Category Archives: 4.1

Android 5.0 – Simple & Awesome [Personal Opinion]

The following post is an individuals personal opinion and vision of Android.

Feature

In October 2011, Google launched Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) which completely transformed Android from an ugly iOS cousin into an OS that had distinctive identity. As Matias himself explained on the stage, “We wanted to break away from the past”. He laid out pretty aspirational goals “Enchant Me”, “Simplify my life”, “Make me awesome”.

Indeed 4.0 was enchanting but there are things in 4.0/4.1/4.2 that can be better and make Android “Simple” & “ Awesome”. Matias also mentioned “4.0 is just the first step towards these aspirational goals”. So it is right to assume that engineers would be hard at work in Google towards achieving the same, possibly for Google IO 2013 reveal.

Till then I want you to see my design concepts for making Android “Simple” and “Awesome”.

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Archos shows off Gamepad at CES

http://www.archos.com/img/products/gamepad/dwd/Ambience-corner_HD_01.jpg

At CES today Archos showed off their take on a solution to android gaming. Rather than having developers cater their games to the specific layout of the device, Archos uses a different solution, one which emulates the controller and maps onscreen buttons to hardware controls. The overall opinion from many sites such as The Verge, Android Community, and Engadget is that support for many games will be limited, but its up to Archos to improve games that the Gamepad will work with.

The device itself has a 7-inch screen, 1024 x 768 screen, 1.6GHz Cortex A9 processor, Mali 400 GPU, Android 4.1, 8GB internal storage which is expandable with a MicroSD, and 1 GB RAM. The device is already shipping in Europe and should be available for $169.99 in Q1 2013.

Source: Engadget, Android Community, TheVerge

Sony reveals Xperia Z a 5-inch, quad-core, 1080p Android phone

Sony’s new flagship for 2013 has been announced it’s called the Xperia Z. The phone itself has a 1080p display, 2GB RAM, 1.5GHx quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, LTE, up to 16GB internal storage with a microSD card slot for expansion, NFC, Android 4.1, a 2330mAh battery, a 2.2MP front-facing camera and a 13-megapixel Exmor RS camera sensor.

Sadly, the phone is not running stock android as many other phones at CES have been, but Sony’s additions may help in the multimedia department with the likes of ClearAudio+, Bravia Reality Display, and Bravia Engine 2 onboard. Furthermore, the software has caught up with HTC in burst photography which allows a 10fps burst mode when shooting in a 9-megapixel format. The camera on the phone also allows for video HDR similar to what was shown off in Tegra 4. In regards to battery life Sony has added on a Battery Stamina mode that automatically kills background processes and apps when the screen is off which will significantly help battery life. The phone is especially cutting edge in terms of its water resistance to a depth of one meter. Similar to the Nexus 4 it has glass on the front and back of the device, which may make for problems as dropping phones with glass on the front and back usually does not go well. The Xperia Z and ZL variant (without the glass back and water resistance in select markets) are planned to be released in March. Sony says the device will be able to be updated to 4.2 shortly after it is released.

Sources: TheVerge, TechCrunch

Polaroid announces iM1836 mirrorless camera with Android

At CES today Polaroid unveiled the iM1836 mirrorless camera, which has an 18.1-megapixel mirrorless body and a 3.5 inch display, built in WiFi, bluetooth, and Android 4.1. The camera will be able to switch optics with an adapter for Micro-Four Thirds lenses. The camera should arrive in Q1 2013 and comes with a low price tag of only $399, which may be able to produce higher quality pictures than rivals Nikon and Samsung.

Source: Android Police, Engadget, TheVerge

Vizio Launches 7 inch Tablet to Compete with Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire

Gallery Photo: Vizio 7-inch Tablet hands-on pictures

Vizio decided that it would launch its tablets both in the 10 inch and 7 inch form factors, with stock android today at CES. Both tablets look to be competitive and able stay up to date with their un-skinned android which is “bone-stock”. Nilay Patel from The Verge talked with Vizio’s head of design, Scott McManigal, who said that the device was made primarily for the use in one hand in portrait orientation, and feels significantly smaller than the Nexus 7. The design however is not final. The specs include a Tegra 3, a 1280 x 800 IPS display, 16GB of storage, and a 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera. Pricing has not been announced, but it will be available in the first half of the year. Will this be enough to stand against Google’s own Nexus 7 and more importantly the iPad Mini?

Source: TheVerge, Gizmodo

Vizio introduces 10 inch tablet with Stock Android and Tegra 4

Vizio 10-inch Tablet

Vizio just introduced a new 10 inch tablet that contends with the Nexus 10 and perhaps the iPad 4. TheVerge notes that it has the brand new Tegra 4 processor, a processor which seems extremely fast, and runs stock Jelly Bean, Android 4.2, has a 2560 x 1600 display, 32GB of storage, Bluetooth  4.0, and looks to have mini-HDMI, micro-usb, a 3.5mm headphone jack, WiFi, and front and rear cameras. On their hands on TheVerge noticed that the tablet is extremely light, thin, and feels smaller than the iPad 4 or Nexus 10. Nilay Patel had a hands on with the device which can be found at the source link.

Source : TheVerge

“Project Shield” a gaming controller from NVIDIA with Stock Android

Project Shield was just announced at the NVIDIA Press Conference in Las Vegas, it has a Tegra 4 processor and can display 4k video over HDMI as shown during the press conference, a highly impressive feat. Details announced regarding specs are Tegra 4 included, a 33Wh battery which should last between 5-10 hours gaming or 24 hours of video playback, and sound processing that rivals beats audio laptops. However, it is a controller with a 5 inch 1080p screen latched onto it, with dual analog sticks, a D-pad, and extra buttons that perform proprietary actions It looks to be about the size of an Xbox 360 controller with a very similar layout. Emphasized was the fact that it runs pure android without a skin on it and has full access to the Google Play Store and has Gmail.Screenshot from 2013-01-06 23:41:07

 

It runs stock android and has TegraZone integrated, and games were shown off being displayed at 4k resolution showing the power of the recently announced Tegra 4.

Screenshot from 2013-01-06 23:42:36

Hawken was shown off, a game based on unreal engine 3 which looked crisp and multi-player gaming between the devices looked quite convincing.
Screenshot from 2013-01-06 23:50:43

Also announced was the integration of Steam Big Picture which allows one to connect to a PC with a GTX Graphics Processor to stream to Shield, which can then be connected to a TV for a full gaming experience. The graphics are also streamed to the screen of the Shield which seems extremely crisp. Assasin’s Creed III and Need for Speed were shown off streaming through the PC and has access to games from Google Play and Steam. Steam Big Picture mode was automatically brought up once Shield was connected successfully. It was also said that instead of HDMI to display on the TV, it would be possible to stream images wirelessly in the near future. Pricing and availability were not announced.

Screenshot from 2013-01-07 00:00:15

CyanogenMod feeding JellyBeans to all.

Have you been wanting a Jelly Bean port but unhappy with the terribly ROMs where “No major bugs” is stated but the most basics don’t work like Wi-Fi, Audio and 3G Network?

Well now that Android 4.1 is starting to roll out into AOSP, It looks like CyanogenMod are getting ready to “roll their own” With Any luck we will see a CM10 built on at least the Galaxy Nexus tomorrow, with it slowly coming to other devices during the week.

It will feel good rubbing Jelly Bean in the faces of those I know who taunt me with their Galaxy Nexus.

I’m feeling a tad smug. But that’s aloud. Right?

CyanogenMod

 

Jelly Bean brings USB audio output support

Audio out over USB could bring docks similar to the iPod/iPhone however the main issue I see here is port placement. Sometimes its on the bottom sometimes its on the side sometimes its back to front (Looking at your HTC)

USB audio output support allows hardware vendors to build hardware such as audio docks that interface with Android devices. This functionality is also exposed with the Android Open Accessory Development Kit (ADK) to give all developers the chance to create their own hardware

If you haven’t checked out what’s to come with Jelly Bean, Have a good read on the Android Developers site.

Android Developers