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Report: Android device fragmentation has increased 28% over last year

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 5 2015 - 9:40 am PT
1 Comment

Android is notorious in the developer community for its rampant fragmentation. Developing an app for Google’s platform means wrestling to make the app work optimally on the ecosystem of thousands of devices in different shapes and sizes. And according to a new report out today giving us a look at the state of Android fragmentation as of this month, August 2015, there’s both some bad and good news: There are more devices than ever before, but fewer users that are spread out across different operating system versions.


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Google bought 28% of patents offered to it in anti-troll initiative, paid average of $150k

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Aug 5 2015 - 5:23 am PT
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Google has announced the results of an experimental initiative to buy tech patents and license them at fair rates in order to prevent them falling into the hands of patent trolls. The company revealed that it bought 28% of the “relevant” patents offered to it, paying a median price of around $150k, reports IEEE Spectrum.

Google’s senior product licensing manager Kurt Brasch said that the company was “very, very happy” with the program, with the number of submissions substantially higher than expected…
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Language annotation platform Genius launches Android app

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 4 2015 - 2:53 pm PT
3 Comments

Language annotation platform Genius, formally known as Rap Genius, has launched an Android version of its mobile app (Play Store link). Genius originally launched as a music annotation service popular in the rap community, but has since expanded to cover basically the whole human corpus with vertical sections for annotations on poems, books, and more.


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Google’s Project Tango tablet now available in South Korea and Canada, other countries on August 26

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 4 2015 - 12:53 pm PT
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Starting today, the Project Tango Development Kit tablet is available to purchase in the Google Store — beyond the United States — for developers in South Korea and Canada. And on August 26th, it’ll be available in quite a few more places: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
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9to5Toys Lunch Break: Galaxy S6 (unlocked) $480, Aukey 12000mAh power bank $10, ASUS ZenWatch $130, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Aug 4 2015 - 12:47 pm PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone 32GB (unlocked): $480 shipped (Reg. $800) | eBay

Power banks w/ Prime shipping: KMASHI 15000mAh Dual USB $14 (Orig. $20), Aukey 12000mAh $10 (Orig. $22), more

ASUS ZenWatch now just $130 shipped from Best Buy (Reg. $200) | eBay

 

Headphones: SoundPEATS Bluetooth 4.1 in-ears $20 (Reg. $26), Sennheiser HD280 + HD439 $100 (~$200 value), more

More new gear from today:

Two Philips Hue connected light bulbs (multiple styles) for $100 shipped (~$120 value)

More deals still alive:

Pre-pay for 3 months of Sling TV and receive a $50 Best Buy credit towards the purchase of eligible streaming devices

New products & more:

The new off-road nipi cooler uses renewable power to keep your devices charged and your beer cold

ECOXGEAR’s new rugged Bluetooth speakers and power banks are waterproof and solar powered

T-Mobile officially becomes #3 US carrier, Sprint CEO says company ‘now focused on customers, not rankings’

Avatar for Stephen Hall Aug 4 2015 - 10:26 am PT
2 Comments

In case you didn’t notice (which is basically no one at this point, thanks to the more-than-loud John Legere), T-Mobile has tried to be as disruptive as possible over the last couple years. And now, Sprint, which has long been the third-largest mobile carrier in the United States, is admitting defeat. It seems T-Mobile’s tactics are working, and Sprint’s first fiscal quarter report released today shows that its 56.8 million subscribers are just shy of the 58.9 million that T-Mobile reported it had last month.
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Disney just released an official Disneyland app for Android

Avatar for Stephen Hall Aug 4 2015 - 8:58 am PT
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Not quite in time for the influx of visitors that surely happened earlier this summer, Disney has now released an official Disneyland app for Android. As you might expect, the app is intended to basically be your companion during your visit, allowing you to do everything from buy your tickets in advance to browse detailed maps of the park…
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Chrome Beta 45 for Android brings Custom Tabs, updated bookmarks interface, more

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 3 2015 - 10:04 pm PT
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Chrome Beta version 45 for Android is rolling out today (Play Store link) and includes some nice interface tweaks as well as one addition that was previously announced at Google’s I/O developer conference back in May. Chrome Beta is a build of the Chrome browser which includes features and changes that are almost, but not quite, ready for use by the masses. Showing up in the Beta build of the browser is a good indicator that a feature or adjustment will soon reach those masses, so it’s always interesting to see what’s been added.


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Find opportunities to learn computer science with Google’s new online portal

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Aug 3 2015 - 2:29 pm PT
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Many job openings in the field of computer science go unfilled — not for lack of quality applicants, but due to a lack of any applicants at all. This is a big problem for technology companies, Google included, because it means they have to compete for the few candidates there are with large compensation packages and cushy benefits like on-site masseuses and shuttles to take employees to and from work (both benefits that Google offers). Google in particular has been working hard both to get more people into computer science and also increase the diversity of those going into the field, and today it rolled out an online destination where anyone can go to find computer science learning opportunities.

The new portal, which can be found on the Google for Education website (click here), aims to increase exposure to all kinds of opportunities for one to gain computer science skills — be it through online games, grants, summer camps, etc —  by collecting them in one place and allowing anyone to then sort them by age and region for the highest relevance to ones needs. Google notes in its blog post about the portal that encouragement and exposure can have a direct impact on a child’s interest in pursuing computer science education, and that goes especially for girls. This development is aimed particularly at students, but anyone interested in the field can take advantage of it.

“CS is much more than computer programming and coding— it’s a gateway to creativity and innovation not just in technology but in fields as diverse as music, sports, the arts, and health,” said Google in its blog post about the portal.

9to5Toys Lunch Break: SanDisk 128GB Ultra Fit Flash Drive $30, ASUS ZenWatch $130, Fire TV Stick $25, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Aug 3 2015 - 12:43 pm PT
0 Comments

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Amazon Gold Box – up to 60% off SSDs, USB Flash Drives, Portable Storage and much more:

ASUS ZenWatch now just $130 shipped from Best Buy (Reg. $200) | eBay

Amazon Fire TV Stick media streamer w/ voice search for $25 (Reg. $39)

Pre-pay for 3 months of Sling TV and receive a $50 Best Buy credit towards the purchase of eligible streaming devices

Team 17 announces a pair of new Worms games coming to iOS, Xbox One and PC

Logitech $20 off $49: MX Master Wireless Mouse $80 shipped (Reg. $100), gaming accessories, more

More new gear from today:

Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-inch Internal Solid-State Drive: $150 shipped (Reg. $180+)

More deals still alive:

Free PS Plus Games for August: Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, Limbo, more

Free Xbox Live Gold Games for August: Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes, more

New products & more:

Amazon’s Dash Replenishment Service is here and Prime members can order today

Olio announces new Gold and Rose Gold options for its luxury smartwatch

Opinion: I’m a human that uses Google+ every day, and (maybe) you should too

Avatar for Stephen Hall Aug 3 2015 - 10:04 am PT
10 Comments

Google+ has largely been heralded as dead, and that isn’t for no reason. Most recently, Google has decided that it’s time to stop pretending like people want it, and has started decoupling its other services from the infamous social network wannabe. For those that just couldn’t stand the fact that Google was pushing them into something they didn’t want, I guess that’s great. Google is listening to feedback, and they’re acting on it. But for me, Google+ is an invaluable part of my daily routine. There is so much interesting commentary and conversation that happens there that I can’t imagine a day without it. I’ve made friends on Google+. I’ve had some of my most viral social media postings go viral on Google+. I’ve talked with Google employees personally on Google+. I have the ability to write about Google and its products in-depth partly because of Google+. And no, this isn’t satire.
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Hangouts now lets you customize who can contact you directly

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 31 2015 - 2:17 pm PT
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Hangouts, since the beginning, has separated incoming messages into two categories. Either the app detects that you probably know the person that’s contacting you (by way of you circling them, them having your email address, or otherwise) and lets them send you a message directly, or it puts incoming messages into an “Invitation” that you have to accept. How this works has never been customizable, but now Google is letting you customize these invitations to make them more or less strict.

Here’s the image that Jordanna Chord shared:

In the new options, you can choose to go with Google’s recommended system, or you can opt to customize three different categories of incoming messages yourself. If you’d like, you can require that only invitations can be sent — regardless of if the sender has your email/phone number or not. Or, if you’re more of a free spirit, you can conversely use this opportunity to open up your inbox to any and all messages and allow everyone to contact you directly. Personally, I like the way Google has things set up. But I also like options. Options are good.

These settings will be available across the Hangouts apps, and of course, those who are using the Hangouts app on the desk through Google+ or otherwise will be able to take advantage of them as well.

9to5Toys Lunch Break: Anker 16000mAh Power Bank $29, Sony SmartWatch 3 $147, Galaxy Tab 4 $170, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 31 2015 - 12:44 pm PT
0 Comments

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

anker-astro-e5

Anker Astro E5 16000mAh PowerBank w/ LED Flashlight: $29 Prime Shipped (Reg. $37)

Sony Mobile Sony SmartWatch 3 SWR50: $147 shipped (Reg. $160+) | Amazon

Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 16GB Wi-Fi Tablet in White (open box): $170 shipped (Orig. $330)

 

HTC One (M8) w/ 32 GB flash storage, 4G LTE, GSM (unlocked): $210 shipped (Reg. $499) | eBay

LG G Flex 2 silver (unlocked) 4G LTE w/ curved OLED: $300 shipped (Reg. $330) | eBay

Logitech $20 off $49: MX Master Wireless Mouse $80 shipped (Reg. $100), gaming accessories, more

Take a peek at Nerf’s upcoming high octane blaster that shoots foam balls up to 70 mph

LEGO iOS sale: Movie Video Game hits lowest price ever, Lord of the Rings & Harry Potter $1 ea. (Reg. $5), more

Amazon’s Dash Replenishment Service is here and Prime members can order today

Amazon’s new Launchpad store offers the latest gadgets from crowdfunding campaigns and startups

More new gear from today:

Games/Apps: Zelda Wind Waker HD $38, BOGO 50% off 3DS titles, MGS V Phantom Pain game guide $25, freebies, more

[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/627142072085159936 align=’center’]

More deals still alive:

disney-pixar-lava-short

Stream Pixar’s animated short Lava in its entirety for free

Free PS Plus Games for August: Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, Limbo, more

Free Xbox Live Gold Games for August: Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes, more

New products & more:

Olio announces new Gold and Rose Gold options for its luxury smartwatch

LEGO and Star Wars come together once again in this gorgeous new photography book

PSA: Android M Developer Preview 3 has been delayed a bit

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 31 2015 - 7:54 am PT
0 Comments

According to a post by an Android Developer Advocate on Google+, the Mountain View company has had to delay Android M Developer Preview 3 just a bit to make sure it’s closer to being a “near final’ build. Google never promised a release date, so most probably won’t be too disappointed, but the company says it just needs a “little more time.”

As per Wojtek Kaliciński:

A quick update on M Developer Preview 3.
We want this to be a near final release to test your apps on, but we need a little more time to get it out to you.
Please be patient and refrain from posting speculations about the release date. We will announce the Preview 3 availability in this community and on +Android Developers as soon as it’s ready.

We’ll of course let you know as soon as the new Developer Preview is out, and we’ll quickly be digging through it to find the latest additions and fixes. The first two previews went without any kind of Google Now on Tap support, so that’s likely part of what the company is scrambling to put together right now.

Google appeals French ‘Right to be forgotten’ order, says would be ‘race to the bottom’

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jul 31 2015 - 4:03 am PT
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Google has appealed against France’s order that it must implement ‘Right to be forgotten‘ requests globally, rather than just within Europe, reports the WSJ. The company argued in a blog post that to comply would mean the Internet would only be as free as the least free country in the world … 
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The new 9to5

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Jul 30 2015 - 5:15 pm PT
17 Comments
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You might notice that 9to5Google has changed. Indeed so has the whole network. Long before the page size/speed and advertising controversies, we knew that we needed to rethink how we presented ourselves.

While we were one of the lightest and fastest sites in our field, our feature creep and advertisers were adding complexity and page load times, which is especially crucial on mobile – an ever expanding percentage of our growing audience.

We decided to start over…
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The invite waitlist for OnePlus 2 purchases has surpassed one million people

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Jul 30 2015 - 4:13 pm PT
1 Comment

OnePlus earlier this week finally took the wraps off the much anticipated OnePlus 2, the successor to the company’s first Android smartphone, the OnePlus One. And while the young Chinese company says it significantly increased manufacturing capacity for the 2 over the One, it still seems to believe that demand will initially outstrip supply. As such, once the OnePlus 2 launches on August 11th you’re likely to do some more waiting before you get it.
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Glass ‘Enterprise Edition’ reports corroborated: Improved internals, robust build, not for consumers

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 30 2015 - 2:15 pm PT
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As I first told you across several exclusive reports, Google’s next move for Google Glass is into the enterprise (via The Wall Street Journal). As I said, the device is expected to have improved internal hardware including an Intel Atom processor, a new physique that makes it more suitable for less-than-ideal working environments, and will be coming exclusively to the workplace through the Glass for Work partner groups.


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Google Play minimum price now Rs. 10 in India, Play Movies goes live in Indonesia and Malaysia (Update: Singapore too)

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Jul 30 2015 - 10:54 am PT
1 Comment

Update: Google posted to Google+ shortly after we published this to announce that Play Movies is actually now available in three new countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Our report below doesn’t mention Singapore as a new supported country.

Google Play and Play Movies are both getting some international love today. Play is Google’s store for apps and games, while Play Movies contains movie and television content.

First up, developers in India can now price their Play Store apps lower than ever before: Rs. 10, which comes out to approximately 10 cents in US dollars. This is major because while India is a rapidly developing country with many starting to rise to the middle class, its per capita GDP is still much smaller than that of the United States. Also, and this is just my opinion, 10 cents is much more of a impulse buy area. This new minimum pricing only applies to India. Google recently began selling Play Store gift cards in the country as well – India is very reliant on cash over plastic (credit, debit cards), so by making gift cards available that can be purchased with cash, the company has ostensibly increased its potential customer base in that country.

Also new today, or at least very recently, is the launching of Play Movies in Indonesia and Malaysia. Several people have reached out to Android Police as of late with tips and screenshots of its availability in the two countries, so it’s pretty assured to be real. Play Movies is, as mentioned, Google’s movie and television entertainment store for Android devices. The company also rents out video content through YouTube, although the availability of both of these varies widely by region and country.

Testing Android apps is now easier with new ‘open beta’ option

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Jul 30 2015 - 9:52 am PT
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Up until today, testing out an Android app that’s in beta has required going through a non-intuitive process that includes joining a group on Google+ (or Google Groups) and then clicking a special Play Store link which typically doesn’t even work until a few minutes after you join the associated group (which can lead people to thinking that something isn’t working). It’s weird and inelegant, so Google has just announced two new (easier) ways through which developers can grant users access to their betas.


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Google adds 40 new companies to the Android for Work program

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 30 2015 - 9:22 am PT
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Google’s Android for Work program already has more than 10,000 businesses that are “testing, deploying or using Android for Work” in some capacity, and now the company has announced 40 new partners. Notably, several Android handset OEMs are joining the group, as well as 8 cellular carriers.

The Android for Work program took off with the help of our partners across the Android ecosystem, and today we’re expanding the family to 40 companies to continue the momentum, including new device manufacturers, application makers and management providers.

AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, HTC, Sony, LG, Huawei, Lenovo, Motorola, Dell, and HP are among some of the notable additions. Google makes note of Blackphone as one of the newly-partnered companies that brings the enhanced privacy and security features on top of the Android platform.

Quick Look at Microsoft’s new Arrow Launcher beta for Android [Video]

Avatar for Cam Bunton Jul 29 2015 - 4:16 pm PT
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A couple of days ago, Microsoft pushed out a beta version of a new Android launcher out to testers. Arrow Launcher aims to give you all the most important people and apps as efficiently as possible. Apps are on one screen, notes and reminders on another, and contacts on a third.

It’s still in its early beta stages, but Arrow Launcher reminds me a little of Yahoo’s Aviate launcher. It’s not the most customizable launcher ever developed, but it does seem efficient and I can see, with time, it’ll be really productive. I’ve put together a quick video to give you an overview of all the features of Arrow Launcher.


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Xbox Music’s ‘Groove’ name-change hits Android in redesigned app

Avatar for Cam Bunton Jul 29 2015 - 1:37 pm PT
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Xbox Music changed its name to Groove at the beginning of this month, and today, the rebranding has made its way to the music app on Android’s Play Store. It’s free to download, and is available right now.

Along with the new look and name, the app has had a couple of new features added. More devices can now download tracks for offline listening thanks to newly added compatibility. Music stored in your OneDrive folders will automatically show as music in the new Groove app. What’s more, you won’t need a paid subscription to make use of the app, although you will need one to access the entire streaming catalogue ad-free.

As per the Play Store listing:
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