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Posted: 12 Feb 2013 02:40 AM PST
 Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest mobile OS of them all? You don't need any kind of magical powers to answer that, but only some common sense and/or access to reports and forecasts from specialized research firms. According to the latest such report conducted by ABI Research, the ruler of the modern mobile technology world is going to ascertain its dominance over the "competition" by the end of 2013. More precisely, out of the 1.4 billion smartphones that are allegedly going to be in use by December, 798 million will use Android. That leaves a small, but still pretty juicy piece of the pie for Apple's iPhones and just minuscule slices for Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10. Namely, we should be seeing 294 million iPhones around us, as well as 45 million WP devices and 20 million BB10 phones give or take. Put differently, Android is set to hold a dominant 57% market share, iOS is going to be a distant second with 21%, while Microsoft and RIM Blackberry's operating systems will battle it out for bronze, with 3.2 and 1.4% shares respectively. Everything's good for us Android geeks and it all sounds legit, right? Well, not quite. Because, if these numbers prove accurate, our favorite mobile OS could actually go into a free fall during 2013. Recent Canalys estimates pinned down Android's market share at 69.2%, so will that slip to 57% in just 12 months?  We highly doubt it, which is why we think someone messed up ABI Research's projections. After all, if we add the supposed year end shares of Android, iOS, Windows Phone and BB 10 together, we're going to get a total of a little over 82%. Which would leave 18% to, what, Symbian and old BlackBerries? We think not. Assuming ABI's numbers are after all correct and we're missing something in that above equation, the little green robot still doesn't have serious cause of concern. Nearly 800 million devices in actual use is a number we can be proud of, especially when thinking that the 1 billion mark for all active smartphones was only crossed a few months ago. And now we can start dreaming at seeing 1 billion Android devices as soon as 2014. Mind = blown. As you can imagine, the status quo isn’t quite as rosy when it comes to the tablet market, although it's clear things are picking up for Android there as well. There will be 268 million active tabs at the end of 2013, out of which 63% (over 168 million) will run iOS, while 28% (75 million) will come with Android on board. In other words, the gold is still snatched comfortably by Apple’s iPads, but gone are the days when iOS held 85% of the market share, while Android struggled to reach 10%. And if the leap from 10 to 28% has been so smooth, why couldn’t we hope to see the bar raised to over 50% soon? Related Posts |
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Posted: 12 Feb 2013 02:39 AM PST
 Google is clearly trying to raise awareness of Google Now, Android’s built-in voice and search system which tries to get ”you just the right information at just the right time”, and after the airing of some prime time ads about the system, it seems that Google has some changes in the pipeline. Google Now is normally a separate screen that shows things like traffic, weather and stocks and also allows access to Google Search, however it isn’t activated via a normal app icon on the home screen but rather it only appears when you use the standard search bar.This means that all those potentially useful “cards” are hidden until you use the search facility. According to some short lived official Google support pages, Google are planning to release a Google Now widget that “displays a summary of your current Google Now cards, either on a home screen or on the lock screen.” I said short lived because, once the story broke on the Internet about the new widget, all the pages were removed by Google!  What the support pages did show was a widget with information about the current traffic, the current weather and the current Google share price. The widget is for a UK Android user as it shows the weather situation in London and the traffic report is for the A1234, a major road in Yorkshire! When this new widget will appear is unclear, will it be part of the next version of Android? Will it be part of an update to Jelly Bean 4.1 or 4.2 or will it be part of an update via Google Play? However it appears, it can’t come soon enough as the main reason I don’t use Google Now is that it is too hidden! This new widget will be a welcome addition. What do you think, would you use Google Now more if there was a widget? Related Posts |
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Posted: 12 Feb 2013 02:15 AM PST
 The Chrome OS device is said to feature a 2560 x 1700 resolution display with touch support, a backlit keyboard but also LTE connectivity in addition to Wi-Fi and support for Intel's Ivy Bridge generation of processors. Myce's Jan Willem Aldershoff has further explored Google code and found evidence pointing to a "Google Link" device, most likely the internal codename of the Pixel. Code names have been used in the past for other Chrome OS laptops including, in chronological order, Mario (Google Cr-48,) Alex (Samsung Series 5,) ZGB (Acer AC700,) Stumpy (Samsung Series 3,) Lumpy (Samsung Series 5 550,) Snow/Daisy (Samsung ARM Chromebook,) Parrot (Acer C7 Chromebook,) Stout (Lenovo Thinkpad X131e,) and Butterfly (HP Pavilion 14). But there doesn't appear to be a pattern here when it comes to project code names that would confirm that Link is also a Chrome OS device. However, a discussion about HighDPI support between Chrome OS developers titled “Remove high-DPI resource paks from all boards other than link” suggests that the feature should be enabled on Google Link only. One of the entries reads: Ok. We had been relying on having high-DPI assets on all devices (for testing high-DPI, supporting plugging in external high-dpi displays, etc.). But now with availability of Macbook retina and more Arrows, this seems less necessary. If the space is that important then we should keep them only on link boards.Another look at the code reveals that the Google Link could support Intel's Ivy Bridge processors, although it's not known at this time what processor model we'd be talking about.  However, the Chromebook Pixel (Google Link) is not a confirmed product and it may take some time to see it unveiled. Some of the code that Myce is pointing to dates back to April 2012, which means that if indeed the project is real then Google spent a lot of time working on it, and we have no idea whether the product is ready for prime time. With all that in mind, the same source points us to a Sergey Brin Google Plus post dated January 14 that shows a picture of some jellyfish (top image) which seems to indirectly confirm the existence of the Pixel / Link. But is that actual proof or just a happy coincidence in light of the video that has recently surfaced? We'll be back with more details about this yet-to-be-announced product as soon as we have them. Thanks, Jan! Related Posts |
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Posted: 12 Feb 2013 02:08 AM PST
 The LG Optimus G Pro has been made official in Japan, but the upcoming flagship phone is yet to be introduced in the company's home country of South Korea. With rumors circulating that the Optimus G Pro will be released in late February in the country, it'd make perfect sense for LG to start building up some hype for the phone, such as posting a teaser page on Facebook. For now, the page doesn’t reveal much, but additional details will be shared as more users click "Like". Unless you live in South Korea and want to win some prizes, you don't have to wait for the final unveiling to know what the specs of the phone are and how it looks like. For the uninitiated, the Optimus G pro will sport a 5.5-inch full HD display and come with a quad-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. It'll also come with the now-standard 2GB of RAM, a 13MP rear camera, 2MP front-facing cam, and an impressive 3,140mAh battery. We should be hearing more of the device’s international release at MWC 2013. We'll keep you updated. Related Posts |
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Posted: 12 Feb 2013 01:58 AM PST
 Nokia used to make crazy expensive phones under the Vertu brand, but last year they decided to sell that small part of the company to some hedge fund manager with more money than common sense. Vertu phones, in case you don’t know that much about them, were never really high end. In fact, most of them were feature phones. Why did they cost so much? Because they were made out of gold, had diamonds all over them, and other expensive precious gems and metals. We’ve known for a while now that Vertu was going to make an Android phone, and today, thanks to the BBC, we now know more about the device. Let’s start with the most important part, the price. It’s going to run you 7,900 Euros, which translates to $10,576.52. What do you get for the equivalent of a down payment on a house? An 800 x 480 pixel resolution screen, 1.5 GHz processor (single/dual core?), and … wait a minute, you’re still reading this? You can afford a $10,500 phone? People want to feel exclusive, like they belong to some sort of club that no one else can be a member of. It’s kind of hard to do that in today’s world of mass produced consumer goods. The truly niche things, hand made luggage, hand made cars, and in this case, hand made phones, are for the type of people who want to project an image of financial success so we, the regular people, know our place in society. This bag is for people like me, not for people like you. This car is for people like me, not for people like you. This Samsung Galaxy S4, shit, it’s just $199 with a two year contract. Guess it’s not special. Update: Here’s the phone’s official website. It’s called the Vertu Ti, it has a dual core 1.7 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel rear camera, speakers tuned by Bang & Olufsen, and it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Related Posts |
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Posted: 12 Feb 2013 01:10 AM PST
 Love is in the air, and what better way to spend Valentine's Day than to stay home and watch some schmaltzy movies together or um… on your own – especially when you can get them for cheap from Google Play Movies. There's a special Valentine's Day movie collection promo running on Google's online movie store, where select titles are offered for $1.99. Some of the newer titles will cost you a maximum of $9.99. Some classic titles that you can download include Breakfast at Tiffany's and Casablanca. Then there's Sleepless in Seattle, but there's no doubt you'll see this one aired on some — if not all — channels. For something more unusual, you can get Audrey Tauto's Amélie and A Very Long Engagement for $1.99 each. As for our top pick, you can never go wrong with another viewing of The Notebook. Thank us later. Check the link out for the full available titles. Got a fave of your own? Hit the comments below. Related Posts |
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Posted: 12 Feb 2013 12:15 AM PST
 With March Madness about to kick off, Google Now is doing its part of helping college basketball fans around the country get the latest on the tournament. Thanks to the stealthy update that Google’s intelligent assistant has received, the sports cards will now show game updates – during a game and/or after – of your favorite NCAA Division I basketball teams. Simply open Google Now and go to the settings page (the three dots at the bottom) and tap "Google Now" and "Sports". You can then manually add the team by doing a search there. For now, only the men's teams are supported. Go ahead and share the good news with other college basketball enthusiasts of the awesomeness that is Google Now. Here's hoping that more sports (tennis?) will be supported by the service in the near future. Did you manage to add your fave team? Let us know in the comments below. Related Posts |
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Posted: 11 Feb 2013 11:02 PM PST
 If you have a Nexus device with an unlocked bootloader, this is for you. Chances are if you think of big name, multi-device ROMs, Paranoid Android will be right up there with the likes of CM and AOKP. Now, Paranoid Android 3.0 (PA3) is available for the Nexus 4, 7, 10 and Galaxy Nexus. One of the headline features of PA3 is called Hybrid Engine, as explained by the devs over at XDA-Developers. While many people confuse this to simply mean you can use your phone in “tablet mode”, it is much more than that. In fact, it gives you the ability to change the layout and dpi of every app individually. Also, you can actually change System UI colours on a per app basis! These two features, along with the other tweaks included in the ROM, will give you an unprecedented level of control over the appearance of your phone. Other mods include the PIE control system (which replaces the need for the navigation bar) and color optimizations for the Nexus 4 screen. To read more about PA3 and give it a shot head over to the source link below. Personally, I am caught between this ROM and the new AOKP build. Which one are you guys gonna go for? Related Posts |
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Posted: 11 Feb 2013 10:42 PM PST
 AOKP is one of the big name ROMs out there, and many were disappointed that they decided to start afresh when Android 4.2 was released. Now, however, they have already rolled out a few builds based on 4.2 and they seem to be getting back in their stride. AOKP Build 3 is available as of today, containing all the usual bug fixes and bringing many new features into the arena. Among the new things, we can count a UI mode selector that lets you switch between phone mode and tablet mode, and customizable transparency for UI elements. The new devices that have been added with this build are the Acer Iconia Tab A510, the T-Mobile Galaxy S2, and the Galaxy Note 2 LTE. Build 3 for the Exynos and OMAP-based international Galaxy S2 will be available tomorrow instead of today, due to some build issues. As always, it’s recommended you update your recovery before flashing, and do a full wipe just to be on the safe side. Oh, and you don’t like full wiping every once in a while? That’s what Titanium Backup is for. Related Posts |
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Posted: 11 Feb 2013 10:25 PM PST
 Privacy has often been a key issue in discussing mobile devices, especially given the pervasive nature of mobile devices these days. Our smartphones and tablets have GPS tracking sensors, cameras, microphones, and we store personal data on the cloud. Information can be accessed by online services and local applications as part of their functionality, and users are left to the mercy of those that store their data. With these concerns in mind, a proposed APPS Act has been submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives for deliberation, and it will have an impact on user privacy in mobile devices. See also: If passed, Mobile Device Privacy Act will make every app ask before taking data Have you ever wondered just how much data Google or Facebook has on you? You might want to pay attention to how the APPS Act aims to improve privacy and security, or at least give a framework through which users are made better aware of their responsibilities and privileges as a consumer. A quick overviewThe APPS act — or Application Privacy, Protection and Security Act — was introduced by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) as a discussion draft, and it contains the following points:
Benefits and responsibilitiesIn short, the bill aims to give you better control over your data, and the ability to opt-out of data storage and collection should you wish to exercise your rights to do so. When installing Android apps, the installation interface already informs you of what permissions the app will need, and whether you will install based on this information. But as it stands, Android apps will fail the above-stated requirements in the way they currently ask you for permission.To comply, apps will need to categorically state the kind of personal data that will be collected, why these will be needed, and which other companies they will share the data with (which may include advertisers or other service providers). Developers will also need to disclose how they plan to dispense with your information, and whether you can ask for your information to be taken off their premises. See also: How to secure your Android phone and protect your data Additionally, the section entitled “withdrawal of consent” provides a means for users to ask the developer to “refrain from any further collection of personal data through the application,” as well as “delete any personal data collected by the application that is stored by the developer,” or “refrain from any further use or sharing of such data.” Almost there, but …It’s not all rosy at this point, though. Given the legal requirements, it might be necessary to present the user with a lengthy terms-of-service screen and text, which will need to be confirmed before an app is installed. This might be difficult on two levels. First, users have the tendency of just skipping the small print and clicking on “install” blindly without reading the text. Secondly, it might turn off developers who need to collect, process and sometimes even share user data in order for their apps to function properly.The APPS act includes provisions for civil liabilities, should a developer fail to comply with the disclosure requirements. The APPS act delegates the role of enforcement to the FTC, and the role of prosecution — where necessary — to the Attorney General. note that liability is only civil and not criminal. Still, this might be a cause of worry to small developers who don’t necessarily have the resources at their disposal to deal with a lawsuit. The question now is whether the provisions of the APPS act already address the numerous privacy concerns that users have been voicing out. With the APPS act, developers will be compelled to be clear with exactly what the need from you and how they will use your data. But it still does not preclude them from using your data in the first place — only now they’re obliged to tell us users in a clear and explicit way. It will still be up to us to decide whether to use, download or sign up for those apps and services in the first place. You can send Congressman Johnson a message through the AppRights website in the source link. You can also check out the full text of the draft bill in this PDF. Related Posts |
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Android Authority
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