Android

After announcing the ATRIX HD Developer Edition earlier this month, the folks at Motorola have made it available on their website for $459.99 off-contract this evening. This edition of the Atrix HD is sure to appease the tinkerers in the crowd, as it lets you get past the locked bootloader to take advantage of the possibilities an unlocked bootloader makes available. The Developer Edition released today offers the same specifications as the Atrix HD available through carriers for $99 on two-year contract. Motorola warns that this device is “not for the faint of heart” and that “warranties will be voided” The device ships the week of 12/16.

Source: Motorola

Google just updated the Google Drive app for Android and iOS.

The app’s most noteworthy new feature is the ability to edit spreadsheets, just like Google Docs. The Drive Team elaborated on the latest update via the official Google Drive blog:

From the Drive app on your iPhone, iPad or Android device, you can create a new spreadsheet or edit an existing one. You can switch fonts, resize columns, sort data, and more. And just like on your computer, you’ll be able to see other people’s edits in real time as they’re made.

The newest version also boasts improved text formatting when pasting, while Android users can exclusively edit text within tables in documents and add a homescreen shortcut to any file in Drive.

The full changelog (on Google Play):

• Edit Google spreadsheets in new native editor
• Edit contents of tables in Google Docs editor
• Formatting is maintained when copy/pasting within Google Docs
• Single tap to enter edit mode in Google Docs editor
• Add a shortcut to Drive files/folders to your homescreen for quick access
• Send Link now supports copying link to clipboard

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Google is getting rid of anonymous reviews in its Google Play store and informing users that from now on store reviews “will be posted publicly using your Google+ name and picture.” There doesn’t appear to be an option at this point to not use your Google+ identity, which means we might get a bit of backlash from users. However, it also means more accountability and potentially better reviews. The update was first spotted on the web version of the Google Play store, as pictured above, but it is apparently making its way out to mobile users too.

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Google’s LG Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 devices are now getting an over-the-air update to Android 4.2.1—just in time for December.

The update brings the Jelly Bean build to JOP40D and fixes the December bug that wouldn’t allow users of the People app to select a date in December for a birthday, anniversary, or similar event.

There isn’t much else different in the software release, and it is unknown at this time if this latest version of Jelly Bean will also land for the Nexus 7 or Galaxy Nexus. However, like most OTA updates, 4.2.1 is rolling out in phases. So, it could take a few days before it is available to all.

The OTA update link is below.

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According to AndroidCentral, Google confirmed that it would resume selling its new Nexus 4 smartphone today after weeks of unavailability following the Nov. 13 launch. Both the $299 8 GB and $348 16GB models were listed as sold out just shortly after going up for sale in the United States on the Google Play store. Since then, some shipments have reached customers. However, Google earlier this month notified some pre-orders customers that their device would ship in three weeks due to “overwhelming demand.” We’ll keep you posted if the device actually hits Google Play later today.

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Samsung announced today that it sold a total of 5 million Galaxy Note II units worldwide, following its announcement earlier this month that 3 million were sold. That means the South Korean-manufacturer moved 2 million 5.5-inch phablets in just under a month —surely thanks to its availability in the United States on AT&T. Sales aren’t as high as the Samsung Galaxy S III that competes side-by-side with Apple’s iPhone 5; however, it is interesting that a large chunk of customers want a larger handheld experience. Being available in various parts of Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa, the 5.5-inch device will likely have a strong holiday quarter adding to this month’s strong sales. [Samsung]

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GXOY9EVZ4vA]

While lack of LTE connectivity in the Nexus 4 seemed to be one of the biggest controversies surrounding the device’s launch, Canadians will at least get to access local LTE networks on the device for now. As discovered by Canadian blog Tekgadg, which posted the video above (via TechCrunch), enabling support for LTE by simply switching the network type in settings seemed to do the trick. Unfortunately, the trick, which only supports Canadian networks running LTE Band 4 put o 20MHz, could possibly be shutdown by Google in the near future. Until then, those who want to enable LTE on their Nexus 4 will have to type in *#*#4636#*#* to access the necessary preference pane. TechCrunch has step-by-step instructions, if you’re interested.

Those that updated to Android 4.2 might have noticed a bug that prevents users from selecting December for events like birthdays inside of the People app. Google has now officially addressed the issue in a post on the Android Google+ page by confirming that it plans to fix the bug before December:

We discovered a bug in the Android 4.2 update, which makes it impossible to enter December events in optional fields of the People app (this bug did not affect Calendar). Rest assured, this will be fixed soon so that those of you with December birthdays and anniversaries won’t be forgotten by your friends and family.

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As the television race heats up, Google said it is working on an open alternative to Apple’s AirPlay—a technology first introduced in iOS 4.2 that allowed users to share photo, audio, and video to the Apple TV.

Google had a similar streaming product to the Apple TV this summer—the Nexus Q— that allowed for sharing of content via an Android device to the TV. However, the product flopped and didn’t see the light of day for many customers. Additionally, in Google’s move to try to compliment streaming to the TV, the folks at YouTube launched an AirPlay-like feature last week that allows users to beam YouTube videos from their Android device straight to the television.

Speaking to GigaOm, Google Product Manager Timbo Drayson made it clear that Google has big plans in the space and wants to move forward. “We really want to move the whole industry forward,” Drayson told the publication.

How will Google move the industry forward? It may just partner with as many partners as possible. It worked with Android, so why wouldn’t it work here? Drayson said Google is “actively working with other companies” to implement a new AirPlay-like standard. Remember, Google also has its Google TV platform that this could play nicely off.

Furthermore, GigaOm examined how Google plans to move past just beaming video:

And it’s not just about remote control functionality and beaming a video from your mobile phone to the TV we are talking about. The new protocol makes it possible for data to flow in both directions, Drayson explained, which would enable developers to build second-screen experiences that correspond to what’s happening on live TV as well. Also on the roadmap: beaming content from your laptop to your TV screen.

Related articles

• YouTube’s Android app now steams video to Google TV from Android device (9to5google.com)

Some customers who ordered Google’s official $20 Nexus 4 bumper from the Google Play store have begun receiving their shipments today. User “mb3030” on the XDA Developers forum posted a gallery of the bumper case. While there is certainly nothing too surprising, it does give us a look at what Google believes is an added bit of protection to its beloved Nexus device. It fits perfectly around the device and has buttons for the volume rocker and power button. We’ll wait to get our hands on one before giving our official opinion of the accessory.

As noted by Android Central, some customers who ordered the bumper are not so lucky when it comes to the shipping date, and it seems to boil down to when an order was placed. If the bumper was bundled in with a customer’s initial Nexus 4 order, it appears that is making shipping times for the added protection a little longer, while if ordered separately, a faster arrival seems to be the case. Google offered no official confirmation, however did say, “We are working to ship all items in your order as quickly as possible within the 3 week timeframe.”

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Update: We have a winner: Josh Eck!

We’re kicking off Black Friday week with something new. AT&T has given us an Optimus G smartphone to give away to one of our US-based commenters.

The Optimus G is much like our well-reviewed Nexus 4 except it adds support for AT&T’s LTE network. It also adds LG’s overlay and some extra AT&T apps.  However, it does keep the fantastic 4.7-inch 768×1280 IPS display, 1.5GHz S4 Processor with 2GB or RAM and that great 8megapixel camera.

Since it is closely related to the Nexus 4, it likely means that Android updates should come quicker than for other devices.  We’ll see.

We’ll contact one of the commenters below on Black Friday. 
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[slideshow]

We pretty much knew what to expect going into the Droid DNA event this week. The 5-inch “don’t call it a phablet” phone had been leaked in various forms, although its specs and specifically its 5-inch, 1080p 441PPI display seemed a little “too good” to be true.

It wasn’t. Pretty much from the second we picked up this monster of a phone, reality set in in a big way.  While the phone is large  —mostly just a wrapper for the 5-inch display— it is also much lighter than you’d expect, especially if you are coming from last year’s hand-grenade of a Verizon HTC flagship phone, the Rezound.  The rubbery-plastic back that is becoming popular with Android phones, and red-plastic ‘race car’ accents shave a lot of weight from the device, but it still feels plenty solid. The back picks up oils from hands and seems to scratch fairly easily, although with that screen on the other side, you probably won’t spend much time looking at the back.

It is important to say here…HTC and Verizon are positioning the DNA as a phone and not a ‘phablet’, and they can make that claim for two reasons: the DNA is much narrower than the Note/2, and it is much, much lighter. In fact it is 42 grams lighter.

NOTE 2: 5.94″ x 3.17″ x 0.37″ (151 x 81 x 9 mm)6.34 oz (180 g)

DNA: 5.55″ x 2.78″ x 0.38″ (141 x 70.5 x 9.73 mm) 4.87 oz (138 g)

The narrow body lets you do one-handed typing, and the weight is actually a lot less than the 4.5-inch phones released over the last two years.

The speaker, also located on the back, didn’t impress me as much as a ‘Beats’ device with a dedicated amplifier probably should have. Still, I’d rate it as very good for a smartphone. However, when it is laid on its back, the sound is muffled. There is some room for improvement here. Also, on the back near the camera, an indicator light flashes when you have a notification. HTC could probably have been a bit more creative here and used the camera’s flash.

Speaking of the camera, this is one of the best I’ve ever used on a smartphone. HTC continues to lead on a hardware front with its F2.0 8-megapixel-backside camera and perhaps the best front-side camera I’ve used: an F2.0 2.2MP 1080p front-facing camera. Both are top-notch for both stills and 1080p video.

Then there is the screen.

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The good folks at iFixit have just posted their teardown of the newly released Nexus 4 and have found its repairability level to be 7/10—which is nice. But past the news of how easy the device will be to fix when you drop it, iFixit has better news: a 4G LTE chip is on board, which a feature Google made clear wasn’t included on the device. The chip found is a Qualcomm WTR1605L. It is a chip that supports every LTE network worldwide. However, as Android Police noted, we may be stuck with HSPA+, because no 4G LTE antenna or amplifier was found. It could just be a dead chip stolen from the LG Optimus G—a phone that supports LTE.
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