Nexus 7

As expected, it appears that Google is now slowly rolling out Android Lollipop for the Nexus 4, 5, 7 and 10. A number of users have turned to Twitter to report that their Nexus smartphones and tablets are now beginning to receive Lollipop as an over-the-air software update.
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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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Just a short while after announcing the Android 5.0 Lollipop over-the-air update for Nexus devices, Google has now posted the factory images for the Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2012 and 2013 WiFi-only models), and Nexus 10.

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It’s definitely one of the most highly anticipated software updates that Android has ever seen. Today, the Android 5.0 Lollipop update—that was first previewed earlier this year at Google I/O—has begun rolling out OTA to Nexus devices everywhere. “Dessert is served,” Google says. We haven’t heard reports of any devices actually having access to the update quite yet, but with this tweet from the Android team, one can expect updates to start appearing very soon.

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While official Android Lollipop factory images for the all-new Nexus 9 and Nexus Player were made available earlier this month, users with other Nexus and Google Play Edition devices are still waiting on Google to seed the update. In the meantime, Nexus 7 (2012) owners are in luck, as an Android Lollipop factory image for the tablet has leaked ahead of its official release.
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While the wait continues for Google to release Android Lollipop as an over-the-air software update and post official factory images of the latest operating system version, a number of developers over at XDA-Developers have taken it upon themselves to take the Lollipop source code and create builds for the Nexus 4, 5, 7, 10 and other devices.
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I’ve been an iPad Air user for a solid year. Sure, I’ve tried tried and reviewed other devices, but my go-to device for reading at night, some light work on the train or plane and just brain dead playing Facebook/Twitter/G+/Reddit/Email/Video chatting has been the Space Gray iPad Air 16GB.

Before the Air, I had used both of Google’s Samsung Nexus 10 and Asus Nexus 7 (2012) tablets and found them OK devices. The Google I/O version Nexus 7 power supply broke about 8 months in and I didn’t bother getting it fixed. The Samsung Nexus 10 was actually an under-rated device, in my opinion, probably mostly because the initial software wasn’t as polished as it should have been.

So with the Nexus 9, Google has had a long time to get its software right, and I shouldn’t have gotten déjà vu when I started using the Nexus 9, right?…
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If you were wondering why Google hasn’t yet introduced an updated version of the Gmail app on Android to match its Material Design guidelines, the answer appears to be that it has something big in store. Gmail 5.0, which will be introduced as part of Android 5.0 Lollipop, will for the first time allow you to access all your email accounts within the same app, Gmail and non-Gmail alike … 
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Following this morning’s report that Android Wear 2.0 would drop on November 3rd, Android Police now reports that Google is planning to release Android 5.0 Lollipop to a trio of Nexus devices on that same day. The report claims that Lollipop will hit the 2012 WiFi-only Nexus 7, the 2013 WiFi-only Nexus 7, and the Nexus 10 on November 3rd.

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Android 4.4.4 has been going strong for a few months now and while Google has released factory images for most of its Nexus devices, there’s been one purebred tablet excluded from the festivities. However, this changed today, because the search giant finally pulled the trigger and published the complete factory image for the LTE version of the Nexus 7.

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Image via <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml1LzNFn8kc">TechSmartt</a>

According to figures released by market research company BCN, Asus sold more tablets than Apple during the first half of 2014 in Japan. Asus’ market share rose 8 percent year-over-year during the first half of 2014, the report claims, giving it a 38.9 percent portion of the tablet market in Japan. Apple, on the other hand, holds a 36.4 percent share (via Nikkei). This is the first time Asus has ever held the top spot in Japan, according to the report.
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The talented TeslaCoil developers this afternoon updated their insanely popular Android app Nova Launcher with a variety of new features and enhancements. We just told you how to install Android “L” on your Nexus 5 or Nexus 7, but if you don’t have one of those devices or don’t want to put up with the bugs, today’s Nova Launcher update will certainly keep you satisfied.

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Just when you started getting used to KitKat, Google changed things up and announced Android L. Mountain View’s latest mobile operating system won’t officially be available to the masses until the fall, however there’s a way to check out L before its big debut and we’re going to show you the easiest ways to do it.

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As it usually does with new releases of Android, Google has just posted the source code for the “L” release of Android. The code is viewable on Google’s Android Git repo page for all of the current a previous generation Nexus devices. This includes both the 2012 and 2013 Nexus 7s (WiFi and LTE models), the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, and Nexus 10.

Google has left a few things out of this release of source code, including binary packages and kernel source. This means that developers will not yet be able to build totally stock builds of Android “L” for those devices. This is to be expected, though, as “L” is still a developer preview at this point.

You can view the source code on Google’s Git repo here. If you’re still curious about Android “L,” read our first look here.

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Just as the Google announced it would be during its I/O keynote yesterday, the developer preview of the “L” version of Android is now live. Google claims that this update is the “biggest release in Android history” with over 5,000 new APIs, in addition to a new design, look, and feel. Developers can download the everything they need for Android “L” from the developer website.

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In what comes as somewhat of a surprising move, Google has just posted Android 4.4.4 factory image for several Nexus devices. The release comes not too long after 4.4.3 was rolled out. Android 4.4.3 was a highly antipciated release that we saw several leaks of, but 4.4.4 comes as a surprise.

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Yesterday, Google released the factory image of Android 4.4.3 for a fleet of Nexus devices. This was all good and well, but not everyone was comfortable with the idea of manually flashing a device. Thankfully, the folks from Mountain View didn’t leave people waiting too long and as of this very moment, Google is in the process of pushing out an over-the-air update of Android 4.4.3 for last year’s Nexus 7.

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Not letting T-Mobile subscribers have all the fun, Google has released the factory image and binaries for Android 4.4.3 today. These tools apply to the Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (2013) and WiFi Nexus 10, Nexus 4 and WiFi Nexus 7 (2012) models.

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Today, T-Mobile announced that its Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 devices will be making the jump to Android 4.4.3. Available now, these small software patches are rolling out to the carrier’s versions of Google’s latest purebred Android gadgets, but they can be installed manually if patience isn’t your strong suit. To start the update process, tap All Apps, Settings, About device and Software update. Once installed, your Nexus 5 should reflect software version KTU84M. If you’ve also invested in last year’s Nexus 7, just repeat the process and your tablet’s software version should display as KTU84L upon completion.

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The Nexus 7 might be due for a replacement, however UK residents who have their eyes on last year’s model can score a deal on Google’s reigning 7-inch slab. The search giant has partnered up with Asus to offer £50 in Play Store credit to people who purchase a 16GB model of the 2013 Nexus 7. The offer is available from now until June 1st from the following retailers:  Asda, Carphone Warehouse, Currys and Tesco. 

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