Android L keyboard leaks at Google Play Store; What devices to be included in the Android update
While the "L" in Android L, a.k.a. Android 5.0, remains uncertain, it is for sure that Google's new operating system will be unveiled this coming fall.
In what could be thought as a legitimate teaser, an Android L preview keyboard pops up on Google Play, but was removed after ten days.
Nearly one million starving Android fans have downloaded and installed the keyboard during this period.
The man behind the keyboard, XDA TV producer Shen Ye, noted that the app was yanked by Google for violating the "Google's Developer Distribution Agreement."
"After 800k downloads, my keyboard got Scroogled," he said.
Ye added, "To those being pedantic and saying 'it's not your keyboard, you took it off the L preview,' I reply that this is my (and chrisch's) modification of the keyboard, which contains bug fixes, standalone ability (so no root), and modified so Material is default on versions below l-preview. Also, most people would rather trust an apk I publish than one off a random xda page."
Before the incident, Google had introduced source code for the Android L developer preview which provided app developers a bigger chunk of what the latest OS is all about.
The code does not contain binary packages or kernel, which would mean that AOSP is not yet possible.
As the launch nears, the rumors buzz around the Internet continue to proliferate.
Perhaps the biggest question that consumers ask now is: "What smartphones and tablets will receive the Android L update?"
It was confirmed (and obvious) that the Nexus line which includes: Nexus 5, Nexus 7, Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 would be the first gadgets to run Android L.
Weeks after Nexus is updated, the following Google Play Edition devices will also get the Android L update: HTC One M8 GPE, Moto G GPE, HTC One M7 GPE and Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE.