All the way back during week one of our time with the Galaxy Nexus. emails started trickling in from users who were dealing with a microphone muting issue while on calls. We have yet to run into the issue ourselves, but it’s clear if you browse any tech forum on the internet that this is a problem for a number of owners. Verizon appears hesitant to admit that it’s a serious problem, so we thought we would run a poll to see how many of you are being affected by it. No better way to let them know that with some numbers, right?

What exactly is happening? While taking incoming calls or making outgoing calls, the microphone on the device will cut out so that the person on the other end of the line can no longer hear a thing which obviously leads to them hanging up. Toggling mute on or off, switching to speakerphone, swapping devices, activating new SIM cards, etc. are not helping the situation. It’s pretty obvious that this is a software bug that simply needs to be addressed in the next update. The problem is, that this started happening to users back in December and we are now almost a week into February without a fix.

We still have no word on when the big Android 4.0.3 (or is it 4.0.4 now?) update will be out.

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Cheers Matt and everyone else!

Droid Life

We just discovered that Google Wallet has been given the green light for the Galaxy Nexus as long as it has an AT&T SIM (sorry T-Mo users), but the reason we discovered that in the first place, was a tip from a reader who claimed to have installed it on his Verizon LTE G-Nex. After following his instructions, we also were able to install the app directly from the Android Market without flashing a zip or doing anything that a non-rooted phone could not do. How did we do it?  Instructions below.  

Instructions:

1.  From your phone, open the browser and head to http://market.android.com.
2.  Search for “Google Wallet.”

*If your browser prompts you to open the Market, don’t. Just stay in the browser.

3.  When the results come back, tap on the Google Wallet icon.
4.  The phone will prompt you to leave the browser and go to the Market. Choose the Market this time.
5.  You should now be sitting in the Android Market with Google Wallet up.
6.  Tap “install” and enjoy.

If that short method is not working, here is the full method that our tipster gave us:

1.  From your phone open the browser and head to http://market.android.com.
2.  Search for “Google Wallet.”

*If your browser prompts you to open the Market, don’t. Just stay in the browser.

3.  When the results come back, tap on the Google Wallet icon.
4.  Tap the “Install” button from within the browser and then sign into your Google account.

*Again, this is all from the browser, not the Market app.

5.  Once you have signed in, you should be redirected back to the Market page in the browser.
6.  Obviously, you will not have the option to install there since the VZW Nexus is not supported.
7.  Tap the back button until you are prompted for the Market or Browser again, this time choosing the Market.
8.  The Android Market should open to the Google Wallet page with an option to install.

*Note 1 – I flashed my phone all the way back to my original backup after rooting back in December. This is as stock as you can get with just root access only. That should not affect the way the market views my phone.

*Note 2 – The market is also now recognizing it as being installed:

Cheers Mbanicek!

Droid Life

I fired up my Sony Blu-ray Google TV tonight and was surprised to see an update available. It’s a decent size at almost 260MB, bringing with it performance enhancements and the ability to play 3D discs.

If you are not prompted to update, head into System Settings>About>System updates and pull it manually.

Droid Life

That headline is not a joke, folks. Motorola, through their community blog, has announced the RAZR “Developer Edition” which has an unlockable bootloader. No release date was given in the post, but from the sounds of it, the device should be here very soon. A pre-order page is in the works here.

In even better news though, they also announced that a U.S. version would be available in the “coming months.” Now, we have heard fine promises like this in the past from Moto, but will try our hardest to take their word for it seeing as they are pushing an actual device to Europe. We have no idea if it will have Verizon radios or not. Since the European version is GSM, you could easily come to the conclusion that the U.S. will see an unlockable GSM version too. That’s unconfirmed, of course.

Info on the unlocking and relocking process will be available at the MotoDev site.

*Note – It looks like they posted this news a little prematurely. In case it disappears, here is a screenshot.

Full details after the break.  Thoughts?  

New Motorola RAZR™ Developer Edition will feature unlocked bootloader in Europe

We have some news for the community of people interested in unlockable/relockable bootloaders. Today, we announced a step forward in Europe with the availability of an unlockable version of our most in-demand product: the Motorola RAZR™ Developer Edition. This solution allows us to continue meeting our carrier and regulatory obligations, but also meets the needs being expressed by our developer community.

In the coming months, we also plan to introduce an unlockable developer device in the United States through MOTODEV, Motorola’s global developer network. Stay tuned to Motorola’s Developer site for additional info.

EU-based consumers can pre-order the Motorola RAZR Developer Edition through the Motorola Shop. Post-purchase, the MOTODEV site will contain all support info for unlocking, relocking and locating build files, as well as access to additional developer resources. The Developer Edition will have all the same great features as the Motorola RAZR: an impossibly thin design, hyper-vibrant Super AMOLED Advanced display, KEVLAR(R) fiber and more.

Droid Life

In 2010 the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was passed to help stem the ever present problem of copyrighting media in the digital age. The Electronic Frontier Foundation worked hard though to get a few exemptions to this bill, namely protecting remix videos from being taken down and phones being jailbroken; or rooted. Now, these exemptions are up for renewal this year and not only is the EFF asking for help renewing the two exemptions they have now, they want to expand the exemptions to cover rooting tablets and jailbreaking video game consoles as well.

This is quite a big deal, because if these exemptions do not get renewed it would technically be illegal to root your phone allowing any company who wishes to come after you in court. The biggest case of this would be Sony taking legal action against George Hotz, a man who figured out how to jailbreak the Playstation 3 and put it on the internet. The EFF has a full page dedicated to the rooting exemptions needed along with a petition to sign and a place to send comments directly to the U.S. Copyright Office. There are somewhere near 5,000 signatures already, let’s add our names to make sure we can keep hacking our phones as much as we want.

Via:  EFF Website | Petition

Droid Life

Hot off the presses is a tweet sent out from the main Asus Twitter account, stating that the bootloader unlock tool should be available for the masses in February. After discovery by the community that the Transformer Prime shipped out completely locked down, there was mass plea for the company to release a tool to unlock it and make it the great tablet it has been advertised as.

If you are not concerned with warranties and other things associated with unlocking and rooting your Android devices, then this should be right up you alley. And with February literally right around the corner, we should start seeing a lot of movement start up in the Transformer Prime development forums.

Via: Twitter, Android Central

Droid Life

It has been a very interesting week not just for Android, but for the Internet in general. So far, it looks like we have been able to make SOPA and PIPA retreat back to their dark caves and re-plot their strategy on world take over. Along with all of that drama, the XOOM WiFi received some Ice Cream Sandwich love, Google says there are 250 million+ activated Android handsets, and Apple continues to sue competitors over features that they declare are their own. Oh what fun.

• Apple continues to troll Google and Samsung, sues over slide to unlock feature.
• SOPA came and scared the heck out of everybody, and then thankfully vanishes….for now.
• DROID RAZR MAXX confirmed for January 26 on Verizon.
• Osmos finally makes its way to Android. Woot!
• National Security Agency releases Security Enhanced Android.
• 250 million Android devices are now activated, says Google.
• MegaUpload shut down thanks to Feds.
• Asus Transformer Prime getting an update, fixing GPS and camera.
• Tip: Customize your keyboard with Ice Cream Sandwich.
• Motorola XOOM WiFi now receiving ICS update.
• We found out this week that Wozniak loves himself some Android OS.

Hope you all have a very splendid weekend!

Droid Life

I’m not sure that I can even count all of the flashlight apps in the market these days (nor would I want to try), but one of them in particular has been downloaded somewhere between 10 and 50 million times. That app is called Tiny Flashlight. Now, normally we wouldn’t waste your time with a flashlight app, but this one just so happens to have been updated to version 4.0 within the last week. And in version 4.0 you get the handiest of features, which is the ability to activate the light with a simple shake at your lock screen. You will have to go into settings and manually tick the feature to “on,” but let me tell you, this sucker has come in handy more than a couple of times over the last few days. Just had to share.

Market Link

Cheers Logan!

Droid Life

The Asus Transformer Prime has an update available as build 9.4.2.11. So far, we have absolutely no idea what it is fixing, but we will be on the lookout for a changelog. In the mean time, be sure to pull it by heading into Settings>About tablet>System firmware update.

Update: It appears now to be another GPS and camera update.

Cheers FAL_Fan and Joe!

Droid Life

Doin’ big things. After giving the Incredible 2, Rezound and Thunderbolt access to their bootloader unlocking tool, HTC has gone way back in time, giving the original Incredible the same access. That’s right, a device pre-DROID X and DROID 2 now has an unlockable bootloader.

And again, we turn to you, Motorola.

Via:  HTCDev, (2)

Droid Life