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Showing posts with the label Android 4.4 Design

Android 4.4 Code Reveals Even More Bluetooth Features in KitKat

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It seems like a little bit of Android 4.4 code is leaking out everyday. Today it’s coming from the same folks that have gotten their hands on the logs already. Which is Myce.com. They’ve already found out that OIS will be part of the camera in Android 4.4 and a few other things. Now it looks like there’s more Bluetooth Low Energy or BLE along with a “Bluetooth Password vault”. In the code, Myce found that there was a line “code.google.android.authenticator.bluetooth.RemoteAccessService”. These guys also found some information regarding a Bluetooth Password Vault, and several times BPV was mentioned, which we’d assume is an abbreviation for Bluetooth Password vault. Of course as expected, there were plenty of mentions of Bluetooth Low Energy, which is officially supported as of Android 4.3. Along with Proximity Awareness. That’s nothing new for Bluetooth devices, since that is the key to pairing devices together. The two devices have to be able to contact each other, and use an unique a

What Do You Want to See in Android 4.4 – KitKat

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While we’ve already done our huge Android 4.4 preview a few weeks ago. It’s now time to see what the rest of our staff wants to see in Android 4.4 – KitKat. We already know what I want to see, but I’ll still put it in this post. Seems like the number one thing is camera improvements, which I really can’t disagree with. Keith Myers Writer I would love to see the following features 1) Deeper Google Now integration – Like the Moto X but better 2) A “Desktop Mode” – When a phone is connected to an external monitor, why does it have to act like a large phone. A Desktop Style UI would be perfect. It would be sweeter if it supported a Windowed Mode 3) More Flavors – Why not a banana flavored Kit Kat bar? 4) Cross device sync – It would be nice if my saved games would sync between my different devices. 5) Battery Life Improvements 6) Better integration with wearable technology. Google Glass is still running ICS! Cory McNutt Writer Improved Camera Software They have been continual improvements

More Leaked Screenshots of KitKat Android 4.4 Reveal Printing and Payments Support

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Nexus season is in full swing, and has been for some time now and, as usual that brings with it a whole lot of leaks and rumors concerning the next version of Android. The choclatey KitKat that is Android 4.4 has already been leaked a couple of times before and thanks to log files that just keep on giving, we already have quite a bit of info on the subject. This time around,  Gadget Helpline   has managed to get their hands on what looks like an early build of Android 4.4 running on what seems to be a Nexus 4. It’s clear to us that these shots represent an earlier build of Android 4.4, as the Key Lime Pie references are still here. Regardless of the build’s age however, details such as built-in Printing and Payments supports are revealed in these new screenshots. While nothing is really known about these two features it would stand to reason that Payments is simply tighter integration with Google Wallet and Printing will be Google’s Cloud Print brought down to mobile. The device in que

Leaked Images of Supposedly Android 4.4 KitKat

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Last night we found a few Android 4.4 images. Mainly of the dialer and Messaging apps. Now there are a few more images that have cropped up, depicting Android 4.4 on what appears to be a Nexus 4. Now we aren’t sure if this is the Nexus 4 that was released last year, or if they’ll be calling the new Nexus coming next month the Nexus 4 as well. They did it with the Nexus 7, so it wouldn’t surprise me. The images here show us some new icons too. They all look more flat, similar to the new Google logo, which looks really nice in my opinion. The status bar is also different now. It appears to change colors to match the app that you are currently in. Which is a nice touch, although I think I’d rather have a transparent status bar like Touchwiz and LG has in their launcher. In these pictures you can see a different looking status bar in each one. And it looks like some apps have a gray navigation bar while others are still black. It would be cool if that changed per app as well. It’s defin

Android 4.4 Design: What do we want in KitKat

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It’s almost that time of year. Time for a new treat from Mountain View. Last year, we thought we’d be getting  Key Lime Pie , instead Google gave us another serving of Jelly Beans Android 4.2. Then came Google I/O in May of this year where we thought we’d get Key Lime Pie Android 5.0, instead we got nothing until July when we got a third serving of Jelly Beans Android 4.3. We know that this fall, Google is going to serving up some tasty KitKats for us. Since they made it official earlier this month. Android 4.4 will be named KitKat. However, we have no idea what is going to be in KitKat. Maybe a new lockscreen? Perhaps new notifications? Or maybe just a new lighter, cards UI theme for the entire system? That’s what we are here to talk about today. What do we want to see in KitKat! Features We Want Fix the Fragmentation This seems to be a feature we want in every release of Android. But it’s something that Google is clearly working on, since we see many new features in the Google Play S

Android 4.4 KitKat Keyboard Design Screen Shot Leaked Out

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Earlier this month, Google dropped a bombshell on all of us, revealing that the next version of Android wouldn’t be 5.0 Key Lime Pie – but instead Android 4.4 KitKat. Since then, we’ve not only learned that the OS will likely arrive in October, but it is also possible that KitKat will  support 64-bit processors . Today brings yet another hint as to what the future holds with KitKat, as a screenshot of the next version of Android might have been inadvertently posted to the web by Google itself. Considering the screenshot was uploaded directly by Google, we can say that this screenshot is more than likely a legit look at KitKat (or a really mean prank from Mountain View..) The image in question was first spotted by Android Police , in a screenshot posted on Google Play for the new version of the Korean Google Keyboard. As you’ll notice in the screenshot above, gone are the blue icons and clock font in the status bar, replaced by a light gray color scheme. There’s also a new debug icon, w

Android 4.4 KitKat to have 64-Bit Support

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It was just last week when our friends up in Cupertino announced that the iPhone 5S will be launching with 64 bit support. Apple may not be the only player in town when it comes to adapting the 64 bit architecture on a mobile phone. Thanks to a photo that was reportedly taken at an Intel Developer Forum, 64bit support is slated as a future enhancement to Android. Although the word “Kit Kat” was not in the photo, if true, the timing may not be a coincidence. If this photo is legitimate, we may have also gotten our first glimpse of some of the changes that may be appearing in Android 4.4 Kit Kat including NDK Apps Bridging Technology and a Highly Tuned Dalvik Runtime. If these features are correct, they will help speed up the execution of applications. It is important to note that if Android 4.4 Kit Kat does indeed implement initial support for 64 bit processing, you will need to have a device that can take advantage of the new architecture to run in 64 bit mode. So no, your Nexus 4 (

Does iOS 7 Raise the Bar for Android 4.3?

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With yesterday’s announcement from Apple of the new iPhone 5s sporting its latest iOS 7, it is inevitable that we compare it with the latest Android 4.3, announced on July 24 at “Breakfast with Pichai.” Currently the flagship OSs from both Apple and Google, we must look at how they are different, but also how they are similar to one another. Has Apple really shown us anything new in iOS 7 that we have not already experienced in Android 4.3, or even 4.2? There was a time when Android was scurrying to catch up to iOS, but this is no longer the case, as Apple’s critics clamored to add more Android-like features, like notifications and true multi-tasking. Let us look at how well Apple has answered those criticisms in iOS 7 and the new iPhone 5s. While Android 4.3 was more an iterative upgrade, iOS 7 is a total reworking of what was an aging operating system with a fresh looking icons and interface. Apple executive, Jony Ive, the designer of the iPhone and iPad, is a fan of translucent elem