latest
You might recall that I reviewed Anker's first portable projector back in August. While it was sold under the company's 'Nebula' sub-brand, the Nebula Mars retained Anker's top-notch build quality and premium design. It certainly had a few problems, like the lack of a Google Play Store, but overall it was a good product.A few weeks ago, AAXA Technologies contacted me, asking if I wanted to try out their P2-A portable projector. Like the Nebula Mars, it runs Android (a newer version, at that), but it's even smaller and less than half the price. I agreed, and not long after, the P2-A arrived at my front door.While I can't say I was expecting much at this price point, as $200 is pretty cheap for a projector, the P2-A has too many shortcomings to make it a worthwhile purchase.
One of the main downsides to using a custom launcher was that you couldn't have an easily-accessible Google Now pane. While your feed is just a swipe away on the Google Now and Pixel Launchers, other applications were barred from using it due to API restrictions. That is, until the developer of Nova Launcher found a way around it by creating the 'Nova Google Companion.'
The Galaxy S5 Active doesn't move around more often than a regular S5, but it might hold up better if you're the kind of person that does. Its rugged frame resembles a phone with a built-in Otterbox case. Customers who bought one from AT&T are now receiving an over-the-air update to the latest version of Lollipop.
The Verizon Ellipsis 8 originally seemed to us as an opportunity to put carrier branding on a tablet not gone to waste. The hardware may not be particularly impressive, but thanks to deals and promotions, a decent number of customers have gotten their hands on the tablet without feeling disappointed. Now they're about to make the leap from KitKat to Lollipop.
So the Galaxy S6 is having its moment in the sun, the S5 came out over a year ago, and you're still carrying around an S4 in your pocket. Hey, it makes sense. The S4 remains a competent piece of tech, despite the marketing hype that insists on you having tossed it aside by now.
Do you recall the Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport? Unless you own one, probably not. It's essentially a Galaxy S5 Active with a different name. The former is only available on AT&T. The latter is a Sprint exclusive.
Xperia owners, watch out. Lollipops are raining from the sky and smashing straight into your screens. If you welcome this phenomenon, don't do anything. These lollipops have heat-seeking sensors and will find your devices wherever they lay. If you prefer KitKat, you can swat the intruders away, but you'll never get to experience the future changes in store for your Android device.
Yesterday, HTC's Mo Versi, the Vice President of Product Management, caused a few disgruntled sighs from the company's fans and One M7 owners by announcing that the two-year-old device wouldn't get any more major updates, including Android 5.1. That didn't apply to the Google Play Edition version of the M7, which is still set to get 5.1 in April.
Read update
- This information has been confirmed. Sony Mobile updated its blog posting from yesterday to add all three devices to the list and announce that updates will start with the Nordics and Baltics.
Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, Z2, and Z2 Tablet owners around the world may soon have a reason to smile. According to XperiaBlog, Sony has started to roll out Android 5.0 to these three devices in various regions. This news comes shortly after the Japanese manufacturer started pushing out Lollipop to the Xperia Z3 and Z3 Compact yesterday.
When T-Mobile added a new update tracking progress meter to its website last week, the Galaxy Note 3 was listed as undergoing T-Mobile testing, the second step in a three-step process to deliver Android 5.0. Soon it should be moving up a notch, as a changelog has hit Samsung's site saying that today's the day the carrier starts pushing out the over-the-air update to consumers.
Samsung still makes more phones than anyone, so when Android 5.0 rolls out to its flagship devices, that's when you know the latest version of Google's mobile operating system is really getting in front of people. Users have started to report that T-Mobile is currently pushing out Lollipop to the Galaxy S5.
OnePlus One owners are waiting for the latest version of Android to come to their devices, and the company has decided to stoke their excitement on Google+ with a brief video showing that yes, Lollipop is coming, and soon.
HTC One M8 owners in Europe are getting a lollipop-flavored treat. That's right, Android 5.0 is now hitting devices across the pond. We have multiple layers of confirmation on this one. For starters, HTC senior communications manager Jeff Gordon had this to say earlier today:
I'm not much of a runner, but I've occasionally made use of the Runtastic Running and Fitness app to keep track of my time and distance while jogging around the neighborhood. Given that it's the middle of winter in the US, I won't be firing up the app anytime soon. But the more dedicated among you may be happy to know that the latest update (version 5.4) has made the few visual adjustments needed to better fit in on Lollipop devices.
Sony Replaces Google's Navigation Buttons With Misaligned Alternative In Xperia Lollipop Screenshots
A few images of Lollipop running on an Xperia phone have hit the web, and the most noticeable takeaway is what Sony has done to the navigation buttons.
Our Nexus phones and tablets may have tasted Lollipop now, but we're still waiting for other devices to get to the sweetness of Android 5.0. This update brings the most significant changes we've seen since Ice Cream Sandwich, only much of Google's visual overhaul will disappear behind various manufacturers' custom UIs. That leaves us to wonder just how much of Lollipop folks will get to see on devices such as the HTC One M8.
Here's something most of us probably weren't aware of. Since Unicode 6.0, Emoji flags have each been given a two-letter regional indicator listed in ISO_3166-1. Until now, only ten of these flags actually showed up as images on Android. This remains the case on other platforms, such as iOS, Windows, and Mac OS X. Instead of an image, you see the two characters associated with each country. You can test this out for yourself by going over to Emojipedia and seeing which flags load (the ten standard ones are placed separately at the top).
Less than a week ago, we received word that Motorola had already started its soak test for an over-the-air update bringing Lollipop to the Moto X 2014 Pure Edition. With this news, there's a good chance the phone will get Android 5.0 before Nexus devices (not counting the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9, which ship with the software). Now a tipster has come to us saying that the company has begun a test for this year's Moto G as well.
The Kwikset Kevo Bluetooth-enabled door lock lets owners unlock a door just by tapping a finger against it, as long as their phones are in range. It's a cool piece of tech, something we reported on over a year ago when it first hit the market. Android compatibility was in the works, but a few roadblocks popped up along the way.
Before the release of Android 4.4, stock Android came with a basic SMS app. It served as a simple way to exchange text messages the old-school way, without dealing with data connections or usernames. Then the functionality got merged into Hangouts, and while a new standard Messenger app is returning for 5.0, there are many people with devices that won't see that update for months—if ever.