Android News: CyanogenMod Rebranding, Source Code Releases, Games, Devices, and Tablets
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-04-07 09:11:14 UTC
- Modified: 2014-04-07 09:11:14 UTC
CyanogenMod
Well, folks, it looks like CyanogenMod, Inc. is starting to shape up to look like a real legit company. The company has already made big deals with phone manufacturers and successfully raised a good deal of money to help in their endeavors, and now they are making some changes to the way they present themselves.
Source Code
Sprint LG G2 owners may not have too much longer to wait for Android 4.4.2 to arrive. Sprint has posted details on an upcoming OTA update, which should roll out in stages starting today. The version is ZVB, and it contains little aside from all the delicious goodies that come with KitKat. To clarify, the developers have also packed in a fix for an audio issue with the pre-installed NextRadio app. Yeah, all eyes are on Android 4.4.2 here.
Sony may not have the best track record when it comes to making its phones available across a wide number of carriers in the US, but it has no problem sharing its open source kernel files on a timely basis. The company officially announced the Xperia Z2 a month ago at Mobile World Congress, and now much of the handset's internal code is available for download on the web.
Ballnux/Samsung
Google
Google could have big plans in store for the way that it and other smartphone makers sell and advertise their best Android phones. According to a series of slides allegedly shown inside of Google and leaked to Android Police, Google is developing a program called Android Silver, which would find carriers dedicating a section of their store to some of the top Android phones, each of which would come with some significant advantages over phones that weren't offered as part of the Silver program.
Citing "sources aware of Google's plans," Engadget said Google is currently testing the new app, which will be pushed to Android users as a separate update, and won't be part of the forthcoming Android 4.4.3 update.
Project Ara (Phonebloks) and modular pieces of tech in general are gaining steam. So far, we’ve known that we will be able to swap specified parts of our smartphones, which will result in longer lives for our phones and less waste as a result of our tech lusts. Today, Google revealed some of the work that was going on behind the scenes with their ATAP (Advanced Technology and Projects) group. The Ara team members (read ‘nerds’) took the time out to demonstrate the sliding ‘blocks’ of their prototype or very early build of the devices, and they have not deviated a whole lot from the initial drafts, but there were significant bits of information included.
KitKat
The latest flavor of Android is slowly eating up more Android devices, according to the latest stats from Google.
The Intrinsyc Mobile Development Platform Tablet (“MDP/T”) uses an updated Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 SoC running Android 4.4 (KitKat). According to a TrustedReviews overview of the Snapdragon 800 family, the 805 is set to ship this summer, but Intrinsyc says it’s shipping the MDP/T now for $799. So consider this a sneak preview, or as Intrinsyc calls it “early access” to the Snapdragon 805.
Humble Indie Bundle/Equiso/Games
There are already quite a couple of Android gaming consoles out in the market today such as the OUYA and the Mad Catz M.O.J.O. to name a few. These devices offer an alternative gaming platform that is considered cheaper than the Xbox or PlayStation consoles. Equiso Play is another upcoming Android gaming console that aims to make it into the market this year.
There are plenty of Android-powered game consoles already out for consumers to get their hands on and another one up on Kickstarter called Equiso Play. This new one definitely has the potential to be a great product from what we've seen of it already.
Embedded/Devices
The software stack for the Glass builds upon the Android platform, and hence, on top of the Linux Kernel. It was indeed customized for Glass and is available as google-glass-kernel-source.
Insyde Software and Timesys have each released enhanced Android BSPs supporting Intel’s “Bayley Bay” evaluation board for the Intel Atom E3800 SoC.
Tablets
Under the ministry of human resource development, government of India's one laptop per child (OLPC) project 'Akash tablet' will be available in market in 3-4 months at a cost of around Rs 2,500. The tablet which will be the first of its kind to have a dual book and dual board as it will use both Android as well as Linux operating systems will perform the job of both, a tablet and a computer. It will be the cheapest tablet in the world.
Small cheap computers naturally fit with GNU/Linux because they are easier to sell without M$’s “tax”.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- Silent Layoffs, Cool-down, and Cool-off: How GAFAM and IBM Operate (the Law Doesn't Apply to Them)
- Laws? What laws?
-
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- Gemini Links 07/09/2026: Music Composition, Free Stuff, and Self-hosting Git Repos
- Links for the day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 06, 2026
- IRC logs for Sunday, September 06, 2026
- People Who Enforce the GPL Banned From Linux Foundation Board (After Bribes From Prolific GPL Violators), Now They're Banned From Giving Talks at Events
- about the "LF" ('Linux' Foundation)
- Gemini Links 06/09/2026: The Slop Plagiarism 'Holy War' (Hype, Scam, Scheme), Burning CD-Rs, and Hardcopy Mono
- Links for the day
- Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Inaction and Incompetence - Part IV - Insufficient Resources in the Face of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) by Lawyers
- it's about 120KG
- OpenStreetMap is the Future, Dictatorship is the Past
- OpenStreetMap helped us check maps for transport, various overlays with addresses, and there was 0% reliance on GAFAM or "Google" anything
- How Strikes at the European Patent Office Are Seen by Striking Staff in Berlin, Germany
- We have some more EPO scandals to cover later this year and next year
- Association for Computing Machinery Cites Techrights in Relation to GemText and Gemini Protocol
- published yesterday, Open Access
- Links 06/09/2026: More XBox Trouble (Microsoft Unrest, Many Silent Layoffs This Month), John Duffy as Next USPTO General Counsel
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 06/09/2026: Avoiding 'Smart' 'Phones' and Setting up Gemini for the First Time
- Links for the day
- Links 06/09/2026: Sabotage by Slop and "What Happens If 'Open' 'AI' Dies?"
- Links for the day
- How Back Doors Became the 'Normal' or 'Norm'
- "We also allowed a lethal monoculture to fester"
- Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Inaction and Incompetence - Part III - The SRA is Vastly Worse Than Brits Realise, We Have a "Wild West" in London
- In the next part we'll begin looking at correspondence with the SRA
- SRA and Manslaughter: How the SRA Contributed to Agony in Proprietary Software Scandals With Clear Misuse of "Without Prejudice"
- Trying to prevent the public from finding out the criminal stuff that went on, resulting in many deaths
- Canonical (or Ubuntu) Rejecting IRC Isn't the Widespread Trend
- Internet Relay Chat (IRC) adoption still growing by some yardsticks
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 173 Out of 200: Two Years
- It was exactly 2 years ago that we filed lawsuits against Garrett
- Linux of America
- We could not help but notice GNU/Linux in North America yesterday
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 05, 2026
- IRC logs for Saturday, September 05, 2026
- Gemini Links 06/09/2026: Internet Limiting (Limited Time Allotted) and Solar MiniServer
- Links for the day
- Eight Months of Strikes in EPO, Organised by the Staff Union (SUEPO) Also in Berlin
- In Berlin, only one member of staff voted against the action plan
- Links 05/09/2026: "Let’s Stop Buying New Phone" and 'Open' 'AI' (Proprietary Slop) Drowning in Lawsuits
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 05/09/2026: Polarization, Warped Maps, and Emacs rectangle-number-lines
- Links for the day
- Software Freedom, Even If Difficult to Attain Due to Outside Pressure, Does Make You Happier
- Peer pressure and opinionated employers can make friends and staff more miserable if they dictate bad software
- You Can Run GNU/Linux on a Desktop/Laptop for 1,000+ Days Nonstop
- To me, the long uptime is a way of "marketing" GNU/Linux as robust and stable
- Profiting From Global Warming (and Making More Money the More You Cause Warming)
- Unregulated bank and pyramid scheme
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 172 Out of 200: The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Complicit in the SLAPPs by Inaction (Didn't Even Study Any Evidence, Only Wasted Time and Budget)
- "SRA placed into special measures due to 'disappointing standard of leadership'"
- China Does Not Need American (US) Products Like GAFAM's
- China has abundance of technical things it can leverage to preserve its autonomy
- RMS Didn't Make Enough Backups
- Making backups is important
- Refresher: Why EPO Staff is on Strike This Year (Aside From the EPO Acting Like a Corrupt, Above-the-Law, For-Profit Corporation That Violates Its Own Charter)
- One core issue at the EPO is erosion of purchasing power
- Gemini Links 05/09/2026: Fireflies, Shore Pine, and ASCII Art
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 04, 2026
- IRC logs for Friday, September 04, 2026