Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 - 24/25 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Aug

[Rumor] Verizon's Samsung DROID Prime Will Be The First ICS Device, Will Put Galaxy S II To Shame

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Rumors, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

Nope, Verizon still hasn't changed its mind about skipping the Galaxy S II, but if BGR's latest exclusive proves to be true, Android fans on Big Red needn't be disappointed. Indeed, the carrier is said to be launching the Samsung DROID Prime - likely a rebranded version of the long-rumored Nexus Prime - as early as this October.

The DROID Prime's primary claim to fame will, of course, be its operating system: BGR says it'll be the first Ice Cream Sandwich device on the market. The blog didn't list any specs, but if the DROID Prime (or, if you prefer model numbers, SCH-i515) and the Nexus Prime are in fact one and the same, you can expect a 4.5-inch HD AMOLED display coupled with a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU.

Aug

[Rumor] Samsung Nexus Prime Will Feature 1.5GHz Processor And 4.5-Inch Display, Will Launch In October

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Samsung

The wait has been long for those eager to find out more about Ice Cream Sandwich (i.e. everyone in the Android community), but it appears that the date is finally drawing near, as more and more details are starting to leak out. Last week we got our first look at the next version of Android, and today Electronic Times published some details on the first device that will run it - the Nexus Prime.

The info jives well with what we've heard previously: the Prime will be built by Samsung, and will feature a 4.5-inch "HD" AMOLED display as well as a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU.

Aug

Exclusive Leak: First Android Ice Cream Sandwich Screenshots, Plus More ICS Details

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Exclusives, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Last Updated: June 5th, 2012

No, it's not a joke, prank, or some cruel attempt to make you click things. This is for real. The first screenshots of Android Ice Cream Sandwich have been leaked to us as well as RootzWiki (who have two different screenshots featuring the launcher and app drawer we aren't showing here - so check them out). We're not going to build this up - you want the goods. Here's Ice Cream Sandwich running on a Nexus S:

What can we learn from these? Well, the big stuff is obviously all the UI changes - namely, blue: everywhere. But you can see that the notification bar has been totally revamped for the first time since Éclair.

Jun

Rumor: The Next Nexus Phone May Be Built By Samsung, Has Super AMOLED HD Display

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Rumors, Samsung

We're as skeptical of oddly-specific rumors as the next blog, but given the source, we feel it'd be negligent of us not to pass on this information to you. A couple weeks back, we reported on a BGR-exclusive story that leaked information about the next Google Nexus Android phone.

Now, "Prime" is rumored to be the device codename being tossed around at the Googleplex for the upcoming handset, but BGR's exclusive source has reason to believe that name will make it to end consumers. There's also the fact that this name has been bandied about before and bears a certain pop culture reference - so we're not exactly sure how legit it is, or if it's just an affectionate/humorous pet name until the device gets a real label.

Jun

Editorial: Android Tablets - Is It Just A Summer Fling, Or Are Manufacturers Here To Stay?

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Tablets

I've been thinking about writing this editorial for some time now. And today, with the announcement of Panasonic's upcoming Toughbook Android tablet, I finally decided to go for it. The point this article is trying to make may not be abundantly clear in the title, so let me see if I can get it across as a question: Is it just me, or are there a suspiciously large number of companies in or planning to enter the Android tablet market?

It sounds like a silly question to ask. And to a degree, it's not exactly a hugely relevant question, either. Who really cares how many companies are trying to get into the tablet market?

Jun

[Rumor] The Next Nexus Phone: The Nexus 4G - LTE, 720p Display, Dual Core, No Function Buttons?

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Rumors

Take this with a massive grain of salt, but BGR has just let loose an article detailing what they claim will be either the next Nexus phone or, if not a Nexus, simply the new Android reference handset. Far more exciting than that is what BGR's source has told them what kind of features the phone will be packing:

A 720p "monster-sized" display - exact size unknown (also, goodbye qHD - nice knowing you)
Dual-core processor @1.2 or 1.5GHz (either a TI OMAP 4460 or a ULP Qualcomm 28nm Krait Snapdragon)
Android Ice Cream Sandwich (possibly dubbed Android 4.0)
Software function buttons (ala Honeycomb - no more capacitive touch)
4G LTE (yes, yes, yes!)
1GB RAM
5MP rear camera w/1080p video, 1MP front camera
Release around Thanksgiving

Unfortunately, several big questions remain unanswered.

May

[Weekend Poll] I/O 2011 Aftermath & Recap: What Has You Most Excited?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Applications, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Polls

Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see How Important Will Customization Be In Determining Your Next Android Purchase?

Google I/O 2011 is all wrapped up, and boy was it eventful. In case you missed them the first go-round, we provided a handy-dandy list (with videos embedded) of the keynotes and Android sessions from both the first and second day. The first keynote, especially, was really quite fascinating and provided a good review of where Android is headed. But at 55 minutes, it's probably a bit much to ask people to watch something quite that long (alternatively, you can read my on-the-fly notes).

May

[I/O 2011] "0-Click" NFC Sharing Coming To Android Ice Cream Sandwich

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Applications, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

A lot of interesting products and services have been demoed at Google I/O 2011, including a number of interesting features for Ice Cream Sandwich, Android's forthcoming iteration. One of the less flashier features demoed is the 0-click peer-to-peer NFC sharing. This allows compatible Android devices to share content (contacts, links, YouTube videos) between the devices by simply placing them in close proximity to each other. No app needs to be run and no buttons need to be clicked - hence the "0-click" moniker.

Sharing data between devices in this manner is not a completely novel concept as the cross-platform app Bump already provides similar features.

May

Watch The Keynote And Android Sessions From Day 1 Of Google I/O 2011 Now On YouTube

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, Google, Google TV, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Videos

The first day of Google I/O 2011 is now over (see our highlights) - in fact, the next one is starting in mere 7 hours (4 hours of sleep - check). That doesn't mean, however, that the information presented was lost forever - on the contrary, Google has archived most, if not all, of the footage and made it available to you on YouTube via the GoogleDevelopers channel.

You can find the full keynote, filled with Android goodness to the brim, along with the most interesting Android sessions below.

Keynote Day 1:

Fireside Chat with the Android Team:

How to NFC:

Android Protips:

Honeycomb Highlights:

And, of course, Jane's Addiction live in concert at the after party (this was awesome):

Source: YouTube

May

[I/O 2011] Ice Cream Sandwich: One OS To Rule Them All

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Shortly after Honeycomb dropped, we were told that the next version of Android would bridge the gap between tablets and phones. That bridge was officially announced this morning at Google I/O: Ice Cream Sandwich.

Ice Cream Sandwich will be the newest version of Android, and it's going to bring the goodness of Honeycomb to phones, along with Gingerbread features to tablets. The update is due out in Q4 of this year, and the goal is to unify the Android experience across devices, which is a huge step towards ending fragmentation as we know it.

It's clear that between this and the Android Alliance, Google has really paid attention to the biggest problems in Android and is making a collaborative effort to efficiently address them.