Android Phone Fans |
- PSA: Moto X, Droid Mini, Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx now support Square Register and Jawbone Up
- Takha is a smartphone obsessed hand warmer, great gift for the texting tailgater
- Nova Launcher beta update brings transparent notification bar and nav buttons on Android 4.4+
- Android 4.4 KITKAT has a hidden setting for showing battery percentage, but it kind of sucks
- HTC M8 (One sequel) tipped for all major US carriers before the end of Q1
- Google Glass XE11 update supports Google Play Music if you sideload the APK
- How to change the default SMS app in Android 4.4 KITKAT on the Nexus 5 [VIDEO]
- Do you hate the new Google+ YouTube comments?
- Major Google Hangouts bug lets emoji spammers lock up the app; Google already on the case
- When to expect Android 4.4 KITKAT on your favorite ROMs
- Moto G shows up on Amazon UK, coming at about $270 this Nov. 14th
- Moto Maker comes to all major US carriers
| PSA: Moto X, Droid Mini, Droid Ultra, Droid Maxx now support Square Register and Jawbone Up Posted: 11 Nov 2013 06:01 PM PST
When the latest round of Droid phones and the Moto X initially launched, we reported that Square Register, Jawbone Up, and other TRS (tip, ring, and sleeve) plug devices weren’t supported. Motorola told us that support for those types of devices would be coming with a future software fix. The update that hit Verizon’s Droid phones last week as well as last month’s Moto X update have resolved said issues.
At the time of this writing, Motorola has not updated their support page to reflect the recent changes. However, I can confirm that Square Register can now successfully read credit cards and the Jawbone Up is transferring data as intended too. Additionally, if you happened to have backed Pressy on Kickstarter, you can now rest easy knowing your little button will be supported when it launches in the Spring. I don’t know about you all, but I’m loving the new Motorola, Google’s Motorola, when it comes to keeping their word. |
| Takha is a smartphone obsessed hand warmer, great gift for the texting tailgater Posted: 11 Nov 2013 04:21 PM PST The holidays are coming up and before you know it, you’ll be scrambling for last minute gift ideas that don’t let off that “bought at the last second” stench. If you’ve got a cold climate sports fan in your life, you might want to check out Takha, a product that recently launched on Kickstarter.
I’ll be honest: I think it looks a bit silly. If it fastened around your waist rather than over your neck like a smartphone bib, that’d be an immediate improvement. But with all the smartphone gloves out there (ex: SmarTouch Gloves) and devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 that work fine with winter gloves, the audience for Takha might be limited. But I also think it makes a heckuva novelty gift, a category widely pursued over the holidays as shoppers look for something – anything – that is unique.
With only 8 backers, $426, and over $24,000 left to collect in 25 days, Takha is looking like a long shot. Maybe, just maybe, some of you will be the reason their holiday dreams come true. Unfortunately, you won’t be fulfilling any holiday dreams yourself: the Takha won’t be ready to ship until February 2014:
If you’re interested, don’t let this stop you as you can always print out a picture of the Kickstarter page and let your gift recipient know you’ve already pledged on their behalf. Valentine’s day seems like an awkward tie-in and the company seem to be missing the mark with a heart shaped product. The real opportunity would be to have custom designed Takha’s with team inspired colors. After all, it’s no surprise that NFL Quarterbacks already use a similar product, albeit without the clear smartphone window. If they took this marketing approach and had them ready by the holiday shopping season, I think that $25,000 would have been achievable. Now? Well, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for them. The Takha will be available in a number of different colors and fabrics if it sees the light of day, but all versions claim the following:
Any chance you’ll be pledging on the Takha Kickstarter in hopes of nailing down a gift or two? Feel free to share some of your own gift ideas in the comments! |
| Nova Launcher beta update brings transparent notification bar and nav buttons on Android 4.4+ Posted: 11 Nov 2013 02:45 PM PST
Android 4.4′s new Google Experience Launcher brought us a very subtle, yet nice user interface change that gave the phone a really clean look. I’m talking about transparency in the navigation area and the notification bar. It’s not going to make or break your experience, but it’d be nice if custom launchers could enjoy that same visual fidelity. Thankfully, one of them now does. I’m talking about Nova Launcher, one of the most well-known and widely used home-screen replacement apps currently sitting in the Google Play Store. A new beta update has come out that will allow users on Android 4.4 — or any phone that supports transparency in the navigation bar (see the list below) — to get transparent status and navigation bars. Here’s a list of phones these new features should work on:
Beyond that, this update also brings an option that will enable the new-style page indicator for the home screen and the new apps drawer icon. Wondering how to get into the beta? It’s simple: join this Google+ community, then head here to opt-in to the beta. From there, you should soon see an update for Nova Launcher in the Google Play Store. It’s worth a spin if you aren’t a fan of the Google Experience Launcher but want that added bit of transparency. If you happen to be able to get transparent UI elements on phones other than the ones listed below, be sure to drop a line in the comments section and let us know! |
| Android 4.4 KITKAT has a hidden setting for showing battery percentage, but it kind of sucks Posted: 11 Nov 2013 02:05 PM PST
When Google laid out their large laundry list of changes in Android 4.4 KITKAT, the company left out a couple of things. One of those things is a hidden setting that will allow you to enable battery percentage in the battery indicator icon. It’s a simple set of commands in ADB — so simple, in fact, that an app has been written to allow users to toggle the setting at a moment’s notice. So if it’s so simple, why didn’t Google include a setting for it? Probably because it flat-out sucks. The problem is that the battery percentage text is the same color as the battery, so you won’t be able to see the percentage until your battery has already drained quite a bit. It kind of defeats the purpose, no? While it’s possible to decompile the APK and change the text color yourself, developer Kroegerama notes that this particular APK is not worth touching. He’s referring to SystemUI.apk. That’s pretty serious business there, so we agree with his cautious stance. That said, if you’re not bothered by such an incomplete experience you can download the app over at XDA and enable it for yourself. Let’s just hope this is something Google is actively working on and looking to bring in future upgrades to Android 4.4 KITKAT. |
| HTC M8 (One sequel) tipped for all major US carriers before the end of Q1 Posted: 11 Nov 2013 12:58 PM PST
Last week, we learned about a new HTC One sequel that would eventually be the baseline for the company’s new flagship fleet in 2014. Dubbed the HTC M8, the device is expected to house updated internals, including a Snapdragon 800 processor, a display between 5 and 5.2 inches, 3GB of RAM, and possibly the same fingerprint scanner currently found on the oversized HTC One Max. Information has been scarce otherwise, but a bit of new details have leaked by way of @evleaks. According to them, the HTC M8 is said to be headed straight for Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint whenever it launches. Beyond that, we’re told to expect the device to launch by the end of Q1 2014. We aren’t totally surprised by that considering the HTC One was also on every carrier, but you just never know if certain carriers will opt to pass one certain devices to push their own “unique” offerings (we’re looking at you, Big Red). Still, it’s nice to know so far ahead of time that you will be able to enjoy HTC’s latest wares no matter which major carrier you decide to do business with. |
| Google Glass XE11 update supports Google Play Music if you sideload the APK Posted: 11 Nov 2013 12:30 PM PST The XE11 update for Google Glass brought many great changes, but there’s a little something extra we didn’t know about — Google Play Music support! It doesn’t seem to be something Google’s officially announcing just yet, but if you sideload the Google Play Music APK you will have access to several Glass-specific commands that can be used to control music playback.
To activate music controls, say “OK Glass, listen to,” then say the name of the artist, playlist, album or song name. A card pops up with results, and you can then choose what you want to listen to. We’ve also noticed there’s a new card that stays pinned for music controls, allowing you to Play, Stop, Skip, Rewind, control volume and start radio play using the device’s touchpad. Need help on how to sideload the .APK? Look no further:
Music playback is carried out on the actual Glass unit, so things might not sound great through the bone conduction speaker. It might sound nicer on the latest hardware revision that includes an audio earbud, but Google has yet to begin issuing those upgrades. Google hasn’t made the announcement official yet, but this peculiar Google+ post by Googler Stephen Lau suggests they’ll be making that announcement at some point in the near future. It’s great to be able to get an early heads-up on stuff like this. Have at it! |
| How to change the default SMS app in Android 4.4 KITKAT on the Nexus 5 [VIDEO] Posted: 11 Nov 2013 11:08 AM PST With Android 4.4 KITKAT came a great new feature — system-wide SMS handling. This gave developers an easy, pain-free way to hook into the device’s SMS handler, and resulted in giving users a more easy way to switch between SMS apps (we all hate the drill of having to disable notifications and possibly reroute SMS messages using obscure methods). And with some of the bugs present in the latest version of Hangouts it’s probably safe to say not many people are gung-ho about using that particular app as their standard SMS experience. In the video above, I show you how to quickly and easily change the default SMS app. It’s as simple as hitting Settings > Wireless and Networks > Default SMS app. A quick picker box will pop up, and you should be able to switch between any of the SMS apps installed on your phone. Quick. Painless. Simple. Lovely. Watch the video above if you need a quick visual primer. |
| Do you hate the new Google+ YouTube comments? Posted: 11 Nov 2013 10:22 AM PST
Having the biggest video streaming site is no small accomplishment, but it also comes with a lot of responsibility. When we heard Google+ comments were being integrated to YouTube, we could only assume people would either love it or hate it. Commenting is one of the most important factors in YouTube, and messing up that part would be catastrophic. Well, it is all going downhill at YouTube right now. And we have to turn our heads when one of the most popular posts of the month is the announcement that this new commenting system had launched. What happens when we read the comments? We find out people hate it! Literally… it’s hard to find ONE positive opinion in our post’s 700+ comments. What is so bad about the new Google+ comments?First and foremost, not everyone wants to use Google+. YouTube has been a giant since its release; it quickly became the largest video community in the world and has been able to keep that title. When companies reach that point it’s very hard for people to migrate, so Google may feel like they have the power to force people to use their services. Google+ is being pushed very hard by the Search Giant. They want to integrate it with all its services; first with Google Talk, Blogger, Google and others – now with YouTube. And it can be impossible to fully use YouTube without having a linked Google+ account. At the very least, not using Google+ will make life harder for you in the YouTube realms. Users can’t comment without Google+, YouTube channels and Google+ comments are getting mixed up, setting up the account is getting confusing and there is no way to avoid all of this. Could Google+ have been good?
I believe things would have been better if Google handled it all with better care. Google+ comments are not so bad in Blogger, for example. The feature is an option, so you can opt out of Google+ comments in there. Also, you can leave comments as a guest. More importantly, Blogger actually benefits from comments being posted to Google+ (if you use it). YouTube getting comments all over Google+ just creates a bunch of noise. What do you think?We doubt Google will be taking the Google+ comments off of YouTube. Who knows, though – a huge part of the YouTube community is extremely upset over these changes. We don’t know, though. We wouldn’t hold our breath on it. With that being said, what do you think about all of this? Do you hate the comments? Do you think Google will somehow fix it? Participate in the poll and sound off your opinions in the comments below? Maybe Google+ comments are here to stay. If that were the case, how do you think Google could improve them to make us all happy? |
| Major Google Hangouts bug lets emoji spammers lock up the app; Google already on the case Posted: 11 Nov 2013 10:00 AM PST
An unfortunate bug seems to have surfaced in the latest Hangouts app for Android. Reddit user Recon0212 initially reported the bug, which could be experience-breaking for many people. So what’s going on? Well, if you are in a Hangout with many people — 12 for Recon — you could potentially lock up the participants’ app by spamming them with emojis. This means you’d be unable to enter the app and do anything. Pretty scary, right? Thankfully, Google has been made aware of the bug. Googler Dan Morril chimed in on the Reddit thread and confirmed that he was able to reproduce the bug in the presence of a product manager. He notes “top men” are already notified and are looking into it. What can you do in the meantime? The most convenient thing to do is to open Hangouts on a PC and remove yourself from the problematic group chat. It’s not ideal, but would you even still want to be in a group chat with people who spam emojis all day? Oh, and since this means your SMS messages would be inaccessible, you’ll probably want to install a third-party SMS app to make sure you don’t miss anything important while you get yourself out of the sticky situation. It might not be a bad idea to get a backup SMS app even if you haven’t been unfortunate enough to be affected by this bug — you never know when someone in your chat might be feeling a bit overzealous. We’ll be on the lookout for the update in the days or weeks to come. |
| When to expect Android 4.4 KITKAT on your favorite ROMs Posted: 11 Nov 2013 09:11 AM PST Android 4.4 KITKAT might take a while to officially come to the world’s top devices, but aftermarket firmware — AKA ROMs — will likely bring the goods we’re looking for much sooner. While we can’t quite possibly put a finger on every ROM out there, we do have an idea of when some of the most popular ones will be pushing the latest version of Android. Let’s take a look!
CyanogenMod The folks at CyanogenMod are still working to bring us final, stable builds of Android 4.3 in the form of CM 10.2. The team has already gotten their first “M1″ build out, which is a milestone release that users can begin to report bugs on. They’re ultimately working to bring us up to Release Candidate status, and then the first stable release will be the final Android 4.3 release. From there, the team will have their sights set on KITKAT. AOSP code has already been pushed to the CyanogenMod Github. This means project maintainers will be working to add all of the unique features that makes CyanogenMod, well, CyanogenMod. The first flashable goods could happen as early as the end of this month, though that will only be in nightly form (and the team isn’t making any promises on an exact timeline). AOKP Much like CyanogenMod, AOKP is still working to bring a final, stable Android 4.3 build. They have dedicated half the team to getting that final milestone out, while the other half is full steam ahead on Android 4.4. The team says to expect the build to be “nearly barebones” KITKAT for the first release as they work to bring a timely build to the masses. Fret not, though, as they’ll be hitting the midnight oil to provide quick updates that will bring back features that everyone loves. Paranoid Android The team behind Paranoid Android has already gotten early AOSP-based builds out. There is one caveat to mention — they will take this opportunity to start anew, and will use this major release as the starting point for a new code base. Like AOKP, this means features will be added in stages through the use of frequent updates. The rest As I said before, there are many different ROMs for many different phones, so it’ll be impossible to keep tabs on every last one of them. It’s important to note that circumstances will be different for every device, even with the ROMs above, so getting an “ETA on an OTA” isn’t going to be very fruitful. In fact, most of these developers would rather you not ask. That said, it’s best to find a community that surrounds your specific device, and follow maintainers of those devices for the latest info, Somewhere like XDA, RootzWiki, or the All Things Root sections at AndroidForums.com are good places to start. It’ll be a while yet before we see KITKAT in stable form on devices other than those donning the Nexus name, so it’s best to just be patient and leave it up to the awesome development community surrounding Android. |
| Moto G shows up on Amazon UK, coming at about $270 this Nov. 14th Posted: 11 Nov 2013 08:50 AM PST
Motorola has not been doing a great job keeping the Moto G secret. The device has been leaked by the official Motorola site, as well as print ads. It is by no means a secret – the announcement is coming and you can even sign up to watch it live. We were sure not much could surprise us anymore, but then the juiciest Moto G leak came from Amazon UK! The Moto G showed up at Amazon UK’s site momentarily and quickly taken down. Very few specs were displayed and the image was missing, but there is a very sweet bit of news coming from Amazon UK – the price. The affordable device was listed at £159.99, which roughly translates to about $270 US dollars.
Prices may differ once we get the device in the US, but we honestly doubt it will go higher. All in all, this should be a great device to get on a budget when you don’t feel like signing those pesky contracts. What will we get for under $300, though? Let’s see. Moto G Specifications
Now that is one hell of a deal! Amazon UK had the device release date as November 14th, so we don’t have to wait much until we hear more about this phone. In fact, the announcement is only a couple days away (Nov. 13). Let’s stay tuned! I will definitely buy this as a secondary device if it comes at $250 or less (because, why not?). Would be great for traveling and such. Will you be buying it if it’s this affordable? |
| Moto Maker comes to all major US carriers Posted: 11 Nov 2013 07:58 AM PST
After launching as an exclusive buying option for AT&T customers, Moto Maker is now live for all major US carriers. The site, which allows buyers to build a custom Moto X using a selection of color options and personalized settings, can now be accessed by Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint patrons. Altogether, Moto Maker allows for over 2,000 combinations to build a Moto X unique to the buyer, and after recent price drops only costs $99 for a 16GB model. The signs all pointed to a wider launch for Moto Maker this week, from various leaks to a Verizon landing page going live over the weekend. The process of building a device through Moto Maker remains the same. A carrier selection is made during the checkout process. With a factory dedicated to the production of custom handsets, buyers can expect to receive their personalized device within four days of purchase. As Motorola expands the program to more potential buyers, they also have plans to launch the Moto G later this week, a cheaper alternative to the Moto X that could be available for free on contract. PS: don’t forget that custom engravings have made a return! Be sure to check that option out if you want to make your Moto X even more personal to you. Still no word on when we can expect wooden backs, but we’ll be asking Motorola to drop the latest details in regards to that. [via Motorola] |
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