PSA - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

May

Here's How To Enable The New Hangouts In Gmail, But Only If You're Ready To Lose Phone Dialing

Posted by Kyle Wiggers in Google, News, Tips & Tutorials

Google may've said during Wednesday's keynote that it planned to roll out Hangouts to Gmail users gradually, but if you just can't wait to integrate the new messaging service into your e-mail dashboard, there's a way to gain early access. Simply log into Gmail, ensure you've signed into Google Talk (if you're having trouble enabling Talk, try installing the browser plugin), click on the thumbnail associated with your account in the Talk sidebar, and select the "Try the new Hangouts" option.

If you don't see the option right now, you can trick Gmail into giving up the goods by clearing your cache and cookies.

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

Samsung Aims To Block Root Exploits And Tighten Up Security With Latest Exynos Galaxy S4 Update, But This Is A Good Thing

Posted by Justin Case in Android OS, Galaxy S4, News, Samsung

Note from Artem: The post's author, Justin Case, also known as jcase in the Android community, is an xda Elite Recognized Developer, AP team member, and an all-around knowledgeable guy when it comes to Android's internals. When he speaks, I tend to listen.

The Android world was slapped in the face when well-known developer AndreiLux made a post in the XDA Galaxy S4 forum titled [Info] Rooting will be impossible on newer stock kernels.

His post has caused some unwarranted drama in the community, and I wish to set this subject straight as much as I can. AndreiLux is pointing out a new feature in Samsung Galaxy S4 kernel called CONFIG_SEC_RESTRICT_SETUID.

Mar

PSA: LG Intuition's Latest Update Wreaking Havoc, Should Be Avoided For Now

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Intuition, News, Optimus Vu, Verizon Wireless

Owners of LG's Verizon-connected Intuition (otherwise known as the Optimus Vu) would be well-advised to avoid an update that began rolling out recently. The short version of this story is that the update is wreaking havoc on handsets –users who have already accepted the update are reporting constant app errors, an inability to connect to the Play Store, camera/gallery failure, and more. You can read users' impassioned responses to the flawed firmware here, here, and here.

It should be noted that although some users report total loss of photos and contacts, user files should still be present on the device.

Feb

Silently Installing Itself On A Device Near You: The Green 'Google Settings' Icon - It's Just Google Play Services 3.0

Posted by Ron Amadeo in News

Do not freak out. Yes, a big green icon has magically popped up in your app drawer; no, it isn't bad; and yes, it is pretty much useless.

If you caught the announcement of Google Play Services 3.0, aka "Google+ Sign-In," you're already halfway up to speed on this. Google Play Services is an APK that many of Google's apps rely on to hook into Google+ and, just like the Play Store, Google has the ability to silently update it. Recently, they started rolling out an update for it, and along with a bunch of new app integration stuff, it came packing this superfluous "Google Settings" app.

Feb

PSA: Straight Talk And Net10 Sold Out Of AT&T SIM Cards Online – Don't Panic

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Carriers, News

We've been hearing for the past few days that users have been unable to get new AT&T-compatible SIM cards from Straight Talk and Net10 websites. The only option seems to be the T-Mobile SIM. This was causing quite a bit of consternation as the Nexus 4 is finally starting to ship again. The complete absence of AT&T SIMs from both sites led many to wonder if AT&T service was no longer being sold by these Tracfon-owned entities. Well, we've investigated and there appears to be no cause for alarm.

Straight Talk and Net10 are mobile virtual network operators (MVNO). That means that neither company runs its own towers – they just buy access from the big carriers.

Oct

PSA: Google Clarifies Nexus 4 Support For HSPA+42, Updates Play Store Pages Accordingly

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in AT&T, News, Nexus 4, T-Mobile

When the Nexus 4 was announced yesterday, there was a bit of confusion regarding its HSPA+ support for faster HSPA+42 speeds offered by companies like T-Mobile. The Device Play Store pages showed HSPA+21, but T-Mobile's press release claimed the faster HSPA+42, also known as DC-HSPA+ (dual-cell). Did that mean that T-Mobile customers needed to get a special variant of the Nexus? The answer is no, but the inaccuracy surely puzzled some.

Google just cleared up the confusion and updated the Device Play Store with the right data. Both the 8GB and 16GB pages now correctly mention HSPA+42:

If you're a customer of T-Mobile, AT&T, or a myriad of related MVNOs, buy the new Nexus without fear when it becomes available November 13th.

Sep

[PSA] Parents, Don't Get Suckered Into Buying The Toys-R-Us Tabeo Tablet For Your Kids

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Nexus 7

For some unknown reason, the tech world spent a lot of time over the weekend talking about an upcoming Toys-R-Us tablet for kids called the Tabeo. I'm assuming this is partly because the Wall Street Journal felt the subject was worth covering; past that, I honestly can't put my finger on why this caught anyone's attention. We decided to skip covering this rumor for a number of reasons, but the biggest one is because we wanted to wait for the official PR and spec sheet for the device.

That PR showed up just a little while ago, and honestly, I'm surprised that so many respectable tech outlets decided to post about this tablet.

Jul

PSA: Your Android Devices Appear In Google Dashboard, Find Out Which Apps Have Backups Available

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News

The Google Dashboard is a handy tool for keeping up with what information Google has stored for you in its various different products. One piece of the handy information, though, has taken a while to become available but it's there now: your Android devices. It's unclear if this feature has been around for a while, but either way, it's useful. If you'd like to see which devices are registered with Google, and more interestingly, which apps on those devices have backups stored on Google's servers, you can do so from your dashboard.

Unfortunately, as with a lot of information on the Dashboard, you can see this info, but you can't do much with it from here.

Jul

PSA: No, You Don't Need To Defragment Your Android Device And Yes, Android Defrag Apps Are Nothing But A Scam

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

Earlier today, an eager marketing person suggested we review an innovative new app that every Android user like totally needs, dude - Android Defrag. Created by Enlightened Software House, the app promised to "Increase your Android Mobile & Tablets Performance Speeds, Battery and Memory Today." There was a Pro version too, and it only cost a buck - what a deal! Here, check out this gem's full description:

Increase your Android Mobile & Tablets Performance Speeds, Battery and Memory Today with the NEW Android Defrag PRO version direct from Andriod Google Play Store!
★ Designed for Top Andriod Mobile & Tablet Performance!