Matias Duarte is the Director of Android User Experience at Google, which means he’s the artist who pretties up the green robot’s gears. We got some one-on-one time with him at Google I/O, and he opened up about the Nexus 7, Jelly Bean, and why we shouldn’t be so huffy about Android fragmentation. More »
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean devices will not get official Flash support, Adobe has confirmed, with the company pulling Flash from the Google Play store altogether after August 15. The decision, which follows Adobe’s move to adopt HTML5 for mobile platforms rather than Flash last year, also means that updates to Flash Mobile on Android devices will become more sporadic.
“Beginning August 15th we will use the configuration settings in the Google Play Store to limit continued access to Flash Player updates to only those devices that have Flash Player already installed” Adobe said in a statement. As for handsets like the Galaxy Nexus, which currently support Flash on Ice Cream Sandwich but which are expected to get a Jelly Bean upgrade in mid-July, Adobe warns that the change in OS might prompt instabilities.
“If a device is upgraded from Android 4.0 to Android 4.1, the current version of Flash Player may exhibit unpredictable behavior, as it is not certified for use with Android 4.1. Future updates to Flash Player will not work” Adobe says. “We recommend uninstalling Flash Player on devices which have been upgraded to Android 4.1.”
Having long argued with mobile device manufacturers – particularly Apple – that Flash was relevant for smartphone and tablet users, Adobe conceded defeat in November last year. ““Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores” the company announced. “We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations.”
Ice Cream Sandwich was the last Android OS version to receive a certified Flash Player installation, and as devices gradually migrate to Jelly Bean the framework will shrink in relevance.
Adobe: No Jelly Bean Flash, Flash Player pulled altogether August 15 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
HTC had broadcast its intentions to bring the One V to the US this summer, and that’s exactly what it’s doing, even if it’s keeping the formalities to a minimum. Virgin Mobile has started selling the entry Android 4.0 phone without fanfare at a very tempting $200 contract-free — certainly the lowest American price we’ve seen so far for joining the Sense 4.0 party. The hardware still won’t floor anyone, but Virgin Mobile Live is tossed in to perk up the experience. Should Google’s platform just not be your bag, you’ll also be glad to know that Virgin has recently started taking online orders for its prepaid iPhones, which officially hit the shops on Friday. With their $550 and $650 no-contract prices, though, some may question just how Retina their displays really need to be.
[Thanks, Marcus]
HTC One V quietly pops up at Virgin Mobile USA for $200, iPhone tags along for online orders originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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LG’s Optimus Vu still has yet to debut in the US, but Korean fans of the extra-wide 5-inch phablet can soon enjoy a new “Value Pack” upgrade. It brings the phone to yesterday’s-news Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich along with LG-specific tweaks to its note taking features, UI 3.0 and Quick Voice search. There’s a quick demo video of the update (embedded after the break) and promotional mini site with more details, although the ability to understand Korean — or muddle through machine translated closed captions — will come in handy.
Continue reading LG Optimus Vu ‘Value Pack’ Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade on the way in Korea
LG Optimus Vu ‘Value Pack’ Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade on the way in Korea originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 00:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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As Google I/O 2012 rolls along, the YouTube team is updating its Android app to v4.0 with a load of new features, but you’ll need Android 4.0+ to take advantage of them (at least for now, see below). Available in 47 countries, the new app brings a brand new UI with support for channels that reflects the redesign rolled out on the website last year (not the circle-centric look that it is testing with a select few), and it can precache videos from your favorite channels for viewing later. All you have to do is select “preload” in the setting menu and it will pull down videos from your subscriptions and Watch Later queue when plugged in and on WiFi. To actually view them later you will still need to be online, but they’ll load instantly from the device’s storage instead of streaming.
Another new feature is integrated remote functionality to control playback on connected TVs and other devices. This apparently extends to more than just Google TV, as we’re told to “expect more updates later” on how this feature will become broadly available. If you’re not rocking the latest Android software don’t freak out yet, as the team indicates these features will come to more devices later. Developers should be excited too as there’s a slew of new YouTube APIs available, hit the source links below to check them out or download the app yourself.
YouTube for Android 4.0 ends buffering on your favorite videos with precaching, adds remote originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Didn’t think Google was just going to announce a tablet at I/O, did you? The company will also be showing off a mysterious Nexus Q device. Google say it’s a social streamer that’ll hook up to your speakers and television and pipe content from the cloud, sporting a very cool design to boot. Droid-Life first discovered the reference to the Nexus Q on the Play Store, and now all the details along with an introduction video has emerged.
The Nexus Q streams music, video, and YouTube from Google’s various content services. In addition, it allows users to create their own social playlists to send to the streamer and to share amongst friends. Not only that, but the device serves as a 25-watt amplifier, so you can plug in your own speakers and get some improved audio from the black orb.
The device is running Ice Cream Sandwich, and comes with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. WiFI b/g/n, Bluetooth, and NFC are all onboard, and it can be controlled via a capactive touch sensor found on the front. You’ll need an Android phone or tablet connected to the same WiFI network as the Nexus Q to control everything, and it’ll set you back $299. The Play Store indicates that it’ll start shipping in two to three weeks.
[via The Verge]
Google Nexus Q brings media streaming to the home for $299 is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Last week, we talked about the Sony Xperia S receiving an Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich update that normally, if everything goes well and all the planets are aligned together in perfect fashion, you know for sure that it is going to be smooth sailing. Unfortunately, the Xperia S Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich update did run into some snags, where there were folks who had trouble upgrading the firmware. The folks who fell under this category owned Xperia S devices that came with an SI number which Sony had listed down as being ready for the Ice Cream Sandwich update. I guess this boo-boo needs to be corrected, and soon – good thing Sony Mobile has acknowledged the issue, and will be re-releasing the updates soon. Here is what Sony Mobile had to say. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sony Xperia S with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich spotted in a leaked video, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update on 2011 Sony Experia handsets is not all that smooth,
Today may be the day the world meets Jelly Bean — Android’s 4.1 evolution — but that doesn’t mean the 4.0 upgrade train needs to stall. While overseas owners of Lenovo’s ThinkPad Tablet began to see that software update hit a few week back, statesiders are just now beginning to enjoy the benefits of the soon-to-be-passé ICS OS. If you claim this Honeycomb tab as your own, you should soon be receiving an OTA notification prompting you to install the software which adds stock features like face unlock, screenshot sharing, multi-tasking and resizable widgets amongst others. So, congratulations — you’re once again yet another step behind Google’s mobile evolution.
Lenovo begins Ice Cream Sandwich rollout to ThinkPad Tablets stateside originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Speaking of Google-related leaks, we’ve got another one for you. After a bit of digging, we were able to hunt down some images of the rumored Nexus Q, and it now seems inevitable that we’ll be getting some up close and personal time with this particular device after today’s keynote session. According to some documents found by Droid-Life, the Nexus Q will have some interaction with YouTube, Google Play Movies, Play Music and TV, and will require the use of a phone or tablet running Gingerbread or higher.
Update: it looks like the official product page on the Google Play Store has been updated. So here’s the details: the Nexus Q lets you stream music and movies from Google Play and YouTube to your home entertainment system. It offers a 25W amp, enabling you to power it to a set of speakers, or you can hook it up to an AV receiver or HDTV. According to the product page, the Nexus Q will be available for $300. So far it appears to be a US-only product, so we’ll have to wait and see if more is revealed at the I/O keynote session. Check out the video after the break!
Continue reading Google leaks Nexus Q video and images ahead of I/O keynote
Google leaks Nexus Q video and images ahead of I/O keynote originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
It isn’t hard to get an Android 4.0 phone under $200 if you’re willing to sign your life away with a contract. Getting one that’s worthwhile at that same figure contract-free, however, requires some jumping through hoops. MediaTek must be an acrobat, as it just released the MT6577, a chip design for the most entry level of smartphones. The part’s frugal focus doesn’t keep it from stuffing in a dual-core, 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, a PowerVR SGX series 5 for graphics and an HSPA modem for 3G. Those specifications would only have been cutting-edge in 2011, but they’re very speedy for a starter device in 2012 — fast enough to drive Google’s OS on a 720p screen while supporting 1080p video. The MT6577 is a drop-in replacement for its MT6575 ancestor, and it’s accordingly going to be used very quickly by “leading global customers” this summer. Knowing MediaTek’s most recent clients, that could soon lead to a sea of very affordable phones from Gigabyte, ZTE and others that have no problems eating an Ice Cream Sandwich.
MediaTek MT6577 helps push dual-core Android 4.0 smartphones under $200 contract-free originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 02:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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