Android

Samsung has updated its blog with what appear to be nine new-look icons, each with a superscript 5 hinting at the possibility of an earlier-than-expected first look at the Galaxy S5 at the company’s Unpacked event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on 24th February. Samsung had previously suggested that the S5 would be launched “by April.”

It’s possible that Samsung could officially announce the Galaxy S5 on the 24th but not make it available for sale until April … 
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Nokia could finally show off those Android-based “Normandy” smartphones we’ve been seeing surface lately. The company will debut its rumored fork of Android later this month at Mobile World Congress, according to The Wall Street Journal. The event kicks off in two weeks in Barcelona, Spain, and runs through February 27th.

Nokia, whose devices and services division was acquired by Microsoft last fall, had been working on the Android phones ahead of the acquisition, WSJ says. Nokia has been the primary handset maker for Windows Phone OS-based smartphones since dropping its own OS years ago, and even its Android fork borrows heavily from the signature Windows Phone design as seen in recent leaks.
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HTC acknowledges that it needs more than high-end handsets

While HTC technically ended 2013 in profit, the company says that declining margins are likely to see it end the first quarter of this year with a loss. HTC reported a wafer-thin profit of $10M from revenues of $1.4B, the latter figure 28 percent down year-on year. Its global market share of shipments was just two percent.

Reuters reports that the company plans to make a wider range of more affordable phones – the same strategy used by Samsung. Samsung made most of its money last year from a combination of its chip-manufacturing business and low- to mid-range handsets, and has itself come under pressure from low-cost competitor handsets … 
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The Chromecast, Google’s streaming HDMI dongle came out last summer. It is compatible with any Android device running 2.3 or later, iOS devices with iOS 6 or 7, and any Mac or PC. Initially, users were able to stream Netflix or Youtube from an iOS device and Android device, Google Play on Android, or stream websites to a TV using the Chrome browser on a computer. The Chromecast works differently from Apple’s AirPlay system in that you can multitask and do other tasks on the device or you can let it go to sleep while streaming.

Very quickly after its release, Chromecast has received support for Hulu +, Pandora, and HBO GO. Last month a major update added ten new apps including Plex, Vevo, Songza, Red Bull TV, Post TV from the Washington Post, Viki, RealPlayer Cloud, Avia, Revision3 Internet Television, and BeyondPod. The most recent update the Chromecast received allowed users to stream Google Play movies and music directly from the Chrome browser on a computer.

In this How-to, we’ll discuss how to setup the Chromecast, use it with a Mac and Android device, and explore its gaming potentials.

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Samsung announced today that it’s releasing a couple variations of its Galaxy S4 and S4 mini smartphones that introduce the faux “leather-style” backside that first made an appearance on the new Note 3 at IFA in September. The new devices are dubbed “Black Edition” and come with wallpapers to match, but otherwise are the same 5-inch and 4.3-inch Galaxy S4 devices that have been on the market for nearly a couple years now. Samsung says the special Black Editions will be available in select markets starting this month.
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DigiTimes, a site whose supply-chain-based rumors have a rather variable record of reliability, claims that Asustek is working on a new 8-inch Nexus, to replace the Nexus 7 at the end of April.

Google is no stranger to the form factor having just recently Play-editioned the LG 8.2″ G Pad  which has gotten some stellar reviews.

It’s suggested that Google feels the 7-inch market is too crowded, especially with 5- and 6-inch phablets cannibalising some of the 7-inch market … 
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Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox browser, showed the first preview of its Android launcher during the InContext 2014 conference today.

Firefox Launcher for Android makes it easy to discover the content you want in any moment and is optimized for the way you use your phone. The app integrates the contextual adaptive app search from EverythingMe with the Firefox for Android Web browser to offer users a personalized and customizable Web experience that is fun and intuitive

Mozilla previously released its own mobile operating system, Firefox OS. It appears Mozilla repurposed some of the aesthetic and technological ideas from the operating system when creating the Android launcher.

Firefox Launcher is still in development, but Mozilla has promised to make more details available as the product moves into its beta testing phase. The full preview is available below the break.

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Google has just updated its Android Distribution numbers to reflect data during a one-week period ending on February 4th. This data is collected by recording what version of Android every device that accesses Google Play is running. Most notably, Jelly Bean has surpassed the 60 percent milestone, going from 59.1 percent to 60.7 percent. KitKat saw very minor growth, increasing from 1.4 percent to 1.8 percent.

No other version of Android saw an increase this time around, with Ice Cream Sandwich falling from 16.9 percent to 16.1 percent and Gingerbread dropping from 20 percent from 21.2 percent.

Also noteworthy is the fact that 80 percent of all Android devices are rocking Android 4.0 or higher, meaning that most have the latest design interface and features from Google.

Google has had problems in the past rolling out updates in a prompt manner to devices, but things have definitely improved over the last year or so. It is, however, disappointing to see the latest version, KitKat, only running on 1.8 percent of devices.

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After several weeks of rumors and speculation, a Bright Red variant of the Nexus 5 is now available for purchase on Google Play, as a leak from Sprint last week suggested it would be (via Droid Life). The model has an entirely red back and a black front, with the exception of the front ear speaker, which is also red. As you would expect, the specifications of the red Nexus 5 are identical to the black and white models, which we praised in our review.

Pricing is also the same, coming in at $349 for 16GB and 32GB for $399. The Bright Red Nexus 5 is shipping within 1-2 business days. LG’s PRess release:
LG AND GOOGLE ANNOUNCE FIRST RED NEXUS 5

Popular Nexus 5 Now Available in Three Colors ― Red, White and Black

SEOUL, Feb. 4, 2014 ㅡ The first red Nexus 5 device is now available on Google Play™. Nexus 5 is the first Google phone to be offered in three colors: red, white and black. Launched last October in partnership by LG and Google, Nexus 5 received praise as a stylish, high-performance Google phone. Nexus 5 is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 800 processor, a stunning 5-inch Full HD IPS display and runs Android 4.4, KitKat, the latest version of the Android OS.

“The Nexus line has always been about doing things differently and consumers who share this philosophy have been our most loyal fans,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “We’re carrying this thinking over to the red Nexus 5, which we think will catch the eye of consumers who want to make an even bolder statement.”

The red Nexus 5 will be available on Google Play™ starting this month in the United States, Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Korea with wider availability across Europe by the end of the month. Customers will also be able to purchase a red Nexus 5 in retail stores in select markets.
I have to say, the device does look pretty slick in a red shade.

What do you think? Will you be picking one up?

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If you liked the look of the four new tablets Samsung announced at CES back in January, you don’t have long to wait until they go on sale – but for now, only the wifi models will be available, and the Tab Pro 12.2 won’t ship until next month, reports re/code.

You can preorder the Wi-Fi-enabled Galaxy Note Pro 12.2, Tab Pro 10.1 or Tab Pro 8.4 now from various retailers, including Best Buy, Walmart and Amazon. But the Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 isn’t expected to ship till March … 
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Samsung has just announced that it will be holding an Unpacked 5 press event on the first day of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The event will take place on Monday, February 24th at 20:00 CET. The event will be live streamed on YouTube, as well, for those who won’t be in Barcelona for MWC. The invite says that this is Unpacked “Episode 1,” suggesting that at least one more event will be held this year.

For those unaware, Samsung has used its “Unpacked” events to release all of its flagship devices over the past couple of years, including the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note III. It’s unclear what Samsung has planned for this specific event, however. It could be that the company will be giving a glimpse at the highly-anticipated Galaxy S5, or it could be something related to the company’s Tizen operating system.

We’ll be bringing you everything you need to know from Mobile World Congress, though, so be sure to stay tuned.

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Android phone makers are running out of ways to differentiate their devices from the crowd.  It’s all coming down to a rectangular screen, as little chrome around the edges as possible and a curved round back.  Pretty much every smartphone looks the same at this point with slight varying dimensions.

So that’s why LG’s curved Flex is an interesting newcomer. The LG Flex actually makes a somewhat flexible 6-inch display that defaults to a slight curve.  What are the supposed benefits of that?

• It contours to your leg, sort of, in your pocket.
• It reduces glare, sort of, outside
• The curved phone is supposed to make calling feel more natural
• Reading is a bit easier, not really
• It is a cool party trick, good for 20-30 seconds of amusement

I’m a huge fan of the Nexus 5 and G2 and even AT&T’s 4G LTE network of late so I was genuinely looking forward to see what this could do…
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A series of leaks point to Google releasing a red variant of its popular Nexus 5 smartphone in the coming days. The launch would be perfectly timed ahead of this month’s Valentine’s Day “Hallmark holiday.”

Today, leaker @evleaks published a clear shot of the red LG Nexus 5 (shown above). Earlier this week, Android Police received some spy shots and word from a Sprint internal notice that the device is launching on February 4th:

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The Kickstarter-funded, Android-based Ouya debuted last year to some so-so reviews, but gaming console isn’t giving up just yet. Ouya, which retails for $99 for an 8GB unit, is making the limited edition, white 16GB unit now a permanent addition to the lineup and making it black according to TechCrunch.

Ouya will maintain the $129 price tag for the storage-increased model, but both versions will see some iteration to the hardware…

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Even after Google announced that it was selling Motorola to Lenovo, there were still many questions surrounding the deal and what exactly Lenovo would be getting for the low price of $2.91 billion. We now know that, not included in the deal, is the Advanced Technology and Projects group led by former DARPA director Regina Dugan. This was revealed during a conference call with Lenovo. The Verge reports that the group will be integrated into Google’s Android team. Dugan will report to Sundar Pichai, but will still run things relatively independently.

This team consists of around 100 people, who will all make the move to Google’s Mountain View office now. The group is most well known for the Project Ara modular phone. This technology allowed for different phone configurations to be constructed from various parts. Google plans to scale the project and use its plethora of resources to speed up the process. Google will also work to accelerate other projects led by Dugan, such as ones pertaining to security tattoos and biotech sensors.

Google will hold onto all of the patents obtained by the Advanced Technology and Projects group, although Lenovo will have a license to them.

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Google CEO Larry Page and Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing

Update: Motorola and Google have both confirmed the acquisition of Motorola by Lenovo for $2.91 billion. Google will, however, retain the “vast majority” of Motorola’s patents. Google CEO Larry Page says that Motorola will be better unitized and more beneficial to Lenovo. This will also give Google more time to drive “innovation across the Android ecosystem.” The deal still has to pass regulatory approval in China and the U.S., and until then, Google says it is business as usual for the two companies.

According a tweet from Reuters reporter Gerry Shih, Lenovo is nearing completion on a deal to purchase Motorola from Google for around $3 billion. A report from China Daily news corroborates Reuters, but claims the deal is closer to the $2 billion mark. China Daily claims that the deal will be announced to the public Thursday morning in Beijing, which is just a few hours from now. Google is also holding an earnings call tomorrow, so it’s very possible that the information will officially drop during the call.

TechCrunch has “confirmed reports” of the acquisition, saying the terms of the deal have not yet been revealed, but that it was around $3 billion. It’s also important to note that the deal includes Motorola Mobility, which Google paid $12.5 billion for, not the entire Motorola company.

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