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Feb

Motorola Set To Begin Soak Test For Verizon RAZR And RAZR MAXX Jelly Bean Update

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Jelly Bean 4.1, News, RAZR / RAZR MAXX, Verizon Wireless

Motorola, through its Feedback Network, has indicated that it is readying a "new Jelly Bean software release" for the Droid RAZR and RAZR MAXX on Verizon, asking participants – as usual – to test the waters before the release is made final. We know that the RAZR/MAXX duo are set to get a 4.1 update in "Q1 2013" from Motorola's own update schedule, so the following email (sent to members of Moto's feedback network) is a good sign that things are on track.

Hi,
Thanks for joining the Motorola Feedback Network. We are inviting owners of the Droid RAZR or Droid RAZR Maxx on Verizon to participate in an early preview of a new Jelly Bean software release, and provide feedback. If you are not currently using a Droid RAZR or Droid RAZR Maxx on Verizon, please excuse and ignore this email.

Feb

Droidifi Is A Project That Aims To Supercharge Your Wireless Router With The Power Of Android

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, News

Custom firmware for popular wireless routers is nothing new. There's DD-WRT, Tomato, OpenWRT... and so many others that I'm not going to take the time to name them all. Despite being quite different in nature, though, they all aim to do one thing: make your wireless router better. Kind of like all the different flavors of custom ROMs for Android devices – it's really a matter of preference which one you choose.

But what if you could have Android on your router? We all know how powerful and customizable Android is, as well as how limitless the possibilities really are, so why not?

Feb

Sonoma Wire Works Cracks The Code, Finds A Fix For The Low-Latency Audio-In Issue On Android

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, News

When it comes to music creation, modification, digital instruments effects, and the like, iOS has always been overwhelmingly ahead of Android. There's one simple reason for this – it's not because of hardware limitation. It's not because developers and effects manufacturers don't want to to support Android. It's because of the audio-in latency – it's simply too high. For those who may not know, audio latency is "a short period of delay (usually measured in milliseconds) between when an audio signal enters and when it emerges from a system." In this case, it's the amount of time it takes to get the signal from an instrument (or similar creation device) through the Android OS.

Feb

Secure USB Password Manager myIDkey Zooms Past $150,000 Kickstarter Goal

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, News

We don't often cover Kickstarter campaigns – after all, the platform is flooded with entries that may not be worth mentioning, or are dead on arrival. Sometimes, though, a gadget comes through that exceeds expectations, and the myIDkey is one of those.

myIDkey is a voice-activated secure USB drive that manages your passwords. Across all devices. Oh, and it has a fingerprint scanner. The project has absolutely demolished its $150,000 funding goal, reaching (at the time of writing) $164,126 with twenty seven days left to go.

The handy USB device looks to give you a "key to all your devices," connecting directly through USB to your PC or via Bluetooth to your mobile device(s).

Feb

Rogers Galaxy S II LTE Receiving Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean Update

Posted by David Ruddock in Device Updates, Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II LTE HD, Jelly Bean 4.1

The Rogers version of the Galaxy S II LTE is finally receiving its update to Android 4.1.2, aka Jelly Bean, and the firmware upgrade is currently available through Kies (Rogers' own site does not yet show the update as available).

You can also download the update from Samsung Updates, software version I727RUXUMA7. Android 4.1 includes new features like Google Now, enhanced rich notifications, and some of Samsung's newer proprietary additions like Smart Stay. Rogers had originally promised the update in January, but yesterday announced that it had pushed the update to a February release.

via Samsung Updates

Feb

Samsung Begins Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean Rollout For Original Galaxy Note (GT-N7000) In Germany

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

According to SamMobile, Samsung has begun the promised rollout of Android 4.1 to the original Galaxy Note, originally teased back in December.

The update brings much of the software functionality of the Note II, including multi-window mode, pop up video, and of course the many changes associated with Android 4.1 at large. The new software build number is JZO54K.

Commenters over at SamMobile are indicating the rollout has begun in Germany, which is quite typical of Samsung's OTA distribution practices. A sort of "test" rollout often begins in a specific region before spreading across the world, and Germany has been one of Samsung's most-favored locales.

Feb

Getting To Know Android 4.2.2 - Many Extremely Tiny Changes, And An Android@Home Sighting!

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Features, Getting To Know Android, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

Android 4.2.2 is out, which means it's time for another edition of Getting To Know Android, the series where I impress/frighten everyone with my borderline-mental-disorder powers of observation. Fair warning: These are going to be very minor changes. If Google moved a pixel, you're going to hear about it.

We already covered the big stuff like the ADB whitelist, the new download notification, Quick Settings toggles, and sounds, so we'll skip those for this article.

As usual for GTKA, the old version, 4.2.1, is on the left, and the new version, 4.2.2, is on the right. This edition promises to be pretty screenshot-heavy, so I hope your internet connection is feeling up to it.

Feb

Google Unveils The Nexus Store Locator, Find Nexus 4 or Nexus 7 Devices Near You

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, News, Nexus 4

Looking for a Nexus device at a brick and mortar location? Then you may be in luck. Google just unveiled the Nexus Store Locator tool, and it's pretty simple: type in your address, find a Nexus device retailer. You can choose from the Nexus 4 or Nexus 7. Right now the only Nexus 4 retailer in the US is T-Mobile, so it's really just a T-Mobile store locator for the moment if you're looking for one of those. But if you want a Nexus 7, it might be a little more useful.

Still, it's probably a pretty good sign that we can expect the Nexus 4 at other retailers in the not-so-distant future.

Feb

Google Posts Factory Android 4.2.2 (JDQ39) Images For Nexus 4, 7, 10, And Galaxy Nexus (Yakju / Takju)

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy Nexus, Jelly Bean 4.2, News, Nexus 10, Nexus 4, Nexus 7

With the Android 4.2.2 update finally rolling out for most Nexus devices (minus Sprint / VZW GNex), Google has posted factory images of each on the Nexus Factory Image page. These images are useful for flashing your Nexus device back to stock, whether to get an OTA update, or fix that brick you just caused.

These images are for the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 (Wi-Fi and 3G), Nexus 10, and Galaxy Nexus (Yakju / Takju variants). If you want to see what's new in Android 4.2.2, check out our post detailing some of the changes. For a deeper dive, take a look at the developer changelog.

Feb

Quick Tip: Long Press Google Search Suggestions To Pop Them Into The Search Bar

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Applications, Tips & Tutorials

Remember that little diagonal arrow that used to appear next to suggestions in the Google Search box as you typed? The arrows could be used to insert suggestions into the search bar, while you kept typing away. For a while now, though, the arrows have been missing from Google Search. Those that want that feature back are in luck, however – astute Redditor Foxsbiscuits notes that a simple long-press will fling search suggestions into the search bar, providing essentially the same functionality with a slightly more discreet UI.