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Android KitKat Released
First time accepted submitter taxtropel was one of many readers to note that Google has officially released its newest version of Android. taxtropel extracts from the announcement: "Today we are announcing Android 4.4 KitKat, a new version of Android that brings great new features for users and developers. The very first device to run Android 4.4 is the new Nexus 5, available today on Google Play, and coming soon to other retail outlets. We'll also be rolling out the Android 4.4 update worldwide in the next few weeks to all Nexus 4, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10 devices, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One Google Play Edition devices."
Reader SmartAboutThings adds: "Almost all of the features that the Nexus 5 comes with are not a surprise, since they were heavily leaked before. Still, for those that have obediently waited this day, here are some of its most important specs: 2.2Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 800 and 2GB of RAM, 4.95-inch 1080p display, Wireless charging, 2,300 mAh battery, LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11ac WiFi and NFC; Gorilla Glass 3, Front 1.3-megapixel camera and 8-megapixel sensor on the back with optical image stabilization (OIS)."
is there a dark chocolate version?
When iOS7 caused trouble for iPhone users, I heard audible Snickers.
3A 4E 22 05 C1 83 0B 7A
It's random, but my posting it here is probably considered illegal to someone.
I wonder if it will continue to randomly turn off the Nexus 4, like 4.3 does.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
The mid-range laptop on which I'm typing this comment is out-specced on all fronts by this phone (save for keyboard and day-long readability), and it's barely 6 years old.
Nice.
Android is Linux. Maybe you want a GNU/Linux with X? Names matter.
HELP MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED BY AN ILLIBERAL ART STUDENT SET TO DESTROY THE INTERWEBZ!
Also, who the fuck needs 2GB of RAM on a fucking phone!? My old computer (which I was using until just a year ago) got by on 2.5 GB of RAM, and it ran just fine. I can't imagine doing many of the things that I do (and did on my old computer) on even a fancy phone. For one, the screen is too small, and there is no built in keyboard. Not to mention, I doubt my toolkit has been ported to Android.
I agree, nobody will ever need more than 640k of RAM.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
I still think it's cheesy to use a brand-name food as the OS name, instead of a generic name.
Otherwise, looks neat. :-)
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
No, Android is not Linux. Neither is GNU/Linux. What he's asking is if we can install our own god damned kernel, regardless of who provides the userspace. Intent matters.
1080p screen? I wish I could get a laptop for $500 with that.
There are dozens of kernels available for each phone out there. You can't just install any kernel, but you can most definitely make your own that'd work with your device, it's just a lot of work.
You can run a full Linux build chrooted under Android. You can also install Ubuntu Touch on the Nexus 4. Close enough?
Good for my tablet, thanks, but I can't root my phone as long as my boss is paying for it.
So, according to the summary, Google just released Nexus 5. And Android 4.4 will be rolled out to all Nexus 4s, Nexus 7s and Nexus 10s. What? So does that mean that the Nexus 7s and Nexus 10s have already been released? What a fucked up counting system.
Also, who the fuck needs 2GB of RAM on a fucking phone!? My old computer (which I was using until just a year ago) got by on 2.5 GB of RAM, and it ran just fine. I can't imagine doing many of the things that I do (and did on my old computer) on even a fancy phone. For one, the screen is too small, and there is no built in keyboard. Not to mention, I doubt my toolkit has been ported to Android.
If you were running Java apps exclusively on your old 2.5GB computer, you would have been far less happy with that much RAM. I run a Java based IDE on my desktop maxed out with 8GB RAM and still find myself wanting more RAM at times when I'm debugging a large java application - the app itself uses over 2GB of ram after it caches all of its data.
Galaxy Nexus isn't supported. Source.
Why is it that so few smartphones have replaceable batteries nowadays, it is such an environmentally irresponsible thing to do. Kudos to Samsung for still having them in the galaxy series, but seriously, every phone (and laptop) should have it. Wish Apple hadn't started this trend (for a company that supposedly prides itself as being environmental too...)
-- the cake is a lie
I love the Google phones with one exception: lack of storage. Google devices don't have microSD expansion slots, and the maximum storage sizes are small. If you're going to have small built-in flash sizes at least have an expansion slot. Or if you don't have an expansion slot, at least have versions with large storage options. HTC has a 64GB version of the One, for example. Apple has iPhone models with 64GB.
I'm surprised there's still nothing about google wallet. I heard some speculation that with kitkat, they were going to announce a way to use it on any phone with NFC (without the secure element the carriers refuse to allow).
Should we expect a lawsuit or do they have a licensing agreement with Nestlé? (It's very indicative of the time we live in that this is the first thought that came to my mind...)
The latter. http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/03/google-strikes-bizarre-licensing-deal-with-nestle-to-name-next-android-kit-kat/
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
As another poster pointed out, Android already is running the Linux kernel. If you want the GNU-ecosystem OS on top of the kernel all you have to do is install a chroot environment like "Lil' Debi" and you're done. (requires root)
https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=info.guardianproject.lildebi&fdpage=13
Same goes for those very nice and very cheap long-life Chromebooks.
People give RMS lots of grief for calling "it" GNU/Linux, but he ain't no fool. Linux can be many things besides the kernel for the GNU OS, and see the Debian ports for the familiar GNU environment running on BSD, and yes, Hurd kernels instead of the Linux one.
~.~
I'm a peripheral visionary.
But but but ... I want a desktop andriod for my linux system.
You can get one, but it won't look anything like Darryl Hannah did in 1982.
It's hardly a phablet compared to your Nexus 4, it's only 4mm longer...
Nexus 4 dimensions: 133.90 x 68.70 x 9.10 mm (with a 4.7" screen)
Nexus 5 dimensions: 137.84 x 69.17 x 8.59 mm (with a 4.9" screen)
That's disappointing. I was hoping to skip the 2 year upgrade cycle, especially for my mum who has the phone.
I bought Nexus believing it would be supported longer with quicker updates.
Why won't Google compete with Apple on longevity of phone updates? The iPhone 4 - over 3 years old runs iOS 7.
And I can't get a Nexus 4 or 5 thanks to being stuck on Verizon... Thanks Google.
Or rather, thanks Verizon!
Or rather... man I hate the cell phone ecosystem, I don't know who to hate more.
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
What do you think?
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
It will be paid-for, not supplemented through carrier contracts because I enjoy a lower phone bill... a significantly lower phone bill.
So you're on t-mobile? Last time I checked, all the other phone companies charged you the same whether you got a phone through them or not. In other words, if you don't get AT&T to subsidize your phone, you're paying monthly for a phone you didn't get. You might be thinking of the recent scams AT&T and verizon both came out with where you pay more per month to upgrade faster. You're still getting ripped off though even if you're not on those plans. Again, aside from T-mo, and perhaps they've changed it recently.
It's idiotic of course, but of course it's due to the fact that there are so few choices.
I figured Google was "all-in" on WebRTC and vp9/opus, but a year later it looks like they still haven't added support for it to Android.
Hacker Public Radio is our Friend
When the first batch of Nexus 4 came out (which is when I bought mine), it was so bad that it was all over the news.
The server would tell you they were sold out, Google would post something saying that they were NOT sold out, but the site was dying. Every time you tried to check out you'd get a different error message or randomly your card would just get cleared.
It was really, really bad. It took them a VERY long time after that to get them back in stock, and by then the hype had died down a lot.
In our last round of phone negotiations, we took a "free" set of phones for the whole family, and they billed us $20 "extra" a month. Of course, we didn't want to pay $20 extra a month to get a bunch of "free" junk phones we didn't want -- so they agreed to drop our plan by $20/month forever as long as we did the two years of $20 paying for the phones.
Two years passed. We're now paying $20/mo less than we used to. Considering we've got four "unlimited" phones for about $160/mo, we're content. We could probably manage better, but not so much over the hassle of changing.
The salesperson has the flexibility to offer discounts to people, provided they keep making their phone sale quota.
Everyone won that day. [Where everyone is defined as "me."]
I don't plan to change from AT&T anytime soon....the providers are all equally shitty and have comparable pricing. If I don't use the subsidy, I am still paying for it. My grandparents have phones on the same plan, and because it has taken them this long to figure out their current basic flip phones, it's not like we want to get them new devices.
The best move is probably to use their upgrades on the free iphone and sell them NIB on ebay. That probably nets out above saving the upgrades just in case a smartphone user on the plan breaks or loses their phone (since the odds of that happening are low and the profit from the two iphones probably exceeds the expected value of replacing a broken phone).
Bottles.
Uh, root doesn't give all apps SU, only those that you setuid root with an app like SuperUser
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
Need an X server! My kingdom for a decent xserver on android then I wouldn't care. I'd just write lisp and serve it up on my wd mybooklive.
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
"Galaxy Nexus, which first launched two years ago, falls outside of the 18-month update window when Google and others traditionally update devices."
LOL. "... and others"? What "others"? MS has a bad record here recently (Windows Phone 7 & 7.5; too early to say how 8 will go), Apple averages about THREE years, and who else is there?
Maybe compared to the fact that most OEMs who sell Android phones give ZERO updates... I guess that's an improvement.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Need an X server! My kingdom for a decent xserver on android then I wouldn't care. I'd just write lisp and serve it up on my wd mybooklive.
There is an x server implementation for android here which is mostly complete.
That's true, if you're so much of a chump that you think "all" includes only AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. There are also hundreds of MVNOs that almost always require you to buy the device, but provide service a Hell of a lot cheaper than the "Big 3"
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
My battery life sucks because I'm in Washington, which could be generously described as RF hell. My phone has to dump more power than normal into the transmitter to keep contact with the towers.
Or what I feel is the better of the two main droidwall spinoffs - AFWall+
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.ukanth.ufirewall
It is definitely less Google friendly named, I just noticed they added a parenthetical (Android Firewall +)
Not that it's a substitute for proper support, but one small sop is that the Nexus phones are the easiest Android phone to re-flash yourself, and Cyanogen Mod is at it's best polished on Nexus devices. As long as it can handle it hardware-wise, there's nothing stopping you installing the KitKat-derived version of Cyanogen Mod (once it is released).
Then your battery life won't be any better with a newer phone either... and the cases with integrated batteries have laughably low battery capacities.
What you really need is a USB power bank... yes, it's annoying to carry around and charging with it requires a wired connection between the battery pack and the phone, but you'll have juice. Depending on the size of the battery pack you choose, you'll be able to fully recharge a Galaxy Nexus between 1 and 5+ times...
Are you having any other problems with your Galaxy Nexus? Other than Chrome being a memory hog and the fact that I won't be getting 4.4 on it, I'm having no issues whatsoever...