Articles about Android

U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile on Wednesday announced that it will bring the Samsung Galaxy Note II to its product lineup, but unlike the previous model this one does not have to make due with underpowered hardware compared to its international sibling.

Just like the international model, the T-Mobile variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note II comes with a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display sporting a 1280 by 720 resolution, and is powered by the same 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor and 3100mAh battery with a quoted talk time of up to 15 hours. It will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz, and it will be available in two color options, Titanium Gray and Marble White.

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I typically don't post about minor Android updates, but Nexus 7 is popular among some BetaNews readers and this release reportedly comes with something many users have pined for: Desktop/launcher in landscape mode.

Jean-Baptiste Queru, technical lead for the Android Open Source Project, explains in a post on the Android Building Google group: "We're releasing Android 4.1.2 to AOSP today, which is a minor update on top of 4.1.1. As a note to maintainers of community builds running on Nexus 7: please update to 4.1.2 at the first opportunity. Future variants of the grouper hardware will have a minor change in one of the components (the power management chip) that will not be compatible with 4.1.1. The build number is JZO54K, and the tag is android-4.1.2_r1".

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Video game accessory company PowerA on Tuesday announced the retail availability of Moga, the company's dual analog game controller for Android 2.3+ handsets. The device will be available for $49.99 through major retailers and national wireless carrier T-Mobile beginning on October 21.

Last year, I said the time was right for an Android-based video game console, but not much has been done to bring my assertion into reality. Moga doesn't bring us any closer to a traditional video game console powered by Android.

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Monday, Google's Android Developer Relations team published the Tablet App Quality Checklist so that developers can "make sure that [their] app meets the basic expectations of tablet users."

This checklist serves as a best practices guide, and includes ten key items for developers to acknowledge in their development process: Core app quality, tablet-optimized layout, full screen utilization, full asset utilization, font and touch target accuracy, homescreen widget correctness, one single version for all devices, no required hardware features, declaring tablet screen support, and following Google Play publishing best practices.

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Samsung Galaxy S III may be T-Mobile USA's all-time best-selling smartphone, but the carrier has other ambitions. The title is easily claimed on the network that doesn't offer iPhone, no thanks to Apple. But T-Mobile does want your iPhone 5, even if the carrier can't sell it to you. Several corporate stores confirmed to BetaNews that before month's end they will carry nano-SIMs for the handset.

That's assuming you can find one at an affordable price. iPhone 5 isn't yet available unlocked, carrier-commitment-free and likely won't be for as long as supply shortages persist. Apple's US online store currently puts delivery times at three to four weeks. iPhone owners, T-Mobile really wants your business. Big promotion: "Bring your own phone to T-Mobile and save $50 a month".

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HTC promised the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the One X since almost three months ago, and alongside the newly introduced One X+ the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer announced the elusive update will hit its "One" family at the end of October. But if waiting is too painful, you can now download leaked Jelly Bean ROM for your HTC One X.

Aside from updating to the latest Android version available, the deveveloper-only leaked ROM also comes with new Sense version 4.5 that according to the press release issued by HTC should be the same version as the one that will ship with the One X+ flagship. The only catch is that the update does not install in a breeze and requires a certain CID number, which might exclude branded versions; on top of it, at the moment, there is no way to downgrade to an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich ROM. Seems rather difficult, doesn't it?

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Samsung announced Galaxy Note II at IFA little more than a month ago, and the handset was among the first smartphones to come with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box. Acknowledging the popularity the previous model has among modders, the South Korean electronics giant has released the open-source code for its latest phablet.

The source code is available to download from the Open Source Release Center and covers the international model, as well as what appears to be three regional devices (codenamed SEA, MEA and SWA). By using the source code, modders can customize the stock Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz to create custom images that include various tweaks, but can just as well take a number of elements to use in custom Android distributions such as CyanogenMod 10.

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Life for a modding enthusiast is never easy, but sometimes manufacturers lend a helping hand. After the Droid Razr HD Developer Edition was introduced three weeks ago, Motorola added the international Razr HD and Razr i to the "Bootloader Unlock" program.

The "Bootloader Unlock" Motorola Razr HD and Razr i are addressed to modding fans that want to avoid any hassles associated with manually trying to unlock the bootloader, making the factory-available solution an easier choice. Just like with previous models, such as the Motorola Razr Developer Edition, they both come with no warranty and the "obligatory" hefty price tag associated with a no-contract smartphone. But that shouldn't stop enthusiasts looking to get their favorite custom Android distributions up and running.

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For the second time in a week -- once being a rarity -- I write about new Android device rumors. There's renewed buzz about five Nexus branded devices coming within the month. Talk of five, instead of the typical one, started in May from Wall Street Journal. Soon after, writing for Talk Android, Robert Nazarian claimed that five new Nexus devices would come on November 5, which is the fifth anniversary of Android's release -- well, in beta. The OS wasn't officially available for public consumption until the T-Mobile G1 launched about 10 months later.

This rumor actually makes sense to me, not that I really believe it. Nazarian cited a single source and hasn't much pursued the topic since. But it's oh-so convenient the idea that five Nexus devices will debut as a fifth-anniversary thing. It's a tempting enough rumor. Do you believe it, or even hope it's true?

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Great news yet again! After Acer updated its flagship Android tablet, the Iconia Tab A700, ASUS released the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the Transformer Prime and its flagship Transformer Pad Infinity Android tablets.

The update bumps up the Android version to 4.1.1, build number JRO03C and comes in at a rather hefty 455-465MB and a more modest 314-324MB for the Transformer Pad Inifinity and Transformer Pad, respectively, depending on the SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) that dictates which update must be downloaded.

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Do you find the standard Android maps app to be lacking? There is a solution -- the popular navigation software TomTom is now available for Android smartphones.

Unlike cloud-connected software solutions, TomTom relies on offline maps to offer guided navigation on Android smartphones and considering the 2.3GB free storage requirement the download is consistent to say the least. The app comes with a number of useful features, such as live traffic information via HD Traffic, lane guidance, spoken street names, eco routes to save that extra bit of gas or electricity, automatic day and night modes, as well as other features. There are maps for United States, Europe, United Kingom as well as other geographical locations.

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Six weeks ago, United Kingdom communications regulator Ofcom granted Everything Everywhere the right to roll out 4G LTE over its existent 1800MHz wireless spectrum. Starting October 30, the new brand along with its 4G LTE services will launch in the UK market.

The carrier will deploy 4G LTE in 10 cities, a number increasing by six before the end of the year, which equates to one-third of the UK population. Everything Everywhere also revealed a longer-term plan to reach 98 percent coverage by 2014.

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In a move appropriate for another two-party presidential election season, there is now little room for three dominant smartphone operating systems. The US market is now decisively consolidated around just two, Apple and Google platforms, as rivals -- including BlackBerry and Windows Phone -- make brisk retreats.

For the three months ended in August, Android and iOS had combined 86.9 percent smartphone subscriber share -- that's up from 82.8 percent at the end of May, according to comScore. August 2011: 71 percent. As combined share approaches 90 percent, a third-party contender looks less likely. Both potential candidates lost share during the three months, all gobbled up by the leaders.

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What is it with Gingerbread? Android 2.3 is yet again the most popular sweet in the family, according to the number of devices accessing Google Play during the 14 days ending October 1, with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich steadily growing.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean reported the highest growth, managing to reach a 1.8 percent Android distribution that is 50 percent higher compared to the previous data released by Google that placed the latest member of the Android family at just 1.2 percent distribution. The continuous growth is impressive, but no where near as significant per the overall scheme of things and not even close to Ice Cream Sandwich.

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Half a year after HTC released the One X, the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer has improved upon its original design and come up with a new flagship Android device -- the One X+.

The One X+ is the first HTC smartphone to be released with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box, and similar to its older sibling, it comes with the Sense+ user interface on top of it. The most noteworthy changes, apart from the operating system, are in the processor and battery departments with the One X+. It features a faster 1.7 GHz nVidia Tegra 3 CPU, and a larger 2,100 mAh battery, even bigger than the one in the HTC EVO 4G LTE.

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