12.01.13
Links 1/12/2013: Android News
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Got a NAKED Jelly Bean Samsung S4 or HTC One? Maybe it’s time for a KitKat
Google has begun to roll out version 4.4 of its Android KitKat software to Google Play editions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One.
These special editions of the phone use the same hardware as other versions, but do away with the extra proprietary tweaks added by manufacturers. Kitkat has also been made available for the Nexus 4, 7 and 10.
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Russian bots invade America, absorb Android brains
Russian robot developer R.bot will soon launch a pair of low-cost telepresence robots in North America. The Synergy Mime and larger Synergy Swan use an attached BYOD Android smartphone or tablet for display, camera, microphone, and wireless communications and control functions, and are being offered for a limited time to Android developers for $250 and $500, respectively.
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Android head talks Project Svelte and how Android 4.4 KitKat is the leanest Android version yet
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Android Users: F-Droid App Repository is an Open Source Alternative to Play Store
In other words, F-Droid is like an app store for open-source. More importantly, there is not just one “store”. Anyone can deploy their own repositories of apps, or Repos, much like the way the Debian repo model works.
We’ve now begun creating our own hosted F-Droid compliant repo where we can easily provide the latest greatest versions of all our apps. As we update the apps, F-Droid should notify you and allow you to update quickly and without hassle.
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HTC, Samsung release open source files for Google Play edition phones; KitKat OTAs should follow soon
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HTC One Google Play Edition gets Android 4.4 KitKat OTA; download it right now
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Dual boot Android and Ubuntu Touch on Nexus devices
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Eric Schmidt tells iOS users how to switch to Android
“Many of my iPhone friends are converting to Android,” he wrote. That sounds fine and dandy, but we might ask, how many of those iPhone owning friends have ever bothered to read a post on Google+?
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Android: the dog caught the car. Now what?
Android is approaching Windows-like domination of the smartphone industry…
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Intel demos 64-bit version of Android on Atom processor
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Heads up Apple, here comes 64-bit Android on Intel
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Intel wakes up and smells the post-PC era
At its investor meeting yesterday, Intel exhibited its readiness to face the new realities of the “post-PC era.” Led by CEO Brian Krzanich, top executives outlined strategic efforts to speed its mobile Atom system-on-chips toward 14 and 10nm geometries, 64-bits, and integrated basebands, and to look beyond Windows on the client end, with increased focus on iOS and Linux-based OSes like Android and Chrome OS.
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Report: Nintendo Developing Educational Android Tablet
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Rugged handheld runs Android, scans barcodes
Intermec unveiled a rugged, Android-ready handheld computer designed for field service applications. The CN51 is equipped with a 1.5GHz, dual-core TI OMAP4 SoC, a 4-inch, 800 x 480 resistive touchscreen, IP64-rated sealing, 12-hour plus battery, and options including 1D and 2D barcode scanners, keypads, GLONASS-ready GPS, cellular, and a 5-megapixel camera.
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Samsung defies critics, ships 800,000 Galaxy Gear smartwatches in two months
The company recently updated its watch to improve notification support — a major issue for many reviewers — and says it plans to expand sales promotions for the holiday season in order to boost sales further. Samsung is also looking to expand the number of (Samsung) devices that can interface with the Gear; at launch, the smartwatch was limited to just one smartphone, the Galaxy Note III, but is now also compatible with the company’s bestselling Galaxy S 4.
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Qualcomm’s Toq smartwatch coming December 2nd for $349.99
Qualcomm’s upcoming Toq smartwatch will be available from December 2nd. The company, better known for its processors that power most smartphones, will sell Toq directly from its own website, and no retail partners have been announced. The watch will interface with Android smartphones via Bluetooth and an app that will be made available from Google Play.
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Sony Smart Watch 2
There’s been several iterations of the smart watch idea. The Verge smartwatch roundup covers the state of play; The Independent has an interesting article on why a Google smartwatch makes sense, and the Samsung Galaxy Gear advert demonstrates nicely the desire for these “James Bond” gadget watches over the years.
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How To Track Your Health With Android
If we put our trust into the rapid progress of science, there will soon come a day when you won’t have to go to the doctor for a health checkup. You’ll have all the resources and devices that will actively monitor your health and keep giving you information. If, at all, something goes wrong, it will automatically inform your doctor that something is wrong. Thus, you won’t have to worry about your health as much as you have to right now.
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Top 20 mobile skills in demand
The top 20 search terms are as follows:
Android
iOS
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Qualcomm adds new chip for 4K video to Snapdragon line
The mobile processor giant also unveiled its fourth-generation 4G LTE processor with “significant” improvements in performance and power consumption.
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Google gives Glasshole devs a peek at new native software kit
Google has unveiled what it’s calling a “sneak peek” at its Glass Developer Kit (GDK), a new way to write software for the Chocolate Factory’s privacy-stomping future-specs.
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The Nexus 5’s “exclusive” launcher suspiciously receives support for other devices
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HUD-enabled ski goggles run Android
Recon Instruments announced an Android-based $399 heads-up display (HUD) designed to fit inside ski goggles. The Snow2 is equipped with a 1GHz, dual-core processor, a 428 x 240 mini-display, plus WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and sensors, and it syncs to Android and iOS devices.
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Will a shot of Android be enough to save BlackBerry?
Believe it or not, it wasn’t that long ago that Nokia and BlackBerry were the top two smartphone companies. Indeed, in 2006, in a preemptive move against the NTP patent troll, the Department of Justice asked that BlackBerry’s services be kept going even if NTP won their case. Seven years later most of us are just wondering how long the company can stay alive.
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What Android 4.4 KitKat will bring to your current smartphone
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Motorola releases Android 4.4 KitKat update for Verizon Moto X
Motorola announced today that the Android 4.4 KitKat update for the Verizon version of the Moto X would begin its rollout. This deploy comes a mere three weeks since KitKat was officially launched with the Nexus 5, an impressive turnaround to say the least (it’s also beats Google to releasing the update for Google Play Experience smartphones and some Nexus devices). Motorola says the update includes many of the KitKat enhancements, such as the interface refresh and smart dialer.
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KitKat swats yet another Android ‘MasterKey’ bug
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Source code snippets open door for raw photos on Android
It’s not built into Android yet, but Google has been overhauling the OS’s camera interface to be more photography-friendly.
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KitKat: Two steps forward, one step back for Android
Consumer Reports evaluated Google’s Nexus 5 phone this week, and said it was “marred by Android 4.4 quirks.” While we ourselves found some aspects of the new Android version, also known as KitKat, to be improvements, we agree with CR that some trumped-up features don’t work as well as many initially thought, and some so-called improvements actually make the interface more annoying.
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Linuxium bootloader helps you boot Linux, Android on RK3188 mini PCs
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Behold the animation magic of an Android interpolator
One of the aspects I enjoy most about developing software in the mobile space is getting to work extensively with animations. Animations help engage the user, unify the overall experience, and are just plain fun. Over the past few iterations, the animation framework inside the Android SDK has really grown; this includes the number of interpolators.
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