Android 4.2: Nexus S Support And The Bugs

While we still are having the news of Nexus S missing the 4.2 Jelly Bean update as Google seems to have decided it was all but over from a support point of view; the new version of Jelly Bean being shipped with Android smart-phones is having a rough ride already. It seems Santa Clause and new year party eve will be missed out for the people using this version of the Android OS.

Google already made clear about the 4.2 version that the Nexus S and Motorola Xoom devices are currently not supported by the 4.2 AOSP released for Android devices. This should be a heartbreak for all the Nexus S owners but as per Google' update they do not provide support for smart-phones that are more than 18 months in to their launch. Nexus S was launched in December 2010 so it's pretty much out of that support duration window. But as we and many users would also know that Nexus S has the hardware that could support all the features being packaged in Nexus S. So this comes as a surprise from the search giant. Although looking at the updates that JBQ provided on the group thread, it may  not be a miss on the longer run but only "currently". So when JBQ commented:
"I can't comment on the future of Nexus 4 in AOSP, sorry. "
He meant:
"It means that right now you can't build AOSP for either of those 
devices in a way that results in a functional device. And that's all 
it means."
Feel free to create a meaning of yours here ;). There would be a little wait before someone creates a working 4.2 ROM for Nexus S anyway. 

In the meantime, Android 4.2 is getting its share of criticism. This newest Android version (4.2 - Jelly Bean) is reported to have many bugs. The report first comes through via AndroidPolice. The major of the bug is miss of December month from the people app from the OS. The Calendar app is however doing OK but with People' app the rollover happens from November 2012 straight to January 2013. The other bugs reported are related to battery drain and random reboots.

Holding a device that is getting 4.2, don't worry; since Google has already acknowledged the December month miss it won't be long till it gets fixed!!

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Android Completes 5yrs

Did anyone think it will create a stir of this magnitude in under five years? Well whosoever did, they hit the nail right on the head. In case you are wondering what, Android completed 5yrs of its existence. On 5th November 2007 the Open Handset Alliance introduced Android to the world; an open source smart-phone OS. But it wasn't till G1 was launched nearly a year after that the people saw what Android was. The major stir was however created by Motorola Droid a couple years later.

Android now boasts of a 75%  smart-phone share in the market. According to the reports published by IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, Android was found to be on 3 out of every 4 smart-phones shipped during the 3rd quarter of this year. IDC specifically reported that of the 181.1Mn smart-phones that were shipped worldwide in Q3 of this year, a total of 136Mn phones(75%) were Android devices. And this is not all, while overall' market YoY growth rate has been 46.4 percent; Android is sitting pretty at a whopping 91.5 percent as far as reports from IDC are concerned.

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Apple Provides iOS6.0.1

Apple launched iOS6 with iPhone5 in September and now before even completing 2 months the company has send an update of the newest and supposedly biggest iOS version, iOS6. The new update which is version-ed at 6.0.1 and was released by Apple last Thursday is supposed to be carrying a fix for a software bug on iPhone5 and some other software fixes in the iOS devices.

As per Apple, the update will fix:

• bug which prevents the current iPhone5 from installing updates available via OTA
• the horizontal lines that appear on the screen keyboard
• issue with the camera flash (doesn't go off at times)
• a security issue that made Passbook accessible from the lock screen occasionally

The fix upgrade comes quickly enough and we are not surprised. As the post from foxnews.com points out, people haven't been as happy as Apple initially would have expected. There are criticism and users have been demanding the ability to downgrade the update from iOS6 to iOS5. For these users the miss out on Google Maps has been an utter disappointment especially since they don't seem to be much happy about the new Apple maps. While others are happy to live with the small bugs, provided the fix is on its way soon. may be with iOS6.0.1 they will be happy that much more. Although we hear the Wi-Fi issue is still there, at least for some users.

How are you finding the new update? Would you rather stay on iOS5 or don't mind some small bugs here and there?

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Google Wallet on Smartphone

It would be easy guess that users aren't that keen on purchasing experience via their smart-phones. The checkout process is cumbersome already with the system and the checkout process requiring users to input a lot more information that people would prefer using the small screen keyboards and touch screens. And it obviously doesn't help much when you have to scroll through multiple pages before you finally done. And like Google says, its wonder up to 97% of mobile shoppers abandon their mobile shopping carts.

Starting yesterday, Google starts helping users in this mobile shopping area, still considered to be a no-favourable zone. Making purchases on mobile phone has been made a little easier by the search giant's Google Wallet. Sites that support and accept Google Wallet, will help users leave the hassle of entering too much than required information and too little steps as well. So while shopping on an e-commerce platform if the site supports Google Wallet all you need to do is:

• click the "Buy with Google Wallet" button
• log into your Google Wallet account and
• click to complete your order

That's all, and you are done!

Currently a few sites support Google Wallet. So you can buy flowers and gifts at 1-800-Flowers.com or use your account on Rockport.com and FiveGuys.com (at select locations). Google details that with Google Wallet you could:

• Pay without entering your credit or debit card number, billing address, or other payment information — it’s already securely stored in your Google Wallet. 
• View your credit and debit cards, shipping addresses and transaction history conveniently in one place at wallet.google.com/manage. 
• Set a default card for future purchases on your Google Wallet account, making future transactions even faster. 
• Shop with confidence as all your payment and related information is encrypted and stored on secure servers and not shared with anyone.

And just as they did with Google Checkout, you get $10 off when you use Google Wallet to shop at 1-800-Flowers.com and $20 off at Rockport.com. Hopefully more retails online will join the group so you all get a seamless and quick shopping!

Google, Google Wallet, Google Checkout, Mobile Shopping
Google finds a few retailers who start accepting Google Wallet as their checkout option on smart-phones/mobiles. With Mobile shopping still in infancy, how much time you think it will take for Wallet to get going?

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Share From Google Drive To Google+

Integrating all its products in to one single stream that lets user experience be the best in class. That' what Google is trying to do with all the seamless integration that we are seeing it do since the launch of their social network, Google+. That's pretty what we see them doing now also. This time a little tweak to an already existing feature makes it worth for friends and even professionals to share and be at ease with the network.

While previously users were able to share their stuff from Google Drive to Google plus, all you had on your stream for your shared network was a link that would open the stuff in another window on the Drive. Not now. Google announced on their blog, that now you can share a presentation, for example, sitting in your Google drive with your Google Plus circles and the people (whom its being shared with) will be able to view the PPT right on the stream without ever leaving it!

So in between the company network if you are using Google apps account, you can now share stuff (PPTs and Docs) with your team and they will be able to go through the documents without having to leave your shared post. And it sounds more beneficial if you are working on a shared project. Here is the official announcement from Google on their social network stream, feel free to participate in the discussion with others :)

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LinkedIn Revamps BlackBerry App

No stone unturned seems to be the policy LinkedIn is looking at for the moment. After a very effective and massive update to LinkedIn profile pages, the company has turned its head to another update. This time it's on the Smartphone front. The site' Blackberry app has gone for a complete makeover.

See Also: Viadeo Launches Android App

So while their closest competitor, French based PSN Viadeo.com were focused on providing an update to their app on Android and iPhone and neglecting the Blackberry world with the update (as we mentioned in the article posted a few days back); LinkedIn has gone ahead and made sure they don't neglect the Blackberry users. With Android and iPhone app already doing good (in fact great), the company revamped the Blackberry version to be available to " BB6 and BB7 users to make the LinkedIn mobile experience simpler, better, and faster". The app is available in "8 new languages, including German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Indonesian, Hindi, and Portuguese".

As per the post on LinkedIn' official blog, the new app has been organized in to four areas that will offer LinkedIn' new features and functionality to the users:

Updates: See your network’s new connections, job changes, and shared posts from the stream, as well as top news from LinkedIn Today.
Inbox: View and respond to your invitations and messages both in the same place.
You: Review your profile, see who’s viewed your profile, or share an update.
Network: Add people you may know or look through your connections.

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Meet The New LinkedIn Profiles

LinkedIn has been very heavy on the changes that its making to the site in the near past. The recent update or news about the change comes in part of the main product on the site, Profiles. With 175Mn members already using its services, the company has been taking all care to make sure they make this number explode. The changes to the Profile pages aren't really changes. You may say the page has received a new look altogether. In line to what we say the new Profile look was unveiled a week back at an event called "Meet the new LinkedIn".

See Also: ApnaCircle Launches New Profiles

In the meantime the new profile gets rolled out to all the LinkedIn users in the coming month, here is a what it now offers you:
Make a punch with the new look crafted for a better first impression as you showcase your skills and accomplishments. The new feature of inline editing makes it easy for you to make your profile complete and make quick change to keep it updated.
Rich and visual insights on the people and companies that are in your network. The new options will provide with benefits to expand your network and interact with people outside of your network who may be sharing common goals with you.
What matters most is now on top! The recent activities now occupies the top of the profile space, making sure you don't miss out on what your network has been up to while you weren't looking at them.

While this is just the snippet of the changes that accompany this rollout, you may want to have a look for yourself on your profile. If you still are not the one who have received the new look; wait for some time as the new changes gets rolled out to all Members. In the meantime try to expedite the process by registering here. And here is the video link for the event.

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