Android

Google today announced on its Official Android Blog that it’s launching a brand new tool called ‘Android Device Manager’ that will let users easily locate and remotely wipe misplaced or stolen devices. Anyone familiar with the Find My iPhone feature that Apple has made available to iOS device users will already be quite familiar with how the software works.

Much like Apple’s service, Android Device Manager will let users locate their device on a Map in real-time, as well as remotely wipe the device of all data if happens to get into the wrong hands. You’ll also be able to make your device ring at maximum volume if you happen to misplace it in a nearby location.

If you ended up dropping your phone between those couch cushions, Android Device Manager lets you quickly ring your phone at maximum volume so you can find it, even it’s been silenced. And in the event that your phone or tablet is out of earshot (say, at that restaurant you left it at last night), you can locate it on a map in real time

Google’s announcement comes at a time when government officials are pressuring Apple, Google, and other smartphone manufacturers to implement new theft deterrent features. While Google’s new tool would be one step in the right direction, it doesn’t appear to go beyond what Apple has already had in place since back in 2010.

Recently, Apple announced a new Activation Lock feature that requires an Apple ID and password to reactivate a stolen phone after being remotely erased/wiped by the owner through the Apple Find my iPhone feature. The login information will also now be required to turn off Find My iPhone. If a user’s device is stolen, wiping the device clean will essentially leave the thief with a device that is inoperable without the user’s Apple ID and password. It doesn’t appear that Google’s new tool includes a similar feature.

Google said the new Android Device Manager service will available later this month for devices running Android 2.2 and up, and an Android app will also be available to help users manage their devices.

Following yesterday’s launch of the Moto X and pricing and availability details for US carriers, Motorola today confirmed (via Pocket-Lint) that the device will not be available to consumers in the UK.  It’s not all bad news, however, as Motorola is hinting at a whole family of devices that will follow the branding of its new flagship Moto X and become available in additional markets.

A spokesperson for Motorola reassured Pocket-lint that Europe is still a key priority for the company, and that “Moto X is the first device in a new product portfolio, basically a new family of devices.”

“Because it is the first one, the Moto X has had a real buzz around it, but the US launch is not about the US being Motorola’s priority at all, there are devices coming to Europe. We can’t share what they are as of yet, but they are from the same family. They are cool and they are exciting and there is a lot in Europe coming up.”

Cnet dug up a little more on the upcoming devices, noting that one of them will be a lower-cost Moto X for US prepaid customers and other emerging markets:
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Photo: digitaltrends.com

A report by the Wall Street Journal on the FBI’s use of hacking tools claims that the Bureau has the capability to remotely switch on the microphones in Android handsets.

With such technology, the bureau can remotely activate the microphones in phones running Google Inc.’s Android software to record conversations, one former U.S. official said. It can do the same to microphones in laptops without the user knowing, the person said. Google declined to comment … 
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpU1mW0Mjm8

Motorola just posted a couple new videos showing off some of the unique software features that its including the Moto X. The first, above, shows the Quick Draw, or Quick Capture, feature that allows users to twist their wrist twice to quickly launch the camera app and snap a photo. The second, below, shows the always-on voice commands included with the device that will let users control their device without ever touching it. You can get all the details on specs and availability for the Moto X here. 
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The Frankenstein-like NVIDIA Shield, the handheld games console whose size and weight (1.5 pounds!) makes it seem like something invented in the 1990s, has been given the tear-down treatment by ifixit.

One thing is for sure—with its shields disabled, this device looks nothing like any tablet we’ve ever taken apart … or game console … or anything

Teardown photos and review roundup below the fold … 
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Google is testing a new “card” for its Google Now service that would display local news that’s contextually relevant to the user. It’s not something that users have been able to try out just yet, but Quartz reports that vice president of search and assist at Google Johanna Wright tells them that Google is currently testing the feature internally.

There’s no word on whether or not the Google Now card would some how be integrated with Google’s current News service, but Wright provides an example of how the “hyper-local news card” might function:
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There are a lot of third-party clients for Android that let users access their AdSense accounts, but today an official app from Google has made its way onto Google Play.

Google says that version 1 of the app provides ” key earnings information, top custom and URL channels, ad units and sites reports, payment alerts,” hinting that a future version will implement some of the other detailed reporting features offered in third-party apps and through AdSense on the desktop.

Unfortunately the app doesn’t appear to be compatible with all devices,  including Google’s own Nexus 7 and many newer devices like the HTC One.
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According to data from App Annie’s latest download and revenue report, Google Play for the first time surpassed the App Store in app downloads during the second quarter of 2013. While Google was able to move past Apple with about 10 percent more downloads during the three month period, the report notes the App Store brought in nearly 2.3x the amount of revenue.

App Annie says that Google Play’s growth was driven by emerging markets including Brazil, India, and Russia, and while the App Store still leads by revenue, Google Play closed the gap slightly compared to last quarter and years past.

Google Play saw Brazil climb two spots to join India and Russia as another emerging market in the top 5 countries by downloads for Q2 2013…The United States, Japan and United Kingdom remained the leaders in the iOS App Store when looking at revenue generation, and Australia climbed to #4 after a strong Q2. iOS App Store revenue was driven primarily by the United States and Japan, which combined to account for about half of the total iOS App Store revenue in Q2.

App Annie’s report also includes its Games Index tracking mobile games on iOS and Android, which now account for around 40 percent of all downloads on both platforms. During Q2, Gameloft’s Despicable Me: Minion Rush grabbed the top spot for most downloaded iOS game, while publisher Tiny Piece took the honor on Google Play.

As for non-gaming apps, Vine increased by three positions to become the most downloaded app during the quarter on iOS, followed closely by YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram.
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That $35 stick is looking less and less like a novelty item and more and more like a serious option for those looking to view content on their TV as developer Koushik Dutta has created an Android app to allow both photos and video to be streamed from a smartphone … 
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Microsoft is today launching a native Android app for its ‘Office 365’ subscription based productivity suite following the launch of the app on iOS devices earlier this year. The free app, which allows users to view & edit Office files stored in their SkyDrive account, requires users to sign into their paid Office 365 subscription.

The app is already starting to roll out on Google Play, but Microsoft doesn’t appear to be making a tablet version of the app available just yet. Much like on iPhone, perhaps Microsoft is going to stick with recommending users take advantage of the web apps on tablets. It would certainly help it continue its Windows 8 tablet campaigns mocking other tablets for not having Office.

KEY FEATURES:
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Google today announced a new community-based website called “Google Maps Views” that will allow users to submit and browse 360 degree photo spheres created on Android devices supporting the feature. It will also feature a collection of panoramas from its Street View Gallery.

Once a users signs in and uploads photo spheres from Google+ or directly from their device, they will have a profile on the Views website that displays all of their content:

To upload 360º photo spheres, just sign into the Views site with your Google+ profile and click the blue camera button on the top right of the page. This will enable you to import your existing photo spheres from your Google+ photos. You can also upload 360º photo spheres to Views from the Gallery in Android by tapping “Share” and then selecting Google Maps.

Users can create the 360 degree photo spheres on many Android devices running Android 4.2 and up as well as, of course, Google’s own Nexus devices and others running stock Android. The Views website will also allow users to submit panoramas shot on DSLRs.
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Update: The Verge reports that Samsung has responded with a semi-convincing case for how some of it may be innocent, but no comment on the more damning evidence of code referencing specific benchmark apps:

The Korean manufacturer says certain “full screen apps” (any app in which the status bar isn’t present) such as the camera, browser, video player, and benchmarking tools, are classified as requiring the highest performance available. Many games don’t require the maximum clock speed to run, the company notes. Samsung doesn’t address AnandTech‘s discovery of strings of code that implied specific benchmark apps were being targeted for higher clock speeds, but the site did note that other benchmark apps that are not explicitly mentioned in code were also behaving the same way.

For years now, people have been using benchmarks to analyze how devices compare to each other in terms of raw power. As most people know, however, benchmarks don’t usually mean much in terms of real world performance. According to a new report from AnandTech, Samsung has been performing some trickery to make its devices perform better during benchmarking.

Essentially, Samsung has set the GPU of the Exynos 5 Octa Galaxy S4 variant to run at a higher frequency when being benchmarked than during normal, day-to-day usage. AnandTech tested this and found that Samsung sets the device to run at 533MHz during benchmarking tests,  as opposed to the 480MHz during normal usage.

The same trickery also appears to be true when it comes to the CPU speed. While running the GLBenchmark 2.5.1, AnTuTu, Linpack, and Quadrant benchmarking apps, the device was set to use the Cortex A15 cores clocked at 1.2GHz. When using the GFXBench 2 app, which is apparently not subject to Samsung’s benchmark trigger, the device ran at  the lower 500MHz speed.
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Remember that new addition to Samsung’s NX camera family running Android that the company announced back in June? Today it finally becomes available, at least in the UK, with several UK retailers beginning orders for the device at £1299. That means the camera, which offers a full Android experience on a 4.8-inch display and 13 interchangeable lenses, will likely land in North America somewhere in the $1700 – $1900 range. It’s not cheap compared to other mirrorless competitors, but there simply isn’t a comparable experience that offers the power of a quality DSLR combined with a full Android environment, LTE and 1.6GHz quad core processor. The price tag will also get you the 18-55mm kit lens to start out. Wex and Jessops are currently accepting orders for the device, and Jessops lists it as being available for next-day delivery.

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While all eyes may be on the new Nexus 7, those with 2012 models may want to hold fire before handing over their cash for the shiny new model. AnandTech (via GigaOM) reveals that an upgrade to Android 4.3 could give the older model a whole new lease of life.

One of the common complaints late in the life of the original Nexus 7 was slow storage I/O performance, leading to an inconsistent user experience. After a fresh flash, the Nexus 7 was speedy and performant, but after months of installing applications and using the tablet, things began slowing down. This was a friction point that many hoped would be fixed in the new Nexus 7 (2013) model, which it was. There’s even more to the story though, it turns out Google has fixed that storage I/O ageing problem on all Nexus devices with the Android 4.3 update … 
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Teasing is in. After HTC teased the One Mini so much there was little we didn’t know by the launch, LG appears to be following suit with the G2, the successor to the Optimus G.

First there was the news that it would be powered by a Snapdragon 800 processor, then the likely screen, the official name, and the glass back and rear buttons. We’ve had a series of leaked images and video, and now LG has shown us its QuickWindow case.

An opening or “window” on the cover of QuickWindow allows users to glance at various information displays without having to open the cover flap. With only a light swipe of a finger, the QuickWindow UX will appear in the window which users can view while on the go. Information that can be viewed through the QuickWindow cover include a clock, weather report, alarm, music player, incoming phone call details and incoming text messages … 
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