Author: Clinton

This week’s update of LineageOS has a lot of fixes and improvements that will be coming to users in the latest builds.  There is a pretty solid list of improvements that you can ready about on the developer’s site but for those who just want the highlights, here you go.  First, there is support for more than two cameras in Snap (think devices with dual rear cameras), a fix for when accounts where not showing up in settings, Dual SIM UI improvements and the AOSP file manager has replaced the CyanogenMod file manager.  The blog post has links to the repositories for those who want to read the gory details on all the changes.

LineageOS already has a massive number of devices that are supported but the list has also grown this week.

Added 14.1 devices

• LG G3 (AT&T) – d850
• LG G3 (Korea) – f400
• Samsung Galaxy S III (GSM LTE) – i9305

Added 13.0 devices

• LeEco LeMax2 – x2

• Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 (GSM) – n5100

• Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 (Wi-Fi) – n5110

• Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 (LTE) – n5120

That brings the total count of supported devices to over 100.

Part of the announcement also put out the Help Wanted sign.  If you can help the team with language translations, they could use you.  Hit the link to the post to get the details and to volunteer to help.

Let’s all take a moment and give Microsoft applause.  One of the most requested features from users of OneDrive has finally, finally made it into the app for Android.  You can now select multiple files with a single swipe on your phone or tablet.  The new feature is in the latest build of the app for Android, version 4.10 for those keeping score at home.  Once you have the update installed, if you are viewing your files or photos in tile view, you can use the new multiple file selection.  Just tap and hold the first file or photo you want to select. When you see the blue checkmark on that file, swipe across your phone’s screen to select multiple files.  Don’t lift your finger!  You have to tap-hold-swipe all in one motion.

Microsoft has been working hard on a lot of their Android apps lately, working to implement features that users have requested in them.  This is the latest example of it and users of OneDrive will be happy campers today.

With Google Assistant expanding to Android Marshmallow and Nougat devices, it only makes sense that Google Home start expanding too.  News has come from Google that starting next quarter (March-May) the smart speaker with Google Assistant embedded is going to make its way to the United Kingdom.  The news came from the BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones who reported on a conversation he had with Google’s Rick Osterloh who indicated Home was on its way to the UK.

Google’s Rick Osterloh tells BBC that Google Home is coming to UK in Q2, claims its AI skills and vast data will help it beat Amazon Echo pic.twitter.com/qs3oZabak0

— Rory Cellan-Jones (@BBCRoryCJ) February 28, 2017

This will certainly be good news for readers in the UK.  Home, to this point, has been exclusively US-based but that hasn’t stopped some from buying them and having them shipped to the UK even though it isn’t support.  That, of course, has created some problems in that some of the services won’t work.

The rise of the phoenix that is Nokia continues as the company made some key announcements at Mobile World Congress.  First, they announced that the new Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 are soon to be available for the low and mid-range market.  The bigger news however is that their flagship device, the Nokia 6, is going to be released globally.  To this point, the 6 has only been available in China.  It will come to Europe first followed by other markets throughout the first half of the year.

This global version of the Nokia 6 is the exact same phone as the one in China but with an updated software package.  It will be running Android Nougat with Google Assistant, has a 5.5″ Full HD display, Snapdragon 430 SoC, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.  It has a dual-SIM configuration, a MicroSD slot and a 16MP rear camera with phase-detection auto focus.  Add to that a 3000mAh battery and a fingerprint scanner and you have a solid performing phone that will likely be met with open hands throughout the world.

Well, that didn’t last very long!  Nine months after coming into the world, Google Spaces is going to meet its digital maker in April 17th of this year.  I posted last week about an update to Google+ which had Spaces removed from the menu and suggested that it could mean the end is near for the social sharing service.  That has now been confirmed – but I’m not sure if anyone is going to be too upset.  Spaces will become just another carcass on the pile of failed projects (not just by Google mind you) that never was fully explained, fully supported or fully accepted.

For those of you who are using Spaces, they will become read-only this Friday, March 3rd.  At that point you will not be able to add any content to your Spaces.  What is an alternative?  Ironically, Google+.

Huawei has become the latest manufacture to announce a new flagship Android phone at Mobile World Congress.  The Huawei P10 will be available in March, sporting a 5.2″ HD display, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.  There will also be a larger P10 Plus which will have a 5.5″ QHD display, 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage.  Both devices will have a Leica optics dual-camera configuration for the main camera.  The P10 will have a 20MP monochrome and 12MP RGB camera at f/2.2 while the P10 Plus will have an f/1.8 aperture.  Both will have image stabilization.

Processor wise, both phones are powered by the Kirin 960 processor, an 8-core SoC running at 2.4GHz.  The lineup is a dual SIM configuration with USB-C charging, NFC and MIMO antenna arrays for both LTE and Wi-Fi.

Probably the thing that stole the announcement for Huawei however was the colors available for the P10.  This is particularly true of the Greenery color which seems to have everyone smitten.  The phone will be available in Ceramic White, Dazzling Blue, Dazzling Gold, Prestige Gold (P10), Graphite Black, Mystic Silver, Rose Gold and Greenery.  Finishes on the colors will be High GLoss, Diamond-Cut and Sandblast.  These colors were developed in cooperation with the Pantone Color Institute so clearly Huawei is taking your color choice seriously.