Ice cream sandwich update rolling out for WiFi Motorola Xoom

The Ice Cream Sandwich update (4.0.3) for the WiFi  Motorola Xoom is currently rolling out.  The update is the usual OTA process. And things seems to be snappier and a bit more responsive.  Initially I had a bit of problem with my gmail account auto syncing everything to my Xoom, like chrome bookmarks and google plus photos. I had this same issue when when I first signed into Honeycomb.  This isn't a problem in it's self, if you want those things synced. The issue was getting rid of them if you didn't want them there. Took me a while but i was able to fix that.   I haven't had a lot of time to play around with all the apps but I'm seeing reports from most user stating that all apps are working just fine with I.C.S.

ChangeLog via Motorola

• Updated Browser with faster rendering, zoom and pan   Users can also now save pages for offline reading and request desktop versions of websites.
• Swipe to dismiss notifications, tasks, and browser tabs   You can now dismiss individual notifications, apps from the Recent Apps list, and browser tabs with a simple swipe of a finger.
• Redesigned app launcher   In All Apps launcher, you can now simply drag an app to get information about it, immediately uninstall it, or disable a pre-installed app.
• New System Font for Improved Readability   An entirely new typeface (called Roboto) optimized for high resolution screens improves readability and brings a polished feel to the user interface.
• Updated “People” Application   Replaces contacts and integrates seamlessly with Google+ and other social networks.
• Improved text input and spell-checking The keyboard now features improved accuracy to make text input faster. It also now includes an in-line spell checker to make corrections easier.
• Type with your voice Now you can simply touch the microphone on the keyboard and start talking to write emails, SMS, or any other text—more than 20 languages supported. Text appears in real time, so there’s no waiting for server processing.
• Richer and versatile imaging capabilities   For capturing larger scenes, the camera introduces a single motion panorama mode.  Also, you can now take still shots while shooting video just by tapping the screen as video continues to record. You can also launch camera directly from the Lockscreen. When you shoot videos, you can now choose from a number of silly faces and other fun effects which recognize individual facial features so you can give your friends big eyes, squeeze heads, make noses bigger, or change the scenery with background replacement.
• Redesigned Gallery app with photo editor   To help pictures look their best, the Gallery now offers a powerful photo editor so you can crop and rotate pictures, set levels, remove red eyes, add effects, and much more.
• Richer, resizable widgets   You can expand widgets to show more content, or shrink them to save space.

Checkout the new Xoom Boot Animation.




[via Motorola]

Fight SOPA with the Boycott SOPA app

In case you've been living in a dark cave secluded from the world and/or the internet. Today is "Blackout SOPA" day.  For a little more info on what SOPA is and why it's bad click here and  here.   A lot of popular sites have joined in the fight against SOPA and the internet as a whole has put forth a major effort to spread information and get the word out. As of today several supporters have backed away from SOPA/PIPA as a result of the backlash caused by today's blackout. 

Take it a step further.  With the Boycott SOPA app you can scan barcodes on items you wish to purchase and see if that particular company is in support or opposition of SOPA. And as well all know big companies respond to a drop in their bottom line more than anything else. 

scan with android device

or

Download from Android Web Market

Limited Time Offers: Music tracks and Top Movies on Sale.

Tis the season of giving. And Google wants to help you celebrate, so they are dishing out millions of tracks priced at only 49cents.

 Half a million albums at $4.99 and over 10 million tracks for 49¢. At that price; holidays aside, if you aren't already using the recently open to the public Google Music, being able to build and entire library with low price tracks might be a reason to start.

And if that wasn't enough Google is back again with another two week special on Top Movies in the android market. Perfect if you're looking for some holiday entertainment.

Introducing Google Currents

Google Currents was launched today. The app available on Android smartphones and tablets as well as iOS devices is a magazine like Flipboard(iOS) competitor. Google Currents puts news and content at your finger tips in an smooth looking and easy to navigate interface. Currents makes it simple to find and subscribe to your favorite sites and browse them all from their 'editions', giving them a magazine feel.  This app looks good on smartphones but it really shines on tablets.  Check out the images below.

Add the AndroidAppInspection Edition on Google Currents

Checkout the video demo

Download from Web Market

Google Maps goes indoors

A before and after of the Mall of America in Minneapolis, with floor selector. (via Google)


Google Maps has put powerful GPS outdoor navigation in the hands of millions. And next up it plans to help you navigate indoors.  Whether it's a crowded airport a shopping mall or even a campus; Google 6.0 announced Tuesday plans to help you pinpoint where you want to go. The familiar blue dot tracks a user's location and auto updates as use switches floors.

“When you’re inside an airport, shopping mall or retail store, a common way to figure out where you are is to look for a freestanding map directory or ask an employee for help. With the release of Google Maps 6.0 for Android, that directory is brought to the palm of your hands, helping you determine where you are, what floor you’re on and where to go indoors.” via Google's Lat Log Blog.

Like many new features introduced by Google this one will take some time to roll out; as indoor mapping needs to be made available at different locations. This update is also only available to android users. 2.1+

Google Catalogs arrives on Android in time for Cyber Monday

We gave you the run down on Google Catalogs earlier. An app that at the time was only available on iPads is now launching on Android tablets.

"With rich product images, videos, and the ability to curate your own personal collages to share with friends, Google Catalogs makes browsing your favorite mail order catalogs easy, fun and interactive." Google Product Manager Abigail Holtz.

400+ digital catalogs from 125+ brands including; Nordstrom, Williams-Sonoma, Nike, Urban Outfitters, Bloomingdales, Patagonia, Ugg and Sephora.

Interact: Zoom in to see products up close, tap on tags to learn more about an item or, in some catalogs, view inspiring photo albums and videos.

Find products in nearby stores: When an item catches your eye, instantly find it in a store near you or tap “Buy on Website” to visit the merchant online.

Express your creativity: Create a collage of your favorite catalog pages and products. If you need inspiration, you can check out collages created by others.

Share with friends: Email a product or collage to all your shopping buddies.

Get instant access to new catalogs: Add catalogs to your Favorites and get notified each time a new issue arrives.

Discover new products and brands: Search for products within or across multiple catalogs to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Grab Google Catalog on the Market

New Samsung Ad pokes fun at iPhone users

In a new add for the Samsung Galaxy II, Samsung takes a lighthearted jab at iPhone users. Something apple has done to other manufactures many times in the past. For most of us this will just be a little chuckle shared between geeks but some apple fanboys may want to check their blood pressure before viewing this one.

12 Top movies in Android Market 99 cents for two weeks.

This one comes from the Android twitter account.  The promotion runs for the next two weeks and  offers a solid variety of movies. This comes just in time for the holiday. And at .99 cent  and offering several movies that aren't yet streamable on Netflix I for one plan to watch a few movies.  Sadly this seems to be a US only offer at the moment. Grab some popcorn and enjoy the show. 


[via @Android]

Google Music leaves beta

Google Music has left beta, having launched in may. And the new announcement that just landed at the Google event adds the much anticipated music store to the mix.  For now this is limited to the US but being that this is google we're talking about it will go international in time.   The store offers more than 13 million tracks from artist on Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment EMI and  Merlin; the Global independent rights agency. As well as over 1000 independent labels.

Songs and Albums can be purchased straight from the browser or your android device and are instantly added to your library to be accessed anywhere.  After you've bought your music you can share single tracks or entire albums with friends on Google+ who can listen to the tracks or albums in full (once).

Google is also offering plenty of exclusive content to draw in users.  This includes a live EP from Coldplay, six exclusives releases from the Rolling Stones and the exclusive debut of Busta Rhymes's new album.  As well as live recordings from Shakira, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band and an exclusive mix from Tiesto.  All free.

Artist Hub:
Taking a bite out of Myspace's Music pages. Any artist who has the rights to their content can distribute their own music through Google Music. And use it to build an artist page.  Upload music, set your own prices and sell directly through Google Music.  This is big for independent artists. Combine Google Music with Google+ and YouTube and an artist can also be their own manager and PR rep.  A 70-30 split for artists.

Android's Netflix app gets a redesign.

Today Netflix officially announced the much rumored redesign of it's Android app.  This includes the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet.

"The new design is much more immersive and provides greater focus on the growing number of titles in the Netflix catalog. In fact, the new interface displays twice as many movies and TV shows as before, enabling you to discover even more titles you'll love. Also, we've taken greater advantage of the tablet's unique features, inviting you to swipe through rows of titles featuring larger artwork..."

The new design is pretty slick and really compliments the screen real-estate that tablets offer.  iPad users will have to wait a while longer for this update.

Xoom 2 and Xoom 2 Media Edition announced

After all the leaks and rumors the Xoom 2 £390.00 is finally official. And it's bringing along a friend the Xoom 2 Media Edition £358.80.Both  set to hit shelves in the UK and Ireland in mid November.  I'm wondering if the specs on these devices will be enough to make original Xoom owners want to upgrade.  And it seems that Motorola learned a bit from the high pricing of the original Xoom when you do the conversion these both come out to be significant cheaper that the Xoom was last year at launch.

Xoom 2
Processor: 1.2GHz dual core
OS: Android 3.2  Honeycomb
Memory: 1GB RAM, 16GB storage
Display: 10.1 inch HD display
Camera: 1.3MP fron and 5MP rear
Battery: 10+ hours web usage 1 month standby
Dimensions: 253.9 x 173.6 x 8.8 mm
Weight: 599 grams

Xoom 2 Media Edition
Processor: 1.2Ghz dual core
OS: Android 3.2 Honeycomb
Memory: 1GB RAM 16GB storage
Display: 8.2 inch HD display
Camera: 1.3MP front and 5MP rear
Battery: 6+ hours web use 3 days of music playback
Dimensions: 139 x 216 x 8.99 mm
Weight: 386 grams

Free App Alert: OfficeSuite Pro 5

Don't miss out on the Amazon free app of the day. OfficeSuite Pro 5. The app is normally $15.00 so it's a pretty big deal as far as apps go.

• Create, edit and view MS Word and Excel documents
• View PowerPoint and PDF files
• Use Google Docs to manage files remotely. 

I'm grabbing this one for my Xoom as we speak.  You can grab it here. OfficeSuite Pro 5.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream sandwich announced

                              

Google and Samsung announce the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Andy Rubin and JK Shin introduce the Samsung Galaxy Nexus

So last night Google and Samsung came together to announce the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich.  Right off the bat let me say this device delivers on the standard of the Nexus line.  It's sleek, smart and a powerhouse.  First up was hardware talk. And rather than rehash that I'll just give you the device specs.  

Specifications:
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
Pure Google Experience(stock android)
4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display with 720p resolution
Thinner bexel 4.29mm
1.2GHz dual-core processor
32GB Internal memory
1GB (RAM)
LTE and HSPA+ connectivity

Hyper-skin backing - slip resistance
5MP rear camera, 1080P video recording, 1MP front facing camera
NFC

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

New ICS Features: 

Resizable widgets

Screenshots

Android Beam - NFC

Wi-Fi Direct

Face Unlock

Robto type face

People app with Google+ integration

improved web browser

improved  cut, copy and paste

improved notifications

Live text-to-speech

Inline Spell Check

Data Usage Monitor

Device Encryption

App Disabling

Google clearly wanted to pay more attention to design and beauty with the new version of android something that has been somewhat lacking in previous releases. Part of that initiative was showcase with Roboto. A new type face created specifically just for Android 4.0. "Built from scratch for high definition paper density displays." It seems like such a small thing but I'm willing to bet it will be surprising improvement once users get their hands on Ice Cream Sandwich.

The Nexus Galaxy has no hardware navigation buttons. And with good reason. Ice Cream Sandwich was designed with on-screen navigation buttons.  "Virtual buttons are more usable. Individual buttons hide when they don't do anything and they rotate so the icons are properly aligned."  Honeycomb users will be used to this concept as it was introduced to users in 3.0. Also arriving in in Ice Cream Sandwich improved and re-sizable widgets and a unified app and widget launcher. 

Android users have long requested the ability to take screenshots on android. And will be delighted to find that Screenshots are finally native to the OS! Pressing Volume Down + Power will active this functionality.

Notifications have been updated in Ice Cream Sandwich as well.  Adding not just additional functionality but the ability to "flick" and remove individual notifications without having to leave the notification screen. As well as a functional music player notification so you can control music playback from anywhere.

A new feature introduced last night is Face Unlock.  Using facial recognition your phone will recognize you and then unlock giving you access.  This feature failed to work on stage during the live demo but several reported that it worked backstage during the hands on. A cool feature but going by what we saw even it would be faster to use a pin or or lock pattern. 

The Ice Cream Sandwich browser has gotten an update as well. Bringing bookmark sync (chrome), simple user agent switching (desktop mode), incognito mode and offline mode; which allows you to save entire pages for view offline. 

Gmail like all the other "core apps" have had a bit of an upgrade. It features the "action bar" along the bottom of the app which will show up in many other apps. The UI design is very much like that of gmail on Honeycomb. Giving you a preview of the emails content without having to open each email. Offline search a highly requested feature has also made it's way into this release. 

Data Usage Monitoring is something that is becoming more and more important as carriers make the move from truly unlimited plans. And 4.0 puts this in the hands of the user with it's new Data Usage app. Not just tracking data usage but allowing for reminders and alerts. As well as directly showing you what apps are using the most data.

"With Ice Cream Sandwich it's never been easier or faster to capture the action and share it in a matter of seconds"  Starting right at the lock screen users can access the camera for quick snaps.  Once in camera it gets even better as the new camera in Ice Cream Sandwich has zero shutter lag. During the demo they were able to fire off multiple shots in seconds.  The camera detects faces and automatically focuses on them. Additonally Ice Cream Sandwich is photo editing and filters built right in tot he camera.   And last but not least Panorama mode makes it's way into the new software.  On the video side of things the camera also for 1080p resolution recording as well as time lapse and video snapshots.

In Ice Cream Sandwich the contacts app has been redesigned as is now the People App. Swiping to the right on within the app takes you to all your most recent contacts.Taping a contact takes into that persons 'card' where you find all your connections with that person as well as their recent updates  aggregated into the app.

The phone app has had an upgrade as well. Voicemail can now be viewed right in line with missed calls.  And when receiving a call at a time that you can answer the phone quick response lets you reply via text to the incoming call rather than simply declining. The responses can be customized by you for your indvidual needs.  

New in Ice Cream Sandwich is a Android Beam a simple and secure way to share anything your doing and any content on your device with someone else.  Simple touh devices with Android Beam capability together and your ready to share. Many long time users will remember a similar market app by the name of Bump but it's nice to see this added to the OS. It works with photos, apps, maps, and even sets up multi-player games and more. 

So there you have it. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich. All we need to know now is when and where. As carriers and a exact launch date were not given. The live event is available on youtube if you wan to take a look yourself.