At the beginning of the month, Google made the 4.0.4 update file for the Galaxy Nexus available for everyone to download. Unfortunately, Google must have jumped the gun, because just a short time after release the link was pulled and G-Nex owners were back in the dark with no word from either company. The link is now back in order which could mean our 4.0.4 update is finally on the way.

If you’re tired of waiting for Verizon to give you the OTA, head over to our previous post here and read the instructions on flashing this official zip file.

Download link

Cheers Jason!

A report out of the Wall Street Journal last week claimed that Google will potentially welcome in up to 5 “Nexus” or lead devices this winter to help launch Jelly Bean. Once launched, all of the devices will be sold directly to customers unlocked and off-contract (hopefully at reasonable prices too). It’s just a rumor at this point, but it makes a heck of a lot of sense for Google to go this route. They are sick of carriers interfering with updates, release schedules, etc. and this would give them ultimate control.

With that said, there has only be speculation at this point as to who will make what. Will we see 3 phones and 2 tablets? 4 phones and 1 tablet? All phones? Who will make them? Will HTC, Samsung, and Motorola produce the phones with Asus and Acer making the tablets? Maybe LG will get their first shot at a Nexus phone and Samsung on the tablet front?

In today’s poll, let’s discuss it and sell each other on what combination we think would be the best. Go!

This whole battle of tech intellectual property is getting, or has gotten, out of hand. It seems that every company that you know the name of is suing or is being sued for something that they have done. Most notably for readers of this site though, is the attack on Android from all sides. Visual.ly has massed together some of the numbers and has put their infographic spin on it, and the whole thing looks just as confusing as you would expect.

Attendees of MWC this year were lucky enough to get a sneak peak at Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. The device would come sold later this year with the S-Pen stylus and a dual-core 1.4GHz processor for all of your tablet needs. The only issue, is that the device didn’t have a designated slot for the stylus, so losing the S-Pen could become an issue for owners down the road. Samsung probably received enough guff over the lack of thought in the design and decided to recreate the tablet with a slot just for the stylus. And to sweeten the deal, they even threw in a new quad-core chip. 

After the Galaxy SIII’s S Voice leaked over the weekend, user experiences were quickly halted as the servers that powered the service seemed to have been shut down or blocked. Some guessed that Samsung was behind it and sure enough today, they admitted that they were. Their reasoning? Well, because that version was only a test build and they did not want the world to assume it was the final product:

An initial test version of S Voice which was found online has been blocked as Samsung Electronics does not want consumers to judge the quality of the voice feature based on a test version. When the product is launched, users of GALAXY S III will be able to fully experience S Voice.

I’d say that makes a lot of sense. Usually these leaked ROMs are indeed test builds, so it’s hard to argue with that reasoning. Doesn’t part of you think that they did it so that one of the exclusive features to the GS3 was preserved, though? Can’t blame them for wanting that to happen either, especially knowing that the phone itself hasn’t even been released yet.

How has your experience been with S Voice? Game-changer or just another voice actions app?

Via:  The Verge

The SCH-I535 aka the Samsung Galaxy SIII variant expected to launch with Verizon, cruised through Bluetooth SIG recently. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that the phone is on the verge of a release, it’s definitely a good sign of things to come. Bluetooth SIG is sort of a certification program for phones that include Bluetooth technology and is usually one of the items on a launch list that we like to see checked off.  

With an entire Samsung Galaxy SIII ROM leaking over the weekend, including S Voice, it was only a matter of time before it was picked through. The wallpapers, clocks, random apps, ringtones, and other goodies from it are all available for you to download today. You may have to sift through the source link below to find them all, as some have been downloaded enough that the original links no longer work.

Via:  XDA