Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Update

The most recent version of Android OS, version 4.0 (codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich) has been released for Wi-Fi only Xooms in the US. 3G/4G Xoom users will have to wait another few weeks for their update to be released, but initial reviews of the update have been quite positive.

Ice Cream Sandwich Logo

To check if your Xoom has an update available, go to Settings -> About Tablet  and tap System Update

The new features of Ice Cream Sandwich include:

Updated Browser with faster rendering, zoom and pan  - Users can also now save pages for offline reading and request desktop versions of websites.

Swipe to dismiss notifications, tasks, and browser tabs - You can now dismiss individual notifications, apps from the Recent Apps list, and browser tabs with a simple swipe of a finger.

Redesigned app launcher  -  In All Apps launcher, you can now simply drag an app to get information about it, immediately uninstall it, or disable a pre-installed app.

New System Font for Improved Readability  -  An entirely new typeface (called Roboto) optimized for high resolution screens improves readability and brings a polished feel to the user interface.

Updated “People” Application  -  Replaces contacts and integrates seamlessly with Google+ and other Social networks.

Improved text input and spell-checking  -  The keyboard now features improved accuracy to make text input faster. It also now includes an in-line spell checker to make corrections easier.

Type with your voice  -  Now you can simply touch the microphone on the keyboard and start talking to write emails, SMS, or any other text—more than 20 languages supported. Text appears in real time, so there’s no waiting for server processing.

Richer and versatile imaging capabilities  -  For capturing larger scenes, the camera introduces a single motion panorama mode.  Also, you can now take still shots while shooting video just by tapping the screen as video continues to record. You can also launch camera directly from the Lockscreen. When you shoot videos, you can now choose from a number of silly faces and other fun effects which recognize individual facial features so you can give your friends big eyes, squeeze heads, make noses bigger, or change the scenery with background replacement.

Redesigned Gallery app with photo editor - To help pictures look their best, the Gallery now offers a powerful photo editor so you can crop and rotate pictures, set levels, remove red eyes, add effects, and much more.

Richer, resizable widgets  - You can expand widgets to show more content, or shrink them to save space. You can receive the update over a Wi-Fi connection. If you are not connected via Wi-Fi, or your Motorola Xoom is off when the notification arrives, you will see the notification when you next connect to a Wi-Fi network.

There is no charge for this update (other than any network data charges).

GMX will post an update when the 3G/4G 4.0 update is available.

Source

Xoom Miscellaneous Tips and Tricks

Here is a small list of tips and tricks you may find useful while using your Xoom:

• If your Xoom ever locks up or freezes, you can force a restart on it by holding the power and volume up buttons at the same time.
  
  
• If you are browsing the internet in the stock browser and want to pull up your browser history, you can do so by long-pressing the back button in the lower left corner of the screen.
  
  
• If you want to quickly uninstall an application, long-press its icon in the app drawer, and drag the icon to the uninstall button that appears in the upper right of the screen. If you only want to kill an application, but leave it installed, you can drag it to the information icon (letter i with a circle around it) in the upper right corner instead.
  
  
• If your battery is running low, you can extend your remaining usable time by turning down the brightness of your screen. To, adjust brightness, tap the time in the lower right corner of the screen, and then tap the slider icon under the last digit of the pop up clock. Use the brightness slider to adjust.
  
  
• If you want to copy text, simply long-press on the text you want to copy until the copy bar comes up at the top of the screen and selection handles appear in the text. Drag the selection handles around until you get what you need highlighted, and then hit the copy button.
  
  
• If you want to adjust the amount of time your screen will stay on with no interaction before turning off, go to Settings -> Screen and then tap Timeout.
  
  

If you have any tips or tricks to share, leave them in the comments below, or email them in to xoom *at* enkosystems *dot* com

All About App Stores [Part 1]

The Motorola Xoom is a powerful device with some great built in features, but its functionality quickly becomes limited without the ability to install additional software applications. These apps excel at helping users accomplish tasks or get entertainment value from their mobile devices. There are multiple options out there for app discovery and downloading, read on to find out about them!

Finding and Downloading Apps

Android Market 
Android Market is the official Android app store, owned by Google. It comes preloaded on many Android devices, including the Xoom.  It is wildly popular – the download count from Android Market hit 10 billion in December 2011 – and it has more free apps than any other major app store, on any platform. There are a plethora of tablet-optimized apps (you can find tablet optimized apps by searching the Market for “tablet optimized” without quotes) and many of the apps designed for phones work well on the tablet form factor.

Android Market

One of the great features of Android Market is that the apps you purchase are usable across all of your Android devices that are capable of running it. This is handy for users of multiple devices, or even just for getting apps back after an equipment upgrade.

A huge selection, good purchase terms, and tons of free apps make Android Market the top provider of Android apps.

Availability: Preloaded on the Xoom

AppBrain
AppBrain is a more user-friendly interface for the Android Market. It doesn’t host its own apps, rather, it provides additional search criteria that allows for greater precision in finding and installing Market-hosted Android apps.

AppBrain

Once an app is selected in AppBrain, it will open the corresponding Android Market page for download.

A modern tablet-style interface with highly customizable search options makes AppBrain the best Market app alternative by far.

Availability: Android Market

Download AppBrain from Android Market

Amazon Appstore
The Amazon Appstore is a top competitor to the Android Market. It is only available as a third party download from Amazon (this requires special installation permission on your Xoom), and is not available via Android Market. Just for clarity's sake, the Amazon Appstore isn't better than Android Market. It gets bested by Android Market in app selection and is blown away by Android Market when comparing the number of free apps available. Also, apps purchased in the Amazon Appstore sync to a user's Amazon account, not her Google account. This forces users to use a adopt a second environment for updates and re-downloads. But, even with these issues, this app store does offer something that makes it well worth installing:

One Paid App, for Free, Every day!

That’s right! Each day, Amazon selects one app from its library of thousands of paid apps and provides it for download at no cost. You can't find that deal at Android Market!

Availability: Amazon Appstore Download Page

Download the Amazon Appstore from Amazon.com

Installing Amazon Appstore

As mentioned above, the Amazon Appstore is a non-Market application, so the installation process is a little different than the process for a Market app.

Quick Steps

1. Enable third party app installation (Settings -> Applications -> Check Unknown Sources)

2. Download and install the Amazon Appstore .apk here.

Detailed Steps

1. Go to the Amazon Appstore download page, and tap the Download Now button

2. Once the .apk downloads, tap the download complete notification that pops up in the lower right of the screen (see below)

3. If the Install Blocked dialog pops up, tap the settings button, and check the Unknown Sources box

4. Hit back to exit settings, and open Downloads (App Drawer -> Downloads). Tap on Amazon_Appstore-release.apk  to install the application.

Part 2 will take a quick look at some other alternative app stores. Stay tuned!

Bluetooth Devices

What is Bluetooth?
Bluetooth is a wireless technology that operates in the unregulated 2.4GHz range. It is typically used to create a WPAN that allows electronic devices in close proximity to one another to communicate. The most well known type of Bluetooth device is undoubtedly the headset. It's small, portable, convenient, and is great for confusing the hell out of other customers in the checkout line at the grocery store!

Bose Bluetooth Headset

Because the Xoom (and most other tablets) are Bluetooth capable, users are able to interact with their tablets via a plethora of wireless peripherals. Whether it's a keyboard, mouse, game controller, speaker set, or headphones, a Bluetooth device is a handy way to get added value from a mobile computing device.

Setting up Bluetooth Devices
Bluetooth peripherals are securely connected to one another via a process called bonding. The bond is achieved through a process called pairing. Bonding allows Bluetooth devices to recognize each other, and once a bond is made, the devices will connect to each other automatically.

On the Xoom, pairing a Bluetooth device to create a bond is simple:

1. Follow the instructions that came with your Bluetooth device to put it into Pairing Mode
2. Open the App Drawer
3. Select Settings -> Wireless & Networks -> Bluetooth
4. Select Bluetooth Settings
5. Tap the Bluetooth checkbox
6. Select Find Nearby Devices
7. Choose the device that you want to pair. The name of the device may take a short while to come up on the device list. It may initially be named the MAC address of the device (something like 00:1A:D7:94:A6:27)
8. You may be prompted for a password or key, which is typically 0000 or 1234 (there may be a different key provided with your device).

For the more visual learners, here's a video that details how to pair a particular Bluetooth device, the Logitech Tablet Keyboard for Android 3.0+, to the Xoom

So, for those interested in Bluetooth peripheral devices for the Xoom,
the following have all have been tested for compatibility:

Motorola Wireless Keyboard
Price: Around $40.00
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5
Features:

• Designed for compatibility with the Xoom 
• QWERTY letter layout
• Good key size and spacing
• Android-specific hotkeys
  
  

Logitech Tablet Keyboard for Android 3.0+

Price: Around $50.00

Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5

Features:

• QWERTY letter layout
• Comes with carrying case that doubles as a tablet stand
• Media control hotkeys

Motorola S9-HD Bluetooth Stereo Headphones

Price: Around $50.00

Amazon rating: 3.5 out of 5

Features:

• On-ear music controls
• Can be used as a wireless music headset and a phone headset
• 6 hours of music play time on a single charge

Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000

Price: Around $30.00

Amazon rating: 3.5 out of 5

Features:

• It's a mouse -- and it works with the Xoom. 'Nuff said.

Nintendo Wii Remote Controller

Price: Between $25.00 and $40.00 (depending on model and seller)

Amazon Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Features:

• Able to connect to Android devices via the Wiimote Controller app
• Great non-standard input device

(Note: The full list of Motorola approved Xoom peripherals, both Bluetooth and wired, can be found here)

QR Codes and Other Barcodes

You usually see them in advertisements, on websites, or on product packages: those small square barcodes that look a little different than the traditional one-dimensional barcode that you're used to seeing.

Short for Quick Response code, a QR code is a type of two-dimensional barcode that can hold vastly more data than traditional one-dimensional barcodes can. For mobile device users, QR codes can provide a fast and easy method of data entry for things like contact information or website addresses.

This is the same data expressed as a QR code (top) and a Code 39 barcode (bottom).

Scanning a QR code or Other Barcode

Barcode Scanner is available for free from Android Market. It uses your device's camera to capture a barcode. Once the barcode is scanned, the app will give you the appropriate options for the information read (URLs will allow you to navigate to a web address, product bar codes will allow you do a product search, file download links will allow you to download a file, etc.)

Line up a barcode...

...and get the information from it, with options for what to do with it!

Barcode scanner also allows you to share information with other tablets and smartphones by creating a barcode on your screen that another device can scan.

Barcode Scanner is available for free from the Android Market:

Get Barcode Scanner via Android Market

Evernote: More than Simple Note Taking

If you are looking for productivity apps for your Xoom, Evernote is a great place to start. Remarkably intuitive and incredibly useful, there are few apps that are as essential for a serious tablet user.  

What is Evernote?

Evernote is a software/service combination that allows users to take notes in various formats like typed text, handwritten text, pictures, web pages, or voice recordings). These notes can be titled, annotated, edited, tagged, and have files attached. The notes can then be synchronized to Evernote’s cloud storage platform. Once synchronized, notes can be accessed from internet connected PCs, laptops, phones, or tablets running Evernote. There are Evernote apps for Android, Windows, Mac OS, iOS, WebOS, and Chrome OS. 

Android tablet version of Evernote

Unfortunately, there is not a video tutorial for the tablet version of evernote, but the functionality is similar to the Android phone version.

Evernote Android Phone Tutorial Video

Evernote is available for free from the Android Market:

Get Evernote via Android Market

Xoom Basic Operation

The basic operation of your Motorola Xoom is something you will become familiar with rather quickly via experimentation. If, however, you would like a guided overview of some of the basic functionality, take a look at the following videos from Motorola.

Using Your Tablet

Using The Keypad

Taking And Editing Pictures

Using Video Chat feature

Creating Google Documents