Android 4.2.2 coming to a Nexus near you!

   

   Over night AndroidPolice caught wind that some Reddit users were receiving an update to Android 4.2.2 on some of their Nexus devices. It started with a GSM Galaxy Nexus getting the update, which was swiftly followed by the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10!

Image Credit: Marco Duran.

    As you can see the update promises "performance and stability" improvements, as well as some work on both the gesture typing and the multiple accounts features within the 47.6MB update. However, we're also hoping Google managed to implement the promised fixes to Bluetooth A2DP issues, but we're not sure yet and Google's 'WhatsNew' page didn't offer any more details. We haven't heard of any Nexus 4's getting the update yet, but Google might be working on a couple of other fixes for that device and if they can get the colour correction right with an extra week, then we'll be very pleased with that!

   Have you got the update yet? If you have are the improvements noticeable? Let us know in the comments below! Oh and below are the screen grabs from the updated Galaxy Nexus!
Via Android Police.

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11/07/2012

Rovio launching Angry Birds across numerous consoles.

   Rovio has today announced that their smash hit series, Angry Birds, will be coming to a PS3, Xbox 360 and the Nintendo 3DS in the near future. 

   The three games; Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio, will be available to purchase on one single disk. Although, at the moment we don't know anything about Angry Birds Space availability or whether extra levels will be available as updates like they are on Android and iOS.

   Apparently all the games will be revamped for HD screens and everything will be as sharp and crisp as you expect from normal console games. Intriguingly there will be compatibility with Playstation Move and Xbox Kinect.

   At the moment there's no firm release date but it's almost certain that the games will be available for the holiday season!

The ZTE Kis is now available on Virgin for... £49.99.

   ZTE have been low-end champions in recent times and this time they really do seem to have outdone themselves. The new ZTE Kis will be available for the tiny price of £49.99 on pay as you go. This is insanely cheap especially considering what you get! 

   On the surface you get an attractive looking 3.5" screen, which runs at 480x320 pixels. There's also an 800Mhz processor, 256MB of RAM, 512MB of storage with a microSD card slot, and a 3.2-megapixel camera with 2x digital zoom.

   On the storage front initially it seems to be slightly lacking but there's a 2GB SD included in the box, but there is the opportunity to add up to a 32GB card if you really need it.

   The software is slightly disappointing in that it's Android 2.3, but for £50 what can you really expect? You have a good set of connectivity options; there's Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi, GPS, and tri-band 3G. The sizes are quite reasonable at 11.5mm and 120g, and a 1,400mAh battery should keep you going for a full day.

   Virgin have availability from today you should be able to pick on up either on Virgin’s website, or by giving them a call and ordering one directly. Virgin will be throwing in 1GB of data per month over 12 months for free as well, which should come with the mandatory £10 top-up that you purchase with the handset.

   

In other news:

• Microsoft has set itself the goal of having 44 retails stores across the USA by this time next year.
• Apple have withdrawn their EPEAT green membership and have instead gone for their own set of environmentally friendly standards.
• Starbucks have launched their Android app in both the UK and Canada.
• Amazon's Kindle Fire has already received its' own Jelly Bean AOSP port.
• Two of Google's Nexus devices; the Galaxy Nexus and the Nexus 7 both received a bump to Android 4.1.1. We think the extra .1 on the end might be a way of getting round Apple's latest round of lawsuits regarding voice searching.
• Another collective, this time called iSuppli has rated the cost of the Nexus 7. The cost of production they came up with today was $151.75, which again leaves very little margin for Google.
• HTC has confirmed there will be a follow up to their relatively successful HTC Flyer tablet. Although, there's no time scales or any specs to report just yet.
• Microsoft has confirmed that Halo 4 will run on their upcoming Windows 8 powered, Surface tablets!

And finally, I have a name for you to keep your eyes on; it's an Android powered games console called Ouya. The company has put their plans up on Kickstarter and they have soared past their $2million target in less than 48 hours. This is a very exciting project and we will keep you up to date with the latest developments as they happen!

The Android powered games console, Ouya!

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02/07/2012

Samsung and Google set to strike back at Apple?

   Having been slapped with a bunch of patent lawsuits from Apple, it seems Samsung and Google have got together to mastermind a fight back against Apple's recent complaints.

   

   Exactly what pair have planned it s a bit of an enigma because Samsung have refused to detail it publicly. “It’s too early to comment on our game plan in the legal battle; but we will do our best to get more royalties from Apple, which has benefited from our technology,” a supposed Samsung insider has said today. “The fight is becoming more dramatic and the possibility of a truce in the form of a cross-licensing deal, seems to be becoming likely.”

   Samsung has a demanded 2.4-percent royalty rate for iPhone and iPad units using technology it has patented, but Apple argues is against the FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) nature of the licensing terms. This sort of litigation from Samsung has seen the European Commission investigate them for antitrust behaviour.

   Google has already attempted to lend it's support to HTC, in a previous case of patent case against Apple. Google even went so far as to sell HTC a set of patents it went on to use in a counter-strike against the i-aggressors. The Galaxy Nexus case is much more of a pressing issue to Android; it's Google’s device and it's designed to guide Google's OEM's.

   Samsung is currently waiting to hear whether the preliminary injunction will be upheld. The company argued that Apple had not sufficiently demonstrated that the infringed patent in question causes substantial damage to iPhone sales, and we sincerely hope the judge will change her mind. This set of anti-competitive litigation from Apple is not good for anyone and especially not consumers.

Boot2Gecko becomes Firefox OS and gets official launch partners!

From Coolsmartphone.com.

   Boot2Gecko has been one of Mozilla’s top priorities lately as they rush to get their HTML5 based OS off the ground and into the turbulent mobile world as soon as possible.

   So far Mozilla has done a good job getting companies on board, they’ve already got; Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefonica and Telenor as partners. ZTE and Alcatel One Touch will be creating devices  which we can expect to hit shelves at the start of 2013.

   Interestingly, it seems as though Qualcomm is set to maintain their mobile dominance, as they have been selected as the chip of choice, but we don’t know whether Firefox OS will run on newer S4 chips or something older or perhaps it’ll use a currently unannounced chipset. Either way we are told to expect great performance!

   The Firefox OS will be completely open-source and if you’re chomping at the bit to get one of these intriguing new devices it looks like it’ll help to be based in Brazil, because that’ll be the first place with availability, but they will spread out around the world soon after!

   We’ll have to wait to see whether this new OS will be able to compete with iOS and Android or whether it’ll go the same way as WebOS! But, what do you think? Are you excited about the possibilities of HTML5 based apps or do you think this is another niche project for geeks? Let us know in the comments below!

In other news:

• HTC's Incredible S just got bumped to ICS!
• Apple has been ordered to pay Proview $60million for the iPad trademark in Chine!
• VLC Beta for Android has landed in the Play Store
• Treyarch have announced they have no idea who's developing Call of Duty Black Ops for the PS Vita!
• LittleBigPlanet's Karting has entered Beta and you can sign up now!

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