Android

With Galaxy S5 Lollipop updates in full swing, many have begun to wonder the status of updates for the Galaxy Note 4. Samsung, according to users in Poland, has today started rolling out Android 5.0 Lollipop to the Galaxy Note 4. The recipients of the update claim that it dramatically overhauls the TouchWiz interface, as expected. It also, of course, adds many of the features we’ve come to know and love in Lollipop (via SamMobile).

Canalys: Android Wear is off to a walking start w/ 720,000 devices shipped in 2014

Stephen Hall Feb 11 2015 - 11:26 am PT

The latest numbers from Canalys suggest that Android Wear is definitely not taking off as fast as many would have hoped, and that devices running Google’s smartwatch operating system haven’t exactly sold like hotcakes. Over the entirety of 2014, somewhere in the realm of just over 720,000 Android Wear device were grabbed up by consumers, making up almost 1/6 of the total 4.6 million smart wearable bands shipped.

Fresh off landmark deal w/ Apple, IBM reports Android dating app vulnerabilities risk corporate data

Jordan Kahn Feb 11 2015 - 9:08 am PT

Fresh off their landmark deal with Apple, IBM reports that around 60% of the leading Android dating apps include vulnerabilities that risk both personal and corporate data.

The report, which didn’t examine the iOS counterparts of any dating apps, found that 60% of the apps it examined included vulnerabilities that allow for either malware, the ability to track a user via GPS or the device’s microphone or camera, or steal credit card information.
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Google reportedly testing a service called ‘Plaso,’ lets Android users pay for things with their initials

Stephen Hall Feb 11 2015 - 8:27 am PT

As Apple took the mobile payments market by storm last year with the introduction and hard push of Apple Pay into retailers, Google has started looking beyond its Google Wallet offering to provide new ways for people to pay for things with their Android phones.

Bloomberg supports suggestion of Note Edge style wraparound display on Samsung Galaxy S6

Ben Lovejoy Feb 11 2015 - 6:10 am PT

Bloomberg is reporting that the Samsung Galaxy S6 will be released in two versions, one of them with a wraparound screen similar to the Note Edge but curving around both left and right sides of the display.

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to release two new versions of its top-tier Galaxy smartphone next month, including a model with a display covering three sides, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter […] The second model to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Spain will only have a front-facing display.

Earlier claimed renders had also suggested a curved screen, though with some confusion about whether the wraparound would be on only one side, like the Edge, or both sides as now claimed by Bloomberg …
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Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5s more reliable than current wearable fitness devices at measuring activity, finds study

Ben Lovejoy Feb 11 2015 - 5:01 am PT

If you were thinking about buying a fitness band, a university study suggests you probably shouldn’t bother: it found that the Samsung Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5s measure activity more reliably than most current fitness bands.

The study by the University of Pennsylvania (via EurekAlert!) tested the ability of the phones to measure steps on a treadmill and compared the results to six dedicated fitness bands. The two smartphones had a margin of error of 12.9%, while the error rates of the fitness bands ranged up to 22.7%.

The study tested the Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5s against the Nike Fuelband, Jawbone UP24, Digi-Walker SW-200, Fitbit Flex, Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip. Only the FitBit One and Zip performed significantly better than the two smartphones.

Purported HTC smartwatch details suggest it won’t run Android Wear

Mike Beasley Feb 10 2015 - 8:20 pm PT

A new leak from Upleaks indicates that HTC’s upcoming smartwatch, which was previously rumored to be coming in early 2015, is codenamed “PETRA” and will sport a 3-day battery along with support for both Android and iOS devices.

The device will reportedly feature a custom operating system built by HTC, not Google’s wearable-focused version its own mobile OS, Android Wear. The software will allow the watch to operate with both Android and iOS devices, targeting a broader market than most Android-only smartwatches.

Android Lollipop finally landing on AT&T LG G3, T-Mobile HTC One (M8) (Update: US Cellular Moto X (2014) too!)

Stephen Hall Feb 10 2015 - 10:50 am PT

9 Comments

Update: It appears that Android Lollipop is also hitting the US Cellular Moto X (2014) today as well.

According to various reports from Android users around the internet today, the Android 5.0 Lollipop update is finally making its way to some of the most important 2014 flagships on some carriers. Specifically, today marks the day the update seems to be landing on the AT&T LG G3 and T-Mobile has confirmed that the update is also today hitting its HTC One (M8).

The update has been very slowly rolling out over the course of the last few months, starting off in December with Google’s own Nexus devices. Most recently, the update started rolling out to the Sprint Galaxy S5, that same device on Verizon, and Google’s own cellular models of the Nexus 7.

It looks like the update is going to clock in somewhere in the realm of 400 to 600 MB in download size, depending on which device and carrier you’re using. Be sure to let us know if you have an AT&T LG G3 or a T-Mobile HTC One (M8) and you’re seeing the update.

Sony quietly introduces new Xperia E4 low-end smartphone w/ two day battery life

Stephen Hall Feb 10 2015 - 8:43 am PT

Sony has quietly introduced to the world this morning a new low-end smartphone dubbed the Xperia E4. Touting a “high-quality yet affordable design,” the phone sports a 5-inch IPS display, a humble 1 GB of RAM, a 1.3 GHz Quad-core processor, a 5-megapixel rear camera, a 2-megapixel front camera, and—what might make this cheaper phone attractive to some—two day battery life.

Sadly, this phone isn’t going to sport LTE connectivity. What it will have, though, is a dual-SIM version. According to the specs pages on Sony’s website, the phone will weigh 144 grams, packs a display with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels, and the phone will be the first from the company to launch with Android 5.0. As for that two day battery life I mentioned—it’s going to be brought by a 2300 mAh battery.

While the company has launched an entire splash page for the new device(s), Sony has yet to mention any timeframe for release or pricing details.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phmu_Vra_bw

Alleged Samsung Galaxy S6 AnTuTu benchmark mirrors previous rumors, sets performance records

Stephen Hall Feb 10 2015 - 7:29 am PT

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is expected to be unveiled next month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Spain, and the Korean company has already sent out press invitations for their own event happening there, teasing “what’s next”. What’s next is almost surely going to be the Samsung Galaxy S6 (and the company’s variations of it), and now we have evidence that the phone recently went through AnTuTu—and the benchmark that resulted shows previously rumored specs and some surprisingly good test results across the board.

Comms chip company Qualcomm fined almost $1B in Chinese anti-trust case

Ben Lovejoy Feb 10 2015 - 4:39 am PT

Qualcomm, which licenses 3G and 4G communications patents to smartphone manufacturers, has been fined almost a billion dollars by the Chinese government in an anti-trust case. The company was found to have abused its dominant position in wireless chip technology by charging “unfairly high” licensing fees to manufacturers of smartphones and tablets.

The 6B Yuan ($960M) fine is the largest fine ever imposed on a foreign company, reports the Guardian. China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said that the fine was calculated as 8% of Qualcomm’s 2013 revenue in China. China is responsible for around half of Qualcomm’s total revenue.

Chinese regulators said that Qualcomm bundled together patent licenses, forcing Chinese companies to buy unwanted licenses in order to get the core 3G and 4G ones they needed. Qualcomm said that it was disappointed by the ruling, but has agreed to separate out its licenses to allow companies to purchase only the ones they need.

The ruling should reduce costs for Chinese smartphone makers, but it isn’t known how significant the saving may be, and it’s unlikely to show up as a price-reduction for consumers.

Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters

Skype 5.2 for Android lets you share photos with offline contacts, more

Jordan Kahn Feb 9 2015 - 10:28 am PT

Skype is rolling out version 5.2 of its Android app today and with it comes the ability to share photos with offline contacts. Previously the app only let users share photos with contacts that were currently online.

Gone are the days when you and your contacts need to be online at the same time for you to share photos using Skype. With this update, you can now send photos to your Skype contacts at a time that’s convenient for you, regardless of your contacts’ online status. When they are back on Skype, photos you shared show up beautifully inline in the chat history, whether or not you’re online – allowing you to easily carry on the conversation.

The update adds other new features as well, including picture in picture view for smartphones and enhancements to chat load times, call quality, and more:

Picture in picture view is now supported on phones, too – letting you keep a video call going even when you navigate away to other applications
Chats load faster, especially when opened from a notification
Call quality improvements, especially in low bandwidth scenarios

The updated Skype app for Android, version 5.2, is rolling out on Google Play today.

LG announces free VR headset powered by Google Cardboard for G3 buyers

Jordan Kahn Feb 9 2015 - 9:39 am PT

LG today announced a new VR for G3 headset, a virtual reality headset for LG G3 users that will work using Google’s Cardboard VR platform and compatible apps.

LG will be giving away the VR for G3 headset for free to those purchasing a new LG G3:
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OnePlus releases CyanogenMod 11S 05Q update w/ SwiftKey and MaxxAudio included

Stephen Hall Feb 9 2015 - 8:14 am PT

OnePlus told us in December that the One would be getting MaxxAudio—which will supposedly improve sound performance—in a future update, and that update to the phone’s software has finally arrived. But today’s update also packs a plethora of other features that users of the One will greatly appreciate, and as the company told us would be happening, the update includes the addition of SwiftKey as a default keyboard as well.

OnePlus will begin selling the One w/ no invite required every Tuesday

Stephen Hall Feb 9 2015 - 7:19 am PT

OnePlus has been dragging out the release of the OnePlus One for months now, and it appears today that the company is dragging it out even more—making yet another small incremental step toward it actually being available to the public. Starting with tomorrow, the company will begin publicly selling both models of the One without an invite every Tuesday.

Google acquires Odysee, team behind photo backup and sharing app joins Google+

Stephen Hall Feb 9 2015 - 6:51 am PT

An app called Odysee has been acquired by Google, and the “Platform Team” behind it will be joining the Google+ team. The app, while definitely not all too well known, let users automatically back up their photos and videos from their smartphones to the cloud as well as a home computer.

The team will continue to work on “building amazing products” at Google, but it’s not exactly clear yet what the team is going to be doing—or what parts of Odysee may or may not be making it into Google+. Auto-upload of photos to Google+ has been pushed in the company’s official app for quite some time now, so maybe the team is coming on board to flesh out and expand that functionality of the service…
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You can now install CyanogenMod 12 on the Nexus 9

Stephen Hall Feb 6 2015 - 1:35 pm PT

If you’ve been waiting for CyanogenMod 12 to hit the Nexus 9, you’re in luck. A nightlies release from earlier today packs support for “flounder” (the code name for the Nexus 9), and you can download it right now. This news comes following the announcement in early January that Cyanogen had enabled nightly releases for the latest version of its ROM.

As you know, CyanogenMod 12 (unlike CyanogenMod 11) is based on Android 5.0 Lollipop, so you’ll still get Material Design and the other benefits of Google’s latest official release with this build. That said, it’s worth remembering that this is a very early version of the software, so if you go ahead and flash it, don’t expect it to run perfectly (this can be said about basically any build of CM 12 currently).

Direct download below:

cm-12-20150206-NIGHTLY-flounder.zip

(via Android Police)

Verizon Nexus 6 purportedly launching on February 26, will sport carrier branding on its backside

Stephen Hall Feb 6 2015 - 10:46 am PT

It’s been a long time coming for the Nexus 6 on Verizon. Earlier this week, it was discovered that the carrier had updated one of the pages on their website with a banner saying that the device would be “coming soon,” and now we have a bit of confirmation that “soon” might mean “before the end of February.” A new image that has surfaced this morning (via Android Police) shows purported release dates for both the Nexus 6 and the Galaxy Core Prime.

Deal Alert: HTC One (M8) w/ 32 GB flash storage, 4G LTE, GSM (factory unlocked) $300 shipped (Reg. $499)

Stephen Hall Feb 6 2015 - 9:16 am PT

HTC’s current flagship One M8 smartphone is currently available from qualitycellz via eBay Daily Deals at a new low, shipped for $299. These usually retail around $500 ($499 at Newegg) or more (around $700 for the Developer Edition on Amazon), so this deal is going to knock at least $200 off the standard price. The HTC One M8, as you may know, comes packed with a Snapdragon 800 processor, 4G LTE connectivity, 32 GB of flash storage, 2 GB of RAM, and a 5-inch Full HD display.

Deal Alert: Best Buy 2-day sale drops up to $50 off select Motorola Moto 360 Smart Watches

Feb 6 2015 - 6:01 am PT

Best Buy has just kicked off a special 2-day sale that includes sizable discounts on select Motorola Moto 3690 Smart Watches.

The leather model has dropped down to $219.99, which is a savings of $30. Jump up to the gorgeous stainless steel champagne model for an extra $60. The sale price of $279.99 is a discount of $50 off list. Both deals include free shipping.

You can’t go wrong with either version as the Moto 360 is currently our top choice of any smart watch.

Check out our full coverage of Best Buy’s weekend sale.

Leaked render reveals Samsung Galaxy S6 and ‘Galaxy Edge’ smartphones

Dom Esposito Feb 6 2015 - 2:11 am PT

3 Comments

We’re only a few weeks away from the official unveiling of Samsung’s Galaxy S6, but it appears the surprise has already been spoiled. According to a leaked render obtained by CNET Korea (via CNET), Samsung’s next flagship smartphone will come in possibly three different models. The above image appears to be a render from case manufacturer Verus and shows a few models of the upcoming Galaxy S6 lineup…

Google brings six new Android apps to Chrome OS, including Yo and SlideShare

Mike Beasley Feb 5 2015 - 11:19 pm PT

Google has announced that six new Android apps are available for computers running Chrome OS. The new apps include the Yo messaging service, the SlideShare presentation sharing software, and Tapatalk forum client.

Other new additions include the Dormi baby monitor software, chromatic tuner app Waves, and a shopping app called Slice.

All of the new apps run within the Android Runtime plugin for Chrome OS that was debuted last year. The company solicits suggestions from the public to determine which apps it should bring to the platform next. You can find the complete collection of Chrome-compatible Android apps on the Google Chrome Web Store.

Google introduces new set of “Be together, not the same” ads featuring furry “Android BFFs”

Chance Miller Feb 5 2015 - 6:29 pm PT

Google this evening has uploaded six new Android ads to its YouTube channel. The ads all follow the same “Be together, not the same” marketing campaign that the company introduced a few months ago and had its partners heavily promote at CES 2015.

Google Maps for Android updated to version 9.4 w/ support for Local Guides

Chance Miller Feb 5 2015 - 6:05 pm PT

Google today has started rolling out an update to its Maps app on Android that bumps it to version 9.4. Most notably, the update adds integration with Google’s new Local Guides service, which it originally introduced back in January. Previously called City Experts, Local Guides is the company’s efforts to get users to review local businesses and share them with others.