Android

Mozilla and Samsung announced a partnership today to build a next-generation web browser engine for Android and ARM devices called “Servo”.

Google executives allegedly worried earlier this year over Samsung possibly using its dominance in the handset space to renegotiate revenue cuts from mobile ads and search, but now it seems Google should really have fretted over Samsung joining forces with the competition to create a new Android web browser engine.

Mozilla explained in a blog post what the new engine will do:

Servo is an attempt to rebuild the Web browser from the ground up on modern hardware, rethinking old assumptions along the way. This means addressing the causes of security vulnerabilities while designing a platform that can fully utilize the performance of tomorrow’s massively parallel hardware to enable new and richer experiences on the Web.

Reuters has some vague new information on the Nexus 7 successor from Google today. Rather than being available at Google I/O in May (which would have been my guess), Reuters thinks it won’t hit the mass market until July. Perhaps a limited run will be available to developers in May?

As far as specs…

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After releasing a free version of the Quickoffice iPad app for its Google Apps for Business customers in December, Google today announced free iPhone and Android versions of the app exclusively for its Apps for Business customers.

Google Apps for Business can already edit Microsoft Office files using Quickoffice on an iPad, and starting today they can do the same on iPhone and Androiddevices. From Word to Excel to Powerpoint, you can make quick edits at the airport or from the back of a taxi and save and share everything in Google Drive… iPad and iPhone users can open and edit Office files directly from the Drive app. Just open Drive and select the file, make edits using Quickoffice and save it back to Drive.

Google noted the updated apps also bring new features including support for multiple Google Drive accounts, improved chart rendering, ZIP folders from multiple files, and the ability to sort Drive files by “Shared with me, Starred, and Recent”:

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Not long after AT&T made things official for an April 19 launch and April 4 pre-order date, Sprint too announced today it would launch the HTC One this month. While it won’t have the 64GB model exclusive to AT&T at launch, it will launch the $199 32GB model on its typical two-year contract starting April 19.

Sprint customers will be able to begin pre-ordering the HTC One in Silver or Black one day after AT&T customers on April 5 at www.sprint.com/htcone. The device will hit the usual Sprint retail outlets a couple weeks after on April 19.

The carrier’s full press release is below:

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HKmEHVn_4Q&feature=youtu.be

AT&T officially announced pricing and availability of the HTC One today following some inaccurate rumors floating around yesterday. AT&T confirmed that the 4.7-inch aluminum unibody device would arrive for customers beginning April 19 starting at  $199.99 for the 32GB variant on the usual two-year contract. It also noted that it would be the only U.S. carrier at launch to offer the 64GB model, which will go for $299 on contract.

Preorders for the HTC One on AT&T will start April 4 at 1 p.m. CT, and the carrier will be throwing in a $90 HTC Media Link HD wireless HDMI adaptor for free and the AT&T DriveMode app:

Customers eager to reserve their HTC One will be able to pre-order at www.att.com/htcone on April 4 starting at 1:00 p.m. CT.  Only AT&T offers a free** HTC Media Link HD wireless HDMI adaptor*** (a $90 value), which lets you wirelessly share content from your phone to your HD television. The HTC One runs on AT&T 4G LTE, the nation’s fastest 4G LTE network.****  AT&T has the nation’s largest 4G network, covering 288 million people. HTC One is available in black and silver and boasts a powerful 1.7 GHz quad-core processor, and zero-gap aluminum unibody with a 4.7-inch full HD (1080p) screen and HTC Sense® innovations, to re-shape your smartphone experience.

AT&T’s full press release is below:
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Samsung was eyeing a display between 5.9-inches and 6.3-inches for its much rumored upcoming Galaxy Note III last we heard. SamMobile earlier this month said that device would appear at IFA in Berlin this August, but a new report from the Samsung-focused blog today claimed Samsung will introduce a new lineup of devices in the 5.8- to 6.3-inch display size.

While noting “Samsung changed the name of their expected Galaxy Fonblets,” SamMobile said Samsung would soon introduce a new lineup of smartphone and tablet hybrids dubbed “Galaxy Mega” in 5.8-inch (GT-I9152) and 6.3-inch (GT-I9200) variants.

The devices will reportedly launch between the end of May and be available by mid-June:

The Galaxy Mega 5.8 will come in the colour white and will be available around week 22. The Galaxy Mega 6.3 will come in the colours black and white these galaxy devices need to be available around week 25.

It’s unclear what exactly this means for Samsung’s Galaxy Note III. It would be surprising for Samsung to introduce both the Note III and new Galaxy Mega tablet with a 6.3-inch display. Perhaps the Note III becomes the 5.8-inch device, and the Mega branding is reserved for the larger 6.3-inch variant? It’s also possible Samsung keeps the Galaxy Note III at the same 5.5-inch size of the Note II and introduces the Mega line to bridge the gap and cover all bases between its Note lineup and 7-inch to 10-inch tablet lines. We’ll keep you posted when we learn more. 
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Zr4JwPb99qU]

While Google has played several light-hearted April Fool’s jokes today, Microsoft’s search engine Bing took things to the next level by pretending to be Google.

To see the somewhat harsh joke, go to Bing’s website and then search for “Google.” A Google-like search page will appear with the header “Bing.” The fake search page features floating squares that criticize Google, but it most notably changed Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” button to “I’m Feeling Confused” with link to a blog post that fully explains the joke. 

According to Bing.com’s blog:

So today we’re running a special test, where if you visit bing.com and enter a certain telltale query, you’ll get something a little more bland. We decided to go back to basics, to the dawn of the Internet, to reimagine Bing with more of a 1997, dial-up sensibility in mind. We may see some uptick in our numbers based on this test, but the main goal here is just to learn more about how our world would look if we hadn’t evolved.

So, Microsoft has basically slammed Google’s look and deemed it dated. Yeah. Way to keep things light, Redmond. Don’t worry, though: Google has lashed back.

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Last week, we reported that Facebook and HTC are soon launching a Facebook-built Android experience in tandem with new HTC hardware. We followed up yesterday reporting that this Facebook experience will be called “Facebook Home.” We said that it would put Facebook features like photos, messaging, and contacts in an easy to access form. Today, AndroidPolice shares that it obtained a software dump of Facebook Home.

The site’s analysis of the software seems to confirm some of the mid-range technical specifications that we and UnwiredView previously mentioned. It appears that Facebook Home is an experience on top of Android OS, and the software seems to affirm our claims of easily accessible contacts, messaging, and photos. The report says that the leaked software is not fully usable outside of Facebook HQ.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kusQK7PCXTM

If Nuance gets its way with the just announced ‘Voice Ads’ mobile advertising platform, soon every mobile ad could include Siri-like functionality that lets you communicate with and ask questions about the product being advertised.

Nuance, the company behind the voice recognition module now used in Apple’s Siri, today announced a new project to bring its voice recognition technology to the mobile advertising world. The basic concept of the new platform, which Nuance made available through an SDK for advertising companies, is to bring a two-way, interactive conversation to mobile ads. As highlighted by Nuance in the video above, ads that implement the Voice Ads platform will allow users to engage in a Siri-like conversation with an advertisement:

Nuance Voice Ads gives mobile advertisers and creative agencies an opportunity to go beyond the limitations of the four-inch mobile device screen and create a conversation with consumers through the power of voice recognition. Voice Ads finally creates an opportunity for brands to deepen the relationship with their consumers, with targeted interactive ads that deeply engage their core audience – much in the way that the world’s most popular mobile personal assistants have deepened consumers’ relationship with their mobile phones.

In the demo above, Nuance shows an advertisement for a fictional deodorant brand that uses a magic 8-ball theme to answer any question that users might have. The ad of course ends in a pitch for the product in question, as you might expect. Other ads could allow users to ask specific questions about a product’s release date or specs…

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Facebook’s invitation to its Android-related media event next week is much less cryptic than it would seem. The invitation reads “Come See Our New Home on Android.” While, based on these words, Facebook seems to be teasing at a new Android-related Facebook experience, our sources say that the tagline reveals the actual product name: “Facebook Home…”

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AT&T made things official for customers interested in pre-ordering Samsung’s recently announced flagship Galaxy S4. While there is still no word when the actual handset will be available, AT&T announced in a blog post on its website today that customers will be able to pre-order the device starting April 16.

Continuing our legacy as the first carrier to launch Samsung’s Galaxy series, we are excited to announce AT&T customers will be able to begin pre-ordering the Galaxy S4 beginning April 16 for $249.99 with a two-year commitment. We are proud to offer this iconic device and continue to offer our customers the best smartphone line-up, with a variety of devices for every lifestyle and budget.

Those interested in learning more about the pre-order process can go to AT&T’s Galaxy S4 website.

T-Mobile announced earlier this month that it would launch the device May 1s, which is a pretty good indication of when we will start to see it arrive on other carriers.
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The S4 Mini leak we reported last week has been confirmed by Samsung in the tiniest of asides in an in-depth piece on Samsung by Bloomberg …
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The two most popular non-game apps downloaded from Apple’s iOS App Store so far this year were both Google ones: YouTube and Google Maps, according to data from App Annie (via The Next Web).

Google Maps was originally installed as standard on iPhones and iPads until Apple struck out on its own with the rather ill-fated Apple Maps. Though Apple has since fixed many of the embarrassing errors in the launch version, demand for Google’s version has seemingly increased rather than decreased.

In an ironic turnabout, Google lost the top slot on its own Google Play store to Facebook.

Google announced an update today to Google Translate for Android that brings an extremely useful feature for those who are traveling or in need of translations when without an Internet connection. Starting today, the updated Android app will now allow users running devices on Android 2.3 and up to access the service using downloadable offline language packages.

Google noted that there are currently around 50 languages available for offline use and detailed how to download the necessary packages through the app:

You can select [Offline Languages] in the app menu to see all the offline language packages available for download. To enable offline translation between any two languages, you just need to select them in the offline languages menu. Once the packages are downloaded, you’re good to go.

While the languages packages provide everything you need to get quick translations when offline, Google warned that the offline modes are “less comprehensive than their online equivalents” without explaining in detail.

Users of the updated app will also now be able to translate vertical text for Japanese, Chinese, and Korean—using their device’s camera.

The updated Google Translate app for Android is available now through Google Play.

In conjunction with 4G LTE news, T-Mobile revealed on Tuesday that it would make many 4G LTE-capable devices available with its pricing models.

A few of the notable Android devices launching on T-Mobile’s latest 4G LTE deployment include the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, and Samsung Galaxy Note II.

T-Mobile said the HTC One is its first 4G LTE smartphone to feature HTC Sense, and it will launch later this spring “in all T-Mobile channels.” The Galaxy S 4 will apparently launch May 1, according to T-Mobile’s CEO John Legere at a press event in New York City. That’s the most specific news we’ve heard.

T-Mobile notably dropped its traditional two-year contract model today, so customers will now have to shell out $99.99 for a device and then pay the rest via $20 monthly installments added to their bill over the following two years. Once the phone is fully paid off, the bill’s total will reduce by $20 a month. Each of T-Mobile’s 4G LTE devices will use the same $99.99 upfront/$20 a month model.

T-Mobile will offer the BlackBerry Z10 and the iPhone for $99, as well. There is no mention of Windows devices.

Get more information about plan pricing in the press release below.

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It’s been nearly four months since Evernote was updated to version 5.0 on iOS, and today Android will reap in the benefits of the update. Evernote 5.0 for Android brings a bunch of new productivity and utility features to the popular note-taking app.

One of the niftiest features of the update includes something new from Evernote called ‘Page Camera’. Page Camera allows the user to take a picture of a written (or typed) paper document and save the photo to Evernote. The camera automatically detects the text and enhances it to make reading it on a device easier. Another feature, which was released on OS X in January, titled ‘Shortcuts’, allows the user to access notes faster and easier than before. Finally, if you use Evernote to save pictures that you take, then ‘Multi-Shot Camera’ may be your new favorite feature. The camera update allows users to take multiple photos and save them in bulk, rather than the old method of taking shots individually.

The update is available today via the Play Store, or you can download Evernote right here.