Android

Android 4.1 reaches Samsung Galaxy S3 on AT&T

Android 4.1, aka Jelly Bean, is now spilling out for AT&T customers with Samsung Galaxy S3 phones.

As of today, AT&T subscribers can update their phones using Samsung's Kies software. This method requires users to download the new Android flavor onto their computers and then apply the update to their phones through a sync.

Users can update their phones by following the steps provided on AT&T's Jelly Bean upgrade page. AT&T will not offer the update over the air, so Kies is the only way to get Jelly Bean … Read more

Nexus 4 to be back in stock today in U.K., Germany

Brits and Germans will soon be able to get their hands on an LG Nexus 4 smartphone, with Google releasing more inventory in its Google Play store today.

Users on Reddit posted information and shared images of notices from Google that said they'd be able to order the phone today. And sure enough, Google Play showed the devices were in stock at about 5 p.m. GMT today, or 9 a.m. PT, just as the notice promised.

According to Google's U.K. site, the 8GB version of the phone will ship to buyers in four to five … Read more

Facebook Android Messenger only needs name, phone number

Facebook today made a few tweaks to its Messenger feature, allowing Android users to create an account with just their name and phone number.

Unlike in the past, people now aren't required to have a Facebook account to access Messenger.

The move is a way for Facebook to reach a bigger audience, attracting people who don't already have Facebook accounts and getting them to gradually use more Facebook services. In addition, it could also become a way to increase the Facebook usage of existing members by giving them a way to communicate via Facebook with friends who aren'… Read more

iOS, Android, and Web traffic: Same old, same old

Apple and Google are very nearly in the same spot as they were six months ago when it comes to Web traffic, a new study says.

Advertising and analytics company Chitika today put out new numbers from a six-month study of U.S. and Canadian Web traffic collected from ad impressions by iOS and Android devices. The main finding is that both mobile operating systems are still very nearly in the same spot as where they started, despite major product launches on both sides.

Apple closed in on 67 percent of the overall Web traffic that Chitika recorded, ending on … Read more

PengPod, a true Linux tablet, hits its mark on Indiegogo

Not satisfied with the current crop of Android tablets and the restrictions Google often places on its mobile OS? Finally, the Linux army has its own portable, touch-screen option.

As of this morning, PengPod, a spin-off of a Florida-based importing company, officially closed its crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo for its line of open Linux and Android-based tablets and mini-PCs on a stick.

It wasn't a barn-burner campaign like some of those seen on Kickstarter for things like the Ouya game console or Pebble smart watch, but it did raise more than $72,000 to meet its $49,000 goal and be able to start production.… Read more

Asus may be cooking up another low-cost Android tablet

A new tablet could be in the works from the folks who brought us the Google Nexus 7.

A few specs about the potential tablet recently popped up on benchmark site GLBenchmark.

The limited details revealed so far point to a Jelly Bean flavored tablet with a 1GHz processor, a Mali 400 graphics chip, and a screen resolution of 1,024x552 pixels (likely 1,024x600), as described by blog site Cult of Android.

Codenamed the Asus ME172V, the new tablet doesn't match the specs of the Nexus 7, which sports a 1,280x800-pixel resolution and a maximum processor speed … Read more

Android-based Ouya game console shipping soon

Let the gamers, Android nuts, and open-source geeks rejoice -- the Ouya is shipping on time!

Well, at least the developers' consoles are, that is. Ouya first garnered attention by raising more than $8.5 million on Kickstarter this summer to create an inexpensive, open-source, Android-based game system.

Early supporters of the crowdfunding campaign got first dibs on a finished Ouya for as little as $95, but those aren't scheduled to ship until March. However, the hundreds of folks who ponied up $699 or more for a first-run, rooted developers' system with early SDK access get to experience Christmas twice in the same week when their consoles ship on December 28.… Read more

Samsung Galaxy Camera for Verizon clears FCC

A chief complaint of the Samsung Galaxy Camera is that it's only available for AT&T. That should change, however -- a Verizon model has been spied in the virtual halls of the FCC.

The details for an "EKGC120" Galaxy Camera cropped up this week for showing a version of the digital camera with support for Verizon's 700MHz LTE bands. Since the testing was conduced in early November, I suspect that the 4G variant of this connected camera won't be far off.

I'm curious to see if Verizon asks for $500 for the … Read more

Bluetooth-enabled stickers help find lost keys and cats

You may be prone to losing things like your keys, your remote controls, or your escape-artist dog. StickNFind is raising funds to help you stick Bluetooth on all your things so you can find them without turning your house upside-down and cursing a blue streak.

StickNFind stickers are equipped with Bluetooth low-energy technology. The stickers are about the size of a quarter and weigh well under an ounce. Slap a sticker on anything (or anyone) and then use the accompanying app to figure out where you put them last. Each little tag also has sound and light that can be triggered separately.… Read more