Mihăiță Bamburic

Earlier this week I wrote about the Android 4.2 Transformation Pack for the Galaxy Nexus and it got me wondering. As a CyanogenMod 10 user, I get access to better Camera or Clock apps compared to stock Jelly Bean, so what could I possibly gain by installing some of the Nexus 4 apps or wallpapers?

Curiosity got the best of me, and I installed the new Camera, Clock, Keyboard and Gmail apps, and for the sake of changing looks I got the new wallpapers as well. This is not Android 4.2, rather a taste of what will come, but so far I like the new bits. There is an added touch of elegance in the new apps, which should give the new operating system a more polished look and feel.

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Little more than two months ago Motorola introduced the Droid Razr M for Verizon Wireless running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. In October, a leaked ROM surfaced, but today the big red announced the real deal -- Jelly Bean is coming with all its bells and whistles to the Droid Razr M.

The significant software upgrade bears the "98.12.4.XT907.Verizon.en.US" moniker and it comes in at 254.1MB. Users should expect Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with the usual Motorola add-ons and Verizon-specific apps. Some of the most noteworthy changes include better voice search capability thanks to Google Now, revised notifications panel and improved responsiveness due to Project Butter. Users should also expect faster GPS lock-in times, more frequent Contacts sync and instantly-updating circle widget, among other improvements. There is also a new version of QuickOffice as well Isis Mobile Wallet support and new Video Calling Portal app.

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After Google dropped the Sony Xperia S from the Android Open Source Project, AOSP Technical Lead Jean-Baptiste Quéru announced that the Mountain View, Calif.-based corporation will improve the tools required for manufacturer AOSP contributions. The intended purpose is to help manufacturers upgrade to new Android versions faster, and facilitate their contributions to the AOSP tree.

The revised tools, in short, make it easier for manufacturers to organize device-specific files in the same manner that Google does. 

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Social news website Reddit announced that it will promote and expand its premium service Reddit Gold to aid with growing server costs. In October 2012 Reddit traffic surpassed more than 46 million unique visitors and 3.8 billion pageviews, and the company now wants users to swallow part of the cost.

The alternative is an increased number of ads, which the company wants to avoid through Reddit Gold, even though advertisements will still account for part of the revenue. The premium service was introduced in 2010 but mostly lurked in the shadows, even though it provides access to exclusive features. For $3.99 per month or $29.99 for a one-year subscription, redditors can highlight unread comments, see up to 100 subreddits, view karma per subreddit, turn off the display of ads or have access to a special lounge that "may or may not exist".

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Just over two months ago Sony announced that it would back-up the efforts of Android Open Source Project (AOSP) Technical Lead Jean-Baptiste Quéru (JBQ) in porting stock Android to the Xperia S tablet. Those efforts have changed somewhat, as the Japanese manufacturer has announced its intentions to take the lead on the project starting with Jelly Bean MR1.

Sony says that Quéru is pleased with the outcome of the Xperia S AOSP experiment, but in order to keep things running, the company has moved the project to a Sony git on GitHub. The problem apparently is on Google's end, as it cannot maintain non-Nexus devices in the long run, likely due to limited resources. As it is, the Xperia S boots stock Android with reduced functionality including SD card, sensors and Wi-Fi.

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Hurricane Sandy struck the Eastern US coastline and affected millions of people. Japan's third largest carrier, Softbank, contributed half a million dollars to aid in the relief efforts, and recently Verizon Wireless announced that it will support affected customers.

The big red implemented the "Hurricane Sandy -- Voice & Text Program" to show its support towards affected customers from parts of New Jersey and New York. As a result they will not be billed for domestic voice and text usage charges incurred between October 29 and November 16. The nation's largest carrier states that it will act proactively and swallow the cost of the bill without any action required by affected customers.

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Strategy Analytics reports that during third quarter, and for the first time this year, Samsung Galaxy S III shipments surged ahead of iPhone 4S.

The South Korean manufacturer shipped 18 million S3s, for 10.7 percent share in global smartphone share. Strategy Analytics states that Samsung's success can be attributed to a number of factors, such as extensive market availability, important operator subsidies and large touchscreen design. On the other hand, Apple only managed to ship an estimated 16.2 million iPhone 4S units globally, reaching 9.7 percent share, enough to lose the crown as the world's most popular smartphone.

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Going native on iOS has its perks as Facebook recently demonstrated with a faster app for iOS devices. Popular social networking and blogging platform Tumblr released an updated app today for iPhone and iPad that sports native code.

Available for iOS 5 and above, Tumblr 3.2 touts major improvements under the hood that are attributed to going "completely native." The latest version delivers an overhauled Dashboard that now comes with a more responsive interface, bigger photos and speed improvements when loading posts. There are also new notification previews that sport a different look and allow users to see liked, reblogged and replied posts. The revised blog screens deliver descriptions and blog portraits, and the app now makes better use of gestures.

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A little more than a month ago, Samsung announced the Galaxy Note Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the South Korean market, but didn't give any dates for an international release. So if you are not the type that likes to wait for silly things like official releases, there is now a leaked ROM available for the popular smartphone.

The leaked Android 4.1 Jelly Bean ROM for the Galaxy Note is designed for the international model (codename N7000) and will not work on carrier-specific versions. The build is dated October 9 and delivers Android 4.1.1, build number JRO03C. Users can expect a number of new features under the hood such as Google Now, but based upon some early tests, it's not going to break any speed records. The leaked ROM also comes with S Pen air-view, which displays a cursor under the stylus, and the same lockscreen featured in the newest iterations of TouchWiz.

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The Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 are available for pre-order at AT&T starting today with sales to begin on November 9. On a two-year contract the Lumia 920 costs $99.99, while its smaller brother goes for less at $49.99. Off-contract, the Lumia 920 costs $449.99, while the Lumia 820 goes for $399.99. The HTC Windows Phone 8x will also be available before Thanksgiving. The 8GB model in Limelight costs $99.99, while the 16GB California Blue model runs $199.99.

On price, the Lumia 920 squares off with the HTC One X, Motorola Atrix HD, Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket or Sony Xperia TL. Competing flagship smartphones such as the Apple iPhone 5, LG Optimus G and Samsung Galaxy SIII are available for $199.99, but come with half the storage and obviously double the price.

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Rooting is a guilty pleasure. The practice may start out innocently, but can void the phone's warranty. Some manufacturers try to prevent users from running apps with elevated privileges, arguing compromised security. Not that the assertion stops enthusiasts.

Android is less restrictive than some platforms. Google actually allows apps that require root access on the Play app store. You're probably intrigued, as there are quite a few attractive choices available that only run with elevated privileges. Let's approach some of the major advantages to rooting Android, that also highlight part of its charm in modding.

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Two weeks ago Microsoft announced Xbox SmartGlass with app availability on major platforms. Following the initial release, the company introduced an updated version of Xbox SmartGlass for the iPhone and iPad.

Just like with other platforms, Xbox SmartGlass 2.0 for iOS allows Apple-branded smartphones and tablets to connect and interact with an Xbox 360 console. The app can remotely control the game console, using the touchscreen interface, allowing one to resume, rewind or advance content like videos and music.

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The Android community expects Motorola to change its ways and release devices with fewer software limitations, similar to the Nexus lineup that Google offers. Developers and enthusiasts demand unlocked bootloaders so that they can tinker with the device, so Motorola aims to please that audience with the Atrix HD Developer Edition.

The newly-introduced model will join the Bootloader Unlock program, which already includes smartphones such as the Droid Razr HD, Razr HD and Razr i. The company warns that the Atrix HD Developer Edition is not for the faint of heart, but prospective buyers should expect a voided warranty if the bootloader is unlocked instead of riding into the danger zone. Just like with other Developer Edition models, it will sport the same hardware specifications as the normal version.

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As my colleague Tim Conneally recently reported, Microsoft Surface with Windows RT does not allow users to take advantage of the total amount of advertised storage. On Reddit Ricardo Lopez, Test Manager for Surface RT, announced that customers can still take advantage of more than 20GB of free space, but the Redmond, Wash.-based corporation begs to differ.

Microsoft added a "Surface disk space FAQ" on its website in order to officially shed some light as to the amount of free internal storage that is left after the operating system and apps take their cut. As it turns out after all the math is done, there are dramatic changes. The 32GB Surface with Windows RT only has 16GB of free storage, while the 64GB version allows users to take advantage of 46GB, 30GB more than its less expensive brother.

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Instagram is known as a smartphone and tablet-only affair, but not anymore. The Facebook-owned company announced that it will roll out Instagram profiles on the web. Soon all users will have the chance to stare at filtered pictures on a larger screen.

Instagram follows the new parent company's design philosophy with web profiles. There is an uncanny resemblance to Facebook Profiles, though it is made to sport a similar look to the mobile apps that Instagram users are accustomed to. Since photo-sharing is the trademark signature, web profiles as you might expect show bio and a selection of pictures, neatly sorted based on month. Users can also follow other Instagrammers, comment and like photos, and obviously make changes to their profile straight from the browser.

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