Android Ice Cream Sandwich finds its way on the Kindle Fire, melts into our hearts (video)

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  • December 27, 2011 at 3:31 am

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Android Ice Cream Sandwich running on the Amazon Kindle Fire

It had to happen. Someone was bound to get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich running on Amazon’s budget conscious 7-inch Kindle Fire tablet. Thanks to the Android developer community a pre-alpha version of Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) can now be seen running on the Fire and if you are feeling extremely adventurous you can go ahead and download the test ROM to start tinkering.

The pre-alpha ROM is based on the public Android Open Source Project (AOSP) release of ICS, and judging from the video, things are going well on the development front. Main issues are with audio and video not always working properly. The video and download link are after the break.
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Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from Google and Android (video)

News

  • December 25, 2011 at 4:24 am

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Google Doodle - Merry Christmas

An interactive Google Doodle is up on the giant’s main search page celebrating Christmas. Clicking each button under a letter in the Google logo switches it with a symbol and when you’ve gone through all the buttons you’ll be greeted with a familiar tune and a typical gaudy light show. We’ve able to access the Doodle over at the UK search page google.co.uk, but we’re pretty sure it will go up in the US very soon too.

The Android team has also been pretty active and with the help of some free Galaxy Nexus’s being distributed to employees and tons of snow being sprayed at Google’s Mountain View, California headquarters, they really got into the holiday spirit and have created the video below. As you would expect, there is a lot of Ice Cream Sandwich plastered all over.
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How to: transfer files between the Galaxy Nexus and Mac OS X

Guides

  • December 15, 2011 at 3:51 am

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Galaxy Nexus connected to a MacBook Air via USB

Connecting the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to your MacBook Pro, Air, iMac or any other Mac OS X computer isn’t as straightforward as other Android devices. Other Android devices offer access through a protocol named USB mass storage, which means your device is treated like a USB flash drive. The Galaxy Nexus uses the Media Transfer Protocol (MTP in short) in order to allow you to transfer media and other files between your computer. Windows PCs have built-in support for MTP but Mac OS computers don’t. If you want a more detailed account of MTP, USB mass storage and the Nexus, hit our article here.

To transfer files between the Galaxy Nexus and a Mac OS X system you must first download and a install the small official Android application named ‘Android File Transfer’. First go here and download the application dmg. Once the download has completed, doubleclick on androidfiletransfer.dmg. Now in the installer window click and drag the Android File Transfer icon to the Applications folder on its right (note you may be required to enter you system password at this point). Now the tool is installed on your Mac.
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You can now initiate Hangouts video conferencing sessions directly from Google+ for mobile

News

  • December 14, 2011 at 3:25 pm

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Google+ mobile Hangouts video conferencing on a Galaxy Nexus

You already could do video conferencing through Google+ on smartphones, but the Hangouts session had to be initiated from a desktop computer. Google is launching a new version of Google+ for Android in the next few days, which will allow Hangouts sessions to be completely mobile, that is you can initiate a Hangouts video conference directly from your device. You simply touch the little camera button at the top to start a hangout. An updated version of Google+ for iOS devices is also coming soon.
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Skype for Android updated with photo, video and file sharing; supports more devices for video calling

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  • December 13, 2011 at 4:08 pm

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Skype for Android 2.6 update

Skype for Android has just been updated to version 2.6 with a number of notable changes. First off, you can now send photos, videos and files to your Skype contacts from your Android device. Sharing files works on either Wi-Fi or over your mobile data plan.

The new version promises to be more gentle on your battery, while certain devices will enjoy better video quality, such as those using Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chipset (like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Motorola XOOM). The Skype team is adding to the number of devices officially supported, with the HTC Amaze 4G and the Motorola DROID RAZR. If after the update your device is still not supported for video calling you might want to check out our post here on how to unofficially enable calling on your device.

B&N Nook Color 1.4.1 update brings additional functionality, Netflix and comics

News

  • December 12, 2011 at 12:17 pm

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Nook Color - Curvy back, speaker port and magnetic latch

There is no better way to start your day than to find out that you lovely tablet/e-reader has received a software update, making it, well, more awesome. The Barnes & Noble Nook Color has just received an update to version 1.4.1 which brings a number of enhancements and additional functionality bringing it closer to the recently released Nook Tablet.

First off the new version brings landscape reading with books, something we had noted was lacking when we initially reviewed the Nook Color — you can find our pretty lengthy review here. There is also a new category of books named PagePerfect, which are carefully put together electronic versions keeping with the original colorful print version; the category includes cookbooks, art books and the rest.

Those of you who prefer to sit back and be entertained, the Nook Color is getting Netflix movies and TV shows support. Marvel comic book fans should also be excited as the Nook Color joins the Nook Tablet in receiving Nook Comics. Finally B&N is claiming over 100 minor enhancement which should make the Nook experience better.

You can connect your Nook Color to a Wi-Fi network and wait for the update to be delivered to your device automatically or if your are the impatient type (and we would completely understand if you were), head over here and follow the instructions under ‘Get Version 1.4.1 Today’.
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Panasonic to enter the world smartphone market with an ultra-thin 4.3-inch OLED Android device in 2012

News

  • December 11, 2011 at 5:39 pm

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Panasonic Android 4.3-inch OLED Android prototype back

South Korean and Taiwanese companies have been making it big in the world of smartphones. At the same time Japanese consumer electronic giants only have a presence in their home country. I’ve been meaning to write a post about this for some time, and it would have gone something like this. Japanese companies like Panasonic and Sharp make great devices, absolutely fantastic hardware. A while back I was a devotee of Sharp feature phones, but then they slowly disappeared from non-Asian markets. So what was keeping Japanese phones away from international markets? Software. They had the hardware ironed out but it was impossible to write software for any number of markets.

The takeaway of my imaginary article was that the rapid emergence of Android presented a great opportunity for Japanese giants to finally make a comeback. It doesn’t guarantee them success however. HTC churns out great devices by the dozen, and Samsung is currently the most popular Android manufacturer. Japanese companies have been finding it more difficult to sell their quality wares abroad as people increasingly go for value for money rather than high-end products. For example Panasonic, which makes great TV sets, is taking a beating from Samsung on flat panel sales.
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Facebook for Android brings updated UI, still won’t sync contacts with Galaxy Nexus

News

  • December 11, 2011 at 8:31 am

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Facebook for Android version 1.8

Facebook has updated their Android app, bringing a host of improvements and a new user interface. The new UI brings the Android application in line with what is been offered on iOS and the iPhone. You get an expandable menu on the left, which includes quick-links to your favorites, pages (finally), apps, lists etc. — similar to the functionality offered in the left sidebar on Facebook’s desktop website.

You also get an overlay messages box, so that you can check and respond to messages without having to leave the current page. Facebook is claiming the the new app loads photos and albums faster and so far in testing the app we can confirm that. Nevertheless the entire app continues to feel sluggish and sometimes it takes a number of tries for a page to load.

Some were expecting for the new app to enable contact syncing on the Galaxy Nexus and Android Ice Cream Sandwich (especially since a render of the phone was used in marketing the app as you see above), but as we’ve tested this is not the case — going to ‘Accounts & Sync’ and selecting Facebook does nothing. Google found that Facebook was in violation of their terms of service (TOS) on the way user contact data was handled and had pushed an update on the Nexus S disabling syncing of contacts. The Galaxy Nexus, as Google’s latest lead device, also has this function disabled.
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Connecting the Galaxy Nexus to your computer via MTP and the lack of USB Mass Storage

Guides

  • December 10, 2011 at 5:41 am

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For better or worse, Google has been pushing to abolish microSD card slots from Android devices. Some of the reasoning behind this move revolves around making making the experience easier for beginners, i.e. not having to worry where apps will be installed, applications breaking when you remove the SD card or having to download and use a file manager. Of course this goes against rightly disgruntled advanced users who’ve been used to the convenience of expandable external storage.

The Galaxy Nexus (read our full review here) is Google’s brainchild, proudly becoming the first Android device to run version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and as such, it does not have a microSD card slot. Moving the external storage discussion aside, there is one specific functionality that’s become collateral damage. That is USB mass storage. To clarify here, Ice Cream Sandwich has support for USB mass storage but the Galaxy Nexus doesn’t.

USB mass storage is the protocol that allows your computer to view any USB device as a normal storage drive, i.e. gives it a drive letter and you can open it with Windows Explorer or Finder on Mac OS and transfer files and folders as you would with any other drive. If you’ve ever connected a USD thumb drive to a computer and browsed its contents, then it was using USB mass storage. USB mass storage allows block level access, i.e. ‘complete access’ to a storage device. As the Galaxy Nexus has one, unified, built-in storage which hosts both the Android operating system and your personal files it was impractical (if not impossible) to permit block level access on that storage.
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Google Goggles 1.7 for Android brings continuous mode, other tricks up its sleeve

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  • December 7, 2011 at 3:46 pm

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Google Goggles in continuous mode

Google has just updated its Goggle Android app to version 1.7. The biggest change in the updated version is a new continuous mode. Instead of having to aim your device’s camera at a product, artwork, landmark etc. and press the shutter button before getting any results, Google Goggles now continuously scans for recognizable objects and populates a timeline with the results. We’ve tried it and it’s really what has been missing from Goggles so far. Images recognized in continuous mode won’t show in your search history and you won’t be able to add contacts or translate text.

Another new feature is article text recognition. You can just scan a written piece of text and get online results referring to that piece. Finally you now get search suggestions from other users, which will hopefully improve results. As usual, check the ‘My Apps’ section on your device to update, or search for Google Goggle to install.
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Verizon Galaxy Nexus offered a 2100mAh extended battery

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  • December 7, 2011 at 12:57 pm

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Verizon Galaxy Nexus 2,100mAh extended battery and cover

We’ve been reviewing the Galaxy Nexus and we’ve found battery life to be quite decent for an Android device. However, if you want to squeeze every last minute possible out of your new favorite gadget, then Verizon is offering an extended battery for the LTE version of the smartphone. The Verizon-bound 4G LTE Galaxy Nexus comes with a 1,850mAh battery as standard but for $49.99 you can get the 2,100mAh extended battery, which you see above. That’s only a 13.5% increase in capacity but that could mean the difference between getting through a whole day with one charge or not, depending on your usage.

During our tests with the GSM HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus, we could consistently get by for around 15 hours and 30 minutes until battery went below 15%, and that was with the screen on for 2h 30m, not bad at all. A 13.5% increase in capacity could mean around 2 more hours of usage. The GSM Galaxy Nexus only comes with a 1,750mAh battery as standard but the LTE version, because of its radio, presumably consumes more battery.
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Samsung Galaxy Nexus complete review

FeaturedReviews

  • December 5, 2011 at 6:41 pm

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus in hand - on homescreen

There has been a lot of buzz around the release of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and that has mostly centered on the fact that this is the first smartphone to carry the latest (and greatest) iteration of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (‘ICS’). Similar to previous Nexus devices, it acts as Google’s launch device for a major Android version.

What one must understand is that this is a mass adoption device rather than a super high-end smartphone. It lacks the exotic materials found in other high-end phones and features such as Bluetooth 4.0, GLONASS satellite navigation or an advanced camera.

Nevertheless, it’s a well-executed device, albeit a few early teething problems. The Galaxy Nexus features a sharp 4.65-inch Super AMOLED 720p display and a fast dual-core 1.2GHz processor. It’s also a pure Google Android experience smartphone, without any user interface customizations such as HTC’s Sense or Samsung’s TouchWiz, which is important for some.

Most importantly, it’s the only device to officially run Ice Cream Sandwich, for a while, and similar to past Nexus devices, it will be the first smartphone to receive future software updates as they are released by Google — at least until the next Nexus device is launched. Although the Galaxy Nexus might not be bleeding edge with regards to hardware features, it will be cutting edge on software, which, can be argued, is more important.

This review is an in-depth look at the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and centers on the device’s hardware features, real-life performance, as well as what’s new in Android Ice Cream Sandwich. We will further cover Android Ice Cream Sandwich in more detail in a future review. So read on for our opinion on the latest and greatest Android smartphone.
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HTC Flyer now receiving Android Honeycomb update

News

  • December 5, 2011 at 12:54 pm

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HTC Flyer Android tablet drawing

As much as we wanted to love HTC’s 7-inch stylus-friendly Android tablet, we couldn’t get past the fact that it was still running Android Gingerbread, and not a tablet optimized version of the OS. Thankfully for those who have put their faith in the HTC Flyer, the company has just started rolling out an over-the-air update to Android Honeycomb 3.2. The update, which is over 200MB, is initially targeted for the 32GB 3G version of the Flyer. HTC has confirmed that the 16GB Wi-Fi only version will be getting the update soon.

Of-course Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has already been officially launched, nevertheless, Honeycomb is a major step for tablets and we are sure users will love the upgraded functionality. Since Honeycomb operates with on-screen buttons, the tablet’s fixed touch buttons become inoperable once the update is applied, but the stylus continues to function as before.

If you have an HTC Flyer, be sure to connect to a nearby Wi-Fi access point and check for software updates.
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