After last week’s return of Custom ROM Friday, we could see that folks sure did miss it. So this week, we bring you a few ROMs that should tie you over until next week. First up, we have GummyNex 0.7.0 by developer Kejar31 and Syaoran12. If you have been flashing ROMs on the Galaxy Nexus, then we are sure you have come across this name at least a few times. It brings the speed, customizations, and stability that people look for in daily drivers. 

Calling all Android developers. RIM is on the hunt for developers to bring their Android apps over to the BlackBerry App World. In doing so, developers who qualify will be given a free BlackBerry PlayBook. Neat, right? RIM in all of their wisdom, has made it incredibly easy for devs to simply port their Android apps over with just a few clicks of the mouse.

The PlayBook may not be the greatest tablet on the market, but free is free. If you happen to develop, then go get your free PlayBook! You can find all the necessary tools right here at RIM’s site.

Via: Android and Me

By now, we all know and love our 4G LTE network that the various carriers are providing for us. Still even now though, LTE is not used for any voice duties, only data. Verizon specifically uses 3G or CDMA for any voice calls, but thanks to a new test by a Qualcomm chip, the MSM8960 Snapdragon S4, full LTE use is in sight.

This new chipset allows for a single radio to handle the LTE/CDMA handoff seamlessly. This means there doesn’t need to be two separate radios for data and voice. What does this mean for the consumers? Smaller phones and better battery life without the need for multiple radios. When VoLTE (voice over LTE) becomes more commercially focused these chips will be invaluable to our phones.

Via: Engadget

We reached out to Google to see if we could get some clarification or reasoning as to why CDMA devices would no longer be “supported” as developer devices and they responded. Dan Morril, an Android engineer who you may be familiar with, provided an explanation at this Google Group’s page:

Hello! This is a quick clarification about support for CDMA devices.

For various technical reasons, recent CDMA Android devices implement core telephony functionality in .apk files provided in binary form by the carriers. To function correctly, these .apk files must be signed by the so-called “platform” key. However, when an individual creates a custom build from the AOSP source code, they don’t use the same signing key as these CDMA flies were signed with.

The result is that these files don’t work properly, and pure AOSP builds running on these devices can’t place calls, access mobile data, and so on. Because we aim to make sure that we are as clear as possible about the degree of support that devices have, we updated the docs over at source.android.com to reflect this reality.

We will still make available as many as possible of the closed-source binaries for these devices, and Nexus devices will continue to have unlockable bootloaders. And, of course, GSM/HSPA+ devices are still supported, as are any other devices we’re able to support. We’ve simply updated the documentation to be clearer about the current extent of CDMA support.

We are of course always working to improve support, and we’ll keep everyone updated as we make improvements. Thanks as always for your interest in AOSP!

So basically, CDMA is not widely supported as we mentioned earlier and is also simply a pain in the ass. From what we have been told though, the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon is still a “Nexus” and will continue to be updated in a timely manner, but Google is simply making it clear that a device running a CDMA radio cannot be officially “supported” since its files are signed differently from AOSP code. If that makes any sense.

And devs in the building, please feel free to clarify that further.

We have heard that the Transformer Prime has had its problems. People have been disappointed over things like faulty GPS, weak WiFi and other assorted issues. Well apparently, all these issues have become too much for UK mobile device retailer, Clove to deal with. Clove UK has now pulled the device from their inventory and have issued this statement concerning the stoppage of sales:

We are at this time not satisfied that all units we could provide you with are working correctly, and performing to the standard we expect of the unit. We have therefore taken the decision until further notice stop selling the Asus Transformer Prime.

Them is fighting words. Weirdly enough, Asus has yet to come forward and speak of the Prime’s downfalls and continues to assure consumers that there are no issues with their products. All orders of the Prime through Clove will now be cancelled and buyer’s money will be returned. We know that some of you here are Prime owners. Are any of you having these issues? Are they completely unbearable? Let us know.

Via: Droid Dog

Update:  So rather than make you read through this long drawn out mess, we decided to post a summary to get you up to speed since a number of folks are still coming to this specific post.

This afternoon, a reader of ours noticed that the Android Developer pages were updated to show that they no longer support CDMA devices. Without any word from Google on these changes, we started asking important questions and posted this story since that affects the LTE Galaxy Nexus, XOOM LTE and Nexus S 4G. Could this change the way updates are issued? What about factory images? What does it mean to no longer be “supported?” All questions that we feel we deserved answers to.

Once enough of a stir was caused, a statement was issued by an Android engineer. Basically where we stand now, is that according to Google’s standards for AOSP, CDMA devices cannot be officially “supported.” It’s an odd situation and one that even some of our readers who create their own AOSP ROMs are having a hard time wrapping their brains around.

Thankfully Google has assured us that the LTE Galaxy Nexus and all other “Nexus” devices will still receive timely updates, remain unlocked, etc.

You can read their full statement here.  

The U.S. government has been testing Android phones for a couple of years now, but they expect to deliver them to soliders in 2012 according to a report from CNN. Up until this point, government officials and military personnel were not allowed to use smartphones for work-related activities, but with the ability to customize the operating system to their liking thanks to Android’s openness, things are about to change. The project to get smartphones and tablets running Android into the hands of our soldiers has finally been given the green light. For now, the devices are only capable of storing classified info, but within a few months, they should be able to transmit it over networks as well.

One of the surprising notes from this report has to do with the types of phones they will use. According to people familiar with the project, the government will not build specially designed hardware and will instead use commercial devices and then simply load them with an ultra-secure version of Android. With a secure Android smartphone, a soldier could potentially see fellow infantry on a digital map in the field, or an official could send an important dispatch from from anywhere without fear of security breaches.

Why not go with iOS devices? Because Apple refused to give the government access to their source code. And since Android is as open as it gets for a mobile OS, the choice was clear.

We also found it interesting that one of the contractors mentioned how quickly they could update their phones thanks to the OS they are running. He mentioned that once Google has released source for their latest update, that they can have a secure version up and running on phones within 2 weeks. Yeah, we’re looking at you now, carriers.

Via:  CNN

Cheers Greg and Daniel!