Category: Android

The Android development team at Google has rolled out what is likely the last Developer Preview for Android Nougat.  The update takes devices to build NPD90G and it is available for all of the Nexus devices that have been a part of the beta testing process.  Those devices include

• Nexus 5X
• Nexus 6
• Nexus 6P
• Nexus 9
• Nexus Player
• Pixel C
• General Mobile 4G (Android One)

For those how have devices registered in the Android Beta program, the OTA update should be coming to you over the course of the next few hours.  If you want to manually flash your device to the newest build, the images are available already.

Today, the Japanese firm SoftBank have announced that they have come to an agreement to acquire UK-based chip designer ARM Holdings for some $31 billion.  The acquisition will be an all cash transaction in which SoftBank will purchase 1,412 million shares of ARM.  The acquisition is a great one for SoftBank as ARM is unquestionably the dominant player in the mobile device chip market which continues to grow globally and with Internet of Things growth happening at the same time, the company is poised to be in an excellent position over the course of the next several years.

Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SBG, said: “We have long admired ARM as a world renowned and highly respected technology company that is by some distance the market-leader in its field. ARM will be an excellent strategic fit within the SoftBank group as we invest to capture the very significant opportunities provided by the “Internet of Things”.

Keep in mind that ARM does not itself produce chips.  Rather, they license the Intellectual Property of their designs to others to produce the chips.

For those of you who have installed the ClintonFitch.com app on your Android devices (and Thank You!), there is a new update out this morning.  The update, version 6.0.1 for those keeping score at home, is mostly aimed at improving performance on older devices.  If you have a device running on KitKat then you should see some stability and speed improvements with this new build.  Given that 33% of all of the installs of the app are on KitKat, that should be a big improvement for a good percentage of you.

Good news this morning for those of you who have the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active from AT&T.  The U.S. carrier has released the Android Marshmallow update for the device and it is rolling out now.  The update is build MMB29K.G890AUCU3CPE4 for those keeping score at home and it weighs in at a hefty 1.44GB.  That means you will most certainly want to download this via Wi-Fi which, depending on your network, could take 20-30 minutes to download.  Once you have it downloaded, the installation of the update will take another 20-30 minutes and will require a phone restart.  Make sure you have any local files (docs, photos, etc) backed up to your favorite cloud service just in case things so pear shaped.

The PayPal app for Android has been updated with several new features for users.  One of the key new features is the ability to donate to hundreds of charities across the United States right from within the app.  On the home page of the app you will now see a new Donate section.  Tap this and you will see a searchable list of charities and organizations you can support through the app.  Find the one you want to support then tap the donate button to send funds to that organization.  It is quick and easy and allows you to get funds to the organizations you want to support quickly.  One note is that, for now, this feature only works in the United States.