Jelly Bean 4.1 - 14/17 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jul

[Download] "What's This Song?" Sound Search Widget From Jelly Bean (No Root Needed)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Jelly Bean 4.1, News

One of the new features that ships with Jelly Bean is Google's Sound Search widget that helps identify songs after listening to short samples. If you've ever used SoundHound or Shazam, you know exactly what this does. The difference is this widget is pre-installed on Jelly Bean, comes directly from Google, and hooks right into Google Play.

As it turns out, the widget works on ICS as well. I looked into the package and saw that compatibility goes back as far as Honeycomb, so I'm guessing it will install there too (sorry, no Gingerbread or below). I, however, don't have Honeycomb devices left anymore, so I have tested it on the EVO LTE running ICS, and it worked like a charm.

Jul

Having Trouble Rooting The Galaxy Nexus On Jelly Bean? Here's A Method That Works [How-To]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Galaxy Nexus, Jelly Bean 4.1, Samsung, Tips & Tutorials

Last Updated: October 3rd, 2012

After upgrading my Galaxy Nexus (GSM) to Jelly Bean last night (I know, I know, I'm a few days late), I unlocked its bootloader (the usual fastboot oem unlock) and commenced rooting, which I thought would only take a minute or two. However, after almost 2 hours of pushing, flashing, rebooting, and trying no less than 5 different root methods, I still didn't have root. Something must have changed under the hood, and no root method I was trying was working (even PaulOBrien's SuperBoot).

Finally, I managed to find a solution that worked, and the familiar root permission prompt finally popped up.

Jun

Getting To Know Android 4.1, Part 1 - The Basics: Slide Unlock, Software Buttons, And New Icons

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Features, Getting To Know Android, Jelly Bean 4.1, News

Last Updated: August 10th, 2012

The new version of Android is out, it's real, and yours truly has a (mostly) working copy. That can only mean one thing: Getting To Know Android is back!

The title may not rhyme anymore, but it's still home to the most in-depth look at the next version of Android on the internet. That's right, the world's most OCD changelog is here to point out every polished pixel of Android 4.1: Jelly Bean.

The usual GTKA caveats apply: This is beta code (the Jelly Bean preview from I/O, in fact) and subject to change. Plus I've got it running on a phone it isn't even meant to run on, so we won't be too hard on it.

Jun

Google Releases Full Factory OS Image For The Nexus 7 "nakasi" Tablet (Android 4.1, JRN84D)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in ASUS, Development, Google, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Nexus 7

Google just dropped the full OS image for the recently announced at Google I/O Nexus 7 tablet. The image allows you to restore the tablet back to full stock Android 4.1 (build JRN84D) in case something goes wrong. This way, developers can tweak its internals without fearing a brick and users can always go back to something stable if a flash goes awry.

There are no surprises here - the Nexus 7 is a true Nexus device after all. Great job publishing the image promptly, Google!

It's interesting to note that the page name switched from "Factory Images for Nexus Phones" to "Factory Images for Nexus Devices" which made me realize and allow to sink in yet again just what exactly happened in the last 3 days.

Jun

Jelly Bean's Face Unlock Asks You To Blink For The Camera, Locks Out After Several Failed Attempts

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Jelly Bean 4.1, News

Face Unlock, a security feature introduced with Ice Cream Sandwich, while a fun concept, proved vulnerable to trickery. Specifically, the unlock method would recognize photos of your face as if they were your real face. Another issue with Face Unlock was that it ostensibly never locked users out after numerous failed attempts.

Looking to address these issues, Google did a bit of tweaking to Jelly Bean's Face Unlock. Namely, FU now features a "Liveness check" option which, as the name suggests, makes sure you're a real, live person before unlocking your device. It does this by asking the user to blink during facial recognition.

Jun

Adobe Will Not Support Flash On Android 4.1, Unsupported Devices Won't Be Able To Download It From The Play Store After August 15th

Posted by John Thompson in Jelly Bean 4.1, News

In November, Adobe announced that it would be discontinuing its development of Flash for Android, and it looks like that day has finally arrived.

In a post on their blog, the company has explained that devices which have been certified to run Flash will still continue to do so, and updates will be made available just for those devices. Any devices that have not been certified to run Flash will be unable to install or update it from the Play Store from August 15th.

According to the post, any device that has been certified to run Flash by Adobe will have come with the plug-in pre-installed, so if you had to install Flash manually through the Play Store, it means that you are running it on an uncertified device.

Jun

Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) ROMs Released For GSM And Verizon Galaxy Nexuses

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Galaxy Nexus, Jelly Bean 4.1, News

Ah, the joys of owning a Nexus device. In what has to be some sort of record, Jelly Bean ROMs for the GSM and Verizon Galaxy Nexuses have been released and are ready to flash. And thanks to the Nexus being a dev device, getting the builds up and running is actually extremely simple.

For the GSM variant, just download the ROM, do a full wipe, and flash the ROM via Clockwork Mod Recovery. A root fix and updated radio can also be flashed via CWM. If you have the Verizon version, do a full wipe, flash the ROM, and flash SuperSU.

Jun

Google Releases Free Nexus 7 Guidebook On The Play Store

Posted by John Thompson in Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Nexus 7

Have you already pre-ordered your Nexus 7 and just can't wait to know everything there is to know about Google's brand new Jelly Bean tablet?

Luckily for you, Google has just released a free guidebook on the Play Store, which covers everything from how to turn the device on to fine tuning performance and optimizing battery life.

The book is 84 pages long, and packed with information about not only the Nexus 7, but new features that you will come across in Jelly Bean, too.

There are lots of screenshots and little tips throughout each chapter, so you will be able to get a feel for the new version of Android before the Nexus 7 even arrives at your front door.

Jun

One Of Jelly Bean's Best Features - Say Goodbye To Notification Spam By Selectively Disabling Notifications For Individual Apps

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Videos

Airpush and similar notification spammers, your days are numbered. The people have spoken - everyone universally hates these types of ads, and Google actually listened to our numerous complaints.

In Jelly Bean, you can not only figure out exactly which app caused a notification by long-pressing it and selecting App Info - you can actually disable notifications on a per-app basis altogether. That, my friends, is not just a slap in Airpush's face - it's a swift kick in its private parts.

This is exactly how it's done, in case you wanted a demonstration:

Awww, yeah!

Jun

Google I/O Day One Roundup – Jelly Bean, Google Glass, Two New Nexus Devices, And So Much More

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, ASUS, Google, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Nexus 7, Nexus Q (Steelhead), Tablets, Videos

Google's I/O conference, in usual form, kicked off with an explosive start. The day's news saw the revelation of things we've been waiting to see for months. Things we've heard rumor of, wished for, and even (quite accurately) predicted. With all the things we saw, it only seems right to round up all the day's news in one place. Grab a snack, because we've got a lot to talk about.

Jelly Bean

One of the day's I/O show stoppers was undoubtedly the announcement of Android 4.1 aka Jelly Bean. I have to be honest, with a ".1" update, I wasn't expecting too much improvement, but I was certainly wrong in that estimation.