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Jul

[Video] CM9 Finds Itself On The Nexus Q – CyanogenMod: "This Should Serve As An Indication Of Potential"

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, News, Nexus Q (Steelhead)

In a feat that, according to the CyanogenMod team, serves "as an indication of potential," Jason Parker (aka kornyone) has managed to boot CyanogenMod 9 on the Nexus Q.

Starting with fastboot, adb pushing, and running "just about any sideloaded APK" (including XBMC), Parker has been pushing the Q's potential over the past week in an effort that has culminated in getting a CM9 build (based on the Tuna/Maguro repositories and prebuilt kernel) to run on the device. Not only does Parker have CM9 running on the Q, but he says that "overall it's functioning better than many devices I have ported on first boot."

Parker also notes, however, that the build is "very much a work in progress." While Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and "much else" works, sound is not yet functional and SystemUI experiences frequent crashes.

Jul

[Update: Now With yakju] How-To: Download And Update GSM Galaxy Nexus To Android 4.1.1 Manually (Jelly Bean JRO03C)

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

Following yesterday's Jelly Bean AOSP invasion, the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus is now receiving the release build 4.1.1 (JRO03C) of Jelly Bean. That's indeed great news, but since the rollout is usually staggered, not all phones are allowed to receive it the second it's out there. If you're rooted or have an unlocked bootloader, why not just bypass the line and flash the update manually? I just did, and it took only a few minutes.

Prerequisites

Update 7/11/12 4am PT: we now have yakju!

Here's what you need to have for this method to work (I will update the post if we figure out the links to OTAs for more variants):

takju - this is the GSM variant sold directly by Google and given out at I/O 2012.

Jul

[Update: Now 1-2 Weeks] Hey Look: The Galaxy Nexus Is Back On The Play Store, Will Ship In 2-3 Weeks

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy Nexus, Google, News

Just a few days after the Galaxy Nexus was removed from the Play Store following an injunction in Apple's suit against Samsung. However, as of today, the flagship Android phone is available from the Play Store again. While customers can purchase the device, the site says it won't ship for 2-3 weeks. This is in contrast to the immediate availability the device had prior to the injunction.

Update: And now the site says that the Galaxy Nexus will ship in 1-2 weeks. We're unsure what caused the change, but the net effect is still largely the same: you can't get it immediately, but soon.

Jul

The Galaxy Nexus Is No Longer Available For Purchase From Google Play In The US

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy Nexus, Google, News

If you just felt a disturbance in the internet, as if millions of Android users cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced, here's why: the Galaxy Nexus is no longer available via the Google Play Store. This comes after Apple won an injunction against the sale of Google's flagship device last week. As of now, the device is not allowed to be sold in the US which includes, but is obviously not limited to, online sales from Google.

At the moment, the site merely offers users the chance to sign up to be notified when the device will become available.

Jul

Google Launches Indoor Maps For The UK, Can't Avoid Rain Jokes Any Better Than I Can

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

Indoor maps are becoming the hot new thing in the world of not getting lost. Google may be using fancy 3D planes to map everything the sky can see, but sometimes it's just as easy to get lost in a train station as it is in a city. Google's recent indoor maps have made navigating easier, and now UK locations are being added to the supported list.

The maps have been seamlessly integrated into the Google Maps app. Just zoom in to a location and the indoor maps will "magically" appear. You can even search for directions from within the building, across multiple floors.

Jul

Download: Latest Google Play Store v3.7.13

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Apps/Games, Google, News

Last Updated: January 6th, 2013

The latest version of the Play Store is no longer 3.7.11 - say hello to v3.7.13. I haven't found anything different from 3.7.11 just yet - it likely only contains bug fixes. There's no reason to lag behind, however, so if you're running a Play Store with a version lower than 3.7.13, jump right to the download mirrors below. Before you do that, let me point out a few things.

Upon playing with the Store further, I did discover a new feature compared to v3.5.19 that I didn't mention last time - inline app links in search suggestions. Take a look at searching in 3.5.19 (on the left) and 3.7.13 (on the right) - direct app links are now mixed in with suggested spellings.

Jul

Nokia Claims Google's Nexus 7 Infringes WiFi Patent, Miraculously Hasn't Sued Everyone Ever Just Yet

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in ASUS, Google, News

In the tech world, it's almost impossible to launch a high-profile device without someone claiming you've infringed a patent somewhere. Today, it's Nokia's turn with the Nexus 7. The Finnish company has stated that it believes the Nexus 7 violates some of its standards-essential patents relating to WiFi. The announcement seems to be a more casual nod to Google and ASUS to simply fork over a bit of cash, akin to the Rob Schneider prompting Kevin for a tip in Home Alone 2*.

Said Nokia to the Inquirer:

"Nokia has more than 40 licensees, mainly for its standards essential patent portfolio, including most of the mobile device manufacturers.

Jul

The Google Nexus Q Has An Easter Egg Too

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Google, News, Nexus Q (Steelhead)

Google tends to put Easter Eggs into all Android OS releases - remember the one Jelly Bean came with? Turns out the company stuffs these treats into more than just the operating system, as the Nexus Q's Android app has it too.

Beneath the tough outer shell of the Q lives a lonely Magic 8 Ball. To summon this ~~genie~~ bipolar fortuneteller, ~~rub~~ tap it in the right place a few times, and out it comes. The right place happens to be the image of the sphere (first screenshot below) - just tap away, and the Q will eventually exclaim "Have a dilemma?

Jun

The Nexus Q: Massive Misstep Or Misunderstood Science Experiment?

Posted by David Ruddock in Editorials, Nexus Q (Steelhead)

When Google unveiled the Nexus Q at I/O on Wednesday, there were cheers. But not until the designers and creators of the hardware came on stage to explain what it was for a good 5 minutes. Hell, they even put together a fantastic video showing the process of manufacturing the Q (in the good 'ol US of A!). Seriously, if you haven't watched it - watch it. The production values are outstanding.

And Google topped it all off by giving everybody at I/O a Q to... do stuff with. But what?

The Q is fairly limited in its capabilities at the moment.

Jun

[Editorial] Google TV Is Bad, And Google Should Feel Bad

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Editorials, Google TV

Last Updated: July 2nd, 2012

Last night, I finally sold my Logitech Revue.

Why? Google's absolute silence on Google TV (GTV) during I/O keynotes represented, as I saw it, the last straw for the platform (at least in its current state). Of course, Google TV hasn't really seen much action since last fall, but after former Google CEO Eric Schmidt promised big, magical things for this summer, it seemed Mountain View might still have some GTV tricks up its sleeves. As it turns out, those sleeves were empty, and the company now seems to view its attempt to save us from cable boxes as a dead horse.