Android Jelly Bean Keyboard: ICS Port APK

Android Jelly Bean keyboard ported for Ice Cream Sandwich!

One of the more obscure features of Android 4.1 ('Jelly Bean') is a revised keyboard, said to offer better, faster text-prediction. The Day #1 Google I/O Keynote offers a very brief demo, revealing a striking similarity to the 3rd-party application called SwiftKey ...long considered by many the best Android replacement keyboard. Some users say it's better than Apple's IOS keyboard -- high praise, indeed.

Don't feel like waiting for Jelly Bean to reach your device? You're in luck; XDA vet appelflap has ported the original AOSP version for use with any Ice Cream Sandwich device...

Google JellyBean Sound Search 'Ears' APK

Forget the song. What's with all the names for this app?

Google Sound Search app for Ice Cream Sandwich, no root required!

If you've seen the Day #1 Keynote at Google I/O 2012, maybe you noticed one of the many new features in Android 4.1 ('Jelly Bean') was something called 'What's that song?' ...nicknamed 'Google Ears' by the Android team. We later learned this app's official name is Google Sound Search.

It installs as a widget and hooks right into Google Music, ready to provide one-click identification of the song you're playing, along with album art (in thumbnail form) and pricing info. Sound Search links directly to the Google Play Store, for easy one-click ordering of any song or album.

Ok, this is nothing new; Sound Search mimics popular 3rd-party apps like Shazam and SoundHound. But rumor has it that the final release version of Jelly Bean will install Sound Search as a native application, bringing both increased speed and closer ties with other Google services.

Of course, we won't know the final details until Jelly Bean's release, said to be scheduled for mid-July...

Verizon Galaxy Nexus, Meet Android ICS (Finally)

Two scoops, please..

Long-suffering G-Nex owners on VZW, your prayers are answered!

Verizon Wireless is now rolling out the official Ice Cream Sandwich update for Samsung's Galaxy Nexus. Yes, your phone that was delayed at launch and received a botched ICS update only to then disappear into the black hole of Verizon Customer Service...you and your beleaguered device will finally receive your just desserts.

See what we did, there? ;-)

Samsung Galaxy S3: 9 million Pre-Orders?

9 million Galaxy S3s: cool. 9 million iPhones: baaaaaad.

According to Reuters, 9 million units of Samsung's Galaxy SIII have been pre-ordered by mobile operators, around the world.

Wasn't it only two months ago we learned Samsung has shipped 20 million Galaxy S2 phones? Now that model's nominal successor, the Galaxy SIII, is halfway there on the basis of pre-orders alone. And since Samsung's been silent about any US release-date, that "100 operators" bit really means, "not America".

Yet.

Samsung's on a tear...

Android Fragmentation: Bad or Worse?

And this is just last year's phones...

OK, let's get this out in the open right away: Android is fragmented. No joke.

In any phones store, you'll see dozens of Android phone or tablet models. The most recent of these will be running either Android 2.3 ('Gingerbread') or Android 4 ('Ice Cream Sandwich'), but if the shop has any leftover stock from late 2011 those devices could just as likely be loaded with Android 2.2 ('Froyo').

So, yeah, fragmentation's right out in the open. It's so obvious, the only question is a matter of scale;  are we looking at a manageable mess or a crushing impediment? Between model SKUs and OS versions, there are thousands of Android device types...and that looks really bad. Our lead photo (above) doesn't do it justice.

But this one does.:

Evernote 4 for Android: It's Beautiful

Evernote wants to be your brain in the cloud.

More than 'just another update', the latest version of Evernote for Android is an important milestone. A big achievement for Evernote's design team, over their long history of iterations? Maybe not -- has anybody used every version, on every platform? But Evernote 4 for Android is a clear landmark in the history of Android as a mobile OS.

Yes, MobilePhonesFan believes it's a really big deal. No exaggeration.

Flipboard Updates Ripped Android App!

Just our way of saying, "Thanks for stealing our app!"

Official Flipboard app now available! See 22 June update, below.

Less than 48 hours after learning their 'exclusive' new Android application had escaped into the wild, the folks at Flipboard hurriedly rushed to deliver...a free update.

Quelle panache!

For those coming in late, here's the story.:

XDA: Get Any Android App in Any Country

XDA: ...for when an app absolutely, positively has to be there, overnight right now.

A new, modified version of Google's Play Store lets you install any Android app in any country. You read that correctly: get any app, regardless of the country in which your Android phone was sold. No more annoying "This application is not available in your region" messages...

Ripped: Android Flipboard APK ...No Waiting!

(Be sure to read the latest updates, at the end of this article.)

Here it is, the long-awaited Flipboard for Android APK from Samsung's Galaxy S III.

Released in 2010, Flipboard was originally an iPad exclusive but proved so popular it was later developed for iPhone, too. For nearly two years, then, Flipboard has been available only on Apple hardware. So, those of you who don't own an iOS device may be asking yourselves, 'What the heck is it?'

Samsung Galaxy S III: "It's Fast" (AnandTech)

AnandTech benchmarks the Samsung Galaxy S II

AnandTech's verdict: "It's Fast."

...to which MobilePhonesFan can only add: Most impressive. The new Galaxy S III is looking better and better, with every new report. Can't wait to get our hands on one.


via: AnandTech