Slatedroid info

Get ready and get excited developers, because Samsung has just dropped the kernel source code for their brand new and still unavailable flagship GALAXY S 4 smartphone. Get read for all that Samsung “S” stuff and more. As usual Samsung has dropped the links on their open source page, and they are now available for all.

Samsung didn’t just drop one either, they’ve released all 3 versions this afternoon to their open source repository, and we’re all happy to see it. Obviously this doesn’t do us any good at this exact moment since the device still isn’t readily available and won’t be hitting the streets for a few more weeks in the U.S., but once it does developers will already be ahead of the game.

As a reminder, there is three different versions being released and you’ll want to pay close attention to what you choose. GT-I9500, GT-I9505, and lastly SGH-I337M. The GT-I9500 is the Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 8-core smartphone that will be arriving in regions around the world, while the 9505 model is the US and other regions Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 series smartphone. Then the last one is for a few carriers up in Canada.

Being the most popular Android smartphone in the world, the Galaxy S III has a huge developer following and surely the same thing will follow the GALAXY S 4. These kernels will help developers prepare flashable zips and more for all you tweakers, hackers, and people flashing custom ROMs once the device ships. Although we’ll be seeing different kernel source files for each U.S. carrier, but this is a good start.

So who’s getting the HTC One this week, or are you still holding true to Samsung?

[via Android Police]

Android phones and tablets news:

Tablet screenshots will now show in Play Store listings for users browsing on that device

The official Android Developers Blog has just put up a post explaining to app developers guidelines for uploading and displaying screenshots of their apps running on tablets. Developers can now specify the difference between screenshots being uploaded for phones, 7-inch and 10-inch tablets, so that when users view the Play Store listing from each of the devices they will see views of the app relevant to that device. With Google's continued focus on tablet design and making apps look great on larger screens, it's important to show users what they're getting while browsing the Play Store.

If you're a developer and have tablet-optimized apps, check in your Google Play Developer Console for instructions on how to manage your screenshots. The rest of us will see the benefit of this initiative as more apps are properly designed for tablets.

Source: Android Developers Blog

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The first batches of Google Glass hardware are rolling “off the production line now,” according to emails sent out to Glass Explorers, the group of Google I/O 2012 attendees who signed up to be the first on the planet to get their hands on Google’s new wearable tech. With early production underway, devices should start [...]
First Google Glass Devices Roll Off the Production…



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HTC has begun releasing source code for the One smartphone. The one catch as of now is that the source code has only been made available for select variants of the HTC One. Specifically, HTC has released source code for the Vodafone UK and Vodafone France variants of the One. The code is based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the files measure in at a bit under 100MB in size.

The key here, while this may eventually bring good news for those who like to run alternative ROMs, for now it means little more than those who are capable of tearing down existing and building new ROMs will now have something from the One to begin playing with. In the long term, this could mean HTC specific features being ripped out of these ROMs and included in others.

Maybe say, something that eventually arrives with some of the Sense 5 goodies such as BlinkFeed. We will have to begin looking towards the capable folks that tend to hang out on the xda-developers forums for something new. In the meantime, the US availability of the HTC One is getting closer and closer.

We previously saw HTC begin accepting pre-orders for the Developer Edition One. This one came available for pre-order a few days back and is sitting priced at $649. Aside from the Developer Edition, the HTC One is also available for pre-order with AT&T. The carrier has the 32GB model priced at $199.99 and the 64GB model priced at $299.99 — both of which assume a two-year agreement. Pre-orders aside, those still on the fence about a purchase may want to check out our recently published AT&T HTC One review.

[via CNET]

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : One

Manufactuer : HTC

Carrier : AT&T

Announced Date : February 19, 2013

Release Date : March 29, 2013

Also Known As : HTC M7

Display

• Screen Size : 4.7 Inch
• Resolution : 1920×1080
• Screen Type : TFT

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 5.41 Inch
• Width : 2.68 Inch
• Depth : 0.36 Inch
• Weight : 143 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 2300 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : NA

Software

Android OS:
• 4.2.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• AMR
• MID
• MP3
• WAV
• WMA

Video Playback:
• h.263
• h.264 / AVC
• 3GP
• MPEG-4 (MP4)
• WMV

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS
• IM

Hardware

CPU : Snapdragon 600

CPU Clock Speed : 1700 Mhz

Core : 4

Ram : 2000 MB

Internal Storage : 32 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 4 MP

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording
• 720p Video Recording

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Ambient light
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• GSM

GSM Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1800
• 1900

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11a
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n
• 802.11ac

Bluetooth:
• A2DP
• Bluetooth 4.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

Facebook unveiled its Home user interface for Android smartphones earlier today, with the app launching on April 12 on Google Play for a select number of Android devices.

We have already shown you what Home will have to offer (see videos here as well), but it looks like Facebook is not targeting only regular smartphone users with its new UI. The company says that Home will also benefit app developers, by helping “people discover [their] app” and by letting devs “reengage with existing users.”

The main Home features as demoed by Facebook on stage are the Home Notifications, the Chat Heads messenger app, the Cover Feed (based on Facebook’s News Feed) app and the app launcher that will let users access apps right from inside Home.

In a post on its Developers blog, Facebook further detailed the developer-oriented features of these Home elements:

Cover feed: With Home, people can immediately access your app content from their News Feed once they turn on their phone. We also make it easy for people to engage with your content as they can simply double tap to like a post and comment right from cover feed. At launch, Open Graph stories with user generated photos will be supported in cover feed. Click here [see second Source link at the end of this post] for a complete list of the story types that cover feed supports now.

Notifications: People will receive bigger, bolder notifications from you right on their phone home screen. We’ve made improvements to notifications to make them more engaging and easier for people to interact with. It’s never been easier to reengage with people using your app.

Chat heads: We’ve optimized messaging so that people can seamlessly receive messages in a non-intrusive fashion while they’re using your apps. This will help improve engagement as it lets people jump in and out of conversations without ever having to leave your app.

App launcher: Home’s launcher makes it easy for people to get to your apps quickly. People choose what’s on their app launcher and it’s simple for them to get your app in there.

That said, there’s a lot of talk around Home at this time, but it remains to be seen whether it will see a wide adoption or not, and whether developers will actually use it to further promote their Android apps.

Any Android app developers excited to work with the Home UI?

The post Facebook Home to benefit developers as well, company says appeared first on Android Authority.

With Android accounting for the lion’s share of mobile device operating systems worldwide, you might think that developers are absolutely head over heels in love with it. But the truth tells a different story, at least according to the founder of one company that develops games for Google’s world-famous OS.

Speaking during a panel at this year’s Game Developers Conference, Geomerics founder and COO Chris Doran said that Android is not a great platform for development, especially when it comes to graphics. Apparently, Geomerics programmers find it simply loathsome, but continue to develop apps for it anyway. “We have to do it; it’s pretty dominant,” said Doran.

According to Doran, the reason why Android is just not good for graphics at all is because Google “doesn’t put enough love into it.” That’s why even though Android today stands as the most popular mobile device platform in the world, it’s still quite troublesome to develop apps for.

In all fairness, Google does have a dedicated design page up on its official Android Developers web site, where it says that the design of Android is focused around three overarching goals, which are Enchant Me, Simplify Me, and Make me amazing. The dedicated Android Developer design page explains what these overarching goals are all about in detail, and basically, what it says is that Google is not sacrificing function over form — and vice versa — for its mobile OS.

Chris Doran of Geomerics wasn’t the only one who shared his opinion on Android game development at this year’s GDC. In particular, Samsung’s technical marketing manager Michael Ludden said that Apple’s iOS was also in a similar situation in its early years of existence. But as the development tools improved, so did the overall development experience.

As Android grows older, it will likely mature in much the same way. And in case that doesn’t pan out, at least there are other mobile development platforms on the horizon. Plus, if acceptable design just can’t be found elsewhere, then there’s always the iPhone and iOS.

The post Do programmers “loathe” developing mobile games for Android? appeared first on Android Authority.