Android

If you have a Nexus 7 you’re waiting to activate on Verizon’s LTE network, there’s good news and bad news …

The good news is Verizon has acknowledged the issue that has been preventing the device registering on its network, and says that a solution is in hand. The bad new is that solution is to wait for KitKat to be installed on the tablet, and there’s as yet no word on when this may be. Google has said only that it will be “in the coming weeks” and that is for the Wifi versions … 
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2zpKBS9pL-o

Google today released a new Opinion Rewards app for Android (via Droid Life). The app allows users to take a survey and receive a small Google Play credit in exchange. Each survey is no longer than 10 questions. Google says that users will be able to take about one survey a week and that they will be notified via a push notification when they are eligible to take another survey. Survey topics will vary, but will all be relatively simple. 

 About once a week you’ll get a notification on your phone that a short and relevant survey is ready for you. Questions will range from, “Which logo is best?” and “Which promotion is most compelling?” to “When do you plan on traveling next?”

It’s unclear how much Google will pay for each survey, but in the video demonstrating the app, both surveys payout just $1.00 and Google notes that not every survey will payout anything. The credit is immediately applied to the Google Wallet account of whoever took the survey and can be used towards any content in the Play Store.

Opinion Rewards is available in the Play Store now. Though, unfortunately, it is only open to those located in the United States.  

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When the clock strikes November 13th, all eyes will be on Motorola and the announcement of their upcoming Moto G. We’ve just learned via Motorola’s Twitter and G+ pages that the device will be launched from Sao Paulo, Brazil. What that might indicate is that it is a mid-range smartphone meant for global emerging markets. Sao Paulo is an unusual venue for a high-profile smartphone launch and we’re hypothesizing that means the specs won’t be blowing anyone away. The tweet from Motorola this morning informed the world of the new launch details and provided a link to a Google+ page where it’s likely more information will be released as the announcement goes down.
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Speaking at Samsung’s analyst day in Seoul, South Korea, the company’s Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun admitted that they need to work on improving their software. “Even though we’re doing the software business, we’re not as good as we are in hardware.” Kwon didn’t specify which aspect of his company’s software he believes needs help, be it the software on the company’s televisions or its TouchWiz software that graces its ridiculously large Android lineup of devices.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3x-bAWZWPM

The video may be slightly cringeworthy (hot girls are always turned on by geek tech, right?), but the concept is certainly an exciting one: a foldable display which allows a pocketable smartphone to unfold or unroll into a tablet … 
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There are few things I look forward to more with a high-profile handset launch than the iFixit tear down. The good folks at the company are tearing the Nexus 5 up as only they can do and showing us all the wonderful cords, plugs, parts, pieces and everything that makes up Google’s newest flagship device.

Some notable takeaways from the video include the discovery the battery is held in place with only “very mild adhesive” making it “fairly easy to remove and replace.” Ten #00 Philip head screws hold everything in place “simplifying repairs and reassembly.” As for any bad news, that arrives with the glass and LCD both fused to the display frame making any fixes to the glass either “expensive or very difficult.”

Ok, so we’ll take the good with the bad but watching the whole video is more than worth the 3:45 of your time.

via iFixit

The Samsung Galaxy S4 has retained its title as winner of the highly-regarded Which? UK consumer association battery-life tests, despite competition from newer handsets. The S4 achieved call times 37 percent greater than its nearest rival, the HTC One. The results in web use were far closer, but the Samsung S4 took the lead there too.

The Galaxy S4 also won back in June, but retained its title in the face of new competition from the latest iPhones and an updated Nokia Lumia. Android handsets took the top three slots in call times, and the top four in web use …

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LahYuSyWidc

We first heard the LG G Flex – a smartphone with a curved OLED display – was on its way just over a month ago. That was followed by renders and then photos and video. What none of these showed, however, was the the flexible display really does flex. In fact, the whole phone does … 
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When Google’s Vic Gundotra promised “insanely great cameras” on upcoming Nexus devices, we took his statement to heart. Now, with the release of the Nexus 5, early reviews of the camera are decidedly mixed. It’s for this reason that I’ve decided to take a pass on the newest Nexus device, and will continue to focus on Android devices where the camera doesn’t appear to be an afterthought. I had hoped that we might see something that truly lived up to Vic’s “vision” for the Nexus line of smartphone cameras, needless to say, “insanely great” doesn’t seem to apply.

Now, I grant you, some of the pictures I’ve seen from the Nexus are good—some are very good—but the consensus seems to be for every “very good,” there’s “not so good.” As a new-ish parent, a smartphone camera is one of the most important aspects of my life, as the best camera I have is the one I have with me. I want to love the Nexus, the large display and quick updates and all the sunshine and rainbows that comes from owning Google’s flagship device. Still, the real-world tests don’t give me much hope that is the right Android device for me:

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Moto X fans take note as prolific mobile leaker @evleaks has indicated that the wood-based model is still very much alive. It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything out of Motorola regarding the wood units, but where there’s a will there’s a way and @evleaks is providing the goods. It was back in August that @evleaks first previewed and teased the four variants of the wood-based cover. There’s still the extra $50 cost associated with the wood and we’ll just assume that extra cost is simply the price of going up to your friends and bragging you have a “wood” smartphone.

The image itself comes from a screen-grab taken from MotoMaker and shows off Teak, Ebony, Rosewood and Bamboo wood tones. The styles are expected to arrive anytime in the fourth quarter which began at the beginning of October so any.day.now.

Oh hi there Moto G teaser page with a November 13th launch date and live announcement sign-up.

After making a brief appearance on Motorola’s website, the rumored “Mini” version of the Moto X looks set for a launch a week from this Wednesday on November 13th. Current rumors peg the upcoming device as launching with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor, a 5 megapixel camera and 8GB of storage. Outside of these potential specs, we’re pretty much in the dark on Motorola’s next budget smartphone.

Will it offer all the same features as the Moto X in a smaller, less expensive package? Should we spend lots of time misinterpreting the animation on the teaser page as some secret part of the device? We’ll know the answers to these questions and many more in just 9 days.

“Ok Google, set reminder for November 13th.”

via Engadget

HP and Google combined to create two new Chromebooks which were launched early last month: The $299  Intel Haswell-powered Chromebook 14 and the smaller Samsung Exynos ARM-powered Chromebook 11. Both machines mark new territory for Google and HP. The Silicon Valley neighbors have been getting closer and closer since Meg Whitman took over as CEO, including an expanding array of Android tablets as well. The initial HP Chromebooks were clearly re-purposed Windows laptops. These clearly are something entirely different…
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Here we go again… It seems Google has slipped yet another as-of-yet-announced device into its KitKat promotional materials. You’ll likely recall that the Nexus 5, which was released earlier this week, was accidentally included in a video promoting Android 4.4 earlier this year.

Now Google has featured what appears to be an 8-inch Nexus tablet on the Android website. The image appears on the “apps and entertainment” page, which shows off some of the first- and third-party applications available for KitKat. The header image for the section about the Google Play media store shows a woman using a tablet that looks a little too big to be a Nexus 7, but too small to be the aging Nexus 10. The body design (specifically the bezel size) doesn’t match up with existing Nexus tablets either, so it’s pretty clear this is not one a tablet we’ve seen before.

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Owners of Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus were disappointed to learn that their phones would not receive official support for Android 4.4, the latest version of Google’s operating system, nicknamed KitKat. Of course, as is usually the case with situations like this, the Android community hasn’t taken too kindly to this oversight.

To correct this problem, community developers have released two separate builds of KitKat for the Galaxy Nexus. Since neither release is official, you can expect bugs and broken features. For example, PocketNow notes that in some cases Wi-Fi doesn’t always work with these builds. These issues will likely be fixed by the community in upcoming patches, but for now you may want to be cautious when installing unsupported ROMs on your phone, especially if you rely on it for day-to-day usage.

There’s no question that with every new smartphone release, we look at the camera, the display and ultimately, the battery. As the Nexus 5 begins making its way to the masses, some new software and performance enhancements will offer a slight boost in battery life.

As GigaOM points out, the inclusion of Qualcomm’s new “envelope tracking technology” will make the Nexus 5 a more battery friendly, power-efficient smartphone. Qualcomm’s envelope tracker, dubbed the QFE1100 was first introduced to the world with the Galaxy Note 3, highlighting the Nexus 5 as the second smartphone to include the tech.
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When it comes to Google, we’ve come to expect the literally insane for new product launches with skydivers and Google Glass or very low key events for Google+/Chromebooks. Someone tell me then why Google launched the Nexus 5 and their next piece of software with Android 4.4 KitKat with almost no fanfare? It feels as if the KitKat announcement some months back saw more press and activity than the actual launch itself.

Yes, one could argue that Nexus device sales are limited to the geeks and die-hard Android fans. Yes, one could say that KitKat is more of an evolution than a revolution and that Google didn’t need to go all-out yesterday as the ridiculous set of device leaks created all the buzz they needed. Still, this is Google and this is a Nexus and at the very least, Google could have at least done a small event to boost awareness.

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With Android 4.4 KitKat finally officially announced, many users now begin the agonizing process of waiting for their device to receive the update. As we are all well aware off, it can take a long time for Android updates to make their way to the majority of users. Things have started to improve recently, however, and with the release of Android 4.4, several manufacturers have already announced their upgrade plans. Here’s a running list of devices already confirmed to get the udpate along with release dates:
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