Android OS - 41/164 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jul

Multiple User Accounts Are Coming To Android: Miles Of Code Is Already In AOSP, And Some Of It Is Quietly Working On Devices Right Now

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Android OS, APK Teardown, News

Last Updated: October 8th, 2012

Multi-user support is one of the few remaining things a desktop OS can do that Android can't. The "coffee table tablet" use case would greatly benefit from a multi-user setup, as would an enterprise user who wants to keep work and home separate. It's been a top 20 item on the Android bug tracker since the debut of Honeycomb, so there is certainly demand for it.

As we've seen from my previous experiments in sticking my nose where it doesn't belong, Google likes to leave breadcrumbs in shipping products for the astute observer to find, and the multi-user situation is no different.

Jul

Going Indie: The Story Of Independent Android Game Development From Concept To Completion

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Applications, Development, Games, Interviews

Last Updated: July 31st, 2012

One of the great things about Android's ecosystem is the number of indie developers who are able to enter the market successfully, providing a great product and inspiring would-be developers to join in. For many though, Android development in general is a mysterious topic. How an app or game goes from an idea to an entry in the Play Store is unknown, but (thankfully) not unknowable.

Of course, considering how major development studios bring apps to life doesn't require too much thought – major companies like EA, Disney, or Rockstar have no problem hiring designers and developers to crank out and maintain polished apps.

Jul

A Complete Overview Of The Apple v. Samsung Trial: Things Aren't Looking Great For Android's Biggest Manufacturer

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Legal, News, Samsung

Last Updated: July 30th, 2012

With Samsung and Apple's California trial scheduled for Monday, more and more information is being unearthed about the parties' respective claims. Yesterday, though, AllThingsD parsed out a few pieces of evidence from an unedited version of Apple's filing (not publicly available) that look quite bad for Samsung. I'll just quote them as they appear, because they really don't need much context:

In February 2010, Google told Samsung that Samsung’s “P1” and “P3” tablets (Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Tab 10.1) were “too similar” to the iPad and demanded “distinguishable design vis-à-vis the iPad for the P3.”

In 2011, Samsung’s own Product Design Group noted that it is “regrettable” that the Galaxy S “looks similar” to older iPhone models.

Jul

Apple Wants $2.5 Billion From Samsung For Infringed Patents, Offers Half A Cent For Each Samsung Patent

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Legal, News, Samsung

Over at FOSSPatents, Florien Mueller has gotten his hands on a copy of a filing containing Apple's damages claim against Samsung in their much-publicized California lawsuit. The contents indicate that Apple is seeking $2 billion in unjust enrichment damages (the amount Samsung has wrongly profited infringing Apple's design patents), along with $500 million in lost profits. A smaller $25 million royalty for various technical patents like tap to zoom and overscroll bounce is included, but only in regard to a few products.

The design patents are the damages headliners because only design patents offer the option of seeking unjust enrichment as a remedy (there are various and good reasons for this).

Jul

The Nexus 7's Software Buttons: Designed For Gaming

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Design, Jelly Bean 4.1, Nexus 7

"The playground is open."

That's the declaration attached to every piece of Nexus 7 advertising on the internet. The point Google's trying to get across is that the Nexus 7 is, first and foremost, a media device. Reading, watching, listening, and gaming - those are the use cases Google had in mind when they designed the N7.

The result is that the Nexus 7 is not just a new device, it's a new type of device, at least as far as the Android UI is concerned. When Google set out to design a 7 inch tablet from the ground up, they completely blew up the standard Android tablet conventions.

Jul

Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean OTA (JRO03E) Now Available For The Nexus S i9020A [Download]

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju)

After owners of the Nexus S i9023 and i9020T got an official 4.1.1 Jelly Bean OTA last night, the update has become available for the Nexus S' i9020A variant as well.

Just like before, the update can be downloaded straight from Google's servers, though Google has indicated that the OTA should be rolling out to Nexus S phones on "a number of carriers," meaning the wait for an automatic update prompt shouldn't be long.

RT @googlenexus: We've started rolling out Android 4.1, Jelly Bean, to Nexus S phones on a number of carriers with more to come. Enjoy!...

Jul

Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean OTA (JRO03E) Available For The Nexus S i9023/i9020T [Download] [Update: Now i9020A Too]

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Jelly Bean 4.1, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju)

Good news for Nexus S owners – your OTA update to 4.1.1 Jelly Bean is ready and at least one user has reported it rolling out to his i9023 already.

The 114MB update, which brings the Nexus S' build up to JRO03E, is also available to download directly from Google's server for users with either the i9023 or i9020T hardware variants. For those wondering, this update shouldn't wipe data during installation.

assert(file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.build.fingerprint") == "google/soju/crespo:4.0.4/IMM76D/299849:user/release-keys" ||
file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.build.fingerprint") == "google/soju/crespo:4.1.1/JRO03E/403059:user/release-keys");

Those who don't want to wait for an OTA notification to hit their device can download the update from the link below.

Jul

Motorola Xoom, ASUS Transformer, Transformer Prime Get CyanogenMod 10 Test/Preview Builds

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Eee Pad Transformer Prime

With the level of anticipation surrounding Jelly Bean and CyanogenMod 10, pretty much any news of a working build is good news. Today, test/preview builds of CM10 have surfaced for Motorola's Xoom as well as the ASUS Transformer and Transformer Prime (tf101 and 201).

Of course, since these are preview builds, they aren't perfectly stable. It's also worth noting that unofficial builds carry no guarantee of support or update.

That being said, the Transformer builds are surprisingly functional with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, sound, camera, video acceleration, some dock functionality, and most sensors functional. GPS and light sensor functionality isn't quite there yet, but most of the device's critical functionality is present.

Jul

Official CyanogenMod 9 Nightlies Arrive For The Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 And Tab 2 10.1

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, News

With everyone anticipating the introduction of fabled CM10 builds, the CyanogenMod team is still hard at work bringing official CM9 support to even more devices. The latest additions to the list are the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (p3100, 3110, and 3113) and Tab 2 10.1 (p5100, 5110, 5113), each with their own nightlies ready for download and flashing.

It's worth noting, of course, that since these devices are just receiving their first nightlies, you may run into a bug here or there. But that's part of the fun of staying on the cutting edge of CM support, right? To grab your device's nightly build, just hit the appropriate link below.

Jul

A Feature Cut From Jelly Bean? Google Music Was Supposed To Include A Ringtone Editor

Posted by Ron Amadeo in APK Teardown, Jelly Bean 4.1, News

Last Updated: October 8th, 2012

Google recently decided to make my life a lot easier by releasing the changelog for Jelly Bean. Cool!

While, of course, I take issue with its thoroughness, it also wasn't all that accurate when it was first published. It's since been corrected, but the internet never forgets. Check out this Google listing:

Yeah... There isn't actually a ringtone editor in Jelly Bean. Google seems to agree, because, after the initial posting, the mention of the editor was completely removed from the changelog.

So, apparently, the Jelly Bean version of Google Music was supposed to include a ringtone editor, and it was far enough along that it was accidentally included in the changelog.