Kindle Fire Dominates US Android Tablet Sales PCWorld According to Comscore, the Kindle Fire accounts for 54.4 percent of Android tablets sold in the United States. No other Android tablet comes close in Comscore's figures. Samsung's entire Galaxy Tab lineup only has 15.4 percent of the Android market. See all stories on this topic »
The Google Phone That Never Was InformationWeek Related Android revenue information is also enlightening. By Thomas Claburn InformationWeek The Google Phone, as the company's Android phone prototype was called in November 2006, looks primitive by today's standards, but it was competitive at the time ... See all stories on this topic »
Twitter Updates iPhone, Android Apps PC Magazine By Damon Poeter Twitter this week rolled out some new features for the Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android apps, adding some refinements to Discover, Search, and Notifications. The updated versions of the two apps are available for download in ... See all stories on this topic »
Apple dumps Android from Chomp app engine SlashGear Apple has slashed Android support from its Chomp app discovery engine acquisition, excising Google's open-source OS and making the service iOS-only ahead of a tipped App Store revolution. Bought back in February, Chomp uses a custom algorithm to ... See all stories on this topic »
Best Android Phone? By Alan Henry There are dozens—possibly hundreds—of Android phones on the market right now, and while plenty of sites will tell you which ones are the best based on checklists of high-end specs, battery life, and overall experience, but this week we ... Lifehacker
Android Overload: DIRECTV/Skype/Draw Something Updates, LG ... By Kevin Krause In an effort to keep our readers up-to-date on every, single, last bit of Android related news we could find -- we have the Android Overload. These are all. Android Phone Fans
Zynga's Zombie Smash now on Android | Android Community By Cory Gunther The extremely successful and popular developers behind some of Android, iOS, and Facebook's most popular games Zynga have just released their latest game for. Android Community
Twitter Blog: More to discover on our latest iPhone, Android apps By twitter Today you can download new versions of Twitter for iPhone in the App Store and Twitter for Android in Google Play. These updates make it easier to find out what's happening on Twitter with improvements to discover, search and notifications. Twitter Blog
According to AusDroid, the Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich update is being rolled out to the Telstra Samsung Galaxy S2 in Australia as we speak. Connecting your Galaxy S2 to your PC and syncing it up with Samsung Kies is the method that seemed to work for most, but some users have already reported that the ICS update notification came over the air (OTA). It’s likely that the OTA update will come to all Australian Galaxy S2 owners from Telstra over the following days.
I'll recommend that you download the update via Wi-Fi, as the Android 4.0.3 update for the S2 is a hefty 213MB. That might leave a dent in your data plan if you choose to download it over 3G. Let us know how the update worked for you in the comment section below!
As Optus Mobile has rolled out the Galaxy S2 ICS update since April 16, Vodafone is now the only Australian carrier that did not upgrade the Galaxy S2 to Android 4.0. On a side-note, Vodafone is also the only major Australian carrier without an LTE network available to their customers. Optus has put up its LTE network this month, while Telstra was the first to offer Aussies LTE back in September 2011.
Google has been conducting a re-launch of sorts of its flagship device, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. With 4G LTE variants already available on Verizon and releasing soon for Sprint, an unlocked GSM version of the device is now available for sale on the US Play Store for just $399. As a reminder, the specifications of the device include:
4.65″ Super AMOLED display
1.2 Ghz OMAP 4460 dual-core processor
720×1280 resolution
16GB internal storage, 1GB RAM
5MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera
1750 mAH battery
Since it is an unlocked, no-contract version, buyers can use Google’s Galaxy Nexus on either AT&T’s or T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network. Only available in the US for now, Google has plans to expand its Devices offering to other markets soon.
Ever since news broke about Google’s second venture into retail land, Android fans have been praising the fact that this variation of the Galaxy Nexus will be updated directly by Google. It’s no secret that Android updates have been sluggish, especially in the US. At least officially, that’s due to the network testing required before carriers can release the updates to devices on their network. Since the Google GNex isn’t tied to any carrier, the updates will come from Google itself, hopefully in a timely manner.
But rumors indicate that there might me more than meets the eye behind this story. As Android and Me’s Dustin Earley speculates, the GSM Galaxy Nexus might be the first device to receive the update to the next iteration of Android, codenamed Jellybean.
While the Android 4 rollout is just now picking up speed, we’ve already heard a lot of chatter about Google announcing Jellybean as early as June, at its annual Google I/O event. Adding fuel to the rumor mill is a crash report received by AndroidPolice, courtesy of an established developer on the Google Play Store, Yuku Sugianto. The crash report suggests that a “takju” variant of the Galaxy Nexus (now confirmed as Google’s newly released unlocked GSM version) was running Jellybean. It’s highly possible that Google is testing its latest OS version in the wild. You can view the complete crash report and analysis here.
If the report is real, it’s likely that Google’s GSM Galaxy Nexus will be one of the first devices to receive the Jellybean update. Along with the specs and the price point, this possibility makes the device that much more attractive. Of course, crash logs and reports can be faked easily, but in this case, it might be something more than wishful thinking on our part. All we can do is hope for the best.
What are your thoughts? Will you be buying the unlocked GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus?
After a while, things can get boring. With variety being the spice of life, switching things up can be fun and refreshing, but just how far can you push the envelope of variety?
To make your Android device really your own, Mobo Launcher presents Android users with a variety of options for customization. Developed by Moborobo, Inc., the Mobo Launcher is a powerful new Android launcher that’s not just packed with themes but gives users easy access to their favorite apps and widgets.
One of Mobo Launcher’s defining features is its default split-screen interface that’s both easy to use and easy to customize. At the top, there’s the scrollable widget area for all the latest widgets on the market and at the bottom, there’s the icon area, which you can side-scroll through to see all your apps grouped in different categories.
Last but not at all the least, there’s a scrollable dock for all your shortcuts to your most frequently used actions or apps. Everything you need is within easy reach so you won’t need to root through screens and screens of apps. If you want to rummage through your app drawer, swipe upwards to reveal the app drawer in its entirely. Once you’re finished, return the app drawer to its original app screen by swiping downwards.
Mobo Launcher allows you to specify the number of dock screens and to customize the look of Mobo Launcher through downloading and applying a number of themes, Mobo widgets, wallpapers, skins, and much more online. With various Mobo Launcher widgets, such as a one-tap memory optimizer, voice search, Mobo Weather, and a native Mobo File Manager, you can have everything that you need right on your home screen. To make the deal even sweeter, each app can be customized with a variety of themes and designs which ultimately gives you the power to customize Mobo Launcher’s look to your heart’s desire.
In Mobo Launcher’s default split-screen mode, you’ll see all your apps arranged under categories like Favorite, Apps, Games, System, and Newest. If one of the app’s isn’t in the category you’d like it to be in, simply drag and drop it into the appropriate category. If you’ve got more than one app that you’d like to move and the drag and drop system isn’t working out for you, simply long-pressing on an app category allows you to add various apps to the category.
If you’re the type of person who tends to download a lot of apps, finding a new download can be tiring. Thankfully, Mobo Launcher displays a tiny indicator on top of a group’s icon to let you know where your fresh-from-the-Store app is located.
Mobo Launcher’s not just about organization; it’s about entertainment, too. A feature called Gravity Sensor uses your device’s accelerometer so that the app icons on your homescreen literally sway with your device. How cool is that? You can turn the Gravity Sensor on within the Display Settings menu. If you’re feeling that your app icons are a little too cookie-cutter and generic, you can load custom icons from Mobo Launcher’s gallery.
Equipped with smooth animation and transitions, Mobo Launcher is worth trying out on your Android device. Who knows? You might just fall in love with how you can customize your Android experience to the finest details.
If you’d like to start taking your Android experience further by having the power to customize your home screen, download the Mobo Launcher for free from the Google Play Store.
Back in the day, frequent travelers had to rely on dull maps, vague telephone directories, and old hotel brochures to fulfill their traveling needs. Now, all one needs is an Android device and the power of the Google Play Store to get all kinds of handy apps that can assist a road warrior or a road ninja on his or her journey.
If you travel frequently and you own an Android device, then the apps below are worth checking out. This compilation is meant to assist frequent travelers in finding locations and to give guidance for variable factors on the go, like speed limits.
This app can help you fulfill two basic traveling needs: finding a gas station and saving money. While there are a number of Android apps that help in locating gas stations by specific companies, the nearby gas station may not always be from, say, a company like Shell. Furthermore, such apps do not take into account the discount that one may get from a specific gas station.
SmartGas Free focuses on providing information about cheap gas stations and helps calculate the round trip cost of driving to a nearby gas station. The gas prices are updated regularly. Other than traveling, this app can also be used to find cheap gas stations on a daily basis, as sometimes traveling half a kilometer extra may provide you with cheaper fuel that may be worth the trip.
It is also worth mentioning here that the free version of SmartGas is ad-supported, however you can remove ads by using the SmartGas Pro version, which costs US$1.99.
Sometimes one can end up short of cash and require locating an ATM. Or, perhaps, finding a restaurant to have lunch at before getting back on the road. Nearby Place Finder is nothing short of a blessing for any traveling enthusiast. It helps users find anything from an ATM, hospital, restaurant, hotel, library, to an airport, petrol pump, and other useful places.
The good thing about Nearby Place Finder is that it also allows you to edit your location via a ZIP code, city, or state name, which can help find places in other areas. This can be helpful to find places in areas that you are planning to visit. Furthermore, you can also use this app to help out friends or family members who may call you for finding an ATM, hotel or other places. Users can even acquire contact information like phone numbers of specific places and see maps via Google Maps.
Sometimes when you’re looking for a specific place, a simple map just isn’t enough. Many a time, maps can be quite generic and confusing, which results in being unable to find a place when it's right next to you.
A solution to this dilemma is the Street View on Google Maps app. This application takes you to the next level of locating a place on a map by using a street view. It serves as a virtual trip around the globe as you can explore any landmark or place that you are planning to visit and locate places by exploring a 360-degree street image.
Viewing a street image can be much easier than viewing maps, as an image can help you identify nearby shops and signs that lead to your desired destination. Moreover, as Google Street View shows places from a number of locations worldwide, there is no restriction of a specific country or city for finding places. Nonetheless, famous cities and towns are more likely to be available in Google Street View than less-known ones. For this reason, you may not find a street view for certain areas.
As the Internet has become more of a need rather than a luxury — (Did you buy an Android just for calls?) — it has become necessary to stay connected to the Internet as often as possible. Whether it be to access the Google Play Store, check emails, or watch videos on YouTube, Internet connectivity is constantly required.
However, one of the biggest challenges that one can come across during traveling is to find a Wi-Fi hotspot. Wi-Fi Buddy Beta is a free Android application that acts as a Wi-Fi network scanner to locate available access points. The good thing about Wi-Fi Buddy Beta is that it makes it easy to find and connect to Wi-Fi networks. It keeps the Wi-Fi radio active when the mobile is idle, which also helps in saving battery life, while tracking Wi-Fi networks at the same time. Despite its nifty features, it must be noted that Wi-Fi Buddy is currently in its beta stage and therefore users may face some bugs.
One of the biggest considerations during traveling is the weather. You never know when you might be heading into a flood-affected zone, heavy rains, tornadoes, or something much worse. For this reason, it is good to have an app like AccuWeather for Android.
While there are a number of apps that provide accurate weather forecasts, AccuWeather does something more. It not only provides weather information but also gives users weather alarms for events such as rain, snow, thunderstorm, and the like. Furthermore, it provides customizable themes, social media options for sharing weather data, interactive maps via Google Maps, and severe weather warnings. The information is available in 23 languages. Users also get weather news and videos in both English and Spanish languages.
Another advantage of this app is that there is no limit to the number of locations that you wish to store for gaining weather information, including 10 favorite locations. On the whole, AccuWeather for Android is your complete package for gaining in-depth weather information to help you plan your trips.
Many road accidents often occur due to cell phones, which includes text messages. While one can use a hands-free device for taking calls while driving (depending upon the driving restrictions in your area), the same cannot be said for text messages.
Text'nDrive Drive Safely w SMS is a unique application that resolves this problem. It enables users to get text messages read out to them during driving and allows them to reply back via voice commands.
Text'nDrive Drive Safely w SMS has both a free and paid version. The free version has certain limitations such as reading of text messages up to 45 words, whereas the pro version liberates you from such restrictions.
Other than text messages, you can also read emails from Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail, and other services. The pro version costs US$9.99 and has enough features to help you avoid the temptation of reading an unlimited number of SMS and emails on the go.
There is nothing more annoying than a car break down in the middle of nowhere. AAA Roadside is a useful application for frequent travelers who may need getting instant help in case of a car break down by sending their location and vehicle information to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
With the help of this application, users are able to send out their location details via their Android device, instead of waiting for a confirmation call from AAA that their vehicle information was accurately received. This ensures a quicker response from a nearby roadside technician with just a few taps on your cellphone.
Moreover, you can also acquire information regarding automobile repair shops nearby. The only downside of this app is that it does not function on a global scale and is restricted to regions supported by AAA. However, that is understandable as it is an AAA-specific app and collecting global information about automobile repair shops without a centralized body in place isn't the easiest thing to do. Thus, the app is pretty useful but only for people who can benefit from AAA.
If you are the kind of traveler who likes going on long journeys on a motorbike, then BikeLaws is a must-have app for you. Since bike laws vary from state to state, one can easily get into trouble with a traffic sergeant due to lack of knowledge regarding the laws of a specific state.
BikeLaws has been designed for U.S. bike riders so they can easily check the bike laws of a specific state in order to avoid getting into trouble with the law. Sounds dramatic doesn't it? BikeLaws is almost as good as free as it costs merely US$0.99, which can be a lot less than what a traffic violation penalty may cost you.
Obviously, one may feel that there should be more of these kinds of apps for not just bikers in the U.S. but for people worldwide. Perhaps Google can come up with a Google Map-style service that helps travelers on the go to identify inter-state and global driving rules.
Unlike Bike Laws, Here I am 2 is more helpful for people using all kind of vehicles. It uses the Google Maps service and enables users to let others know their current location. This app can be used to send SMS or email messages containing your current coordinates. The link sent by the app can be opened within an Android or iPhone Map application for acquiring driving directions.
There are a number of advantages that one can get from this app, including sending out your location to friends or family members to help them easily catch up to you during a journey. If you have ever been left behind on a road trip from your caravan or have had problems catching up with your buddies in a journey when you left late, then this app is definitely for you. It circumvents the problem of relying on sketchy directions that you may otherwise have to rely on from others and can be used as a more reliable alternative for getting the directions for the location of your friends and family members. Here I am 2 has a free version, as well as an ads-free pro version worth US$0.99.
SpeedView is perhaps the most amazing app that any road warrior can have. Among the many extraordinary features that it has to offer, it works as an advanced speedometer that uses your phone’s GPS to deliver speed limit information, distance traveled, and many other useful features such a reflection of your speed which is reflected on your car’s screen.
As the GPS speedometer is used from your mobile phone, it is more accurate than the one present in your car. The compass mode of this application provides you with your present direction, a speed graph of your journey, speed warnings and HUD mode that helps you reflect your speed on your car screen.
SpeedView also has a free version and pro version worth US$0.99. The only problem with this app is that it is not currently usable with 7-inch tablets. According to the developer, it might install but will not display properly. Furthermore, you will also have to keep an eye on your GPS accuracy as it may alter results.
SpeedView is not just for people using vehicles like cars or motorcycles, but can also be used during hiking, walking, jogging, etc.
While the above apps may serve as a good starting package for preparing road warriors for their journey, there are many other apps that can help traveling enthusiasts. Do you know of a good app for road warriors?
It's surprising how little we know about the upcoming flagship smartphones from Verizon, while all other three major carriers get close to actually releasing their first flagship devices of 2012. Sprint recently got the Galaxy Nexus and will soon release the HTC EVO 4G, AT&T will get the HTC One XL, while T-Mobile scored the One S. But don't you guys worry, as according to Johnatan Geller, the founder of BGR.com, the fall 2012 line-up of Verizon smartphones will be absolutely impressive.
Geller first mentions that the Samsung Galaxy S3 will reach Verizon over the summer, which falls perfectly in line with our expectations. Last year, Verizon have passed on the Galaxy S2 in return for a time-limited exclusivity on the Galaxy Nexus. If BGR's sources turn out to be valid, the Galaxy S3 will face some very tough competition starting fall. These sources claim that Verizon will launch more than one Motorola RAZR model over the following months (one of them likely being the RAZR HD / Droid Fighter), as well as a HTC competitor to the Galaxy Note.
While there are no specs mentioned for the Motorola smartphones, Geller claims that the HTC phablet will sport a 5-inch 1080p (non-Pentile) display, a quad core Qualcomm S4 Krait CPU, along with an Adreno 320 GPU, HTC Sense 5, and a stylus. Burn!
Apple's response to the Verizon Android army of 2012 will be the iPhone 5, rumored to come with a complete redesign – I guess you can't release three smartphone generations in a row with the exact same design ;) – and expected to arrive this fall.
It looks like 2012 will be as least as exciting as the last one when it comes to high-end smartphones. Do you guys think Verizon will be the leader of the pack this year? Let us know what you guys think in the comment section below!
Like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that fall into place, little by little we find more about the Samsung Galaxy S3, a week away from its official unveiling date on May 3, which, we hope, will bring to a climactic end months of intense rumors and speculations. We found out earlier today that the Galaxy S3 will boast a 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad processor, but the rest of the specs are still unconfirmed. Thankfully, some fresh AnTuTu benchmark results revealed more than just the super phone's performance, but possibly some of its internals as well.
First, let's see out how the Galaxy S3's quad-core Exynos processor performed compared to its competitors. According to the AnTuTu benchmark results, which synthetically measures the CPU and GPU power of the phone, Samsung Galaxy S3 came ahead of the Asus Transfomer Prime. The Transformer Prime, of course, is the proud bearer of another quad-core processor belonging to Nvidia.
Speed is good and all, but we're more interested to see what other specs of the Galaxy S3 were listed on the benchmarking app. Aside from the quad-core processor, we can see that the phone sports a 4.7-inch screen with 1280 x 720 resolution. There's 1GB of RAM onboard, an impressive 12MP rear camera, and a 2MP front camera. The listed Android 4.o Ice Cream Sandwich is not really a surprise.
Of course, this isn't the first benchmark test result of the supposed next Samsung Galaxy phone. A couple of days back, Phone Arena shared some GL Benchmark scores that confirmed the Mali-400 GPU running on the flagship phone, and show it handily beating the iPhone 4S and HTC One X.
Sounds quite like a beast of a phone, huh? Now, if only we could see some pictures of the phone leaked without any disguise. Are you getting more excited about the Samsung Galaxy S3 with each passing day? Or is it the other way around?
We've been waiting for a while now to see Intel make its push into the mobile CPU market and challenge Nvidia and Qualcomm's leading positions in the industry. While we didn't expect much from the Lava Xolo X900, the first smartphone to be powered by a Medfield processor, we might be in for a surprise.
The X900 has just been released in India, the only market where it is currently set to make an appearance, and the first tests and benchmarks, conducted by the guys at Anandtech, show that this little guy is no pushover. Even though it’s powered by a single-core 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Z2460 processor, the Xolo X900 should prove a worthy competitor for several dual-core smartphones these days, in terms of raw performance and speed.
Anandtech's tests ranged from benchmarks measuring browsing performance, low level FP performance, and flash rendering speed, to GPU performance and battery life. In most of these tests, the X900 was bested by HTC's One S and X, two of the most powerful smartphones of the moment, which shouldn't come as a surprise for anyone.
However, the first ever Intel Medfield phone held its own very well against the Samsung Galaxy S2, the LG Optimus 3D, or the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx, all featuring snappy dual-core chips and considered some of the best high-end devices of the past year or so.
The Xolo X900 really excelled in terms of Javascript performance, where it managed to beat all its competitors, including the One X, but also in the BrowserMark and Linpack benchmarks, where it came second to HTC's One X and S respectively.
Aside from the couple of tests that showed Intel's strong suites and the slew of benchmarks where it came right behind HTC's hero devices and/or Moto's Droid Razr Maxx, the benchmarks also revealed the Xolo X900′ weak points. GPU performance is not great, with the 4-incher ranking near the bottom of the high-end phone pack in GLBenchmark, and the phone seems to be mediocre in terms of battery life, as well.
All in all, Anandtech's review comes as a very nice surprise for anyone who's been ignoring Intel in the mobile phone game, as it seems that, in terms of raw performance, this Xolo X900 could well take on several high-end devices on the market right now.
For those of you who've missed the phone's unveiling and Indian launch, we should tell you that the Xolo X900 sports a 4-inch screen with a 1024 x 600 pixels resolution and features the Intel Medfield chip we already talked about, as well as 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of on-board storage, and 8 MP/1.3 MP dual cameras.
Running Android 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box with a "planned" ICS upgrade set in the near future, the Xolo X900 will most likely not see the light of day in the US or Europe, which is starting to make me feel a bit depressed, especially as the phone is not that expensive ($419 in India).
What do you guys think? Would you be tempted to purchase the Lava Xolo X900 phone if it would be made available in a store near you? Does Intel stand a chance to challenge Nvidia and Qualcomm’s leading positions in the mobile chip market anytime soon? Hit us with a comment and let us know!
When Google senior vice president of mobile and digital content Andy Rubin made the announcement that the company will start selling Galaxy Nexus on Google Play, the whole world erupts in cheers. That's a slight exaggeration, we know, but because the flagship device is priced at an OMG-price of $399 unlocked (!!), who wouldn't get excited and want to snap up the phone with its 4.65-inch display goodness and the pure unadulterated Google experience?
Things didn't turn out so well for Canadian folks, however, since it turns out the unlocked Galaxy Nexus is only available to US customers. Despite their geographical proximity to the US, the Canadians interested in snatching the Galaxy Nexus have to cough up a lot more than what Google is asking on its digital storefront, and that’s before taxes and shipment fees are added to the price.
Luckily, our friends at Mobile Syrup and Frandroid have discovered a mighty sweet deal on the Galaxy Nexus from Expansys, an online retailer with warehouses in Canada. The retailer is offering the unlocked and unbranded version of the Galaxy Nexus for $419.99, excluding taxes and shipment cost. Even better: although the phone is listed at $419.99, adding it to the shopping cart will magically lower the price to $399.99. The version that Expansys is selling is running the yakju build, which means any future OTA update will be pushed directly by Google to your Galaxy Nexus.
So Canadian buddies, better move fast if you don't want to miss this possibly deal of a lifetime, you never know when it will expire.
Here at Android Authority, we've covered every move that preceded the beginning of the Google vs Oracle trial. But we never knew how much new info we'll be able to find out about Android, Google, and Oracle from this high profile legal battle. As we don't want to bore you with technical details and such, here's a timeline of the trial, marking every important statement by lawyers on both sides, as well as witness testimonies. Let's get on with it, shall we?
April 17: Oracle's opening statement did not surprise anyone, as Google was accused of knowingly breaking Oracle's intellectual properties regarding the Java language. According to a 2005 email from Andy Rubin to Larry Page, Google decided to keep using Java despite its disagreements with Sun (the creators of Java, acquired by Oracle in 2010), a move that Google officials knew they were going to have to defend. Oracle's slides have been made available to the public. Catch them here!
April 17: Oracle CEO Larry Ellison testified that Oracle considered entering the smartphone business by acquiring RIM or Palm, but later discarded such considerations as "a bad idea". Ellison also mentioned that Larry Page and Eric Schmidt refused to make Android "compatible with the industry standard version of Java".
April 17: Google CEO and co-founder Larry Page makes his first appearance in the stand. He claims that Ellison informed him of bits of code copied symbol for symbol, but examples were never sent most likely due to lack of strong evidence.
April 18: As expected, Google's opening statement tried to highlight that if the Java programming language is free, so must be the APIs behind it, before moving forward to show some examples where the Android APIs differ substantially from those in the Oracle JDK.
April 19: Google's Chief Java Architect Joshua Bloch testified that he might have copied 9 lines of code as part of the Java's rangeCheck routine (that he wrote himself while part of the Sun team), but claimed that it was simply due to good engineering practice. The nine lines of code are copyrighted by Sun, but are no longer part of the Android OS in the 4.0 ICS version.
Note: What these nine lines of code do is a task that can be accomplished by almost all programmers out there, even beginners. The code just checks if an array of numbers falls in a pre-defined interval. No rocket science here, folks.
April 23: Google's Andy Rubin testifies that Google considered obtaining a TCK license for Android from Sun, but that idea was discarded as most manufacturers were expected to already own such licenses.
April 24: Google's Eric Schmidt shapes up to be the most useful witness for Google. He explains why Google did not need a license since Java is a free programming language, also mentioning that Oracle wanted to sell a TCK license for $30-50 million. You can catch the full testimony at The Verge.
April 25: A presentation given by Andy Rubin in 2010 shows that Google officials expected the sale of 10m Android tablets in 2011. That was a missed projection.
April 25: Andy Rubin claims that he did not expect Android to heavily contribute to Google's revenue via ad sales. Rubin also stated that Google refused to let Sun be involved with Android in order to “flush out the crap that been circling the bowl for years”.
These are the milestones that surfaced in the Oracle vs Google trial so far. The trial is expected to last 10 weeks, so expect more juicy information to be revealed in the future. We'll keep you posted!
If you thought that Panasonic was kidding when it announced some time ago that it intends to take Europe by storm with its new Eluga and Eluga Power smartphones, you thought wrong, boys and girls!
Less than a month after the official Japan release and just a couple of days after popping up for sale in Germany, the Eluga has started selling in the UK, with several other European markets expected to follow suite within a week or so. The smartphone is, for the time being, available for all you British blokes out there in an unlocked version, from Expansys. The model, without any carrier or network restrictions, retails for £369.99. That's around €460, or $610, which you can't say is an exaggerated price.
Okay, the Panasonic Eluga might not be powered by a quad-core processor or run Android Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, but it still should deliver enough raw power to satisfy a regular mobile user, plus, it comes with a really special design and a water-proof surface.
If you're thinking about getting the unlocked Eluga phone from Expansys, you should know that only the silver model is available for sale, for now. The black version is still on pre-order, and, if you want that, you should wait for a couple more days. Also, keep in mind that the delivery might be a bit slow right now, with the British retailer warning that it could take up to five days for you to receive your device.
Inside that water-resistant and dustproof body, the Panasonic Eluga comes with a dual-core 1 GHz TI OMAP processor, as well as 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of on-board storage, a 4.3-inch screen with 960 x 540 pixels resolution, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera.
Panasonic’s new handheld is expected to hit major carriers in the UK and the rest of Europe, by the end of the month, while US availability is still kept under wraps. It’s possible for the phone to never hit the American market, but then again, if it will prove successful enough in the rest of the world, it might see the light of day in the US of A after all.
Keep in touch with our website for more details about the phone set to come our way soon! Also, please tell us what do you think about the Eluga and whether you're considering purchasing a SIM free model from Expansys or holding out for a cheaper, carrier branded version.
