News - 57/945 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

Screenshots Of The Google Babel Web Interface Look To Be The Real Deal

Posted by Ron Amadeo in News

Tech Radar just came through with some really convincing screenshots of the Google Babel web interface. Check this out:

I believe these are real, and I'll tell you why: They perfectly match the partially obscured screenshots of Babel that Googlers have been accidentally posting to the Chromium bug tracker (props to Craig Tumblison for this awesome list).

The left side of this image (original here) was posted by a Googler to the Chromium bug tracker. It's a never-before-seen chat application running on Chrome OS. On the right is the newly released Babel screenshot - everything lines up perfectly. The hangout button is in the same place, the profile icon has the same design, and the smiley face button is in the bottom left.

Apr

AutomateIt (A Tasker-Like App) Gets Weather-Based Triggers: Make Your Smartphone Alert You When It's Going To Rain

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

We've all been there - you walk out of a restaurant or your workplace, only to discover "oh crap, it's raining." Your first thought? "I wish I had known this an hour ago." Checking the weather religiously may be a part of some people's daily routine, but I can say with confidence that I regularly step outside improperly dressed for the [admittedly narrow] range of climate conditions I sometimes encounter. Especially when it rains.

AutomateIt wants to make those surprise showers a thing of the past, though. The app lands somewhere between Tasker and Motorola's Smart Actions (not super technical, but with tons of options and ways to trigger alerts), and has been around on Android for quite some time.

Apr

Nook Tablet Gets CyanogenMod 10.1 Nightlies

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Nook Tablet

Last Updated: April 9th, 2013

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.

If you're still holding onto your B&N Nook Tablet, you might be excited to know that the aging slate can now run Android 4.2, courtesy of CyanogenMod. The Nook Tablet (codename 'acclaim') got its first taste of CM10.1 nightlies a few days ago, and they've been churning them out on a daily basis since.

Apr

Is Sony Going To Bring Native DualShock 3 Controller Support To Xperia Phones? Sure Looks Like It [Video]

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sony

Last Updated: April 9th, 2013

Native PlayStation DualShock game controller support is a feature Sony fans have been clamoring for on Android for some time now. So long, in fact, that there's a very popular app devoted strictly to making this possible for rooted users. But requiring root access is definitely a major roadblock for some people, and an official solution from Sony has remained elusive - until now.

A video of the soon-to-be-released Xperia SP phone shows off built-in DualShock 3 pairing functionality, and it seems to work great.

The catch is that in order to pair the controller, a USB OTG cable (and USB host support on the phone itself) is required initially.

Apr

Dan Rosenberg Releases Bootloader Unlock Tool For Motorola DROID RAZR HD / MAXX HD, RAZR M, And Atrix HD

Posted by David Ruddock in ATRIX HD, Development, News, RAZR HD / RAZR MAXX HD, RAZR M

If you own a RAZR HD, RAZR MAXX HD, RAZR M, or Atrix HD, and you've been waiting for the day when sweet bootloader-unlocking goodness arrives, wait no more: Dan Rosenberg has come to the rescue yet again.

Dan just published a tool that will allow you to unlock any of the above-mentioned Moto devices, assuming you have root access on your phone. Just have a working superuser app on your device, download the tool, connect to your PC with USB debugging enabled, and run the included script. From there, follow the instructions.

There are a few catches. First, you must be rooted - some 4.1.2 builds for the supported devices do not yet have a working root method.

Apr

Samsung Announces A Mid-Range 4.7", Android 4.1 Phone Called The Galaxy... Sigh... The Galaxy 'Win'

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Samsung

Don't let your eyes deceive you. That is not a Galaxy S III (or IV) you're seeing. No, that is a new phone from Samsung. Yes, it has a name. You know what else it has? A 4.7" 800x480 display powered by a 1.2GHz quad core processor. What's that? You want to know the name? No, you don't. You want to hear about the 5MP camera, or the 8 whole GB of internal storage!

Let me tell you all about how this phone is a decent device for mid-range customers. Not cutting edge, but not too terrible, either. Hmm? You still want me to tell you the name?

Apr

T-Mobile's Galaxy S II Now Getting Jelly Bean, Available Via Kies Only

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Device Updates, Galaxy S II, News, T-Mobile

Last Updated: April 26th, 2013

The Jelly Bean rollout for Galaxy device has been fast and furious as of late, with Samsung making the update available to nearly all of its current and former flagship devices. Today's the day for T-Mobile's version of the Galaxy S II – but the download is only available via Samsung's Kies software.

In order to pull the update, you'll need to be on the latest official firmware from T-Mobile, and must have at least 50% battery. Otherwise, grab the newest version of Kies, plug up, and get to downloading – the 756MB file is going to take some time on slower connections.

Apr

[New Game] The Makers Of Call Of Mini Try Their Hands At Dungeon Crawling With Tiny Legends: Heroes

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Games, News

Dungeon crawlers are getting a surprising revival on mobile platforms, and Triniti Interactive has just thrown their surprisingly blocky hat in the ring. Tiny Legends: Heroes is the second entry in their Legends series. This one is focused on strategically managing multiple characters at once (a la Battleheart, among many others) and keeps the distinctive, quasi-retro art style that's help made their other games so popular.

You're given up to three Heroes to manage on any given stage. Swipe your finger from one hero to an enemy to engage them, or from one friendly to another to heal. Special attacks are performed via handy buttons, and leveling up your fighters will result in more powerful skills.

Apr

With The Help Of The XDA Community, Koush Releases A Universal ADB Driver For Windows That Actually Works on 8

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

The first time I tried using ADB after updating my PCs to Windows was a very unpleasant experience. What worked so well on Windows 7 was apparently borked in Windows 8 thanks to the new driver verification system that disallows unsigned drivers from running without this mode being first disabled, which requires a reboot. Upon subsequent reboots, driver verification is re-enabled, making the entire process tedious and beyond frustrating. I've since resorted to using a portable version of Linux Mint install virtualized within Windows – a less than ideal setup, it is.

Today, however, famed Android dev Koushik Dutta (Koush) has released a universal ADB driver that not only works with all Android devices (that's right – no more proprietary drivers!), but also all versions of Windows – including 8.

Apr

In California, Using Your Maps App Is Just As Illegal As Texting While Driving, Court Says

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Legal, News

Texting and driving is a pretty heinous crime. Bad enough that it's spawned entire ad campaigns devoted to educating the public on the dangers of such acts. Of this, you are no doubt aware. What you may be less aware of is the fact that figuring out where you're going is exactly as dangerous as sending someone a message that says "Doesn't the Peachoid look like a giant..."

California, despite having no known Peachoids, knows this very well and a court has ruled that using a mapping application is just as bad (and illegal) as texting behind the wheel. This isn't the first time California has come down hard against GPS in cars.