Google is pushing out Android 4.2 Jelly Bean to Galaxy Nexus owners via an over-the-air update, but if you’re impatient there are ways to jump the queue and grab the upgraded OS direct. The firmware for the GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus (i.e. not Verizon’s LTE-equipped handset) is available to download from Google’s servers, for manual flashing. Meanwhile, the v4.2 ROM for the Nexus 7 is also available.
For the Galaxy Nexus, you’ll need to download the “takju” ROM from the following link, and then install it to your phone. There are manual ways of doing that, or you can rely on the old Android app favorite, ClockworkMod’s ROM Manager, a free download from the Play store.
As for the Nexus 7, the process is similar. You’ll need to download the Jelly Bean update ZIP from the following link, and again use either ROM Manager or the manual method to install.
If all that sounds like too much hard work, you might be better off waiting for Google’s OTA update to arrive. That should happen over the next few days.
Those of you working with one of the three Nexus devices currently offered up by Google, those being the Nexus 4 and 10, will be glad to know that an Android 4.2 OTA update has begun rolling out. This update includes two major updates into what we already knew was supposed to be possible with this Jelly Bean+ build, that being Lock screen widgets and Multi-user support. It would appear that this update will be the one that the devices will be shipping with – or at least what they’ll be updated to rather quickly after their release.
The first thing you’ll want to check out is Lock screen widgets. This update has you able to grab widgets similar to what you may have seen on many manufacturer’s custom builds of Android for some time – showing your calendar or email, for example, or recognizing music with Google’s Sound Search. This update does include a push for developers to create their own widgets, which is potentially awesome for the greater bulk of the Android universe.
Multi-user support is open for the Nexus 10 as well. This means you’ll be able to have user profiles for all of your friends and family – if that’s something you want – with customizable spaces for each person. This multi-user support exists right after you turn your tablet on, with a tap on your chosen image to bring up your own home screen, apps, email, photos, and storage.
Have a peek at our full reviews of the Samsung Nexus 10 and the LG Nexus 4 and get pumped up about the rest of the updates coming up. These devices are available on the Google Play device store online and you’ll be seeing them at retailers rather soon as well. The software, as always, is open and free.
Google just pushed an OTA update to Android 4.2 for our Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 review units. As expected, the update adds lock screen widgets to both devices and multi-user support to the Nexus 10. We’ve reached out to Google and the company’s confirmed that this is the build that will be shipping on its flagship phone and tablet tomorrow. We’ll soon be putting this latest build of Jelly Bean through its paces, but in the meantime, take a look at our gallery of screenshots below.
The AT&T pre-order period for the ultra-powerful re-birth of the captain of the HTC football team, the HTC One X+, begins on the 13th of November, that being tomorrow, with a release date of November 16th for in-store availability. These devices expand the HTC One series into the future with one extra-affordable entry into the family and another that’s an upgraded version of its former self. Along with the updated version of the T-Mobile HTC One S, this should very well count as a resurgence of the HTC One lineup – a rebirth as a butterfly, if you will.
The HTC One X+ will be running you $199.99 with a two-year agreement right out the gate while the VX will be popping up for just $49.99 with a two-year agreement. This provides you with the biggest and the smallest, the slightly more costly and the extremely affordable, both of them bringing AT&T 4G LTE and HTC’s own Sense user interface. See our AT&T HTC One X AT&T full review right this minute – and our original HTC One X international edition review as well!
The HTC One VX comes with a 9.19 mm thin body and a 4.5-inch qHD display covered with Corning Gorilla Glass. The back of this device has a 5 megapixel camera able to capture 1080p video backed up with HTC’s own ImageSense processor – a separate processor entirely from the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor under the hood. THis device also has Adreno 305 graphics, a 0.3 megapixel camera on the front, and a microSD card slot for memory expansion. Built-in storage for this device is 8 GB and you get 1GB of RAM to run the beast.
The HTC One X+ is an upgraded version of the original HTC One X for AT&T, this time coming with the processor that it had in its original international form: the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core SoC with 4-PLUS-1 technology. This device bears the bragging rights for being the first to market with the combination of the Tegra 3 and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean – the Tegra 3 here being clocked at a massive 1.7GHz per core.
This device has a 4.7-inch 720p HD display and works with an 8 megapixel camera with the same HTC ImageSense chip that the whole of the HTC One series has brought to the market. This device comes in one iteration, bringing with it a massive 64GB of internal memory that, as AT&T puts it, “is non-partitioned to store more high quality photos, video, music, movies and apps however the user wants.”
It’s time for the Samsung Galaxy Camera, a device that lives inside both the Android and the Samsung ecosystems with a lovely beast of a camera to boot. With Samsung’s ever-strengthening family of devices and Samsung-specific sharing features onboard, the Samsung Galaxy Camera will be coming your way with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and a fabulous 16 megapixel backside illuminated CMOS sensor for photos and video. This device will be coming to AT&T both on and off-contract for the same price on November 16th.
We’ve had our hands on the international edition of the Samsung Galaxy Camera and will certainly be having a closer look relatively soon. For now, hear this: you’ll have a quad-core 1.4GHz Samsung-made Exynos processor inside (same as the Galaxy Note II) and mobile data onboard. That means you’ve got heavy firepower, of course, and you’ll be connected to the web – so no more need to connect to your computer with a USB cable just to unload all your photos.
This device is also coming to AT&T with a deal you’ll want to think about. That is, for a limited time, up to $100 off the purchase of a second Samsung connected device – including the Galaxy Camera – when you purchase any Samsung Galaxy smartphone. So it’s not a $100 if you buy the camera, but $100 off the camera if you buy a smartphone first – same thing in the end.
This device has a lovely 4.8-inch Super Clear LCD screen on the back, Samsung’s own TouchWiz-enhanced Android user interface, and connection to the Google Play app store for all your favorite apps – including photography apps, of course. In this way you’ll essentially be working with an Android smartphone, but one that just so happens to have a massively powerful camera on its back. Have a peek at the timeline below for all the Galaxy Camera action you can handle.
Sometimes the wait for an update to come rolling out for your smartphone is tiresome, especially as the rest of the world seemingly enjoys the latest and greatest software offerings. Earlier today, Motorola announced that it will begin offering users a trial run option for new software, getting updates out faster than before. Users can then provide feedback on any bugs they might encounter.
The feature is called Test Drive, and will be launched starting with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The first few hundred users who sign up for Test Drive will receive a software preview from Motorola in a you-scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours sort of way. Says the announcement, more details will be provided, including instructions on signing up, on the company’s blog “soon.”
This is an improvement over the company’s previous Feedback Network opportunity, which allowed a small number of customers to test new upcoming software updates. Back in September, Motorola announced that it was aiming to be a “New Motorola,” and so this change is not only exciting, but hints at the company’s new forward direction. Not all phones will receive upgrades however, and so you can swap your phone in via the company’s trade up program if you’re in the market for a new smartphone.
Says Motorola, “Clearly, there’s a lot going on at Motorola, and we have no intention of slowing down any time soon. We’re a new company with a new approach, and a big part of how we’ll do business going forward is to keep our customers in the loop.” The company encourages feedback on its Google+ page.
Friday is here once again, but before you get too terribly sloshed, be sure you read through our recap of the day’s big news! Today we heard that Judge Lucy Koh will examine claims of misconduct on the part of the jury foreman in the Samsung vs. Apple patent trial, and Apple is actually being dragged back to court for a dispute over FaceTime in the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. Speaking of the iPad mini, Apple confirmed today that the LTE iPad minis should be shipping out in the next five days, and the company announced that it will be donating $2.5 million to the Hurricane Sandy recovery effort on behalf of its employees.
Earlier in the day, we learned that ASUS was handing out vouchers to consumers in Europe who bought the 16GB Nexus 7 right before its price drop, and then later on Google announced that it will be offering a “price protection program,” for 16GB Nexus 7 purchasers as well. The Nokia Lumia 920T leaked today, and it seems that China Telecom may be getting the iPhone 5 before long. Six companies may be facing fines for alleged CRT price fixing, and after learning a ton about Grand Theft Auto V yesterday, a leak today gave us all new information.
Angry Birds Star Wars rose to the top of the iOS charts in record time, and BioWare wants your suggestions for its next Mass Effect game. We learned today that climate change might mean a bleak future for the world’s coffee beans, and that the Motorola DROID RAZR M will soon be getting an upgrade to Jelly Bean from Verizon. Finally tonight, we compare the the Nokia Lumia 920 to the HTC Windows Phone 8X in a head-to-head battle, we take a closer look at the FanVision displays used during NASCAR races, and Chris Burns has a new interview with NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the weekend ahead!
It appears that Motorola wasn’t kidding around when it said that it would take Jelly Bean updates seriously, as the company announced the update to Android 4.1 for the DROID RAZR M today. Motorola announced the update on its Twitter account, saying that it’s being rolled out in phases, and support documentation has popped up on Verizon’s website. This means that it won’t be much longer before DROID RAZR M users have Jelly Bean on their sharp looking handsets.
Before we go any further, allow us to point out that Motorola is getting Jelly Bean on the DROID RAZR M just two months after the phone was released. That is truly excellent, and Motorola earns big points for being able to get a Jelly Bean update out the door so quickly. Of course, we imagine that its parent company Google has something to do with that, but hey, getting Jelly Bean to users fast is something that should be commended, regardless of who is responsible.
Our friends over at Android Community point out that Motorola is now seeding to update to test units, so it might be a week or two before a large number of users are seeing it show up. The update will go out OTA, and Verizon’s support documentation walks users through the process of installing both the user initiated upgrade and the server initiated upgrade. Among other things, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean brings Google Now support and enhanced notifications with it, so there’s plenty to get excited about.
The DROID RAZR M is just one of the handsets Motorola plans to upgrade to Jelly Bean before 2013 rolls around. The DROID RAZR HD and RAZR MAXX HD both have 2012 Jelly Bean upgrades in the pipeline, with others like the Atrix HD, the Photon Q, and the Electrify 2 getting Jelly Bean eventually. If you have a relatively recent Motorola handset that won’t be getting an upgrade to Jelly Bean, Motorola is offering a trade up program for you to take advantage of, the details of which can be find here. Keep it tuned here to SlashGear, as we’ll have more news about this DROID RAZR M Jelly Bean upgrade soon!
We know not all Motorola handsets will be lucky enough to be on the receiving end of Mountain View’s Jelly Bean OS, but the Droid RAZR M, on the other hand, is now being prepped to get a taste of Android 4.1. According to Verizon, the 4.3-inch, Kevlar-sporting device can now be added to the growing list of devices running Jelly Bean, with the carrier noting that the fresh update will officially start rolling out to customers today “in phases.” Meanwhile, Big Red also says an option to download the upgrade manually is coming, though that alternative won’t be available until later next week. Regardless, proud RAZR M owners can expect a slew of under-the-hood improvements, new features such as Google Now and compatibility with ISIS Mobile Wallet (where the NFC-based payment system’s live, of course). Are you seeing the Jelly Bean goods on your Droid now? Do let us know in the comments below.
The Apple and Samsung patent wars have reached the point to where mentioning the ongoing battle is almost cliche. Now, adding to the chronicles is Apple’s latest move, wherein it states that Samsung is violating its patents with the Galaxy Note 10.1 phablet smartphone. In addition, the fruit-logo’d company is also seeking to have Android Jelly Bean added to its current lawsuit against the Korean company.
Apple presented the claims earlier today at the District Court for the Northern District of California. According to the company, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1 infringes on some of its patents, and should be added to its ongoing lawsuit. In addition, Apple is seeking to have the Jelly Bean-running Galaxy Nexus added to the lawsuit.
Says Apple attorney Andrew Liao, Apple “wants to add 17 devices that could use a stylus,” although none of them actually ship with a stylus. In addition, Samsung’s attorney Victoria Maroulis stated that the Korean company wants to add the iPhone 5 to its complaint against Appple. The arguments were presented to Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal, who is yet to issue a ruling. Reports Bloomberg, Grewal is concerned that denying both companies their latest requests could trigger a whole new slew of lawsuits.
The lawsuit to which Apple wishes to add these two issues is set for trial in 2014. So far, Apple has already scored a preliminary order that blocks the sale of Samsung Nexus smartphones in the US. Recently, Samsung was found guilty of infringing six out of seven Apple patents, while Apple was told to publish a public statement on it website proclaiming Samsung’s innocence over claims Apple made in regards to the Galaxy Tab.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
