Tag Archives: Nexus

Mobile, Operating Systems

Android 5.0 Lollipop Update Now Available for Nexus Devices

android-5-lollipop

It’s Android Lollipop day, as Google has announced it will officially start rolling out OTA updates for its latest and greatest Android 5.0 OS to several Nexus devices, including the Nexus 5 and the Nexus 10, which will go straight from KitKat to Lollipop, Nexus 7s, plus the Nexus 6 and 9 which are both currently getting “minor” bugfix updates. It appears that Samsung and Sony users will have to wait a bit longer for this update as well as Nexus 4 and 3G/LTE versions of the Nexus 7 devices.

According to a recent post on the Google Product Forums the details of the new update are as follow:

The over-the-air update for Lollipop is now starting! The update is starting for these devices:

Nexus 6: Minor update to address bugs
Nexus 9: Minor update to address bugs
Nexus 5: Update from KitKat to Lollipop
Nexus 7 WiFi (2012 & 2013): Update from KitKat to Lollipop
Nexus 10: Update from KitKat to Lollipop
It will also be put up on Android Open Source Project (AOSP).

Note: The OTA update for 3G/LTE versions of the Nexus 7 2012 and 2013 have not yet started, nor have they started for the Nexus 4!

The files are available for download now from Google’s developer site.

Update: Motorola has also announced an official OTA release of the latest Android Lollipop update for its second-gen Moto G and Moto X mobile devices. The mobile company has posted on its website the following:

We’ve started to roll out Lollipop in phases just a week after the public release of the software to the following devices in the US -Moto X (2nd Gen.) Pure Edition, Moto G (2nd Gen.) US GSM, and Moto G (2nd Gen.) Global GSM retail versions sold in the US.

tablets

Google Introduces The 8.9-Inch Nexus 9 Android Lollipop Tablet

Google-Nexus-9-Android-Lollipop-tablet

We knew it was coming and now Google has finally shared details with its upcoming tablet, the Nexus 9. Slated to arrive in stores on November 3 (with pre-orders to start on October 17), the 8.9-inch 2048 x 1440 super HD slab, which was built in partnership with HTC, features a relatively small and portable device, made of a brushed aluminum all-metal body. The slate, which is set to cost about $399 for the 16GB packing version and $479 for the 32GB model is said to arrive with 2GB of RAM, as well as an Nvidia Tegra K1 chip, and a 8-megapixel rear camera shooter plus a 1.6-megapixel camera up front. The Nexus 9 will also include an optional 32GB 4G LTE variant, which will brandish a price point of $599 when it’s officially released.

The Nexus 9 is powered by Google’s latest edition of Android, also know as the Android Lollipop version 5. In addition to that, the Mountain View-based internet giant will also be offering a nice keyboard folio that magnetically attaches to the back of the tablet, and can easily fold into two different angles. The Nexus 9 will have a black, white or gold choice of colors.

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[Google]

tablets

LEAKED: HTC’s Next-Gen 8.9-Inch Nexus ‘Volantis’ Tablet

HTC-Volantis-tablet

The Nexus 7 tablet is one of the best 7-inch slabs around. It is powered by Google Android OS and has a lot of great features at the price of $199. However, many reports have indicated an 8-inch version of the tablet will launch later this year. While there was no tangible evidence other than the rumors themselves, a new report from Android Police confirms the product might actually be real.

htc-volantis-nexus

The report suggests an 8.9-inch HTC Nexus tablet, powered by a 2048×1440 screen, as well as a Tegra K1 processor, running under a zero-gap aluminum frame. The tablet which goes by the name Volantis is packed with a pair of cameras (3MP front, 8MP rear) that take pictures and videos  just like real life forms. In addition it offers a choice of 16GB/32GB storage, along with 2GB of RAM, a bunch of high-quality stereo speakers, WiFi, Black/White casing, and an optional LTE connectivity aboard.

The tablet will launch later this year starting at $399  for the 16GB flavor.

 

[Android Police]

tablets

New Nexus 7 Available For Pre-Order at $229.99 With Android 4.3 On Board

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Oh my my, what do we have here? It looks like Google is all set and ready to launch the new iteration of its popular Nexus 7. The tablet, which is the product of joint venture between Google and Asus will soon be featuring a 1920 x 1200 display resolution (323ppi), along with 2GB of RAM, and a powerful 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro 8064 processor, with Adreno 320 for the graphics. In addition, this highly anticipated device, which proves to be a great upgrade to the already high level of quality in the first generation, will pack a 5-megapixel camera on the back (about time!) while the front-facing camera will sport 1.2 megapixels, and the slate will run a future generation of Android 4.3 OS. The pre-order page at Best Buy suggest it’ll go for between $229.99 with 16GB of internal storage, and  $269.99 with the 32GB option.

Update1: Google officially announces the Nexus 7. Google’s Sundar Pichai says that the new device is 2 mm thinner, 6 mm narrower, and 50 grams lighter than the earlier Nexus 7. Further more, the Android 4.3 machine includes dual band wifi (802.11 a/b/g/n), along side the NFC technology and 4G LTE support. There’s also an HDMI output to connect the tablet to your tele, together with a Bluetooth 4.0 and wireless charging capabilities.

Update2: The Nexus 7 will be available Stateside on 30 July in wide range of stores and retailers like Amazon, Walmart, RadioShack, and Best Buy. Other countries, such as Canada, UK, Germany, Spain, France, Japan, Australia, and South Korea will hopefully get the new slate sometime in the following weeks. 

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Check out this quick hands-on video, courtesy of Android Police.

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tablets

6 Best Android Tablets For 2012

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android-tablet-device

Android tablets are the cost effective and best for people who are looking forward to get a new tablet and are not fancy about  iPad. Although, there are many other options to go like PlayBook from BlackBerry, HP Tablets and so on, Android is currently the best-selling tablet and it is on the way giving strong competition to Apple devices. Are you wondering to know the best Android tablets for the year 2012? The following Android tablet review list is as follows that help you acknowledge some details on best Android tablets for this year. Take a look after the break.

 

Continue reading 6 Best Android Tablets For 2012 →

tablets

Google Nexus 10 Tablet Leaked With Android 4.2 and Super AMOLED Screen (Update: Now Official)

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Google’s Samsung 10-inch joint venture tablet, the Nexus 10, just leaked ahead of launch (which was scheduled for October 29 but postponed due to weather conditions). Of course you should take all this with a little grain of salt, but the pictures and video footage (after the break) speak a million words. Not to mention Google’s Senior VP of Engineering, Vic Gundotra that was posting some images the other day (taken with a Nexus 10 device) on a Google Plus page of his own.

So basically, there’s something in the new horizon. What is it? According to the guys over at BriefMobile, we’re looking at a 1.7GHz Samsung Exynos 5250 dual-core slate, powered by a strong Mali-T604 GPU and paired with 2GB of RAM, about 16GB of internal storage, a 5MP camera on the back and some top-notch connectivity features like NFC, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0. The screen on this slab works with a very exceptional 2,560 x 1,600 HD resolution, and this new iteration is claimed to be running an Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on board. 

For now, let’s just hope it will go live as expected, and will do just as well as the Nexus 7 model 

Update1: It sure didn’t take long for Google to officially announce the Nexus 10, a 10.055-inch tablet made in partnership with Samsung. As already stated, the new device will indeed pack a whopping 2,560 x 1,600 screen display at 300 ppi – a Retina-level display that is impressively thin and stylishly designed. Moreover, it will also include a 1.7 GHz Cortex A15-based Samsung Exynos 5250 processor inside, as well as a Mali T604 GPU, 2GB of RAM,  a 1.9-megapixel front facing camera plus a 5-megapixel rear shooter, microUSB, Pogo Pin, microHDMI, Android 4.2 for the OS and some cool built-in features that we all have come to know. 

It will be available starting November 13th for $399 (16GB) and $499 (32GB), in countries like the US, UK, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Canada and Japan.

Update2: We have just added a chart, comparing the Nexus 10 to some of the most popular tablets available in the market

[via BriefMobile]

 

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The table is courtesy of engadget.

Games, Mobile, News, Phones, Video

iPhone 3GS VS Nexus One, Who Has The Best Video 3D Rates?

Are you eager to replace your old crappy mobile device with a brand new multi-touch compatible smartphone? If you do, and already considered buying either Apple’s iPhone 3GS or Google’s Nexus one, then get this – according to a 3D frame rate video test initiated by the guys at Distinctive Developments, it appears that Cupertino’s iPhone device achieved better results than Mountain View’s latest mobile hit. The test, which included a series of finger pinching gestures, has indicated that iPhone 3GS received an average of 30 frame rates per second, while Nexus one has managed to get only 20-21 rates for that same video segment. The reason for that gap between the two is due to the lack of use of Neon floating-point optimization in the Nexus One. You can see it for yourself right after the break, in hope that someone in Google would take things into consideration and make the essential changes.

Update: It was brought to our attention that Nexus One supports a 800 x 480 screen resolution which is bigger than iPhone’s 480×320. However, in their test DD guys actually changed the Nexus One viewport size to match the iPhone’s 480×320, and by doing that they received a frame-rate improvement from 30fps to 40fps. Still, with 8 characters on screen there was no difference; with the frame-rate remaining the same at 21fps.

[via phonesreview]

Continue reading iPhone 3GS VS Nexus One, Who Has The Best Video 3D Rates? →

Operating Systems, Phones, software

Google Nexus One Update Is Over-the-air, Brings Google Goggles, Maps And Multitouch Capabilities Into The Phone

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The mystery behind Nexus One’s multitouch disparity between Europe and the US is finally about to end, as Google reports in its blog, suggesting imminent roll out of a software update, specifically tailored for the Nexus One and which apparently boasts some major add-ons inside, amongst you’ll find Google Goggle app that lets you take pictures through the integrated webcam and then generate search results about them, improved version of Google Maps with a special night mode and useful suggestions, general fix of 3G connectivity and last but probably the most important one, multitouch support, that would likely offer “a new pinch-to-zoom mechanism in the phone’s Browser, Gallery and Maps applications”. In case you were wondering about the timing of this update, here’s Google official statement, given to ReadWriteWeb:

Looking around the mobile industry, from Apple to Palm to HTC and Motorola – it’s clear that pinch-to-zoom technology has become a standard and popular way for users to interact with their mobile phones. Likewise, Android users can now truly benefit from this capability with the availability of Android 2.1, which powers a new class of devices with larger touchscreens and more interactive features. Unlike past devices, these phones have the processing power to deliver pinch-to-zoom, while still providing a great user experience. Based on these new capabilities and numerous requests from Android users, we decided to provide pinch-to-zoom capabilities with this new over-the-air software update for Nexus One devices.

Update: We’ve added a video that shows Nexus One new features in action, check it out after the break.

[Google]

Continue reading Google Nexus One Update Is Over-the-air, Brings Google Goggles, Maps And Multitouch Capabilities Into The Phone →

Applications, Mobile, News, Operating Systems, Phones

Google's Nexus One Officially Announced With Android 2.1 Preloaded Inside

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So Google has finally launched the most anticipated Nexus One, and if you happen to live in one of the following 4 countries – the US, UK, Singapore or Hong Kong – you can get it right away from Google’s website, priced at $529.99 without a contract or merely $179 including a T-Mobile two year plan (in the US). Other people will have to wait at least until Spring 2010, when it believes that Google will be adding more countries to its smartphone lineup. The phone itself is an HTC brand, coming with a 3.7-inch 800×480 AMOLED display, which regretfully doesn’t support multi-touch at the moment, although Google says it’s not an hardware issue but a software tweak and it’d consider adding screen gestures capabilities in the future. Besides that, you get a fast 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor,paired with a 5 megapixels camera including an integrated LED flash that can shoot MPEG-4 video and have it uploaded directly to Youtube. Additionally, this 11.5mm thick device has a built-in compass, GPS, WiFi, A2DP stereo Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, a multicolored LED under the trackball, an accelerometer for landscape view and two mics, positioned on front, for complete noise cancellation. It runs all common frequencies and compatible with HSDPA 7.2Mbps, UMTS Band 1/4/8 (2100/AWS/900), HSUPA 2Mbps and of course, GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz). The 1400mAH battery inside is claimed to provide 5 hours of 3G browsing and 7 hours of 3G talk time, while storage wise, you receive only 512MB of internal flash along with a 4GB micro SD card, expandable up to 32GB. See the full specs here.

Moving forward with the details, the Nexus One packs Google’s “latest greatest” Android 2.1 platform – also known as Eclair – which crams some nifty stuff inside, like the voice recognition feature that works throughout the entire UI and activates almost any feature in the phone. That way, you can use your voice to write SMS messages and notes (speech-to-text), or tell the Google Earth search engine where should it go. Other than that, Google has implemented a Cooliris technology into the Nexus One gallery app, so you get 3D visualization whenever looking at images in landscape mode. It has a lot of widgets to offer, such as weather and news RSS, and the smartphone’s homescreen customization is interactive and houses 5 panels to store your apps and shortcuts. Stay tuned. Video is right after the break.

Update1: And looks like Adobe is now jumping on Google’s bandwagon by demoing its Flash 10.1 beta on a Nexus One superphone. Check it out after the break.

Update2: Well, what do you know, the European version of Nexus One, apparently supports multitouch capabilities out-of-the-box, while US devices don’t. We’re not so sure why, but as someone suggested, the trigger for the abyssal differences might be the fact that Apple has a US Patent on multitouch which doesn’t apply on European countries. Maybe. Google says it’s carefully reviewing this issue at the moment.

Update3: Different from what has been reported, Google’s Nexus One seems to be incompatible with “n” draft wireless connectivityand official specs state it supports only 802.11b/g WiFi frequencies. We’ll have more about this soon.

Update4: You knew it had to happen sooner or later, did you? No? then get this – iFixit guys have taken Google’s Nexus One on a mission and disassembled it into small pieces of technology craft. See the results here and after the break.

Update5: We’ve added two more stunning videos right after the break, in which you can watch Nexus One’s manufacturing process with stress tests such as bending, slamming, dropping, and cracking, all over the place. A must see creation!

Update6: Turns out Google now has live person phone support in case your Nexus One has problems that need to be solved. It’s 888-48NEXUS (63987) and said to work from 07:00am to 10:00pm PST. Right now the line will handle only status and shipping issues while tech problems can find answer via Google’s support forums, FAQs pages, email support and HTC/ T-Mobile customer care departments.

Continue reading Google's Nexus One Officially Announced With Android 2.1 Preloaded Inside →