HTC expected to get Android 4.2.2 update in July… but no further updates after that

by Roy Alugbue on
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Is the HTC One X smartphone not going to get a taste of Key Lime Pie? It certainly appears to be the case as a mysterious tweet from an insider indicated that HTC would be providing the Android 4.2.2 update as its final update for the smartphone— not the Android 5.0 update that was expected by the masses.What’s even more baffling is there’s no reasoning for why the update wouldn’t hit the device either. Could it be a potential delay of the Android 5.0 launch by Google? What about memory limitations for Sense + Android 5.0? Perhaps the real likelihood is well, it might be too much work to try and stuff new software into increasingly “outdated technology”. It sucks, but that’s likely the real culprit… if it’s true that is.

Naturally we will need to wait for the official word from HTC before we can jump to any real speculation that is. On the flipside, at least reports are indicating the Android 4.2.2 + Sense 5 update will hit devices from July. A bit of a silver lining for One X owners we suppose.

source: LlabTooFer Twitter | Gotta Be Mobile

Samsung Galaxy Note and Galaxy S II to get Android 4.2.2 update, while the Galaxy S III and Galaxy S 4 will see Android 5.0

by Roy Alugbue on
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We already know that Samsung is committed to bringing the best support possible for its legacy devices, but it appears that Samsung is certainly on its way to becoming the next Google when it comes to software updates of its devices. Let me explain— a “pre-list” has recently surfaced indicating which Samsung devices will be qualified for some major updates on the way in the near-future. According to the list, many 2012 or pre-2012 devices such as the Galaxy S Advance, Galaxy S II and original Galaxy Note smartphones are slated to receive the Android 4.2.2 update. Additionally, a handful of devices such as the Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Note 8.0, Galaxy 10.1, Galaxy S III and Galaxy S 4 are eligible for the not-yet-announced Key Lime Pie update. Moreover— while many of the mid-range devices may not qualify for the Android 5.0 update, Samsung is working on some sort of “value pack” update, which gives the older legacy devices some addtional functionality that other devices won’t have.

If you’re an owner of a Sammy device, it’s pretty exciting to know that Samsung is likely continuing to show some much-needed love to your old toy, isn’t it?

source: SamMobile 

Google’s Nexus 5 rumored to feature a potential camera with Nikon branding

by Roy Alugbue on
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You folks remember that dream Nexus 5 “Megalodon” handset we mentioned to you all a few days ago? Well while it appears that some of the preliminary specs we’d heard about may be a slightly over exaggerated (especially the OLED display and 3 gigs of RAM), some new rumors have surfaced indicating the Nexus 5 will at the least include some attractive internals compared to most other smartphones out there. According to a PhoneArena tipster, the rumored device will have a 5-inch 1080p display, 2 gigs of RAM, and a 3,140mAh battery. And remember how Vic Gundontra predicted Google’s phones will be capable of some pretty sweet photography capabilities? Well it’s possible the Nexus 5 will have a camera module that has a “triple camera sensor thing” with Nikon branding— pretty much indicating that Google is (finally) taking the cameras on its devices seriously. Oh and the upcoming device will feature Key Lime Pie for good measure as well.

No word yet on when we can expect Google to unveil this supposed Nexus 5 smartphone, but it’s safe to say that we can all start to salivate at the thought of a potentially sweet device.

source: PhoneArena

Leaked Qualcomm roadmap suggests Spring release for Key Lime Pie

by Jared Peters on
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Anytime a company releases some big, well-kept secret, you know it’s going to fly to every corner of the internet in roughly 6 seconds. Qualcomm made this mistake earlier today, with their leaked roadmap referring to a Spring release for “Key Lime Pie” several times. Oops. They tried to clean it up pretty quickly by using lawyers to demand the copyrighted materials be pulled from the internet, but the cat’s out of the bag, and there’s no better way to confirm a rumor than by panicking about it. Oops again. Of course, this back up everyone’s suspicion that Google will unveil the latest flavor of Android at Google I/O in May, as well as revealing that mysterious X-Phone. Just a few more months to wait, folks.

source: CNet

Samsung Galaxy S IV Unofficially Rendered, Invites The World To Take A Sneak Peek Into The Future

by Roy Alugbue on
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As the world patiently awaits for the “Next Big Thing” from Samsung, some ambitious folks took some time to give us an idea of what to possibly expect from Samsung’s next superphone. A recent hands-on video has surfaced which is more or less giving us a teaser of what the Galaxy S IV should bring including a thin profile complimented with an incredible 2GHz quad-core processor, full 1080p AMOLED display, 13MP camera and Android 5.0— aka Key Lime Pie. The real kicker isn’t just what’s inside of the device, it’s the potential accessories that may accompany the device. The hands-on video highlights what looks to be a revolutionary keyboard dock: a “projection laser keyboard dock” that beams a keyboard layout to whatever surface it’s sitting on and can be typed on— as if it was a real keyboard in front of you.

Naturally viewers of the video should take extreme caution: the hands-on video is by no means real or what the Galaxy S IV will look like. All it is really is a sort of wish-list of items that would make it more awesome than other phones out there.

I know you’re all itching to see what all this potential hubbub is about, so be sure to hit past the break to check out the video.

» Read the rest

Rumor: Upcoming Nexus Featuring Android 4.2 To Feature New Customization Center, Updated Google Now And Project Roadrunner

by Roy Alugbue on
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As we all await the arrival of the latest Nexus device (or devices if all holds true), we are also eagerly awaiting what Google has up its sleeves in the latest Android OS. Well it looks like the gang at Android and Me may have the inside scoop on not only the latest OS which is expected to be software version 4.2, but details on the direction of its Nexus line of devices. According to an anonymous source, Google is trying to promote its Nexus line among all major manufacturers. The various manufacturers will work directly with Google in regards to the hardware and driver details, though Google will be responsible for the hardware updates directly. Moreover, although these special Google devices are part of the Nexus line, they don’t necessarily need to be called Nexus as part of its name– sort of like of what Google did with the Motorola Xoom WiFi tablet. The thought is that by manufacturers joining the Nexus program, it would allow for the special variations of the devices to have even more access to specially-optimized Google content.

Of course since there will be added content, it’s only natural to have an idea of what exactly the Nexus devices will feature in regards to the newest Android OS, Android 4.2. The biggest features in the new OS are rumored to be identified as the new Customization Center, Project Roadrunner, an updated Google Now and revamped Play Store. The new Customization Center will be useful for all Android users as it essentially allows users to update the base Android OS, without having to wait for OEM manufacturers to update their skins. Here’s how it works: it is basically a way for you to do basic customizations through a range of options through the Play Store. When a new update is available, new items like filters and icons would be available via the Play Store. So when Google upgrades Android and a manufacturer doesn’t provide a compatible version of their custom UI initially, the device reverts simply to the stock UI or wait for the upgrade until the manufacturer catches up.

» Read the rest

Android 5.0 Jelly Bean ROM Leaked For Galaxy Nexus

by Ed Caggiani on
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You gotta hand it to the folks at XDA. They always seem to be three steps ahead of everyone. Today thing bring a huge leak for owners of the Galaxy Nexus… Android 5.0 Jelly Bean! Keep in mind, this is an early experimental build, not for daily use. Here’s a list of what’s working and not working:

Working
-Boots

Not Working
-Network
-Data
-Wifi
-Bluetooth
-Camera
-Basically everything

So if you’re brave enough to flash this very early build, visit the source link below. Please let us know how it works!

source: xda

ASUS Wants To Stay Ahead Of The Curve And Shares It Wants To Be The First To Android 5.0 Jelly Bean

by Roy Alugbue on
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ASUS is certainly on a roll lately. They’ve launched sexy devices such as the game-changing Transformer Prime tablet and have introduced the sexy PadFone for starters, now they want to be among the first to showcase the latest developments in the Android platform. Let me explain: it has been among the first devices— tablet or otherwise— to showcase Android 4.0. As awesome as that is, ASUS believes that’s not good enough, so it’s using its newfound close relationship with Google to make sure it’s the first manufacturer to present Android 5.0— otherwise known as Jelly Bean— to the masses. Don’t take our word for it either. During an interview with TechRadar, Asus Corporate Vice President Benson Lin shared the following:

“Asus is very close to Google, so once they have Android 5.0 I think there will be a high possibility that we will be the first wave to offer the Jelly Bean update.”

This essentially confirms a few things. One is that Ice Cream Sandwich will only see some minor tweaks and updates while in the version 4.x stage. That means Jelly Bean will not be found in 4.1, 4.2, etc.— it’s going to be a completely new Android version. The second is if you think ASUS isn’t a reputable or hot brand as of late, you may want to think again. Its quality devices released in the last 6 months or so and the fact it is among the first manufacturers to provide the latest Android updates puts it in the top tier of manufacturers. Let’s see if ASUS does follow through and continue to provide updates before the rest of its competition.

source: TechRadar
via: Android Community

HTC Notes That All OEM’s Want To Be Google’s Next Partner For A Nexus Device

by Joe Sirianni on
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And the race is on!  The race to become Google’s new Nexus partner that is.  We’ve already heard that LG is in the works to claim the next spot, but now HTC has chimed in as well stating that most, if not all, OEM’s find that position attractive and would love to house Google’s newest device and latest OS.  HTC was the first manufacturer to create a Nexus device, in fact the first 1GHz CPU enabled device to hit the market if you’ll recall, with the Nexus One.  And now it looks like the fight is on to see whos hardware will be the next to run with the Nexi status.  And even though Ice Cream Sandwich has barely made it on to a handful of devices, if even that, Google is in fact determined to release the new OS possibly by fall.  So, as of now, there’s still no official release date for the OS but it’s sure going to be fun watching all of these companies hash it out to be the next Nexus device.  Jeff Gordon, a communications manager with HTC did note however, that when HTC devices do get ICS, such as the HTC Sensation XE, it will be with Sense version 3.6 instead of version 4.0.  In addition, the company is all geared to launch the HTC One X with the updated Sense 4.0 and Nvidia’s highly anticipated Tegra 3 chipset.  The only question remaining now is whether or not HTC will roll out Jelly Bean in timely manner.  And if HTC is looking to claim the spot once more, we hope they’ll understand that the device shouldn’t have Sense on it all, as it should be a Google experience device (cough cough Verizon!)

source: Techradar

 

VP of Engineering For Mobile At Google Hints At A Fall Release For Android 5.0

by Joe Sirianni on
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We know, we know!  After reading that title you’re saying to yourself, “damn man, Ice Cream Sandwich isn’t even rolled out yet to more than a handful of devices!”  We hear ya.  I’m all for upgrades, updates and better OS’s don’t get me wrong.  However, this isn’t helping the fragmentation issue one bit.  Google, if you’re reading this, slow the heck down.  One can only assume that the new OS is most likely a minor one and not as drastic of a change as ICS was from Gingerbread.  That being said, Hiroshi Lockheimer, VP of Engineering for mobile devices at Google made a comment during an interview with Computerworld at MWC that noted the new version could be rolling out to devices by early fall.

“After Android 4 comes 5, and we haven’t announced the timing yet, which we’re still sorting out,” Lockheimer said. “There’s a lot of engineering work behind it still, and there’s also just the question of how to time it.

and

In general, the Android release cadence is one major release a year with some maintenance releases that are substantial still.”

So, makes sense since Android 4.0 was released last Nov.  However, Lockheimer adds:

“Having said that, we’re flexible. The [timing of releases] is not what drives us, but what does is innovation and offering users a great experience.”

So, there’s really no telling when the official announcement and/or roll-out will be.  In addition, there was no solid confirmation that the name of the new OS would indeed be Jelly Bean.  For now, we’ll have to give Android 4.0 some breathing room as it’s still a hit and success among developers and users alike.  Stay tuned as we dig for the soup on all the details regarding the next iteration in the alphabetical sweets release.  And feel free to offer some suggestions of your own as to what will follow suit.   » Read the rest

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