A good portion of Google I/O was spent, naturally, on the design of applications, and Google apparently gave a little sneak peek at what probably is an upcoming redesign of the Gmail app. As evident in the Structure in Android App Design session, Jens Nagel shows off a redesign navigation drawer that combines several views into a single drawer-style UI.

As the slide above shows, there are different layers to the views, collapsed by default. And most important is that you can get to this drawer from anywhere in the app, which is what lets them get rid of that lower Action Bar. (It's almost in the same vein as the BlackBerry Hub in BB10, just at an application level instead of at the homescreen level.) It should also mean a much faster switch between labels, long a sore spot for some of us here.

If we had to guess, we'd expect to see an updated Gmail app roll out with the expected Android 4.3 update, whenever that's available.

Source: YouTube; via Android Police

Early 2012 flagship gets bump up to Android 4.1.2

The Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.2) update for the Sony Xperia S has begun rolling out. For a few months, now we've heard rumors that Sony was preparing the update to send out and now we finally have confirmation.

The official news comes from Sony's official French Twitter account, which said that the latest version of Android has begun pushing for the first builds. No timeline yet for everyone else, but we expect it shouldn't be too long, so keep checking through the Sony PC Companion app.

Have any of you Xperia S owners received the update yet? We'd love to hear how you like it, so shout out in our Sony Xperia S Forum!

Source: Twitter via Xperiablog

The rumors are true — HTC and Google will collaborate on a 'Nexus user experience' version of the HTC One

Ever since the Samsung Galaxy S4 “Google Edition” announcement at Google I/O last week, rumors have been circulating that HTC might follow suit with a vanilla version of its own flagship device. Recently, Russell Holly of Geek.com and Paul O’Brien of MoDaCo have chimed in with reports that such a device is on the way. Today we can confirm through our own sources that despite official denials, the “Google Edition” HTC One is indeed real, and will be announced in the next week or so.

Let's take a look at what we know, and what it could mean.

Support for larger Android tablets finally arrives in the BBC's streaming app

The BBC has updated its iPlayer app for Android, bringing support for 10-inch tablets for the first time. The new iPlayer version 1.7.0 has just landed on Google Play, allowing larger tablets like the Nexus 10 and Xperia Tablet Z to enjoy the full iPlayer experience. In addition, the Beeb says it's tweaked the phone and 7-inch tablet layouts, though we're not noticing any huge differences on our own devices.

Download support -- long present in the iOS version of iPlayer -- is still absent, but a note in the changelog reminds users that the BBC is working on bringing this feature to Android.

Hit the Google Play link up top to grab the new version of iPlayer. You'll also want to grab the BBC Media Player companion app for video playback.

Team-based task management solution brings app to Android

Developer Appigo has announced the launch of Todo Pro in beta for Android, a companion app for its task management service of the same name. The app has been in private testing since February, and now a beta build is available on Google Play now for devices running Android 2.1 and above.

Todo Pro is a collaborative task management service with an app presence on iOS and MacOS for several years. The new Android app allows tasks to be managed and shared between team members, and assignments to be given to individual members, complete with support for comments and location tagging.

It's a subscription-based service, but basic web accounts are free, and premium accounts come with a 14-day trial period. Beyond that, it's $1.99 per month or $19.99 for a year.

Hit the Google Play Store link above to grab the Todo Pro beta.

Entry-level handset coming to O2, Carphone Warehouse

Samsung has announced that the Galaxy Young, first revealed back in February, will be hitting British shores this weekend. The budget-focused handset packs a 1GHz CPU, 768MB of RAM, a 3.27-inch HVGA screen and Samsung's TouchWiz UI atop Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Around the back there's a 1300mAh battery and 3MP camera. Not cutting edge by any means, but it's likely Samsung's looking to compete on price rather than specs here.

Samsung says the Galaxy Young will be coming to a range of outlets, including Carphone Warehouse and O2, in "a range of color options." On-contract prices start at £9.50 per month, or you can buy it outright on PAYG for £89.99

$199.99 on contract with 16GB, shi​pping June 11

Looking for a bit more color in your Galaxy S4? The "aurora red" version announced yesterday is now available to pre-order over on AT&T's online store. Currently you're limited to the 16GB storage option, which will run you $199.99 on contract or $639.99 outright. Pre-order today and AT&T aims to get your bright red GS4 out to you by June 11, three days before it arrives in brick-and-mortar stores.

Pre-order at the link below, and hit the comments to let us know if you're placing your order today.

Source: AT&T

Full screen browsing for tablets and automatic page translation highlight the changes for the latest Chrome for Android beta

Chrome beta for Android has been updated to version 28 (28.0.1500.21), bringing a number of requested features along with the new code base. Tablets now have the same full screen experience that phones have as of version 27, as the toolbar and omnibox simply disappear as you scroll down the page. In addition, automatic translate for pages not in the device's native language is available, just like users are used to on the desktop. Here's the bullet point change log:

• Google Translate: When you come across a page written in a language that isn't in the same language as your phone or tablet, look for the translation bar
• Fullscreen on tablets: Simply scroll the page to dismiss the toolbar
• Support for fullscreen API
• New graph showing your estimated bandwidth savings when you use the experimental data compression feature
• Mobile friendly error pages

The jury is still out about any speed increases, but my first impressions are favorable. If you're following the Chrome browser beta track for Android, grab today's update in Google Play or from the link above.

Source: Google Chrome team

The same Galaxy S4 we all know and love, with less bootloader protection and more good karma 

If you're the type who would rather not play the cat and mouse game with Samsung to keep your bootloader open on the Galaxy S4, here's some interesting news. The Developer Edition Galaxy S4 looks to be headed to both AT&T and Verizon. While we don't have any full details, we expect these to be identical to the standard 16GB versions, but with less bootloader protection. We also expect them to be full price, as carriers don't want to make it easy to get your hands on something they don't control.

Word from Samsung on both is just "coming soon" and neither AT&T or Verizon has had anything to say concerning these. Hopefully, they will be better received that the Developer Edition Galaxy S3 was last year, so Samsung knows it's worthwhile to continue to build developer-friendly versions of their carrier locked phones.

Source: Samsung (1), (2); via : Phandroid