Mobile Miscellany: week of December 24th, 2012
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, we stumbled upon a sneak peek of Sony's promised Jelly Bean update and XDA University opened its doors to educate others about the curious world of Android customization. Not to stop there, Nokia unleashed a new entry-level handset for those in mainland China. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of December 24th, 2012.
Sony's Jelly Bean update previewed in Vietnam
It's no secret that Sony is actively preparing Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) for its 2012 smartphone lineup, but you can now grab a sneak peek of the software for yourself, which comes courtesy of an Xperia TL user in Vietnam. This build appears to be specific for AT&T handsets, and there are plenty of customizations to see in the guided tour, which includes the launcher and theme selector, along with Sony's media apps. [Ubergizmo]
XDA University is now in session
If you've always wanted to learn more about customizing your Android experience, but felt intimidated by the sheer volume of information in the forums of XDA Developers, then be sure to bookmark a new resource that's known as XDA University. Here, you'll find a more formal introduction to the XDA community, along with tutorials of how to flash and tweak ROMs, as well as information about what to do when things go wrong. You'll also find more advanced lessons, such as how to build kernels and port AOSP ROMs. The creators of XDA University suggest this resource will grow even larger and more comprehensive, and visitors are more than welcome to suggest content for the site. [Ubergizmo]
Nokia 2050 revealed for mainland China
China received a retooled version of the Asha 205 this week, which features a dedicated button for the popular QQ instant messaging service in place of the Facebook key on the Asha. Known as the Nokia 2050, it offers a 2.4-inch QVGA display and a hot-swappable dual-SIM implementation. The Series 40 phone offers just 10MB of internal storage, but can be expanded to 32GB via a microSD card. The Nokia 2050 carries a retail price of 399 yuan ($64 USD) and includes 40 games from EA that are free to download. [Engadget Chinese (translated)]
Other random tidbits
Nokia updated its custom Weather Channel app to version 2.6, which includes the ability to create live tiles of weather from secondary cities. [WMPoweruser]
AT&T announced its support for the Interoperability Compliance Program of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, which aims to develop a technical framework for seamless WiFi roaming. [Mobile Tech News]
