| Google Play Store may be getting a Play Store Newsstand app Oct 18th 2013, 23:40, by Nate Swanner The Play Store is set to undergo a few changes, and news this afternoon suggests some new media content. While Play Magazines has long been a middle-of-the-road option when compared to similar services on other platforms, Android Police is reporting that it could be changing for the better. 
In their ongoing teardown of Play Store APKs, the team over at AP found mention of Google Play News a few months back. While nothing came of it, this recent teardown of Play Store 4.4 reveals several mentions of Google Play Newsstand. This hints at a long-rumored digital news service, much like Play Magazines. If the code is unchanged, we may also get the same service we saw with Play Music All Access.
With All Access, we were treated to a free trial before deciding whether or not to take the plunge and subscribe. It seems that Google Play Newsstand may offer the same kind of free trial. What lefts to be known is whether or not it's a one-price unlimited news aggregate like All Access is for music. If it is, news that they could couple a news service with Play Magazines is their saving grace. Of course, which partners they have on-board for any service is what will drive it. As great as All Access is, it can leave users wanting compared to competing services. With the proliferation of information sharing across the web, we’re left to wonder just how Google plans to make this worthwhile to consumers. Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s ready for prime time, either. We would like to see it come to light with Android 4.4, but we’re not holding out hope just yet. It’s in the code, and obviously ready to launch, but we saw this with Play News months ago, so we’ll wait to hear something official before speculating much more.
|  | Note 3 battery tests show that newer may not be better Oct 18th 2013, 23:13, by Nate Swanner The Note 3, with it's massive 32oomAh battery, has many fans of the Note franchise excited. A revamped device which promises to improve on it's predecessor is always a good thing, but the Note 3 might have a few issues. While that big 'ol battery is nice, it has it's disadvantages as well. 
In a recent test of several devices, Korean site Playwares rant e Note 3 through three categories: video playback, 3D gaming, and web browsing. The Note 3 fared very well in the first two tests, but web browsing remained the achilles heel for Samsung's massive phone.
With video playback, the Note 3 garnered a roundly impressive top time of close to 15 hours, and a low time of almost 14 hours. This test was done with the device at maximum brightness levels, and then on a much lower setting. Of course, the brightness matters, but not much with the Note 3. Compared to the Note 2, it got a full 3 hours more — and over twice as much time as an iPhone 5. 
With 3D gaming, the Note 3 once again proved its mettle. At just under 4 hours, the Note 3 trailed only the Optimus GK and Note 2, which beat the Note 3 by a full hour. The devices were tested using the Egypt HD Benchmark from the GL Benchmark suite. When it comes to web browsing, the Note 3 floundered. With an average time of just under 6 hours, you'd think that AMOLED screen — which uses more power in situations where there is a lot of white on the screen — would be the culprit. Oddly enough, that can't be said, as the Note 2 once again dominated with nearly 8 hours of web browsing time. The Note 3 was beaten by a host of devices, including the iPhone 5, and LG Optimus G Pro and G2 devices. The Note 3 is still a wonderful device, but if your main concern is battery life, it may suit you best to find a Note 2 on discount. We'd like to think the Note 3 simply needs some sort of software tweak to rectify these issues, but we won't know until it sees one. VIA: Android Authority
| | App Store still generates more revenue, but Play Store is closing the gap Oct 18th 2013, 22:31, by Nate Swanner While Apple has long reigned supreme in generating revenue for developers, their market share is quickly eroding. Recent research by Distimo suggests that in a few months, the App Store had gone from a 74% share of overall mobile revenue to a 65% share. 
This is almost entirely juxtaposed to Android's market dominance, which is not reflective of revenue. While Android may hold a lion's share of the devices in the world, the Play Store still lags behind. This can be attributed to a few factors, with the largest being fragmentation. Between the fragmentation of devices and operating systems, it's hard for a developer to adequately target an audience.
The App Store also has more paid apps, which will naturally lead to more revenue. The average price per app on the App Store is $0.19 for the iPhone, and $0.50 for the iPad. For Android, the price drops to an average of $0.06 per app, and there is no differentiating between phone and tablet. If that all sounds like trouble to developers, it shouldn't. In his speech at the Big Android BBQ this year, developer Jon Hancock outlined how he made his first $100,000 on the Play Store. In his presentation, he proved that Android users were very willing to pay for apps, but those apps had to hit a certain metric. Of course they had to be really good, but they also needed to be appropriately priced. Jon also did a lot of grunt work to get his app noticed, and the hard work paid off. Android and iOS are always going to be two very different realms, but the revenue stream for developers is becoming hard to discern. Even though the App Store has a larger share of the pie, the Play Store is closing in quick.
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