Music is a big part of a smartphone’s feature set. We’ve already talked about the best available music streaming services, but sometimes music streaming isn’t an option, whether that’s because you’re dealing with a pesky data cap, you’re somewhere without a reliably fast internet connection, or you would just rather keep your music on your device. Whatever the reason, we’re going to go over the top music playing apps for your Android device so hit the break to find out more.
Simply put, Google Hangouts is awesome. It’s seamless, it’s cross-platform, and it works really well. At least, it works well so long as you’re not on AT&T’s mobile network. Unfortunately, if you try to video chat when you’re using AT&T’s network, it won’t work. According to AT&T officially, video chatting will work on their network with any app that isn’t preloaded, but it’s up to manufacturers to make sure their apps work on AT&T’s network. That’s kind of a loophole exception, because Google Talk is a preloaded app but Hangouts has to be downloaded from the Play Store… Overall, not exactly a consumer-friendly move. Regardless, don’t try video chatting over AT&T’s network in the near future. We’ll be sure to keep you updated if they change their stance on the matter.
We’ve been trying to pin down Google’s new Nexus 7 specs that’s bound to come out sometime in the next few years, and according to the reliable DigiTimes, we’ve got some confirmation on release date, as well as screen and processor. The release date is expected sometime in July, and the tablet will use a Snapdragon processor with a 1920 x 1200 resolution screen. Best of all, the price isn’t going up.
DigiTimes says Google is planning on selling 6 to 8 million Nexus 7s in the second part of the year. It’s a very realistic goal based on the success of the original Nexus 7 tablet.
source: DigiTimes
We’ve been hearing plenty of rumors of the elusive white Nexus 4 for the past few months, and now we’ve got some more fuel for the fire. According to the latest round of rumors, Google is going to launch the white Nexus 4 on the Play Store on June 10th. An even cooler detail about this variant of the Nexus 4? It’s going to be running Android 4.3.
Google spent the first day of I/O focusing on Play services instead of an Android update, and they definitely succeeded. Unfortunately, this lends some credibility to the rumors that 4.3 is likely just going to be minor under-the-hood tweaks, like new APIs. Either way, we’ll be sure to let you know next month.
source: Android and Me
Google TV has always been shunned a little more than other Google products, despite running Android. Well, if you were an early adopter of Google TV, there’s good news. According to Google, Google TV is being moved to Android 4.2.2, and Google TV is being reworked to allow OEM partners to quickly update their devices. The time frame will supposedly be cut from “months” down to “weeks.” Google TV will also be moved to the latest version of Chrome, as well as Chrome’s rather speedy six-week release cycle. Good news for owners, as this means your devices won’t be obsoleted quickly.
Google also said in their Google+ post that older devices should begin receiving updates soon, and we can expect to see new devices later this year. Nexus Q 2.0, anyone?
source: Google Plus
Some rumors earlier this week pointed to Japanese carrier Docomo getting a blue variant of Samsung’s Galaxy S4. Samsung released several different colors of its Galaxy S III, so it’s not much of a surprise to see new colors already popping up, especially as carrier exclusives. Today, the blue version of the device, dubbed Arctic Blue, was made official, and Android Beat did an excellent hands on video comparing the black and blue variants of the device. I used to think the black S4 looked a bit blue in the right light, but putting it side by side with an actual blue phone definitely changed my mind.
No word on if the color will make its way to other shores, or if there’s any other colors in the works, but knowing Samsung, we’ll probably see it elsewhere with a few new colors before long. Hit the source below to check out the hands on video. Anyone want an Arctic Blue S4, or would you rather hold out for another color?
source: Android Beat
HP probably didn’t time this product announcement very well, as it’s about to get completely overshadowed by Google I/O, but their new Slatebook 10 x2 is a solid tablet regardless. It sports a 10-inch 1080p screen with detachable keyboard dock, pretty similar to ASUS’s Transformer line, and is one of the first devices to use NVIDIA’s Tegra 4, aside from Project Shield. Aside from that, it’s running almost pure stock Android 4.2.2, so that’s always a plus.
The keyboard dock is the defining feature of the tab, and pretty similarly to the Transformer dock, it adds an extra battery in the dock, two USB ports, and a standard SD card reader in addition to the actual tablet’s microSD slot. Pricing is said to start at $479 in August, but no word on if that includes the dock or not. It shouldn’t be too much longer before we get more details from HP. Hit the break below for the press release. » Read the rest
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
Samsung’s Galaxy Ace line has proven to be a decent mid-range handset, and we’d heard rumors about the Galaxy Ace III being just around the corner. On its latest trip through the rumor mill, The Ace III has received Bluetooth SIG certification and a model number GT-S7272, so it’s likely to be a dual-sim device if Samsung sticks to their naming conventions.
Still no specs from this leak, but last we heard the device was going to sport an 800 x 480 screen powered by a dual-core A9 processor, and will possibly come in four different colors. Anyone excited for this device to become official?
source: Bluetooth.org
Today, BlackBerry launched their newest version of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.1, and it features full support for Android and iOS. We’ve already heard the announcement that BlackBerry Messenger is going to be hitting other platforms this summer, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that BB is extending support to other platforms with other services.
BES 10.1 is being offered as a free upgrade and will allow users to consolidate their work and personal devices into one single device. Security has always been their strong suit, so I’d expect this to be a widely adopted, well made update.