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Android 4.2.2 ROM Leaked For The International Galaxy S III, Galaxy S4 Goodies Contained Within

Jeremiah Rice — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:25:49 +0000

Good morning, Galaxy S III users. Want to start off your week with a spiffy new software build? Then the folks at SamMobile are happy to oblige. They've got their hot hands on a leaked build of the Android 4.2.2 (JDQ39) update for the S III, packing the standard Jelly Bean 4.2 upgrades and more than a few features back-ported from the newer Galaxy S4. The flashable ROM posted to the site isn't exactly official - it's cobbled together from dumped files - but flashing it via Samsung's Odin software won't void your warranty.

Some of the features already spotted in the leaked ROM include the lockscreen, driving mode, Voice Controls, an updated Settings app, gallery, S-Voice, new screen modes, and a bunch of other software and visual tweaks from the TouchWiz build first seen on the Galaxy S4, as well as a host of new settings and the Smart Watch widget.

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Android 4.2.2 ROM Leaked For The International Galaxy S III, Galaxy S4 Goodies Contained Within was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

CyanogenMod 10.1 Release Candidate Rolls Out For The Sony Xperia Tablet Z [Update: Nighlies Too]

Jeremiah Rice — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:36:55 +0000

Just a day after Sony threw developers a bone by posting the Android Open Source Project code for their flagship Xperia Tablet Z, the industrious folks at CyanogenMod have one-upped them with a release of their own. Both a release candidate (RC) and a test build of CyanogenMod ROM 10.1 (Android 4.2) have been posted to the download site, ready and waiting for you to flash to your unlocked tablet.

It's no surprise that CyanogenMod is supporting the Xperia Tablet Z; Sony has been historically friendly with the developer community, and in any case, the 1080p tablet runs on the same chipset as the more far-reaching Xperia Z smartphone.

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CyanogenMod 10.1 Release Candidate Rolls Out For The Sony Xperia Tablet Z [Update: Nighlies Too] was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Sony Posts Android Open Source Project Code For The Xperia Tablet Z To GitHub

Jeremiah Rice — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:14:00 +0000

There's a lot to like about Sony's latest generation of Android devices. One od the things that most people don't like is the custom interface that Sony puts on pretty much everything. If you want to do away with it and get some sweet, clean Android Open Source Project code running on your shiny new Xperia Tablet Z, Sony is happy to oblige. They've posted an AOSP 4.2 build for the Tablet Z to GitHub, following their surprisingly open approach to other devices, most recently the Xperia Z flagship.

Sorry ROM aficionados, there's no flashable ROM package posted. Developers will need both the AOSP code and the binaries for their specific device (which you can find here) to build a working ROM, and end users need an unlocked bootloader, with the voided warranty that comes with it.

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Sony Posts Android Open Source Project Code For The Xperia Tablet Z To GitHub was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

[Google I/O] 53-Minute Android Developer Tools Session Video Shows Everything You Want To Know About Android Studio IDE

Jeremiah Rice — Fri, 17 May 2013 00:45:17 +0000

Yesterday Google launched an early access preview of Android Studio, an integrated development environment (IDE) for Android based on IntelliJ IDEA. This one-stop shop for coding, compiling, and testing includes all the standard Android SDK tools, plus build support, quick fixes, tools to catch major coding flaws, and a preview window. The Android Developer Tools session at Google I/O went into massive detail on the new project. The 53-minute session is embedded below, in case you couldn't make it.

One of the cooler features of Android Studio is the multitalented preview window, which shows your code running on mock-ups of most of the standard Nexus devices in a real-time layout.

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[Google I/O] 53-Minute Android Developer Tools Session Video Shows Everything You Want To Know About Android Studio IDE was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Suddenly, A Wild Jelly Bean 4.1 Update For Virgin Mobile's Samsung Galaxy Reverb Appears [Update: Official]

Jeremiah Rice — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:29:40 +0000

Oh, hi there, Samsung Galaxy Reverb. Haven't seen you around the water cooler in a while. Yeah, I'm doing good too. So what's up? You've got an Android 4.1 update? Shut the front door.

The Galaxy Reverb is a budget phone on a budget network, the kind that we generally expect to be released, promptly forgotten, and never, ever updated to a later version of Android. But lo and behold, several Virgin Mobile customers on both Reddit and Android Forums are reporting that their phones are receiving over-the-air updates to Jelly Bean 4.1.2. One poster stated that he'd spoken with a Virgin representative who said the the OTA was scheduled for May 22nd, but at least a few seem to have been updated early.

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Suddenly, A Wild Jelly Bean 4.1 Update For Virgin Mobile's Samsung Galaxy Reverb Appears [Update: Official] was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Hangouts Hangover: Here Are The Major Issues Google Has Promised To Fix In Hangouts... At Some Point

David Ruddock — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:41:00 +0000

Hey, have you heard? Google Hangouts is now a thing. And by a thing, I mean Google's new universal, cross-platform chat solution. Ron's closer look hands-on should give you an idea of how Hangouts works (and how it doesn't). But the launch of Google's Talk / G+ Messenger replacement hasn't gone entirely smoothly, and there remain a few bumps to be ironed out - bumps Google has promised to fix. So here's what we know so far.

A full rollout of the app is coming over the next "several days."

Google added a note to the app description for Hangouts indicating that the app would not be available to everyone immediately, and that even if you installed the app, opening it might take you to the old Google Talk interface.

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Hangouts Hangover: Here Are The Major Issues Google Has Promised To Fix In Hangouts... At Some Point was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Bluetooth Low Energy And AVRCP 1.3 Coming To Android With API Level 18

Cody Toombs — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:11:00 +0000

There’s no denying that the switch to Broadcom’s Bluetooth stack in Android 4.2 has created some stressful situations for frequent users of the short range networking technology. The added attention also raised awareness for some features that are woefully lacking in the OS, something that other OEMs have been working to resolve independently. To a round of applause during the Best Practices for Bluetooth Development session, Sara Sinclair Brody announced Google will finally address two of the most popular requests. Beginning with API level 18, Android will officially support Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and AVRCP 1.3.

BLE, also marketed as Bluetooth Smart and Smart Ready, has been a hot topic in light of many new wearable computing devices sporting the feature, like the Pebble smartwatch and Amiigo Fitness bracelet.

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Bluetooth Low Energy And AVRCP 1.3 Coming To Android With API Level 18 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

[Live Blog] Android Police's Live Coverage Of The Google I/O 2013 Keynote

David Ruddock — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:35:00 +0000

Welcome to Android Police's live coverage of the Google I/O 2013 keynote. We'll be bringing you text and photos directly from the Moscone Center in San Francisco, courtesy of Artem, and the rest of the AP team will be on hand to provide commentary and additional details as the keynote progresses. To watch the keynote live on YouTube, head to this URL, or use the embedded video above the ScribbleLive widget.

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[Live Blog] Android Police's Live Coverage Of The Google I/O 2013 Keynote was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Modaco Toolkit Enables Easy Multi-User Support For Rooted Phones Running Android 4.2

Jeremiah Rice — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:49:09 +0000

Multi-user support is one of the most interesting additions in Jelly Bean 4.2, but you can only get it if you're using a tablet. It makes sense - phones are rarely shared between more than one person, while tablets are naturally shareable. Even so, it would be nice if Google gave users the option. But thanks to modder extraordinaire Paul "Modaco" O'Brien, there's a relatively easy way to enable multi-user mode on smartphones. It's detailed on the Modaco blog, but all you need to get started is a phone running Android 4.2 and root permissions.

First, download and install the Xposed Framework, a Swiss army knife for modders and the basis of this modification. Next, download the Modaco Toolkit, a module for the Xposed app.

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Modaco Toolkit Enables Easy Multi-User Support For Rooted Phones Running Android 4.2 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Head Of Android Sundar Pichai Talks Google I/O, Android, And Chrome - Confirms Focus On Developer Tools, Not A Major Android Revision

Kyle Wiggers — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:36:00 +0000

Newly appointed head of Google's Android division Sundar Pichai - who perhaps not-so-incidentally also leads the Chrome OS team - recently sat down with Wired for his first interview since Andy Rubin's departure. Though he didn't speak to specifics about any mysterious Motorola smartphone or Chromebook Pixel follow-up, Pichai did shed some light on the state of Android, Google's open-source philosophy, and future projects.

When asked if separate operating systems - Chrome OS and Android, for instance - confuse users, Pichai said the OS is less important than the apps, ecosystem, and backend people rely on. He also emphasized that developers, concerned about distributing their products on particular platforms, appreciate the flexibility multiple operating systems provide.

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Head Of Android Sundar Pichai Talks Google I/O, Android, And Chrome - Confirms Focus On Developer Tools, Not A Major Android Revision was written by the awesome team at Android Police.