software updates - Android Community

AOSP developer says 5-month wait for ICS is “very reasonable”

By Michael Crider
on 27 Apr, 2012

Meet Jean-Baptiste Queru. He's Google's lead technical developer for the Android Open Source Project, the open-source Android code that manufacturers and ROM developers use to create updated versions of Android. And he's not nearly as upset about the lackadaisical state of Android updates as we (and probably you) are. In a Google+ post yesterday, he broke down some of the reasons that Android updates in general and Ice Cream Sandwich updates in particular take so long.

US Government claims that secure Android phones can be updated in just 2 weeks

By Michael Crider
on 3 Feb, 2012

Anybody who's bought an expensive Android phone in the last couple of years can probably commiserate with all those waiting months and months for an official update. Many times users root and install custom ROMs not out of any particular desire to mod, but just to get the features in the current version of Android. US Government officials made a bold claim on CNN this morning, saying that they can send out major software updates to their secure Android-based phones in just two weeks, side-stepping both manufacturers and carriers to deliver updated code based on Android's open-source releases.

Google updates Goggles and Maps with night mode and more

By Cory Gunther
on 25 Jan, 2012

Google has just pushed two updates out for their popular Google Maps and Google Goggles apps. Bringing a few needed improvements to Goggles, and an awesome new night mode to Google Maps Navigation and more. We've snapped a few screenshots of the what's new page for those interested and have all the details below.

Nook Tablet update breaks 3rd party app installs

By Michael Crider
on 20 Dec, 2011

The original Nook Color was a veritable toy box for Android modders, and remains a popular platform for custom ROMs and other Android tablet modifications. Barnes & Noble's newer Nook Tablet has proven a tougher nut to crack, with a locked bootloader and just 1GB of user-accessible space. But Nook Tablet users with an eye for modding could at least take advantage of a loophole in the modified Gingerbread software, which allowed any app downloaded from the Tablet's browser to be installed via Android's built-in installer. The eBook Reader reports that with the latest Nook Tablet firmware release, 1.4.1, Barnes & Noble has closed this loophole, making advanced modification much more difficult for any user who updates.