Jelly Bean 4.2 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

May

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

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Android OS, Galaxy S III, Jelly Bean 4.2, News, Samsung

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.

May

nexusae0_cyanogenmod-10-1-m-series-builds-rolling-out-now-for-select-devices-more-coming-soon_th1

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

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Jelly Bean 4.2, News, Sony, Xperia Tablet Z

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.

May

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

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Android OS, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

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.

May

CyanogenMod 10.1 RC2 Making Steady March Across CM Roster

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Development, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

Have you finished downloading CyanogenMod's 10.1 RC1 release for your device yet? If not, hit cancel and refresh your browser. Just three days after RC1 started rolling out, CM 10.1 RC2 has hit the download center, going up over night for forty seven devices at the time of writing, including devices from the Galaxy SIII to the Nexus Q.

^{the list goes on}

For those not sure why they should care about CM10.1 RC2, an RC or Release Candidate is basically a firmware release that the CyanogenMod team believes is up to snuff for a daily driver – a new-but-not-bleeding-edge release that's stable enough to rely on.

Apr

Barnes & Noble Nook Color, The Original Modder's Tablet, Gets CyanogenMod 10.1 Nightlies

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Android OS, Barnes & Noble, Jelly Bean 4.2

For a lot of Android users out there, the Nook Color was their first exposure to the platform, or at least their first exposure to the magic of root and custom ROMs. The tablet's unlocked bootloader (from the days before B&N caught wise and started protecting its loss-leader business model) made it easy to convert into a "full" Android device. The CyanogenMod family of ROMs was one of the first reliable alternatives to the base software, and despite the aging hardware, the latest update is now available for the Nook Color. CM 10.1 (Android Jelly Bean 4.2) is now ready in nightly form.

Definition: A "nightly" is a bleeding edge release that is built on a daily basis, usually at night after a full day's worth of new code has been committed.

Apr

ASUS Starts 4.2.1 Rollout To MeMO Pad Smart 10 With Build V10.6.1.15, Posts US Download Link

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Device Updates, Jelly Bean 4.2, MeMO Pad Smart, News

Over the past few days, ASUS has begun rolling out a treat to MeMO Pad Smart 10 owners, distributing Android 4.2.1 in an update to build number V10.6.1.15. The update, which rings in at about 500MB, brings the MeMO to 4.2.1 from 4.1, delivering on ASUS' "Q2 2013" promises noted in our review.

Of course, the headlining feature with this update is 4.2's multi-user support, which we already saw on an ASUS slate back when the manufacturer brought 4.2 to the TF300T in the US, beating other OEMs to the update punch. Otherwise, users can likely expect the same performance and stability enhancements found in the TF300T's 4.2.1 build.

Apr

Google Pushes New Android 4.2.2 Code To AOSP (JDQ39E, 4.2.2_r1.2) - Here Is The Developer Changelog

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Development, Jelly Bean 4.2, News, Nexus 4

Earlier today, Google started pushing some new open source code to AOSP (Android Open Source Project) marked with 2 new tags: android-4.2.2_r1.1 and android-4.2.2_r1.2. The build number corresponding to the 4.2.2_r1.2 release is JDQ39E.

^{The dates you see here are commit dates, not dates the commits were made public (which is today, April 17th 2013)}

What's New?

After weeding out the changes from the commit logs, it looks like all of them are, as expected, very minor. We've seen these _r1.X releases before, and the last one didn't fix much at all.

Here are the aforementioned changes between 4.2.2's tags 4.2.2_r1 (JDQ39) and 4.2.2_r1.2 (JDQ39E).

Apr

Google Releases Android Platform Distribution Numbers For March With New Collection Method – Gingerbread Down To 39.8%, Jelly Bean Hits 25%

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Gingerbread 2.3, Google, Jelly Bean 4.1, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

Well, it's that time again – time for the monthly update to Android's Platform Distribution Numbers. Each month, Google publishes the latest figures, letting developers know what versions of Android are currently dominating active devices.

This month, we're seeing a familiar pattern – Gingerbread is continuing its slow descent, hitting 39.8%, down from 44.2% this time last month. Meanwhile the latest and greatest – Jelly Bean – accounts for exactly 25% of the overall distribution, meaning it's finally hit one quarter of all tallied devices. That, for those interested, marks a nearly 9% jump from last month's 16.5% figure.

Ice Cream Sandwich is still strangely climbing, hitting 29.3% up from 28.6% in February.

Mar

Closer Look: Google Keep Actually Shipped With A New (Serif) Font – Introducing Roboto Slab [Download]

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

Google Keep, the app that Goog sprung as (almost) a surprise recently, is interesting. Its functionality is undoubtedly handy, and – if Google chooses to pursue the service in earnest – it could actually be a decent competitor to other note taking apps like Evernote.

Something else has had us interested though, and that's Keep's UI and UX. There are a few weird things going on, but one stuck out: what is that serif font? The font, for those who don't know, appears only in some parts of the app. Notably, it comprises the text of every note. This is only the case for the mobile app, however.

Mar

Samsung Publishes Open Source Kernel Files For Galaxy Note 8.0

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Development, Galaxy Note 8.0, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like Samsung is getting even faster with open source file releases. Today, the Korean manufacturer dropped open source kernel files for the Galaxy Note 8.0, Samsung's first foray into the tablet-that's-also-a-phone market. Both international and North American variants are represented, so those interested can take their pick.