Android News

We have officially reported before that T-Mobile is working on developing an Android 5.0 Lollipop firmware for its Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition. Today, T-Mobile has just released the first official Android 5.0.2 Lollipop for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition (SM-P607T). The update is currently Available Over-the-air (OTA) and via KIES in the United States. The same update will be available to ALL Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition (SM-P60X) variants only worldwide. The firmware [... Read More]

Mobile messaging has never been more central to people’s lives, and there is an incredible amount of innovation happening with chat applications across the mobile ecosystem. SMS carrier messaging is used by billions of people every day and enables people to reach anyone around the world, regardless of their device, carrier, app or location. However, the features available in SMS haven’t kept up with modern messaging apps. Rich Communications Services (RCS) is a new standard for carrier messaging and brings many of the features that people now expect from mobile messaging, such as group chats, high res photos and more. Many leaders in the wireless industry have already put great work into laying the foundation for RCS, and we’ve heard from many of them that there are ways Android can help. We’re excited to team up with mobile operators, device makers and the rest of the Android ecosystem to support RCS standards and help accelerate their deployment in a more consistent way. We’re alre...

 Today, Google announced that it will be adopting a new standard for carrier messaging called Rich Communications Services (RCS), thus eventually moving on from SMS. The company also announced the acquisition of Jibe Mobile to help bring RCS to its Android products. Here’s what Mike Dodd, Android RCS Software Engineer and Minister of Messaging had to say (and how cool is his title?):… Read More

OnePlus will launch an even more affordable alternative to its flagship OnePlus 2 this year, according to a new report. The device will supposedly be named OnePlus X, and it will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 801 processor. The OnePlus 2 is already an incredibly affordable smartphone at just $329 — especially when you consider it Read the full article... The post OnePlus X expected this October with 5-inch display, Snapdragon 801 appeared first on Cult of Android .

Google today announced it has acquired Jibe Mobile, a startup known as the “cloud communications company for mobile operators.” Put more succinctly, Jibe focused on helping carriers build support for various messaging features into their services. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. In fact, news of the acquisition was shoehorned in beside the announcement that Google is working to add Rich Communications Services (RCS), a new standard for carrier messaging, to Android. Indeed, the company described Jibe as “a leading provider of RCS services.” Jibe will continue to help carriers deploy RCS to their users, but as part of Google. The two will work with the broader wireless industry (including mobile operators, device makers, and the rest of the Android ecosystem) to “create an even better messaging experience on Android.” Here is how Google explains why implementing RCS is necessary: SMS carrier messaging is used by billions of people every day and enables people ...

Sprint’s unlimited talk, text and data plan is about to get more expensive. The wireless carrier announced that the plan will jump from $60 per month to $70 per month starting October 16. Existing customers will be grandfathered in to the current price, but new customers will have to start paying up if they want the Read the full article... The post Act now to avoid Sprint’s $10 unlimited data price jump appeared first on Cult of Android .

Samsung’s new Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic smartwatches, which were officially unveiled in early September, are about to make their U.S. debuts. Both devices will go on sale on Friday, October 2 — but they won’t be cheap. The Gear S2, which is the more affordable model in the lineup and comes with a plastic Read the full article... The post Samsung confirms Gear S2 price and launch date for U.S. appeared first on Cult of Android .

HTC has confirmed that it will begin rolling out its first Android 6.0 Marshmallow updates before the end of 2015. The company has also revealed which handsets are in line to get one, so if you’re wondering whether yours will get lucky, just check the list below. “Serving up Marshmallow sweetness real soon,” teased HTC America Read the full article... The post These are the HTC handsets getting a Marshmallow upgrade appeared first on Cult of Android .

Posted by, Jamal Eason , Product Manager, Android Today we are releasing the 1.4 update to the Android Studio stable release channel. Most of the work and enhancements for Android Studio 1.4 are under the hood. However we have a handful of new features that we hope you enjoy and integrate into your workflow. New Features in Android Studio 1.4 Design Tools Vector Assets Starting with API 21, you can use Vector Drawables for image assets. For most apps, using VectorDrawables decreases the amount of density dependent drawables you need to maintain, and will also give you sharp image assets regardless of the screen device densities your app supports. With Android Studio 1.4, we are making the process of importing SVG images or Material icons much easier. If you update your gradle android plugin to 1.4.0-beta3 (or higher) in the project structure dialogue or your project build.gradle file ( 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:1.4.0-beta3' ), you can now use the new Vector A...