Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Android Authority

Android Authority


ARM Q3 2012 financial results: More smartphones sold means more profits

Posted: 23 Oct 2012 02:09 AM PDT

ARM has just published their Q3 2012 financial results. They’re spectacular. Revenues are up 20% year on year to 144.6 million British pounds, profits are up 22% year on year to 68.1 million British pounds, and more and more companies are licensing the Mali graphics processor.

Just to recap, how exactly does ARM make money and how does that differ from Intel? Let’s start with Intel, because their business model is easier to understand. Intel designs processors and then builds them in their own factories. Translation: They make physical goods that they then sell to people. ARM on the other hand, they create blueprints that any company can then use. ARM licenses not only their own processors, stuff like the ARM Cortex A9 or A15, but they also license their complete architecture. In other words, if a company wants to design their own chip that’s compatible with code written for ARM processors, ARM will gladly do business with them. The two most notable companies that do that are Qualcomm and more recently Apple.

So besides making money hand over fist this quarter, what else did ARM announce? They said that someone signed an ARMv8 architecture license, which means someone is designing a processor that’s compatible with ARM’s next generation instruction set. What’s so special about ARMv8? It’s 64 bit enabled, which means it can address more than 4 GB of RAM. Now today you might think a smartphone with 4 GB of RAM is insane, but the Galaxy Note II and LG Optimus G (Nexus 4) both already come with 2 GB of RAM. Doubling that will happen in less time than you think!

Right now the fastest smartphone you can buy today is the Note II. It has four ARM Cortex A9 cores. In less than six months we’re probably going to see the first smartphones being unveiled that take advantage of ARM’s new Cortex A15. Those devices will have “only” two cores, but those two cores are going to pull some benchmark numbers that you’re not going to believe.

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Verizon selling 16GB Galaxy Nexus for $50 with contract, also comes in refurbished flavor for $230 off-contract

Posted: 23 Oct 2012 01:44 AM PDT

As it approaches its one-year anniversary, the Galaxy Nexus is still going strong and hasn't lost its shine among Android enthusiasts. We're not sure if that fully applies to the Verizon variant, but for those who are looking to venture into the world of the Nexus, Big Red has some sweet deals on the pure Google phone.

Seemingly coming out of nowhere, Verizon is now offering a brand new 16GB Galaxy Nexus for only $50 with a two-year contract. If you don't want to be tied into a contract, you can purchase said phone off-contract for $499. You may be paying more up front, but you'll probably save more dough in the end.

If you're not too keen on the idea of splashing out almost half a grand for a phone that's about to give up its throne to its successor in the coming days, Verizon is also selling a certified pre-owned 16GB Galaxy Nexus. The refurbished unit is being offered off-contract for $230.

Whether or not it's a wise move to buy a "used" phone is yours to decide. But Verizon said that the pre-owned device has been "thoroughly inspected and reconditioned to like-new condition". Fortunately, it also comes with a full 1-year warranty.

The LG Nexus 4, the next Nexus phone, may be just a week away from being announced, but we don't know for sure if it's going to come to Verizon right away. Are you tempted to snag the deals above?

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    And just like that, the new Google Chromebook is now sold out

    Posted: 23 Oct 2012 01:14 AM PDT

    The Verge

    Last week Google announced a $249 Chromebook. On Monday they started they started taking orders. Guess what happened? Less than 24 hours later and it’s now sold out! Now to be fair, we don’t know how many units Google had to begin with, so we can’t exactly call this news a major success, but it’s important none the less because it proves that people will buy Chromebooks if they’re priced right.

    What exactly is a Chromebook and what makes this new $249 model different from the previous generation models? Think of a Chromebook like a laptop that can run only one application: Chrome. The operating system, known as Chrome OS, is based on Linux, it uses the age old windowing user interface, and it auto updates itself every 6 weeks. This new $249 model, which is made by Samsung, is the first ARM based Chromebook. Translation: It uses the same kind of chips that companies traditionally put inside mobile phones.

    Which chip is inside? Samsung’s Exynos 5250, which is a dual core chip that uses ARM’s new Cortex A15 processors. We’ve known about this chip for a while now, but this new Chromebook is the first device to actually use it. Rumor has it that we’ll see smartphones and tablets use the new Exynos 5250 in 2013.

    Is the ARM Chromebook fast? Kevin Tofel at GigaOM did a performance evaluation and reached a conclusion that shouldn’t surprise any of you: It’s slower than the equivalent Intel based Chromebook, but it’s not slow enough to make it unusable. He goes on to say that his family didn’t notice any sluggishness when testing out the product.

    So there you have it. It’s hard for us to tell you to buy this Chromebook because we haven’t touched it yet, but hey, if you think you can live with a machine that does nothing but browse the web, $249 seems like a price tag that’s incredibly hard to resist.

    Think about it, it’s the same price as a Nexus 7.

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    LG Optimus L9 heading to T-Mobile on October 31 for $79.99

    Posted: 23 Oct 2012 12:44 AM PDT

    As Sprint and AT&T are preparing to welcome the LG Optimus G, T-Mobile is opting to carry its smaller and less-equipped cousin, the LG Optimus L9. Before the budget phone was even listed on T-Mo's website, a leak suggested that it will be priced rather aggressively. Now, the price has been confirmed by the carrier.

    Starting next week, specifically on October 31st, you can buy the LG Optimus L9 on T-Mobile retail stores and online. If you choose the two-year classic voice and data plan, new customers only have to plunk down $79.99 for the phone (after a $50 mail in rebate). Qualifying customers can opt for the equipment installment plan, where you need only pay $49.99 for the device, and then an additional $15 monthly over the next 20 months.

    The LG Optimus L9 boasts a 4.5-inch qHD display, dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon S3 processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB onboard storage, microSD support, 5MP rear camera with LED flash and 1080p HD recording, 1.3MP front-facing camera, Wi-Fi calling, Bluetooth 3.0, 2,150mAh battery, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

    Given the price, this phone will surely attract folks who want a phone with a big display, but are not too concerned about the rest of the specs or future software updates.

    Would you recommend the LG Optimus L9?

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      Google did some ‘research’, says most people use tablets to play games or email

      Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:51 PM PDT

      Google has just published a 10 page ‘research paper’ that tries to make some conclusions about people’s table usage. Before we even get to the data, let’s point out the methodology Google used to carry out their investigation. First question: How big was the sample size? 33 people. Yes, 33 people. Despite Google being loaded to the gills with people who have PhDs, the people who wrote this paper thought to themselves that there’s nothing wrong with a sample size of just 33 people. Palm, meet face. Second question: What tablets did these 33 people actually use? 24 of them (73%) owned an iPad. The remaining 9 (27%) owned something running Android. That’s actually a fairly accurate representation of the real world, so we don’t have any complaints about that. The split between men and women? 39% and 61% respectively, so Google is assuming tablets are used more by women than men.

      Now that we got that out of the way, what did Google find out about how people use tablets? The most popular thing to do, unsurprisingly, is email. Thirty years ago people said that the “killer app” of the internet was email. Looks like nothing has changed. The second hottest thing to do? Game. That explains why iPad ownership is high. Let’s not beat around the bush, there are more games on iOS, so when people go tablet shopping they take that into consideration. The third thing? Social networking, basically your Twitter and Facebook stuff.

      Where does browsing fit into all of this? Oddly enough, browsing is broken down into several subcategories. There’s browsing the internet with the intent to buy something, browsing the internet to check up on news, just plain web browsing in general, and more. All of those rank as “low frequency” activities done by the “most number of participants”. Translation: Everyone uses the internet, but not all that often.

      Right, enough numbers, what’s the key takeaway? Google has figured out that people use tablets at home when they don’t want to want to be in front of a computer. Not the mind blowing conclusion you were all waiting for, but then again what did you expect?

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      WhitePages Android app launched as people and store locator

      Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:40 PM PDT

      We earlier featured White Pages’ Current Caller ID Android app as a great way for smartphone users to see context before they answer a call. Current Caller ID shows you a caller’s latest social streams, so you know what they’ve been up to, which can make for an interesting conversation piece. The app also gives you statistics on your usage, including most frequent callers and SMS correspondents.

      WhitePages has released its app on Android, mainly as a locator app for finding friends and establishments using your smartphone’s location services.

      The app has two main features: Nearby People and Nearby Stores.

      Nearby People. White Pages says a majority of Americans don’t know the people in their neighborhood. The app makes it easier to be in touch with people in your community by offering access to contact details.

      Nearby Stores. Meanwhile, the business-oriented functionality will let users easily find establishments in 80,000 neighborhoods around the U.S. This includes menus, maps and directions. The aim is for users to be able to easily find friends and meet up at interesting locations.

      The app pulls Facebook and Twitter contacts for a more seamless experience. White Pages is available on both iOS and Android, and is a free download from Google Play.

      Check out the video and press release below.

      Show full PR text

      WhitePages Makes Finding People and Businesses Nearby Easier With New Android App

      New location-based neighbor, residential and business discovery features help people find everything nearby

      SEATTLE, WA –October 19, 2012 – Finding everything nearby — neighbors, U.S. households or local businesses — is now possible with the latest release of WhitePages' (www.whitepages.com) popular mobile app for Android devices. With major upgrades that include new Nearby People and Nearby Stores features, WhitePages for Android transforms the traditional concepts of people and business search into a discovery model. Using the device's location, it is now easier to find over 200 million U.S. adults and 30 million businesses while also seeing the names and contact information for those people and businesses located nearby, and then connect the two with maps, directions, phone numbers and addresses. The new WhitePages for Android builds on the recent success ofWhitePages' Current Caller ID app, which combines social updates with call and text ID and has attracted over one million users since launching in August. The two companion apps integrate seamlessly to enable WhitePages people, business and phone number search directly from Current Caller ID.

      "Earlier this year, we became the first to combine nearby people and business search capabilities into our top 10WhitePages iOS app," said Sanam Mehta, product manager of WhitePages for Android. "Based on the overwhelming response, we are thrilled to expand the offering to yet another platform and can't wait to help Android users discover and connect with anything nearby whether it's where they are currently located or where they may be headed in the future."

      Get to Know Your Neighbors and Local Businesses with Nearby People and Store Discovery
      With over 25 million total downloads to date, people rely on WhitePages' popular mobile apps on Android and iOS devices for one-tap access to concise contact information for 90 percent of U.S. adults and nearly every U.S. business, including restaurant and spa menus, address, phone number, maps and driving directions, website links, foursquare check-in counts, reviews and more.

      The new Nearby People feature makes it easy to get in touch with neighbors, whether your own or those of friends and family, by offering immediate access to neighbors' phone numbers, mailing addresses and household members. With research showing the majority of Americans don't know the people in their neighborhood, WhitePages makes it convenient for neighbors to reach each other whether for an emergency, to meet for the first time, return a lost dog, move their car, or send an invite to a holiday party. Contact information for neighbors can also be downloaded and saved in the address book of Android devices for convenient access.

      With the addition of new Nearby Stores functionality, the app becomes a traveler's best friend, making it easy to explore and find nearby businesses in over 30 popular categories throughout 80,000 neighborhoods across the U.S. The WhitePages app brings people and businesses together in a single search experience, to make finding maps and directions between homes and stores effortless.  For example, locating a friend's house across town or in a new city you're visiting, then finding a nearby restaurant or coffee shop with menus, maps, directions and more is just a tap away thanks to the combined power of WhitePages' 200 million residential listings and 30 million neighborhood businesses.

      The new WhitePages for Android app now also pulls in friends and followers from Facebook and Twitter to seamlessly share destinations directly to Facebook, Twitter, email, text messaging or the Web. It can be downloaded in Google Play. Check out a video to see how it works.

      About WhitePages

      WhitePages is the leading provider of contact information for people and businesses in the U.S. With over 40 million unique monthly users and powering over 2 billion searches on over 1,500 sites including MSN and the United States Postal Service, only WhitePages offers consumers one-click access to more than 200 million adults, also providing them with the ability to edit and control their own listings. The company's suite of mobile products includes a top-50 mobile website and popular Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, webOS and Windows 7 applications with over 9 million active monthly users.

      For more information, please visit www.whitepages.com or check out the WhitePages blog at blog.whitepages.com.

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        French and German Galaxy S III owners now getting Android 4.1 Jelly Bean as well

        Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:12 PM PDT

        Samsung’s slowly been pushing out the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update to Galaxy S III owners. They started in late September in Poland, and all throughout October they’ve added multiple European countries. Today we’re pleased to announce that unbranded handsets in Germany and France, two of the biggest countries in the European Union, are now getting notified that there’s a delicious software update waiting for them.

        Just a quick recap, what’s so special about Jelly Bean? Project Butter makes the UI smooth. Super smooth. Dare we say it … iOS smooth. It also improves the notification tray, making it much more interactive and information dense. But out favorite feature, hands down, is Google Now. Think of it like a constantly running Google Search, giving you information that you might want to see without typing anything in. It makes Siri look downright archaic.

        So when will Americans get JB on their Galaxy S III units? Samsung says they’ll do it in “the coming months”, which makes us want to hate them, but they remind us that it’s up to the operators to get off their lazy asses and push the “send” button.

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        Samsung denies that they’ve cut ties with Apple, says the Korea Times story is false

        Posted: 22 Oct 2012 10:50 PM PDT

        We published an article yesterday that said Samsung was going to stop selling displays to Apple. The story was first reported by The Korean Times, who we consider to be a highly reliable source of information. Apparently they messed up, which means we messed up, so we want to apologize. Samsung reached out to C|Net to say that the article in the KT was 100% false. They even went so far as to say that they “never tried to cut the supply” to Apple.

        So does this mean Apple and Samsung are in a healthy relationship? Absolutely not. Rumor has it that Apple is going to stop securing chips from Samsung and instead ask TSMC to manufacture their next generation parts. That’s not too surprising because Samsung also makes their own chips under the “Exynos” brand. We can’t imagine Apple being all too thrilled with giving the blueprints to their custom designed processors to Samsung.

        Back to the KT story, we’re actually pretty disappointed that it turned out to be false because we were hoping that Samsung would start using their advanced LCD panels in their smartphones. Take the iPhone 5 for instance. It has a display that pushes 326 pixels per inch. Keeping the PPI constant, that would mean Samsung could make a 720p display that measures just 4.5 inches across, something that’s much more manageable than the 4.8 inch Galaxy S III.

        We’re less than three months away from 2013, a year where we expect to see the term “flagship smartphone” get redefined yet again. If the HTC Butterfly is any indication of what we can expect to see, 1080p screens powered by quad core Qualcomm processors and 2 GB of RAM are going to become the norm. Can Samsung make a 1080p mobile phone display? We have our doubts they can scale OLED to such insane densities.

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          Amazon Kindle Fire HD update includes kid-friendly FreeTime

          Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:04 PM PDT

          Kids are increasingly becoming tech-savvy, and intuitive gesture-based interfaces are enabling better access to these devices. However, even if young children and early graders can easily tap, touch and swipe, parents still need to be wary about the content their kids can access through connected devices. This is one reason behind Amazon’s launch of its latest feature for the Kindle Fire HD.

          Amazon’s FreeTime was announced when the Kindle Fire HD was launched, and was supposed to give parents better control over their — or their kids’ — devices. With FreeTime, you can set time limits on tablet usage, and you can even limit usage to specific apps or features. The software also has a kid-friendly interface, and lets parents easily track their kids’ progress.

          Parents can easily exit FreeTime with a password to access the regular Kindle Fire HD apps and features. In this light, FreeTime also works as a multi-user system, in which parents can separate access between their content and their kids’. In their product launch Amazon was supposed to include the feature on the Kindle Fire, too, although this announcement makes no mention of whether FreeTime will also feature on the non-HD variant.

          Amazon has also announced that their $199 Kindle Fire HD is their best-selling product so far. No exact sales figures were cited, though, so we’ll take their word for it.

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          185 million Android users vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks

          Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:32 PM PDT

          android malware

          A report by security experts indicates that as many as 185 million Android users around the world may be vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. This means that even as the communications protocol is secure in itself, messages can be intercepted during data exchanges through spoofing of security certificates, and malicious hackers or software can tamper with communications.

          Computer scientists from Germany’s Leibniz University of Hannover and Philpps University of Marburg have attempted such attacks, and say they could retrieve sensitive information from an Android smartphone.

          We could gather bank account information, payment credentials for PayPal, American Express and others. Furthermore, Facebook, email and cloud storage credentials and messages were leaked, access to IP cameras was gained and control channels for apps and remote servers could be subverted.

          The researchers say other information is also vulnerable, and this can include emails and instant messages.

          What’s troubling is that the study even includes one anti-virus app, which was found to have accepted invalid SSL certificates when updating its malware database. This can easily be exploited by a malicious hacker, who can feed his own malicious signatures into the app.

          The study has also found a generic online banking application to be vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, as well as a popular cross-platform instant messaging application.

          As for solutions, the researchers recommended beefing up security, such as by using security certificate pinning. Thereis also a recommendation for Google to provide warnings when a connection is not encrypted.

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          Android and Me

          Android and Me


          Top 10 most popular Android apps from last week: Keymonk, Crackle, Photo Punch

          Posted: 22 Oct 2012 02:59 PM PDT

          Every week we cover Android gaming on Wednesday, followed by Android Rookies on Thursday, and Top 10 app updates on Friday. Now every Monday we will look back and see which ones were the most crowd-pleasing among our audience. Read on for the 10 most popular Android apps among your peers from last...

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          Samsung looking to move away from selling Apple their displays

          Posted: 22 Oct 2012 02:20 PM PDT

          Samsung and Apple have an incredibly strange relationship. In the courtroom and in the marketplace, they’re bitter rivals. Constantly at each other’s throats. But when it comes to the manufacturing process, the two companies need each other. Apple relies on Samsung for several intergal...

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          Used Verizon Galaxy Nexus going for $230 without contract

          Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:10 PM PDT

          If the latest and greatest doesn’t matter to you, and you’re looking for a cheap handset to pick up off-contract with Verizon, perhaps a $230 Galaxy Nexus is just what you’re looking for. With the launch of the next Nexus right around the corner, you’d think the world has...

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          LG India accidentally spills the beans on the Nexus 4

          Posted: 22 Oct 2012 01:07 PM PDT

          The LG Nexus has been leaked so extensively these past few weeks, there’s absolutely no doubt in our minds that it’s guaranteed to be at least one of the devices Google has prepared for us next Monday at their Android event in New York City. As you would imagine, despite all the [...]

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