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Hot on the heels of its release, the Nexus 5's factory image and drivers (including those from Qualcomm) have already been posted. As usual, the Nexus 5's newly uploaded assets are right in line with the rest of the Nexus family, though no other members of the family have gotten a 4.4 update just yet. Those developers or enthusiasts who want something to play with can hit the appropriate link below to grab the image and/or drivers.
If you can't get enough information about Android 4.4 KitKat but you're tired of reading and want something easier - say, a video - you're in luck. Today, new episodes of DevBytes and Android Design In Action were released specifically to give developers and designers alike a brief, informative, easy-to-digest look at what's new.
About a month ago, we found some enticing goodies in Hangouts' 1.2 update. Specifically, we found evidence of activity statuses - rich status messages that would allow you to set a status with accompanying iconography for things like biking, driving, laptop, tablet, and phone. Some of these, (like biking and driving) we predicted, may be set automatically by Hangouts. The teardown also revealed the possibility of moods, using the bouncy yellow fellow found on Google+.
In a move that's sure to please Glass explorers, Google's added a "Glassware" tab to the online MyGlass interface. The Glassware "Boutique" is something many expected to come with the XE10 update, after Google began accepting submissions for review. The update came without a peep about the boutique, but we found plenty of ways new Glassware could hook its claws into your Glass once approved.
Last night, Glass Explorer Cecilia Abadie shared a post asking fellow Google+ users for some advice. Abadie had been given a traffic ticket "for wearing Google Glass while driving" and wondered if the cop was wrong, or if driving with Glass is already illegal in California.
One of the many photography-oriented announcements made during today's Google+ event was Snapseed's new HDR Scape filter, one which promised to produce awesome photos with a dynamic range that's deliciously high.
It looks like last night's press shot of the Nexus 5 from @evleaks wasn't the only morsel of Nexus news we were meant to receive this weekend, after all. Our favorite gadget leaker has provided another treat, this time sharing a press shot of the white (well... black and white) Nexus 5, along with a possible release date - "11/1".
If you've been on pins and needles for another fix of Nexus hype, @evleaks has provided something you may like. In a post to Twitter this evening, @evleaks shared a new press render of the Nexus 5 - one that matches the Telus Nexus 5 leak we covered last week.
Recently, we tore down an unreleased version of Google's Play Store 4.4 update and discovered that Newsstand, an upcoming Play service we first learned about back in March, had made some progress.
On the evening of the 18th, Chinese tech site CtechCN began the circulation of an image representing an all-white variant of the Nexus 5, with the accompanying story that, according to a tipster, the white variant could be launched simultaneously with the black version, and presumably the version we've already seen with a white back and black front.
In stock Android, capturing a screenshot from your device is as easy as pressing the Power button and the Volume Down button simultaneously. Recording video from the device's screen however can be a little trickier.
If you're a Chrome Beta user who was getting bored with their weekend web browsing, we've got a tip for you - Chrome Beta for Android has an experimental "Accessibility Tab Switcher" flag that'll allow you to switch tabs in a compact, pleasing interface, also enabling you to bring back closed tabs with a handy "undo" button. That should take a little pressure out of your tab management experience.
After many many leaks, we've got an official look at the Nexus 5 via the Play Store - the Nexus collection for the US is showing the icon for the Nexus 5 listing, along with the official description copy. Unfortunately though, the phone's actual listing is inaccessible.
Last weekend, I finally got my own Google Glass unit. Since then I've been trying to adapt to using it and all its features, but as always there are a few things no Explorer can do just yet. With the update to XE10, the list of hidden or unimplemented features has changed dramatically. We've rifled through the build and picked out the gems we think are most worthy of discussion, including as yet invisible abilities within GlassVoice (as pointed out by our tipster Zhuowei) including 3D modeling, a stopwatch, panorama capture, and much more. Let's take a look.
Aviate Launcher Goes Beta With Improved Contextual Awareness, Interface Tweaks - We Have 500 Invites
The popular invite-only contextual launcher Aviate upgraded today from Alpha to Beta. It's still invite-only, but it's definitely worth looking at, as one of the most powerful alpha products I've ever used just got even better. (Did I mention we have an invite code good for 500 invites later in the post?)
According to Yelp, "the stars have aligned" for its new release, bringing a much-anticipated feature and a few photo-related tweaks. The anticipated feature I mentioned is, as the title of this post suggests, the ability to publish reviews right from your phone using the "add review" button from any business page.
Rockstar Games has gifted the Play Store with "the official manual app for Grand Theft Auto V." The whopping 181MB app (which debuts at version 0.0.1) has over a hundred pages of literature on the expansive new entry in the infamous franchise, containing information on the game's dynamics, local neighborhoods, activities, game features, and an interactive map to explore when taking a break from the real game (or while exploring in-game if you're a multitasker).
Back at IFA, I got my hands on Sony's QX10 lens camera, one of two such devices the electronics manufacturer announced in Berlin. I wasn't sure what I thought about it then, having only played with it for about a day, but I've spent some quality time with the device since, and I'm ready to lay down my full impression.
Today Google Glass got its awaited update to XE 10 (explorer edition 10), and it looks like the system image is already up for grabs from Google's developer site. For those who missed our earlier post, XE10 brings transit directions, the ability to click links in notifications, and new visual flare by way of profile photos embedded behind messages or comments.
Courtesy of an anonymous tipster, we've got a nice weekend treat for those caught up in Nexus season rumor hysteria. A document, purported to be an internal Service Manual for the LG-D821 and posted to scribd, gives us an in-depth look at the next Nexus phone.