Jordan Kahn

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T–vFtyZvc4&feature=youtu.be]

Today, Google announced over on the Android Developers blog an updated Android emulator with improved hardware support for developers. The first new feature in the updated emulator is built-in GPU support for Android 4.0.4. The post explained:

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Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg just announced that the social network has acquired photo-sharing app “Instagram” for $1 billion. Instagram’s CEO Kevin Systrom also made a statement through the company’s blog and confirmed it will “be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network.” Instagram’s Android app just launched last week to nearly 2,000 signups a minute and a million downloads in 24 hours.

Zuckerberg’s full announcement is below, and Facebook’s official press release is here:

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Blackberry Playbook users have —for a long time— been able to sideload Android apps for those who have not been updated with native versions for RIM’s tablet. As noted in a recent report from CrackBerry, Vice President of Developer Relations at RIM Alec Saunders announced via Twitter that the feature is being removed and an alternative solution for developers is on the way. In an earlier tweet, he noted, “Privacy is a huge problem for Android devs, and we don’t want to duplicate the chaotic cesspool of Android market.” CrackBerry explained the reasoning behind the move:

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Ahead of its full quarterly report scheduled for April 27, Samsung Electronics today estimated its operating profits for the three-month period that ended in March. Estimated at 5.8 trillion won or $5.15 billion USD, that is nearly double the company’s results from the same quarter a year ago and up from the roughly 5 trillion won originally forecasted by analysts. While attributing the strong quarter to the Galaxy Note, the report from Reuters noted Samsung is “set to consolidate its market position with new products” over the next few months, including a “revamped Galaxy S” that will compete with Apple’s next iPhone:

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On the Google Investor Relations website, Google’s Chief Executive Officer Larry Page just published his “2012 Update from the CEO” to give an update on the state of the company since taking over as chief and “reorganizing the management team” around the company’s core products.

In the letter, Page talks a lot about one of his biggest efforts during the last year: Google+. While noting, “We have a long way to go,” he said the service now has 100 million active users and the company has implemented more than 120 Google+ integrations with services like search and Android.

Last April, I began by reorganizing the management team around our core products to improve responsibility and accountability across Google. I also kicked off a big clean-up. Google has so many opportunities that, unless we make some hard choices, we end up spreading ourselves too thin and don’t have the impact we want. So we have closed or combined over 30 products, including projects like Knol and Sidewiki. In addition, we gave many of our products, such as Google Search, a visual refresh, and they now have a cleaner, more consistent, and beautiful look.

Addressing concerns over changes made to privacy policies and search in recent months that have “generated a lot of interest,” Page explained the company’s incentive to “do the right thing”:

We have always wanted Google to be a company that is deserving of great love. But we recognize this is an ambitious goal because most large companies are not well-loved, or even seemingly set up with that in mind. We’re lucky to have a very direct relationship with our users, which creates a strong incentive for us to do the right thing… We have always believed that it’s possible to make money without being evil. In fact, healthy revenue is essential if we are to change the world through innovation, and hire (and retain) great people..

The full letter is below…

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Google announced today in a post on the Inside Google Books blog that it would be discontinuing its reseller program that allowed independent booksellers to sell through Google’s eBook services. The American Booksellers Association sent letters to its members informing them that about 350 independent bookstores selling eBooks through Google’s reseller program would end as of Jan. 31, 2013. The full letter (via Paid Content) is below.

Google’s explanation comes from Director of Product Management for Digital Publishing Scott Dougall:

Looking at the results to-date, it’s clear that the reseller program has not met the needs of many readers or booksellers. While our role as an ebooks wholesaler to booksellers will be coming to a close next year, we remain as committed as ever to making the eBooks experience from Google the best it can be for readers around the world.

For books that customers have already purchased, Google confirmed they would continue to “be able to access and read their eBooks on the web, phones, tablets and compatible eReaders.” Google will also help its 16 reseller partners “as they transition in the coming months” by continuing to give access to free Books APIs and highlighting them in the “Buy this book” section of Google Book search.

The full letter from the ABA to its members is below:

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Google just rolled out updates to a few of its Android apps, the biggest of which brings a ton of new features to “Gmail for Android” 3.2 (Honeycomb) users. Previously, only Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich users had access to features like swiping between conversations, custom notifications for labels, and the ability to sync messages for the last 30 days. All of those features and the rest of the Ice Cream Sandwich Gmail experience are now being implemented for Honeycomb users. The updated app is available on Google Play now, and a full list of the features is below:

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In a recent interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Google’s Chief Executive Officer Larry Page talked at length about his new role as chief and his plans for the future of Android, Motorola, and the rest of the company. Much the interview revolved around Android and Google’s relationship with other companies, and Page was asked about his relationship with Steve Jobs towards the end. He was also asked about the state of Android tablets and his thoughts on Apple’s recently announced dividend.

When the interviewer mentioned Google and Jobs had their “differences” about Android, presumably referring to Jobs’ claims that Android is a “stolen product,” Page claimed Jobs’ anger towards Android/Google was “actually for show”:

I think the Android differences were actually for show. I had a relationship with Steve. I wouldn’t say I spent a lot of time with him over the years, but I saw him periodically. Curiously enough, actually, he requested that meeting. He sent me an e-mail and said: “Hey, you want to get together and chat?” I said, “Sure, I’ll come over.” And we had a very nice talk. We always did when we had a discussion generally… He was quite sick. I took it as an honor that he wanted to spend some time with me. I figured he wanted to spend time with his family at that point. He had a lot of interesting insights about how to run a company and that was pretty much what we discussed.

He continued when encouraged to elaborate on his “for show” comment:

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While iPhone users might not be happy that their beloved photo-sharing app has finally made its way to Android, over a million users of Google’s platform have downloaded the app in its first 24 hours of availability. Google Play now lists 1 million to 5 million installs and the company’s Chief Executive Officer Kevin Systrom told The New York Times that the app is experiencing over 2,000 signups per minute.

There was clearly huge anticipation for the app, which has been available on iOS since October 2010, with over 430,000 people preregistered to download the app before its official launch yesterday. Instagram is currently home to over 30 million registered users on iOS, and it took the app approximately six months to hit the 5 million-user mark, according to CBS. Of course, the Android version would pass that milestone this week if it continues at its current rate.

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Google’s dominance in mobile advertising and Apple’s growing iAd platform on iOS convinced Samsung to launch its own rival advertising platform called “Samsung AdHub Market.” The Wall Street Journal reported the company officially announced the platform on Tuesday, which uses technology from OpenX Technologies Inc. According to the report, the company will allow advertisers to buy space within apps through developers and Samsung. The ads are expected to appear on Samsung phones and tablets sometime in last half of the year.

Samsung said Tuesday it’s adding a mobile phone advertising exchange platform using technology from closely held U.S. firm OpenX Technologies Inc…The platform, called Samsung AdHub Market, will enable advertisers to place targeted messages within apps on Samsung phones and tablets… The move is part of Samsung’s broader push to bring targeted advertising to electronic devices including Internet-connected televisions. It will also pit the company against other mobile-ad services from Apple, Google and Millennial Media Inc., which held an initial public offering last week.

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Following Nielsen’s latest survey that showed over 90 percent of United States smartphone buyers are choosing iOS or Android, research firm comScore today released its data of the top smartphone platforms and OEMs in the U.S. The survey included more than 30,000 people over a three-month period ending February 2012. It found Android was up 17 percentage points from a year ago with 50.1-percent of the U.S. smartphone market. In comparison, Apple’s 30.2-percent accounted for an increase of 5 percentage points from the same period a year ago.

According to comScore, Google passed the 50 percent milestone for the first time during February 2012. The numbers represent a 3.2-percentage point increase over previous three-month period for Google, and a 1.5-percentage point increase for Apple.

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Virgin Mobile is getting ready to introduce the HTC EVO 3D rebranded as the “HTC EVO V 4G” later this year, according to a report from PocketNow citing a “reliable source.” The report noted the device originally launched almost a year ago with its plum color variant exclusive to Best Buy. Both shades including the plum and grey will apparently be available on Virgin sometime in 2012 and, like Sprint, the carrier will also offer 4G hotspot support. The glasses-free EVO 3D can capture 3D images and video with its two 5-megapixel cameras, and it packs a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and qHD resolution display. The EVO V 4G variant for Virgin will presumably have similar specs.

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We knew Samsung’s 2.8-inch Galaxy Pocket at just 12mm thin and weighing 97 grams was coming when the company officially announced the handset last month. At the time, we did not have word on an official United States launch date, but today the device has made its way through the Federal Communications Commission (via Engadget). We do not get many new details on the device that packs an 832MHz processor, 3GB of onboard memory, and built-in FM radio, Wi-Fi, and 3G, but we do learn it will operate on GSM 850 / 1900 and UMTS Band frequencies, which means it might come to AT&T. We will keep you posted when we hear more about an official U.S. launch date.

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We knew it was coming since January when Google confirmed the Galaxy Nexus would launch on Sprint after first releasing exclusively on Verizon. According to a document sent to The Verge from an anonymous Walmart employee, the device will launch April 22 at Sam’s Club. There will not be many surprises when it finally does launch, as leaked ads in January revealed a 1.5GHz processor, opposed to the 1.2GHz packed in Verizon’s variant. Other than that, we will likely see a device that is identical to Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus, but Sprint—unlike Verizon—will support Google Wallet.

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If you are considering picking up the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon anytime soon, Samsung is giving you a decent incentive to do so directly through its website. For a limited time, the company is offering a free Galaxy Nexus i515 Battery Bundle Kit with the purchase of a Galaxy Nexus on the usual two-year Verizon contract. The kit, usually worth $50 through Samsung, provides a back casing compatible with the included 21 mAh extended battery. Unfortunately, many report the battery only provides approximately 10 percent extra battery life, but it is definitely worth getting it free before the promotion ends on May 10.

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With iOS gaining roughly 30 percent United States marketshare as of Q4 2011 at the expense of RIM, Nokia and Microsoft, new numbers from Nielsen’s latest study show just how much of a duopoly the U.S. market has become. While noting about 50 percent of mobile subscribers in the U.S. are now smartphone owners, Nielsen gave a breakdown of how the two leading platforms continue to dominate as of February 2012:

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DoubleTwist player, the app that aims to provide the functionality of the iOS iPod in a single Android app, keeps adding features that take it even beyond the functionality of Apple’s iPods. Today, an update to the app adds several welcomed improvements and fixes, and the most notable is support for Google Music. The blog post noted Google Music offline tracks would now appear in the app’s library.

Also included in v1.7.3 are fixes for the latest Apple TV update and downloading album artwork. As always, the app includes several other improvements and bug fixes, and it can be downloaded for free from Google Play. The devs were also able to reduce the size of the app in the update, which is always nice while receiving new functionality in the process.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Y7yN2EK7ahU]

Google just pushed out an update to the “Maps for Android” app that brings new high-resolution map tiles for pixel dense displays, a new look for Navigation on Android 4.0, and the ability to set a preferred mode of transit for directions.

New high-res map on the right, previous map on the left

In addition to a redesigned home screen for the Navigation feature of the app on Android 4.0 devices, the new higher resolution map tiles provide “a crisper, less cluttered map that is easier to read.” Google noted this would allow you to take full advantage of the pixel density of displays on devices like the Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S II, and Droid Razr.

The high-res tiles will appear when visiting new locations on the map, but you will have to clear the cache in Map settings for previously visited locations. Google explained the benefits:

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Stemming from a lawsuit in 2010 where Oracle claimed Google was infringing on its Java-related patents with Android, a court document today reveals Oracle rejected Google’s offer to pay a percentage of Android revenue if the alleged patent infringement is proven in court. Reuters reported:

Google proposed to pay Oracle a percentage of Android revenue if Oracle could prove patent infringement of the mobile operating technology at an upcoming trial, but Oracle rebuffed the offer as too low, according to a court filing late on Tuesday.

As for Google’s offer, Reuters said the company would give approximately $2.8 million in damages to cover 2011, and a future 0.5-percent royalty of Android revenue for one patent that will expire in December. A second patent included in the case would provide Oracle with an additional 0.015-percent until it expires in April 2018. According to the court document, Oracle is holding out for a possible injunction:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBrmaE82uY4&feature=youtu.be]

We are not entirely sure if Samsung was behind this footage of an elephant playing with the Galaxy Note, but it could very well fit into an upcoming advertisement. The elephant does not make much use of the Note’s S Pen stylus, but it is entertaining nonetheless. Go past the break for outtakes of Peter the Elephant playing drums and piano on the device.

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A new report from The Next Web claimed a “source close to the product’s development” confirmed Google has a new commenting system in the works. With continued integration of Google+ into the rest of the company’s web services, the report claimed Google will likely aim to take on Facebook and its third-party commenting platform. The report explained:

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