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Android

What to expect after installation

  • A single device with the ability to switch between fully functional Android and Ubuntu images
  • On Android: an Ubuntu Installer app to install Ubuntu, as well as to boot into Ubuntu
  • On Android: the SuperUser app to grant permissions to the Ubuntu Installer app
  • On Ubuntu: an Ubuntu Dual Boot app to boot into Android
  • Ubuntu system updates are not yet supported from the Ubuntu side, but they can be done via the Android app

Requirements

To install to install dual-boot, you'll need:
  • A Nexus 4 device (other Nexus devices should in theory work but have not been tested at the time)
  • Android 4.2 or higher running on the device, either stock firmware or based on CyanogenMod or AOSP. Note that Android 4.4 requires additional steps to get phone calls working on the Ubuntu side
  • 2.7GB of free storage on the device to install Ubuntu
  • ADB tools running on your desktop computer
  • The device needs its bootloader to be unlocked and USB debugging enabled. Follow steps 1 to 3 below to do this, or alternatively, if your device is already unlocked and has USB debugging enabled, you can skip to the installation process >

Step 1 - Desktop Setup

The following steps are required on your desktop system that you'll need in order to flash and communicate with the device.

Set up the Touch Developer Preview Tools PPA

The PPA has the tools and dependencies to support Precise, Quantal, Raring and Saucy. Add the Ubuntu Touch PPA by adding the following custom source list entry to your /etc/apt/sources.list file.
On your computer, press Ctrl+Alt+T to start a terminal.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:phablet-team/tools
Then do the following:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install phablet-tools android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot

Step 1.5 - Optional Android Backup

  • If not enabled, enable developer mode, by tapping Settings -> About phone -> Build number (x 7 times)
  • If not enabled, enable usb debugging in Settings -> Developer options -> USB debugging
  • Execute on your computer $ adb backup -apk -shared -all
This should hopefully create backup.ab with all of your apps, OS, and data. Later, after reflashing with android (or rooting / unlocking) you will be able to use $ adb restore backup.ab to restore all of your data.

Step 2 - Device unlock

If the device is already unlocked, skip to Step 3. These steps will wipe all personal data from the device.
  1. With the device powered off, power on the device by holding the Power button + volume up + volume down.
  2. The device will boot into the bootloader.
  3. Plug the device into the computer via the USB cable.
  4. On your computer, press Ctrl+Alt+T to start a terminal. Type sudo fastboot oem unlock, followed by Enter
  5. On the device screen, accept the terms of unlocking.
  6. Boot the device by pressing the power button (pointed by an arrow with Start on the screen).

Device factory reset

If you get stuck in a bootloop rebooting the tablet after unlocking the bootloader... Here's what you do:
  1. During the bootloop.. hold the power button + volume up + volume down button simultaneously to get yourself back into fastboot mode as you were previously.
  2. In fastboot mode.. use the volume keys to scroll to Recovery and the power button to select it.
  3. In Recovery (Android robot on his back with a red triangle)... tap the volume up button and the power button simultaneously which will bring you into stock recovery. Again.. Don't hold the buttons, just tap them simultaneously. Also make sure you're holding the correct volume button. Up will be the volume key on the right.
  4. Once you're in Recovery.. perform a factory reset/data wipe and then reboot your tablet... you should now be back to the Welcome Screen.

Step 3 - Initial Device Setup

Follow these initial steps on your device:
  1. If not booted, boot the device into Android
  2. Enable USB debugging on the device
    • on Ice Cream Sandwich (version 4.0) go to Settings and turn on USB Debugging (Settings > System > Developer options > USB debugging).
    • on Jelly Bean (versions 4.1 and 4.2) you need to enter Settings, About [Phone|Tablet] and tap the Build number 7 times to see the Developer Options.
    • on 4.2.2, (settings > about > tap on build number 7 times to activate the developer options menu item).
    • On either Android version you must then enable USB debugging via Settings > Developer options > USB debugging. You will also need to accept a host key on the device.
      • On the workstation-> adb kill-server; adb start-server
  3. Plug the device into the computer via the USB cable.
    • Depending on the installed Android version, a popup will show up on the device with the host key that needs to be accepted for the device to communicate with the workstation.
    • Note, 'adb devices' should not show the device as 'offline'. If it does, unplug the device, run adb under sudo on the workstation (sudo adb kill-server; sudo adb start-server), then plug the device back in.
    • In some cases, the device will continue to show offline, and the host key popup will not appear if the USB connection method is 'MTP' (default for some devices and versions of Android). Unchecking all options in the USB connection method (Settings -> Storage -> Menu -> USB computer connection -> MTP, PTP) seems to resolve this adb connection issue for some users.
  4. Save the version of the current image on the device, if on Android, to use as a reference to revert back to. The version can be found by going to Settings > About Phone > Build Number.
Newer Nexus 10s have not booted fully after developer mode was enabled. If this occurs boot into the bootloader and do "fastboot -w", then proceed to the next step.

Dual boot installation instructions

Installing the Ubuntu Installer app in Android

  1. On your computer, download the dual boot installation script into your home directory from: http://humpolec.ubuntu.com/latest/dualboot.sh
  2. Open a terminal on your computer pressing the Ctrl+Alt+T key combination
  3. Make the installation script executable by running this command:
    chmod +x dualboot.sh
  4. Ensure that your device:
    • has booted normally into the Android user interface
    • has USB debugging enabled
    • has an unlocked bootloader
  5. Connect your device via USB to your computer
  6. Install dual-boot by running one of these commands on a terminal:
    • If it's the first-time dual-boot installation and you are using stock Android or AOSP firmware without the SuperUser app, run this command:
      ./dualboot.sh FULL
    • Alternatively, to update only the Ubuntu Installer Application or if you are running non-stock Android firmware (e.g. CyanogenMod), run this command:
      ./dualboot.sh UPDATE
After installation, the phone will reboot several times. Once finished, it will boot into Android and you will find the dual boot app as “Ubuntu Installer” in the Apps section.
Now follow the instructions below to install Ubuntu from Android.

Installing Ubuntu from Android

Note: 2.7GB of free memory space is required on your device for the Ubuntu installation.
  1. Optionally, on your desktop, and while your device is still connected via USB, issue the following command on the terminal to free up space (say "Yes" if you are asked to grant permissions on the device):
    adb shell "su sh rm -rf /cache/*"
  2. On the device, press the apps button in Android to bring up the list of apps
  3. Browse the apps to find the Ubuntu Installer icon and press it to start the app
  4. When the app launches, press on Choose channel to install and choose a channel to download from (the recommended channel is Trusty)
  5. Once download is completed you need to Grant SU permissions to the application for the install to be successful. Press the Grant button, when prompted.
  6. Press the Reboot to Ubuntu button to boot to Ubuntu.
  7. A standard phone reboot with the hard key will always boot to Android.
Notes:
  • All channels supported by the phablet-flash tool are also supported by the Ubuntu Installer on Android
  • When selecting an Ubuntu channel, the bootstrap checkbox lets you wipe user data from Ubuntu, otherwise it is kept between installations. Since you're installing for the first time now, it won't make a difference
  • When selecting an Ubuntu channel, unticking the latest version checkbox will let you select a particular image number. Otherwise, if checked it will default to the latest image.
  • If during installation the Ubuntu download finished while the phone was locked or when the Ubuntu Installer app was not on the foreground, the installation button will change to Resume install. This will resume installation to the point where SuperUser permissions are requested.

Additional notes

Updating to a new Ubuntu image

Because Dual Boot is a special set-up the standard update method for Ubuntu currently does not work (see Feature Roadmap).
To update Ubuntu to a newer version, On the android Ubuntu dual boot application, select "Uninstall Ubuntu" from the menu options. Next you will be asked if you want to keep the user data from Ubuntu. If you do not select "Delete user data", the next installation of Ubuntu will preserve your contacts, installed applications, pictures, background settings, ...
Once Ubuntu has been uninstalled, follow the same installation step to download a newer version of Ubuntu.

Getting phone calls to work in Ubuntu and Android 4.4

The radio image shipped with Android 4.4 is reused on the Ubuntu side to make phone calls, and it is not yet supported in Ubuntu. Until Ubuntu gains support for the Android 4.4 radio, there is an easy workaround whereby an older radio firmware can be flashed in the modem partition. You can do this either before or after installing dual boot
Follow these steps to downgrade the radio firmware and get Ubuntu calls to work:
  1. Download an Android 4.3 firmware for your device onto your PC. Follow the links on this table >
  2. Open a terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T
  3. Extract the firmware tarball and cd to its directory.
  4. Run the following command to reboot into the bootloader
    adb reboot bootloader
  5. Once in the bootloader, run this command to reflash the radio. Replace $RADIO_FIRMWARE by the name of the file containing the radio firmware for your device (it's easily recognizable, as it starts with radio-$DEVICECODENAME):{{
fastboot flash radio $RADIO_FIRMWARE.img }}}
  1. After flashing, reboot and phone calls should work in Ubuntu:
    fastboot reboot

If something goes wrong

If something goes wrong after the dual boot installation and you cannot boot either into Ubuntu or Android, you can revert the Android installation to the status it was before dual boot by reflashing the original boot and recovery images. Only the recovery partition is actually modified by dual boot, but you can choose to reflash the boot partition just in case.

  1. Download the Android firmware you are running on your device onto your PC.
  2. Open a terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T
  3. Extract the firmware tarball and cd to its directory.
  4. Run the following command to reboot into the bootloader
    adb reboot bootloader
  5. Once in the bootloader, run this command to reflash the boot partition:
    fastboot flash boot boot.img
  6. Without exiting the bootloader, run this command to reflash the recovery partition:
    fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
  7. After flashing, reboot and your phone should start into Android:
        fastboot reboot
Source : Ubuntu Wiki
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Ubuntu Touch
The new feature – a developer preview – will let developers quickly move between Google’s perennial Android mobile OS and Canonical’s fledgling Ubuntu mobile OS. Canonical say that the dual boot mode should work with a number of Android flavours – including stock releases and CyanogenMod – for Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and up.
The new feature comes with an app for both platforms that will let you install and reboot into Ubuntu Touch from Android and reboot back into Android from Ubuntu Touch whenever you wish.
So for developers who aren’t willing to or can’t make Ubuntu Touch their daily driver, this new feature puts Canonical’s mobile OS just one click away.
Canonical, of course, caution that this should only be used by developers“comfortable with flashing devices and with their partition layout.” The dual boot feature will overwrite your Android recovery partition, so exercise caution if you’re a developer wanting to give this a shot.
The requirements include:
  • A Nexus 4 phone (other Nexus devices may work, but haven’t been tested)
  • Android 4.2 or higher with a stock, AOSP, or CyanogenMod-based release
  • 2.7GB of free storage on the device
  • Android’s adb tools installed on your PC
  • Bootloader unlocked
  • USB debugging enabled
Once you’ve satisfied the requirements, you can follow the steps provided in the Ubuntu Wiki below for setting up dual boot on your Nexus device. // Ubuntu Developer

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HTC 
After a story in The Atlantic on Thursday stirred the iPhone vs Android rivalry waters, revealing that Google engineers were completely surprised by Steve Jobs’ original iPhone announcement in early 2007, deciding to ditch a BlackBerry-like prototype in favor of what was to become the HTC G1/Dream, OSNews (via 9to5mac) provided a comment made on the site on the same matter in mid July 2012 by former Android engineer Dianne Hackborn that disputes these events in a similar story that appeared on the website last year.
According to Hackborn, the decision to ditch Sooner in favor of Dream was made before the iPhone announcement and was “not such a huge upheaval,” as Google engineers were developing both products in parallel. “I don’t recall the exact dates, but I believe the decision to drop Sooner was well before the iPhone announcement,” Hackborn wrote, “though we continued to use it for quite a while internally for development, since it was the only semi-stable hardware platform we had.”
As Hackborn puts it, Sooner was the “risk-free” development device for Android OS, while Dream was a device for the future. The engineer further said that the differences in schedule were also caused by the fact that Sooner was based on an existing HTC device, while the Dream was a “completely new” handset “with a lot of things that had never been shipped before, at least by HTC (new Qualcomm chipset, sensors, touch screen, the hinge design, etc).” In the same comment, Hackborn also revealed Google spent a lot of time developing and stabilizing Android for the Dream, trying to make sure everything would work as expected when the device was to hit stores. “At the time we shipped the device, we even felt like we had to assume that what we shipped on the ROM was it, and we would never be able to deliver an update to it,” Hackborn added.
On the other hand, The Atlantic quoted several Google engineers working on the project including former Android head Andy Rubin, with all of them suggesting that the iPhone announcement made them realize the Sooner prototype would not measure up to the first iOS device, and convinced them to focus on launching a different first Android device than they had originally planned. // bgr.com
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Android OEMs have been announcing the Android 4.4 Kit Kat release date for their respective devices. Motorola and LG have begun updating some of their devices, while Sony has already mentioned that the latest version would roll out to its latest devices. 
Android 4.4 Kit Kat Release Date For Galaxy S4 And Note 3 Set In Early 2014
Android 4.4 Kit Kat Release Date For Galaxy S4 And Note 3 Set In Early 2014
But in spite its huge presence and popularity in the Android world, Samsung has kept its mouth shut regarding the Android 4.4 Kit Kat release date for its recent flagships. 
Fortunately, French network carrier SFR has announced that the update could arrive early next year. Do we have a tentative release date? Not yet, but the carrier mentioned it would roll out by late January or early February. 
While Samsung's Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition is already running on the latest Android 4.4 Kit Kat build (4.4.2), there has been no official announcements within Samsung about the update. 
Aside from Samsung, another manufacturer who has yet to announce anything regarding the Android 4.4 Kit Kat release date for its phones is Taiwanese company HTC. 
- - - -
A growing software movement is quietly taking hold on Android-based devices, allowing people to customize smartphones and tablets more to their liking.

 What's known as Android "software mods" can soup up devices with mobile Wi-Fi hot spots, new looks, alternative text messaging and more. Personalizing Google's operating system has morphed beyond geeky obsession as a means to add new features.

 Startup Cyanogen is leading the way. With "tens of millions" of installs, today it announced $23 million in funding for its popular CyanogenMod mobile software.

 "Currently, we're like Android on steroids and LSD. There's a bunch of features that you can't get on stock Android ... that you just can't do with any other OS," says CEO Kirt McMaster.

 Formed in 2009, Cyanogen is the brainchild of founder Steve Kondik, who launched his Android modification, now dubbed CyanogenMod, into the open-source software community. Developers can make their own modifications to the code to bring new features, and such enthusiast ideas can be adopted by Cyanogen.

 "There's kind of a whole underworld," says Gartner analyst Brian Blau of those modifying operating systems. "It totally makes sense, but they have a lot of competition."

 Cyanogen's development team wants to make customizing Android phones more accessible to the masses. The startup last month launched an installer in an effort to automate the installation process that was otherwise reserved for the ultra-tech savvy.

 "The market is speaking, a revelation is under way here in the sense that users want a 100% compatible OS that is all about customization and personalization," says Peter Levine, a partner with Andreesen Horowitz. "I believe that trend will only continue."

 Cyanogen's McMaster says the startup's variant of Android can boost battery life on devices. But he also says that there are a lot ways that apps will be able to communicate and work together to enhance device capabilities in ways standard Android versions and Apple's iOS can't.
Source : USA Today
Photo: Cyanogen
-
WhatsApp's CEO, Jan Koum in a blog post revealed the news and also noted that the company added 100 million active users in the last four months alone.
WhatsApp
The blog post said, "Our goal in creating WhatsApp was to empower people through technology and communication, no matter who they are, or where they live. WhatsApp has reached a milestone that no other mobile messaging service has achieved: 400 million monthly active users, with 100 million active users added in the last four months alone. This isn't a count of people who just registered for WhatsApp - it's the number of people who are actively using the service every single month."
The mobile focused messaging company told AllThingsD that WhatsApp wants to turn the discussions of the shared numbers by other mobile instant messaging services to be about active users and not registered users. AllThingsD quotes Koum, "We're a bit fed up and frustrated about people talking about registered users. We think it's important for us as a leader in the space to speak up and be ethical."
A recent report had suggested that some messaging apps have been using marketing muscle to compete with big names in instant messaging service. The report claimed that WeChat, a unit of Tencent, had budgeted up to $200 million for marketing overseas.
In November, Line messaging app claimed to have a user base of 300 million worldwide, out-of-which it added 100 million users in just four months. However, Line declined to reveal the number of active users currently using its services. AllThingsD cites Kik Interactive's figures of 100 million users, though notes that the company never detailed the number of active users.
The WhatsApp blog post also noted that the company currently has just 50 employees, and mainly include engineers. Further, it claimed to reach the 400 million mark without spending money on targeted ads or even marketing campaigns.
WhatsApp has been growing rapidly and has been a leader in the mobile instant messaging service. The popular mobile instant messaging service reached 300 million active user base in August and in no time has reached 400 million active users.
AllThingsD has shared some statistics of the WhatsApp service which include 16 billion messages per day; about 32 billion messages are received per day and some 500 million images are sent per day by users on WhatsApp.
Via : NDTV Gadgets
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On Thursday, Atheer Labs started an Indiegogo campaign to promote its new 3D, augmented-reality glasses platform.
The Atheer Developer Kit is scheduled to ship Q1 2014
Atheer's first goal is to build a library of apps to showcase the wearable computer. The effort to attract developers to the platform could be aided by having some preorders for its consumer device, the Atheer One. Atheer is aiming at the Android community with its Development Kit, which takes advantage of existing Android APIs, and developers familiar with the Unity and Vuforia 3D programming environments.
The developer hardware consists of glasses, weighing 75 grams, and a pocket-sized computer to power the apps. The glasses have twin high-definition, 1024x768-pixel displays, and a 36-degree field of view . The Atheer Development Kit will cost $850 and be available in the first quarter of 2014.
"Our number one target is commercial applications, and we are also looking for verticals like sports and gaming," said Soulaiman Itani, Atheer Labs founder and CEO.
At the end of 2014, the company expects to ship the Atheer One to consumers craving to be at the frontier of virtual, wearable computing. Unlike the Development Kit, the Atheer One will be tethered to an Android phone, and have the capability to run the nearly one billion Android apps without modification via a "legacy" 2D mode. The 2D Android apps are displayed through the 3D glasses as if a tablet were floating in front of you, Itani said. Atheer's technology could also be integrated with other operating systems.
The Atheer One glasses will have a 65-degree field of vision display (similar to a 26-inch tablet at half arm's length) and be priced at $350 for those who preorder it via Indiegogo. For comparison, the 2D Google Glass, which has a far smaller field of view, currently sells for $1,500.

Image:  Atheer Labs
Source : CNET
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For years Facebook users have been asking for the ability to dislike a post on the social network. It only makes sense users would want to express disapproval for some of the posts they're subjected to. Up until now, Facebook hasn't provided an easy way to do this short of leaving a nasty comment.
Earlier this week, Facebook finally gave in and provided a method for users to show displeasure. But instead of providing a dislike button on status updates, Facebook has released a sticker pack for Facebook Messenger that includes a thumbs-down icon, as first reported byAllFacebook.

You can download the new sticker pack for free using the Facebook Messenger app on either an iPhone or Android device. Of course the sticker pack is also available through Messenger when chatting using the Web site.
In addition to the thumbs-down or "dislike" sticker, you'll find variations of the thumbs-up icon that's come to symbolize to a Facebook Like.

Source : CNET
- - - - -
LG G Pad 8.3
Following the HTC One GPE and Galaxy S4 GPE updates that rolled out over the weekend, the LG G Pad 8.3 GPE is now receiving its first OTA. Rumblings about the update started as early as Friday, but we decided to wait until we had the OTA zip link. The new firmware version is Android 4.4.2/KOT49H, which brings it up to date with current Nexus devices.

There is no official changelog with the update, so it's currently unknown what, if any, device-specific bugs may have been fixed. If you're curious about what's changed between Android 4.4 and 4.4.2, now would be a good time to check out our comparison. As with all Nexus and GPE updates, the OTA will roll out to users in stages.
if you don't want to wait, you can download it directly from Google's servers and flash it manually.
Source : Android Police
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Multi-Platform Updates

Viber


This week's update brings the ability to make VoIP phone calls to any phone number, landline or mobile, for an allegedly low rate (calls to other app users are free). The app also displays your phone number on caller ID, so your far-flung friends need not know you're calling them on the cheap, and the app is 100% free, no ads involved. [Android] [iOS]

Socl


Microsoft's try at social media (it's even pronounced "social" — get it?) has a new app for Android, iOS and naturally, Windows Phone. The search-based social network focuses on the visuals, letting you create collages and respond to others' images by making your own changes. Let's see where this one goes. [Android] [iOS] [Windows Phone]

Android

Convert Everything


This is one of those rare, pleasant apps that does just one thing, and does it exactly the way you'd want it to. Think of a parameter — seriously, any unit, be it shoe size or kinematic viscosity. Convert Everything will let you convert between standard units of measure with ease. The lite version is ad-supported, but if you work in a field where you've got to juggle standard and metric, this app will totally justify itself. [Free]

Cover (beta)


A smart lockscreen that promises to give you the right apps for whatever you're doing, Cover gives you quick app access based on the time of day and your location. It's also got a smooth single-swipe app switching function to make for quick navigation. [Free]

Android Device Manager

 

Android's formerly desktop-only device locator now has an accompanying phone and tablet app. Like the desktop version, the app shows you where your misplaced device is, and offers to blast its ringer, change the lockscreen password, or nuke it entirely. Now you can use your Android to find your other Android. [Free]

iOS

Peek


This brand-new app helps you find the best things to do in a bunch of major U.S. cities, London and Paris. Start by taking a quiz to determine your "travel persona", then browse activities by category, neighborhood, or date. Offline browsing even lets you figure out what you're going to do while you're in the subway. [Free]

Pandora Radio


The popular streaming music app's iOS 7 update brings fresh new design, and perhaps most importantly, the return of the alarm clock feature. Now you can wake up to a genre, not just a specific song like iOS's built-in alarm clock. [Free]

Fiverr


Fiverr, the anything-for-five-bucks freelance marketplace just rolled out this app that lets you hire yourself or someone else to do the things you need done. It's even got in-app direct messaging and push notifications to ensure you never miss out on a gig. [Free]

Windows Phone

MetroMail

Expand
Finally, a slick third-party Gmail client designed from the start for WP! MetroMail brings unbroken conversation threads, easy organization and plenty of options to search and archive old messages. [$1.50]

AccuWeather

Expand
Nice big update to this weather app this week, including adding Location Search and making the local forecast summary more prominent for quick appraisal of what you should wear. Finally, the app can now support unlimited locations, so you can swipe to see what the weather's like anywhere. [Free]

LinkedIn

Expand
The ubiquitous professional social service now lets you add photos to your profile and monitor who's been checking you out. It also can pull contacts from your address book to help you boost your connections. Now get out there and start networking! [Free]

Via :   Gizmodo
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