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Apple adds Android 4.1, Galaxy Note 10.1 to Samsung lawsuit

Apple appears ready to fire its legal salvo directly at Google.

In a move that could draw Google into the fray, Apple attempted to add Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 10.1 and Google's Android 4.1, also known as Jelly Bean, to an existing complaint against Samsung in California.

Apple made the argument to U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal today in San Jose, Calif., Bloomberg reported.

The move followed Samsung's own action to add the iPhone 5 to its own counter-claim that Apple infringed on its patents.

The ongoing complaints show that the massively complex legal … Read more

Galaxy Note to get Android 4.1 by late December

The unlocked Samsung Galaxy Note could get its Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update in late December says the oft-reliable SamMobile. In addition to the requisite bug fixes, the update will include Samsung's Nature UX as well as Air View and Multi View on the gargantuan smartphone.

Samsung has yet to confirm both the update and its expected arrival, but the firmware in the video below looks fairly complete. Hopefully, we'll get an official announcement from Sammy soon, be it via press release or a social network status update.

It's worth noting that not all versions of … Read more

Recover Windows and other software product IDs with Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder

Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder won't help you find your car keys or point you to the Easter Bunny's stash. But if you need to reinstall Windows and can't find your product key, it might be seem magical to you. This free utility retrieves your Windows Product Key (CD key) from your registry and saves it to a text or CSV file. If you need to reinstall Windows but don't have the Product Key because you lost the original CD or case, it can save your bacon, or at least a lot of your time. It works … Read more

What Google's Nexus 4 means for LG

Well, the verdict's in on Google's flagship phone, the LG Nexus 4, and aside from the significant misstep of not having 4G LTE capabilities for its U.S. market, the device is great. It runs on Android Jelly Be-- oh hell. Can we just talk about LG for a second?

All opinions aside about the handset itself ("LTE doesn't matter!," "It's ugly!," "But it's so cheap!," "You're cheap!," "I hate everyone!"), it's clear that LG needed this Nexus.

With the exception of the … Read more

Disable alerts at a specific time on your Galaxy Note II

Author note: This feature is available on most of the stock Samsung Android devices running 4.1.1 and higher. Thanks to the those who helped clear this up and sorry for the confusion.

There are lots of apps in the Google Play Store that can help you schedule some quiet time from your phone. However, if you're an owner of a Samsung device that received a Jelly Bean update (or you recently bought a Galaxy Note II), you have this feature built in with Blocking mode.

The benefit of using a stock feature over an app is … Read more

Android 4.0 now on a quarter of all Android devices

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is slowly dripping its way onto more devices.

As seen over the last two weeks of October, ICS now flavors 25.8 percent of all Android devices, up from 23.7 percent in the prior month and 20.9 percent in August.

Android 4.1, aka Jelly Bean, ate up 2.7 percent of the market in October, up from 1.8 percent the previous month.

The most dominant version of Android remains version 2.3, or Gingerbread, still found on more than 54.2 percent of all Android devices. That's down slightly … Read more

Nokia not blocking multiple users on Android phones

Nokia says it's not preventing Google from rolling out multiuser features for phones despite a report suggesting it was playing spoiler for the latest version of Android.

Earlier this week, TechCrunch speculated that Google isn't including multiple account functionality on Android for phones because Nokia already owns the patent for that capability. Nokia has told CNET that wasn't the case.

Nokia had filed for such a patent, but it abandoned its efforts several years ago.

"Though we did indeed file the patent application which has been cited in some of the coverage, we determined some time … Read more

Android 4.2 adds multiple users and panoramic photos, copies Swype and AirPlay

While Google's big press event scheduled for today in New York may have been canceled, the company still decided to move forward with a slew of announcements via blog post. Among them was the release of Android 4.2, an updated version of Jelly Bean to come preinstalled on the new line of Nexus devices.

Swype fans will be pleased to hear that Android 4.2 includes a keyboard that lets users input text via gliding gestures. Not only that, it offers predictions based on common strings of word combinations for "smarter" typing. While the news is … Read more

Nexus 4 phone with Android 4.2 confirmed by Google, LG

Google and LG confirmed today the long leaked Nexus 4 smartphone, which will run on Android 4.2.

The Nexus 4 marks the first Nexus device built by LG, with Google looking to expand its partnerships and keep some of its partners thriving in the brutally competitive smartphone business.

"This is the first time we collaborated with LG to build a Nexus device," Andy Rubin, who runs Android at Google, said in a statement. "They brought an extraordinary amount of talent to the project, and the result is a feature-packed device that feels great in your hand … Read more