Google Search For Android Updated, Brings New Hotword

Google Search for Android has been updated, bringing a new hotword, reminders for notable people and a new look for search results. Users can now say “OK, Google” to initiate a search from within the app.

If a user happens to search for a “notable person,” Google will offer you the option of saving that search as a card which will show up in Google Now, providing updates on that person.

Look for this update to be hitting your device soon, as the features are rolling out at a gradual pace.

[Via: Android Central]

Raised in rural Northern California, Ian spent his early years embroiled in video games, comic books, and making spaceships out of Legos. He escaped to San Francisco in the early 2000's, mastering the art of coffee making to pay his bills. Ian then attended Mosaic Art school in Italy, returning to the bay area afterwards, and worked on a few art projects of his own. Ian currently resides in sunny Portland, OR.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3

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Popularity

Daily interest

93%

Total hits:

2386415

Voting results

Design

7.6

Features

8.1

Performance

8.2

Votes:

1059

Available as:
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9000 with 3G connectivity
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9002 with dual SIM card support
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 with 3G & LTE connectivity.
Also known as Samsung Galaxy Note III

General	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
	4G Network	LTE
	SIM	Micro-SIM
	Announced	2013, September
	Status	Coming soon. Exp. release 2013, September

Body	Dimensions	151.2 x 79.2 x 8.3 mm (5.95 x 3.12 x 0.33 in)
	Weight	168 g (5.93 oz)
		- S Pen stylus

Display	Type	Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.7 inches (~386 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes

Sound	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

Memory	Card slot	microSD, up to 64 GB
	Internal	32/64 GB storage, 3 GB RAM

Data	GPRS	Yes
	EDGE	Yes
	Speed	HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, LE, EDR
	NFC	Yes
	Infrared port	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB v3.0 (MHL 2), USB Host

Camera	Primary	13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	Dual Shot, Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, panorama, HDR
	Video	Yes, 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps (N9005)/ 1080p (N9000)
	Secondary	Yes, 2 MP, 1080p@30fps

Features	OS	Android OS, v4.3 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (N9005)/ Exynos 5 Octa 5420 (N9000)
	CPU	Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 (N9005)/ Quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 (N9000)
	GPU	Adreno 330 (N9005)/ Mali-T628 MP6 (N9000)
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, temperature, humidity, gesture
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	No
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black, White, Pink
		- ANT+ support - S-Voice natural language commands and dictation - Air gestures - SNS integration - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - Dropbox (50 GB storage) - TV-out (via MHL A/V link) - MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player - Organizer - Image/video editor - Document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF) - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa - Voice memo/dial/commands - Predictive text input (Swype)

Battery		Li-Ion 3200 mAh battery
	Stand-by
	Talk time

Misc	SAR EU	0.29 W/kg (head)     0.36 W/kg (body)			source

Android 4.3 build for the Moto X leaks from test device

While Moto X users seem to be getting along just fine with their current build of Android 4.2, we're always looking for something new — and we now have a purported leak of Android 4.3 for the device. The leak comes by way of a purported build pulled from a "test" phone" that was running the latest software.

We certainly expected that Android 4.3 was in testing for the Moto X, and the poster over at XDA indicates that this build is still far from final. They claim that the build seems to be slower than the current Android 4.2.2 that's shipping on the phone, but that the camera seems to be improved over what's available now.

In order to flash this leaked build onto your device you'll need to have an unlocked bootloader and a little bit of time. There is currently a download link with all of the files necessary to fastboot flash it onto your device, provided you're handy with that sort of thing. As always, proceed with caution when trying out experimental or test firmware.

Source: XDA; Thanks, Rick!

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Live images of HTC One Mini in gold surface

A 24-carat gold version of the HTC's flagship smartphone is already up for grabs, but as it seems, we might soon see its Mini variant following the same path. Here are the first photos of the HTC One Mini in gold.

These were sent to us by an anonymous tipster, but we are quite certain that this Gold version of the HTC One mini is a custom gold plated edition, made by a third-party jeweler, and HTC won't be offering it officially.

Apple's gold color variant of the iPhone 5s made a real splash and we are hearing rumors that HTC will following down the same route to liven up the HTC One design.

Unfortunately, there is no word on the pricing and the availability of this gold HTC One Mini.

Thanks to our anonymous tipster for sending this in!

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AT&T purchase of Alltel approved by the FCC

After temporarily putting the process on hold to make sure AT&T had plans to transition customers over after the acquisition, the FCC has approved AT&T's buyout of the rest of Alltel. The total movement of assets to AT&T includes spectrum licenses for 700, 850 and 1900MHz, along with other networking assets throughout the midwestern US and over 600,000 customers.

The FCC's approval comes with some conditions, however, related to customer transition, roaming and networks across the areas where Alltel previously operated. AT&T agreed as part of this deal to deploy HSPA+ service within 15 months and LTE service within 18 months in the markets where it acquired this new spectrum. Interestingly on the network side AT&T also agreed to operate CDMA voice and data roaming service on the Alltel network until at least June of 2015.

In terms of customer transition — the point of contention initially — AT&T has agreed to offer Alltel customers a new handset for use on its network that is comparable to what they already owned, without extending a service contract. We can expect to see many of these changes right away, as AT&T likely wants to get those customers moved over to its network as soon as possible.

Source: FCC; Via: PhoneScoop

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Verizon's LG G2 is unlocked for AT&T and T-Mobile HSPA+

Verizon's latest devices all have SIM card slots, and more often than not they have the right frequencies to properly roam globally on GSM networks abroad. But stuff an AT&T or T-Mobile SIM into the Verizon LG G2 and you'll find that the device is also unlocked for use on domestic GSM networks.

We're not entirely sure why Verizon has started to have a change of heart on domestic unlocking of the GSM portions of its devices, but several high-profile phones from Big Red have had this functionality out of the box. Our HTC One from Verizon was unlocked as well, and in both cases it doesn't require much jumping through hoops either.

Simply pull out the SIM tray on the G2 (it doesn't even require a tool), and place either an AT&T or T-Mobile Micro SIM in the slot. You'll be prompted to reboot the phone, then on boot up you'll be notified that your phone will need to switch into "GSM/UMTS" mode to work. Head into Settings > Tethering & network > Mobile networks > System select and double check that the switch has been made.

 

Once you select your network you'll likely only see a SIM card with a "?" mark inside it and a roaming status indicator in the status bar. Stay in the network settings and tap into "Access point names" to add the proper APN for either AT&T or T-Mobile — in our testing the phone wasn't able to pull APNs off of the SIM nor did it have them pre-loaded.

Once you put in a working APN and reboot one more time, you'll be up and running with HSPA+ service (sorry, no LTE) from either carrier on your "Verizon" LG G2. At least on our unit the phone continues to show the "R" roaming indicator over the signal bars and a "?" SIM card indicator, but we can assure you that you're not actually roaming — a quick look in the "About phone" menu will reassure you.

Now we don't expect many people who have Verizon G2's to take advantage of this feature, but it's great to know that if you ever have a need to switch over to another carrier briefly (or hey, even permanently) you'll have the option without getting a new device.

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Jolla Sailfish OS specs unveiled — it’ll run Android apps, too!

Jolla phone has been talked about for some time, as one of the main features suggested in reports was its ability to run Android apps. This Meego-based OS showed its face way back in May of this year, when it first confirmed its intent to also run Android apps. Although the company gave us a glimpse at what to expect, time passed and worldwide adoption became almost non-existent. Hell, we didn’t even know anything concrete about what specs the device would carry until now.

Much like BlackBerry 10, Jolla’s Sailfish OS will offer Android compatibility with apps. It’s a great novelty, however, it could be problematic for an emerging mobile operating system if major developers don’t show interest in porting their Android apps to the Jolla Sailfish platform. Another issue is no Google Play Store support, so users have to adjust to whatever app market available to them.

Beyond the Android compatibility, Jolla finally let the public know what kind of specs they could expect in its new phone. Here is what’s inside:

Easy-to-use, gesture-based Sailfish OSAndroid app compatible“Other-half” expandability with changeable smart covers1.4GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor1GB of RAM16GB of internal storage4.5-inch 960 x 540 display8MP rear camera; 2MP front camera2,100 mAh batteryAs you can see, the specs are decent when compared to feature phones out on the market now like the Motorola X. The company hopes to ship handsets by the end of this year, but we wouldn’t be surprised if that time-frame slipped to early 2014.

[Facebook (Jolla); via Phandroid]

Charles West is a self-described music snob and sports fanatic who's a contributor to IntoMobile. In addition he also spends his time managing his own site The Trendaholic. You can catch him on Twitter @charlesawest and Google+

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