Hot on the heels of news that the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus would receive an update to Android 4.0.2 almost as soon as it's activated comes an announcement from Google that there's going to be an Android 4.0.3. Google also said that it will be focusing its partners on using 4.0.3 as the "baseline" version of Ice Cream Sandwich.
4.0.3 will bring a number of optimizations and bug fixes for smartphones and tablets (remember that ICS unifies the builds for the different mobile device families). It will also include a small number of new APIs.
Some of the changes include calendar provider enhancements, new camera capabilities, accessibility refinements, improved content access for screen readers and new status and error reporting for text-to-speech engines. In addition, 4.0.3 will add some incremental improvements in graphics, database, spell-checking, Bluetooth, etc.
Considering the rapid fire updates from 4.0 to 4.0.3, we'll assume there are a number of bugs that need squashing.
We can add that in addition to the 4.0.2 update to the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the unlocked GSM version we have in our possession received an update to 4.0.2 late Friday afternoon, as well. The ROM update notification just said "bug fixes."
The Droid Bionic has been off the radar for some, pulled for what were cited as undisclosed "enhancements." While that sounded like some changes in the internal hardware specs and software, it appears that the Bionic is getting some exterior changes, too.
The latest reports indicate that the Droid Bionic will be getting a 4.5-inch (up from 4.3-inch) qHD screen. It will come with an 8MP rear-facing camera + an undisclosed resolution front-facing camera, support 1080P HD video, and have a 1750mAh battery.
In addition, the images show off a laptop dock. Motorola has said for some time that it was aiming to have laptop docks for other phones besides the Atrix 4G, coming later in the year.
Additionally, it looks like the Bionic will sport Android 2.3.4, which is the latest (for now) version of Gingerbread.
The real question is still: when? The Bionic's launch date is TBD, as is the price. Still, you can see a few shots below and drool.
In what seems to be a move designed to allay the fears and concerns of music executives, Amazon has sent an email to the industry saying that its Cloud Drive music locker and Cloud Player online music player has boosted Amazon MP3 sales. The industry was taken aback when Amazon.com announced the service, with completing negotiations over licenses for the online music.
Increased sales via Amazon MP3 would be a positive, for both Amazon.com and the industry.
The email obtained by Billboard, while not giving exact statistics on sales, also attempted to emphasize that Amazon.com continues to believe it has no need for licenses for music stored in Cloud Drive. The email said in part:
"There has also been speculation that we are looking for licenses for Cloud Drive and Cloud Player. We are not looking for licenses for Cloud Drive or Cloud Player as they exist today -- as no licensees are required."
From the very start, Amazon.com has said that it needs no licenses for Cloud Drive because Cloud Drive is just a file repository, like Google Docs or Microsoft's SkyDrive. The email goes further, saying:
"Cloud Player is a media management and play-back application not unlike Windows Media Player and any number of other media management applications that let customers manage and play their music. It requires a license from content owners no more than those applications do. It really is that simple."
The note adds one more point, that the company foresees "potential enhancements to Cloud Drive and Cloud Player that would require licenses, including serving different customers with a single copy and save on the efforts by customers to upload music to the Cloud Drive." The email ends with, "expect to hear more from us on potential licensing in the near future."
It is interesting that Amazon.com would make that statement. The feature addressed, "serving different customers with a single copy and save on the efforts by customers to upload music to the Cloud Drive" is very similar to the business model of Grooveshark. Google recently booted that application out of the Android Market. It is still unclear what made Google kick the app out, but it has been speculated that pressure from the music industry was at least partly to blamed.
Apple is rumored to be working on another minor update to iOS, which would move it from 4.3.1 to 4.3.2. The new release is said to include bug fixes, enhancements, and security fixes.
It's unclear if the security fixes relate to further closure of jailbreak vulnerabilities. While the sources said the new release will include iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, it's unclear if this means the Verizon iPhone will get a 4.3.x release, finally.
The Verizon iPhone has been stuck on 4.2.6 since just after launch.
The update is expected to arrive in just a few weeks, the report said. Apple released iOS 4.3.1, another bug fix release, near the end of March. That release also closed a jailbreak vulnerability.
As rumored, Apple released iOS 4.3 on Wednesday, March 9, to the iPad (1), iPhone 4 (GSM only) and 3GS, and iPod touch third and fourth generations. Originally, Apple said the new version would be released on Friday, March 11.
iOS 4.3 was first announced during last week’s iPad 2 event. iOS 4.3 isn't a game changer, but it adds improvements and features, such as Mobile Hotspot for up to 3 wirelessly tethered devices (5 total), the Nitro JavaScript engine, which will speed up Safari Web browsing, iTunes Home Sharing, and enhancements to AirPlay.
The Mobile Hotspot service will allow an end user to use the iPhone's 3G connection with up to three devices, but allows wired and Bluetooth tethering to allow a total of 5 to attach to the device's cellular connection. The Verizon iPhone, however, running on iOS 4.2.5, can handle up to 5 wireless connections. To another device, the iPhone appears as just another router when the Mobile Hotspot is turned on.
Another small change, but one many iPad owners will welcome, is a setting that allows the hardware switch on the side of the iPad to be an orientation lock (again). Apple earlier changed the button to a mute button, but the company listened to feedback from end users who loved the original orientation lock functionality of the switch, and who pointed out to Apple that since the iPad isn't a phone, a quite way to mute isn't as necessary.
iOS 4.3 can be downloaded by connecting your iDevice (assuming it is among the list above) to your computer and clicking Check for Update in iTunes. As always we warn that early adopters sometimes run into issues, and that if you are jailbroken you should wait for the "go" signal from the iPhone dev team or others before upgrading.
On kickoff day (March 1) at CeBit in Hanover, Germany, a company unveiled a new eye-controlled laptop. The company, Tobii, has embedded the eye-control technology inside a Lenovo laptop and said the product is the result of a collaboration between the two companies.
The laptop being shown is, Tobii said in a press release, still a "conceptual prototype." There are 20 units, reportedly split evenly between Tobii Technology and Lenovo for development and demo purposes.
The Tobii technology allows users to point, select and scroll on the laptop. The company did not go into further detail on how the technology works. However, they added that the following enhancements to the user-interface would be available:
You can zoom pictures or maps and automatically center on the area you are looking at; The computer can auto-dim and brighten the screen when it recognizes your eyes to increase battery time. Eye control can also speed things up by enabling new and intuitive ways to switch between open windows, and browse your emails and documents.
This could be a boon to disabled users, but also to gamers. Tobii said that the eye tracking could someday enable users to aim with their eyes; in-game characters might even interact with you and give you actual eye contact.
You can read the full press release at the Tobii link below.
An internal Sprint document is saying that the long (long) awaited Froyo update for the Sprint Epic 4G will be coming on Feb. 21st. Of course, considering what happened with the Samsung Captivate (another Galaxy S variant, but on AT&T) where Samsung posted a Froyo update, then pulled it, we don't have a high level of confidence on this one.
At the same time, it appears the Froyo update will be OTA. That is different from both the Captivate's pulled update, and the Samsung Vibrant's update, which were cabled, using Samsung's Kies desktop software for the update.
The Epic's update will be to EB13, Froyo, and will take place over a four-day period starting on the 21st. Here are the details:
Software Updates: Samsung Epic (EB13, Froyo) & Sanyo Zio (2.200SP, Froyo) Effective 2/21/11, software updates will be available for both devices Over-the-Air (OTA). Both updates will be pushed over a period of days, so customers will receive them based on their status on the Google servers.
Details:
Samsung Epic
Update will be pushed over a 4-day period After the update completes, verify the new software version (Menu > Settings > About Phone) Baseband Version = S: D700.0.5S.EB13 Build Number = FROYO.EB13
Enhancements/fixes: upgrade to Froyo 2.2, improved bluetooth device support, bluetooth voice dialing, Flash Player 10.1, GPS enhancements, improved OS performance, ability to install applications to external storage [...]
The Sanyo Zio will also be receiving Froyo as well, according to the report.
An internal Sprint document is saying that the long (long) awaited Froyo update for the Sprint Epic 4G will be coming on Feb. 21st. Of course, considering what happened with the Samsung Captivate (another Galaxy S variant, but on AT&T) where Samsung posted a Froyo update, then pulled it, we don't have a high level of confidence on this one.
At the same time, it appears the Froyo update will be OTA. That is different from both the Captivate's pulled update, and the Samsung Vibrant's update, which were cabled, using Samsung's Kies desktop software for the update.
The Epic's update will be to EB13, Froyo, and will take place over a four-day period starting on the 21st. Here are the details:
Software Updates: Samsung Epic (EB13, Froyo) & Sanyo Zio (2.200SP, Froyo) Effective 2/21/11, software updates will be available for both devices Over-the-Air (OTA). Both updates will be pushed over a period of days, so customers will receive them based on their status on the Google servers.
Details:
Samsung Epic
Update will be pushed over a 4-day period After the update completes, verify the new software version (Menu > Settings > About Phone) Baseband Version = S: D700.0.5S.EB13 Build Number = FROYO.EB13
Enhancements/fixes: upgrade to Froyo 2.2, improved bluetooth device support, bluetooth voice dialing, Flash Player 10.1, GPS enhancements, improved OS performance, ability to install applications to external storage [...]
The Sanyo Zio will also be receiving Froyo as well, according to the report.
Update: Sprint has made the Froyo update news official.
HP has made the Palm Pre 2 official, and it's headed for Verizon Wireless. On the outside, the device, which had earlier been leaked by French carrier SFR, doesn't look very different. On the inside, it has webOS 2.0 and upgraded hardware.
The Palm Pre 2 will also be heading to "leaky" SFR. In fact, it will be sold by SFR starting Friday. Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless and other carriers will get the device, although it wasn't announced when.
The Palm Pre 2 will be the first webOS 2.0 device. 2.0 will have many new features, such as the ability to group "cards" into "stacks," Just Type enhancements, and the new Exhibition feature which lets apps adapt their operation to a charging or non-charging state. There is also Adobe Flash Player 10.1 Beta.
The device itself will have a 1GHz processor (a nice upgrade), 16GB of internal storage, includes a Touchstone back cover, 802.11g wi-fi. However, after all this time, nearly two years, it would be nice to see HP/Palm come out with a totally different form factor.
In a sense, it's hard to see how they convinced Verizon Wireless to take the device, what with the much-anticipated and rumored Verizon iPhone and multiple Android devices and tablets coming.
Rumors were the Motorola Droid X would get its taste of Froyo in September, and it's here. The rollout to devices began Wednesday. Verizon had announced the Wednesday rollout the day before.
You should get an alert on your phone, but you can also manually check for the update. Go into Settings, About Phone, and then System Updates. The Droid X will check for an update and you should see it (reportedly, unlike other rollouts of Froyo to devices, where an upgrade rolls our slowly, it seems to be available right away to those who check).
Froyo adds a host of new features, including up to 450 percent better performance, Google said, as well as security options such as PIN lock and password lock (although Motorola themselves added PIN lock to the X in its shipping ROM).
One thing we noticed was a fix to the Contacts application. Formerly, Gmail contacts not in the My Contacts group wouldn't display in the Contacts app, although they would display in the Contacts tabs of the Phone app.
Here's a list of enhancements specific to the Droid X, from Verizon. Some of these are general Froyo changes. Your ROM version will be Version.2.3.15.MB810.Verizon.en.US/BP _ C _ 01.09.07P after updating
Enhancements:
Improved Web browsing with pre-installed Adobe® Flash Player 10.1 for Android.
Easily switch between the eight most recent applications.
Enhanced browser performance for faster loading of JavaScript heavy pages.
A screen that works for you and your apps (With Android 2.2, you can rotate your screen 270 degrees - either to the left or to the right when moving from portrait to landscape mode—to work with apps in more directions.
Automatic app updates (you need to enable this setting for each app)
Move apps to SD card (apps need to support this)
Take advantage of the preloaded VZ Navigator application: Get visual and audible directions to a destination, locate businesses and other places in an area, get a map of a location, bookmark favorites and recent searches, and even share locations with others.
Overall improvements for Google Maps performance on the Droid X.
Improved connectivity to Exchange server and Exchange ActiveSync email notifications.
Easily edit MMS messages after attaching video files.
Manage message history from Contact application.
Transition from Wi-Fi and 3G without losing data connection.
Improved 3G Mobile Hotspot application.
Visual Voice Mail updates include simplified setup, improved notifications, and updated display features.
Easily listen to voice mail via Bluetooth when using the Visual Voice Mail application.
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