Android rush

Griffin Woodtones bring a unique look to the traditional headphones, and some might think it’s in a bad way, and some might think it’s overall awesome. Seems that the wood style look has captured the hearts of the public, so why not bring that to your ears.

The Griffin Woodstones at first glance to me was; what were they thinking? But being tech savvy person that I am, I knew it wasn’t just about judging a book by its cover. Once I placed them on my ears, I immediately felt a sort of comfort. They are extremely comfortable on the ears, and the sound quality was magnificent.

Features that come with these Griffin headphones, are a 90 degree swivel, and a detachable cord that has a control mic built inside. You can use this mic to talk on your phone, or click it to control play and pause, or fast forward and rewind. The fact that the cord is detachable will prevent any accidents one might have when walking away from the device it is plugged into. Trust me…being on my computer all day, that can happen.

I guess my only gripe about the head phones is the fact that they have that wood style look. I have never been entirely fond of that style, but that is just me and my taste. Another little gripe might be the fact that they don’t quite fit tightly on my head. My normal headphones I use, stay on my head for those headbanging moments. With these headphones, one good headbang and those suckers are slipping off my giant dome. Still, the comfort and sound quality has caused me to actually recommend them to anyone who is looking for a cheaper alternative when it comes to headphone choices.

The Griffin Woodtones will run you $100 bucks on their official website, but you can pick them up for $62 over on Amazon. They come in three styles: walnut, beech, and sapele. If you like that wood style look, then I definitely suggest picking up a pair. I have the Amazon link provided below, as well as a link to their official website, just incase you want to check out what else they have.

Official Website

by David Pena via AndroidSPIN

A few weeks ago, a Samsung document was leaked that appeared to reveal Samsung‘s planned schedule for updating its flagships from this year and last year to the newest build of Android, Android 4.4 KitKat. The update quoted in that document was of build “KRT16″, which we know to be a undisclosed version of KitKat. A similar Samsung document has been leaked out today which suggests that Samsung is considering an update of a plethora of Samsung’s mid-range devices with that same build of KitKat, a list which includes the likes of the Galaxy S4 Mini and even the Galaxy Core.

Unlike the previous leak, the document snapshot doesn’t show whether there is an estimated time-frame for this to happen, though from the title of the document, “under investigation” suggests this is all up in the air for now. I’d be surprised if the newer and more powerful devices in this list did not to get the update, like the Galaxy S4 Mini, but you never know. The main thing is that Samsung considered it at all, right?

Any owners of these phones hoping that Samsung follows through and updates your phone with Android 4.4? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Source: SamMobile via Android Ice Cream Sandwich

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

When Google announced its newest build of Android, what we now know to be Android 4.4 KitKat, we were very surprised to hear that the Galaxy Nexus would not be receiving an update from Google itself. This was not only surprising because the Galaxy Nexus is the next most recent Nexus device after the Nexus 4, but also because Google made waves with its assurance that Android 4.4 would run on devices with only 512MB RAM, a criteria that the Galaxy Nexus meets comfortably. Understandably, owners of the phone were understandably upset, but not to be deterred, some determined developers over at XDA have knocked out a CyanogenMod 11 ROM for the Galaxy Nexus which will give the phone some of that KitKat goodness.

The ROM is technically still in beta due to some “missing common [CyanogenMod] features”, but other than some minor issues with the camera and screenshot functions, the ROM looks like it is stable and works pretty well. If you’re interested in getting this CM11 ROM for your Galaxy Nexus, you can visit the XDA Forum page to get more info and download links:

XDA Forum Page

Who’s been hoping that someone would make Android 4.4 for Galaxy Nexus? Let us know if you’re going to try this ROM and tell us how you find KitKat.

Source: XDA

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

What would you say the number one device/gadget released this year is? TIME has decided that Google‘s Chromecast streaming device should take the top honours in the gadget section of its “Top Ten of Everything 2013″ series, beating out Apple’s new iPads and Oculus Rift for the number one spot. I think TIME’s blurb about the Chromecast sums up its success and appeal the best:

“Instead of trying to do everything — like Google’s famously ambitious and unsuccessful Google TV — this thumb-sized gizmo does one thing, does it as simply as possible and does it for the impulse-purchase price of $35.”

I definitely agree with TIME on this as although the Chromecast isn’t the most technology-laden gadget released this year, it’s achieved what so many media-streaming devices have tried to do over the years in a simple and easy package, and is affordable to anyone who’s willing to drop $35 (sometimes dropping that amount multiple times). Having said that, I’m not so much a fan of TIME’s other choices to round out the top 10 (the new iPads? Really?), but it’s nice to see the Chromecast getting the kudos it deserves.

What would you say is the number one device released in 2013? Let us know what you think should get the top honours in the comments.

Source: TIME via Android Police

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

Happy Friday my friends. Time to get your end of the week dosage of ManDroid madness. Hiopefully you Nexus 5 users out there started receiving your Android 4.4.1 updates. Make sure you check out the Nexus 6 concepts. Pretty creative stuff. Enjoy the show!

News Topics

Android 4.4.1 for Nexus 5 download

Google Glass with prescription lenses

Galaxy S5 benchmarks

Nexus 6 concepts

by David Pena via AndroidSPIN

The release of the highly anticipated new film, Anchorman 2, has given Paramount Pictures a whole plethora of marketing material to play with including a joint advertising effort with Dodge Motors and now includes a mobile game. The game, Scotchy Scotch Toss, is available on Android now for $0.99 and uses the familar gameplay from the wildly popular game, Paper Toss, except that instead of tossing paper into the wastebin, you will be tossing ice into Mr. Burgundy’s scotch.

And the best thing about this? Will Ferrell, Ron Burgundy himself, has lent his vocal chords to add over 300 lines, mostly for denigrating your tossing skills, in that classic news anchor manner. The game doesn’t look terrible complicated, but does appear to innovate slightly from the straightforward Paper Toss game and adds Burgundy’s comments when you don’t hit the desired target. Check out Paramount Digital Entertainment’s trailer for Scotchy Scotch Toss below:

I’m a bit surprised that such a simple game would still cost $0.99 instead of being completely free, though the added allure of getting extra Ron Burgundy lines may make this a done deal for some. Are you going to pick up Scotchy Scotch Toss? If you’re interested, hit the links below to visit the Play Store page.

Game: Scotchy Scotch Toss

Play Store Link

Price: $0.99

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

In the increasing competitive world of music streaming services, one feature of streaming giant Spotify has been glaringly absent since the service’s launch. That feature, of course, is free access to the mobile app; in Spotify’s current revenue model, only subscribers to their premium service are able to access and use their mobile app on Android, iOS and a whole host of other mobile platforms. Well, that looks like its about to change as the Wall Street Journal has confirmed that Spotify is looking to bring a free, ad-supported app to mobile, finally rounding out Spotify’s line-up of features.

This new access is said to be going live on December 11th and brings Spotify in line with sizable competitors like Pandora who have been providing a free mobile app for quite some time now. It will be interesting to see how this actually affects to Spotify; I know I for one, as a Spotify subscriber, only subscribed to the premium service so I could get access to the mobile app. Living with the extra ads may be an acceptable sacrifice for some subscribers who will then switch over to the free service, though the converse is also possible.

Who’s been waiting for this feature to be added to Spotify’s service? Is it too little too late? Let us know what you think.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

The Play Store has been once again updated and of course we have the download for you. The version is 4.5.10, and the most noticeable, as well as awesome, feature that was added is the fact that there is an indicator to let you know there is in-app purchases. It’s always nice to know if an app is going to be bugging you to upgrade to the full version with a price tag. The review section of the Play Store has also seen a tweak, making the 5-star rating system bigger, and they have added a edit button to edit your reviews for the app. You are also given the option to delete your review, so it is looking like they are making it more user friendly, similar to a social media platform.

There has also been an activity feed added to this version, giving the user the ability to share what they have browsed through to their Google+ page. The feed will also show your +1s, ratings, and whatever else you’d like to share. Other little tweaks like colors of the 5 stars have been changed, so if you want to check it all out, we have the download link below that will lead you to our download page with official changelog. Let us know how you like this new version of the Play Store.

Google Play Store 4.5.10 Download

by David Pena via AndroidSPIN

You may have seen a post we did yesterday that showed a pair of prescription Google Glass that was spotted at Google HQ, though you may have heard my reservations about the fact that the display of the device wasn’t integrated into the lens. This appears to be because Google Glass wasn’t designed as a bespoke pair of glasses, which is somewhat ironic seeing as this why they are named ‘Glass’. Lumus, a firm better known for their military -grade products, like heads-up displays in F-16 helmets, is looking to re-appropriate their technology in the consumer market with their own pair of smart glasses.

The format of Lumus’ device, which is not unlike Google Glass, does away with the glass cube that Glass has hanging around the right lens and instead incorporates the display into the existing glasses, utilizing the entire right lens as a 640×480 resolution visual overlay. The Lumus will also include a 5-megapixel camera and motion sensor, rounding out the components required for a full smart glasses experience.

This looks like a much more natural way to incorporate an overlay into a pair of prescription glasses and while this is only a render, the Lumus looks a lot more fashionable than its Google-based counterpart. Not only that, but the Lumus DK-40 developer kit and its SDK is planned to be ready for developers and OEMs by the time CES 2014 rolls by in January next year.

Who thinks the Lumus smart glasses look better than Google Glass? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Source: SlashGear via engadget

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

Just days after Android 4.4.1 was spotted doing the rounds in Google’s home town of Santa Clara, a build of Android 4.4.1 for Nexus 5 has been released into the wild, bringing the version from the original KRT16M build to version KOT49E.

If you own the Nexus 5 and you’re interested in getting Android 4.4.1 before the update hits your phone au naturel via the airwaves, you can download it via the Google+ post from CyanogenModder, Keyan Mobli, below:

If you’re not sure how to load the new build, here are instructions to follow through with the upgrade (as seen on Android Police):

Prerequisites

To get this update installed correctly you need to have the Android SDK installed and working on your computer with ADB (via a microUSB cable). This is what allows you to issue commands to your device in order to push the OTA file. Those with custom recoveries have it a bit easier, though. You also have to be running the stock Nexus 5 ROM, version KRT16M.

If you have made any system file modifications, make sure you roll them back.

Install

Before you get started: This update method should not erase anything on your device, but OTA survival in SuperSU could break things. Turn it off if you’re running that.

You’ll use the adb sideload command after making sure your device is properly detected by ADB. You can check out our full sideload guide here – the process is identical except for the file name. If you have a custom recovery, it can be flashed from there. Just copy the file.

Rooting

The update will likely kill root on previously rooted devices, but it’s easy to get back:

1. Flash TWRP from here (fastboot flash recovery FILENAME.img).


2. Reboot into recovery (adb reboot recovery or hold Power+VolDn, then select Recovery).


3. Flash the latest version of SuperSU.


4. You should be rooted.

Enjoy. If you do load this build of Android 4.4.1 for Nexus 5, let us know if you spot anything new and how you find it.

Source: Google+, Android Police

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

Yesterday we featured a concept design of a Nexus 6 as imagined by one Rishi Ramesh and as most concepts do, this one looked very sleek and very futuristic. While some people think it’s a bit soon to be thinking about the next Nexus phone already (most of these people seem to have just gotten the Nexus 5), and to be honest, it probably is, at the end of the day these concepts are just pretty pictures and it’s always nice to recognize the amazing design work that goes on around the Internet. In that light, I thought I might to a quick scour of the net and do a roundup of all the Nexus 6 concept designs that have circulated and conduct a poll to see which of them you like the best.

Google Nexus 6 design by Rishi Ramesh

Let’s start with the design we already know about; this concept of a potential Nexus 6 device was designed by Rishi Ramesh and came with an additional list of specifications that said it would have a Snapdragon 805 running at 2.5GHz, 3GB RAM, 5.2-inch screen with a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels, a 13MP camera and be running Android 5.0. It’s not hard to imagine that the device could have specs like this by this time next year, but at the same time, I’d almost be disappointed if it did. I guess only time will tell.

Nexus 6 with Android 4.5 by Bob Freking

This next concept design of a Nexus 6 comes to us via Bob Freking, who is clearly a fan of the HTC One, as evidenced by the dual-speaker layout common to most of HTC’s more recent phones, which he has featured in his design. Freking also fleshes out the Nexus device with his imagined specifications consisting of a 5-inch Full HD Super LCD 3 display, a 6 core CPU, 6 core GPU, 6 GB of RAMand 60 hour battery; clearly a fan of the number 6 it seems.

The speculative design also says that the Nexus 6 with have Android 4.5, codenamed Lollipop, which as of right now appears to be the favourite for Android’s next build codename, as shown in our highly scientific poll. I’d almost be surprised if Google had only released one build of Android between now and then, seeing as they released two this year, but we shall see what happens. Freking has also made a video to glamorize his concept design, which also features an iPhone concept, but we all know how we feel about that, don’t we? Check it out:

Nexus 6 X Phone by Martin Hasek

While this design by Martin Hasek is a slightly older one, it’s no less impressive. Doing away with the rounded corners that we’re so used to, the Nexus 6 X Phone (ironically the code name of the Moto X for some time) features a 4.6-inch screen with a resolution of 1280×768 pixels. Most interesting about this concept is that Hasek has predicted that the Nexus 6 will have an Android build of Android 6.0 called Milkshake. While that’s not impossible to imagine, it does seem unlikely seeing as Google is doing more incremental updates over major updates, but you never know.

Nexus device by Jo Enaje

The last Nexus 6 concept design we’ll take a look at in this roundup comes to us via Jo Enaje. Rather ironically, this concept was actually meant to be a Nexus 5 concept which Enaje drew up in October (as evidenced by the familiar wallpaper), but by then the shape of the Nexus 5 was all but confirmed. So to recognize Enaje’s conceptual work for what it is, we’ll assume it’s also a concept for the Nexus 6.

While there’s no hardware specifications to speak of for this concept, the design is wonderfully minimalistic and Enaje also mocked up some potential colour variants for the Nexus device a la the iPhone 5C.

It’s time to poll!

And now is the moment of truth: which of these Nexus 6 designs do you like the most? Please vote down below, or if you have another design to suggest, feel free to add it down in the comments.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Sources:

Nexus 6 #1

Nexus 6 #2

Nexus 6 #3

Nexus 6 #4

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

As someone who is confined to wearing glasses on a daily basis, I’ve had my own (mostly ironic) personal prejudice against Google Glass; such a cool piece of technology that is off-limits to me simply because I possess the very thing that it was named for. So when I first saw pictures of prescription Google Glass pop up at Google I/O earlier this year, I was immediately hopeful. Although these were just prototypes, it was encouraging to see Google working on a solution for us glasses-folk.

Since then, however, there has been precious little news, until today when Googler Brian Matiash saw a pair of prescription Google Glasses adorning his work colleague’s face. He took some snaps and put them up on his Google+ page, showing off the pair of prescription glasses with Google Glass jauntily perched on the right side. Check out the post below:

I’m still interested to know why Google’s didn’t try to integrate the viewing cube into the glasses themselves, only because at certain angles you’ll likely get some pretty intense glare and reflections from two reflective sources. Even so, I’m looking forward to the day when this actually rolls out and fellow glasses-wearing techies can join in the Google Glass craze.

Are you also excited about prescription Google Glass? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Google+ via Phandroid

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

Star Command is one of the most lauded (and occasionally infamous) stories to come out of Kickstarter, but whichever way you look at it, the folks at Warballoon put together one compelling game for fans of both sc-fi and management games. Best described as a combination of The Sims and Game Dev Story, Star Command puts you in charge of your own little space vessel and dumps you into deep space where there’s lots to explore and strange aliens to meet. Warballoon have just put Star Command on sale for just $0.99, a fraction of its normal price.

When I took a look at the game a few months ago, I was deeply impressed with the game’s art style and fantastic pixellated character and ship models. It wasn’t a perfect game, and I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing a few expansion packs in the future to flesh it out, but it’s definitely a game that’s worth checking out, particularly at the discounted price. You can check out our review of Star Command here.

If management games and sci-fi are your thing, you can pick up Star Command from the Play Store link below. Let us know if you pick it up and tell us what you think. Live long and prosper.

Game: Star Command

Play Store Link

Price: $0.99

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

Action Launcher 2.0 has hit the Play Store and it is bringing some pretty nifty features to your homescreen. A lot of you might have already tried out Action Launcher, since it has been around for quite some time now, but Chris Lacy keeps on adding features to his baby, and he has brought Action Launcher to the Android 4.4 KitKat status. This also brings us new features such as 1-swipe access to quickpages and the quickdrawer, which is sexy way to multitask.

What is awesome about this latest update, is that you can utilize the 1-swipe feature even if you don’t use the launcher. You can use your stock launcher, or a launcher like Nova or Apex, and still swipe from the left to access the quickdrawer, or swipe to the right to access your quickpages. Quickpages is a truly innovative feature. You can place widgets or apps on the page, and have access to it no matter what app you are currently in. You can also customize the background with Holo light or dark, and those on KitKat get the transparent action bar. All that mixed in with features like shutters, and you got yourself a very unique launcher.

If you want to see the new updated launcher in action, check the video below. Let us know what you think about it.

Play Store Link

by David Pena via AndroidSPIN

I recently picked up a Chromecast device on Black Friday while out with the wife and kiddo for some clothes shopping. It was my little splurge reward for enduring the insanity and taking them shopping. I knew going into it that there are only a handful of apps that have Chromecast support. However, there are a number of ways around some things and there are certain to be more apps supported in the near future. There is one app in particular that I personally would love to see gain support, Plex.

Those of you that already know and love Plex know exactly what it is. It is a combination app/media server that you can link to all your video, music and picture folders and stream remotely. It also mixes in tons of channels and ability to que up YouTube videos, Hulu and a lot more. You can get the app for your Android Tablet, Phones and Google TV set-top boxes. It is worth every bit of minor efforts required to set it up. A little digging shared on Reddit points to Plex hard at work to bring their apps up to speed and available for Chromecast support. Assuming Google takes them on and whitelists them.

I personally would stock up on Chromecasts for the whole family if/when Plex support rolls into play. We might just have to get a hold of our friends at Plex and see if we can squeeze them for some information. I do have a feeling though that the first iterations of this Chromecast support for Plex will likely roll out to Plex Pass subscribers first. I will be keeping an eye out for more information on this and let you guys know what turns up.

Via Techaeris

Source: Gigaom

by Stormy Beach via AndroidSPIN

It’s starting to look like the LG G Flex has a place in this smartphone market after all. After what appeared to be a brief period of market observation in the company’s native Korea, LG is confident enough in its new curved smartphone to launch it to other markets in Asia, namely Hong Kong and Singapore who will be able to begin pre-ordering the devices from this week.

The LG G Flex has had its fair share mixed reviews since its announcement, though as more and more of its intriguing characteristics have been showcased over the last few weeks, it has definitely become an item of interest within the tech community. Housing a Snapdragon 800 processor running at 2.26GHz, 2GB RAM, a 3,500mAh, the G Flex can keep up with the best on the market at the moment, but probably the only concern for most consumers is its immense size, clocking in with its whopping 6-inch screen. And that’s before even mentioning the recommended price of over $900 USD.

Despite all this, LG must be fairly confident of the phone’s potential in other markets as its planned an European release early next year. There’s been no mention of a release anywhere in the world, most notably America, but it’s anyone’s guess as to when or if that time will come. Would you consider getting a LG G Flex if it were available in your region? Let us know in the comments.

Source: LG via engadget

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

Ok, so saying “Google is SkyNet” is obviously just a joke, but Google is actually very serious and committed to multiple projects that are dedicated to development of robotics. And guess who’s in charge of all this development? Well, none other than Andy Rubin himself, the former boss and mastermind behind the success of Android.

And how serious is Google about this robotics venture? Well, according to the New York Times, Google has acquired 7 companies related to robotics in the past 6 months. This level of investment is by no means small and indicates that Google is looking to make this a big part of its portfolio, however for the time being, Google isn’t focussing this effort on creating consumer products. Rather, the robotics will be designed for Google’s manufacturing processes to help replace some processes that still require manual labour. After that, the SkyNet… ahem, the sky’s the limit.

It will probably still be a few years before we on the outside of Google actually get to see what Rubin and his teams will be up to, but seeing as Rubin has been a Carl Zeiss robotics engineer and is a self-confessed “tinkerer”, you can bet that Google will be producing some very cool, high-tech robots for consumer use before too long.

What do you think about Google’s robotics aspirations? Think they’ll eventually rule that space as well? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Source: The New York Times via engadget

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

Who said it was too early to be imagining phones that will come after the Nexus 5? Even though the Google-backed, LG-manufactured Nexus 5 made its highly anticipated release only a few weeks ago, some people are already starting to imagine what its successor, for obvious reasons being called the ‘Nexus 6‘, could possibly look like.

The above design concept render was posted to nexus6us.com by Rishi Ramesh, showing the Nexus 6 rocking the transparent bars that were introduced in Android 4.4 and the smooth black silhouette we’ve come to expect from the Nexus phone line. It’s not just a pretty face either with suggested specs accompanying the pictures too: a Snapdragon 805 running at 2.5GHz, 3GB RAM, 5.2-inch screen with a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels, a 13MP camera and be running Android 5.0.

Unfortunately, as is generally the case with concept designs and suggested specifications, we can only really imagine future devices to have the best technology that we’ve already heard of and can foresee in the future. If you told me in 2012 that the successor to the Nexus 4 would have a 2.26GHz processor, I’d tell you that you were dreaming. So in the end, all of this is pure conjecture, but at least this way we get some pretty pictures to look at.

What do you think the Nexus 6 will look like? Do you even think it will be called the Nexus 6? Let us know what you think will happen to Google’s phone line-up next year.

Source: Nexus6us, Concept Phones via Phones Review

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

Chrome apps have been seeing a lot more attention as of late, thanks to Chromebook sales and Google themselves pushing web-based applications. There’s definitely some good stuff that is only useable on Chrome, however it looks like Google may be working on a tool that will help them convert these Chrome apps to work on both Android and iOS.

Dubbed ‘Mobile Chrome Apps’, the project is being worked on by Google Software Engineer, Michal Mocny, and was spotted on GitHub. Utilizing Apache Cordova, the tool will package up all the web-based code of the Chrome app into something that will look like a standard mobile app on whatever platform is being used. A pretty nifty tool for developers who want to port their web apps across, particularly as these packaged apps will be able to be submitted to the app stores on the mobile platform.

The tool isn’t expected to be in beta till January next year, but seeing as its on GitHub, you can probably take a gander yourself if you’re a bit of a code monkey. Do you see this kind of tool being useful? What about a tool that converts mobile apps to Chrome apps? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Source: GitHub via engadget

by Stephen Yuen via AndroidSPIN

Time for some Tuesday ManDroid madness. I hope you guys had a great holiday weekend. Cyber Monday was in full effect, but Motorola had a few problems with all the traffic to the Moto Maker. They are making up for it though. Enjoy the show!

News Topics

Motorola Cyber Monday debacle

Galaxy S5 and new Galaxy Gear might be released in a few months

Nexus One gets KitKat

Jelly Bean takes most of the Android pie

by David Pena via AndroidSPIN