Nexus 7 cellular variants finally receiving Lollipop 5.0.2 updates
For owners of the two cellular Nexus 7 models, new is indeed the best word to describe the update to Lollipop as both have been running KitKat until this weekend.
It’s hard to believe, but neither of Google’s cellular-equipped Nexus 7 devices have not received Lollipop yet, a fact that has no-doubt caused some grievances among owners. For whatever reason, it seems Google not only releases the cellular models in a protracted fashion, but goes about updating them in such as way as well.
Fortunately, the long wait is now over as both the 2012 Nexus 7 Mobile and 2013 Nexus 7 LTE variants are receiving Lollipop. Even better, they are both ported directly to version 5.0.2 meaning that there is no additional wait necessary to bring them up-to-date with the latest builds. Unfortunately there is going to be some wait involved for all those who want a FOTA pushed to their devices, though thankfully the individual factory system images can be downloaded directly from Google for those that know how to apply them:
Nexus 7 2012 Mobile Lollipop 5.0.2 Update
Nexus 7 2013 LTE Lollipop 5.0.2 Update
For all those who prefer to wait, please remember that it may take several days or weeks for the update file to hit your device, although it never hurts to hit the “Check for Updates” button every now and then.
Lollipop-based Paranoid Android 5 Alpha 1 is here!
The Paranoid Android team just announced the release of the first alpha version of the Lollipop-based Paranoid Android 5.
It’s been more than three months since the last Paranoid Android release, PA 4.6 Beta 5 Playful Pitaya, but now the wait is finally over for fans of the popular custom ROM project. Paranoid Android 5, based on the Lollipop source code, is now available for download, and it should be good enough for daily use.
The PA team warns however that this is just the beginning of the Lollipop journey, so you should expect some bugs and other flaws, this being an alpha release.
So, what’s new in PA 5? Here’s the change log as per the PA team:
- Update the baseline to AOSP Lollipop 5.0.2
- Improvements to Heads Up, such as an option to disable heads up interruptions completely
- Add Quick Unlock
- Extend the power menu
- Animate the volume panel in a more material manner
- Make it possible to skip songs using volume buttons when the device is locked
- Add CM12 Theme Engine
- Fix various small annoyances from AOSP
As you can see, there are only small feature additions for now, with more substantial changes to come in future releases.
“Lollipop has changed almost everything, and we must think with a different mindset in order to create new features that can provide meaningful improvements over stock while following material design. We’re on it, so don’t worry. Our sauce will have new spices soon enough”
PA team
This being a new alpha release based on a major new version of Android, there are some precautions you should take before flashing – read more about it here.
In news that may sadden users of the Galaxy Nexus, the venerable device has been dropped from the group of officially supported Paranoid Android devices, though there’s still hope it will be supported through the legacy project. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone; the CDMA Galaxy Nexus was also left behind by the CyanogenMod community.
Paranoid Android 5 Alpha 1 is available for download from here, for modern Nexus devices, the OnePlus One, the Oppo Find 5, and the Oppo Find 7.
The Big Picture: Private jets swarm out of Arizona after the Super Bowl
If you’ve just returned from a boutique hermitage in the middle of nowhere, you might have missed the fact that the Super Bowl has just finished. While most people, naturally, will be driving away from the University of Pheonix’s stadium, a higher class of sports enthusiast will be taking a private jet back home. If you check into a flight tracking service like FlightAware right now, for instance, you’ll see the sky over Arizona blocked out by a fleet of Gulfstreams and Cessnas. Judging by the map, there’s going to be more than a few east coast-bound flights that’ll run out of champagne in the not-too-distant future.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: The Verge, Darren Murph (Twitter)
Source: Flight Aware
Android Authority launches new developer-focused newsletter
Every popular mobile ecosystem owes a big debt of gratitude to the developers that create the great apps that we love to use. Without developers, Android would be a dead duck. And now to better serve the Android app developers among our readership, Android Authority has launched a new developer focused newsletter.
Android Dev Weekly, is a curated newsletter full of interesting, relevant links for Android developers. Every week we will relentlessly trawl the Internet for the very best resources related to Android app development, and coding in Java. There will also be resources for those wanting to learn more about Android app development and programming in general.
However, we won’t just be focusing on Android for smartphones and tablets. There will also be items about Android Wear, Android TV and Android Auto. We will also be taking a look at what is going on in the world of Single Board Computers (SBCs) and the Internet of Things (IoT).
The first edition has been published and includes a case study on creating scalable user interfaces, plus a look at the best tools for Java programmers. There is also a link to an in-depth tour of the Gradle-based Android Build System, plus an article about some ARM based smart bulbs which can deter burglars!
For those with a desire to learn more about Android programming there is a link to a step by step guide which shows you how to get started developing Android apps, plus there is a link to an article on how to use QR codes on Android Wear.
Subscribing is really easy, just visit devweekly.androidauthority.com, type in your email address and click Subscribe. You don’t need to worry about spam, your email address will only ever be used for Android Dev Weekly. You can easily unsubscribe with a single click at any time.
Opera Mini is coming back to the Windows Phone Store, at least in beta form
Over the weekend, the Opera Mini browser was found to be removed from the Windows Phone Store, with no official word from the developer. Opera has since clarified the matter, stating that an “unexpected hiccup” caused the issue, and that it is currently working on reinstating a beta version of the browser to the store shortly.
Raspberry Pi 2 appears two years early with substantial hardware upgrades
While Raspberry Pi fans were told to expect a brand new board somewhere around 2017, it turns out that wasn’t quite true. This is the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B: a substantial upgrade from the Model B+ that will reportedly go on sale later today from the Raspberry Pi foundation for $35. The new board has some fundamental upgrades that could well warrant the upgrade for existing Raspberry Pi dabblers — that is, if smaller wasn’t better. Raspberry Pi Foundation lead Eben Upton told The Register that the new Model B “is a usable PC now.”
“You could use a Raspberry Pi 1 as a PC but you had to say ‘this is a great PC in so far as it cost me 35 bucks’. We’ve removed the caveat that you had to be a bit forgiving with it. Now it’s just good.”
How much better? Well, the team’s upgraded the processor on-board to a 900MHz quad-core chip and have loaded in 1GB of RAM, which the foundation reckons will offer at least six times the performance of the old Model B+. It may look the same, but the board (with that processor which has apparently been in development for years), also has a special a tweak connecting to the quad-core brains to ensure it handles the gig of RAM on board. Naturally, it’ll be up to the Raspberry Pi community and makers to show what is possible with this sequel PC — but we’re assuming the specification bump will mean “a whole lot more”. The good news is that older boards are now even cheaper, allowing the Raspberry Pi 2 to go on sale for the same price as last year’s B+; $35.
Filed under: Peripherals, Science, Internet
Via: The Register
Source: MC Electronics
Save $100 on your bill when you buy the Galaxy Note 4 or Alpha through AT&T Next
If you were looking to buy the Galaxy Note 4 or the Galaxy Alpha, you may want to consider AT&T’s latest offer. The carrier is offering a $100 bill credit when you purchase the handset through the AT&T Next program.
Scientists make a Mobius strip of laser light
Unless you count incidents in Star Trek episodes, Möbius strips don’t really occur in nature — you have to create that freaky one-sided shape yourself. However, a worldwide team of scientists may have produced the next best thing. They’ve created a Möbius strip of light by manipulating the polarization of the light’s inherent electromagnetic field. The trick involves firing a highly focused laser beam through a liquid crystal lens to give it a very specific polarization. When the light scatters at the focal point with the help of a nanoparticle, that polarization creates tiny, twisted loops. While these strips were made in a lab, of course, the experiment shows that they’re at least possible in nature.
This demonstration might have some practical implications, as well. The technique should help researchers understand more about how polarization works, and could even help them create nanoscale light structures that serve specific purposes. You could see more metamaterials with unusual optical properties — think surfaces that reflect light in specific ways, or give off certain colors. It’ll be a long while before you see (or in some cases, don’t see) a product emerge from this discovery, but it’s already clear that this oddball behavior should work to your advantage.
[Image credit: University of Rochester]
Filed under: Science
Via: Motherboard, Slashdot
Source: University of Rochester, Science
How would you change Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 3 10.1?
When we placed Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 in front of Joseph Volpe, it was all he could do not to roll his eyes. Rather than any headline features, the slate was merely an improvement on the second generation, just with a newer version of Android and, interestingly enough, an Intel chip. When he was done with it, Volpe remained as underwhelmed as when he’d began. In his words, it’ll adequately do what you need it to do, but it won’t look pretty, or dazzle you with performance. At a price of $399, he suggested you take your cash elsewhere – but we imagine some of you didn’t heed his sage counsel. So, if you bought one, what did you think of it? Dive feet-first into our forum and tell us what you would have changed.
Source: Engadget Product Forums
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