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TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for May 13 – May 19, 2013

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by Robert Nazarian on
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TalkAndroid_Weekly_Recap

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. Google I/O was this week, so it’s no surprise that it dominated the headlines. Google officially unveiled their new unified messaging service called Hangouts and their new gaming service called Play Games Services. They also unveiled their new streaming music serviced called Play Music All Access. The only hardware announcement was the Galaxy S 4 Google Edition. All in all, it was an exciting event that featured a lot of new stuff for development, which is what Google I/O is all about. Even though I/O was the focal point for the week, there was still a lot of other news, so it’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Guides

Best Android music playing applications [May 2013]

Reviews

Quiz of Seers [Brain & Puzzle]

WeVideo – Video Editor [Media]

Google I/O

Re-experience all three exciting hours of the Google I/O 2013 keynote right here

Google I/O 2013 Keynote: Android activations account for nearly 1/7th of the world’s population with 900 million total activations

Google I/O 2013 Keynote: Play Store will bring more personalized recommendation, apps that will be “Designed for Tablets” and new All Access music subscription service

Google announces unlocked Samsung Galaxy S 4 with stock Android coming June 26 for $649

Google Play Developer Console gets a major injection of new features

Google announces Google Play for Education at Google I/O 2013

New Google Maps makes the Map the UI just a little better and easier for all

Google Search gets expanded functionality for users, brings new cards and improved Voice Search abilities

Google Hangouts officially announced at Google I/O, now live in the Google Play Store

Google Hangouts requires permissions to receive, read, and send SMS messages, could support be added soon?

Google Hangouts “easter eggs” revealed, include ponies and dinosaurs

Gmail and Google Wallet can now help you get money to people in your life

Google TV gets bumped to Android 4.2.2 and the latest version of Chrome

Hands on with the Map Diving simulator

Hands on with NVIDIA Shield

Quick look at the Google Street View Trekker

Hands on with WeVideo’s video editing solution for Chromebooks

» Read the rest

Sony Xperia Tablet Z receives AOSP support

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by Aditya Thawardas on
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Sony opened AOSP software code for the  Sony Xperia Z last month, and now the Xperia Tablet Z has been added to the program as well. This will be the first tablet to receive the AOSP port from Sony. The source code will be available through GitHub, usable after the bootloader on the tablet is unlocked. Keep in mind, this software is not intended for everyday use and several apps and services will not be functional.

You can see a Jelly Bean walkthrough of AOSP on the Tablet Z in action below.

YouTube Preview Image

Source: Sony Blog

Modaco Toolkit enables easy multi-user access for rooted 4.2 phones

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by Jared Peters on
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android-4.2-jelly-bean

One of the coolest new features in Android 4.2 was multi-user supports. The feature is only available for tablets, although a bit of modding will enable it for phones as well. The new easiest way to get multiple user accounts enabled is the Modaco Toolkit, at least on rooted phones running Android 4.2.

First, you’ll need to download and install the Xposed Framework, which is a fairly new tool for Android developers to add tweaks to system framework. The Modaco Toolkit is a module for the Xposed Framework. Installing the Toolkit will enable all of the multi-user options after a reboot. This mod definitely works on AOSP 4.2 ROMs,but no word on if it’ll work on skinned versions of Android. Hit the links below to test it out on your rooted device, after making a backup, of course.

source: XDA

Toolkit

How-to

[Rumor] Galaxy S 4 “Google Edition” to be debuted tomorrow at I/O 2013

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by Jack Holt on
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Samsung_Galaxy_S_4_Front_Top_Samsung_Logo_Version_2_TA

If the Nexus program is any indication, there is a group of people out there that prefer vanilla (stock, AOSP, whatever you feel like calling the pure Google Experience) Android over those skinned versions that manufacturers bloat their devices with. Some have even gone on to wish and hope that there was an ability to turn these user interfaces off and just run pure Google software. Well if current rumors ring true, we’ll see that very thing tomorrow.

The newest rumor is that Google will be showing off a Galaxy S 4 with vanilla Android. You’ve read that right. The newest flagship from Samsung could very well run a pure version of Google’s OS. It’s rumored to be released on T-Mobile’s network in June with no love for any other carrier at the moment. Either way it brings up the question of whether or not this will be a Google Play Store exclusive or be sold in stores.

I love rumors as much as the next person and sincerely hope that this one becomes a reality. This wouldn’t be the first time that Google and Samsung have debuted a product variant running pure Android. Remember the special edition Galaxy Tab 10.1 given out to folks at I/O? Although it would be the first time that such a product would make its way to the general public. We’ll know soon enough.

source: Geek

TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for April 22 – April 28, 2013

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by Robert Nazarian on
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TalkAndroid_Weekly_Recap

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. We finally published our review of the HTC One and the Galaxy S 4 review is coming very soon. Meanwhile we published a slew of GS4 guides to help you with all those new features that Samsung introduced with their latest and greatest phone. We had tons of Google Glass news, and it appears Google might not introduce Key Lime Pie at Google I/O afterwall. Finally, we posted a couple of app reviews. It’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Contests

Contest: Win 1 of 10 tickets to Lookout’s Annual Kickoff party at Google I/O

Guides

How to set up and use HTC TV and the IR blaster on the HTC One

Samsung Galaxy S 4 initial setup and changes to TouchWiz

How to set up and use Air View and Air Gestures on the Samsung Galaxy S 4

How to set up and use Smart Pause and Smart Scroll on the Samsung Galaxy S 4

For the beginner: How to set the Galaxy S 4 to Easy Mode

Samsung Galaxy 4 camera overview and how to use the Dual Camera function

How to take a Drama Shot and Erase unwanted objects with the Samsung Galaxy S 4 camera

How to make Animated GIFs and add sound to pictures on the Galaxy S 4

How to set up and use WatchON along with the IR blaster on the Samsung Galaxy S 4

How to create and share a Story Album on the Galaxy S 4

Reviews

HTC One review: The best phone on the planet, but is it good enough?

Blood Runner [Arcade & Action]

» Read the rest

TalkAndroid Daily Dose for April 23, 2013

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by Robert Nazarian on
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TalkAndroid_Daily_Dose

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Google

Rumor: Key Lime Pie won’t be ready for Google I/O?

Phones

Next gen HTC Butterfly spotted in OTA information?

Use a custom kernel to turn your HTC One’s logo into a functional extra button

LG Share the Genius event scheduled for May 1st to introduce LG Optimus G Pro

Verizon announces the Pantech Perception smartphone, brings touchless controls for a modest price

» Read the rest

Sony Xperia Z released to AOSP

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by Jeff Causey on
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Sony announced today that they have opened the software code for their Sony Xperia Z smartphone to the Android Open Source Project. The software has been uploaded to Sony’s GitHub. Between that and information available at Sony’s Developer World site, external developers should have everything they need to get started. The project will be overseen by the same people who were over the Sony Xperia S AOSP. Sony points out that the software is not intended for everyday use and several apps and services one might expect on a standard smartphone are not present. Hit the break for a short video about the project and some shots of what is included in the code. » Read the rest

Latest Android Distribution Reveals Gingerbread Down 4.4% and Jelly Bean Up 8.5%

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by Jason Bracey on
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Android_Distribution_Percentages

The number of Android devices running Jelly Bean is on the rise. Last month we reported Gingerbread down by 1.4%, and Jelly Bean up by 3.2%. Just one month later we are happy to report a significant increase in devices running Jelly Bean of 8.5%, and decrease in devices running Gingerbread of 4.4%. Here are the latest stats:

  • 1.6 Donut – 0.1%
  • 2.1 Eclair – 1.7%
  • 2.2 Froyo – 4.0%
  • 2.3 Gingerbread – 39.8%
  • 3.2 Honeycomb – 0.2%
  • 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich – 29.3%
  • 4.1 and 4.2 Jelly Bean – 25.0%

This decrease in devices running Gingerbread is a great sign.  With devices like the HTC One X, X+, XL, X+ USA, Droid DNA, Butterfly, Incredible 4G LTE, and EVO 4G LTE all receiving the Jelly Bean update, and the latest slew of devices being released with it straight out of the box, we should see another significant jump in devices running it by this time next month.

Source: Android Developers

Samsung’s New S Voice Available To Download

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by Mike Stenger on
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S Voice

Samsung’s S Voice feature received an upgrade for the Galaxy S 4 and thanks to a special someone, the new S Voice APK is now available for Android users to download. According to SamMobile, the APK works perfectly on devices running Samsung firmware as one would expect. However, if you’re running an AOSP-based ROM, you may run into some issues. Similar to Google Now, with S Voice you can update social networks, set alarms, create events, open apps, search the web, make a phone call or send a text message, and much more. Galaxy S 4 wallpapers were also released today in crystal clear 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Download Link

Source: SamMobile

Latest Android Distribution Reveals Gingerbread Down 1.4% and Jelly Bean Up 3.2%

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by Mike Stenger on
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Android_Distribution_Numbers_030513

Use of Android is constantly evolving and the latest distribution data shows Gingerbread on devices is down while use of Jelly Bean is up 3.2 percent. This news comes just one month after our last reported findings. To Android enthusiasts’ dismay however, Gingerbread is still on the majority of devices at 44.2 percent. Here are the latest stats:

  • 2.3 Gingerbread – 44.2 percent
  • 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich – 28.6 percent
  • 4.1 and 4.2 Jelly Bean – 16.5 percent
  • 2.2 Froyo – 7.6 percent
  • 2.1 Eclair – 1.9 percent
  • 3.1 and 3.2 Honeycomb – 1.2 percent
  • 1.6 Donut – 0.2 percent » Read the rest
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