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Avatar for Casey Carroll

Casey Carroll

Casey has been an Android developer for 3 years. During that time he’s worked on a few personal projects and the Match.com app with the development team in Dallas. Now he writes how-to guides on 9to5Google and continues to work on personal projects.

Twitter says that Periscope for Android is on the way

Avatar for Casey Carroll Apr 3 2015 - 2:04 pm PT
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A week ago, Twitter released its answer to mobile live video broadcasting, Periscope. Mobile live video broadcasting is definitely the latest trend in social networking, and it was initially introduced by Meerkat. But both Periscope and Meerkat chose to release their apps on iOS first (as is sadly a common theme). Now that the public’s interest is growing, though, the need for an Android version is pressing.

Periscope summed it up in their latest blog post, with a couple of answers to common questions, one of them being “When is Android coming?”. Periscope, as expected, answered “Soon! We’re working on it.” This is great news for the many Android users who find it unfair and illogical that both Meerkat and Periscope hit iOS first, considering Android has a much larger hold of the mobile OS market.

Periscope didn’t give a timeline, but Android users can rest assured that Periscope will be available to them sometime in the near future. You can read more about Periscope on their official website. As of now, there’s no word on Meerkat.

PSA: Amazon Prime Instant Video now works on Android tablets

Avatar for Casey Carroll Apr 3 2015 - 10:35 am PT
1 Comment

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Today, thanks to an update to the Amazon Prime Instant Video app, Amazon is finally allowing users to stream video content on Android tablets (via Android Police). Previously, Prime Instant Video only worked with Android phones, and more recently with Fire devices and iOS devices. The functionality of the app hasn’t changed—users still have to launch Prime Instant Videos from their web browser.

Sadly, support for Chromecast is nowhere in sight, and probably won’t be around any time soon considering how long it has taken Amazon to support Android tablets.

Now watch Amazon Instant Video on your Android phones and tablets. Android tablet customers can search and browse for videos on Amazon.com in their web browser and tap Watch Now to have the Prime Instant Video app begin playing the video.

You can download Amazon Instant Video version 2.0.45.1010 for free from the Amazon App Store (and only the Amazon App Store, sadly).

Dropbox updates its Mailbox email app with Material Design

Avatar for Casey Carroll Apr 3 2015 - 9:33 am PT
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Recently, Dropbox updated its Mailbox email app with Material Design, bumping the version number to 2.0.1. Google first introduced Material Design at Google I/O 2014, but it has definitely been a trend that some apps—even those made by companies as large as Dropbox—are still only just now pushing their visual overhauls. The update includes a new FAB (floating action button), rearranges the navigation drawer and action bar to better fit their purposes, and more.
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How to update Android Wear devices manually using OTA downloads

Avatar for Casey Carroll Dec 18 2014 - 9:39 am PT
8 Comments

samsung-gear-live-android-wear.jpg (3446×3001) 2014-12-18 10-56-29

Last week Google released the latest version of Android Wear, 5.0.1 Lollipop. The latest update entails many enhancements and refinements, but most notable is the long awaited official watch face API support and new notification, brightness, and alert settings. If you’re anxious to try out the new features of Android Wear’s latest (whether it be Lollipop or some future release), but haven’t received the OTA update yet, you can try to manually install it with ADB tools.


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How to set up Google Now to listen for ‘OK Google’ hotword from everywhere

Avatar for Casey Carroll Dec 16 2014 - 12:51 pm PT
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Google Search is a powerful tool that you’ll find on almost any Android device. Its ability to start listening to your voice after you say the hotwords “OK Google” makes it convenient to use and fun to show off. Most people assume the hotword detection only works when you’re in the Google Search app or if you’re using the Google Now Launcher, but when using a device that’s on Android 4.3 or higher, you can set up Google Now to listen for the hotwords from any screen–even when the display is off on some devices…


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All of Sony’s Qualcomm-based 2014 Xperia devices now support KitKat AOSP

Avatar for Casey Carroll Dec 16 2014 - 9:58 am PT
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2014-12-16 11_48_50-AOSP available for all Qualcomm-based 2014 Xperia devices - YouTube

In a developer blog post this morning, Sony announced that developers can now build custom versions of Android for all 2014 Xperia devices with a Qualcomm processor. This is made possible through Google’s AOSP (Android Open Source Project), a project dedicated to keeping Android open and giving developers the power to build their own custom ROMs.


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How to make the most of Android Lollipop’s new notification features

Avatar for Casey Carroll Dec 12 2014 - 12:20 pm PT
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Since the first release of Android, users could silence their phone with the volume rocker or in the power menu, accessible by holding down the power button. But with the latest release, Google chose to omit the ability to “silence” your phone. It was a surefire way to make sure a surprise phone call or notification wouldn’t disrupt others around you, but Google believes there’s a better way to handle interruptions, and it involves classifying them. The end result isn’t straightforward, but it’s powerful. Skip trial and error and read on to learn about Lollipop’s new notification scheme and how to get the most from it.


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PSA: Android 5.0 Lollipop SDK includes 20 new code samples

Avatar for Casey Carroll Dec 11 2014 - 10:32 pm PT
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Sample in Editor

Lollipop is Android’s biggest overhaul yet, and that can be a little overwhelming for developers. Fortunately, Google has let us know today that it added 20 new code samples to the SDK sample repository. Having access to code samples allows developers to see best practices for implementing new features that are found in the latest Android SDK.


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AT&T rumored to include its branding on Nexus 6 back

Avatar for Casey Carroll Nov 16 2014 - 3:10 pm PT
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According to a recent rumor, AT&T plans to include its carrier branding on the back of the Nexus 6 (via Android Police). The image, taken from AT&T’s Business Direct page, shows the AT&T branding just below the beginning of “NEXUS” on the non-removable back. It’s not totally unsightly, but most people who buy a Nexus device expect it to include the Nexus branding, the manufacturer’s branding, and nothing else.


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How to install Android Lollipop factory image on Nexus 5, 7 and 10 (and keep your data)

Avatar for Casey Carroll Nov 12 2014 - 4:12 pm PT
9 Comments

Android Lollipop Nexus

Following the announcement that Android Lollipop will soon be distributed to Nexus devices as an over-the-air update, Google has gone ahead and posted factory images for the Nexus 5, 7 and 10 this afternoon. If you’re wondering how to install an Android Lollipop factory image on a Nexus device, it’s as simple as following a few step-by-step instructions.

And while most people just let Google handle restoring their data, you might want to keep things that Google doesn’t back up (like your SMS messages and the like). Fortunately, keeping your data intact while flashing a factory image is fairly easy. Read on for the full guide.


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