CyanogenMod shelves ICS/Jelly Bean support for Snapdragon S1 devices

The CyanogenMod team has announced that it won't be able to officially support phones powered by first-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon chips in version 9 or 10 of its popular custom firmware. The CM team broke the news on Google+, where it revealed that a combination of hardware limitations and concerns for user experience quality were behind the decision. This means many older Android handsets that shipped in Q1 and Q2 2010, such as HTC's Nexus One, Desire and EVO 4G, will not see official CyanogenMod 9 or 10 builds, and will have to look elsewhere for their ICS or Jelly Bean fix. All affected devices will continue to be supported on the Gingerbread-based CyanogenMod 7.x branch, the team says.

Explaining the technical issues behind the decision, CM highlighted the good old Nexus One. In order to run CM9 or 10, the phone's internal memory would need to be repartitioned, and even then the lack of certain proprietary code for the phone's SoC (system-on-a-chip) would've made for a janky user experience -- "the pieces just aren't there." The team notes that it wouldn't be impossible to get ICS or Jelly Bean running on this hardware, but that doing so could break third-party application support because of the hackiness of the code involved.

If you still want Android 4.x on your Nexus One, you'll certainly be able to do so on other custom ROMs (and unofficial CM builds), though you'll sacrifice stability in order to do this. It's unfortunate, but when you remember that most of these phones shipped more than two years ago on Android 2.1 or earlier, it's not all that surprising.

We've got the full list of affected devices after the break.

Source: +CyanogenMod

read more

CyanogenMod 9 RC2 emerges with new devices, stability improvements

As it rapidly approaches a final, stable release, CyanogenMod 9 has reached the second release candidate milestone, or RC2. CM9, based upon Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, supports dozens of devices, and the latest release candidate adds support for several high-profile Samsung phones and tablets --

• Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 (all variants)


• Samsung Galaxy SII on AT&T – Skyrocket


• Samsung Galaxy SII on T-Mobile – Hercules


• Samsung Galaxy Note on AT&T


• Samsung Galaxy SIII – i9300 (International GSM model)

In addition, CyanogenMod lead Steve Kondik says the new release includes bug fixes and new translations, and stabilizes CM into "a product that you’d let your mom use." As for the full, final, stable version of CM9, Steve says should be "just around the corner." Once CM9's out the door, work on the next version, based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, should begin in earnest.

If you know what you're doing and want to skip straight to the download, check our linkage below.

Source: CyanogenMod.com

Download: get.cm

Android 4.0 only on 11% of Android devices weeks before Jelly Bean release

The Android Developer site has just released their latest dashboard which paints a picture of operating system penetration. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich was announced back in October of last year, and in the 9 months since launch has only managed to find its way onto 11% of Android devices. Frankly, that’s an abysmal [...]]]>

Sonic 4 Episode II now available for all Android devices

Back in May we took our first look at Sonic 4 Episode II, and at that time the game was only available for Tegra 3 devices, which made a lot of folks upset. Today Sega has announced that the popular title is now available through Google Play for all Android devices. That is right, you can now head right into the Play Store and grab some Sonic 4 Episode II for yourself for $6.99. While the price tag may sit a bit above what you would normally think of spending on a game, can you really put a price tag on the nostalgia this brings along with it? Be sure to check out our full review of the game and then hit the link below and grab your own copy today! 

Download Tegra Version
Download All-Android Version

Google Now ported to Android 4.0 devices running an AOSP ROM

Back during Google I/O 2012, we saw the unveiling of Google Now for Jelly Bean devices. Sadly, Google never released it as a stand-alone app so any device running Ice Cream Sandwich now essentially needs to be upgraded to Jelly Bean in order to make use of it. I say essentially because the fine folks in the Android community have now found a way to make it work on any Android 4.0 device running an AOSP ROM though there is one lingering issue with it. You can't use voice. Sure, the no voice thing is a bit of a bummer but for those who are interested in loading it up, you can do so with only a few steps required:

• Rename the APK to GoogleQuickSearchBox.apk
• Go to System/App and rename the original GoogleQuickSearchBox.apk to 3, something else (Or delete it)
• Copy in the GoogleQuickSearchBox.apk the one you renamed from (Velvet-theos0o.apk)
• Set the permissions, to the /System/App/GoogleQuickSearchBox.apk to RW-R--R--
• Reboot and it should work

As you can tell by looking at the instructions, it's not going to be for everyone. However, if you're willing to give it a shot you can find the download over at XDA Developers to get started. Just remember, you must be on an AOSP ROM in order for it to work.

Source: XDA

Ice Cream Sandwich hits double digits and is now on 10.9 percent of Android devices

Google has released the latest platform version numbers tonight, and things are as expected -- still slowly trending up. Before we go any further, we have to note that Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) is not on any retail devices yet and is not included in these numbers. Having said that, it's nice to see ICS finally hit double digits on its slow race to adoption. Every version lower than 4.0 saw losses since last month, and 4.0 to 4.0.4 saw an uptick of 3.8 percent as phones and tablets got their long-awaited Ice Cream Sandwich updates and phones like the HTC One series were released with the latest (at the time) version.

So what does this mean? A couple things -- OEM's still take forever to update their software, people are still using ancient hardware with cupcake on it, and the Galaxy Nexus doesn't seem to be selling enough units to harm Apple financially after all. Things may start to get more interesting in August with the Galaxy S III released in the US recently, and the Nexus 7 coming this July. 

Source: Android developers

AT&T launches cryptic web series Daybreak to promote HTC One X and other devices

This afternoon a social media marketing agency offered to send me an AT&T HTC One X if I would check out a “multi-platform story experience about the power of technology and its ability to improve our lives”. I already reviewed the One X, but I was intrigued by this mysterious campaign and figured I [...]]]>

The middle ages meet insanity with Renaissance Blood THD, now available for Tegra 3 devices

They probably didn't have Tegra 3-powered phones and tablets during the renaissance. Instead, they had some crazy mix of science and magic, and any geek worth his or her salt likes to think they had all sorts of killing and monsters. Renaissance Blood THD is a great way to experience all of that without ever having to roll a d20. NCsoft's latest title for the Tegra 3 platform takes the mobile first person shooter to the next level, and is a feast for the eyes of any former Dungeon Master, young or old. 

The premise is simple. You're in search of the final blueprint Leonardo da Vinci has left behind, and every imaginable sort of evil on two legs is trying to stop you. Armed with your rapid-fire crossbow, a rifle, and a big ol' spiked mace you work your way through the various stages, fighting for your life and looking for the lost document. There are no time-wasting puzzles or lulls in the action, it' straight up violence and killing of bad guys -- like a good FPS should be. 

The controls are straightforward, all you need to do is aim with an on-screen joystick and shoot from afar, or swing your mighty mace to beat the living crap out of the villains that never stop coming. You won't have to work your way through dark dungeons and twisty passages, the game AI takes care of that for you so you can focus on killing. To be sure, this is one you probably won't want the little ones to be playing.

What makes it a stand out is the way the Tegra 3 leverages the power of the Unreal engine. There's a lot of talk about quad-core this, benchmark that, and nobody can seem to agree on which mobile SoC is the best -- until it comes to games. We've talked about the technology, the 4-PLUS-1 architecture, and all nerdly stuff, but make no mistake, this is damn near console quality gaming on your Android phone or tablet. When it comes to amazing gameplay and graphics, you just don't beat NVIDIA power on the Android platform. 

If you're looking for a really fun way to spend a few hours here and there, Renaissance Blood THD is one to look at. Like any FPS, it will get repetitive after a while, but at $3.99 you'll certainly get your money's worth. I'm a self-admitted Tegra fanboy (I've come to grips with it) and games like this one are the reason why. If you've got the hardware for it, you gotta check it out. Hit the links below, and check out the video after the break.

Download Renaissance Blood THD from Google Play

More: NVIDIA TegraZone

read more

WSJ: Multiple Nexus devices from different manufacturers by Thanksgiving

A report out of the Wall Street Journal has us thinking differently about the Nexus program. According to the report, Google may be going all-in on their new Nexus strategy, partnering with not one, but multiple OEMs on Nexus devices that Google would sell directly to customers similar to its recent Galaxy Nexus offering. Google hopes to have a full portfolio of devices available by Thanksgiving, and is working on giving multiple OEM partners early access to the next version of Android, currently codenamed Jelly Bean.

This marks a stark change from Google’s previous strategy, where Google exclusively partnered with one key manufacturer to provide the flagship device for its latest OS. Sources for The Wall Street Journal believe this strategy is being taken to provide Google with greater control over the operating system and apps that run on it, thus reducing the impacts wireless carriers have over devices. We assume this will be because the Nexus devices will launch with stock Android, as opposed to the custom skins manufacturers are keen on putting on their devices.

Many are speculating that the move is a response to appease manufacturers concerned with Google’s acquisition of Motorola and what that means for the rest of the Android industry. Taking the potential for Google to play favorites off the table will likely persuade these manufacturers to keep producing and innovating with Android devices.

This story is obviously developing, and Google was unavailable for comment at the time the WSJ story went live. We’ve reached out to Google as well, and will update you as we learn more of the expanded Nexus line rumored for later this year.

CyanogenMod 7.2 RC2 builds starting to appear for some devices

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

As promised last week, fresh release candidate for the Android 2.3-based CyanogenMod 7.2 are starting to appear, bringing the popular custom firmware to a handful of new devices, while bringing the usual mix of software enhancements and bug fixes. A quick glance at the CyanogenMod download site reveals that CM7.2 RC2 builds are now available for a number of popular devices, including the LG Optimus Black, 2X and 3D, and a number of Galaxy S variants.

As the CM team mentioned in their status update last week, development of CM7 is scheduled to continue beyond version 7.3, even as many devices transition to the ICS-based CyanogenMod 9. New additions to the CM stable in version 7.2 RC2 include the HTC Status (aka ChaCha), HTC Wildfire S, LG Optimus Chic, Motorola Photon and Samsung Galaxy 5.

Check the source link for download info.

Source: CyanogenMod

Samsung updates ICS upgrade list to include T-Mobile devices

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Samsung has been rather forthcoming when it comes to telling folks what devices will be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The list of eligible devices has been updated a couple times now but one carrier; namely, T-Mobile has remained missing off that list until recently. The newly updated list now features in total, four T-Mobile devices:

• Samsung Galaxy S II (SGH-t989)
• Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G (SGH-t769)
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus (SGH-t869)
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (SGH-t859)

Not surprisingly, they don't differ all that much from the various other carriers out there but it is nice to see T-Mobile added and that leaves us with the impression Samsung and T-Mobile have at least a general idea of when things will get rolling out to the masses.

Source: Samsung, via: TMo News