Seemingly Vodafone Australia has let the cat out of the bag – the details of a December 6 release date for the Nexus 6P have risen to the surface.

The timeline is of consequence, because the final Google’s developer preview of Android 7.1 was laid open to the public on November 22. As a rule, security patches are at the beginning of the month, and the timeline of a few weeks to finish the Nougat release corresponds to Google’s prior notice about the schedule.

The updated version will be named Android 7.1.1 after its release because it also includes several optimizations and bug fixes since the Pixel launched with 7.1. It is also expected that Google’s Pixel will be updated to 7.1.1 version in December along with the Nexus updates, to escape disarray with version numbers.

Such updates usually come by leaps, so it usually takes nearly two weeks to reach everyone. If you have a Nexus 6P, 5X, 6, 9, or Pixel C, you may need to exercise patience or flash the software manually after it finally arrives.

Why is it so important?

Android 7.1 has a lot of extraordinary, new features that can make your Nexus more alluring to use. Google has made good on the promise to add some of the latest Pixel features (sans the Google Assistant and custom launcher) to the last generation of devices, which may bring some of the hardcore Nexus fans happiness for now. But the future is undoubtedly the Pixel, so if you desire the absolute latest from Google, then at some point you may wish to upgrade.

This article was firstly published by Greenbot.

Meet the diversity of the world of emojis on Android 7.1, the options available in the Unicode 9 update completely embraced by Google!

Now, if somebody asks you what you do for a living, you have every reason to send him a little man or woman demonstrating your profession. Examples include artist, astronaut, judge, firefighter, scientist, student, and technologist.

When touching and holding on any of these Emojis, you’ll then be able to select from various skin tone options and genders available. Additionally, there are also pictures of parent families and other amusing symbols. The rainbow pride flag, male and female symbols, and the staff of Aesculapius.

There is also a “silver bridge” for many of the new emoji. For instance, “female mechanic” will display as a woman and a wrench emoji next to each other on platforms that don’t support the “female mechanic” symbol.

Emojipedia has a full description of the new friends that are waiting for you in the keyboard. Check them out yourself if you have a Pixel or have opted into the Android 7.1 developer preview. Outside of the new emojis, some actual emojis have received a necessary visual update.

Why do I need emojis on Android 7.1?

Nowadays, emojis are essential to communicate online. Any dialog would be imperfect without them. People of all ages like them not just because they are easy to use in messages, but also because they help express emotions in a way that is understood much better than simple text. Emojis have done a bad job of representing the diversity of people and showing women and men equally in some trades, thus intensifying stereotypes. The new Emoji options in Unicode 9 go a long way toward addressing this. They’ll be available in supported keyboards when your phone gets the Android 7.1 update. If you have a Pixel, they’re already there.

This story was firstly published by Greenbot.

Below you may see a list of the exams:

• Training Skills for Android ATC Certified Trainer (AND-400)
• Android Application Development (AND-401)
• Monetize Android Applications (AND-403)
• Android Security Essentials (AND-402)

How can I prepare for an exam?

There are different ways of preparing for any of the Android exams to obtain a certification. First of all, you are suggested to make use of online self-study guides that are available at the following page. But one shouldn’t rely upon self-trainings only. Study for the exams with special Android training courses! To locate a training center near you, please use the following form.

In spite of the exams being complicated, you shouldn’t break your back to earn a certification. All you need is regular review of the material learned and a lot of practice. Now, let’s look at the exams themselves.

AND-400: Training Skills for Android ATC Certified Trainer Exam

It’s typical of such exams to verify candidates’ training and communication skills. If your immediate aim is to become a certified trainer, this exam is obviously for you.
The exam contains 45 multiple-choice questions with a 70 % passing score. Questions cover the content of the E-Book, in addition to some simple IQ questions (Multiple choices). It will be easy to pass this exam if you read the E-Book.

AND-401: Android Application Development Exam

According to Android ATC, questions of this exam are based on the content of “Android Application Development” course. To check the course’s outline, kindly visit this link: AND-401 course outline

In order to become an Android certified application developer (and to achieve this certificate and the Android certified application developer ID card), you have to pass the Android application development exam. The exam completed with a passing grade, you will earn the “Android Certified Application Developer” certificate by mail with the ID card no later than 4 weeks from the exam date.

AND-402: Android Security Essentials Exam

Don’t be out of the race when you start preparing for this exam. Its questions are based on the content of “Android Security Essentials” course. To check the course’s outline, you can use this link: AND-402 course outline.

AND-403: Monetize Android Applications

Questions of this exam are based on the content of “Monetize Android Applications” course. To check the course’s outline, refer to this link: AND-403 course outline.

As it was previously stated, there are four Android exams available. Choose any of them to make a step towards success. Nothing can hinder you from passing an exam if you work hard, pursuing your goals.

Many of you have heard about TestKing, a British company that sells IT certification practice tests and study guides. We’ve been following them for quite a while, and the best thing about TestKing is money back guarantee. So, if you plan to take any IT certification exams any time soon, TestKing is worth taking a look at!

Today, however, we are talking about FREE stuff. TestKing has a wide array of their Android apps available for free. You can choose from demo versions of either practice exams or study guides. These demo apps give you sufficient free preview, with a full upgrade option available. Whether or not you decide to purchase an upgrade (we upgraded a few apps and have no regrets), these demo versions provide you with some valuable insights into your certification exam.

Testking offers 2 kinds of apps: Study Guides and Practice Tests. Each demo version of the study guide app contains the first chapter of a comprehensive study guide for respected exam. Demo apps with practice exams contact the first 10 queries of every exam. This includes various query types specific to each vendor and exam, queries with images (you can zoom-in and do everything you need for your convenience).

Having spent time testing the apps, we didn’t run into any problems, all of them are smooth and stable, with no crushes or bugs we all try to avoid.

There are literally hundreds of TestKing apps available on Google Play Store https://play.google.com/store/search?q=testking – as there are hundreds of exams. Here’s the ultimate top 10 that have caught our eye:

1. ITIL Foundation Demo exam
2. EX0-117 Exin ITIL Demo Exam
3. Testking ISC SSCP Demo Exam
4. JN0-643 Juniper JNCIP-ENT Demo Exam
5. CCNP 642-902 Study Guide Demo
6. 70-640 MCITP Demo Exam
7. N10-005 Network+ Demo Exam
8. PMI-001 PMP Study Guide Demo
9. VCP5-DCV VMware VCP5 Demo Exam
10. Cisco 200-120 Study Guide Demo

Explore FREE Android apps from TestKing to boost your exam preparation.

So, with Android’s soaring rates of stability and the fact of it being the world’s most used mobile OS (the credit goes to the wide selection of affordable phones and the widest variety of free apps available in Google Play store), this platform has a huge potential for app developers. While many companies have been putting their iOS app as a top priority for a long time, mostly due to a higher monetization potential and the Apple-related hype, now Android is taking the lead.

As the demand for Android developers is rising, should you get certified? And what should be your career and certification path?

Android Academy Certified Developer (AACD)

The Android Academy Certified Developer (AACD) covers all the knowledge a competent Android developer needs to have to be able to avoid the novice mistakes and build better Android code. AACD curriculum is available here.

AACD exam is based on advanced computerized adaptive testing (CAT) techniques. This means that the system selects questions based on what is known about the examinee from previous questions. From the examinee’s perspective, the difficulty of the exam seems to tailor itself to his or her level of ability. For example, if an examinee performs well on an item of intermediate difficulty, he will then be presented with a more difficult question. Or, if he performed poorly, he would be presented with a simpler question. Compared to static multiple choice tests that nearly everyone has experienced, with a fixed set of items administered to all examinees, computer-adaptive tests require fewer test items to arrive at equally accurate scores

When you first start the test, it will appear as if you’re just working through some random multiple-choice questions. In fact, right from the start, there’s much more going on behind the scenes. It’s rather like a game of chess – everyone has the same starting point, but after even a few moves the number of variations makes the flow almost impossible to predict. The system is learning from your responses, reacting to how you answered the weighted questions in order to select subsequent ones. The further you progress in the exam, the more subtle the difficulty selection becomes, since with each question answered, the system knows more about you and can therefore better tailor them to your exact level of knowledge.

AACD is valued by employers who require it when they hire qualified Android developers. It can be easily enhanced by some additional certifications, for example CompTIA Mobile App Security+ for Android.

With its CompTIA Mobile App Security+ certification, CompTIA is fighting to step up security standards of mobile app development.  CompTIA Mobile AppSecurity+ Certification Exam (Android Edition) ADR-001 covers the following domains:

1. Mobile application security, SDLC, and threat models
2. Android SDK, APIs, and security features
3. Web service and network security
4. Data security and implementing encryption
5. Application hardening and reverse engineering 5%
6. Secure Java coding

By combining AACD and CompTIA Mobile App Security certifications, you can demonstrate your employer that you have the skills and knowledge to develop great AND secure Android apps. Sounds good, no?