Android Authority |
- [Awesome] Google creates Game of Thrones themed commercial
- Eric Schmidt still loves his BlackBerry
- Android Authority On Air – Episode 56 – Live with doubleTwist Magic Radio
- The new look of Google management
- Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini spotted in the wild
- The Friday Debate: What Google product you couldn’t live without?
- T-Mobile testing its LTE network with Samsung’s Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4 in eight major U.S. cities, says OpenSignal data
- Samsung continues to expand the low end market, while balancing high and mid-range presence
- HTC Myst shows up on FCC with AT&T-friendly radios
- HTC: One to deploy in Germany, U.K. and Taiwan next week, North American and Asia-Pacific to follow before the end of April
| [Awesome] Google creates Game of Thrones themed commercial Posted: 23 Mar 2013 03:12 AM PDT
Well, this was quite a find. Just in time for the Season 3 premiere of the acclaimed series Game of Thrones, Google has released a new commercial titled “Retribution”, complete with an aura of vengeance in the air. Throughout the ad, we see Google going through the Play Store and buying a bunch of medieval, dragon, power and punishment themed content on a Nexus 10. They move through songs, books, games and movies, all while Carmina Burana’s O Fortuna is doing its part to build up the tension in the background. The ad culminates when showing us the cover of the Game of Thrones on the Nexus 7 and other content on the Nexus 4 and a Chromebook. In the end, the Play user is revealed as Daenerys Targaryen, mother of dragons and rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. It’s great to see Google take advantage of what has now truly become a global phenomenon. I have no doubt this will manage to extract at least couple of chuckles from GoT fans. I have just one quarrel with the ending; I really do not believe that the Khaleesi has time to kill on her Nexus. Doesn’t she have an army to build and a kingdom to win? The post [Awesome] Google creates Game of Thrones themed commercial appeared first on Android Authority. |
| Eric Schmidt still loves his BlackBerry Posted: 22 Mar 2013 07:41 PM PDT  “What’s in my pocket? Well, a BlackBerry, of course!” Well, this is awkward. While most companies today are “dogfooding” — that is, they’re forcing all their employees to use their own products — we hardly hear of a top executive pining for a competitor’s product. It especially becomes more interesting because BlackBerry is currently in the minority today, with Android having fast overtaken other mobile platforms. In an interview with the Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger, Schmidt — currently executive chairman at Google — says he still loves his BlackBerry smartphone, mostly because of its QWERTY keypad. While keypads have been fast overtaken by capacitive glass touchscreens as the preferred input method for smartphones, there’s no denying that physical keypads do have their advantages. For one, keypads give a tactile feedback, which makes it easier for touch-typing. In particular, BlackBerry keypads are quite famous for their ease-of-use. Which brings us to the question: why aren’t there more Android smartphones that sport physical keyboards? Sure there are mid-range devices like the Samsung Galaxy Pro and the Samsung Replenish, but these are hardly current devices. In contrast, BlackBerry is offering its latest line with both QWERTY and full touchscreen options (the Z10 vs. the Q10). Aside from Schmidt’s love for BlackBerry keyboards, it seems he’s not too comfortable with the screen size of the popular Nexus 7, too, preferring instead the bigger size of a full iPad, for instance. Using competitor products is not exactly new, though. Google employees are free to use whichever desktop computing platform they want, and engineers are frequently photographed using Apple MacBooks. Even Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer had been famously an iPhone user even while she was still vice president at Google. Still, this highlights the more open nature of the corporate culture at Google. This means that while Android is currently top dog in the mobile platform race, Google is perhaps aware that they can still learn a lot from competing platforms, especially if there are features and functionalities that have a solid fan base. Does anyone still like having physical keypads on their smartphone? The post Eric Schmidt still loves his BlackBerry appeared first on Android Authority. |
| Android Authority On Air – Episode 56 – Live with doubleTwist Magic Radio Posted: 22 Mar 2013 06:02 PM PDT
This week on Android Authority On Air, we were joined by Sebastiaan de With from doubleTwist to discuss their recently launched service, Magic Radio. If you aren’t familiar, Magic Radio is a unique streaming music discovery service that doubleTwist launched last week. With over 13 million songs in the doubleTwist library, Magic Radio is fully integrated with consumers' listening habits and offers personalized, near-infinite playlists of music they already love with music they will love. We had plenty of questions for Sebastiaan lined up such as how Magic Radio differs from existing services, their challenges, “mood” based stations, and plenty from our live audience. Additionally, doubleTwist may or may not be looking to revamp their app with Android’s latest Holo guidelines in the near future. As for weekly news, we covered statements from Eric Schmidt on Chrome OS and Android. We gave our initial impressions on Google’s latest app, Keep, which is a simple, yet powerful note taking application. Thanks to some high profile leaks, we saw a sneak peak on a revamped Google Play Store. The new UI revealed a very clean, minimalistic Holo UI that reflects the web version of the Play Store. And, Currents can now play Podcasts. For hardware and carrier news, Nvidia released a revised road-map for their next generation chip-sets. T-Mobile prepares to LTE all the things with their Galaxy Note 2 and Verizon surprises us with Android 4.2.2 for the Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.1 for the Droid 4. All this and more on Android Authority On Air Episode 56 Tune in below
The post Android Authority On Air – Episode 56 – Live with doubleTwist Magic Radio appeared first on Android Authority. |
| The new look of Google management Posted: 22 Mar 2013 04:24 PM PDT Technology is a funny thing. Constantly moving, evolving, shifting, and transforming. Progressive fields are like that, naturally, so we really shouldn't be surprised when a company like Google changes things up a bit. The recent management shakeup in Mountain View was significant, but not for the reasons we may think. Moving onThe biggest shock to our system was Andy Rubin leaving Android. The founder and father of our favorite mobile platform is moving on to another project, in another building. Where and what will be next for Andy, nobody really knows. Speculation about going to Google X abound, but to no end. All we know is that Andy is leaving, and we wish him well. A few days after that announcement, we learned that Jeff Hubel was moving on as well. Hubel, who was heading up Maps, Commerce, and Payments, will be headed to Google X. In both instances, the respective divisions those two ran will be merged with other properties inside of Google. This isn't representative of two guys who wanted a different challenge as much it is a restructuring within Google. Re-alignmentTo get a better understanding of what's going on at Google, let's get an idea of who is doing what these days. We know what both Andy and Jeff were doing before moving on, but where did their products end up? What does it mean? First, a list of who is doing what.
That's five managers, heading up nine services. This is just an example of the "more wood behind fewer arrows" edict Larry Page mentioned in a Google+ post regarding Google becoming a more focused company. We can learn a lot from this alignment of stars, and get a good idea of just what might be coming.
ChangesChange is a bit frightening at times, but also needed. What are the challenges each manager faces? How will they progress their respective divisions? Even those whose services remained untouched will be affected by the dominoes around them falling into place.
Sundar PichaiSundar has done a fabulous job with Chrome, but Android is a wholly different beast. There wasn't even a Chrome browser for Android until last year, and the browser has been around for quite some time. This is perhaps representative of two services with very different ideas on how to move forward, which could prove to be Sundar's largest immediate challenge. He now has two very different teams that may have some conflicting ideas on direction. The combination of the Chrome and Android camps is significant. This doesn't necessarily mean the two services will merged, but it does represent that they will be moving in a very similar direction on the same trajectory. Android is Google's mobile trump card, and the company has made clear its intentions to be a mobile-centric one. Chrome has proven itself invaluable as a browser,and the OS is coming along nicely. Android could provide Chrome with the necessary tools needed to grow and diversify, while Chrome might inject some needed energy into the Android team.
Alan EustaceHaving already taken the reigns of Search, the addition of Maps to Alan's arsenal is curious. Why merge these two services together? It seems that the ability to find things while exploring is an increasing part of Google's strategy. This is a natural fit for services like Offers, and technology like Glass. This move seems to signify that Google is keenly aware of our surroundings, even if we're not.
Susan WojcickiSusan was already taking care of advertising services, but the addition of commerce and payments is a no-brainer. Those are all services that fit together, and should be under one roof. This is significant in Google's ongoing effort to attract businesses and advertising to their services. This move, above all, is more wood behind an arrow that has locked onto a target.
Vic GundotraWhile Vic's job may not have changed, it didn't have to. Google+ is meant as the spine that runs through Google, and connects all services together. Google has been serious about social, moving Google+ along at a very respectable pace. It's a tricky line that Vic is walking, though. Google+ is a singular service of a company with a diversity of interests, with the aim to tie everything in. In simply considering social, Google+ has pinched a bit from everyone. It's a little like twitter, a lot like Facebook, and remains attractive for LinkedIn users. If anyone is spread too thin, it may be Vic. The again, if anyone can make magic happen… it's Vic.
Salar KamangarYouTube uploads 30 hours of video every minute of the day. In that minute, there are 2,300 views. Inside of 60 seconds, there are more than one full days worth of issues, from copyright to term of service issues. Like Vic, Salar has a single title that encompasses a myriad of things daily. YouTube is attempting to attract original content, as well as exploring the streaming radio realm. Aside from the larger task at hand, there just isn't another service that would have made sense to bundle with YouTube.
What does it all mean?This all constitutes a concentrated effort to drive Google further. What was once a company of isolated services is becoming one designed to react swiftly and act decisively as one. Google X is a fantastic curiosity, but those are all very clandestine ideas that may never see the light of day. What has been done to Google as an entity is much more striking to our daily lives. At the end of the day, we're going to see a Google that puts out brilliant products and services meant to enhance our experience every step of the way. Many lament the deletion of services like Google Reader, but that action is part of a larger breadth for Google. This management shakeup is like taking your car in for a tune-up and having the mechanic supercharge it for you at no cost. Same car you're used to, just faster and more nimble. Larry Page seems to be quite the archer these days, and his quiver of arrows is exceedingly impressive. The post The new look of Google management appeared first on Android Authority. |
| Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini spotted in the wild Posted: 22 Mar 2013 02:56 PM PDT
The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini has appeared online via a Twitter account of someone named Ermek Kubanychbekov. He has posted multiple photos online of the Galaxy S4 Mini in addition to comparison photos against the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy S4. The SamMobile says that the device has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD with a pixel density of 256ppi in addition to a 1.6GHz dual-core processor. Moreover, the device is based on Samsung's TouchWiz Nature UX 2.0 running the latest version of Android, 4.2.2. Nothing has been confirmed by Samsung, of course, but contrary to earlier rumors, SamMobile says the device is expected to launch during the summer in June or July. If that is the case and is not just a rumor, it shouldn’t be long before Samsung makes an official announcement. The Galaxy S4 Mini, as expected, looks a lot like its big brother, the Galaxy S4. Hopefully we’ll get official confirmation from Samsung soon. The post Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini spotted in the wild appeared first on Android Authority. |
| The Friday Debate: What Google product you couldn’t live without? Posted: 22 Mar 2013 01:23 PM PDT We are all mobile geeks, here at Android Authority. We love everything with a power button. We like to comment the latest news and endlessly argue over which phone is better. On the Friday Debate, we pick a hot issue and proceed to discuss it. Join us! Oh my god, they killed Reader! That was the general reaction of the internet last week, when Google announced its latest spring cleaning. Since then, gallons of digital ink have been spilled lamenting the demise of Reader, but also questioning the wisdom of investing so much of our digital (and physical) lives into one company. Let’s face it, if you are anything like me, you’ve already put too many of your virtual eggs in Google’s basket. Which leads us to the theme of this week’s Friday Debate: What Google product you couldn’t live without? Read our arguments, vote in the poll, sound off in the comments! David Gonzales (G+): I am not that into Google Like most people, Google’s decision to kill off Reader took me completely by surprise. I’ve barely touched it since they made the official announcement. I just feel like it’s completely useless or dead now even though I know it’s going to be up for a few more months. And because of the whole Google Reader kerfuffle, I’ve come to realize that I can actually get by just fine without using many of Google’s services. Google Search is, by far, still my most-used service from Google — mostly because other than being a search engine, it’s also a spell checker, a calculator, a dictionary, a currency converter, and much more — but I can’t say I wouldn’t be able to live without it. Maybe I’m just being careful, but I honestly can’t see myself relying too much on the services of the company that Google has shown itself to be with its infamous Google Reader move. I’m only human and I don’t think I can suffer another heartbreak. Ankit Banerjee (G+): Why would I want to live without Google?A lot of Google applications have become a permanent part of my daily routine. The most important is Google Search, which as +David Gonzales mentioned, works as a spell checker, currency converter, dictionary, and a lot more. Gmail, for both personal and professional use (We use Google Apps for Business here at Android Authority). Maps for navigation, which I need almost everyday since I moved to a new city. All my music is on Play Music. All my documents and pictures are on Google Drive. I've also completely shifted from desktop office applications to using Google Docs/Drive. I moved all my notes from Evernote, Inkpad, etc. to Google Keep, hours after it was announced. And of course, Chrome, Google+, Google Talk, and more. At this point, I feel like all I need to do is buy a Chromebook and move to Kansas City so I can use Google Fiber, to completely immerse myself in the world of Google.Can I live without any of these apps? Sure. Probably. Maybe? I don't know! Robert Triggs (G+): Google Search FTW! “Google products” hey? Then how about the Google Search Engine? Google.co.uk is still by far my most frequently visited website, and a Google search bar sits on both my Android and PC desktops to resolve my day to day queries. I can't fault it, and improvements to the image search, news results feed, consumer review integration, and various tweaks to all of the other search categories over the years still makes the old search engine stand out head and shoulders above any other. Maps, Gmail, and Google Now are all great apps in their own way, but nearly everything Google does is based on its ability to trawl the web for the information you need. It might seem like a cop-out, but if you were to seriously ask me which Google service I'd save if all the others were to be switched off, it would have to be the search engine which made Google the prominent technological powerhouse that it is today. Derek Ross (G+): I live on Google Plus Google’s array of products and services are embedded into my every day life. I find it hard to pick one product that I could not live without, as I use many Google products and services on a daily basis. All of which are part of my normal life and any change, such as Reader, is disruptive. If I had to choose one, it would be Google+. Google+ has completely changed my life. On a personal level, I’ve made countless friends and ever lasting relationships that have made my life that much better. Thanks to Google+, I’ve grown a vast audience on social networks that has allowed me to open doors that I wouldn’t have even dreamed of in the past, such as actively engaging with all of you. Brad Ward (G+): Just Drive I can’t really say there’s one Google product I can’t live without. Google has created an ecosystem that is so embedded into my every day life that it would be nigh impossible to get out. Just about everything I do is Google related in some way. My phone, my e-mail, social networking — it’s all Google related in some way. Picking one service is difficult as well because everything is so intertwined with each other. Regardless, I’d have to say Drive is a service that I could not live without, especially with the introduction of Google Keep. I do all of my writing in Drive, and despite having a Dropbox account, I store the majority of my files in Drive as well. Considering that cloud is “the future”, I’d hate to let Drive go anyway, as I’d love to see how it evolves over the next few years with Chrome OS and so on. Joe Hindy (G+): I am here for the integration (also, what Brad said)Damn you Brad you stole mine :-P There isn’t an individual Google product that can’t be replaced to an extent. Instead of Drive we could all be using Dropbox. Instead of Google+ we could all be using a combination of Facebook and Twitter. There are alternatives to YouTube. They’re not all adequate replacements, but if Google apps and products didn’t exist, we’d either find replacements or someone would release something to fix it. A perfect example is Feedly’s Normandy back end that will replacing Google Reader for many people.However, as my colleague Brad Ward pointed out, even if we did all fan out and use non-Google services, we wouldn’t have the integration. That’s what I would have the hardest time living without. With a single account, I get cloud storage, social networking, online doc creation, chat (both text and video), a calender service, an email service, a video sharing service, a navigation service, a music and application service, and much more. With nothing more than two sign ins with this account, I can have all of that on my computer and my smartphone. This integration is something you cannot find with services that replace Google services. So it’s not necessarily any app that I could live without, but I would have a much harder time getting along without the “glue that holds it all together”, so to speak. Bogdan Bele (G+): Gmail and everything elseI use a lot of Google products, and yes, I was a big fan of Google Reader, which I'm very disappointed to see leaving (but it's not my choice to make, is it?). I've already quit using it and switched to Feedly. And I also use Google Search on a constant basis – I have tried other search engines, but they didn't give me too many reasons to switch to them on a permanent basis. Nate Swanner (G+): I live in the Googlesphere For me, the discussion has little to do with what Google services I can't live without, because I often don't associate them as Google products. Gmail is just my email provider, and Google+ is my social network of choice. Chrome OS is my preferred operating system, meaning Chrome is my go-to browser. Google Now keeps me informed and in line, while Google Drive is how I work. None of those are things I use as a conscious decision to "Go Google". I use them because they suit me, provide what I need… and do so for free. I'm still awed now and again when I pull down the "More" menu from the black bar at the top of a web page, and see just how many services Google really offers. Could I live without these services? Sure, but I dislike fragmented space. I prefer having all of my products work seamlessly together, and Google does a pretty good job of making that happen. Vote in our poll and join the discussion! Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.The post The Friday Debate: What Google product you couldn’t live without? appeared first on Android Authority. |
| Posted: 22 Mar 2013 12:35 PM PDT In a few short days, T-Mobile will switch on its 4G LTE network. Thanks to OpenSignal, an app that uses crowdsourced data to pinpoint ideal wireless coverage areas, has found T-Mobile’s LTE signal running in eight major U.S. cities. T-Mobile has already said that it plans to bring 4G LTE service to Las Vegas and Kansas City, but the list provided by OpenSignal shows New York, Seattle, Denver, New Orleans, San Diego and San Jose, including bay area cities as well. OpenSignal says preliminary figures they tested are showing 25MBp/s download and 8MBp/s for upload. Keep in mind that those figures are without the network being under heavy use. No doubt the speeds will decrease when T-Mobile‘s LTE officially launches and people begin actively using it. Moreover, OpenSignal data also reveals that it was being tested on the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy S4 alongside the Galaxy Note 2 with its recent update. If OpenSignal’s list proves to be accurate, launching in New York is an ambitious task considering other carriers have opted to launch in smaller markets before tackling major hubs like New York and Las Vegas. On the other hand, Verizon did launch its 4G LTE network in 38 major markets at once, so eight isn’t that bad in comparison. We’ll no doubt hear more official plans regarding LTE deployment at T-Mobile’s event in New York next week along with the operators “uncarrier” strategy. The post T-Mobile testing its LTE network with Samsung’s Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4 in eight major U.S. cities, says OpenSignal data appeared first on Android Authority. |
| Samsung continues to expand the low end market, while balancing high and mid-range presence Posted: 22 Mar 2013 11:49 AM PDT
Samsung and Apple might be major rivals in the smartphone market, but that doesn’t mean that their strategies are identical, regardless of what some people might tell you. While Apple is largely content with the high-end market, Samsung plays a balancing act between both the high, mid and low-end ranges. In a new report from Wall Street Journal, Samsung is said to understand the importance of the mid and high-range market, but at the same time is putting more focus into solidifying its position as a leader of the lower-end market as well. In fact, it has released several low-end devices with little fanfare this year. “We are quite active in the low-end smartphone market and we will continue to compete in this area," says Samsung’s J.K. Shin in a recent interview with the WSJ. "In markets like Indonesia, consumers are switching from feature phones to smartphones and the low-end market is developing quickly.” Shin isn’t kidding, either. Samsung’s presence in the Indonesian smartphone market has been spreading like wildfire over the last few years. While Apple only has 1% of that market, Samsung’s share has jumped from around 2% in 2010 to nearly 50% last quarter. The importance of the low-end Android devices in emerging marketsOn the low-end, Samsung not only has popular feature phones but continues to push low-cost Android offerings in both emerging markets and in more established markets in Europe and North America. With many consumers moving to smartphones for the first time, Samsung has a lot to gain by expanding its low-end market presence and converting as many users as possible to Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy Young. Why is that? As the wise and all-knowing Puff Daddy once told us so long ago, "it’s all about the Benjamins, baby." Operating margins for feature phones are only around 2% to 3%, according to Mark Newman, an analyst with Sanford Bernstein. In contrast, Samsung’s low-end smartphones bring in around 12%. When it comes to profit, high-end devices like the Galaxy S4 and Note 2 bring in even more at close to 28%, but Samsung realizes that as the market grows, they will continue to see folks with modest smartphone needs that won’t want to spend top-dollar for a handset. The company might make less profit from cheap phones, but if they can sell more of them, it is still a win-win for Samsung. Samsung has something for everyoneSamsung is one of the few major companies out that seems to fully grasp the importance of catering to all kinds of users, regardless of their budget. Of course not everyone seems to think that’s a good idea. Neil Mawston of Strategy Analytics cautions that Samsung needs to be careful. "Pushing too hard on cheap smartphones could cheapen the Samsung brand," asserts the analyst. "And the cheaper smartphones get, the smaller their profit margins usually become." Despite Mawston’s warning, Samsung continues to expand its marketshare and a large part of that success is due to its strategy of offering something for everyone. Brands like LG and HTC might try, but no one else has mastered all segments of the market the same way that Samsung has, and it is clearly paying off. Late last year, Samsung even stole the crown of most cellphone shipments from Nokia for the first time in 14 years. The war for phone marketshare dominance is an aggressive one, but Samsung seems determined to leave the competition in the dust. What do you think, does the idea that Samsung has low-end devices for budget consumers affect your perception of Samsung in a negative way? Or do you like the Samsung is bold enough to cater to all kinds and not just the 'elite few' like Apple does? The post Samsung continues to expand the low end market, while balancing high and mid-range presence appeared first on Android Authority. |
| HTC Myst shows up on FCC with AT&T-friendly radios Posted: 22 Mar 2013 11:19 AM PDT
The oft-rumored Facebook smartphone, the HTC Myst, is trying to get back on everyone’s radar. This time, the phone has been spotted paying the FCC a visit, bringing along with it a slew of wireless radios. According to the filing, the Myst is equipped AT&T-compatible LTE radios – all four of them. This confirms our suspicion that a ménage a trois between HTC, Facebook, and AT&T is in the horizon. And as is usually the case when the docs are made available online, the Myst has been given the agency's seal of approval to thrill its future users. That's about all the juicy details that FCC provides. But of course, we already got the full scoop on the phone's specs. They haven't been officially confirmed by the parties involved, but considering the source, it's safe to assume that these are pretty legit. The HTC Myst is expected to come with a 4.3-inch 720p display, a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon MSM8960 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage, 5-megapixel main camera, 1.6MP front-facing cam, LTE, and Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Can't hardly wait to see the Myst hits stores? Rumor has it the phone will be launched this spring. We'll keep you posted. The post HTC Myst shows up on FCC with AT&T-friendly radios appeared first on Android Authority. |
| Posted: 22 Mar 2013 10:20 AM PDT
After facing a number of issues with supply shortages, HTC has released a statement promising general HTC One availability in the U.K., Germany, Taiwain and all across Europe next week with North American and Asia-Pacific to get the device before the end of April. Here's the statement in full:
The delay really isn’t that bad, but it does give the phone less time to gain traction before the Galaxy S4 hits stores. On the other hand, HTC seeing “unprecedented demand” and interest in the HTC One sounds promising. Hopefully the device will prove to be a formidable competitor against Samsung’s behemoth, the Galaxy S4. Which device are you planning on getting? An HTC One or a Galaxy S4? Let us know in the comments! The post HTC: One to deploy in Germany, U.K. and Taiwan next week, North American and Asia-Pacific to follow before the end of April appeared first on Android Authority. |
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