New details have emerged out of the HTC camp regarding today’s announcement of a “Nexus Experience” HTC One. Two main points were brought up when speaking to The Verge, the first concerning the device’s hardware buttons. They will remain on the device, with the Android OS being built around them. Exactly like how they are currently, Google Now will be accessed by long pressing the home button and then double tapping the home button will bring up Android’s multitask windows. 

The second and most important piece of new information concerns current HTC One owners that might feel a bit left out by this announcement. HTC is currently “examining the best way to support early adopters of the One,” who would potentially prefer an AOSP experience to Sense UI. That’s right, current owners of the One may be given stock Android if they so choose.

How and when HTC intends to roll out such a change is still to be determined, but this is a great sign that HTC is open to their customer’s opinions and desires. As of right now, the only way we could think of that they could accomplish such a task is to basically release a vanilla Android ROM for people to download and flash. Either way, we like what we’re hearing.

Any HTC One owners in here that can’t wait to flash some stock Android?

Via: The Verge

HTC to Possibly Allow Existing One Owners to Remove Sense UI From Their Device? is a post from: Droid Life

You can’t think of the Android development community without mentioning CyanogenMod at some point. The series of ROMs has been around almost as long as Android itself and today, the CM team passed a huge milestone. If you take a look at the CyanogenMod Statistics page, you will see that the number of overall installs has passed the 5 million mark. 

We are at the Release Candidate stage for Android 4.2 which brings us up to CM 10.1. The community behind CyanogenMod is huge and developers continue to jump in to help maintain new and older devices. CyanogenMod has evolved a lot since it began and Android has evolved a lot since CM was created, so hopefully the two will keep going for the foreseeable future.

Are you still a CM fan or have you left for another AOSP ROM?

Via: CM Statistics

CyanogenMod Passes 5 Million Download Mark, Shows No Signs of Stopping is a post from: Droid Life

Google has released the Android 4.2.2 “JDQ39″ binaries and will now begin pushing the code to the Android Open Source Project. These files, available for the full range of Nexus devices, will greatly benefit anyone looking to make their own ROM’s and or anyone hoping to see new ROM’s completed for any number of devices should be excited by this news.

If you dev, go grab it now.

Via: Google Developers

Android 4.2.2 “JDQ39″ Binaries Now Available is a post from: Droid Life

Mr. AOSP, Jean-Baptiste Queru, notified the Android Building group a few moments ago that Android 4.2.1 is being pushed to AOSP. After an update for 4.2.1 started rolling out to the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 this morning, this move is exactly what you would expect to see. JQB called this a “minor update on top of 4.2.” We would agree, since the update to 4.2.1 is only a little over 1MB in size. The build number is JOP40D.

Full factory images will follow in the coming days.

Via:  Android Building

Android 4.2.1 Being Pushed to AOSP Right Now is a post from: Droid Life

As a Galaxy Nexus owner, you expect nothing but the latest and greatest software to be running on your device. Unfortunately, Verizon is currently not the fastest carrier to deliver such things. But don’t worry, this is Android! Once Android 4.2 hit AOSP, along with the Verizon binaries, the developers got straight to work.

As of right now, we have a few custom ROM’s that feature pure Android 4.2 AOSP code to share with you. Below, we will provide links to their respective forum pages and will continue to share more ROM’s as they emerge. If you have a favorite custom ROM that you would like us to personally flash and share with the community, go ahead and let us know down below in the comments section. 

Pure Android 4.2 Jelly Bean | MMuzzy’s Android 4.2 | mROM v3.0 Jelly Bean 4.2

Now, remember you must be rooted and running a custom recovery to get these to work. If you still have yet to get into the root game, then start learning up so you can run Android 4.2 right here. Be safe, folks and don’t forget to make a backup.

Galaxy Nexus Seeing First Batch of Android 4.2 Custom ROM’s From AOSP is a post from: Droid Life

With the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 launching on Google Play, and running Android 4.2, it only makes sense that this new version of Jelly Bean would makes its way to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Sure enough, that is happening now.

What does this mean for all of you? Well, it means that your favorite custom ROM developer has some work to do. Once that work is done, it then means that you will have a brand spankin’ new ROM to dive into that includes Photosphere, the quick settings pull-down, a better keyboard, and more.

Once we start hearing from the top devs with ROMs, we’ll start gathering them up for a mega-post.

Via:  Google Groups

Android 4.2 Headed to AOSP Right Now! is a post from: Droid Life

Over the past few years there has been grumbling among some that Google needs to stop calling Android open source. The argument is a simple one: Google can call Android open source as long as it doesn’t place any requirements on its OEMs to use Android. This article will unpack some of the misconceptions about what it means to say that Android is open source and deal with the two major instances where Google has been accused of violating its own principles concerning Android. 

First and foremost, what does it mean to say that Android is open source? That means that Android is available for anyone and everyone to download and use however they please. If a manufacturer wants to put Android on a piece of hardware, they are free to do so without having to pay a dime. Anyone can download Android and do whatever they want with it. The source code for Android is published so anyone can use Android in any way they like.

Google released Android as an open source platform because Google believes that being open enables all sorts of innovations that you often don’t see on closed platforms. Being open means that Android isn’t limited for use only on devices that Google blesses. Unlike iOS, which only runs on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, Android runs on all sorts of form factors from phones to tablets to multimedia devices to robots.

While Android is open source and available for everyone to use, the Google Play store and Google apps (Gmail, Google Calendar, Chrome, etc.) are only available to Google’s partners in the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) that are certified by the Android Compatibility Program (ACP). It is free for anyone to join the alliance, but in doing so the company must agree to not fork Android and instead strive to avoid fragmentation of the Android platform. What this means is that a manufacturer like Acer cannot release a device that runs a non-compatible version of Android. If Acer wants to release a device with a non-compatible version of Android they can, but they’ll have to leave the OHA and lose access to Google’s ecosystem.

Restricting access to Google’s apps and ecosystem does not mean that Android is no longer open source. Anyone can download and use Android however they want, but to be a part of Google’s larger ecosystem, manufacturers have to play by Google’s rules. This is important: there is a difference between Android and Google’s apps; the former is open source, the latter is closed source. Android and Google’s apps are mutually exclusive – Google will let anyone use Android, but not just anyone can use Google’s apps or have access to their ecosystem.

The first time that Google appeared to be overstepping its bounds in terms of Android being open sourced was with Motorola’s attempted use of Skyhook in 2010. If you don’t remember, Skyhook Wireless is a location services company that uses WiFi positioning instead of GPS to give mobile devices location data. Motorola was planning on using Skyhook instead of Google’s location services in the Droid X back in 2010, but Google refused to certify the device with Skyhook’s location services. Google’s reasoning for refusing certification is that the way that Skyhook integrates its data with Google’s would contaminate Google’s location data. Because location data is critical to Android’s success (just ask Apple how their new Maps app has affected their reputation), Google refused to certify the Droid X. Was Google in the wrong for doing this? I’m not an expert in location services, but if there was a possibility that Skyhook’s data could have interfered with Google’s (which Google claims was the case) then I think Google was in the right.

The second major instance occurred just a few weeks ago when Acer announced that they would be releasing a device running Aliyun, but then quickly canceled the press event after Google spoke up. According to Google, Aliyun is a fork of Android, so Acer cannot release a device running the operating system and still be a part of the Open Handset Alliance. While this move was panned by critics who accused Google of betraying their open source principles, the reality of the situation is that Acer made a choice. At any point Acer can leave the OHA and make devices running Android without Google’s ecosystem or forks of Android. Google isn’t forcing Acer to do anything. Acer made the decision to be a part of the OHA and keep Android free from fragmentation. Acer is free to pull an Amazon and create their own ecosystem if they want to.

Despite what the critics say, Android is still and always has been open source. The key to understanding the hubbub is to understand the difference between Android and Google’s apps. Most of the misunderstanding about whether or not Android is actually open source seems to stem from the idea that Google wants to control Android more than they’re letting on. While I wish that were the case, the evidence indicates that Google is happy to keep Android open for anyone to use. Even though one could make a very compelling case that OEM skins have detrimental impact on Android compatibility, Google has done nothing to date to stop OEMs from customizing how Android looks and behaves while still having access to Google’s ecosystem of apps and content. Open has nothing to do with when updates are released or the terms to use Google’s closed source services and apps. Until Google stops releasing source code for Android, the argument that it is “clopen” or that Google restricts who can use it is just plain wrong.

Understanding the Difference Between AOSP and the Open Handset Alliance [Opinion] is a post from: Droid Life

For years there has been a battle between AOSP fans and manufacturers to hack vanilla Android (or something close to it like CyanogenMod) onto devices instead of the manufacturer’s version of Android. The difficulty with this battle is that it takes a tremendous amount of work to get another ROM working on a device. A developer cannot simply take AOSP Android and load it onto a device because stock Android is actually designed to run on a specific device (currently the Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, or Nexus 7).

Jean-Baptiste Queru, the technical head of the Android Open Source Project, wants to experiment with how AOSP works. Starting with the Xperia S, Queru has invited the community to experiment with porting AOSP to the device. “In theory, AOSP is designed such that it should be possible to plug in the files related to additional hardware targets,” said Queru in a Google Groups post. “In practice, that has never happened.” 

According to Queru, “The short-term goal is to investigate the difference between theory and practice, on a favorable real-world example, and to see whether the result is worth the effort. The long-term goal is to try to eliminate whatever hurdles we find, both the expected and the unexpected ones.” Members of the CyanogenMod team have already stepped up to help with the project and rumor has it that Sony may be working to open source the drivers needed for the project.

This experiment immediately had me thinking about the possibility of Google expanding the Nexus lineup with manufacturers that are willing to work with Google to support AOSP. Perhaps Google’s rumored expansion of the Nexus lineup will look something like this, where flagship devices are released with the OEM’s take on Android and the option to install stock Android straight from Google or to buy the device stock from Google.

The question is, why would Google pursue this vision? Queru claims this is just an experiment to see if it is worth the effort to port AOSP to other devices, but I can’t help wondering if Google plans to use this experiment to further expand the number of devices running their version of Android. Will this be how Google begins to expand the Nexus program?

Via:  Google Groups | The Verge | NeoWin

Google Experimenting with Bringing AOSP to the Sony Xperia S is a post from: Droid Life

If you follow us on Twitter, then you probably saw us break this news yesterday afternoon. For those who don’t, feel free to be proud of your LTE Galaxy Nexus again because it technically falls under the “supported” tag by Google in AOSP.

As you may recall from back in February, we threw a bit of a fit when we found out that CDMA devices were no longer officially supported. Most of us had no idea what this meant until we raised that stink. Eventually, an Android engineer clarified that it really just meant that they were not allowed to make some CDMA binaries available, hence the reasoning for removing official AOSP support.

When Android 4.1 hit AOSP yesterday though, one of our readers noticed that the CDMA/LTE and orientation sensor binaries were now showing as available for the LTE G-Nex, essentially making it official again. Master of AOSP, Jean-Baptise Queru, said that it is supported in an “experimental” fashion.

So, there you have it. Throw a mini-party. This doesn’t mean that you will see updates any faster. It also doesn’t mean the ROM game will change all that much. After all, it wasn’t officially supported for months and things hummed along fine.

Cheers Nick!

Yessir, the LTE Galaxy Nexus is Technically “Supported” in AOSP by Google Again is a post from: Droid Life

Here comes Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) to AOSP. JBQ announced within the hour that today is the day.

Go build those ROMs, boys.

Via:  Google Groups

Android 4.1 Headed to AOSP Today! is a post from: Droid Life

With the release of Android 4.0.4 to the Open Source Project, custom ROM developers have begun the scramble in working all of the newest features into their current work. One of the more well-known developers, Roman and his team from the Android Open Kang Project, have released Build 29 for the Galaxy Nexus and there are also builds floating around from other mentionable developers, inlcuding a stock 4.0.4 build from Birdman.

AOKP Build 29 | Stock 4.0.4

For downloads and flashing instructions, just click the thread link you wish to read up on and go from there. But do note, that when flashing a newer version of Android, you must wipe data/cache in order to have a clean install. We don’t want anyone bootlooping when trying to perform these tasks.

Cheers K!

First Batch of 4.0.4 ROMs Arrive for the LTE Galaxy Nexus is a post from: Droid Life

The Android Dev team just announced that Android 4.0.4 Build IMM76D is being pushed into AOSP this very minute. This would be the same (or very similar) build to what was released to the Motorola XOOM WiFi this morning. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the Galaxy Nexus will see it any minute, but it is certainly a hell of a sign. If anything, it means that a new round of your favorite ROMs will be built within a few hours.

We should point out that this new build is already becoming available for the T-Mobile Nexus S.

Update:  I could not help but point out a couple of specific notes that Jean-Baptiste Queru mentioned in his post:

The matching proprietary files will be available at https://code.google.com/android/nexus/drivers.html by the end of day (PDT). You should note that files related to CDMA devices (Nexus S 4G, CDMA/LTE Xoom, CDMA/LTE Galaxy Nexus) have not been tested in the context of AOSP. Of course, consumer support for those devices continues unchanged.

I do not know the schedule for deployment to consumer devices, especially in situations that involve additional per-operator customizations done by the device manufacturers and/or in situations that require operator approval prior to deployment.

“Grrrrr” is all I have to say to that.

Developing…

Via:  Android Building

Android 4.0.4 Build IMM76D Hitting AOSP Right Now is a post from: Droid Life