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The community behind LineageOS, the successor to the ill-fated CyanogenMod ROM, continues to impress. New devices are constantly being added to the build roster, and we're even seeing new software features crop up, like custom Quick Settings tiles. Now the project has started supporting nine additional devices.
Okay, so there's a small chance the Galaxy Note 7 might explode. That's a bummer, but older note phones probably won't do that. It just so happens a lot of them are on salve via Woot today. These are all refurbished phones, and a few of them might have some cosmetic damage, but they're cheap.
If I said Lollipop didn't have its own share of bugs, I'd be lying. But I'd also be lying if I said that it's not the best version of Android to date, because it really is. And today, Note 3 and Note Edge users on Sprint are getting a taste of what 5.0 is like on their handsets, as the Now Network has finally started pushing it.
What's this? A current-generation AT&T phone and its year-old sibling getting updated on the same day? We have an embarrassment of riches, folks. Just a few hours after the Lollipop over-the-air update for the Galaxy Note 4 started on Ma Bell, the Galaxy Note 3 (from 2013) is getting the same treatment. AT&T's support page says that this is Android 5.0, build number N900AUCUEOC1.
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.
We've been seeing a handful of Samsung flagships get updated to Lollipop here in the United States, where the lion's share of phones are still sold with shackles firmly attached to the carriers. The standard international model of the Note 4 uses Samsung's own Exynos chipset, but there's also a variant with a Snapdragon 805, model number SM-N910F. Users in Germany can access the official Lollipop update on these phones today via Samsung's Kies program, according to SamMobile.
Update, January 11th, 2015: Verizon has issued another update alert for the Galaxy Note 4.4.4. This one also updates the phone to 4.4.4 and includes the same changelog, but for some reason the build number is changed to N900VVRUDNK1. Whether or not there was a problem with the original rollout, we can't say, but it appears to be continuing.
Raise your hand if you like carrier apps added to your phone. Anyone. Go ahead, don't be shy. Well if you don't, here's a great example of why companies like AT&T should leave the software alone. An over-the-air update to 4.4.4 for the carrier-customized version of the Galaxy Note 3 was sent out on November 28th, then unceremoniously pulled. A previous message on the support page explained why:
Today T-Mobile has started to push out minor over-the-air updates to a number of Samsung Galaxy devices. Two of them are identical—the S5 and Note are both receiving Chinese language support. The former goes to version G900TUVU1CNK2, while the latter ends up at N910TUVU1ANK4.
The Galaxy Note 4 is Samsung's new baby, but last year's Note 3 is still a fine phone if you're into that whole phablet thing. You can snag an unlocked AT&T Note 3 with 32GB of storage on eBay today for $419.99. It's popped up for less, but those deals were all for the 16GB version.
It might not be the latest and greatest anymore, but the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is on sale today for the reasonable price of $369.99. That would be a good deal all by itself, but this is also an unlocked device.
Each year, buying the current Galaxy Note device is an expensive undertaking. To own one off-contract, the damage done to your wallet is quite a lot to take in at once. AT&T, for example, wants around $800 to sell you this year's model. The most affordable way around this is to purchase last year's release. It's no less powerful than it was a couple of days ago, and aside from eventually reaching the end of its support period sooner than the newer version, it will satisfy most users just fine.
If you're going to start messing around with ROMs and serious modding, you'll need a custom recovery. There are a few popular ones, but TWRP is the go-to for most devices. Getting official support on your device of choice is cause for celebration, and today Note 3 owners on Verizon get to party.
Owners of the Sprint flavor of the Galaxy Note 3, I have some good news: you're going to be using the latest version of Android for at least a month or two before the L release gets its public debut. Samsung's support site has posted the changelog for the Android 4.4.4 update, which means it should be heading out to end users soon. Not only is this the latest Android build for the Note 3, I think it might be the first build of 4.4.4 for any Samsung phone in the country.
WatchON is a Samsung-exclusive offering that serves as a universal remote and TV guide all bundled up into one place. When the Galaxy S5 launched earlier this year, the Korean conglomerate released an updated version of WatchON for its new flagship device and introduced the app to the Play Store for the first time. Yet despite this Google Play presence, the updated version remained exclusively available to the Galaxy S5, and Samsung's other handsets were left with an older version of the pre-installed software. Now the company is bringing the newer UI to the Galaxy S4 and Note 3 via a separate identical app that it's calling WatchON Plus.
The Oculus Rift has been in development for a few years with development kits available to those who wanted to experience the future of motion sickness, but now the second iteration of the development hardware is out. Naturally, iFixit got one to tear apart. What they found is solid evidence of the collaboration between Oculus and Samsung. The screen in the Oculus Rift DK2 is literally the whole front panel of a Galaxy Note 3.
T-Mobile announced a great many things yesterday, but not all of them were reason for customers everywhere to rejoice. No, some of the goods are reserved for a select segment of users. Starting today, the carrier is issuing an over-the-air update to the Galaxy S5 (G900TUVU1BNF6) that enables support for voice over LTE connections. To coincide with the news, T-Mobile's VoLTE is now available in a total of fifteen markets. With availability in areas such as Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., the carrier has pockets of coverage scattered all throughout the country.
T-Mobile is ready to pull the metaphorical VoLTE lever marked Seattle, giving the city early access to the upgraded infrastructure the carrier hopes to roll out to more parts of the country over the course of the year. This voice over LTE connection will allow consumers to use voice and data at the same time, as voice calls will go out over IP on LTE rather than taking the current switched-circuit path approach.
Carriers are pretty overt about making consumers pay for their devices using long-term contracts or high amounts of cold, hard cash. They're not so open about the subsequent payment in tears - thick, heavy tears dropped waiting for Android updates that feel destined never to come. Well, Verizon Galaxy Note 3 owners, you've officially paid enough. It's time to wipe away those tears, for the Galaxy Note 3 KitKat OTA update is finally rolling out to devices.
In a normal giveaway, we have a one, two, ten...some number of devices to give away, and that's basically the end of it. This giveaway, however, is different. This go, we're working with Poweramp and Negri Electronics to give away one of five handsets: