Do you wish you had the convenient toggles found on Jelly Bean devices? Instead of waiting for the Jelly Bean update or rooting your device, you can simply install Quick Settings. Quick Settings is an app from mDroidd, a regular contributor on the xda-developers forums, which emulates the toggle settings in Jelly Bean on older devices running Android 2.3 or later.
One of the features from Android 4.2 Jelly Bean that consistently scores interest from consumers is the camera app and specifically, the PhotoSphere function. Although Google has made some pieces of Android 4.2 available as standalone apps that can be installed on 4.1 devices, the camera has not been one of them. This means users that really want the new camera, including PhotoSphere, have to root their device and go through some manual steps to get the camera running on their 4.1 Jelly Bean powered devices. Developer Matthias Bosc has developed an app to make installation of the Android 4.2 camera app much easier and it is now available in the Google Play Store. » Read the rest
The Jelly Bean 4.1.2 footprint just got a little larger over night. Reports from XDA members began coming in last night that the AT&T Sony Xperia TL is seeing the 4.1.2 upgrade. These upgrades do appear to be coming via PC Companion however, rather than OTA. From the posts, users are reporting a more fluid user interface and a more reliable WiFi connection. These features are of course in addition to all the standard Jelly Bean features such as Google Now and Project Butter. Additionally there are a few camera tweaks included in the update, including an HDR feature, however burst mode was not added. Go grab it if manually downloading your updates via PC Companion are your thing. Otherwise let us know when you see that OTA update or if you can access the update from your About Phone software update option.
source: XDA
The Sprint LG Optimus G is getting a nice upgrade to Jelly Bean with numerous reports of the update rolling out to owners. While it’s only been a little over three months since the phone’s release, Jelly Bean has been available on devices as early as July 2012. The LG Optimus G on the other hand, launched on Sprint’s network back in November running Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. There is no official word from Sprint if it’s a large or more gradual roll-out, but you can see if you have the update right now by navigating to your settings and selecting “About Phone” and looking for the software update from there. If you do manage to grab the update, you’ll finally get upgraded to 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. If not, then sit tight as you will probably get the update eventually.
Source: Phandroid
Let’s face it— rugged smartphones are certainly a godsend for those of us that happen to work in some extreme condition, but the devices often times have some pretty outdated technology. Fortunately, Caterpillar is coming to the rescue by introducing the CAT B15 smartphone— a Jelly Bean-powered all-purpose smartphone. The device comes in an aluminum-and-rubber shell, can withstand 5.9-foot drops on to hard concrete, be submersed in 3.3 feet of water for half an hour and oh yeah— can operate in temperatures between -4F to 122F. Outside of the heavy duty shell, the CAT B15 also features your typical run-of-the-mill lower-end specs including a 4-inch WVGA screen, dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9 chip, 512MB of RAM and 5-megapixel camera.
The device is due to arrive in March and will run customers something in the neighborhood of £299/€329 (around $437 USD).
source: Engadget
Virgin Mobile subscribers are sure to be excited at this tidbit of news— the popular prepaid carrier has announced the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE smartphone to its Android lineup. That’s right friends— Virgin Mobile has announced one of its first 4G LTE smartphones for its customers. The Galaxy Victory 4G LTE will arrive with modest features including a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 4-inch display, a 5MP rear-facing camera + 1.3MP front-facer and Jelly Bean 4.1 loaded up. While the specs aren’t anything to sneeze at, the device will arrive both online and at retail stores for a mere $300 in mid-March. Suddenly, the thought of owning a budget-level device on contract-free 4G LTE speeds sounds slightly more appealing, doesn’t it? More details can be found once you hit the break to check out the full presser.
We’ve seen Motorola release some time frames for updates to its device before, but more often than not, they’ve failed to keep those promises. Motorola’s Punit Soni did promise to make some changes to that behavior recently, and I think we’re starting to see some results from that.
Motorola has redone their device update page, which now allows you to sort out your device by country, carrier, and device. Once you’ve found your device, you can easily when it’s slated to receive an update, and when the last update was rolled out. Pretty handy, and significantly better than the huge page of cluttered information that it used to be. You can also sign up for emails to be notified when your device is set to receive an update.
And good news for Droid RAZR and RAZR MAXX owners, the new update page firmly states that both devices are set to receive Jelly Bean in Q1. We’re coming to the end of Q1, so you shouldn’t have to wait too much longer on the update, but we’ll be sure to let you know as soon as it becomes available.
source: Motorola
Remember when we showed you the Optimus F5 and F7 leaks? Well, it didn’t take long for LG to officially confirm the pair of devices. They still have differing button layouts, which is definitely an oddity, but the specs should hopefully make up for that. The F5 on the right packs a 4.3 inch qHD screen, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 5MP camera and 2,150mAh battery. The bigger device, the F7, has an HD screen, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP camera and 2,540mAh battery.
They both come with LTE connectivity out of the box, as well as Android 4.1.2 with LG’s custom overlay. And in case you were wondering about colors, both devices will be offered in white and black. It’s no flagship device, but if you’re planning on picking up a solid, powerful device without breaking the bank, either of these will more than suit your needs. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on pricing and availability. Hit the break for the full press release. » Read the rest
So you’re feeling a little blue because you missed out on the HTC One smartphone announcement yesterday? Well cheer up as the Taiwanese manufacturer has made its entire London announcement available for your viewing pleasure on YouTube. Once there, you’ll be able to see Peter Chou and Co. offering HTC’s perspective of what the device is and what it means to the brand and of course, consumers. Of course you won’t be able to get all up and close with the device in the video feed, but at least you have our own hands-on to give you a better idea of how the sexy smartphone looks up close.
You can check out the full announcement once you hit past the break.
Three, the UK wireless carrier, announced via their Twitter account this morning that they are rolling out the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update to owners of Sony Xperia T devices on their network. Besides all the benefits of Jelly Bean, Sony includes some updates for their own apps like Walkman, Album and Movies. Reports indicate some new homescreen options will now be available for device owners along with improvements to the camera app.
The update does not appear to be available as an over-the-air option. Three’s support site instructs users to connect their phone to their computer and use the Sony PC Companion software on Windows PCs or Bridge for Mac on Apple PCs. This update from Three follows on the heels of the update being pushed out to unlocked devices and those on the O2 network.
source: @ThreeUK
