update - 12/129 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Mar

Facebook Pages Manager Updated To v1.2 With Some New Features, Fixes To Annoying Quirks

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

If you have a Facebook page for a group, business, or the like, then you should have Facebook Pages Manager installed. Otherwise, it's pretty difficult to do anything with that page while on-the-go. If you've already been using FBPM for a while, then you're probably familiar with its quirks, as well as its missing features. Facebook is looking to alleviate at least a bit of your frustration, as the company pushed a small update today that actually brings some fixes and adds new functionality to the app:

What's in this version:

• Turn push notifications on or off for each Page
• Upload a photo to a specific album
• Attach a photo to a status update
• Change profile and cover photos
• Save a shortcut to a Page on your phone's home screen
• Share links from other apps to Pages Manager

And in one fell swoop, Pages Manager becomes more useful.

Mar

C Spire's Galaxy S III Finally Gets A Taste Of Jelly Bean, Android 4.1.2 Making The Rounds Now

Posted by Cameron Summerson in C Spire, Galaxy S III, News

Last Updated: April 19th, 2013

It's been a wild ride on ICS, hasn't it C Spire customers? And by that, I really mean you've been waiting on Jelly Bean to hit that GSIII for a while now, haven't you C Spire customers? Well, I'm here to deliver good news: Jelly Bean is official. Not officially announced or some other vague form of "official," but it's officially rolling out. So, you can have it now.

The update is available both over-the-air and through Samsung's Kies software, and it brings oodles of newness to your already-awesome smartphone:

Added Apps

Chrome

Help

Paper Artist

Voice Search

Removed Apps

Latitude

Search

Added Widgets

Bookmarks 3x2

Favorite Apps

Favorite Contacts 4x2

Favorite Contacts 4x4

Favorite Settings 4x4

Messaging

My Call Sound

Play - My Library

Play Recommendation

S Bookmarks 3x2

Simple alarm clock

Block 4G until device is activated
Added Global Client ID
Changed wakeup sound
Roaming Auto-Retrieve enabled
Removed NullPointException
Streaming 4G (audio and video) messages delay fixed
C Spire MMSC allows messages up to 1000kB
S Voice upgrade
Polaris view upgrade
Updated ClipboardSaceService(add permission) for ATM(CTS)
MusicHub 3.0
QNC enabled

See, lots of new stuff.

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.

Mar

Google+ Profiles Got A Huge Holo-Esque Update Today And It's Actually Kind Of Amazing

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

Tomorrow, Facebook is expected to announce some major changes to its News Feed. This has been a long time in coming and many people agree that, compared to the growing competition amongst modern social networks, the News Feed is one of the oldest, stalest, and ugliest presentations of information around. Okay, maybe it's not that bad, but it could use a refresher, so we're all eagerly awaiting the chang-Oh hey look new Google+ features!

Without warning, Google launched a massive change to profiles today that beautifies the heck out of personal and business pages alike. The most noticeable change is users now have a gargantuan cover photo.

Mar

Autodesk's Recently-Acquired 'Socialcam' Updated To v2, Brings New Filters, FFC Support, And An All-New Interface

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

If you like the idea of Instagram but it's just not live enough for you, then Socialcam is the network for you. In a nutshell (a very large nutshell), it's like Instagram for video. The app, which was started by Justin.tv and then acquired by Autodesk, just got bumped to version 2.0, which brings several new features and a new UI to the app.:

Video filters
Front facing camera
Complete redesign
Tons of bug fixes
Works on newest Android phones

So, what can you do from Socialcam? Take videos, edit them with filters, and upload them to the network's servers.

Mar

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

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft 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.

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.

Mar

ASUS Is The First To Roll Out Android 4.2 To A Non-Nexus Device, Starting With The TF300T In The U.S.

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in ASUS, News, Transformer Pad 300

Last Updated: March 13th, 2013

It's been over four months since Google officially announced Android 4.2 and slightly less time since the initial round of new Nexus devices running it went up for order. Much like the gunshot that kicks off the 100-meter tortoise race, that launch signaled the silent contest to see which manufacturer could get out a non-Nexus update first. Today, we have our winner: ASUS, with a shiny new version of Jelly Bean for the Transformer Pad (TF300T).

The manufacturer has also promised that there will be updates to its App Locker, Virtual Keyboard, Lock Screen, and Setup Wizard applications. Initially, the update will only be available via OTA for U.S.

Mar

deal-alert-lg-intuition-on-verizon-wireless-only-99-for-new-contracts-and-upgrades-from-amazon-wireless

Verizon Approves Build VS95011B For The LG Intuition, Should Begin Rolling Out Soon

Posted by Cody Toombs in Intuition, LG, News, Verizon Wireless

Verizon's LG Intuition has long been an awkward kid at the lunch table. With a 5" display at 4:3 resolution, it's had a difficult time being accepted, much less competing. Even so, it has not been completely forgotten – Verizon is preparing to roll out a maintenance update to the device that will remove the Color and V Cast apps, fix some assorted bugs, and should improve speakerphone quality. There is one curious detail to this update, it also adds the Amazon Appstore. Are Verizon and Amazon becoming closer friends?

While this update may not bring a new version of the Android OS, the international version – the Optimus Vu – is expected to receive a bump to 4.1 sometime this quarter.

Mar

Pocket Casts Updated One More Time, Actually Has A Widget This Time

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

A few days ago, podcatcher Pocket Casts got itself a nice overhaul. The update brought a new UI, tablet support, a ton of new features... everything that one could ask for in a podcatcher. Well, almost everything.

It was missing a widget.

A widget! Every player, reader, and nearly everything else in the entire world has a widget. Needless to say, users were a little bit upset. Nay, they were quite upset. After all, if you don't want to open the app to control it, a widget is basically requisite. I mean, if you don't like notification or lockscreen controls, that is.

Mar

Samsung Galaxy Stellar Jelly Bean Update (JZO54K.I200VRBMA1) Coming Soon, Google Now Comes To The Mid-Range

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy Stellar (SCH-I200), News

Last Updated: March 4th, 2013

Samsung seems to have gotten the hang of updating phones besides the major flagships. While it's still coming about nine months after the release of Jelly Bean and nearly six months after the release of the handset, the Galaxy Stellar will be upgraded to 4.1 "soon", according to these Verizon support docs. The OTA will bring the much-beloved Google Now as well as expandable notifications and all the other goodies of the newest tasty treat.

The update is 403.6MB in size, so you're going to want to be on WiFi when you download it. While we don't yet know exactly when the OTA will start, it usually doesn't take too long between the arrival of these support docs and the initial rollout.