Rumor: Android 4.4.3 Updates To Start Reaching User Devices By May

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It looks like the public release of Android 4.4.3 could be due to start hitting devices by May. A rumor floating around suggests that the software build is supposed to start reaching users in the next few weeks. While this is slated to be mostly or completely about bug fixes and improvements, any update that can better the experience of the platform even in minor ways is something to look forward to. According to the people that are familiar with the information on the release of the next software build update, Google has started testing the software around the company to people that aren’t part of the core Android team. Internal testing is a step towards getting it on our own phones and tablets, so be on the lookout for this as we move closer towards the summer and the annual Google Developers Conference. By the sounds of things, we’ll be seeing this software update a good while before Google I/O begins.

While only a small number of people within Google besides the Android members have started to test out the builds to make sure things are going smoothly, that number is sure to grow as days continue to pass and it won’t be long before we’re installing the update ourselves. As you might have expected, those testing the new update are using a handful of different devices, but they’re all part of the Nexus family, which means the update right now is only being tested on both models of the Nexus 7, the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, and of course the Nexus 10. Testing on other devices that aren’t Nexus models will start sometime in the near future it looks like, which also most likely means that software update will hit public non-Nexus devices at a later date as well.

Although it will still be a little while before we start to see 4.4.3 hit status bars around the country, this gets us amped up in preparation for having a more stable and secure running device. Sadly like we stated before there isn’t supposed to be any major changes to the OS this time around, but that will give us something to look forward to for an even newer software build down the line, with whatever the next version of Android turns out to be.

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Rumor: Parking Location Reminder Cards Might Become Part Of Google Now

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In the last week we saw a cool new app and device combo be made compatible with Android called Automatic, which is a driving assistant app of sorts that syncs with a little device you plug into your cars data port called Automatic link, to give you relevant information about your driving habits and help you become a better driver. The app and dongle provided another useful feature though that doesn’t necessarily make you a better driver, but it is pretty cool. It helps you remember where you parked by using the Automatic link to record your location when you turn off and exit your car, which then syncs the data to the app on your phone. Everyone could use this right? Google seems to think so, which is why we were excited to learn about a rumor that Google Now might soon be able to provide users with this exact functionality.

Google Now already makes note of your location throughout the day for travel tips and relevant information about routes, so we could assume that utilizing that same procedure or similar process, Google Now could tell us when we parked. There would likely be more to it than that, but you get the idea. The information comes to light by way of a series of code strings that seems to have new code within them which isn’t found in the original code for Google Now’s apk file. The rumor also suggests that Google Now would act much like the Automatic link and record when you get out of your vehicle, and then present you with a Google Now card that not only has your estimated parking location, but the time you parked and, if Google’s prediction on where you parked is incorrect you could presumably tap an option that would allow you to relay that. If Google Now does get your parking location wrong it’s unclear how that would be corrected but we would imagine Google would have something up their sleeves.

Many of us already use Google Now for many things, and if you’re like me and frequently make trips into the city then this would become extremely useful to have on hand. There are already apps in the Play Store that provide users with this feature, so Google should be able to get something like this working from their end. As soon as we know more about the validity of this, we’ll be sure to update you.

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Motorola Looking Into Offering Credit Members Various Rewards Like Free Devices

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If you wanted a reason to join up with Motorola’s Credit program, how about a revamped set of rewards packages that you could turn around and use for things you want like discounts and event invitations? Apparently Motorola is beginning to look into offering all kinds of goodies to those who are members of their Motorola Credit accounts. The idea is that Motorola would be able to offer those who are members, certain benefits packages that include all kinds of rewards for different things. The rewards programs could include things like event invitations and free phones, discounts on Motorola products and even gift cards. That’s not all though as it look like Moto could be planning to offer up other rewards through the program as well.

The information comes from current Motorola Credit Program members that started receiving surveys from Motorola where the new rewards and benefits details were outlined. The surveys began getting passed out this week to members so if you haven’t seen one show up in your inbox just yet keep checking as it may have just not hit your account. There are presumably two types of new programs that could stem from the information given to Motorola from these survey answers. One that is referred to as the Rewards Program, and the other being referred to as the Elite Benefits Package. Sounds swanky doesn’t it? The Rewards Program would end up being a free service that you could choose to opt into at no additional cost, while the Elite Benefits Package would be something that had a members fee associated with it on say like a monthly basis.

While the rewards program would seem to possibly offer smaller things like gift cards, discounts on products and more, the paid benefits package would potentially end up granting members things like free devices and possibly even invitations to Motorola events. The survey that is being sent out to current Motorola Credit members is aiming to see what people would be interested in most when it comes to receiving rewards, so it’s highly likely Motorola will end up deciding on what to offer based off of how current members respond.

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New Leaked Screenshots Show Off Some Of Project Hera’s App UI Redesigns

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You may have been hearing a lot about Project Hera recently, and we reported a few days ago about some of the details that revealed some of what Google’s plans were for this rumored new project to take place within Android in the future. There have been a few leaked screenshots to support some of the rumors that have been floating around the web and social feeds, and there are some new ones that leaked out today as well. To clear some things up, Project Hera is not a goal to bring a major redesign to the UI of Android itself as a whole, but rather the better part of Google Core apps(the major ones at least)as part of a bigger goal to unify multi-tasking across android, chrome, and search.

So far we have seen some screenshots leaked for Google’s gmail and calendar app, giving us a look at the supposed new UI refresh that we’ll see come along with the launch of hera. So far with this new leaked screenshot for gmail, when you compare it to the first one we saw earlier in the week, there is one minor change to the overall design. What we noticed is that in the new screenshot the contact markers that display who a particular email is from are presented with the familiar square shape that we see inside of the gmail app now, while the first screenshot we saw had them displayed as circles or bubbles like what we see inside of G+. Other than that everything looks pretty much the same as the last screenshot, but it looks a little different from the current gmail app that we have installed, as the red bar up top, along with a new more rounded edge gmail envelope icon that is displayed in the top left corner differ from the light gray bar and the current white gmail envelope icon we see now.

Now for the screenshots that leaked for the new calendar UI redesign. These come courtesy of Geek, and as you can see things look completely different than they do now. When you look at things from a month view with this new UI design, days are displayed in circle as opposed to the current rectangular shape, there is also the presence of the red circle in the bottom right corner which we can assume is the new button to add events or calendar entries. Currently when you to add a new entry in your calendar, you long press on the chosen date. You can also add one by hitting the menu button in the top right corner of the app and tapping new event. These screenshots if legitimate, prove that Google has more planned with Hera than just modifying bits and pieces of the app UIs. More is sure to develop on Project Hera in the coming days and weeks, so as we learn more we’ll update you.

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Rumor: Fully Functioning Project Ara Prototype To Be Shown Off This Month

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The latest on the details surrounding Google Project Ara suggests that the search giant could have a working prototype device ready to show off this month. We have already seen plenty about Project Ara from behind the scenes footage of the team and what they were working on to what some of the pieces look like, to a full non working dummy device to give us an idea of what the modular smartphone will look like once all put together. The Project Ara device was something that Motorola was working on in the advanced technology division before they were sold off to Lenovo, and even though Motorola is leaving Google, the advanced technology group and the Project Ara device are there to stay.

The modular smartphone project seeks to provide users with a device that they can essentially put together and build themselves, by giving them the choices to build a phone with the hardware and specs that they want, much like building a desktop PC with your choice of screen, processor, motherboard, etc. When a piece needs to be upgraded and swapped out, or if one needs a replacement, you can simply do so by popping off that module and putting a new one in. The modules are easily removable by the consumer as they’re held to the back of the phone by weak electro-permanent magnets that allow the pieces to pop right off.

It might still be some time before we see these in full production and ready to fit into consumers hands, but the hope for Google is to get a $50 WiFi only variant of the device up and running for testing in an area where WiFi hot spots are everywhere. This particular model would presumably be tested in some places like South or Central America where wifi hot spots are extremely common, and would consist of basically the WiFi module itself, the screen, the battery, and a basic processor and memory setup. Keeping the device as minimal as possible would allow Google to test the device at little cost to them, and if things go smoothly we would suspect they would begin to test more powerful and compatible options down the road.

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Nokia X Gets Fully Working AOSP Jelly Be an ROM

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The Nokia X may have been running a forked version of Android from the get go, but anyone who has been around Android long enough knows that someone would be most likely working tirelessly to get the device onto something a little more familiar. The downside for many with the Nokia X was that it wasn’t running native Android, so that meant no play store, no Google Apps and services, and really, just no Android like they’re used to. Thanks to the lovely folks over at XDA though, the Nokia X has been officially hacked and tweaked and is now able to proudly wear a custom ROM that is pure Android with all the fixins’. If you or someone you know has purchased a Nokia X and were waiting for this exact opportunity, this particular forum thread on how to flash a custom ROM to the device is worth a look.

If you were planning on rooting the Nokia X and flashing a custom ROM onto it from the day you decided to buy one, then we’ll go ahead and assume that you know already what the process of flashing custom ROMs entails, but just to be thorough, flashing a custom ROM onto a phone like this one for the Nokia X requires root access, and to do that you should have all the details you need from the same page where you can find the steps for the custom ROM. The ROM for the Nokia X was put together by an individual over at XDA who goes by the name of dhacker29, and the ROM was built using some of the source code from Aurora, which is AOSP.(android open source project)The ROM is stable enough to use as a daily driver so if you’re worried about all kinds of bugs and most things not working you can lay those fears to rest.

The ROM is based off of Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, so it’s older software but there should be no complaints considering what software you’re coming from. Network connectivity, multi SIM support, the FM radio, the camera, Bluetooth and GPS all seem to be working just fine says the developer, and that there are no known issues at this time. That doesn’t mean that something can’t pop up. Other inclusions here are obviously the Play Store, Google apps, and really the best parts of having stock android. If you’re wanting to give this a try head over to the XDA thread to get started.

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ATT Galaxy S 5 Pre-Orders Ship Without Download Booster Feature

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If you’re an ATT subscriber who pre-ordered a Galaxy S5, you may be met with some disappointment upon receiving your phone shipment through the mail if you were looking forward to the Download Booster feature. The feature, which Samsung openly praised and talked up during the MWC event in February is apparently completely absent on ATT models of the device. This was discovered by some customers who were already beginning to receive their phones and found the feature to be missing. While this may not be a problem for some, there will likely be some users who were actually excited to have this feature built into their device.

For those who are unaware, the Download Booster feature takes your LTE and WiFi connections and utilizes both of them to download files when you are downloading anything that amounts to over 30MB in size, provided you have the feature turned on of course. If you do, then essentially downloading an app that is a couple hundred megabytes in size would cause the Download Booster to kick in, and portions of the app files would be downloaded on each connection type, resulting in a largely faster download due to each connection picking up some of the slack. This takes all of the work off either connection. Customers would rightfully be more than a little upset about not having a certain feature that was advertised to them, but whether ATT had anything to do with their carrier model of the phone not having the feature or not, an update will probably come down the line that allows for it to be introduced.

It’s worth noting that carrier models of the HTC One M8 were also missing one of their big features, which was the Ultra Power Saving mode, however the Sprint variant of the device had received it during an OTA update this week, so there’s a really good chance that the ATT Galaxy S5 will end up with it’s own update pretty soon that brings along Download Booster for the ride. If you were looking forward to picking this up on ATT’s network specifically for this feature, it seems like you might have to be patient and wait for the update. If you really want the quicker download experience though you could resort to downloading an app like Super Download Fast, or Advanced Download Manager Pro, both which offer similar functions to Samsung’s download booster feature.

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