Daily News Courier

Samsung reminds us that new things are coming at CES 2013

Just in case you didn't already know, Samsung is reminding us that we'll see some killer new things at CES 2013. They don't give any hints, but rumors and speculation are already flying — and that's half the fun.

We'll be at CES with cameras and keyboards at the ready, so keep glued to AC for everything there is to know from Samsung (and everyone else) in early January.

Source: Samsung Tomorrow

Nexus 4 posts you will want to read [From the Forums]

Half the fun of getting a new Android phone like the Nexus 4 is talking about it with others who got one as well. This is where forums come into play. A place where like minded folks can share tips and tricks, complain about the inevitable bugs, and generally chat it up about their new toy tool. Since it's pretty slow today, I spent the afternoon trawling through the Nexus 4 forums and ran across a couple threads you won't want to miss,

• Nano SIM adapter discussion Great info for those swapping iPhone and Nexus 4 phones on A&T.
• Anyone using Nexus4 on Straight Talk? Is $45 unlimited too good to be true? Some say yes, some say no, here's where you can discuss.
• Question about Syncing Facebook contacts with Nexus 4 This is always a popular discussion.
• HSPA+ 42 data speed on T-Mobile Check these speed tests!
• When will there be restock? Everyone wants one, and we're waiting for them to get back on the shelves.

You'll find plenty more in the Nexus 4 forums, so jump in and join the fun!

Building AOSP Jelly Bean for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus – a tutorial [from the forums]

We've seen the source code for Android 4.1.1 (affectionately known as Jelly Bean) drop from Google, and plenty of us were excited to see the Verizon Galaxy Nexus binaries were back online and available. Whether you're a Verizon subscriber or not, as an Android fan it's OK to get warm and fuzzy inside seeing more devices opened up for users. Nice work to all involved for getting the licensing worked out once again.

But seeing it there is only the first step. For many of us, half the fun of having a phone like the LTE GNex is building code and hacking the living crap out of it. If this sounds like you, there's a special treat waiting in the Verizon Galaxy Nexus forums — the best damn AOSP building tutorial you'll ever see. I've written a few how-tos in my time, so I can say, with no remorse, that you won't find a more thorough, easier to understand, well-thought tutorial anywhere. Dmmarck is not just an AC forums moderator, he's a total nerd, and not afraid to let it shine. He walks you through setting up your machine, from the ground up, and in the end you'll have the satisfaction of flashing a build of Jelly Bean that you made yourself. It's the pinnacle for any Android geek with a Verizon Galaxy Nexus. The icing on this cake? Dylan is there, in the forums, all day every day, to answer your questions and walk you through when you get stuck. When doing this sort of thing for the first time, that's the key.

If you've got the hankering to do some Android building for your LTE GNex, and looking for a great place to start, you've found it. Hit the link, and be sure to give dmmarck a big thanks for his hard work!

[GUIDE][Ubuntu] Compiling Android from Source

What is a Nexus stock image, and how do you use it?

Hacking your Galaxy Nexus is cool – but even cooler is being able to fix it and get back to stock

With all the Jelly Bean ROMs floating around out there, more than a few of us have put our Galaxy Nexus devices so far off the official path that we need breadcrumbs to find our way back. Custom firmware is half the fun of owning one of Google's wide-open phones, and we encourage everyone to learn what they can and see if it's something they want to try. But sometimes, you just want to go home again. Getting your Galaxy Nexus back to the state it was out-of-the-box is pretty straightforward for most variants.

We say variants, because "official" images exist only for the yakju (GSM), takju (Google Play version) and mysid (Verizon) versions. The good news here is that plenty of unofficial methods will help you if you have a different version, and our Galaxy Nexus forum is just the place to find them. If you're rocking the Sprint version, or one of the Samsung world versions, head there and ask the pros. For the rest, it's pretty easy.

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Some Sprint Galaxy S IIIs seem to be shipping out tonight

Sprint was serious when they said they would still be shipping out pre-orders of the 16GB versions of the Galaxy S III on time. Even though there's some sort of delay in the chain, users in the Sprint GSIII forums are getting their shipping notifications, much like RawisTheGameHhH's who you see above. 

The timing is perfect, you can read both our Sprint GSIII review as well as Alex's primer on the new Touchwiz while you're waiting and refreshing the UPS tracking number. Afterwards, be sure to dive in the forums feet first — half the fun of having a new Android phone is finding ways to fiddle around with it, and there's some pros in there who think outside the box. Now hurry UPS trucks!

Source: Sprint Galaxy S III forums

Google TV YouTube app update coming, faster and with new features

The new "Discover" tab will allow you to browse YouTube channels by category, making new channels and content easier to find and preview.  That's half the fun of YouTube, especially on your big screen.  The channel pages themselves have been overhauled as well, making it easier to navigate through playlists and subscribe right from the channel page.  Specific functions for the Google TV remote have been added that allow scrolling through things like related videos, and the information screen where you can thumbs up (or down) a video and comment without leaving the page.  As a user who watches a lot of YouTube, this all looks really great.

Could this be part of the "big announcements" that coming up for Google TV?  That's a possibility, even though we all want to hear hardware news the software is just as important.  Maybe even more so when we're talking a set-top box, where entertainment and content is the focus.  We've been hearing about a big push for Google TV from the folks in Mountain View for about a year now, and it looks like they may be starting.  Bring it, I say.  Hit the break to see some more previews of the upcoming update, which will be available in the GTV Market soon.

Source: Google TV blog; via +GoogleTV

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Safely unroot your Droid Bionic with Pete’s Motorola Root Tools

For many of us, half the fun of getting a new Android phone is digging in and trying to break it make it our own.  The Droid Bionic is no exception of course, and folks are having a blast getting methods all sorted to root and customize the Bionic, unlocking it’s full potential.  I love it when new phones come out, this is the kind of stuff an Android geek lives for.

But the other side of the coin is that we often need a way to get things back to normal, whether it be because we changed our minds or might need a little hardware warranty work done.  We’re not going to get into the moral argument of what your responsibilities are once you decide to root (we have forums for that), I just wanted to let you guys know that the latest version of Pete’s Motorola Root Tools allow you to fully unroot your Droid Bionic — as in no leftover bits left behind.  I asked the man himself, and sure enough, his tool gets in the system and removes all binaries, returning your phone to a fully unrooted state.

This is important.  Some previous methods to unroot phones left the su binary behind and only removed the visual traces of being rooted — leaving your phone a bit unsecure.  Pete has you covered here, though.  The same tool you use to root your Bionic will unroot it, and do it the right way.  Remember, it won’t restore bloatware that you’ve removed or restore settings you may have changed, you’ll have to sort all that out beforehand.  Until we can dig up a factory .sbf file for the Bionic, this is the best solution.  Just use it wisely, and be sure to thank Pete if it saves your bacon.  Grab the latest version of the tool and read the particulars at the source link. 

Source: Pete’s Motorola Root Tools

Android Central Editors’ app picks for June 18, 2011

Half the fun of having an Android device is the wide selection of amazing applications which are available in the Android market. But half the battle is trying to find ones that you want, or that serve the purpose you need, but as you know we love our readers, so each week we bring you some of our personal favorites. Hit the break and let’s take a look at what we got for you all this week!

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Android Central ROM review: ApeX 1.4

For many of us, half the fun of having an Android phone is running a customized version of the OS on our phones.  OK, more than half.  Custom ROMs can offer a very different experience from what the manufacturer intended, and often times it’s like having a new phone to play with.  This week, Android Central forums moderator terpitude71 is going to have a look at the ApeX 1.4 ROM as running on his Droid X.  Kick back, and head past the break to have a read. Thanks Brad!

Android Central ROM review: ApeX 1.4 posted originally by Android Central

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