Android

Telecommunications site LightRead reports that AT&T is committing to supporting WiFi Calling for its subscribers beginning sometime in 2015. The feature allows subscribers to carry voice calls over their home or office WiFi connection, for instance, when the cellular network may be poor in strength.

Speaking Friday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference, he said the carrier would use WiFi calling in 2015, but only as a complement to voice-over-LTE and 3G voice. […]

“We’re very focused on making sure it’s a great experience for customers, but we see it as a complement, not a replacement,” he said. “We feel good about a great nationwide network with unlimited talk and text.”

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Between manufacturer and carrier gunk, Android is often weighed down by unwanted bloatware. When looking for a high-end handset, software purists are often pushed towards Nexus devices from Google, or stripped down ROMs furnished by software development communities. However, the folks at Motorola are looking to break this cycle with the release of its 2014 edition Moto X.

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Google announced today that it’s bringing Android apps to Chromebook users with the first four apps now available for the platform. The apps come to Chrome OS users as a result of Google’s App Runtime for Chrome (Beta) project launched earlier this year at Google I/O as an effort to bring Android apps over to Chromebooks. The first first set of apps include:
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If you’re eyeing a new smartphone and plan on unloading your old gear on eBay to finance your next purchase, you’ll be glad to know that the world famous e-commerce company has redesigned its Android app. Hopping on the Material Design bandwagon, version 2.7 ships with a simple, flat, sterile look that features larger photos and refined search results.

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HTC is gearing up to launch an Android Wear-powered smartwatch early next year, according to CNET. Recent rumors suggested the company had canceled its smartwatch efforts due to the steep competition in the growing space, but its plans are reportedly alive and well. The Taiwanese electronics maker is taking its time to make sure its watch stands out and will focus on the device’s design and “features that consumers will more immediately gravitate toward.”

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The Moto 360 is one of the most anticipated Android Wear smartwatches to date. Despite initial offerings from LG and Samsung, the Moto 360 continued to gain hype months before its official release. Well, it’s finally here and we’re getting hands-on with it in our unboxing and first impressions video…

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Samsung was already taking shots at the iPhone 6 this morning with some new ads, but the Android handset maker has gone even further by releasing a set of new videos on YouTube today mocking everything from the iPhone 6 livestream problems to the device’s hardware (via Engadget). The ads are part of the “Note the Difference” campaign, and these specific videos belong to a playlist called “It Doesn’t Take a Genius.”

The ads feature two guys in blue shirts—the titular Apple Store “Geniuses”—discussing the upcoming device’s features (and lack of a stylus) and the companion Apple Watch. Each ends with a promotion for Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 smartphone. You can check out all six ads in the playlist below:

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Rumor has it that HTC is working on a Nexus tablet for Google and it looks a set of legal documents may have confirmed such claims. In a filing from an ongoing patent lawsuit against Qualcomm and Samsung, NVIDIA may have inadvertently revealed Google’s next purebred tablet. In a claim form discussing its Tegra K1 processor, the company stated that an “HTC Nexus 9” is expected sometime within the third quarter of 2014.

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Google has announced a new tool for its iOS Google Apps users this evening that makes it easier to manage accounts and settings. Called iOS Sync, the feature will be integrated directly in to the company’s iOS Gmail and Drive apps and offer a variety of new management tools.

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As it does at the beginning of every month, Google this evening updated its Android distribution data to reflect a 7-day period ending on September 9th. The data shows Android 4.4 KitKat reach an all-time usage high of 24.5 percent, up from 20.6 percent last month. Jelly Bean continued its consistent decline, falling from 56.5 percent to 53.8 percent.

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During its Uncarrier 7.0 event this afternoon, T-Mobile revealed a handful of new announcements as part of its ongoing quest to lead the mobile industry. Firstly, CEO John Legere announced that every phone it sells from here on out will be capable of WiFi calling and texting. The company says that anyone who does not currently have a phone capable of WiFi calling can upgrade to a supported phone with the carrier’s Jump program. As the name implies, WiFi calling and texting allows you to make calls and send texts over your WiFi network, as opposed to over the cellular connection.

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HTC just blessed our inbox with an invite for a media event referred to as “Double Exposure.” Set to take place on October 8th in New York City, the invitation’s tagline sounds like something to do with photography and looking at HTC’s track record, we’re thinking it’s related to the company’s recent inclusion of dual-cameras on its top-shelf smartphones. Whatever the case, we’ll be there to find out what the Taiwanese phone maker is up to. So be sure to save the date.

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Last month, we found out that Google was extending the return period for some of Google Play’s games from 15 minutes to two hours. A new update to the company’s support page has confirmed the change, making the two hour refund policy official for paid applications and games. An extra hour and 45 minutes sounds great, but it should be noted that way back in the days of the Android Market, Google used to give customers a full day to return undesirable software.

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The above photo has been making the rounds on the internet, especially on Google+ where the vast majority of users are definitely on the Android side of the pond. Put together by Ron Amadeo of ArsTechnica, the little graphic compares the specifications of the iPhone 6, which was only announced yesterday, to Google and LG’s Nexus 4, which was released in November of 2012.

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It looks like HTC wasn’t the only one to take a jab at Apple’s new king size iPhone 6 Plus. The Cupertino-based software giant’s longtime rival Samsung took to social media to taunt the company’s latest effort. The South Korean electronics manufacturer recently posted a tweet with a message saying “Big improvements and innovation come with change – even they thought so.” The social media post ended with an embedded image citing a now famous 2010 quote from late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, saying “No one is going to buy a big phone.”

Steve took the opportunity to rip on bigger rivals, saying that making a phone so big “you can’t get your hand around it” helps, but that “no one’s going to buy that.” We’re assuming he’s likely talking about the latest crop of 4-, 4.3- and 5-inch phones that include the Galaxy S series, the EVO 4G, Droid X, and Dell Streak, even going so far as to call them “Hummers”

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It’s finally all coming together. As many suspected would eventually happen, Google Hangouts is finally—in an update rolling out over the next few days—going to be getting integration with Google Voice. The latter service seemed to definitely be getting neglected by Google as of late, with much of the company’s focus going to its Hangouts platform. But it appears that Voice may even moreso eventually become a thing of the past because, starting today, Google is putting it straight into Hangouts as part of a new update to its apps across Android, iOS, and the web.

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Mountain View’s wearable platform officially received some competition from the folks in Cupertino today and in what appears a coincidence, one of the most popular Android Wear-powered smartwatches on the market has received a temporary price cut. Google Play has shaved $50 off the LG G Watch’s asking price, bringing the high-tech wristwatch down to $180.

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