Tag: android jelly bean

Android Jelly Bean Now On 52.1% Of Active Devices

According to Google’s monthly Android OS distribution chart — which tracks devices that actively visit Google Play Store — Jelly Bean (OS 4.1 to 4.3) now makes up for 52.1%of all devices, up from 48.6% last month. Every other OS dropped in usage, most notedly Android Gingerbread by 2.2% to run on 26.3% of Android device . This is still a huge number as the OS was introduced almost 3-years ago (December of 2010).

Next month will be interesting as we’ll see the uptake on the new 4.4 KitKat, plus those stats might also give a peek into early Nexus 5 sales.

November 2, 2013
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean Announced

Google today announced the latest iteration of Android – Android 4.3 Jelly Bean during a press breakfast in San Francisco.

The long-awaited OS update will be coming to Android device users based on their devices. The Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update will start rolling out today to the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. The “Google Play Edition” versions of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 can expect it soon, most likely August or September.

As ArsTechnica reports, the new operating system will feature multi-user restricted profiles. This will let users control access to contents and apps per user—so parents, for example, can control which applications their kids can access. When accessed from restricted profiles, applications behave differently. On stage, Hugo Barra demonstrated this by showing a puzzle game whose in-app purchase functionality was automatically disabled when it was accessed on the kid’s restricted profile.

Other features include built-in OpenGL ES 3.0 support, DRM APIs for providing hardware-based encryption for protecting content, which will allow it to provide 1080p video to its tablets. The first partner is Netflix, which supports 1080p HD streaming. The Nexus 7 is the first device to support it.

Android 4.3 also introduces many other features, including support for Bluetooth Smart devices, background Wi-Fi location, more language support and “easier text input.”

We’ll bring you more on the new release as it comes. In the meantime, share your thoughts down in the comments.

July 24, 2013
Micromax Canvas Lite A92 launched at Rs. 8499

While many are awaiting the new Micromax Canvas 4 A210, the company is not shy of releasing more handsets. Micromax has today launched the new A92 Canvas Lite for a price of Rs. 8499. The specifications of the Micromax Canvas Lite A92 match those of the original Canvas A100 with a 5 inch 480 x 800 px display, A Mediatek 6577 Dual Core 1 Ghz Chipset. The Micromax Canvas Lite A92 will also have 4GB of inbuilt storage, expandable via microSD and 512 MB of RAM.

The Canvas Lite A92 also has the same set of cameras as seen on the Canvas A100, a 5 MP main shooter along with a front facing camera (0.3 MP). While the company has phased out the A100, this is a great way for the company to relaunch older hardware with a new name. For the price the specifications are quite okay, but considering that with a couple thousand more nowadays you can get a Quad Core chipset and a 720p display. Would you be interested in buying a Micromax Canvas Lite A92?

June 29, 2013
Rumour : HTC One “Google Edition” With Stock Android To Be Released Next Month

Despite denying its existence, rumours persist of an HTC One “Google Edition”. During the Google I/O keynote address earlier this month, Google announced it was partnering with Samsung to bring a Galaxy S4 to Google Play that runs vanilla Android. While that particular device will only be available in the United States, it stoked the rumours that other manufacturers such as HTC would be getting in on the “almost-Nexus” game.

During the keynote, one of HTC’s PR mavens intimated that there would be a similar model of the One released with stock Android, presumably a newer version than is currently running on the device. But official channels quashed the rumour, leading to a short cessation of any talk.

In recent days, though, several sites including Geek.com and Android Central have independently confirmed that such a device does exist, and will be announced in the coming weeks.

The news comes from Geek.com’s Russell Holly, who claims that “multiple sources” are saying that HTC has plans to launch a stripped-down version of its flagship handset.

This comes after a string of negative press, including several executives leaving the company, news of relatively underwhelming sales of the One, and indications that its Facebook phone, the First, has been unceremoniously discontinued.

It’s likely that HTC is going ahead with the project after seeing the positive reaction to the stock Galaxy S4, aware that there is a global market for devices running unblemished Android and, perhaps more importantly, ones that receive updates directly from Google.

One thing to keep in mind about an HTC One “Google Edition” is that it will unlikely be sold in India. The same thing is true of the HTC One Developer Edition and the upcoming Play Store Galaxy S4, so you’re going to need a source in the United States to obtain one.

While the HTC One has been well received critically and by the public, sales have still lagged significantly behind those of rivals Samsung and Apple.

The company was also forced to admit it would be postponing the launch of the HTC First in the UK. It blamed poor customer feedback in the US for the move.

If HTC does release a One running stock Android, would you buy one?

[Geek, Android Central, Mobile Syrup]

May 25, 2013
HTC First Runs Stock Android Jelly Bean

The new Facebook Home-optimised HTC First runs a stock version of Android Jelly Bean, which can be accessed simply by turning off the social network’s new, custom UI, reports on Friday revealed.

As Phandroid found out during its hands-on time with the device, it looks like the HTC First runs a stock Android version underneath the Home user interface, which makes it the first HTC handset after the G2 to come with stock Android on board, even though it’s not comparable to the kind of stock Android you get with Nexus devices:

So, what does this mean exactly? Well, I should start out by saying that when I say “stock Android,” I’m not talking about pure AOSP with direct updates from Google. Only Nexus (and for a short time, Sony) devices get those kinda privileges. What I mean by “stock” is a version of Android that simply isn’t skinned and comes with stock Android apps like messaging, camera, gallery, stock notification bar, etc., but may or may not have some of the underlying software tweaked.

HTC later confirmed to The Verge that this was indeed the case and stock Android is the beneath-the-surface version of the OS.

Why is this somewhat of a surprise? Well HTC phones are usually dripping in its own skin for Android, the love-it-or-hate-it Sense UI.

For a pure Android experience, you can always purchase the latest Nexus model (or ask a relative to get it for you from abroad!), but did the HTC First also get sort of interesting now that you hear you can run Android on it without any UIs in the way?

[Phandroid]

April 6, 2013
Jelly Bean Now On 16.5% Android Devices, ICS Drops Slightly From Last Month

Google today updated its developer dashboard, which showed that Jelly Bean (version 4.1 and 4.2 combined) increasing its market share of the Android platform usage on devices by 2.9 percent month-over-month from 13.6 percent last month to 16.5 percent this month. Gingerbread, the hands-down leading version of the OS running on active devices, dropped in market share by 1.4 percent to 44.2 percent of devices.

Android Ice Cream Sandwich, the second newest Android version behind Jelly Bean, saw its market share fall slightly from 29.0 percent to 28.6 percent.

Froyo and Eclair, Android 2.2 and 2.1 respectively, also dropped slightly, but Donut remained static at 0.2%. Honeycomb also seems to be steady at 1.2%.

Slowly, manufacturers are updating compatible phones to Jelly Bean – most of these updates are only Android 4.1.x upgradess for now – but also announcing new machines that will run Android 4.1.x out of the box.

Most Nexus devices have been updated to the latest Jelly Bean version, Android 4.2.2, but it will probably be a while until more devices will be updated to the latest Android version in a timely fashion.

Overall it looks like things are progressing fairly nicely for the newer versions of the OS, though we’d love to see Gingerbread drop more quickly.

All the data from Google’s developer dashboard was collected from android devices that had accessed Google Play within a 14-period, which ended on March 4.

March 6, 2013
Android 4.2.2 Rolling Out For Nexus Devices

Nexus owners may have a reason to stay up tonight, as a couple of Reddit users report that Android 4.2.2 has begun rolling out to the GSM Galaxy Nexus and the Nexus 7. This is a release Google was rumoured to start shipping in Brazilian Nexus 4?s over a month ago, but nothing ever came of that assertion.

The report mentions that the update is being rolled out to select devices, carrying the JDQ39 build number.

We had earlier reported that the update is expected to roll out by the mid of February, so it doesn’t really come as a surprise that Google has started seeding it out.

The update comes in at little over 46MB and considering the fairly significant size may feature plenty more under-the-hood changes. Android 4.2.2 is currently rolling out in waves and will likely hit the Nexus 4 in the following days if previous deployments are of any indication. For Galaxy Nexus owners there is an OTA Android 4.2.2 update file that can be manually downloaded and installed afterwards using ADB Sideload in the recovery.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing too exciting to report, as the update provides mainly performance and stability fixes, and allegedly fixes a bug related to streaming music over a Bluetooth connection.

It’s not surprising that the update doesn’t deliver many new features, as Google is widely expected to announce the next major release of its Android mobile operating system, which is likely to be named Android 5.0, at its Google I/O conference in May.

Via: Reddit

February 12, 2013
Report : Android 4.2.2 Update Coming Later This Month

As we wait for the next big version of Android to appear — Key Lime Pie is rumoured to debut at Google I/O in May — Google hasn’t slowed down its sprucing and pruning of the current version.

According to a recent article on ibtimes.com, Google might be set to make the new platform version available by mid-February, after concluding internal testing for it.

The story goes that Google has been having employees test the 4.2.2 update on all of the Nexus devices – Galaxy, 4, 7, and 10 – and that the update is close to being released. There isn’t a lot to the update, which is expected to be very minimal. The only major issue that is expected to be fixed is the “stuttering” audio issue when using a Bluetooth headset with the Nexus 7.

Multiple reports and videos have surfaced showing at least the latest LG Nexus 4 running 4.2.2 Jelly Bean for a select few. Google hasn’t pushed 4.2.2 to AOSP and it hasn’t been confirmed, but either way it’s coming soon.

News of this forthcoming version of Jelly Bean comes not long after Google updated the Android version share page. According to the data, Jelly Bean–both versions 4.1 and 4.2–has grown by 3.2 per cent since last month. This new update will probably see more Jelly Bean devices being activated, giving a firm foothold to Jelly Bean before the next version of Android is released.

[Android Community]

February 7, 2013
Huawei Ascend P2 Press shots leak to confirm 13 MP camera, Slim Design

Wondering why Smartphones are still so fat? Well Huawei might be there with an answer to all the bulk with the new Huawei Ascend P2, a smartphone thats only 6.45mm thick.

The leaked images confirm that the Huawei Ascend P2 is indeed in the pipeline, and that too with a mammoth 13 MP camera and a slick metal body. Apart from the details mentioned little is known about the P2 , although rumors are pegging a full 1080p HD display at only 4.5 inches, 2GB of RAM, and a big 3000mAh battery for power.

The Huawei Ascend P2 is said to be Shipping with Jelly Bean 4.x, and the only think keeping the media vary is the 1.8 GHz Quad Core SOC which is of an unknown / self developed / Chinese nature. Keeping performance estimates on this device low. However, with the recent trend of phablets, Huawei might just do well in a market like India with a Quad Core Full HD Phone, with 2 Gb of RAM at the price of say a Galaxy Grand.

[ Unwired View]

January 25, 2013
LG Optimus G Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Update Starts Rolling Out

When LG announced the Optimus G they stated their premier device would be upgraded from Android OS 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to OS 4.1 Jelly Bean sometime “early Q2 of 2013.” According to a press release today by LG they “will begin its global roll-out into over 50 countries this month.” The first country to receive the upgrade will be Singapore “at the end of January,” then slowly work their way through other countries with LTE networks. This most definitely rules India out of the picture for now.

The Optimus G launched last year to great expectations with a new 4.7-inch HD display, quad-core power by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 Pro, 2GB of RAM, and of course that 13 megapixel camera.

The update brings Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to the Optimus G. Which includes a better keyboard, enhanced and smoother performance, and of course Google Now voice actions. The expandable notifications will be a feature many will enjoy too. In the past LG’s been slow to updates and while many have beat them to Jelly Bean, this is certainly quicker than we expected and a step in the right direction for good old LG.

Check out the press release below :

[toggle_box title=”Press Release” width=”Width of toggle box”]

LG’S ULTIMATE 4G LTE SMARTPHONE TO BEGIN
WORLDWIDE ROLL-OUT THIS MONTH
Optimus G to be Available in Over 50 Markets, Expanding LG’s LTE Leadership

SEOUL, Jan. 22, 2013 – The Optimus G, LG’s most premium and powerful 4G LTE smartphone, will begin its global roll-out into over 50 countries this month. The Optimus G has already been launched in the United States, Canada, Korea and Japan to very favorable reviews and LG is aiming to build on the excitement already generated to launch the device in other LTE markets.

“As 4G LTE availability expands on a global scale, we will leverage our strong LTE technology and expertise to offer consumers the best 4G experience through our devices,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “With the latest Jelly Bean OS and improved software, Optimus G will make a strong case for the title of ultimate premium 4G LTE smartphone.”

Since the launch of Optimus G last September, the smartphone has been enthusiastically received by audiences as one of the most advanced 4G LTE devices currently available. Optimus G has been receiving accolades from consumers and industry thought leaders alike for its powerful performance and thoughtful user experience. Optimus G’s unrivaled power originates from its innovative hardware design which includes Qualcomm’s advanced Snapdragon™ S4 Pro Quad-Core processor. The device also delivers blazing fast data transfer speeds using today’s 4G LTE telecommunication network.

“LG’s long history of LTE know-how is evident in the DNA of the Optimus G,” said Dr. Park. “As such, we hope consumers will take a deep, hard look at Optimus G when deciding which smartphone will give them the best 4G experience.”

The Optimus G will be available starting at the end of January in Singapore followed by other markets worldwide offering 4G LTE service.

[/toggle_box]

January 22, 2013
Sony Xperia Z To Receive Android 4.2 Update Shortly After Launch

Sony will be rolling out an update to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean shortly after they launch their new Xperia Z smartphone sometime in the next couple of months, likely in March. Talk Android reports that the news came earlier today on Twitter, during a company question and answer session.

From Sony’s Twitter account: “Xperia Z launches on JB 4.1, but will receive 4.2 shortly after launch. As always, we’ll share more info on this over the coming weeks on the blog.”

The Jelly Bean 4.2 update will bring some modest improvements over 4.1, like a more reactive user interface through touch-responsive CPU boosting, automatically resizing widgets, lock-screen widget options, and Android Beam, which is basically that “tap to share” feature that the Samsung Galaxy S3 boasted in its launch advertisements.

While it’s great that Sony is promising quick action on the update front, especially since if they do follow through with it in good time it will be one of the first non-Nexus devices to run Google’s newest OS, we’re left wondering whether the whole thing is lip service to a very small group of users and journalists.

As we’ve reported earlier, the Sony Xperia Z will be a quite impressive piece of hardware to run Android Jelly Bean on, no matter what version you have. With a five inch screen capable of 1080p high definition resolution, a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor with 2 GB of RAM, and a 13 megapixel rear camera with 16x digital zoom, the Xperia is going to be a hot smartphone to have when it releases sometime in the next couple of months (it’s being released in the United Kingdom on March 1st, so it’s a safe bet that soon after it will land here).

January 19, 2013
Flipboard For Android 4.2 Gets Daydream Support

Flipboard for Android has been updated at a decent clip recently, and its most recent overhaul brings a nice new feature that only Android 4.2 users can take advantage of.

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean introduced something called “Daydream,” where the phone or tablet goes into a sort of screensaver mode when docked or charged. This keeps the screen on and allows for a number of apps, either first- or third-party, to interact with the OS. For example, Google allows a simple clock widget to bounce around the screen, while apps like Beautiful Widgets and StumbleUpon have taken advantage of the mode to show rotating bits of photo and text.

Flipboard Daydream mode shows off news covers, gorgeous HD images with text overlaid. It’s a small but important feature that differentiates the Android version from its iOS counterpart, and grants those few Android 4.2 users a chance to take advantage of their shiny new devices.

Hopefully, more developers start making use of this feature in their apps. And more devices get the Android 4.2 update so people can use this feature.

[Engadget]

January 14, 2013
Samsung Will Launch the Galaxy Camera Today
Samsung will Launch the Galaxy Camera in the country today the 23rd Nov 2012. The Camera, which we first saw back at IFA in berlin, was launched alongside the Galaxy Note 2 and Ativ Tablets. The Galaxy Camera runs on Jelly bean and is powered by a Quad Core Processor. It has a touch-enabled viewfinder and a few hardware buttons on board, including a flash release (incase it doesn’t automatically pop up), a power button, zoom toggle and shutter release

The Samsung Galaxy Camera features a 16 million pixel 1/2.3 inch CMOS sensor along with an f/2.8 21x optical zoom lens which starts at 23mm (35mm equivalent).

Android Jelly Bean 4.1 is available on the camera, meaning a wide range of apps, including Instagram and Facebook are available to download and use on the camera. Integrated Wi-Fi is also included to download apps, as well as send and share images via social networking sites and email. An internal 8GB memory is included, along with a slot for a micro SD card. On the back of a camera is a large 4.77 inch HD Super Clear Touch Display LCD screen.

With the Auto mode, you’ll have access to a touch-to-focus system while leaving the rest of the computing to the camera. Other camera features include 10 smart pro features, auto cloud back-up, smart content manager, photo wizard, movie wizard, voice control and connectivity to Drop Box. In addition, Samsung supplies its own Photo Wizard and Video Wizard software and another tool designed to get good group shots. Google Mobile services such as Search, Maps, Gmail, Google Plus, YouTube and Google Chrome Browser can all be used from the camera interface. GPS navigation is also included.

The camera will be available in a series of colours and with many accessories, including a waterproof case.
- 1/2.33-inch BSI CMOS sensor
- 16-megapixel
- 21x, f/2.8-5.9, 23-480mm lens
- WiFi with 3G and 4G connectivity
- micro-SIM
- microSD card
- 1,650 mAh battery (seven hours of battery life)
Hands on Video
November 23, 2012
5 Million Google Nexus 7 Units Expected To Be Shipped In 2012

David Chang, ASUS’ CFO, stated last month that shipments of the Nexus 7 were initially slow, popping in around “500K units a month, then maybe 600, 700K.” He then declared October was a breakout month with shipments getting “close to one million.”

With the recent release of the 32GB Nexus 7 and 32GB 3G version you can expect interest to peak, especially at their low-cost price points. News today from an overseas report in DigiTimes claims that their supply chain sources believe that Nexus 7 shipments – all models – will reach 5 million units by year end. That’s not to hard to imagine as the above numbers total 2.8 million, so another 2.2 million in the next couple months is certainly possible.

It’s no secret that a lot of the tablet’s success is down to it’s brilliant pricing. For what you get with the Nexus 7, it’s incredible value for money and a price that no other Android tablet has yet matched. At it’s current pricing, you can get the Nexus 7 with 16GB of storage for $199 and the 32GB model for $249. As of last week there’s the addition of the 32GB Nexus 7 with 3G connectivity for $299, which is pretty cheap for a tablet of its specs with 3G, often the premium for 3G is a lot higher on tablets.

The tablet comes with 7-inch IPS display screen with a 1280×800 resolution and is powered by 1.3GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 processor. Other features of the tablet include 1GB RAM, 1.2-megapixel front camera and 4325mAh battery.

November 20, 2012
HTC Bringing Jelly Bean To 2012 Devices First, Says Sorry to Devices With 512MB of RAM

HTC is bringing Jelly Bean to its 2012 suite of devices fairly soon. This is known, but the company outlined its plans for these, and earlier devices, today in a FAQ on its support site.

According to the Taiwanese company, the One X and One S will receive Android 4.1 with Sense 4+ first, likely by the end of this year, with other devices such as the Amaze, Sensation and Raider coming later. Devices with 512MB of RAM, which include the recently-released One V and Desire C, will not be upgraded to Jelly Bean, as they want to ”ensure each of our products has the optimal user experience.” Jelly Bean, with its Project Butter additions, requires more powerful graphics processing abilities than those two devices can offer.

[quote]We work hard to ensure each of our products has the optimal user experience and therefore some products will remain at their current version of Android. In general, devices with 512MB RAM or less will not be upgraded to Android 4.1. As we identify other devices that will not be upgraded, we’ll provide updated information.[/quote]

As for which devices will definitely get JB, HTC says they are prioritizing the update for the devices that were launched in 2012, then working their way back. The company has quite the portfolio to work through, and as you most likely already guessed, it could take quite some time before we see updates go live for the Rezound, EVO 3D, and other once-flagship devices.

[Droid Life]

November 13, 2012