Hasta La Gadget!

The update to Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean on both the HTC One and the HTC Butterfly (international version of the DROID DNA, that is), has been a long time coming. Today it’s appeared only on some international models of the HTC One with a bit of a boost to Sense 5.0 as well (without the name change) – and the aesthetic changes are what’s heading the pack. While we’re expecting this change to hit carrier models in the near future, right this minute it’s just popping up on a select few models across the sea.

Several relatively minor changes have been made to the user interface here with Android 4.2.2 coming to the HTC One – and to the Butterfly in a similar manor, we must expect soon. The first of these is the addition of an option to change what happens when you hold down the Home button in the lower right of the HTC One’s front panel – now instead of only being able to access Google Now, you’ll be able to set a long-press to access the long-lost “menu” key.

The app drawer and dock have been updated to allow the dock to be made bare, and for icons to stick to the drawer even when they’re also pushed to the dock. “Daydream” has been added, this being the screensaver oddity found in stock Android 4.2.2 for docking, charging, or whatever else you want to have it appear during.

This update adds the ability to work with Android-native sound profiles – aka EQS or equalizer controls. These controls can be found by tapping one’s EQS icon in the upper right corner of the notifications menu.

Finally you’ll now be able to show the battery level with a percentage indicator next to your battery icon – this is accessible under settings, power, show battery level.

All of this will be accessible by HTC One users without carrier ties in the near future, while the amount of time between here and the carrier-tied updates is at the moment completely unknown. We’ll continue to explore and let you know if anything else fantastically different pops up between here and your own update – stay tuned!

VIA Android Revolution, @Androidcreature

HTC One Android 4.2.2 (with Sense 5.0) update detailed is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Because both the Samsung GALAXY S 4 and the HTC One work with infrared-blasting hardware and they’ve both been grabbed by Google in the past few weeks, the next version of Android will likely have IR-Blaster-supporting drivers built-in. It’s been confirmed today that both the HTC One and the Samsung GALAXY S 4 in their “Google Editions” will not have IR-Blaster support because this connection to their hardware is not part of the basic build of Android – it’s made by HTC uniquely, and Samsung uniquely. As this is true, and as Android’s next big update is well on it’s way, one thing follows the other.

Because Android 4.2.2 is the launch version both of these devices will be coming with, IR-Blaster support will not be a reality for either piece of hardware immediately. It will be in the next big update of the Android mobile operating system that this support will be pushed – and as if it were planned all along, they’ll have two devices in their Google Play store that work with said support.

When Google introduced Miracast support for their devices, it was especially confusing. Android 4.2 Jelly Bean wireless display mirroring works with the Miracast wireless connectivity standard, but because this standard hasn’t been widely adopted, there are precious few instances where anyone is able to make use of it.

In fact, not every device that claims to be “Miracast” is working with the same technology. Even several months after Android 4.2 was introduced, this remains largely true.

But here comes an opportunity for Google to shine. As the “Nexus user experience” hits both the HTC One Google Edition and the Samsung GALAXY S 4 Google Edition, so too do we inch closer and closer to a time when it makes sense for Google to introduce Android 4.3. We’ve seen this operating system creeping around our own visitor ranks as early as May 5th.

So while we’ll just have to wait and see, the fact that IR remote functionality is supported by the Linux kernel may just be too simple an equation not to add up. Vanilla Android infrared remote device control, here we come.

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean will have IR-Blaster support: here’s why is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Today the Google Edition of the HTC One has been announced by the head of Android, Sundar Pichai. This announcement was made during the D11 conference in which this Google head spoke to Walt Mossberg about Android, Chrome, and all things Google software. The HTC One Google Edition follows in the footsteps of the Samsung GALAXY S 4 Google Edition which was announced a Google I/O 2013, and both devices will be available in late June.

The official launch date of the HTC One straight from Google is June 26th, while its off-contract price will be $599 USD. That’s unlocked as well, opening the door for hackers and developers to create custom user interfaces and interact with the deepest innards of the phone and its software. Google Play will be selling “Nexus” devices now aside two Google Edition smartphones, this being a first for the company.

“A special edition of the new HTC One running stock Android will be exclusively available through the Google Play store in the United States starting on June 26th. This edition pairs the all-metal unibody design, low-light capabilities of the UltraPixel camera and dual front-facing stereo speakers of the new HTC One with the stock version of the latest Android software, Jelly Bean 4.2.2.” – HTC

It’s apparent now that Google is willing to work with the top companies in the environment to not just bring forth a pure Android experience, but to allow these companies to retain their brand power as well. Though much of the Samsung GALAXY S 4′s user experience is based on the software Samsung pushes with it, the “GALAXY” name remains strong with or without the details – Google appears to believe the same to be true about HTC and the HTC One.

This HTC One will be launched with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean without any software additions by HTC. This will be separate from the SIM unlocked and Developer Edition phones direct from HTC, and pricing will be slightly different based on edition. The “Nexus Experience” aka “Google Edition” of the HTC One will cost $599 USD, while the SIM Unlocked phone straight from HTC will also cost that same amount.

The Developer Edition costs just a bit more straight from HTC because of its slightly larger internal storage size, that being 64GB instead of the 32GB of the Nexus Experience phone. These devices all work with HSPA/WCDMA, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, and LTE.

SOURCE: HTC

HTC One Google Edition made official with “Nexus User Experience” is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While the Samsung Galaxy Exhibit may look to be a brand new smartphone – complete with fancy blue accents – coming to T-Mobile this week, it’s actually an ever-so-slightly modified version of the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini. This device takes what the Galaxy S III Mini (not the S 4 Mini, mind you), was as it was released internationally last year with Galaxy S III style and gives it a slight bump, bringing a bit more of the Samsung Galaxy Axiom 4G LTE to party with the pink carrier.

Oddly, this version of the device does not come with quite as fine a build as the Axiom, that device having been released with US Cellular. Here instead of a 1.2Ghz dual-core processor you get a 1Ghz dual-core processor, and this time it’s a NovaThor-made SoC. The back of this device does still have a 5 megapixel camera, on the other hand, and a microSD card slot able to carry up to 32GB cards.

Inside you’ll find Android 4.1 Jelly Bean while the machine is able to work with 4G, but not quite LTE, radio bands. This device is also prepared to come in at the bottom level for budget-minded users, appearing with one of T-Mobile’s special monthly payment plans at $19.99 down and $9 more per month for 2 years. This device is also available for a straight-up one-time price of $235.99 – not half bad if you’re not comparing it to the Google Nexus 4.

So while it may look it, this machine is not truly the Samsung GALAXY S 4 Mini that we’re likely to see early next month. That machine is prepared to take on a form of its own, working with specifications that more closely resemble that of the Galaxy S III with a body that’s closer to the GALAXY S 4. And the whole Samsung Galaxy family will live happily ever after!

SOURCE: T-Mobile

Samsung Galaxy Exhibit brings Galaxy S III Mini to T-Mobile is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The next wave of Samsung devices is washing in as a London event announced earlier today clues the public in, miniature photo style. The Samsung Galaxy Note III will quite likely be up for announcement as it’s been appearing in benchmarks here and there and has historically appeared not long after a Galaxy smartphone hero device in the past. Meanwhile the company has Windows 8 notebooks and a brand new Galaxy Camera to show as well.

This Samsung event is sure to be packed with announcements that expand the company’s collection of Android and Windows devices with a real possibility for Tizen appearing on the tail end. Guesses surrounding the actual invite card have centered on these three items:

1. Galaxy Note III
2. ATIV Ultrabooks (Series 7)
3. Galaxy S 4 ZOOM

The third entry has appeared in UAProf listings, passed on by Mobileaks as a replacement for the Samsung Galaxy Camera, here coming with software features that mix it in well with the GALAXY S 4 lineup. This camera will likely be working with a 16 megapixel camera and the same sensor as the original device.

The Samsung Galaxy Note III, on the other hand, has appeared in the benchmark system AnTuTu several times. The most likely candidate for final release amongst the several instances of the device code-named GT-N7200 (Galaxy Note III) is one running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with a processor clocked at 1.6GHz. This is the same clock speed at which the Samsung GALAXY S 4 was released, that belonging to the Samsung Exynos 5 Octa processor.

What will quite likely be the case is that, regardless of the physical screen size of the Galaxy Note III, it’ll have the same number of pixels as appearing on the Samsung GALAXY S 4. Alongside this 1080p display, the Galaxy Note III will have a 13-megapixel camera, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor when released in the USA, and will be working with an S Pen with newly upgraded abilities.

You can expect the Samsung Galaxy Note III to be released internationally by September with a USA debut not long after. The question of whether this device will be released to multiple carriers or not is all but moot at this point: only how much longer after AT&T and T-Mobile Verizon will release device remains up in the air.

Galaxy Note III set for Samsung multi-device event is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.