Android

The folks who run CyanogenMod, the website that hosts open source software for a slew of Android devices, announced that the CyanogenMod.com website is no longer under their control. CyanogenMod.com was a gift to the team from the original domain owner (a non-staff member); however, he took it back today after the owners of CyanogenMod rejected his $10,000 offer and his shenanigans throughout the network (which included impersonating founder Steve Kondik to set up referral deals). Even with the domain loss, the community still plans to flourish under its CyanogenMod.org domain name while its dispute with ICANN is underway. We hope things are restored quickly, as CyanogenMod plays a huge role in the community.

Fast-forward 3 years, we have 3 extremely powerful build boxes donated by the community and an army of developers, contributors, and supported devices. But, a little over a week ago, things took a bad turn. The person owning the CyanogenMod.com domain was caught impersonating Steve to make referral deals with community sites. When confronted and asked to hand over control of the domain amicably, he decided he wanted 10K USD for it, which we won’t (and can’t) pay.

Update: Cyanogen has news this evening about the issues being resolved:

With that said, the ex-member in question contacted us and has agreed to hand over control of the CyanogenMod.com domain. This was done as amicably as these things can be, and CM did not pay the fee he requested.

We will still be using CyanogenMod.org as our primary domain, and the .com address will simply redirect to this new domain. Ironically enough, ‘.org’ is better than ‘.com’ as we are not a commercial entity, and is far more in line with how CyanogenMod is structured.

[CyanogenMod, XDA Developers via Droid Life]

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TNOsB8tRmWU]

Yesterday, we told you about the updated YouTube apps for Google TV and Android that bring a new synced experience, but today Google announced two other big new features for Google TV: Voice Search and PrimeTime.

On the Official Google TV blog, Google walked us through the new features that will roll out to LG devices first starting this week. The most notable new feature is the addition of voice search, allowing users to not only perform Google searches with their voice, but also open apps, press play on a YouTube video, or speak a command, such as “CNN”, to navigate directly to a channel.

Google also explained that questions, such as “how to tie a bow tie,” would bring up instructional videos on YouTube. Part of the new voice search experience is a new visual search results page:

Try “search movies with Jeff Bridges” and see results in our new, more visual search results page.

Google is also introducing a new app called “PrimeTime” in the update that is essentially a rebranding of the old TV & Movies app it added last year:
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Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users by Operating System in 3Q12

Gartner is out with its quarterly report for worldwide mobile device sales by vendor and OS for the third quarter. While reporting an overall 3 percent decline in mobile phone sales, the smartphone category hit 169.2 million units in Q3, a 47 percent increase from the year-ago quarter. While Apple is still third to Samsung and Nokia for total mobile device sales, Samsung and Apple remain the top smartphone vendors collectively, capturing 46.5-percent of the market. Meanwhile, Nokia slipped from No. 3 smartphone vendor in Q2 to No. 7 in Q3. This made room for RIM and HTC behind Apple and Samsung in the third and fourth positions.

With sales of 23.6 million units in the third quarter for Apple (up 36.2-percent year-on-year), Gartner reported Samsung has widened its lead on Apple with almost 55 million smartphones in the quarter and strong demand for its Galaxy line. Samsung once again takes the top vendor position for smartphones with 32.5-percent of the market:

Samsung’s mobile phones sales continued to accelerate, totaling almost 98 million units in the third quarter of 2012 (see Table 1), up 18.6 percent year-on-year. Samsung saw strong demand for Galaxy smartphones across different price points, and it further widened the gap with Apple in the smartphone market, selling 55 million smartphones in the third quarter of 2012. It commanded 32.5 percent of the global smartphone market in the third quarter of 2012.

As for the race between Android and iOS, Gartner’s numbers show Android increased its marketshare nearly 20 percentage points in the quarter to 72.4-percent of the market, up from just 52.5-percent in the year-ago quarter. In comparison, Apple now accounts for 13.9-percent of the market, down from 15 percent last year, but Gartner expects that to change in Q4 thanks to the continuing iPhone 5 roll out:
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Today, alongside the launch of Nexus 4 and Nexus 10, Google is officially making the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean SDK available to developers. Included in the release are the lock screen widgets, the Daydream interactive screensaver mode, enhanced support for external displays, and more. Developers can download the Android 4.2 platform from the Android SDK Manager. Google also has an overview of what’s new on its website and an API overview here.

The full release notes from Google (via the Android Developers Blog) are below:

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The LG Nexus 4 just became available in the United States, but the Google Play store already sold out of the 8 GB and 16 GB models.

Check it out: 

• $299 8 GB LG Nexus 4
• $348 16GB LG Nexus 4

Google made the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 available to customers in the U.S. through Google Play at about 11:45 a.m. today. The 16 GB model was the first to sell out at around noon, while the 8 GB model ran out of stock at about 12: 10 p.m.

Like the U.S. variant, the United Kingdom’s Nexus 4 also sold out within 30 minutes of going live earlier this morning.

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A new YouTube Android app update pairs Android devices and Google TV on the same Wi-Fi network and allows folks to stream videos from their mobile devices to the television.

“Just find a video on your YouTube app for Android — like the latest video from GoPro or H+ The Digital Series — click the TV icon that appears, and the video will play instantly on your Google TV,” wrote YouTube Product Manager Timbo Drayson on the official YouTube Blog, while further explaining the new feature is an idea Google toyed with for over two years.

Android users who update their YouTube app today, as it rolls out, will now see a new button that enables them to play videos from their devices to the television with just a tap. The new feature essentially streamlines the process of pairing the YouTube app with Google TV.

As the video streams, users can control actions, such as pause, scroll, or skip, with their mobile device, as if it were a remote control, and they can even connect multiple devices to create a playlist. Moreover, since the devices are cloud-connected, as Drayson noted, they can do things like “find the next video to watch from your tablet or browse around the web on your phone, all while the video plays on TV.”

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Ahead of the Nexus 4 becoming available in the next few hours for $299, Google made a black Nexus 4 bumper available on its Google Play store this evening. Google is scant on details for the accessory, but it said it is available for $20 and allows you to “customize your Nexus 4 with a lightweight bumper case.” There is no word on when you will actually be able to purchase the bumper or when it will ship, but you can enter your email for the latest updates. Does this remind you of anything?

Additionally, the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 went on sale for Australian customers early this evening. The Nexus 4 already sold out. [Google Play]

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AT&T announced this afternoon that the HTC One X+ and One VX will be available on its network beginning Nov. 16, with One X+ pre-orders beginning Nov. 13 both online and in-store. The One X+ has been priced at $199, while the carrier prices the One VX at $50 with a two-year contract.

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According to research from Chetan Sharma Consulting, the amount of text messages sent during Q3 2012 showed the first decline ever. The fall can be attributed to Apple’s iMessages (when it is up), along with other Internet services like Facebook Messaging, Skype, AIM, Google Voice and more that use Wi-Fi. With less text messages being sent monthly, this has lead to less revenue in the text message area for carriers, however, they are still making plenty of money off data. The research released today says data makes up for 43 percent of carrier revenue generated, with Verizon and AT&T accounting for 69 percent data revenue during the quarter. Mobile data is expected to slow down after growing rapidly over the last five years, perhaps thanks to Wi-Fi.

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said he is losing sleep over services like iMessage cutting into revenue, while speaking earlier this year.“You lie awake at night worrying about what is that which will disrupt your business model,” Stephenson said. “Apple iMessage is a classic example. If you’re using iMessage, you’re not using one of our messaging services, right? That’s disruptive to our messaging revenue stream.”

[FierceMobile]
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We’re sure many of you can’t sit still in your seats, waiting for the arrival of the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10. But yearn no longer, as both devices will be available early tomorrow morning, according to Google Germany employee Stefan Keuchel. He said that devices won’t be available right at midnight as some may have hoped, but “around breakfast time” in Germany. This translates to early morning hours on the West Coast.

Nonetheless, tomorrow’s the day you Android fanatics have been waiting for, so have your browsers locked on Google Play and your credit cards on deck. Both devices will ship-out within two days. [Android Central]

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AT&T just announced the Samsung Galaxy Camera would land Nov. 16 for $499.99 with or without a data plan.

The Galaxy Camera is Samsung’s first 4G-connected camera to marry point-and-shoot technology with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean software. It sports AT&T mobile internet connectivity, access to Android apps from the Google Play store, a quad-core 1.4 GHz processor, 4.8-inch HD Super Clear LCD display, 21x optical zoom lens, and a 16-megapixel backside illuminated CMOS sensor.

Samsung also noted a limited time-only sale for customers who want to purchase any Samsung Galaxy smartphone. They can now receive up to $100 off the new Samsung Galaxy Camera or any connected Samsung device. The Samsung Galaxy Camera will hit AT&T’s online store and select company-owned retail stores nationwide.

AT&T further said the camera will have access to its new cloud-storage app, AT&T Locker, and it revealed data plan options for the camera:

• AT&T Mobile Share: $10 to share between 1 GB and 20GB
• AT&T DataConnect 250MB: $15 for 250MB
• AT&T DataConnect 3GB: $30 for 3GB
• AT&T DataConnect 5GB: $50 for 5GB

Check out 9to5Google’s coverage of the camera’s unveiling in Berlin last August for a full-spec rundown.

Go below to get more details in the press release. 

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdD8s0jFJYo]

From November 2011

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y29tpFjWyUE&feature=plcp]

November 2012

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lyB6G4Cz9fI&list=PLTR8zrKWyBqj5q-EbL8h_NDJWgd08wAHP]

A few notable apps either launched or announced headlining news today, so 9to5Google gathered the most noteworthy ones in a roundup below. Our sister website, 9to5Mac, publishes app roundups on a daily basis, and now we attempt to do the same here for the most important changes happening in the Google Play store. We will also continually update this list throughout the day, so keep checking back for more details.

1. Angry Birds Star Wars
The highly-anticipated (and much-teased) Angry Birds Star Wars is now available in Google Play (video atop). Developer Rovio has long been working with the recently Disney-acquired LucasArts to bulk its popular app lineup with a Star Wars-themed iteration of Angry Birds that brings new creative and play experiences to the franchise.

The latest Rovio title ditches the traditional exploding/flinging Angry Birds for a slew of new bird characters each wielding a unique weapon. The Han Solo bird, for instance, halts enemies with a three-shot space gun. The game also features iconic Star Wars locations, 80 immersive levels, “hours and hours” of gameplay, fresh mechanics, and new level-up capabilities for birds.

Check it out:

• Angry Birds Star Wars | Free
• Angry Birds Star Wars HD | $2.99

Angry Birds Star Wars also landed on the Mac, iOS, Amazon Kindle Fire, and Windows 8 platforms today.

More apps below.

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The Verge has what it says are previews of Microsoft Office for the two platforms that own 90 percent of the smartphone and tablet markets.

The Verge has learned through several sources close to Microsoft’s plans that the company will release Office versions for Android and iOS in early 2013.

Office Mobile will debut in the form of free apps that allow Android and iOS users to view Microsoft Office documents on the move. Like the existing SkyDrive and OneNote apps, Office Mobile will require a Microsoft account. On first launch, a Microsoft account will provide access to the basic viewing functionality in the apps. Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents will all be supported, and edit functionality can be enabled with an Office 365 subscription.

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9to5Google previously detailed a leaked version of Google Wallet that plans to soon introduce a physical Google Wallet card, but a new leak today adds another layer of credibility to the piling speculation.

As noted by TechCrunch, Google let the cat out of the bag again today on its “Eligible Devices” page under the Help section of the Google Wallet website. The page listed all of the Android devices “eligible to download the Google Wallet app for use with the Google Wallet card.”

Last week’s leaked screenshots of the Google Wallet app also called the physical cards “Google Wallet card.” With that said, Google’s Eligible Device page no longer mentions them. It seems Google has promptly corrected its mistake. Hmm.

Check out the updated webpage below. 

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Samsung plans to welcome the new year with a new look.

ChannelNews just published a report, citing sources in Asia, that claimed Samsung is working with Scott Bedbury, a brand-marketing wizard whose past experience includes Nike, to launch a “more vibrant International brand image alongside the likes of arch rival Apple.”

The new look, which apparently ditches the blue Samsung logo and fashion’s all-new advertising material with fresh colors that will compliment an overall brand identity for the company, is set to unveil at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

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