Jordan Kahn

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BlueStacks, which has some experience bringing Android apps to other platforms, announced a partnership with AMD today to bring over 500,000 Android apps to around 100 million Windows PCs through the AMD AppZone. Powered by the BlueStacks technology, AMD PC users running Windows 7 or Windows 8 will now have access to the apps through www.amd.com/appzone. We used BlueStacks software on other platforms, and we definitely recommend AMD users check it out. BlueStacks also has a Mac version for running Android apps on OS X.

Full press release below:
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Taipei-based Digitimes does not have the best track record for predicting product launches; but if its latest rumor is true, Google’s Nexus tablet hardware could soon fill the One Laptop Per Child role. Digitimes claimed today that Asustek and Google are considering releasing two new, refreshed Nexus 7 tablets at new price points. According to the report, an upgraded model would take over the $199 category of the existing 8GB Nexus 7, while the companies would also introduce a $99 entry-level model. The OLPC initiative is still using the XO-1.5 hardware, last updated a couple years ago, but it does plan on producing the new XO-3 tablet at the end of the year. At $99, Nexus 7 could be a viable option going forward. We have not heard anything on these rumors, so we will have to take Digitimes report for what it is until then.

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Google previewed Google Play services at Google I/O, and it finally just began the official launch of its new platform designed to help developers integrate Google products, such as Google+, into their apps. Google explained the platform “consists of a services component that runs on the device and a thin client library that you package with your app.” It also explained the services component is delivered through the Google Play Store, which means “updates to Google Play services are not dependent on carrier or OEM system image updates.” This also means devices running Android 2.2 and up will have access to the latest APIs for Google products through Google Play Store updates “within a few days.”

The rollout will cover all users on Android 2.2+ devices running the latest version of the Google Play store, and will take about a week to complete. Please wait for us to post that the rollout is complete before launching any apps on the store which use Google Play services… In the mean time, go grab the client library from Android SDK manager, check out our updated documentation, and start coding!

Google’s Tim Bray also highlighted in a blog post on the Android Developer’s blog that Google Play services provide OAuth 2.0 access to Android apps using Google APIs with a “good user experience and security”:

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At a press conference in Seoul today to welcome the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 in South Korea, Samsung’s J.K. Shin had some pretty bold predictions for how well the device will sell in the coming months. Bloomberg reported that, following the introduction and record debut weekend of 5 million units for the iPhone 5, Samsung expects the new Galaxy Note 2 to sell three times as many units as the original Note in the first three months. In December 2011, shortly after the introduction of the original Note in September at IFA 2011, Samsung announced it shipped 1 million units. However, at that time, the device had not hit the United States. By the end of February it had moved 2 million Galaxy Notes, and as of August of this year it hit the 10 million mark, reaching its earlier projections for 2012.  For the Galaxy Note II, Samsung expects to reach over 260 carriers in 128 markets and launch in the U.S. with five carriers in mid-November.

We got our first look at the new 5.5-inch device, sporting a redesigned S-Pen and upgraded internals, when it was unveiled at IFA in Berlin last month. 
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On the heels of Amazon’s release of its new Kindle Fire HD lineup announced earlier this month, Barnes & Noble today launched a refreshed Nook tablet lineup consisting of the new Nook HD, and Nook HD+. Barnes & Noble’s old $249 Nook tablet is being replaced by two new models including a 7-inch Nook HD model starting at $199 and a 9.5-inch Nook HD+ model starting at $269.

NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ offer brilliant displays so customers can enjoy their favorite content and personal photos, not annoying ads as with Amazon’s tablets. And with low prices starting at $199 and $269 respectively, always ad-free NOOK tablets are a better value than Amazon’s, which charges customers an additional $15 for freedom from advertising offers on their tablet home page.

Starting with the Android 4.0-powered Nook HD, Barnes & Noble noted in its press release the device sports the highest resolution display of any 7-inch tablet “at 1440 x 900, with an unprecedented 243 pixels per inch and HD video playback of up to 720p.” Some of the other notable specs in the new device include a dual-core 1.3GHz TI OMAP 4470 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB ($199) or 16GB ($229) of storage, and a weight of just 315 grams. The HD will be available in Snow and Smoke colors, and it is already up for pre-order at nook.com. Barnes & Noble is promising 10.5-hours continuous reading time and 9 hours of video with the device’s 4,050mAh battery.

Moving on to the 9.5-inch, 1,920-by-1, 280-pixel Nook HD+: the new device includes 1.5GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.0, a 6,000mAh battery good for up to 10 hours of battery life, 1 GB of RAM, and 16GB ($269) or 32GB ($299) of onboard storage. It is also lightweight like the other model at just 515 grams, and it is up for pre-order at nook.com.

Barnes & Noble plans to ship the new devices in October in at least the United Kingdom with both models hitting stores in early November.

The company also explained some changes its made to the interface in its press release (below) in addition to a ton of new content and features such as Nook Video. We also get a look at how the specs compare to Amazon’s Kindle lineup and Apple’s iPads:

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Many users are reporting a number of issues in Gmail and Google.com with the services either being slow or temporarily inaccessible. Google’s App Status website indicates a service disruption for only Gmail as of 4:20 p.m. today. Google said it is investigating the reports, and it will provide more information shortly. We will keep you posted when services is back to normal.

Update: Things appear to be back up and Google confirms the outage was brief, affected .35% of users and things are back to normal.

Google has updated its Books app experience on Android, which already features over 4 million books in the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, Italy, France, Korea, Spain, and Japan. The latest version of the app introduces a number of new features including: highlighting, dictionary, notes, and new “Places” info cards.

In addition to including dictionary definitions when tapping on words, Google highlighted some of the new features in a post on its official Android blog:

Starting today, when you come across an unfamiliar geographic location—a faraway city or distant mountain range—you can tap on the location to learn more about it. You’ll see an info card with a Google Map and the option to get more information by searching on Google or Wikipedia.

Also in the update is the ability to translate words and phrases to a number of currently supported languages. Other features include:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhyt107c88]

Update: During a Q&A following the signing of Google’s autonomous car bill today, Sergey Brin was asked how long until the public would be using the vehicles. While noting he plans for a broader subset of employees to test the vehicles in the near future, Brin noted he expects the public to begin using the vehicles within 5 years. Sergey also noted the company has had conversations with many car manufacturers but Google doesn’t currently have plans to build cars itself.

“Self driving cars do not run red lights” -Sergey

In a tweet from the Google Public Policy Twitter account, Google noted today that California Gov. Jerry Brown will be signing its autonomous vehicle bill supporting Google’s effort to bring its self-driving cars to public roads. Google will be streaming the signing at 1pm PT on the Google YouTube Channel (embedded above).

[tweet https://twitter.com/googlepubpolicy/status/250636721073557504]

The Bay Citizen reports Google is now only awaiting approval from Gov. Jerry Brown as its driverless car bill passed 37-0 in the Senate and 74-2 in the Assembly. The bill, which was put together by legislative staffer Howard Posner and sponsored by state Sen. Alex Padilla, would allow Google and other companies to test their driverless cars on public roads and require new laws governing the operation of the vehicles in public:

Padilla’s bill, SB 1298, would allow companies to test self-driven cars on public roads and require the DMV to draft rules governing use of the vehicles by the public. The measure also would define a car’s “operator” as the person sitting in the driver’s seat, or if there’s no one in the driver’s seat, the person who “causes the autonomous technology to engage.”… In its final form, the bill would give the DMV authority to reject the use of driverless cars that did not meet its standards. The measure also would require that owners be notified about what data their car is collecting, but it did not resolve questions of liability.

Google provided a statement to The Bay Citizen in an email:

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Shortly after arriving at Verizon stores earlier this month, AndroidCentral points us to this teardown video from DirectFix showing the insides of Motorola’ Razr M. More than just a teardown, the video acts as an assembly and disassembly guide for replacing the device’s battery or other internals components. We do not get much of the analysis we are used to with iFixit teardowns, but this will give you a good look at what you will be dealing with for any DIY repairs in the future.

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Samsung will begin rolling out Android 4.1 Jelly Bean updates to the Galaxy S III today, according to a report from The Verge that cited an email directly from the company. The report said Poland would be the first market with access as the update gradually rolls out across other markets. When exactly you will be able to get your hands on it is unclear, but the report noted schedules for the roll out will “vary by market and wireless carriers’ requirements.”

Samsung also apparently provided a list of 15 additional devices that will receive updates to Jelly Bean in the future. The devices listed by The Verge include 10 phones and four tablets, such as: Galaxy S II,Galaxy Note, Galaxy S Advance, Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy Chat, Galaxy Ace 2, Galaxy Beam, Galaxy Ace Plus, Galaxy Mini 2, Galaxy S Duos, Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Galaxy Note 10.1. The final device is listed as simply the “Galaxy Music,” which neither The Verge or us have any information on. We will update this post if Samsung provides any more details.

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Facebook is releasing updates to its Android apps that make major improvements to messaging in both the main Facebook app and the Messenger companion app. Facebook highlighted features of the new Facebook Messenger app on its website today to note the more conventional SMS-style conversation view and the ability to text contacts directly from Messenger on certain Android phones. As noted by TechCrunch, the texting feature is currently available on the HTC EVO 3D, HTC One X, LG Optimus Black, LG Optimus Hub, Samsung Galaxy Ace, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S3, and Samsung Galaxy Y.

Another new feature is the ability to swipe to the left “anywhere in the app to see who’s available and send a message” and add friends to your Favorites for quick access. The main Facebook Android app will receive a refresh and similarly redesigned messaging UI, quick access to online contacts, and various security and performance enhancements. A full list of what is new is below:

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Google announced on the Google Maps blog today that it is expanding Google Maps live traffic information with the addition of live road traffic in three new cities, including: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City, Kuwait and Guayaquil, Ecuador.

In addition, Google is improving its live traffic information around the world in areas where Google Maps live traffic information is already available. According to Google, more highways and roads are included in the update for the following locations:

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The New York Times reported on a new forecast from research firm eMarketer that predicts Google will soon overtake Facebook as the leader in display ads by revenue. The research, which includes image and video on search, mobile, and display, predicted Google will take 15.4-precent of ad dollars this year, or roughly $2.31 billion, in comparison to 14.4-percent for Facebook. As noted by the New York Times, eMarketer predicted earlier in the year that Facebook would remain the leader in 2012; but if its new predictions come true, it means Google would be up 38.5-percent in its share of display ad dollars from 2011.

According to eMarketer, Google’s growth is coming from strong performance of mobile ads, YouTube display ads, and DoubleClick:

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Some Android users reported Facebook is testing a new feature that allows photos from their device to automatically upload to a private album in their Facebook account. It appears the feature started to roll out over the past couple of weeks, but more users reported noticing the feature, which is similar to the instant photo upload feature on Google+, yesterday and today. The Verge received confirmation from Facebook that it is indeed testing the new feature with a “really small” group of users. You will know if you have access to the feature if a “Sync” button is available from the Photos section in the Facebook for Android app. Facebook also already posted a help center document with information about photo syncing.

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Images courtesy of FairSearch

FairSearch, the Microsoft-backed group consisting of Google competitors that claim “Google is abusing its search monopoly”, today announced new members to the coalition seeking to end what they call Google’s anti-competitive practices.

The new members include: Allegro Group, Nokia, and Oracle, a company that has been in and out of court with Google in recent years:

The FairSearch coalition welcomes the Allegro Group (based in Poland), Nokia (based in Finland), and Oracle (based in California) as new members. Their addition is emblematic of the global scope of Google’s anti-competitive search and business practices, which harm consumers by curbing innovation and choice, not just in Web services, but also in mobile, and any platform where Google abuses its dominant position.

If you’re unfamiliar with FairSearch, the organization clarified its goal in today’s announcement noting, “Any effective and permanent end to Google’s anti-competitive practices must be applied globally, be legally binding, and come with strong mechanisms for ongoing monitoring and enforcement to prevent the search giant from restoring its abusive practices.”

The global footprint of FairSearch’s membership is consistent with investigations by U.S., European Commission, and other authorities of Google’s abuse of its dominant position… As long as competition is threatened anywhere, as in Eastern Europe, where the Allegro Group operates in more than 15 countries, consumers and innovators will continue to lose out everywhere.

EU counsel to the FairSearch coalition Thomas Vinje issued the following statement on the organization’s website:

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A couple notable promotions were announced today, including: T-Mobile’s Zero Down offer as part of its Magenta Deal Days, and a trade-in offer worth up to $300 for those purchasing a new HTC phone.

HTC is providing those who purchase a new HTC phone with up to $300 for their old, functioning smartphone after the purchase. You will not be able to use the cash toward the cost of the new device up front. Droid Life reported HTC is offering around $290 for a 32GB Verizon Galaxy S3, however, while others are getting quotes in the $150 range for a Verizon Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx in working condition. You can get your quote from HTC here.

As for T-Mobile, it is offering $0 down from Sept. 21 to Sept. 30 on qualifying 4G smartphones for new customers. Some of the devices on offer include the Samsung Galaxy S III, HTC One S, T-Mobile myTouch Q, Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G, and Samsung Galaxy Note.

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Twitter for Android is getting a nice little update today that brings a few new features. The updated app includes new profiles with header photos, photo streams through Events and Profiles, and pinch-to-zoom on photos. Other features include: improved search suggestions and other enhancements and fixes.

Twitter explained two of the biggest new features, header photos and photo streams, in a post on the Twitter blog:

• New profiles now feature header photos so you can express who you are more meaningfully on Twitter. Upload an image from your mobile device and see the same beautiful profile design on your phone, tablet or computer. Read more about the new profiles.
• Photo streams for profiles display the images people have shared on Twitter. Whenever you see a photo stream, swipe left or right through the thumbnails or tap to view photos in fullscreen mode. Android users can also get closer to photos with pinch-to-zoom.

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The first of its smartphones to sport an Intel processor —a 2.0GHz Atom Z2460, to be exact— was officially launched by Motorola at an event in London yesterday. The Android 4.0 “Razr i” (upgradeable to 4.1 in the future), includes a 4.4-inch, 960-by-540-pixel resolution AMOLED display, 8-megapixel camera, NFC, and a 2,000mAh battery.

We did not get specifics on pricing from Motorola, but we know the Razr i will land in at least the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil sometime in October. One retailer claimed to have pricing for the device following yesterday’s event (via Phandroid). Retailer Clove is accepting preorders for the device with a shipment date of Oct. 1 and price tag of £342.00 including VAT (around $550). We had great first impressions with the similar Razr M in our recent review, so we look forward to getting our hands on its Intel-powered brother.

Motorola already released two videos online for the Razr i following its media event. The first, above, is the official U.K. commercial for the device, and the second, below, focuses on Intel and the Razr i’s edge-to-edge display:

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