This week one purchase on the Google Play store for hardware has suddenly become all the rage: the HSPA+ version of the Galaxy Nexus, complete with an upgrade to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean in the works. That’s what the device’s description reads, anyway, and with Google I/O less than a week away, we’re fully prepared to call it as well: a whole new update for Android is headed our way just one year after Ice Cream Sandwich was first introduced.
This week there’s a giant upgrade to one of the most aesthetically pleasing applications exclusive to the Android ecosystem: HD Widgets 3.0. This application will have you more than appreciative of the abilities that your Android smartphone or tablet has over the rest of the smartphone operating systems out there with no less than a vast collection of widgets in high definition. This application is developed by a group by the name of Cloud.tv and is out on the market right this second – let’s have a look!
The folks at Google may well be breaking its long-standing streak of working with one single partner for each new Nexus device starting this year. This tip comes from a person familiar with the matter speaking with the Wall Street Journal this week, they also noting that the seven “lead devices” they’ve produced in the past will not be evidence that they’ll continue this strategy in the near future. This new strategy would have Google working with what we can expect would be more than just Samsung, HTC, and Motorola for their next software release code-named “Jellybean” in the latter half of 2012.
This week Google revealed that they’d be selling their own devices once again, so to speak, with a Galaxy Nexus in-store before the Samsung Galaxy S III release. Of course Samsung manufactures both of these devices, and only one will be hitting your pocket for the Summer – so what’s it going to be? Google wont be carrying the Galaxy S III, but it will have Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich – but the Galaxy Nexus has that software in the nude.
Back when the Galaxy Nexus was originally released, there was a nasty bug that caused the volume of the device to fluctuate wildly, subsequently fixed with a firmware update. With the update to Android 4.0.4 brings a much more serious bug to the Galaxy Nexus: signal issues. Users on xda-developers have reported poor signal when updating to the latest version of Android OTA.
Read The Full Story
For those of you with Google Maps on your Android device (every single one of you with an Android device), you're about to get an update to that app, and it's a big one! The actual file size of the app is not what's big, its the features you're going to get now with this update for the most advanced devices on the market. In addition to High Definition support for devices like the Galaxy Nexus, this app also has preferred public transit mode and route options and a new look for Android 4.0+ devices.
Read The Full Story
This week one of the most hotly anticipated games in mobile, Temple Run, has finally hit the Android platform. This game has been a gigantic hit already for the iPhone, the iPod Touch, and the iPad, and the Android world is reacting with heavy downloads across the nation here in the developers first offering of the game for Google-based systems. Straight from Android Community we've got a hands-on look at the game below - see what the fuss is all about!
Read The Full Story
The Smartphones are pouring from the sky like rain here in the first quarter of 2012, and they won't be stopping with brand new model names - in a tip today coming from a source close with Verizon, we're hearing news of a new Galaxy Nexus model as well as a next generation HTC DROID Incredible model as well. These smartphones are set to have improvements over their previous generation models in the following ways: less storage for a cheaper price on contract for the Galaxy Nexus, and 4G LTE for the Incredible 3! This tip comes from leaked documents held exclusively by Droid Life and passed through the Android world to us.
Read The Full Story
If you are an everyday average user of a smartphone that just so happens to use Android instead of iOS or Windows Phone or BlackBerry, you might have heard the word “fragmentation.” This is a word that in this case means there are many different kinds of hardware surrounding the Android software and many different versions of Android out there on these devices today. This can pose a problem for developers making apps that, if at all possible, should work on every different Android-laden device. For you though, the problem with fragmentation is this: it’s a scare tactic.
There's a brand new Special Edition Samsung Galaxy Nexus out there folks, and it comes straight from Japanese mobile carrier Docomo. This limited run of Galaxy Nexus devices is also known as the SC-04D Special Edition and will include a special "Google Original Rear Cover" with a lovely white tree design etched into it as well as a "Pocket Charger 01" which is essentially a rechargeable battery that can charge up your device on the go. This release of the device is limited to 20,000 applicants.
Read The Full Story
Google has presented its first iteration of the web-centric brand name it uses for both a web browser and an operating system, Chrome, here on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This beta version of the app which now appears mostly to be a web browser is able to work with each other iteration of Chrome you’ve got open on all devices. It does this with a simple “Devices” interface which shows tabs each browser has open – the rest of the experience is centered around tabs as well, all with the aim of bringing you a speedy and simple internet browsing experience.
When you switch from an Android phone over to the iPhone or vice versa, there are a few adjustments you’ll have to make. The difference between the two, no matter which versions of the software you’re dealing with, are much smaller than the difference between either and any other software. Windows Phone, Symbian, any number of lesser cell phones are much more difficult to switch to or from when the alternative is switching to Android or iPhone from the other. This article is but one of several in a series written by your humble narrator called “I’m switching to iPhone 4S for a week,” this series having the alternate title “iPhone 4S Up Close and Personal.”
![JH Audio JH16 Pro with Freqphase Custom In-Ear Monitor Review [2013]](http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/P2111170-sg-320x80.jpg)
