Thursday, June 28, 2012

Google Alert - android

News10 new results for android
 
Nexus 7: Under the hood of the latest (and greatest?) Android tablet
Christian Science Monitor
Google unveiled the Nexus 7 – a 7-inch, $199 tablet – at its I/O conference on Wednesday. Its size and price are similar to those of Amazon's popular tablet -- but the Nexus 7 has a few features that set it apart from the Kindle Fire.
See all stories on this topic »

Christian Science Monitor
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: Does It Measure Up?
InformationWeek
Google's newest OS sports fewer new features than previous updates. Instead, Android 4.1 focuses on improving core features and making the platform faster.
See all stories on this topic »
When Will You Get Android 4.1 'Jelly Bean?'
PC Magazine
A move to speed up Android upgrades may not find many takers among phone makers and wireless carriers.
See all stories on this topic »
Google I/O: 10 Awesome Visions
InformationWeek
Google Glasses, the Nexus Q home entertainment streaming device, Android software upgrades, and a Nexus tablet shine at day one of Google's I/O developer conference.
See all stories on this topic »
Hands-on: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
CNET
While it's just an incremental update, Google has packed Jelly Bean with a bunch of cool features including one that promises buttery smooth performance.
See all stories on this topic »

CNET
Google Android Jelly Bean OS: A Test Drive
PCWorld
We went hands-on with some of Jelly Bean's cooler features. Is this OS upgrade worth all the hype?
See all stories on this topic »
Nexus 7 Tablet vs. Kindle Fire vs. the Rest: Spec Smackdown (Chart)
PCWorld
Google's Nexus 7 tablet, the company's Android Jelly Bean-powered device, is heavy on the specs as it guns for Amazon's Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet. It's not only the form factor and screen size Google is challenging its competitors on, but also ...
See all stories on this topic »
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean review: a look at what's changed in Google's mobile OS
Engadget
Google's next iteration of Android wasn't quite the full-point release jump that many of you were perhaps anticipating. Rather than using Google I/O 2012.
See all stories on this topic »
Google Nexus Q Media Streamer: First Impressions, Part 1
PCWorld
I had planned to use a couple of older Android phones for my test run (I wanted to verify that several Android users can, if authorized, contribute to a playlist) so I don't at this writing have a Jelly Bean device. I'll update this post once I do, but ...
See all stories on this topic »
Google Play seen as pivotal to success of Nexus 7
Computerworld
With 400000 Android apps and 20 billion downloads so far, the cloud-based Google Play content service will now allow customers to buy movies and TV episodes, Google said Wednesday. Customers can already purchase books from millions of titles.
See all stories on this topic »

Blogs5 new results for android
 
BlueStacks Now Lets You Run Android Apps On Your Mac ...
By Rip Empson
There's no love lost between Android and Apple users, or at least among the fanboys and fangirls. The flamewar between the passionate adopters of the top two mobile operating systems has persisted for awhile now, even in spite of our pleas ...
TechCrunch » Mobile
Android 4.1 SDK hands-on -- Engadget
By Terrence O'Brien
Too lazy to download and install the brand new Android SDK yourself and don't feel like tweaking an AVD for optimal operation? Don't know what an AVD is?
Engadget
BlueStacks Allows You to Run Android Apps on a Mac - Mac Rumors
By Arnold Kim
BlueStacks announced a public alpha version of their Android App Player for the Mac today at Google I/O. The company had originally released...
MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors...
Google Nexus 7 and Jelly Bean initial review | Android Community
By Cory Gunther
The ASUS Nexus tablet, Google's first tablet in the Nexus family is finally here and it's called the Google Nexus 7. Surely you saw all of our coverage from.
Android Community
Android Jelly Bean vs. iOS 6 vs. Windows Phone 8: The Ultimate ...
By Adrian Covert
A few weeks ago, we compared the feature sets of iOS 6 and Android Ice Cream Sandwich to see how they stacked up. But then Google and Microsoft went and dropped all sorts of new features in their new Android Jelly Bean and Windows ...
Gizmodo


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Android Authority

Android Authority


Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean update details: Samsung engineers upgraded RAM for a reason

Posted: 28 Jun 2012 03:14 AM PDT

From the moment Google confirmed during the first Google I/O keynote that Jelly Bean is the codename for Android 4.1 rather than Android 5.0 – as various rumors suggested ahead of the event – we started wondering what Android devices will get the new Android version.

Since Jelly Bean can be perceived as an incremental upgrade, meant to improve the overall user experience while adding some interesting perks, it would be logical to assume that all Android smartphones and tablets that run Ice Cream Sandwich – or that will get it eventually – will also be able to run Jelly Bean. However, Google did not shed any light on that matter during the event, nor did its partners.

But should Android users that hold an ICS device – or one that's going to get ICS soon – be worried that their current hardware will not be suitable for Jelly Bean? The Verge has a new report on the Galaxy S3 upgradeability status, and a potential explanation for that RAM increase to 2GB on certain devices. The publication notes:

We’re told that Samsung was intent on designing the phone to be “future-proof” — it didn’t want to be left flat-footed in the wake of a new Android version announcement spaced just days apart from the Galaxy S III’s US launches, presumably. The problem was that company’s engineers weren’t “100 percent sure” of Jelly Bean’s final hardware requirements, so they upped the internal RAM to 2GB to hedge their bets.

We don't have official word from Samsung concerning the future Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean update, and we expect all Galaxy S3 versions out there, whether they have 1GB or 2GB of RAM to get the update in the future.

But I don't know what’s more disturbing about this report, the fact that engineers decided to upgrade the RAM on only some Galaxy S3 models to make sure those models will get Jelly Bean, or the fact they were not sure what Jelly Bean's hardware requirements are. For a flagship device like the Samsung Galaxy S3, launched around the same time Jelly Bean is announced, upgradeability to future Android versions should be a certainty. Imagine what would have happened in case the Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean would have been available only to certain versions, say the ones that have more RAM!

Of course, that doesn't appear to be the case, especially since Google announced that Jelly Bean will be rolled out to three "old" devices in July, including the Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus and Motorola Xoom. Neither device comes with 2GB of RAM on board – in fact the Nexus S only has 512MB of RAM. That also means that, at least in theory, more high-end Android devices launched in late 2010 and in 2011 should be bumped up to Jelly Bean in the following months, especially if they have already received their ICS taste.


This article, Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean update details: Samsung engineers upgraded RAM for a reason , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Galaxy Nexus Jelly Bean OTA update available for download, with a twist

Posted: 28 Jun 2012 02:38 AM PDT

Android fans know by now that Google unveiled yesterday Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, it's next-gen mobile operating system that's already found on board of the Google Nexus 7, its first tablet that was also launched yesterday.

Google said that Jelly Bean will be available to download as an over-the-air (OTA) update in July, but only a few selected devices including the Samung Nexus S, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Motorola Xoom tablet will get it initially.

Of course, that's not really surprising considering that it's not Google that handles software updates for the vast majority of Android devices out there. It's up to Android device makers and their carrier partners to roll out Jelly Bean updates to supported devices, and we have no idea right now when that will happen, or what Android handsets and tablets will get Jelly Bean.

However, if you happen to own the Galaxy Nexus, you'll be happy to hear that Jelly Bean OTA update is available for manual install. As always, there's a catch: the update doesn't fit all Galaxy Nexus versions out there, so if you're not in possession of the "Takju" U.S. GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus you're out of luck, as the 156MB update will not work on your Nexus device. Moreover, there’s a chance the update will only work with the Galaxy Nexus units handed out to developers at Google I/O, as those devices came with Ice Cream Sandwich installed.

Don't despair though, worse case scenario you'll have to wait a few more weeks for Google to roll out the OTA update that will work on all Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus versions, as well as on the Xoom tablet. Not to mention that until then developers may find a way to have Jelly Bean running on these devices and maybe even other smartphones and tablets. As expected, we'll keep you in the loop on Jelly Bean updates, so keep following us for more Jelly Bean goodies!


This article, Galaxy Nexus Jelly Bean OTA update available for download, with a twist , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Best Sudoku apps for Android

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 09:00 PM PDT

Sudoku, also known as Number Place, is a highly addictive puzzle game that was first seen and played in newspapers in late 19th century. Known as Number Place in Europe, it was then baptized by Japanese publisher, Nikoli Co., Ltd., as Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru, which can be roughly translated to “the digits must occur only once” and was then shortened to Sudoku.

If you think you are weak when it comes to dealing with numbers and figures, don’t get held back from playing Sudoku. Once you play Sudoku, you’ll definitely think otherwise. Although this game involves the use of numbers, you won’t need the skill to add or subtract because the only thing you’ll ever use is your logic.

We’ve listed some of the best Sudoku apps for Android and maybe you would want to try playing some of them. Whether you are having a bit of difficulty when it comes to numbers or you are complete mathematics prodigy, these apps will certainly keep you entertained for hours.

Andoku Sudoku

Andoku Sudoku is an open-source Sudoku puzzle that doesn’t limit you to only the standard ones. Although Sudoku puzzles are highly addictive, playing the same old kind would somehow still bore you in one way or another.

This free Sudoku app has other variants that will definitely keep you playing for hours and hours. Andoku Sudoku has variants like X-Sudoku, Hyper-Sudoku, Percent-Sudoku, Color-Sudoku, and Squiggly Sudoku (otherwise known as Jigsaw Sudoku). This Sudoku app has 5 levels of difficulty, 10 different game variations, and 200 puzzles for each game variation and difficulty level. 

An Undo/Redo option is also available in this Sudoku app, compensating for the lack of the pencil option. It also keeps statistics of your game sessions and saves your progress automatically.

Try mashing up this app’s variants and take the level of difficulty to the highest. Challenge yourself with different Sudoku puzzles everyday and you’ll never look for any other means to keep you entertained.

Andoku Sudoku 2 Free

Still from the same developer who brought us Andoku Sudoku, Markus Wiederkehr, Andoku Sudoku 2 Free will keep you playing sudoku for longer periods of time. If Andoku Sudoku kept you entertained for hours, Andoku Sudoku 2 Free will definitely hold you captive for days.

Apart from the already awesome features like 6 game variations, 8 levels of difficulty, and a total of 10,000 puzzles, this app can be downloaded for free. All the Sudoku you’ll ever need in exchange for nothing, not even a penny.

Andoku Sudoku 2 Free also has the pencil option so you can easily erase your guesses. You can play Sudoku in either portrait or landscape mode and you can configure the game to assist you. The assistance options include automatically checking for errors, automatic removal of pencil marks, and highlighting to reveal patterns.

If you already have Andoku Sudoku, try this app, as well. Double the number of puzzles to solve, double the fun.

Sudoku 10’000 Free

Whether you are a beginner or an avid player of Sudoku, this app is for you. Sudoku 10’000 Free, aside from having 10,000 Sudoku puzzles to solve, is also integrated with OpenFeint where you can see global leaderboards for each difficulty level and achievements. With this, you can see how you are doing up on the leaderboards and probably get some OpenFeint points for every achievement.

Sudoku 10’000 Free has a hint functionality that could come in handy if you want some assistance while you are solving a puzzle. It also has the function to analyze the difficulty of a Sudoku puzzle to get the detailed list of required techniques to solve it.

This app is extremely customizable. It has the Sudoku Generator, Sudoku Solver, and Sudoku manager that allows you to create, delete, rename folders, and filter Sudoku puzzles according to their type and difficulty.

The Sudoku puzzles in this app can be played in either landscape or portrait mode and if you are left-handed, you can still enjoy playing the puzzles in landscape mode with great comfort and ease.

Sudoku Plus

Developed by NRSM, Sudoku Plus has an intuitive and simple user interface that conveniently lets the players concentrate more on the game itself rather than figuring out how the UI works. Simplicity sure does have some good points and with this app, having a simple UI is really appreciated.

This app has 4,000 puzzles, a thousand each for the Easy, Medium, Hard, and Very Hard difficulty levels. Although the UI is simple, you can still customize how it looks through changing its theme. A little play of colors wouldn’t hurt, so changing the theme once in a while may help the app look new to you each time you play.

Sudoku Plus also has the folder filter feature that can select what and what not to display. You can set it to display only new puzzles or you can set to display the new, solved, and currently playing puzzles. As basic tools in most Sudoku apps, the undo and the pencil options are also available.

This app can be downloaded for free and is free from any ad support. No ads will pop out while you are busy concentrating on solving your puzzle, a plus to this app’s simple but easy-to-use interface.

Sudoku (Jason Linhart)

At some point, puzzles can really frustrate you, especially when you have been solving and solving for hours but can’t get the right answers. Some Sudoku apps have ingeniously included hint systems in their games to aid the player in solving.

Sudoku (Jason Linhart), a free Sudoku app, has a multi-stage hint system that starts off with simple hints until you are given illustrations of the techniques that can help you solve the current puzzle you are playing.

This game app has 16 difficulty levels that are not ordinarily labeled, ranging from extremely easy to near-impossible. The way they are labeled will pique your interest, making you want to try each level and find out how easy or how hard the puzzles are.

This app’s UI is optimized to let the user navigate around the app using only a few touches. The numbers were purposefully made bigger and easier to read for the convenience of the players, especially those with vision problems. You can also change the color scheme of this app, as well as change the styles of the digits that appear on the puzzle, adding some flair to your playing experience.

Sudoku Free (AI Factory Limited)

Sudoku Free (AI Factory Limited) is another free Ssudoku app developed by AI Factory Limited, one of Google Play Store’s top developers. Being a product of one of the top developers, we can expect super smooth graphics and interface. This app is suitable for both tablets and phones so if you have both devices, you can readily play this app wherever, whenever.

This app has over 5 difficulty levels and houses 1,500 puzzles that will surely answer your brain training needs. It also has statistics tracking that tracks your fastest and average times in completing puzzles. Like the rest of the apps mentioned on this list, Sudoku Free also has optional hints and board aids that can help you in times of despair.

The undo option is also found in this app and a feature that allows you to have quick notes while playing the game. This way, you can note your guesses before you place them on the puzzle grid. It’s not entirely similar to the pencil option that other Sudoku apps have but the notes feature function is a very useful tool while solving the puzzles.

Super Sudoku

Once you play a puzzle game, Sudoku for example, it wouldn’t be a big surprise that you will find it hard to part from the puzzle. The feeling of sheer excitement when you finish a puzzle is incomparable, you wouldn’t even notice that you have invested so much time in completing one.

Super Sudoku gives you an intuitive and easy-to-use interface that again, will allow you to care less about how the interface works. It’s the puzzle you are after, not how complex the buttons on the screen are. What’s more, you can get this app for free and have no ads littering around while you are soaking up your time on a puzzle.

There are 5 levels of difficulty in this app to keep you challenged along the way. Other variants of Sudoku like Percent Sudoku, Color Sudoku, Hyper Sudoku, Sudoku-X, and Squiggly Sudoku are available aside from the standard one. Global leaderboards and an awards system that awards you points for every puzzle completed will challenge you to solve more difficult puzzles in record time, beating all the other players on the leaderboard.

Sudoku Free (genina.com)

One of the best ways to occupy your time while waiting for the bus or lining up at the groceries is to play a game on your Android device. Some prefer to play arcade games on their devices and some choose games that exercise their brains. Puzzle games are one of those games that you should have on your device to keep you entertained. And, one puzzle game you should try playing is Sudoku.

Sudoku Free (genina.com) takes playing Sudoku a step higher since it allows you to play real-time competitions with other players. Aside from having that feature, this app autosaves your game whenever you have to exit and do something else. By the time you want to continue the puzzle, it goes back to how it was before you exited the app.

Pencil marks and the undo/redo options are readily available. Sudoku Free (genina.com) has four difficulty levels: easy, medium, hard, and extreme. You can try to progress to a higher difficulty and have your scores submitted online so you can keep track of them.

Sudoku II

Sudoku II is another sudoku app that boosts your skill in logical-thinking, exercising your brain even if you are just playing a game. This app has 3 levels and 3,500 free Sudoku puzzles to satiate your need for everyday challenge.

The app has 6 modes to choose from. You can play the standard one, X-Sudoku, Percent Sudoku, Squiggly Sudoku, Squiggly X-Sudoku, and Squiggly Percent Sudoku. In this app, you can continue a previously played puzzle or restart a puzzle completely.

And, of course, the undo button is available to let you go back a step in solving your puzzle. Hints are also present in this app and you can choose to either turn the hints on and off according to how often you need assistance with completing your puzzle.

Sudoku (SwanApps)

If you have tried playing Sudoku on paper, then you would like Sudoku (SwanApps). With this app, it is like you are playing real Sudoku on a newspaper or magazine: you use your handwriting.

This app has unlimited puzzles and the basic functions you usually find in a Sudoku app, such as undo option, statistics, hints and annotations, and checkpoint saving. If you are getting frustrated with solving a puzzle, the app has a game solver feature that completely solves the puzzle for you. The developer, SwanApps, included strategy tutorials to help beginners learn and appreciate the game and the app.

Changing the theme or skin of the app is also one feature you can expect with Sudoku (SwanApps). Helpful tips on making your handwriting more recognizable are available in the app itself and can also be viewed as a video on YouTube.

Try this app out to have more variety in playing Sudoku. Solving Sudoku with this app will give you the feeling of actually solving a pen-and-paper Sudoku puzzle.

No doubt about it, after playing some of the sudoku apps we’ve just listed, you’ll probably be nicknamed “Modern-day Plato” or “The Tech-savvy Aristotle.”  Don’t be surprised if you get quicker when solving something that needs a lot of logic. With these Sudoko apps, logical-thinking will come as naturally as breathing.


This article, Best Sudoku apps for Android , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Android Jelly Bean Goodies: Boot Animation and Wallpapers

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 08:24 PM PDT

If you can’t wait to get some Android 4.1 Jelly Bean action on your favorite Android device, we have a treat for you. Here are the official Android 4.1 Jelly Bean wallpapers which have been extracted from the over the air update for the GSM Galaxy Nexus (takju), the device handed out to developers at Google I/O.

wallpaper_01 wallpaper_02 wallpaper_03 wallpaper_04 wallpaper_05 wallpaper_08 wallpaper_09 wallpaper_10 wallpaper_11 wallpaper_12 Galaxy Nexus Jelly Bean Boot Animation

For ease of installation, you can download an unofficial APK, thanks to @kovdev, that has them all included for you. Simply install the Jelly Bean Wallpaper APK as you would any other third party APK. Once installed, launch the application and select your designed wallpaper. You can launch the Jelly Bean Wallpapers by accessing your Wallpapers setting.

For those of you that are rooted, you can also install the Galaxy Nexus Jelly Bean boot animation. Be warned, it isn’t as exciting as the current stock boot animation (see below). Download the official Galaxy Nexus boot animation extracted from the OTA update. Copy the bootanimation.zip file to your SD card. Using Root Explorer or via ADB, move bootanimation.zip to /system/media/bootanimation.zip.

Note: You may wish to first backup or rename your current bootanimation.zip file before proceeding with the above.


This article, Android Jelly Bean Goodies: Boot Animation and Wallpapers , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Android Jelly Bean 4.1 New Feature Highlights

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 07:06 PM PDT

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will be available in a few weeks. Besides the brand new Nexus 7 tablet, the first devices to receive the latest Android update from Google will be the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, and the XOOM. Following Google’s mind boggling Keynote announcement at Google I/O today, the Android team posted the platform highlights, recapping all of Jelly Bean’s new features. Here are a few we are particularly excited about.

 Faster, Smoother, More Responsive

Due to the success of Google’s “Project Butter”, the latest version of Android is just like the saying goes “as smooth as butter”. Jelly Bean is the most responsive and impressive version of Android to date coming with triple buffered graphics, extended vsync timing and intuitive touch that boosts your CPU at the next touch event to make sure lag is minimal.

Enhanced Accessibility

Jelly Bean includes new API’s for accessibility features such as services that let you handle gestures and manage accessibility focus with on-screen navigation buttons. These can be handled by accessibility gestures, accessories, or other input methods. Applications that use the standard View components inherit support for these new features automatically without the need for developers to alter their code.

Support For International Users

Android 4.1 helps developers reach more users through support for bi-directional text. Apps can handle text editing in left to right or right to left scripts. Apps can also make sure of new included Arabic and Hebrew locales and fonts. If that isn’t enough, the platform now supports user-installable keymaps.

Expandable Notifications

Android 4.1 brings a major update to Android notifications. Apps can now display larger, richer notifications to users that can be expanded and collapsed with a pinch. Notifications support new types of content, including photos, have configurable priority, and can even include multiple actions assigned to them.

Resizeable App Widgets

Android 4.1 introduces improved App Widget functionality that can automatically resize, based on where the user drops them on the home screen, depending on the size, and the amount home screen real estate available. You can also supply separate landscape and portrait layouts for your widgets, which the system activates depending on your current screen rotation.

High Resolution Contact Photos

With Android 4.1, we cab finally store our contact photos at a whopping 720 x 720, allowing contact pictures to be truly beautiful. Apps can store and retrieve contact photos at that size or use any other size as needed.

Android Beam

Android Beam was introduced with ICS, but we haven’t seen a lot of uses for it. In Android 4.1, Android Beam makes it easier to share images, videos, or other payloads by leveraging Bluetooth for the data transfer. When the user triggers a transfer, Android Beam hands over from NFC to Bluetooth, making it easier to transfer and manage files between devices.

Smart App Updates

The latest feature of Google Play introduces a better way to receive application updates on your devices. When a developer publishes an app update, Google Play now only delivers the changes bits of the application rather then the entire APK.  This makes app updates much lighter and easier on your network data. On average, a smart app update is about 1/3 the size of the full APK update.

Google Voice Search and Google Now

Google has drastically improved the default Voice Search functionality with Android 4.1. Dubbed Google Now, the new search functionality makes search much more visual such as displaying your results as cards for weather, navigation routes, sports scores, and more. This is much more than a virtual assistant.

These are only a few of the features that come with Jelly Bean. For a full feature listing including subscriptions, we suggest you check out the full Jelly Bean feature list to see what’s all under the hood. Just because this is a “dot” release doesn’t mean it isn’t major. This is more than just API enhancements. This is a major update.


This article, Android Jelly Bean 4.1 New Feature Highlights , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


PicCollage: Assemble photo collages quickly and share them around

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 06:00 PM PDT

PicCollage has finally made its way to Android devices, saying goodbye to its status as an iOS exclusive. PicCollage is a collage maker that is simple to use with a bucket load of features for users to explore.

Using the elaborate tools in the application, users can create wonderful works of art using only their smartphones. PicCollage is packed full of background templates that are easy to apply and allow users to use mutli-touch gestures to maneuver images and share other extended features.

PicCollage lets users build nothing more than photo collages, hence the app's name. Getting started is a breeze and once you get inside the app’s home screen, you can use the camera button found at the bottom of the screen.

Just fill the canvas with the required images by snapping an image or two. Alternatively, you can use other methods of acquiring photos. You can import photos from your photo library or Facebook albums, or gather photos from the Web to create an awesome collage.

PicCollage supports a variety of intuitive touch gestures that you can use to set your photos in the exact places you want them to be. These gestures include tapping to add photos, resizing photos by stretching or pinching them to size, rotating using two fingers, deleting a photo with a flick, moving photos to the back of the collage, and editing a photo by double tapping, just to name a few.

The app's touch gesture can give you the feeling that you are actually doing a collage right in front of your screen. In addition to the simple controls, PicCollage also offers tons of fun backgrounds that you can choose from to mix and match your preferred mood.

As soon as you are done with designing your collage, you can share your work with your buddies straight from the application itself. Just save your collection in your Library and share it away with friends via Facebook or through email.

The star icon found at the top of the app lets you browse the latest content being shared over the network. The settings button, on the other hand, is useful to affiliate the app with your Facebook or Twitter account for easy configuration.

PicCollage hosts some great features other than being simple to use. The crisp user-interface, as well as the simplicity of doing collages, will make any non-photo lover addicted.

If you’ve played with PicCollage on iOS before, you’ll see that PicCollage for Android is a complete replication of its iOS counterpart. Android gets a sweeter deal, however, as there are some features, such as shake-to-straighten photos and adding image clippings, that are missing in the iOS version. PicCollage is constantly being fine-tuned for the Android platform with regular updates.

If you have always been a fan of taking photos whenever you have the opportunity and putting them together creatively, then don't miss PicCollage as one of your accompanying applications. You can download PicCollage absolutely free on the Google Play Store.


This article, PicCollage: Assemble photo collages quickly and share them around , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Android 4.1 Jelly Bean vs iOS 6 vs Windows Phone 8

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 03:30 PM PDT

Google unveiled Android 4.1 Jelly Bean today during Google I/O, the third major mobile OS coming this month from one of the major players in the smartphone business – Apple's iOS 6 was announced in early June at WWDC 2012, while Windows Phone 8 was demoed just a few days ago during Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 Summit.

In what follows we're going to take a look at the main features of these three mobile operating systems that will power Android, iOS and WP devices, respectively, in the near future. It's worth noting at this time that neither version is available to consumers right now, although developers and OEMs (where applicable since Apple makes its own hardware) already have access to them.

Each company has demoed only certain features of its upcoming OS update during their developer conference events and we'll get a broader picture only once each mobile operating system is launched.

In case you're looking to buy your first smartphone and don't know what mobile operating system to choose, then we'll tell you from the start that no matter what OS you end up selecting, it will be the best choice for you, as long as the OS you're going with is able to help you out with daily chores – although it can also be the worst if it doesn’t. So let's take a look at each of the three OSes and see what these major updates will have to offer

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

One of the main attractions of this year's Google I/O event is Google's next-gen update Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Android is currently the number one smartphone OS by market share in most markets, but necessarily by profit share. Since Android is open source, anyone can use it and to create their own Android-based smartphone, tablet or other device.

But because Jelly Bean is open source this also means Google can't make money off it, at least not directly. Moreover, the company does not control software updates, which is why we currently have a pretty fragmented Android ecosystem and that can be annoying at times for end-users and developers. Since OEMs and carriers are in charge of software updates and since they'd rather sell new devices instead of updating the old, we're not surprised to see Ice Cream Sandwich, Google's Android 4.0 update that was released in late 2012, only available on around 7% of available Android devices.

We can only hope that Jelly Bean will have a much better faith than its predecessor, and that it will soon be available on current ICS handsets. What's worth noting is that Jelly Bean seems to be rather an incremental update (Android 4.1) instead of a major refresh (Android 5.0), which must mean that most devices that are running ICS or are upgradeable to ICS would also support Jelly Bean later down the road.

Without further ado, here are the main features of Android Jelly Bean:

  • Better performance: "Project Butter" describes a new Google initiative to offer Android users a faster, more responsive OS starting with Jelly Bean by optimizing hardware usage, improving overall user experience and prolonging battery life.
  • Home screen and widgets: in Jelly Bean users will be able to better customize their home screens as the OS will help them neatly place widgets by making the most of the available space on cluttered screens.
  • Text input: Google revealed it has updated both its touch-based and its voice-based typing (dictation) features in Jelly Bean. The stock keyboard comes with a refined dictionary and predictive text support, while the dictation feature is also available offline.
  • Accessibility: Jelly Bean will offer several gesture- and voice-based features that make Android more accessible to visually challenged users.
  • Camera:  the camera app has been slightly updated to offer faster image access.
  • Android Beam: the app now supports NFC-based picture and video sharing with other NFC-enabled devices as well as NFC-based connectivity with Bluetooth devices
  • Notifications: the app has been updated to better serve the needs of mobile device buyers. The new Notifications area now lets users do more things right inside the Notifications screen without having to switch to the app that pushes notifications in order to perform certain app-specific tasks.
  • Google Search: one of the main features of Jelly Bean, Google Search has been redesigned from the ground up. The search offers a new user interface, advanced voice-based search and a Google Now feature. Instead of displaying regular web results, Google Search now displays cards with information and images, both for typed and voice-based queries, although regular Google Search results are also available. The search engine has been upgraded to employ the Knowledge Graph technology, which understands what the users are actually looking for. Finally, Google Now takes into account all the data Google has about you to offer tailored, automatic responses based on Search and triggered by daily activities.
  • Other features: not all the Jelly Bean features have been demoed on stage and we expect to learn more as we move forward.
  • Maps: while Google did not mention Google Maps during the Jelly Bean section of its first keynote, we’ll remind you that the company held a special media event ahead WWDC 2012 to demo its next Google Maps update which will offer 3D maps and Google Maps offline support.
  • Google Play: over 600,000 apps that work automatically on most Android devices without the need of further customization.

iOS 6

Formerly known as iPhone OS, Apple's mobile platform has been rebranded as iOS two years ago when the first iPad was launched. iOS is the mobile operating system that helped revitalize the smartphone business and make the transition from keypad/keyboard smartphones to touchscreen devices. The operating system can be run on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, with Apple trying to minimize fragmentation as much as possible.

While iOS 6 will run on a vast majority of iOS devices from the moment it's rolled out by Apple (carriers don't have a say in software updates, nor do they poison it with any crapware), not all iOS 6-capable handsets will be able to run all the new features.

Speaking about new features, you'll have to know that iOS 6 will come with several improvements and additions meant to offer users and even better iOS experience:

  • Siri: the virtual assistant is still in beta but it will offer support for a variety of new features including sporting events and movies details, app launching, Twitter integration, Eyes Free car integration, local search and turn-by-turn navigation. The assistant is now available in more languages and local dialects.
  • Facebook: just like it did with Twitter in iOS 5, Apple is now offering iOS users a deep, OS-wide Facebook sharing integration, starting with iOS 6.
  • Phone app: updated to offer more features than just answering or rejecting a call. These include answering with a message or setting a reminder, when a phone conversation is not possible
  • FaceTime: Apple's proprietary video calling application will now work over 3G.
  • Safari: iOS 6 will let users sync their Safari desktop browser with the mobile version. Offline Reading and iCloud Tabs are also coming to the mobile browser.
  • Shared Photo Streams: iOS 6 will let users share photos with friends and family and comment on them straight from the photo app.
  • Mail: the default mail application has been updated to include VIP contacts (priority emails from favorite contacts) and support direct picture and video insertion.
  • Passbook: this is a new Apple app for iOS 6 devices which will store all the e-passes including store cards, boarding passes, movie tickets, coupon cards and all other tickets available in electronic format.
  • Guided Access: a new feature that will let parents and/or schools customize the experience kids and/or students, respectively, have on their iOS device.
  • Maps: maybe one of the most important features of iOS 6 is the revamped Maps application. Apple ditched Google Maps and replaced it with its own Maps application complete with turn-by-turn navigation and 3D support.
  • 200 other new features: are promised in addition to the ones mentioned above.
  • App Store: over 650,000 apps – of those over 225,000 are customized for tablet use.

Windows Phone 8

You would have thought that Microsoft knew better than to let its smartphone market share slip through its fingers in the years following the iPhone and Android launches. The company had Windows Mobile 6.x out well ahead of its competitors announced iPhone OS and Android, but the OS was a lot more limited and user-unfriendly, especially when compared with Apple's and Google's advancements in the field.

Microsoft tried and failed to patch things up with Windows Phone 6.5, a transition mobile software that preceded Windows Phone 7, the major mobile OS refresh we've been waiting for. And what a refresh that was! Microsoft introduced a totally new mobile operating system with a fresh Metro user interface that looked nothing like its predecessors. But that happened in 2010, or two years too late, as iOS and Android quickly became the favorite mobile platforms of smartphone buyers, at the expense of former glories such as Microsoft, Nokia and RIM.

While analysts keep saying Microsoft will get back its market share in the business, and then some, the fact remains that Windows Phone sales are nothing to write home about.

Microsoft is hoping to change all that with Windows Phone 8, but before we get to features we'll notice that the company is ready for some OS fragmentation of its own. Current WP handsets will not be able to run all WP8 features. Instead they'll get a Windows 7.8 update that only includes some of the following features, which means everyone that’s specifically interested in WP8 handsets will have to buy a new handset. Here are the main WP8 features:

  • Hardware upgrades: starting with WP8, the company will support dual-core and multi-core processors, two extra screen resolutions (1280 x 768 and 1280 x 720) and microSD memory expansion.
  • Internet Explorer 10: the new browser in WP8 will come with a faster JavaScript and HTML5 performance and with a SmartScreen anti-phishing crowd-based filter.
  • Native Code: WP8 and Windows 8 will share some common platform elements which will let developers, with the emphasis on gaming companies, to bring their digital products to both WP8 devices and Windows 8 machines.
  • NFC: future WP8 phones will come with NFC support, which will be useful not only for mobile payments as WP8 handset owners will be able to do all sorts of sharing and even app launching with NFC.
  • Wallet: Microsoft is creating its own Wallet Hub in WP8. The application will share elements from Google's own Wallet (mobile payments) but also feature support for storing various other coupons and cards (in a similar manner to Apple's Passback).
  • Maps: Microsoft does not have its own mapping application like Google or Apple, but it has a strong WP partner, the Finland-based Nokia. Nokia Map tech will be available on all WP8 devices, complete with offline map support and turn-by-turn navigation.
  • Enterprise: Unlike prior WP version, WP8 will be ready for the business environment as it will offer security features like encryption and secure boot, device management, Office apps and line of business app deployment that does not require approval from Microsoft's digital store.
  • Start screen: the live tile home screen has been updated by Microsoft to offer users the ability of better customizing their experience. Users will be able to move tiles around and resize them in order to adapt them to their needs.
  • Other secret features: not all WP8 features have been unveiled during the media event, so more details about WP8 will be available down the road.
  • Marketplace: over 100,000 apps that work only on WP handsets. Tablets will run Windows 8, a different OS, which means they will need slightly modified apps.

The three operating systems will be available in the coming months, at which point a more thorough comparison can be made. iOS 6 and Windows Phone 8 will be released at an unannounced date this fall and each launch will be complemented by new hardware announcements. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will be coming to certain devices (Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus and original Xoom) in July, but it's not yet known when it will hit other existing ICS devices.

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This article, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean vs iOS 6 vs Windows Phone 8 , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Photo Saver: Backing up your phone photos en masse to Facebook

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 03:00 PM PDT

Facebook integration has become a must for almost everything connected to the web, intended to gain leverage from the millions of people viewing the site at every tick of the clock. Thousands of users post their latest status, videos, and most importantly, photos.

Ironically, Facebook itself or any of the Facebook applications found on the Google Play Store don’t support a feature to easily upload a lot of photos. This is precisely the niche that Photo Saver tries to serve, giving you a decent and simple photo upload and backup application on your Android device.

Photo Saver is a fresh Android app which allows you to easily upload and back up your photos to Facebook. All it takes is a single tap and the app works its magic for you, eliminating the hassle of selecting numerous items for data backup or upload. It’s also nothing more than simple and functional, having a nice and easy-to-use interface that every user will be able to use effectively.

You can also enjoy privacy when you use Photo Saver. Upon backing up or uploading your photos, the app stores them straight to a specific photo album in a Facebook account instead of storing them on a cloud storage service. That photo album’s privacy setting is automatically set to Private, preventing anyone from sneaking even the smallest glimpse of your private photos.  Later on, if you wish to share your private photos to your friends, you can simply adjust the privacy and visibility settings of the album containing your uploaded photos.

You need to authorize the app to access your Facebook account to enable the service. This app doesn’t require complicated set up procedures. Once you have allowed it to access your account, just choose quickly between the New Upload Photos or All feature and you are good to go. Choosing the first option makes the app backup only the latest camera photos while choosing the latter will backup all the existing photos on your Android device.

Aside from being a great photo uploading tool and a back up alternative, the app also has a few simple but handy features. For instance, when doing a backup, the app provides you with a photo back summary, keeping you apprised of how many photos were already backed up as well as the duration of the last backup. To know whether the app has done its job, it has a built-in web browser so you can take a peek.

The only weak point in using this app is that backing up a lot of photos can take too much time and it only supports JPG files. Nonetheless, this could still come in handy and it’s totally free for your Android device. You can download Photo Saver free from the Google Play Store.


This article, Photo Saver: Backing up your phone photos en masse to Facebook , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Google Nexus 7 vs Amazon Kindle Fire

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 02:06 PM PDT

nexus 7 vs kindle fire

Now that the much awaited and heavily rumored Google Nexus 7 tablet has been officially revealed by Google a few moments ago at the I/O conference, one question has made its way to everybody's lips: how does the Nexus 7 tablet compare against what seems to be its direct competitor, the Amazon Kindle Fire. Does the Nexus 7 tablet have what it takes to become the best budget tablet ever created? Let's find out as we poise these two contenders against each other in the following segments: OS, display, internal hardware and design.

OS & Software

google-nexus-7

While the display and internal hardware are obviously a big deal, the real game-winner for Google's tablet might be the fact that it runs on the newest version of Android: 4.1 JellyBean. We've updated this article with a link to the full analysis of JellyBean, but what you really need to know is that the Nexus tablet is fully optimized for Google play, meaning magazines, movies and sometimes even web content are all perfectly displayed on the tablet.

Furthermore, all Nexus devices have been the first devices to get new OS updates, since the updates are issued by Google themselves, without the intervention of third-parties such as manufacturers or carriers. If you're an Android fan, you'll definitely want to get your hands on a tablet that brings you the full Android experience, and not the highly forked version of Android offered by Amazon on their Kindle Fire.

Full-fledged vanilla Android vs Amazon's closed, forked OS and slightly unintuitive interface? That's not really a fair fight from an end-user perspective, is it?

Winner: Google Nexus 7 (we're an Android website, so this one was easy!)

Display

The Google Nexus tablet and the Amazon Kindle Fire both showcase a 7-inch screen, although the differences between them are quite evident, even on paper. While both tablets use an IPS display, the Nexus 7 runs at a 1280×800 resolution while the Kindle Fire runs at 1024 x 600. The Nexus tablet is able to display 66% more pixels than the Kindle Fire, and given the same size of the displays, the Pixel Per Inch (PPI) density is also 66% higher.

But what about the aspect ratio, you ask? The Kindle fire has a 17:10 aspect ratio and that’s that. But with the Nexus 7, the menu bar takes up 48 pixels from the bottom most of the time, leaving you with an aspect ratio of 17:10, but full-screen apps (video players mostly) will display content on a 16:10 ratio.

Winner: Google Nexus Tablet

Internal Hardware

kindle-fire

Google, rumored to have designed the Nexus tablet specifically to compete with the commercial successful Kindle Fire, knew that they had to deliver on the hardware front, and that's exactly what they did as the hardware inside their first tablet completely trashes the silicon found inside the Kindle Fire. Why on earth would you go for Kindle Fire's 1GHz dual-core TI-OMAP 4430 processor and 512MB of RAM instead of the 1.3 GHz Quad-Core Tegra 3 processor and 1GB of RAM on the Nexus tablet? Just in case you're wondering, the Nexus Tablet's 12-core Nvidia ULP GPU is also significantly better than the PowerVR SGX540 (single-core) GPU inside the Kindle Fire. To put it bluntly, the Kindle Fire's TI SoC is a fair match to the Tegra 2, while the Nexus tablet uses the much-improved Tegra 3 SoC.

[Correction] In the first version of the article, we incorrectly stated that the Nexus 7 features an SD card slot. We have removed the statement.

Winner: Google Nexus Tablet

Design

The Kindle Fire features a decent design (although there are some who consider it to be waaaay too Blackberry Playbook-esque for their liking), with a soft-touch plastic case on the back and sides and a rectangular shape. The Nexus 7 tablet isn’t the sexiest tablet around, that’s for sure. We must also mention that the tablet is lighter than the Kindle Fire. We’ll have to wait to get our hands on a Nexus 7 to properly judge its build quality, but the tablet certainly looked awesome during the official presentation.

Winner: Since the Kindle Fire's design isn’t actually that bad, and considering the fact that looks are subjective, we'll call this one a draw!

Pricing

The Kindle Fire is currently priced at $199, while the Google Nexus tablet will set you back $199 for the 8GB version. In addition, Google will throw in $25 for spending in the Play store as well as a bundle of free premium content, including the Transformers: Dark of the Moon movie. A 16GB version of the Nexus 7 is also available for $249.

The Nexus 7 will be released in mid July in the US, the UK, Australia and Canada, with more countries to be added to the list in the near future.

Winner: Google Nexus 7

Note: Many expect Amazon to lower the price for a Kindle Fire now that the Nexus Tablet has been announced. Although this is the way the market usually evolves, I wouldn’t count on a significant price cut, given that Amazon doesn’t make a lot of profit from the tab itself (some reports claim that the components cost roughly around $160-$180).

Conclusion

Before Amazon fans start bashing up on this article for comparing a 6-month old tablet against one that was just announced, let me just say that I have nothing against Amazon and their business, as I have only compared two tablets that are currently equally priced. Until Amazon steps up and releases the Kindle Fire 2 (some rumors claim that will happen during July, although there would probably have been a lot more leaks about it if that were the case), the Kindle Fire and the Google Nexus are direct competitors. And the Nexus 7 turns out to be significantly better in all departments.

Google did a perfect job in delivering a budget tablet. From where I’m standing, this is the first Android tablet that really counts!


This article, Google Nexus 7 vs Amazon Kindle Fire , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Google Play: 20 billion app downloads, 600,000 apps and games

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 01:41 PM PDT

In addition to announcing new software (Android 4.1 Jelly Bean) and hardware (Google Nexus 7 and Google Nexus Q) today, Google has also revealed more details about the state of its Android ecosystem, highlighting handset sales and app downloads.

Google revealed that 400 million Android handsets were sold until this year’s Google I/O event, an impressive growth since last year when the company announced 100 million Android device sales at Google I/O 2011. Also worth mentioning is the fact that daily Android device activations have reached the 1 million units / day mark, or 12 units every second, compared to 400,000 units / day last year.

Maybe the most impressive numbers are related to Google Play, Google's digital content store. While the company is still trailing behind Apple when it comes to total number of apps, tablet-ready apps and total number of downloads, it certainly looks like Google is on the right track.

The company announced that it currently has over 600,000 apps and games in Google Play, almost as many as Apple, which has over 650,000 apps in the App Store. But Google did not reveal how many of those apps have been customized for tablet use – Apple has over 225,000 apps customized for the iPad. Moving forward, Android users have downloaded over 20 billion apps to date, or 1,5 billion apps per month, compared to Apple's 30 billion app downloads.

Anyone impressed?

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This article, Google Play: 20 billion app downloads, 600,000 apps and games , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.