Android OS - 14/164 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Dec

CyanogenMod 10.1 Nightlies Come To The Samsung Vibrant

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Jelly Bean 4.2, News, Vibrant

Own a Samsung Vibrant? Or, probably more correctly, recently pawned off a Samsung Vibrant to a relative and / or child, and want to make them hate it less? Good news! CyanogenMod 10.1 nightlies (based on Android 4.2 AOSP) are officially out for the Vibrant now, and you can get them at the CM website.

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.

It could oftentimes be unstable and not properly tested, lacking any changelogs, but eventually evolving into alphas, betas, release candidates, and finally stable releases.

Dec

Samsung Drops Jelly Bean Source For Verizon Galaxy S III

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Galaxy S III, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Verizon Wireless

While the day after Christmas is rarely an exciting one in terms of tech news - aside from the length / level of disgruntledness of return lines around the US - we do have a tidbit for developers this morning. The Verizon Galaxy S III, recently updated to Android 4.1, now has matching source code. Samsung released the Jelly Bean-based source this morning (software version LK3), and you can get it at the source link (pun very much intended on this boring day) below.

Samsung Open Source (VZW GSIII)

Dec

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Update For HTC One S Rolling Out Throughout Europe

Posted by David Ruddock in Device Updates, Jelly Bean 4.1, One S (Ville)

We're hearing from tipsters, as well as over on XDA, that HTC has begun the wide rollout of Android 4.1 for a large number of HTC One S devices, all of which seem to be WWE handsets ("WorldWide English"), which are sold by and large in European markets. The software version is 3.16.401.8, and the full update file can be found here, direct from HTC. The size of the update is a staggering 612MB.

According to XDA, the following CIDs are part of the rollout:

HTC__001
HTC__E11
HTC__203
HTC__102
HTC__405
HTC__Y13
HTC__A07
HTC__304
HTC__M27
HTC__032
HTC__016

There are possibly more, so if your CID isn't in the list but you've received the update, let us know in the comments.

Dec

Google Offers Some Android-Centric Holiday Cheer With 'Happy Holidays' Video, Digital Cards

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Google, Videos

If you aren't quite feeling the holiday spirit yet, Google has decided to lend a hand with a few holiday-oriented offerings focused on our favorite green robot.

The official Nexus page on Google+ shared a few "Happy Holiday Cards" this evening, depicting Bugdroid hanging out with some arctic pals sitting by a fire, having a party, ice skating, and – of course – playing with Android-powered phones and tablets. To download the full-resolution cards or share with friends, just click through to the original post, linked below.

Google also published a video titled "Happy Holidays from Android" which shows how a few tablets can brighten even the loneliest robot's holiday.

Dec

Padfone 2 Jelly Bean Update Rolling Out For WWE / HK Variants, Full ROMs And Changelog Available

Posted by David Ruddock in Device Updates, Jelly Bean 4.1, News

While I can't say I know anyone that has a Padfone 2, if you do, and you have a WWE or Hong Kong version of the device, you can get the official update to Android 4.1 right now. You can grab the full firmware files (V10.4.5.36) here. The changelog, below.

Changelog
1. Upgraded to Android OS 4.1.1
2. Improved USB Internet Sharing to avoid disconnection
3. Improved the device’s audio quality
4. Enhanced camera's focus and photo-quality features
5. Optimal GPS function
6. ASUS Studio image editing feature
7. PinPal, BuddyBuzz, and Floating Widget applications
8. Optimal streaming quality for playback smoothness
9.

Dec

US Cellular's Samsung Galaxy SIII To Receive Update To 4.1 Jelly Bean Starting Friday, December 21 [Updated]

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy S III, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, US Cellular

Update: Right on time, it looks like US Cellular's 4.1.1 update for the Galaxy SIII is available to users, and their software page has been updated to reflect the SIII's new firmware (which, for those curious, carries base band version R53OUVXALK5).

Samsung Updates also has the SIII's latest firmware available for download here. For instructions on updating your SIII, just hit the US Cellular link at the bottom of this post.

Original Story: If you're a US Cellular customer toting around a Galaxy SIII, you can expect to get your hands on Samsung's TouchWiz-coated Jelly Bean update for the device starting this Friday, December 21.

Dec

Oops – Google Calls Its Own Device An iPhone If You're Swedish

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Android OS, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

The Nexus line is still one of the few places you can find Android 4.2. The software on most Nexuses has zero interference from carriers and OEMs. That's great for Google as it gets to control the entire software experience. The downside is that there is no one else to point the finger at when something goes wrong. And something is pretty hilariously wrong in the startup wizard on the iPhone – I mean, the Nexus.

Anyone with their language set to Swedish gets the confused system dialog when setting up the device. Even if you don't read Swedish, you can probably pick out the word 'iPhone' right there in the pop up.

Dec

Millenial Media: Samsung Ad Impressions Market Share Doubled In Last Year While HTC And Motorola Halved

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Android OS, News

If you needed any clearer indication that Samsung basically owns the Android world while HTC and Motorola are in trouble, maybe this will help. According to Millenial Media, a mobile advertising firm, ad impressions on its platform from Samsung handsets shot up from 23% to 46% in the last year. Meanwhile, HTC plummeted from 32% to 16%, while Moto dropped from 22% to 11%. This is a massive change.

Now, before we go getting bent out of shape over this, let's clarify a couple things. First off, this is coming from ad impressions. What that means is that it has no tangible relationship to units sold or profits made by a company.

Dec

HTC One XL Jelly Bean Rollout Beginning In Asia

Posted by David Ruddock in Jelly Bean 4.1, News, One XL (Evita)

The rollout of Android 4.1 to the One XL has begun in various Asian countries this morning, with confirmations specifically for the CID (carrier ID) associated with Singapore and Taiwan. The full firmware for the update is also available in RUU form over on XDA (direct link). Note that applying the update will only work if you have the correct CID - this won't work on any old One XL.

The update brings Android 4.1.1, Sense 4+, along with power management improvement - the same changelog we've seen for every HTC device being upgraded to Android 4.1. We wouldn't expect a massive worldwide rollout immediately, given HTC's slow staggering of the 4.1 update for the normal One X, but be on the lookout for it in the coming weeks.

Dec

Samsung Acknowledges Exynos Kernel Exploit, Will Fix It "As Quickly As Possible"

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, News, Samsung

Say what you will about Samsung, but their catapulting into the number-one position among Android smartphone vendors hasn't made them feel "above" responding to various product foibles. Speaking to Android Central, a Samsung spokesperson confirmed that the company is aware of a fairly-serious kernel exploit affecting a number of its high-profile devices using the Exynos 4 chipset. This includes handsets like the Galaxy S III and Note II (in most forms), and tablets such as the Note 10.1 or Tab 7.7.

Here's the company's statement, which we have since received an identical copy of, as well:

Samsung is aware of the potential security issue related to the Exynos processor and plans to provide a software update to address it as quickly as possible.