Google's predictive search app is alive and well on the Galaxy S4 -- and there are a few ways to get to it quickly

On many Android phones with on-screen keys, getting to Google Now -- the excellent predictive/voice-controlled search app in Android 4.1 and above -- is simply a matter of swiping up from the bottom of the screen. It's not quite as simple as that on the new Samsung Galaxy S4, but fear not, there are still a few quick and easy ways to get to the new Google Search app.

Android 4.1.2 firmware shows up on certification forum, release could be days away

As tends to happen with upcoming Sony firmware, the official Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update for the Sony Xperia S (LT26i) has appeared on the website of the PTCRB, the North American wireless device certification forum. It's also joined by official Jelly Bean firmware for the Japan-centric Xperia Acro S and the Xperia SL, an upgraded variant of the S with a higher-clocked CPU.

With the firmware for these devices being certified, it's likely a matter of days or weeks until the update starts hitting handsets. It's been some six months since Sony announced that the Xperia S would be getting Jelly Bean, and almost a year since we first laid eyes on Android 4.1. So to say it's about time Xperia S owners got their Jelly Bean update might be something of an understatement. Fingers crossed for a OTA roll-out before the end of the month.

Source: PTCRB, via: ​XperiaBlog

First branded net customer additions since 2009; 1.9-percent churn lowest since 2008

T-Mobile has just released its Q1 2013 financial results, and there are some seriously positive numbers to reflect on for the previous quarter. While this doesn't include the recently closed MetroPCS merger, it does cover the time leading up to T-Mobile's dramatic "UNcarrier" rebranding. Let's hit some of the high points:

• Branded postpaid net loss of 199,000 customers, an improvement of 61-percent year-over-year
• Branded prepaid net gains of 202,000 customers
• 34 million total customers at the end of the quarter, up 576,000 quarter-over-quarter
• Branded postpaid churn of 1.9-percent, the lowest since Q2 2008
• EBITDA (explained below) of $1.2 billion, down 7.5-percent y-o-y but up 12.4-percent q-o-q
• Capital expenditures of $1.1 billion, primarily due to network enhancements

Q1 marked a few milestones for T-Mobile, with the first net branded customer addition in 4 years, and the lowest customer churn in 5 years. As has been the case for several quarters now, T-Mobile's decrease in postpaid customers and increase in prepaid customers has resulted in a negative slide in revenues. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), which shows how a company is performing on an operations-basis, was down 7.5-percent, as were overall revenues by 7-percent. ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) for postpaid customers was down by 6.3-percent to $54.07, but prepaid ARPU continues to increase every quarter, this time by 11.3-percent to $28.25.

As we have seen for several recent quarters now, T-Mobile continues to post strong prepaid numbers but also prepaid revenues per user, which isn't a terrible situation to be in. The carrier says that 36-percent of its customers have now chosen to move to either Value or Simple Choice plans, up from 30-percent last quarter. As it regularly does, the carrier has also taken its earnings release to reiterate its plans for LTE, which still include the current statistic of 7 full LTE markets and goal of getting LTE coverage to 200 million pops by the end of 2013. Things definitely seem to be looking positive, and we'll be expecting equally interesting results in the next few quarters as well.

Source: T-Mobile 

Get the latest news, reviews, forum posts, podcasts, wallpapers and more, all from the Android Central App!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Behold, the all-new Android Central application. Known as an "app" on the streets, this is a long overdue endeavor for us. We've been testing internally for some time now, and it's been floating around our forums for a week or so, and now we've officially gone public, for Android 4.0.3 and up.

So what's in the app? We'll have posts detailing the features over the next few weeks, but here are the broad strokes:

• All the posts from the blog side of things. News. Reviews. Apps. Accessories. Editorials. It's all there.
• Plus, you can comment on posts directly from the app.
• Access to our Android forums. If you've used Tapatalk or our dedicated Android Forums app, you'll be used to things here. (We've still got some bugs to iron out on this one, but a good bit of functionality is there.)
• Podcasts. We're big fans of the major podcatcher apps out there. But why not bake it into our app as well? You can stream or download all of our episodes right from the app.
• Wallpapers. Downloading from our Wallpaper Gallery is easier than ever. Browse and install, all from the app.
• Accessories. We've got direct access to ShopAndroid.com, right in the app. 
• Videos. You can check out everything that hits our YouTube channel -- often before it hits the blog.

That's quite a few features for a v1.0 release. But we've still got work to do.

When Google announced back in mid-2012 that they were bringing a brand new gigabit fiber internet service to Kansas City, Missouri, we had a feeling that local expansion would happen rapidly once the initial infrastructure was built out. Sure enough, Kansas City, Kansas - right across the the Missouri River - got wired up, followed by Kansas-side suburbs Olathe and Shawnee.

Tonight Google announced an expansion back on the Missouri side of the Missouri river, with the Board of Aldermen of Grandview, Missouri, approving a Google Fiber rollout in their municipality of 25,000. As with the rollouts in Shawnee and Olathe, as well as out-of-state Google Fiber projects in Provo, Utah. and Austin, Texas, there's no public announcement for when exactly residents can expect Google to be running fiber optic lines to their house. Either way, exciting news for the residents of Grandview, Missouri.

And if you happen to be living in one of the Kansas City suburbs that hasn't been confirmed for a Google Fiber expansion, we'd start calling your councilmen and aldermen right away and demanding they approve some gigabits for you too. Come to think of it, we don't live anywhere near any of the announced Google Fiber communities, but that's not going to stop us from nudging our municipal governments to make it happen.

Source: Google Fiber Blog

Samsung's voice assistant on the Galaxy S4 burns rival Apple

S Voice is Samsung's take on a voice-based personal assistant. And by that we mean it's heavily inspired by Apple's Siri on the iPhone. So it's no surprise -- if a little amusing -- to see Samsung's app poking fun at its long-time rival. On the international Samsung Galaxy S4 (and some other Samsung phones -- we've had varying results), asking S Voice if it's ever used an iPhone prompts the response "No, I have standards." Ask it "Are you Siri?" and it's a little more coy -- "I like to think I am." But it stops short of any direct attacks -- ask it "Do you like Apple?" and it tells you it has no problems with anyone, but its loyalties lie with Samsung.

It's one of a few Easter eggs we've run into in S Voice. Back when it launched on the Galaxy S3 we put it to the "woodchuck test," which it passed with flying colors. If you've run into any cheeky behavior from S Voice, be sure to hit the comments and share them with the world.

New sorting methods for your tunes and playlists plus bug fixes make today's update a must-have

If you're a Spotify user there is an update available that you'll want to download. While the list of new features is short, as is often the case quality trumps quantity and today's update allows users to filter and sort their playlists and songs, making searching and categorizing much easier. The full list of changes:

• New: Now you can filter and sort your playlists and tracks.
• Fixed: When returning to your playlist view, you’ll always go back to the same position.
• Fixed: No more crashing when faced with special character$ in usernames.
• Fixed: When you next log in, Spotify will remember what you'd been listening to.
• Fictitious: This app looks great in trousers.

Besides the new sorting capabilities, correctly remembering where you left off is a welcome fix, and looking good in trousers is always a bonus. If you're a current user, or want to check out Spotify to see if it satisfies your streaming music needs (there's a free 48 hour trial), hit the Google Play link above.

Thanks, David!

Update: And this contest is closed. Thanks, everybody! Stay tuned for Wednesday's giveaway.

Up next in our "Get crap off Phil's Desk" content is the Nexus 4 wireless charger. This is the one that's about the size of a tennis ball, only it's black and charges a smartphone. This one is new and still in the box and completely free of dust and dog hair. (If ya'll want, I'll throw in a second charging orb, only this one might have that dust and dog hair stuff I mentioned.)

To enter, just leave a comment on this post and we'll get this charger to a good home.

21-megabyte update now hitting AT&T-branded handsets, users report smoother performance

Following the T-Mobile update that landed this morning, AT&T's Samsung Galaxy S4 is also getting its first firmware upgrade. The over-the-air package weighs in at just over 21MB, and although there's no changelog provided with the update, GS4 owners over on the Android Central Forums are reporting faster performance and smoother animations on the new software version. If lag fixes are indeed present in this new firmware, then it'd be a welcome change -- in our review of the U.S. Galaxy S4 on Sprint, we noted occasional, frustrating jitteriness in certain animations.

To see if you're ready to update, head to Settings > More > About device > Software update. If you're not seeing anything there, you could try connecting your phone to a PC or Mac and using Samsung's Kies desktop software instead.

AT&T Galaxy S4 owners, be sure to let us know how you're getting on with this latest update down in the comments.

Source: Android Central Forums

Seamlessly continue conversations, calls and video chats from mobile to desktop

Popular cross-platform messaging and VOIP service Viber is introducing brand new desktop apps along with a complete refresh of its mobile apps today. First up are the desktop apps, which are now available for both Windows and Mac and give users the ability to continue all of their VIber conversations and activities just as they would on the phone. You can text and voice chat, send pictures and stickers, make video calls and even transfer audio calls between devices mid-call.

On the mobile side, Viber v3.0 refreshes the interface, and enables a new set of features to be in sync with what the desktop now offers. The mobile app now lets you send stickers, leave video messages and a couple of back-end improvements such as sound quality and language localization. If you haven't yet tried Viber you can grab the app from the Play Store link above, and the desktop versions from the link below.

More: Viber