Sunday, June 9, 2013

Android Authority

Android Authority


AA Weekly: top Android news of the week, June 9, 2013

Posted: 09 Jun 2013 02:34 AM PDT

aa-weekly

In the AA Weekly, we recap the most significant events that happened over the past seven days in the world of Android. We look at new devices, major news, leaks, and everything else you should know to stay on top of your favorite operating system.

Asus goes tablet crazy at Computex

The Computex trade show took place in Taiwan last week, the perfect occasion for local firms to show off their finest wares. And, boy, did Asus showed them off.

In a glitzy event presided over by the inimitable Jonney Shih, Asus unveiled a Galaxy Note competitor called Fonepad Note (bonus points for creativity here), a hybrid laptop with two processors, two storage systems, and two operating systems (Android and Windows 8), and a new Transformer Pad Infinity. Did we mention the $129 Nexus 7 lookalike?

Transformer Book Trio Credit: Engadget

ARM vs Intel? Bring us the popcorn

The smartphone revolution caught Intel dozing, and it took the chip giant a few years to shake off the nap. Meanwhile, ARM was out eating Intel's lunch, putting an ARM design in virtually every mobile device on the market.

But Intel is back with a vengeance, and last week showed us that the mobile hardware landscape might get a whole lot more interesting in the coming months. Intel scored its first major design wins for its Atom processors, the Galaxy Tab 3 and the ASUS MeMO Pad FHD 10. In addition, the tech world debated the chances of the new Silvermont architecture and specifically of the Merrifield chips that should power high-end smartphones starting in early 2014. Should ARM be worried?

Intel logo Credit: huangjiahui

Samsung wins ban on Apple products, doesn't brag about it

The unthinkable happened – Apple was slapped with a preliminary ban on some old versions of the iPhone and iPad, right on its home turf. The decision is not final, and even if it were applied, the lost profits would be peanuts compared to the amounts of cash that Apple rakes in every year.

More interesting that the ban itself was Samsung's reaction to the decision, or better said, its lack of thereof. Our Nate Swanner dissected the reasons behind this restrained attitude in his post here. Let's just say that, at the end of the day, fanboys wars tend to stay in the comments sections.

Apple Logo iPad 2 1600

Another Galaxy S4 is activated

After the Galaxy S4 Mini was revealed as a dumbed-down, scaled-down version of the 5-inch "regular" Galaxy S4, a new member joined the growing S4 family this week – the Galaxy S4 Active.

The waterproof device, which is supposed to be a godsend for the outdoorsy and the butterfingered among us, has and LCD display instead of the AMOLED on the vanilla S4, features a bolt-on backplate, and swaps the capacitive keys for some distinctly 2009 physical buttons. Otherwise, it looks quite nice.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active

Samsung: reality check

The Godzilla of the Android world is having a bad day. Several analysts commented on Thursday that the expectations for the Galaxy S4 are simply too high, and one went on to claim that Samsung privately told investors to lower their targets a notch. The result was a selloff on Friday, that wiped off more than $12 billion of Samsung's market value.

Should we be worried? Probably not – this is most likely a correction of the overly enthusiastic estimations that have been making the rounds since the Galaxy S4 hit the markets.

NSA: who's pumped about Google Glass?

The news of the week is not so much related to Android, as it is to general technology, privacy, and politics. First, it was revealed that Verizon routinely hands over to the NSA the metadata related to phone calls made on its network, including location, phone numbers, and identification codes. It's likely that all US carriers do the same thing.

If that wasn't enough, another report claimed that Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and other companies all provide the government with access to their servers, through a program called PRISM. Needless to say, the internet freaked out.

On Friday, Google vigorously denied that it provides backdoor access to its servers to any organization, though the somehow vague language of the rebuttal further fueled the suspicions.

Xperia Z Google Edition (almost) confirmed, Xperia Z Ultra rumored

In the wake of the announcement of the "Google Editions" of the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4, the blogosphere wondered if other similar devices are coming from more manufacturers.

A source told Android Authority that one more Nexus experience device is coming this year, and two reports that popped up this week confirm that device will be the Sony Xperia Z. It's safe to say now that it's only a matter of time until the Xperia Z (which already has an AOSP project) will join the Galaxy S4 and the One in the Google Edition club.

Sony Xperia ZU Togari

In other Sony news, a flurry of leaks painted an almost complete picture of the upcoming jumbo-sized Xperia Z Ultra (Togari). The device will supposedly run on a Snapdragon 800 processor and will come with a 6.44-inch display with Triluminous technology and other goodies. Look out Galaxy Note!

Video

What are the most important events of this week in your opinion? Tell us in the comments.

    


OUYA competitor PlayJam releases GameStick E3 2013 trailer

Posted: 08 Jun 2013 02:35 PM PDT

gamestick
The Kickstarter-funded GameStick is featured in PlayJam’s recently released trailer for this year’s upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo, more popularly known as E3.

As usual, Microsoft’s Xbox One, Sony’s PlayStation 4, and Nintendo’s Wii U will no doubt be the stars of the show, however, it’s impressive that GameStick creator PlayJam has managed to drum up quite a bit of attention at such a large event.

The trailer shows a man and a woman sneaking into the cinema with a GameStick and a couple of controllers on hand. Albeit a cheesey trailer, it truly shows how portable the GameStick is. I don’t know about you, but I like the idea of having a mini Android console that I can unobtrusively take out and play whenever I want.

No doubt we’ll get more info on the Android-powered plug-and-play device in a couple of days when E3 begins.

Of these two console-like devices running Android now – the OUYA and the GameStick – which do you prefer, and why?

    


Would Android laptops have what it takes to invade Microsoft’s last bastion?

Posted: 08 Jun 2013 01:26 PM PDT

Android Laptop

I'm not going to rehash the old “Android is better than Windows” arguments. Instead, I propose that Android is actually poised to steal Microsoft's last remaining stronghold, the laptop market, and that it won't even require consumers to think about their preferred operating system. We all know that Google has already tested the laptop waters with the Chromebook, but it’s not really taken off, and even so, Android and Chrome provide two clearly unique experiences, so let’s examine how Android might fair in the laptop market.

Intel has already announced a range of $200 Android powered notebooks, which will place Android on an even playing field with traditional Microsoft products in terms of hardware. Samsung and other manufacturers are expected to be bringing Android notebook and laptop products to market later this year.

We've also heard rumors that the next major version of Android (possibly 5.0) could include additional features for laptop users, rather than focusing on the traditional mobile features. This is a trend which started with the addition of multi-user support for tablets in the Jelly Bean update, and it seems likely that at some point Google will want to go after Apple and Microsoft when it comes to higher-end hardware. But we currently don't know what new features will be included in the new version of Android, if the rumor turns out to be true, so it's hard to tell whether or not Android will truly provide a superior experience on laptops than Windows 8.

There are definitely signs that Google is interested in testing the laptop market, so what does this mean for Google's competitors? Would Android succeed in this market?

Hardware and performance

The laptop market has remained relatively stable despite the growth in the tablet market, mainly because it offers consumers a more powerful platform which is more suited to business than a tablet. Typing documents, for example, is perfect on a laptop, but touch screens and smaller displays prevent tablets from really being ideal for this. The days of OS specific software are over, but Android doesn’t yet compete with Microsoft at the hardware level. Tablet hardware is rather weak compared with mid-range and high-end laptops, they simply aren’t offering the level of processing powered needed for a work station, yet.

the days of OS specific software are over, but Android doesn't yet compete with Microsoft at the hardware level

Intel's new Pentium and Celeron Silvermont processors, which have been announced for Android, will offer Android laptop manufacturers a range of flexible and performance competitive processors. Without the performance limitations of current mobile processors, Android will finally be able to take on Microsoft in the higher-end performance market, an area in which Microsoft hasn't had any real competition in before, at least not in the same price bracket.

There's also a large amount of interest surrounding 2-in-1 laptop and tablet combination devices, which Intel has indicated as a key product range that will be implementing its upcoming Bay Trail mobile processors.

Lenovo Ideapad Yog

2-in-1 laptops will offer consumers tablets that are better suited to more complicated and business-orientated tasks. Image source: Telegraph

We know that Bay Trail, which will be powering some of these hybrid laptops, will be making its way to Android devices, as well as Windows machines, just like the previous Clover Trail chips. This could be another product line-up which could put Android in the sights of business and power users. My suspicion here is that Android will provide a much better user experience, as it's well established in the tablet market, and will also have a better start out of the gate in this market than Windows, due to its current dominance over Microsoft in the tablet market.

Microsoft is currently languishing behind Apple and Android with just 7.3% of the tablet market, which isn't terrible considering how late the company was to the party. But Android’s market share could further increase when these new devices hit the market. That's not to say that Microsoft won't be competitive in this market, but I'm reluctant to back the underdog when Android already has a firm grip on tablets.

Intel is clearly keen to diversify away from the struggling Microsoft brand; it would be bad business-sense to tie the entire future of your business into a single company, see Nokia for example. This offers Android a good opportunity to capitalise on a new hardware market. If Android can start securing decent shares of these upcoming products, then it could signal the start of a gradual push into Microsoft's territory.

It's all about price

Price is another huge point. This is one of the major reasons why Apple’s Macs were never a huge threat to Microsoft, as they are massively expensive by comparison. Android on the other hand has no such qualms about "appearing cheap." It simply competes based on the valuation of the hardware, and without licensing fees it stands to beat Microsoft at that game as well.

Windows 8 laptops-w600

Windows 8 laptops tend to start anywhere above $300, but Android looks to be undercutting this price.

The $200 Intel notebooks, which are heading our way at some point later this year, represent a real threat to Microsoft's tablets that are already a bit more expensive. If you're looking for a computer for all the basic stuff, which tends to be the target audience for notebooks, then there's very little reason not to choose an Android device, as consumers probably won't be requiring any Windows-specific software.

Similarly the 2-in-1 tablet devices are expected to ship for somewhere around $399, which is a very competitive price in the laptop market. However, at slightly higher price points, Android will have to be able to compete with Microsoft on software. New operating system features would certainly help, but software-wise there's not really much to chose between the two anymore, at least when it comes to the general consumer.

    


Want a Samsung Galaxy S4 in a custom color? ColorWare can do that for you!

Posted: 08 Jun 2013 11:47 AM PDT

Samsung Galaxy S4 ColorWare

For the time being, the Samsung Galaxy S4 comes in two colors, although four more colors are said to be coming soon, one of which is exclusive to AT&T. If you’re looking to get your hands on a few more options and don’t mind paying a bit more for your Galaxy S4, ColorWare may just be able to help you out.

Buying a GSM unlocked Galaxy S4 from ColorWare will run you $1,000. It’s quite a bit of money to shell out, however, a lot of work goes into creating these customized Galaxy S4 models. So if there’s a certain color you just have to have, it may be worth it.

According to the press release, the Galaxy S4 goes through a “laborious” process. It is disassembled, cleaned, masked, painted, and then goes through a inspection process. It’s then buffed and reassembled, and then it goes through one final inspection. As you can see, it’s a very intricate process.

So if you’re already in the market for a GSM unlocked Galaxy S4, and want a bit more choice when it comes to customizing your smartphone, ColorWare might just be able to help you out. Of course, it’d be nice if you could send your phone in and have it customized at a much cheaper price.

Would you pay $1,000 for a brand new GSM unlocked Galaxy S4 to get a few more customization options?


ColorWare Customizes the Samsung Galaxy S 4

Making the best phone better

Winona, MN – 6/7/2013 - Recognized for their excellence in customizing high-end electronics, ColorWare debuts the new Galaxy S 4. With quick and powerful processing speeds, a five inch Super AMOLED display, touch-less features, and a built in IR blaster to function as a TV remote, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 is changing the way consumers interact with smartphones.

The newly engineered touch-less features are used to answer phone calls, flip through photos, or preview emails with a simple wave of the hand. Additionally, the innovative camera captures progressive motion and removes unwanted people from pictures.

Jason Cisewski, VP of ColorWare stated, "Samsung has done an exceptional job integrating innovative features. However, Samsung has carefully crafted an easy mode to ease the transition for first-time smartphone owners. It's truly a remarkable phone and we are excited to offer this to our customers."

In the ColorWare design studio, there are 46 paint colors to choose from including, solid and metallic, as well as matte and gloss finishes. There are three customizable elements on the Galaxy S4,which provide extensive options for creating a one-of-a-kind smartphone. Once colors have been chosen and an order has been placed, the customization process begins.

The product goes through a laborious process of disassembly, cleaning, masking, painting, and inspection. Then, the product is buffed and reassembled. The product goes through final inspection and then is packaged into the original packaging.

ColorWare is currently offering the International GSMunlocked, black version of the Galaxy S4.The product including customization is $1000 and ships in about 14days.

About ColorWare

ColorWare was founded on the idea that electronic devices could be more appealing than the standard colors offered by the original manufacturer. ColorWare products are creative and fashionable, giving their customers something unique.

ColorWare is the only company in the world where you can create your own bespoke electronic device. The range of products spans from headphones to computers, tablets, phones, and gaming consoles.

For more information please visit http://www.colorware.com.

    


Most advanced Android malware threat yet: Obad.a

Posted: 08 Jun 2013 09:35 AM PDT

Backdoor.AndroidOS.Obad.a

A security firm posted information about a new Android Trojan that appears unlike anything seen before when it comes to complexity and the number of malicious actions it's able to perform.

Called Backdoor.AndroidOS.Obad.a, the malware is compared to malicious threats that usually target Windows, not Android. The new malware uses several exploits, some of them new to security researchers from Kaspersky, who discovered Obad.a.

The Trojan is able to perform a variety of tasks once installed, and it appears to be impossible to remove, as Obad.a doesn't even have an interface, and acts directly from the background, without alerting the user that a malicious app is running.

The Trojan is encrypted, and needs an internet connection in order to install and perform its intended malicious tasks. Once it's installed, the device can gain device administrator privileges (without showing up in the list of apps that have such powers) and root privileges to further achieve its desired goals.

Here's what the malware can do, according to Kaspersky:

  • Send text messages. Parameters contain number and text. Replies are deleted.
  • PING.
  • Receive account balance via USSD.
  • Act as proxy (send specified data to specified address, and communicate the response).
  • Connect to specified address (clicker).
  • Download a file from the server and install it.
  • Send a list of applications installed on the smartphone to the server.
  • Send information about an installed application specified by the C&C server.
  • Send the user's contact data to the server.
  • Remote Shell. Executes commands in the console, as specified by the cybercriminal.
  • Send a file to all detected Bluetooth devices.

Because it comes encrypted before installing itself on the device, and because it exploits certain vulnerabilities, analysis and detection of this particular program may be very difficult. However, despite its complexity, the sophisticated Trojan is not widely spread, and is said to have infected only a certain number of devices, with most of them being in Russia.

At the same time, it’s not clear who devised the program, and what their intentions were for it.

No connection between existing Google Play Store apps and the Trojan has been established, so it looks like the malicious app is downloaded from other app sources. But, Google has been informed about the new Android vulnerability the Obad.a uses, which will make it much easier to detect if it is repackaged into apps that appear legitimate, intended for syndication via Google Play.

As always when talking about Android malware, we'll advise exercising caution when getting apps from untrusted sources. Paying attention to what you install on your devices can save you the trouble of having to deal with the consequences of malware apps. There are also a variety of security applications to help protect your device, but as long as you're careful with what you download on your handset and/or tablet you should be fine, no matter what Android malware apps may be out there.

    


Android 4.3 Jelly Bean spotted on LG Optimus L7 II Dual page, real or just a mistake?

Posted: 08 Jun 2013 06:32 AM PDT

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean

The official product page of the LG Optimus L7 II Dual reveals that the handset may be running an unannounced version of Android, assuming it's not a typing mistake from the company.

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean is clearly listed as the OS for this particular Optimus L7 II Dual handset, which is the dual-SIM version of the mid-range Optimus L7 II handset announced at MWC 2013 earlier this year. Other details about Android 4.3 aren't offered at this time though. So we can’t but wonder whether this is just a typing mistake or whether LG jumped the gun and indirectly confirmed the OS.

We looked beyond that first Android 4.3 Jelly Bean sighting on the Optimus L7 II Dual page and checked out the features of the device as listed by LG, where we would have expected to find Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean written down, the Android version the Optimus L7 II was announced to run at launch.

But in there we spotted Android 4.3 once again, this time written like this: "Jellybean 4.3 Jellybean."

 Android 4.3 Jelly Bean

We then looked at the single-SIM Optimus L7 II to see what OS it's running. LG simply wrote "JellyBean" on the product's page. We also checked the listed OS for flagship handsets like the LG Nexus 4 and the Optimus G, but there were no traces of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

According to the site, the LG Nexus 4 runs “Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Plus” while its Optimus G brother has “Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)” under the hood. Clearly, LG needs to do some tiding up on its website. We looked for Android 4.3 Jelly Bean mention on other mobile products, but we couldn’t find any.

Android 4.3 is the rumored next-gen Android OS update, which will reportedly arrive either in June – maybe as soon as June 10or in July. This Android version has not been announced at Google I/O in mid May, but it has been spotted in various places, including on a Google support page.

Android 4.3 has shown up in server logs, including our own, and has been seen running on an LG Nexus 4 not to long ago.

That said, we're back to waiting for Google to officially announce its new Android update.

    


Galaxy S4 Zoom images show the product in the wild, seem to confirm previous leak

Posted: 08 Jun 2013 05:11 AM PDT

Samsung Galaxy Camera

The original Galaxy Camera

The Galaxy S4 Zoom image leak avalanche continues with more pictures of the device hitting the web shortly after the purported press image of the camera phone has been published.

The handset is still not official, so the new pictures can't be confirmed at this time, but the camera phone in them looks awfully similar to that press image we saw the other day.

Just like before, we'll notice that we're looking at a smartphone that's similar to the Galaxy S4 Mini, but there are some differences when looking at the sensor layout and physical button placement – some of the sensors are placed on the left side of the front speaker, while volume keys have been moved to the right side.

The Galaxy S4 Zoom also resembles the Galaxy Camera when it comes to thickness and camera lens. Moreover, a dedicated camera button is also present.

TechTastic, which got the images, says the device will be unveiled on June 20, during Samsung's London-based media event.

Galaxy S4 Zoom Hands-on Galaxy S4 Zoom Hands-on Galaxy S4 Zoom Hands-on

The publication also confirms some of the specs and features of the phone including the 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display, 1.6GHz dual-core processor, 8GB of memory, microSD support, 16-megapixel camera with optical zoom, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, GPS, Android 4.2.2 and TouchWiz on top.

We'll be back with more details about the handset once we have them.

    


Galaxy S4 with Snapdragon 800 (SHV-E330S) reportedly spotted in AnTuTu benchmarks

Posted: 08 Jun 2013 04:36 AM PDT

Samsung Logo

A new Galaxy S4 version reportedly packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor has appeared in AnTuTu benchmarks.

The SHV-E330S is said to be the Galaxy S4 model in question, a handset said to hit South Korea later this year. In addition to the rumored Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, the device is also going to offer LTE-Advanced support, rbmen says.

However, the device is not official at this time.

Galaxy S4 SHV-E330S

According to the screenshot above, the SHV-E330S would run Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and have a 2265MHz (or 2.3GHz) processor. Surprisingly, we're not looking at an AnTuTu score that you'd expect for a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor – 24179 is actually lower than the performance of the current Galaxy S4 models.

As you can see in the table below, both the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 (GT-I9505) and the Exynos 5 Octa (GT-I9500) models score better in the same benchmark test. At the same time, if today's benchmark is real, the SHV-E330S could still be in testing, which would explain the lower scores.

HTC One vs Galaxy S4 benchmarks

However, a similarly found benchmark for an Pantech IM-A880 device that’s also rumored to have a Snapdragon 800 processor inside showed a much better score, surpassing the current Galaxy S4 models. The IM-A880 is not official either, so it makes sense to assume that, if real, that benchmark has also been performed on a device that’s still in testing. We'll know more details about these handsets later this year, when they should be unveiled.

The Galaxy S4 with LTE-Advanced support is expected to launch in September in South Korea, not that we have any official details for you at this time.

In addition to this Galaxy S4 SHV-E330S and the Pantech IM-A880, various other upcoming smartphones are rumored to come with a Snapdragon 800 inside, including the HTC One Max (T6), the HTC Xperia ZU (Togari), the Galaxy Note 3 and the LG Optimus G2.