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

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Apple demands retailers remove Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Tab 10.1 from shelves

Apple has sent letters to U.S. retailers selling Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet and Galaxy Nexus phone, warning them not to sell the devices. Following a patent dispute earlier in the month Apple obtained preliminary injunctions preventing the Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Nexus from imported into, or sold within the United States. In the case of the Nexus, however, sales are set to continue after the ban was delayed on appeal, and that device looks set to continue shipping from the Google Play Store soon.

In its letter, quoted on FOSS Patents, Apple demands that retailers refrain from "importing, offering to sell, or selling [the devices] within the United States," saying the injunctions apply "not only to the named Samsung entities, but also to anyone 'acting in concert' with them." It goes on -- "Apple thus believes that the order extends to you."

Whether Apple is legally in the right remains to be seen, (and that's a debate for folks smarter than us). But the attempted strong-arming of retailers shows just how badly the iPhone maker wants to prevent consumers from being able to buy these competing (and, they would argue, infringing) products. People close to the matter at Best Buy and Wal-Mart tell us that they've been complying with the order regardless of Apple's aggression. One such source told us, "We had planned to remove the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from the shelves the evening the news [of the injunction] broke, and we received word from our district manager to go forward with the plan immediately." Despite this, some U.S. retailers are? still offering the devices for sale, and that's what seems to have provoked this response from Cupertino.

A statement released by Samsung condemned Apple's actions, saying "Apple’s menacing letters greatly overreach, incorrectly claiming that third-party retailers are subject to the prohibitions of the preliminary injunction, which they clearly are not."

Source: FOSS Patents; via: The Verge

HTC One hits store shelves a few days early in Germany

Even though HTC officially announced that the HTC One would be available starting on April 2nd that has not stopped electronics retailer Media Markt from putting the HTC One X, HTC One S and HTC One V on store shelves a few days early. Several shoppers have reported that the three HTC One devices are available at Media Markt stores in Germany, allowing customers to get an early taste of Android 4.0 with the latest version of HTC Sense.

The HTC One X and HTC One S are listed for €579 and €519. While the HTC One V is said to be available as well, no one took the time to remember the handset’s sale price.

If you live in Germany, we suggest you rush down to your local Media Markt. You’d be crazy to not want to test it out and get some hands-on time with HTC new flagship devices. If you do spend some time with the HTC One, don’t forget to leave a comment below to let us and the other readers know what you think of the device.