Archive for 06/01/2012 - 07/01/2012
Holo Launcher – Ice Cream Sandwich Style for Android 2.2+
In a list of 3rd party launchers you might be wondering why I included Google’s stock ICS launcher. Better than all the other ics style launchers I’ve used. It’s fast, light on the memory, true ics style folders, scrollable widgets, customizable launcher.
There are a few reasons this is one of the best launchers in the market.
Features:
Full ICS Style
ICS Icons, Folders, Outlines, Drawer Tabs, etc.
Custom Desktop Pages/Grid
Up to 9 desktop pages and 10 x 10 grid.
Custom Drawer Portrait/landscape Grid
Set different drawer grid for portrait and landscape screen.
Scrollable Dock
Up to 7 icons per page and up to 3 pages.
Infinite Scrolling
Loop through your desktop/drawer/dock continuously.
Desktop Previews
Pinch to access desktop previews.
Backup and Restore
Backup and restore your settings and shortcuts.
Other Customization Options
Keep in memory, home key action, hide labels, etc.
Full ICS Style
ICS Icons, Folders, Outlines, Drawer Tabs, etc.
Custom Desktop Pages/Grid
Up to 9 desktop pages and 10 x 10 grid.
Custom Drawer Portrait/landscape Grid
Set different drawer grid for portrait and landscape screen.
Scrollable Dock
Up to 7 icons per page and up to 3 pages.
Infinite Scrolling
Loop through your desktop/drawer/dock continuously.
Desktop Previews
Pinch to access desktop previews.
Backup and Restore
Backup and restore your settings and shortcuts.
Other Customization Options
Keep in memory, home key action, hide labels, etc.
Install and Run Android 4.0 SDK and Ice Cream Sandwich on PC
Google announced Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, on October 19. Android 4.0 SDK has also been released for developers. 1st smart phone Samsung Galaxy Nexus with Google Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) will be available for customers in November 2011.
In this tutorial we will learn how to run Android 4.0 SDK and Ice Cream Sandwich in an emulator and explore the features of new Google Mobile OS.
See below the step-by-step instructions on how to set up and install the Android 4.0 SDK on your PC.
Step 1 - Download the Android SDK files from: HERE. Select x86 or Windows Version if you are using Microsoft Windows OS.
Step 2 - Extract or install the Android SDK files you just downloaded to any location on your PC.
Step 3 - Now, open the folder where you have extracted the SDK and run the “SDK Manager” application.
Step 4 - The application will load and fetch all the Android SDK packages.
Step 5 - Once the SDK manger complete the loading process, now you can select the packages you want to install. Here, we will be only selecting the “Android 4.0 (API 14)” and “Android SDK Platform-tools” (under Tools).
Step 6 - Now Click on “Install packages…”. You will be prompted to confirm the packages you have selected for installation.
Step 7 - Then Click on the “Install” button and wait for the all the packages to download from internet and install.
Click Finish and Close the SDK Manager, when all the packages are downloaded and installed on your PC.
Set Up Android 4.0 Emulator
Once you installed Android SDK r14 packages and tools, now its time to set up the Android Emulator so that you can run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) on your PC.
Step 8 - Open Android SDK folder and run “AVD Manager”. Click on “New” and create a Virtual Device with details as in the screenshot below.
Step 9 - Click “OK” on the result window.
Step 10 -Select the virtual device you just created from the list and click on “Start”.
Step 11 - No need to change anything in the Launch Options Just Click on the “Launch” button.
Step 12 - The emulator will start after a few Command Prompt windows flicker and then you will see the following screen where your Android device will be booting up. It may take around 5 minutes to boot when loading for the first time.
Step 13 - Once your Android 4.0 loaded in Emulator, you will see the Welcome Screen.
Android™ Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM available for unlocked 2011 Xperia™ smartphone models
Today we release an Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) beta ROM, as a follow up to the previously released ICS alpha ROM. In line with our goal to support the open developer community, we want to give you the chance to try out our coming upgrade to ICS (Android™ 4.0) in this beta version.
While the ICS alpha ROM was an early preview, the ICS beta ROM have passed some certifications such as Modem type approval, and important functions like FM radio and GSM are turned on. However, additional certification and approval is needed before an official upgrade can be released. As previously communicated, we will upgrade all 2011 Xperia™ smartphones running on Android to ICS. Read more to find out what’s included in the beta ROM, and what other limitations apply.
Since we released the ICS alpha ROM, we have received many comments and suggestions on our ICS implementation. We are very grateful for all of this feedback, and we can guarantee you that we’ve read every single comment with great interest. Your opinion is important to us, and we have evaluated all suggestions in relation to all the other parameters we are taking into consideration.
In the ICS beta we are now releasing, we have kept elements that we know are valued by users. On top of that we will bring Ice Cream Sandwich elements to provide a unique experience. A number of things are updated compared to the previous ICS alpha:
- Updated UI – We hope you will be happy to see that we have added a number of UI elements from ICS, as well as some new UI features already introduced in the Xperia™ S we announced in January.
- Lockscreen and Face Unlock – We have added a shortcut to the camera directly from the lockscreen. Also, when you’re listening to music you can control the music player without unlocking the phone by using the music control icons on the lockscreen. In the coming final ICS upgrade, we will also include the face unlock app from Google for all phones that has a front-facing camera. The Face Unlock feature uses the front-facing camera in combination with advanced object recognition algorithms to provide a new way to unlock the phone. However, since Face Unlock is a Google Mobile Services (GMS) app, it is not included in this ICS beta ROM.
- Connectivity turned on – Since we published the ICS alpha ROM, the GSM modem and FM radio have passed thecertification and type approval, and they are therefore turned on in this ICS beta release.
- Updated email client – The UI has been updated, and simplified email management has been added.
- Quick dial – We have added a quick and easy way for you to make phone calls. See how it works in the ISC beta ROM demo video.
Please note that the Google Mobile Services (GMS) apps (for example Gmail, Google Maps and Face Unlock), Bluetooth™ and Wi-Fi™ are not included in the beta release due to that they are still waiting for the certification and type approval to be finalised.
For your benefit, we will release open source archives for this ICS beta for Xperia™ phones shortly.
Important information
Even though a lot of the basic functionality of this ICS beta ROM is working, you should only download and install the beta version if you are an advanced developer. This is not the final software, and the stability of the software may not be ideal as it has not been finally tested and bugfixed.
Even if you’re an advanced developer, there are a few things to pay close attention to before you download and install the beta ROM:
Even though a lot of the basic functionality of this ICS beta ROM is working, you should only download and install the beta version if you are an advanced developer. This is not the final software, and the stability of the software may not be ideal as it has not been finally tested and bugfixed.
Even if you’re an advanced developer, there are a few things to pay close attention to before you download and install the beta ROM:
- You should be an advanced developer with extensive knowledge in how to install, and switch between different ROMs. If you are a consumer without these developer skills, then we strongly recommend you do not try this, as you may damage your phone.
- You must be using Xperia™ arc S, Xperia™ neo V or Xperia™ ray, running the latest Xperia™ software release (which is 4.0.2.A.0.42). Please note that you can’t use the original Xperia™ arc or Xperia™ neo, as they have different partition layouts.
- You must unlock your phone using our Unlock boot loader service, and agree to all the legal and warranty conditions that apply. Please note that you may void the warranty of your phone, any warranty from your operator or both if you unlock the boot loader of your phone. Sony Ericsson can then no longer guarantee the full functionality of your phone, and will not be responsible for any unusable functions or loss of personal data associated to the beta ROM being flashed to the phone. Please pay special attention to the following legal statement before downloading (the full statement is available on the download link):
“You must acknowledge that the software is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.”
- Also, if you unlock the boot loader, you will not be able to download and install the final Ice Cream Sandwich software upgrade for Xperia™ phones. For additional information on limitations and warranty, please see our Unlock boot loader service page.
- You should have read through and acknowledged the limitations of the software described below.
- You must read and accept the end user license agreement on the download link, before you can download the beta ROM zip file.
Download and installFollow the instructions below to download and install the alpha ROM. Please note that it only works with Xperia™ arc S, Xperia™ neo V and Xperia™ ray.
- Make sure your phone is running the latest software release, which is build number 4.0.2.A.0.42. If you can’t upgrade to this build number, it is not possible to try the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ phones.
- Go to unlockbootloader.sonymobile.com and unlock the boot loader of your phone. To do this, you must read through and agree to all the legal and warranty conditions that apply.
- Download the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ arc S, the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ neo V or the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ ray depending on your phone model.
- Extract the downloaded zip file to your Android Fastboot directory. For example: ..\android-sdk\fastboot\Xperia_arcS_ICS_beta.
- Open a command prompt and go to your Fastboot directory: ..\android-sdk\fastboot\
- Flash the three beta ROM files one at a time using Fastboot. Use these three commands (replace the folder name if you are using Xperia™ neo V or Xperia™ ray):
• fastboot flash boot ..\Fastboot\Xperia_arcS_ICS_beta\boot.img
• fastboot flash userdata ..\Fastboot\Xperia_arcS_ICS_beta\userdata.img
• fastboot flash system ..\Fastboot\Xperia_arcS_ICS_beta\system.img - Once done, please reboot your phone.
Please let us know what you think about this beta ROM
Another ambition with this release is to work with all of the talented developers in the open community to get feedback on this beta ROM. If you download and install the beta ROM, please try out the software and go to ourIce Cream Sandwich beta ROM survey for Xperia™ phones, to send us your feedback. It is very much appreciated – the summary of this survey will be used for future product and software strategies short term and long term. Your voice counts!
Another ambition with this release is to work with all of the talented developers in the open community to get feedback on this beta ROM. If you download and install the beta ROM, please try out the software and go to ourIce Cream Sandwich beta ROM survey for Xperia™ phones, to send us your feedback. It is very much appreciated – the summary of this survey will be used for future product and software strategies short term and long term. Your voice counts!
If you want to discuss this beta ROM initiative, please check out the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ thread on the XDA forum . Here you can discuss with other developers, and ask questions to us. We will monitor this thread and reply to any questions as soon as we can. If you have any additional ideas on what you would like us to do, feel free to drop us a comment below.
Again, thanks for all the feedback. We can’t stress enough how important it is to us!
More information
- Download the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ arc S.
- Download the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ neo V.
- Download the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ ray.
- Give us your feedback in the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM survey for Xperia™ phones.
- Discuss the beta ROM in the Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM for Xperia™ thread on the XDA forum.
- Watch the Sony Xperia™ Ice Cream Sandwich beta ROM demo video.
- Learn what happens from the Ice Cream Sandwich source code release until the final software upgrade.
- Read about our unlock boot loader initiative.
- Check out our Unlock boot loader website.
Xperia SX and Xperia GX announced for the Japanese market
Earlier today the Xperia™ GX and Xperia™ SX was announced for the Japanese market, making them Sony’s first LTE phones in Japan. Xperia™ GX features a 4.6” Reality Display for a superior viewing experience, and a 13 MP camera that lets you take great photos. Xperia™ SX is the world’s lightest LTE phone, weighing in on only 95 grams.
Read more about Xperia™ GX and Xperia™ SX after the jump.
Key features of Xperia™ GX
- 1.5GHz dual-core processor for fast performance.
- 16 GB internal flash storage.
- 4.6” Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® engine.
- 13 MP camera resolution with Sony Exmor R for mobile.
- HD video recording.
- Will be launched with Google™ Android™ 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).
Key features of Xperia™ SX
- 1.5GHz dual-core processor for fast performance.
- 8 GB internal flash storage.
- 3.7” Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA® engine.
- 8 MP camera resolution with Sony Exmor R for mobile.
- HD video recording.
- Infrared port data exchange.
- Mobile wallet.
- Mobile TV.
- Launched with Google™ Android™ 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).
Xperia™ GX and Xperia™ SX will be available to the Japanese market from summer 2012. The available colours are black and white. For more information, check out the official Xperia GX and Xperia SX press release.
Xperia™ go and Xperia™ acro S brings extra durability and stylish water resistance [video]
Today, we’re announcing the Xperia™ go and Xperia™ acro S, our two newest additions to the line up of Sony Xperia™ smartphones. Xperia™ go is a refined IP67 classes smartphone , meaning it has the highest level of dust and water resistance you can find in a smartphone. Xperia™ acro S also offers PlayStation® certification. Designed for extra durability and water resistance, both Xperia™ go and Xperia™ acro S have scratch-resistant mineral glass displays and meet industry standard Internal Protection ratings for protection against dust and water immersion. Read more about the stylish durability of the Xperia™ go and Xperia™ acro S after the jump.
Xperia™ go.
The features of the stylish Xperia™ go include:
- 1 GHz STE NovaThor™ U8500 Dual Core Processor.
- ARM® Mali™ 400 GPU and NEON®CPU extensions.
- Quad EDGE/GSM/GPRS 850, 900, 1800, 1900.
- 8 GB (up to 4 GB user-accessible memory) internal phone storage.
- 512 MB RAM.
- Memory card slot: microSD™, up to 32 GB
- 3.5” Reality display with Mobile BRAVIA® engine.
- xLOUD Experience
- 5 MP fast capture camera.
- 16x digital zoom.
- LED photo flash.
- 720p HD video recording.
- Accelerometer.
- Proximity sensor.
- Ambient light sensor.
- Magnetometer.
- Pressure sensor.
- Bluetooth™.
- aGPS.
- IP67 certification.
- DLNA Certified®.
- Launched on Android™ 2.3 (Gingerbread), upgradeable to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
- PlayNow™ service*.
- TrackID™ music recognition*.
- Facebook inside Xperia™.
- Sony Entertainment Network*.
- MediaGo™*
*This service is not available in all markets.
Xperia™ go signature features – IP67, pressure sensor, access to Sony Entertainment Network
Xperia™ go features an Ingress Protection (IP) rating of 67. The IP number specifies the environmental protection of enclosures around electrical equipment. The first number refers to protection against solid objects; the second refers to protection against liquids. For Xperia™ go, the device has total protection against dust, and protection against the effects of water immersion between 15cm and 1m.
Xperia™ go features an Ingress Protection (IP) rating of 67. The IP number specifies the environmental protection of enclosures around electrical equipment. The first number refers to protection against solid objects; the second refers to protection against liquids. For Xperia™ go, the device has total protection against dust, and protection against the effects of water immersion between 15cm and 1m.
It also comes with a pressure sensor, which developers can utilise in the weather-related or barometric pressure-apps through the Android sensor API. For more information on the pressure sensor, check out our latestbarometric pressure article. Xperia™ go also offers access to Sony Entertainment Network*, including Video Unlimited and Music Unlimited.
Fluid graphics and low power utilisation
Xperia™ go incorporates a 1 GHz dual core ST-Ericsson NovaThor™ U8500 processor to deliver superior performance. The U8500 uses SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing) dual core technology with a high-end 3D graphics accelerator, which enables a full web-browsing experience. For more information about the U8500 platform, check out ST-Ericsson’s NovaThor U8500 product page.
Xperia™ go incorporates a 1 GHz dual core ST-Ericsson NovaThor™ U8500 processor to deliver superior performance. The U8500 uses SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing) dual core technology with a high-end 3D graphics accelerator, which enables a full web-browsing experience. For more information about the U8500 platform, check out ST-Ericsson’s NovaThor U8500 product page.
This new smartphone also has an ARM Mali 400 GPU that is OpenGL ES 2.0 conformant and provides 2D and 3D acceleration with performance scalable up to 1080p resolutions. To learn about OpenGL ES, read our previous blog post on 3D for Android. Xperia™ go provides a vivid viewing experience on a mineral glass and scratch-resistant, LCD display, and is powered by the Mobile BRAVIA® engine for colour management, noise reduction, sharpness filtering, and contrast management for close to real image reproduction. Great sound is achieved with xLOUD™ to enhance loudness and maximise sound without breaking.
Xperia™ acro S signature features – dust & water resistance, NFC and PlayStation® certification
Xperia™ acro S.
The features of the sleek Xperia™ acro S include:
- 1.5 GHz Qualcomm MSM8260 Dual Core Processor.
- Adreno™ 220 GPU.
- GPRS 850, 900, 1800, 1900
- W-CDMA Band I, II, V and VIII
- Internal phone storage 16 GB (up to 11 GB user-accessible memory). Some portion of the capacity may be used by pre-installed applications.
- 1 GB RAM.
- Memory card slot: microSD™, up to 32 GB.
- 4.3” Reality display with Mobile BRAVIA® engine.
- xLOUD Entertainment.
- 12.1 MP camera resolution.
- 16x digital zoom.
- Pulsed LED photo flash.
- 1080p HD video recording.
- Accelerometer.
- Proximity sensor.
- Ambient light sensor.
- Magnetometer.
- Gyroscope.
- NFC.**
- Bluetooth™.
- GLONASS*.
- aGPS*.
- HDMI.
- IP55 and IP57 certification.
- PlayStation® certified.
- DLNA Certified®.
- Launched on Android™ 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).
- PlayNow™ service*.
- TrackID™ music recognition*.
- Facebook inside Xperia™.
- Sony Entertainment Network*.
- Sony channel in Play Shop*.
* This service is not available in all markets.
**Not available for payments.
**Not available for payments.
Xperia™ acro S fully builds on the success of Xperia acro HD in Japan, which has been a bestseller in the country for DOCOMO for 10 weeks since launch in March. Xperia™ acro S also has an IP55 rating, which means it’s protected against dust limited to ingress and from water projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) against enclosure from any direction. It also has an IP57 rating, with the same dust protection as IP55, and further protects against the effects of immersion between 15cm and 1m.
Xperia™ acro S is also PlayStation®-certified, ensuring that the smartphone can run PlayStation® content smoothly. You also have access to the Sony Entertainment Network*, including Video Unlimited, Music Unlimited, and the PlayStation® Network for PlayStation-certified content to guarantee high-quality smartphone gaming and access to the PlayStation Store. Finally, Xperia™ acro S supports NFC, so that you easily open apps with one touch against an Xperia™ smart tag, or share content with our other NFC-enabled smartphones (like Xperia sola,Xperia S, Xperia ion, and Xperia P). Read more about NFC in our recent NFC blog post.
Amazing graphics plus OpenGL support
Xperia™ acro S incorporates a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 MSM8260 dual core processor for stunning, fluid graphics, plus long battery life. You’ll also find the Adreno™ 220 GPU for an enhanced level of 3D graphics performance, and allows for support of a number of APIs, including OpenGL ES 2.0, OpenGL ES 1.1 and OpenVG 1.1. For more information on OpenGL, see our previous OpenGL blog post.
Xperia™ acro S boasts a 4.3-inch, HD reality display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine for razor sharp clarity, a 12.1 MP fast capture camera with full HD and pulsed LED photo flash, and easy HDMI TV connectivity to enjoy content on a big screen. Patented xLOUD™ technology enhances loudness and maximises sound without breaking.
Develop Xperia™ games, apps and custom app extensions
A wide range of SDK and developer tools are available in conjunction with using Xperia™ go or Xperia™ acro S. With the Smart Extension SDK, you can create apps for Smart Extras™ accessories (SmartWatch and Smart Wireless Headset pro). You can also create extensions that enhance the capabilities of Timescape™ and Music player, signature apps in every Xperia™ smartphone, by using our Extension Developer Kit (EDK). Post developer questions on the EDK forum thread on Google Groups. Developers interested in creating games for Xperia™ go and Xperia™ acro S will find it easy with the Unity game engine. See our previous blog posts on using Unity for game development. For developer help on Xperia smartphones, post your questions on our external developer forums.
Availability and colours
Xperia™ go and Xperia™ acro S will be available to consumers globally from the third quarter 2012. Xperia™ go will launch in the US market under the name “Xperia advance”. For Xperia™ go, the available colours are black, white and yellow. For Xperia™ acro S, the available colours are black, white and pink.
More information
- View Developer World’s Xperia go video and Xperia acro S on YouTube.
- Download the Xperia go white paper and the Xperia acro S white paper.
- See the official Sony press release announcing Xperia go and Xperia acro S.
- Read our recent EDK 2.0 blog post.
- Learn about NFC support in Xperia devices.
