2.1 update to arrive on your Nexus 7 or Nexus 10 (Nexus 4 is here), it's your lucky day. The update URL has been uncovered so you can manually update the device right now.

Just grab the matching file below, both of which clock in at a slim ~1MB. The main fix in this build is for the now-famous December People app bug. The update should appear on your device in the coming days, but maybe your contacts have some big events coming up in December and you just can't wait to add them.

Nov

Tip Of The Day: How To Defeat The Pesky Play Store Server Errors And Order That Elusive Nexus 4

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Google, News, Nexus 4, Tips & Tutorials

And the tip of the ~~day~~, ~~month~~, year goes to... Syko Pompos! Here I was, sitting on the couch, trying to order the 16GB Nexus 4 for the last 4 hours. That's a lot of hours practically wasted. And I'm not even talking about the first batch which resulted in exactly the same failures and poor experience.

Turns out, there's a little trick you can use to defeat these errors and finally place your Nexus order. Sure, it'll arrive weeks or maybe even months later, but at least you'll reserve your place in line and stop ripping out hair from places where you might still need it.

Nov

Google Pushing Android 4.2.1 OTA, Fixes The 'December Bug'

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Nexus 10, Nexus 4, Nexus 7

Earlier this month, we reported on a pretty big omission in Android 4.2's People app: Google forgot December. So, any birthdays, anniversaries, or other important dates you may have needed to note for that month were simply impossible to document. Now, though, it looks like El Goog is fixing that issue with a small 1.1MB update. This OTA is, of course, labeled as Android 4.2.1, and aside from the December fix, we're not sure of what else it may bring.

Update: Here's the manual download for the Nexus 4, as well as a look at all the changes within.

Nov

[Update: Winner!] Giveaway: Win A 16GB Nexus 10 From Android Police And Sortable

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Contests / Giveaways, Nexus 10

Last Updated: November 27th, 2012

When trying to decide on a new device, most people spend a lot of time comparing various models. How does product X stack up against product Y? Which one offers the most bang for the buck? Which is going to stay relevant the longest? There are so many things to take into consideration - it's quite an overwhelming task.

Thankfully, Sortable.com is there to assist you in the quest for a new gadget. Regardless of whether it's a camera, phone, tablet, laptop, or TV, you can compare all of the most popular products in each class against each other to really figure out which one is the best for you.

Nov

Nexus 10 Toolkit Now Available: Get Your Tweak On The Easy Way

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Nexus 10

A few days ago, developer mskip released the Nexus 4 toolkit, which simplifies the unlock/root/recovery/etc. process on the device. The same dev has now released the Nexus 10 toolkit, which does essentially the same thing, only for Google's first 10" slate. These toolkits really take the work out of doing a number of otherwise potentially tedious tasks:

FUNCTIONS OF GOOGLE NEXUS 10 TOOLKIT V1.0.0 [20TH NOVEMBER 2012]
* Install correct adb/fastboot drivers automatically on Windows xp/vista/7/8 32bit+64bit
* Backup/Restore a single package or all apps, user data and Internal Storage
* Backup your /data/media (virtual SD Card) to your PC for a Full Safe backup of data
* Unlock/Re-Lock your Bootloader
* Root Stock Jelly Bean builds (upto 4.2.0 JOP40C)
* 1-Click For All to Unlock the Bootloader, Root, Rename the Restore File and Flash Custom Recovery
* Perform a FULL NANDROID Backup of your system (Boot, Cache, Data, Recovery and System) via adb and save in Custom Recovery format on your PC which can be Restored via CWM Recovery
* Pull /data and /system folders, compress to a .tar file and save to your PC
* Dump selected Phone Partitions, compress to a .zip file with md5 and save to your PC
* Install BusyBox on your phone
* Extras, Tips and Tricks section available to all ToolKit Donators
* Auto Update ToolKit to latest pushed version at startup (donator feature)
* Program up to 10 Quickpic slots and run them very quickly (donator feature)
* Mods section to automatically perform certain tasks on your phone
* Download Google Stock Image directly to correct ToolKit folder for extracting and flashing (no need to move it manually anymore)
* Flash Custom Recovery or Google Stock Image to phone
* Rename the Recovery Restore File present on some Stock Roms
* Boot into CWM Touch Recovery without Flashing it
* Boot or Flash .img Files directly from your PC
* Install a single apk or multiple apk's to your phone
* Push Files from your PC to your phone
* Pull Files from your phone to your PC
* Dump selected LogCat buffers to your PC
* Dump BugReport to your PC
* Set Files Permissions on your phone
* Open new Command Prompt for manual input
* Reboot Phone to Fastboot Mode or Android from fastboot mode
* Reboot Phone to Fastboot Mode, Recovery, Android or Download Mode from adb mode

The ToolKit.exe and ModsSection.exe files may be detected as malicious by some anti-virus software.

Nov

[Update: UK / Canada, Too] The Nexus 10 32GB Model Is Back In Stock On The Play Store (US) Until It's Not Again

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Nexus 10

Update: The Nexus 10 32GB is also in stock in the UK and Canada, too.

Not much to say here - the Nexus 10 32GB is back in stock on the US Play Store right now. If you're on the fence, no pressure - they might only be gone in an hour. Or a few minutes. Or thirty seconds before you stopped debating and clicked the link. You better hurry up. Like now. The 16GB model is also in stock, though that's been the case for a couple days.

Play Store

Nov

Sorry, Santa - Google Cancels December In Android 4.2 [Updated]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

Last Updated: November 20th, 2012

File this one under How did Google not have a test for this? Got a birthday or anniversary in December? Sorry - Android 4.2 doesn't know what December is. Well, rather the People/Contacts app that comes stock and is part of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) doesn't. Wait... what?

We couldn't believe it either, but it's true. Google forgot to include December. As in, there are 11 months in a year. January after November. Christmas is ruined. Santa is dead. At least we'll save money on buying presents, right?

We verified this on a Nexus 7 and a Nexus 10 running 4.2.

Nov

Official ClockworkMod Recovery Now Available For The Nexus 4 And 10, Updated ROM Manager and Superuser, Too

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Nexus 10, Nexus 4

Wow, big day for root things on the Nexus 4 and 10, eh? First off, official ClockworkMod Recovery is now available for the pair, either directly from the CWM site or through ROM Manager, which was also updated today to support Android 4.2. While the latter can handle flashing the updated recovery, Koush himself advised users to flash via fastboot to avoid any potential issues with the process.

Koush also took it upon himself to update the Superuser application for 4.2, just until the original developer can get around to updating the official application in the Play Store. Alternatively, you can also flash SuperSU, which was developed by Chainfire.