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If you head over to the Play Store right now, you'll see that the 8GB edition of the Nexus 7 is currently out of stock ("Coming Soon"). While this isn't really news in and of itself, it's been that way the past 12 hours or so, and we already have a strong suspicion that the 8GB N7 won't be with us much longer.
When it came out early last month, Beach Buggy Blitz was one of an increasing number of Tegra-exclusive titles to hit the Play Store, which understandably upset some people. Namely, those people without Tegra devices (what a great excuse to buy a Nexus 7, though).
In perhaps its soon to be most-publicized decision in decades, FOSS Patents is reporting that the USPTO has issued an initial finding of invalidity on every claim in Apple's patent for "rubber-band scrolling," that is, the scroll bounceback patent which anyone with half a brain knows is about as patent-worthy as any purely aesthetic user interface element is.
While we're just hearing that an entirely new version of Google Wallet is on the way (what exactly is new about it is what we don't know), Google announced via Twitter that MetroPCS is the latest Wallet carrier partner. The Galaxy S III is the only Wallet-compatible device on Metro for the moment, but you can probably expect most future Metro phones to carry Wallet support, as well.
If you head over to this URL right now, you'll land on a signup page to get an invitation for a new version of Google Wallet. Yep, Wallet is doing something big. And we're not sure what, but we fully expect it to be announced very soon (like, today). The landing page suggests the new Wallet will support multiple mobile platforms - including iOS - not just Android. Take a look:
Camera ZOOM FX Receives Major Update To v4.0 - Brand-New UI, Tons Of New Features
Camera ZOOM FX Receives Major Update To v4.0
If you're not a fan of your phone's stock camera app for its lack of vintage polaroid filters, you probably have come across Camera ZOOM FX at some point or another. It's pretty popular, but since the introduction of Android 4.0, its UI has looked a little dated. Today, that changed - along with over 20 new features, ZOOM FX is sporting a brand-new look. Check it out.
Isis launched its mobile payments platform in Salt Lake City, UT and Austin, TX today, in a limited, initial rollout that's probably best viewed as a tech test more than an NFC payments panacea. We've know for quite some time that these would be Isis' launch markets (after numerous delays), and we also had a basic idea of how the system would work: NFC. What wasn't so widely-known is the fact that Isis uses the SIM secure element method to store payment credentials.
Welcome to the Android Police Week In Review - your source for the biggest Android stories of the week. Don't forget, you can catch a lot of these stories (and more) on our weekly podcast.
[The Android Police Podcast] Episode 32: My Calendar's Better Than Yours
The Android Police Podcast: Episode 32
Welcome to the Android Police Podcast, Episode 32. Don't forget - the Android Police Podcast's live broadcast is every Thursday at 5PM PST (www.androidpolice.com/podcast). The video version of the podcast below is an uncut, unedited edition - and will likely include various verbal expletives, technical snafus, and probably a good 5-10 minutes of pre-podcast banter.
Motorola has just updated its device update timeline, and a whole bunch of phones have had their Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) updates confirmed. Let's just cut to the chase, here are the device getting Jelly Bean upgrades (US Only), with timing where applicable:
We just posted some internal photos from Staples showing that the 32GB Nexus 7 is, indeed, making its way into retail stockrooms. And that's exciting. What we didn't show you, though, was one more photo from our intrepid office supply tipster, which contains some rather juicy information regarding the fate of the 8GB version of the Nexus 7. Take a look.
We already know the 32GB Nexus 7 exists. Some guy actually got one by mistake - in Japan. We've seen it at online stores in the US, online stores in Europe, and even Canada. It is bar-none Google's worst-kept secret ever.
About two weeks ago, we published some clues from our own server logs indicating that there were two as-yet unidentified Nexus devices cruising the web. One, the Occam, is believed to be a phone. That device remains unidentified (it is not, as some speculated, the Nexus 4, which is called "Mako"). Our guess is still that it's a Motorola RAZR Nexus device, but who knows if or when we'll actually see it.
In an age where everyone wants wireless everything, we're slowly seeing more traditional products integrate Bluetooth and Wi-Fi into their feature repertoire, particularly since the start of the smartphone revolution. Today, we're talking about speakers. Specifically, some pretty crazy looking ones called the Spinnakers, made by a company called Edifier.I reviewed Edifier's Prisma 2.1 BT speaker system in August, and was thoroughly impressed with what $130 got you in terms of raw sound. The Spinnakers, though, are a tad pricier. And, by a tad, I mean a little less than three times as much, at $350 ($330 on Amazon). But on first use, it's pretty obvious where your money is going - toward even better sound.The Spinnakers do everything they say on the box, and present a rather compelling argument that a Bluetooth-enabled speaker system need not be saddled with an inflated price, useless gimmicks, or stripped of normally expected features.
Google has just confirmed on the official Play Store Twitter account that carrier billing for Verizon customers will be making its way to handsets in the coming weeks.
Two Ice Cream Sandwich OTA announcements from Verizon in one day? Pinch me. Both the Motorola DROID Bionic (6.7.246) and LG Lucid (ZV7) are set to receive Android 4.0 updates, with the latter's set to go out tomorrow. The timing for the Bionic's bump to ICS hasn't been provided, but considering the Verizon support site documents are up, it should be any day now.
Update 2: The Android Developers blog has just posted on this, nearly a month later, officially (and finally) announcing the addition of India to the list of supported merchant countries, meaning Indian developers can now sell their apps and games on the Play Store. See the original story for more information.
This morning, AT&T VP Brad Burns released a statement regarding the upcoming Softbank purchase of Sprint, and it carefully treads the line between "passive aggressive displeasure" and "seriously FCC, if this goes through, we're buying like a million carriers":
Swype Beta 1.3 Live, Packs A Whole Bunch Of New Features
Swype Beta 1.3 Live and adds a bunch of new features
Swype's beta client received a major update this morning, and the popular 3rd party keyboard is now at version 1.3, and this major release brings a host of new features like dictionary sync and backup, themes, "hotwords," even more languages, and a new version of the tablet layout.
An invite for an Android event held by Google just hit our inbox - on October 29th, in New York, we'll be seeing the latest and greatest from Google in regard to its mobile operating system.