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Showing posts with label android. Show all posts
Showing posts with label android. Show all posts
Cute animals become friends, conspire to promote Android
The official Android account on YouTube posted a video titled “Android: Friends Furever.” The misspelling is intentional – the video is a compilation unlikely animal friendships. A monkey and a dog, cat and ducklings, an elephant and a sheep, let’s just say the video causes a cuteness overload.
This continues the “Be together. #NotTheSame” campaign that Google has been running since last year.
Previously the campaign focused on user-created Android avatars made with the Androidify app.
VLC for Android splits into two, now available in both stable and beta form
Nearly three years after VideoLAN launched a beta version of the famous VLC media player for Android, the app is now available as a stable version in the Play Store.
What’s worth noting is that the beta version of the app is also available in Google Play as a separate listing, suggesting that any new features or improvements will be pushed out to the app first before being pulled over to the stable version.
Apparently, the stable version of the app also packs in support for Android TV, a feature the companypreviewed just last month.
Android One devices in India to get Lollipop in the next few weeks
The update to Lollipop for the three Android One devices available in India will finally be out "in the next few weeks". This is according to Google's Indian arm, so it's official as can be.
Unfortunately though, this vague timeline is all we have for now, as the company behind those updates hasn't yet decided to share anything more on the matter.
Last we heard anything about Android Lollipop updates for the Micromax Canvas A1, Karbonn Sparkle V, and Spice Dream Uno, they were supposedly going to arrive by the end of January.
That obviously hasn't happened. And today Google took its Android One initiative to Indonesia, where the three handsets that have launched all ship with Android 5.1 Lollipop preinstalled. Given this fact, it will be interesting to see if the Indian Android One phones will jump straight to this version of the OS, or first receive updates to 5.0.
If the former possibility becomes reality, then the long delay in releasing Lollipop for Android One devices may have had something to do with bugs or lack of optimizations for the low-end hardware they sport. Google has promised swift OS upgrades for Android One, but in this case it may have simply decided to wait for its engineers to finalize Android 5.1, which is hopefully going to be less riddled with issues than the initial Lollipop release.
Android 5.1 Lollipop is now official, changelog coming soon
Android 5.1 Lollipop name has been creating quite a buzz over the social networks through the last few hours. The new version has appeared on various screenshots and its name and build numbers popped up through various logs.
Google has already confirmed the next Android iteration - 5.1 Lollipop - via its official Android One page. There you can clearly see the mention of the new Android OS though there are no details on the improvements.
We guess lots of bug fixes and performance boosts will be in tow with the update, but Google is yet to release the official changelog, builds and source code.
Once I get the complete lists of changes, you bet I'll post it immediately. Stay tuned!
iOS overtakes Android in the US in Q4 2014, report says
If you needed more proof about how successful Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been, especially in the US market, then this is going to be it.
According to the analysts at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, iOS has managed to take the lead from Android in the US smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2014 (so between October and December).
Granted, Apple's managed to sell only slightly more iOS devices than all Android makers combined - the difference is just 0.1%. Still, it's interesting because the last time something like this happened was in Q4 of 2012.
For the last three months of last year, Kantar says 47.7% of smartphones sold in the US were iPhones, while 47.6% ran Android. Windows Phone accounted for 3.8% of the market, while BlackBerry had to make do with just 0.3%.
Throughout the holiday quarter, the iPhone 6 was the best selling smartphone in the US, as well as the most popular handset to be given as a gift. Samsung's Galaxy S5 was the second best. When it comes to brand loyalty, Apple is leading again, with 87% in the US and Europe. Samsung fares the best out of the Android device makers with 62%.
Obviously though, Android remains the biggest mobile OS worldwide, with a 66.1% share in Europe and 77% in China. That said, smartphone penetration is still just 59% in the US and 67% in the top five European markets, which means there's still growth to come.
While reading the numbers above keep in mind that ComTech is a consumer panel, getting its data from interviews with ordinary people. This is different from other approaches, which prefer to track actual shipments of devices from manufacturers to retailers and carriers.
Telltale’s ‘Game of Thrones’ Episode 2 ‘The Lost Lords’ arriving on iOS and Android on February 5
Telltale Games is releasing the second episode of its ‘Game of Thrones’s game on the mobile platform on February 5, two days after it releases on the desktop and consoles. Unlike the first episode, Episode 2 will launch simultaneously on iOS and Android.
Episode 2, The Lost Lords, continues from where the first one left off and is the second in the six part series. The game takes between the end of season three and the beginning of season five of the show, which itself is based on the books by George R. R. Martin.
Episode 2 will be available for purchase for an additional $4.99 as in in-app purchase, provided you have the original game. You can watch the trailer for the new episode below.
Teaser video shows Android 5.0 Lollipop on OnePlus One
OnePlus is teasing the Android 5.0 Lollipop update for its phone on video. The update is supposed to arrive this month, though the video doesn’t make it perfectly clear if this is a Cyanogen ROM or OnePlus’ new in-house Oxygen software.
There’s certainly a Cyanogen OS 12S ROM for the OnePlus One on the way, but after the two companies had a falling out OnePlus started work on its own software.
A stable Oxygen OS release is due this month, the Cyanogen OS 12S should land very soon too. Either way, the video just gives a brief peak at the launcher and then shows off the Flappy Bird-like Easter egg in the Android settings menu.
Beta Lollipop ROM for Galaxy Note Edge now available
The Lollipop update for the Galaxy Note 4 may be getting slowed down by Gear VR support, but theGalaxy Note Edge has yet to receive Android 5.0 too (the Gear VR is not compatible with the Edge). An XDA-Developers member has a beta version of an official Android 5.0.1 build and has shared it with the community.
It's a build number XXU1BOA2 and is very recent – from January 27 – but it has issues to be ironed out. One user reports a deep sleep bug, so it's recommended that you set the minimum CPU frequency to 300MHz to mitigate the issue.
Beta version of Android 5.0.1 Lollipop on Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
You'll also need to backup your device, one user had success with flashing the ROM without a full wipe, but there are no guarantees. The ROM can be flashed with Odin 3.09 and you can also throw in CWM and root (with SuperSU).
The Android Lollipop ROM is reportedly smoother than the KitKat software that currently powers the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. You can find more details about the ROM and how it behaves - not to mention the download links - by following the source link. This ROM isn’t officially released for a reason, so flash it at your own risk.
OnePlus OxygenOS Android ROM gets teased in shots
OnePlus and Cyanogen are no longer partners and the phonemaker is actively developing its custom Android ROM dubbed OxygenOS. Today, we get to see how things are going in a bunch of leaked screenshots.
The screenshots are from what looks to be the app drawer and weather app of OxygenOS. It doesn't take much to see that OnePlus is going after a clean design but with a lot of color. The weather app is quite simple as well, but we assume it's not finished as of yet.
OxygenOS will get a broader unveil on February 12, when the company promised to out more information about the custom ROM. Hopefully, the ROM is based on Android 5.0
The company says the OxygenOS ROM will be "open, customizable, and free of bloat and unnecessary features." We can clearly see that OnePlus strives to deliver on its promise.
Lollipop finally makes it onto Android distribution chart
The latest monthly State of Android report from Google is upon us today. The numbers that follow have been collected for a 7-day period ending today.
The big news is that, for the first time ever, Lollipop has appeared in the Android distribution chart you can see below. Although the newest version of Google's mobile operating system has been out for a few months, it's only now starting to be seen on more than 0.1% of devices. OS releases that are under that threshold aren't shown in the chart.
Compared to the January report, Android 4.4 KitKat has grown from 39.1% to 39.7%, and it's still in the most used version of the OS if you count the three different Jelly Bean releases separately. Otherwise, Jelly Bean leads the market with a 44.5% aggregate share.
Ice Cream Sandwich has dropped from 6.7% to 6.4%, Gingerbread from 7.8% to 7.4%, while Froyo has interestingly held still at a measly 0.4% of the market.
Now that more and more smartphone makers and carriers across the world are in the process of making Android 5.0 Lollipop updates available for their devices, the latest iteration of the OS should start growing in the charts we'll see in the following months.a
Meizu MX4 and MX 4 Pro will be getting Android Lollipop in March
Meizu is reportedly working on a new Flyme OS version based on the newest Android 5 Lollipop. It should bring all the Lollipop optimizations and will incorporate Google's Material design for a flat and more beautiful UI.
Both Meizu MX4 and Meizu MX4 Pro will be getting the update, though they are a long way from completed.
Meizu plans to start an open beta for the new ROMs this March and everyone will be able to test the new software package.
Currently both MX4 and MX4 Pro are running on Android KitKat and are getting regular software improvements via firmware upgrades, especially the MX4 Pro. It's nice to see Meizu working hard to bring the latest available Android OS available.
Google Now update brings support for 40 third party apps on Android
Google has updated its Google app for Android with support for 40 new third-party apps, including Airbnb, Urbanspoon, eBay, Waze, Instacart, Pandora, and The Guardian. This means that you’ll now see lots of new Google Now cards, giving you information that’s helpful to you, right when you need it.
“In the morning, catch up on news of the day with cards from The Guardian. On your commute, Pandora can give you recommendations for music to play, based on what you like, or you can be reminded to complete your daily French lesson on Duolingo,” the search giant said in a blog post.
The Mountain View, California-based company has teamed up with over 30 developers to bring you these cards, and it’s planning to add more cards and expand the feature over time. You can download the updated Google app from the Play Store – the update is rolling out slowly so it may take time to hit your device.
Lollipop update rolls out for LG G Pro 2 in Korea
Over a month after the G3 started receiving the Android 5.0 update, LG has started rolling out the Lollipop update for the G Pro 2 in its homeland South Korea. The new firmware brings features like Material Design, rich notifications, better security, and improved performance
All three Korean variants of the device - LG-F350S, LG-F350K, and LG-F350L - are set to receive the update.
Launched early last year, the G Pro 2 is powered by a Snapdragon 800 chipset with a quad-core 2.26 GHz Krait 400 CPU and an Adreno 330 GPU. It sports a 5.9-inch full HD IPS display and 3GB of RAM, and comes in 16GB and 32GB variants. The device packs in a 3,200mAh battery, as well as a microSD card slot for up to 64GB of additional storage.
Few HTC One versions lollipop update later than expected
Some carrier versions of HTC One (M8) and One (M7) will get updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop a bit later than expected. HTC initially promised to update all versions of its 2013 and 2014 flagship smartphone within 90 days of receiving the Android 5.0 code.
Mo Versi, HTC’s Vice President of product management delivered the news in a dedicated post. The delay is caused by issues Android 5.0 initially contained, which were subsequently fixed by Google with minor updates. HTC is working hard with Google and its carrier partners to incorporate the latter into its OS build.
HTC already updated several versions of the One (M8). They include the factory unlocked model, the Developer Edition, and the Google Play variant. Mo Versi promises “good news to share soon” on the rest of the One family.
Oneplus 's own Rom dubbed Oxygen , said to be 'Open N customisable'
After things with Cyanogen went a bit sour, OnePlus announced that it is working on its own Android ROM for the OnePlus One. The company also released an alpha version, with a stable version arriving in February.
The company has now announced the name for the ROM, and it will be called 'Oxygen'. Oxygen, OnePlus says, is, "all around us. It’s part of us and everything we do. It creates the water that carves out valleys and moves mountains. By itself, it’s simple and pure—a fundamental building block. But, as a part of something greater, it can do amazing things. Just like us."
The company says the OnePlus ROM will be "open, customizable, and free of bloat and unnecessary features."
OnePlus has promised more details on Febrary 12.
OpenSignal says, About a quarter of Android smartphones are dual-SIMs now
With communication shifting towards IM and VoIP apps, one might think that dual-SIM phones are on their way out, but it turns out that’s not the case. According to OpenSignal about a quarter of Android smartphones tend to be dual-SIMs.
It’s a very regional thing – countries with strong carrier subsidies have very few multi-SIM devices, while countries with a “bring your own device” model tend to have a lot more.
In the Top 20 countries by multi-SIM penetration at least 40% of all devices have more than one SIM. At the Top is Nigeria where two thirds of phones have multiple SIMs. Senegal, which is in 20th position, still has a 42% share of multi-SIM Android phones.
The countries on this list account for a huge chunk of the world’s population, so the market for dual (and more) SIM devices is looking in great shape.
On the other end of the spectrum are countries where carrier common and a flagship device is usually sold at little added cost. Somewhat surprisingly, Norway is the country with the fewest multi-SIM Androids, not even 1% of the market.
Among multi-SIM Androids, the top 3 devices are Samsungs – Galaxy Core, Galaxy Win Duos (two versions) and Galaxy S Duos. After that comes Lenovo and most surprisingly Nokia. Yep, 0.86% of all multi-SIM Androids are a Nokia XL. The Nokia X also made the Top 10.
Note that OpenSignal made the estimate based on 1 million users of its Android app, so obviously these numbers don’t include multi-SIM feature phones. Also, since there’s no standardized Android API to check the number of SIMs, the numbers may be off. One thing is for sure though, the number of active phone connections does not accurately show the number of actual users.
Microsoft launches Office for Android, Outlook for iOS and Android, updates OneDrive
Under its new leadership, Microsoft has embraced other Mobile platforms and Office for Android is officially available starting today (having gone through a preview stage). Also, it’s bringing Outlook to Android and iOS and updating the OneDrive apps to handle photos better.
Word, Excel and PowerPoint for Android tablets offer an “unmistakably Office experience”, which means the Ribbon UI.
The apps support what you’ve grown to expect from their desktop counterparts, including Track changes and comments in Word, formulas and PivotTables in Excel and transitions and embedded video in PowerPoint.
The requirements for the apps are – a tablet with a 7″ screen or more, an ARM processor with 1GB or more RAM and Android 4.4 KitKat. Lollipop is not officially supported yet though the apps should still work. If you have one of the few 10+ inch Android tablets, you’ll need an Office 365 license to create and edit.
Outlook for iOS and Android is a rebadged Acompli (which Microsoft acquired in December). The app became popular for its swipe interface – a left/right swipe can schedule an email, archive it, delete it, move it or flag it. The app also sorts emails into Focused and Other tabs and learns from your reading habits which email goes where.
Next up is OneDrive. Until now it treated files the same, but now it’s taking special care of photos. It will aggregate photos from your computer, phone and email inbox so they are easy to browse. With the help of Bing tech you can search photos by location and content – people, beach, sunset, dogs, all automatically tagged.
Meanwhile, OneDrive for Business is landing on Mac and iOS.
1 billion Android devices shipped in 2014 alone
This quarter Apple reached an important milestone – it sold its billionth iOS device (that's since the first one). Meanwhile, 1 billion Androids shipped over the last year alone, as reported by Strategy Analytics. The analyst firm estimates 1.3 billion smartphones were shipped in 2014, of that over 1 billion ran Android (this works out to 81% market share).
| Global Smartphone OS Shipments (Millions of Units) |
Q4 '13
|
2013
|
Q4 '14
|
2014
|
| Android |
227.3
|
780.8
|
291.7
|
1042.7
|
| Apple iOS |
51.0
|
153.4
|
74.5
|
192.7
|
| Microsoft |
9.6
|
35.8
|
11.3
|
38.8
|
| Others |
2.3
|
20.0
|
2.6
|
9.3
|
| Total |
290.2
|
990.0
|
380.1
|
1283.5
|
Smartphone shipments grew 30% compared to 2013 (from 1B to 1.3B). Androids alone went from 0.8B to 1B in that period, while iOS lost some ground in terms of market share. It still shipped around 193 million devices, up from 153 million units in 2013.
The third horse in the race, Windows Phone, kept pace with the growth of the market and stayed at 3% share (shipping just under 39 million units).
Strategy Analytics did not release a breakdown by manufacturer, but we know from quarterly reports that Apple is rolling in the dough with record sales. Earlier the analysts reported that Samsung and iOS sales for Q4 2014 were even in terms of devices sold. Despite this, Samsung has been seen its earnings slip, but other companies have been bouncing back.
| Global Smartphone OS Marketshare (%) |
Q4 '13
|
2013
|
Q4 '14
|
2014
|
| Android |
78.3%
|
78.9%
|
76.7%
|
81.2%
|
| Apple iOS |
17.6%
|
15.5%
|
19.6%
|
15.0%
|
| Microsoft |
3.3%
|
3.6%
|
3.0%
|
3.0%
|
| Others |
0.8%
|
2.0%
|
0.7%
|
0.7%
|
Total
|
100.0%
|
100.0%
|
100.0%
|
100.0%
|
| Total Growth: Year-over-Year (%) |
33.7%
|
41.4%
|
31.0%
|
29.6%
|
BlackBerry did not make it into the report, it falls into the Others category, which has a total share of 0.7% (down from 2% in 2013).
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