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Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Android this week: HTC One introduced; Ubuntu on Nexus; Galaxy S4 using Snapdragon?
This week saw the introduction of HTC’s next flagship phone, named the HTC One just like its predecessor. The handset materials and design are a bit of a departure for HTC as the new phone will use an all aluminum enclosure and a pair of front-facing speakers. As a result, the audio experience ought to be a highlight for the One, but visually oriented readers will be happy with the display as well: HTC is packing in 468 pixels per inch on the 4.7-inch, 1080p display.
LG Optimus G AT&T Wireless Cellular Phone - OPTIMUSG (Google Affiliate Ad)
HTC OneHTC’s One will include an LTE radio for fast mobile broadband and run on Google’s Android Jelly Bean software. The company is also including several of its own software features: BlinkFeed streams news, social networking updates and other information; Sense TV provides video content guides and uses an infrared sensor turning the One into a remote control; customized home screens are available, similar to prior versions of HTC’s sense software.Apple AT&T 64GB Black iPhone 5 Wireless Cellular Phone - 69304 (Google Affiliate Ad)LG Optimus G AT&T Wireless Cellular Phone - OPTIMUSG (Google Affiliate Ad)
The flagship phone doesn’t yet have a price tag as that will come from carriers — likely next month — but will be available in both a 32- and 64 GB option. Other internal specs include a 1.7 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 chipset, 2 GB of memory, NFC radio and integrated 2300 mAh battery.Apple AT&T 64GB Black iPhone 5 Wireless Cellular Phone - 69304 (Google Affiliate Ad)
Speaking of Snapdragons, Qualcomm’s chip may power the Samsung Galaxy S4 phone. Samsung has yet to introduce the revised Galaxy but online benchmarks and other evidence point to the company opting for a Snapdragon over its own Exynos chip. Reports indicate the same Snapdragon 600 found in the HTC One will be inside the Galaxy S4, due to heat issues when testing the Samsung 8-core Exynos chip.Motorola DROID 4 for Verizon (Google Affiliate Ad)
This wouldn’t be the first time Samsung chose a competitors chip to power its own smartphones however. The US version of the Galaxy S III also used a Snapdragon chip, mainly because at the time of launch, Samsung hadn’t yet integrated LTE support in the Exynos silicon. In some sense, Samsung is lucky that it has a secondary option for chipsets, else its flagship phone could face delays. We’ll get the story for sure within the next few weeks as Samsung is expected to hold a launch event for the new Galaxy smartphone on or around March 14.
Ubuntu on NexusWe don’t, however, have to wait to see Ubuntu on a smartphone: This week, Canonical released instructions on how to install a preview of the alternative platform on Google’s Nexus line of tablets and phones. You’ll end up wiping out your Android system if you do this, but Canonical provided the handy links to Google’s own factory images for all Nexus devices, making it easy to reinstall Android.
I haven’t taken the Ubuntu plunge on my Galaxy Nexus yet, but expect to next week. From all accounts I’ve read so far, the Ubuntu interface is intuitive, but the software is still rough around the edges. There are still quite a few features and functions not ready yet although the Nexus phones will still be able to make calls and connect to both Wi-Fi and mobile broadband networks.
By Kevin C. Tofel
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Nexus 7 Updated to Android 4.2.2 Via LiquidSmooth Jelly Bean ROM
Google recently released the latest Jelly Bean software update-Android 4.2.2 JDQ39-for its Nexus devices. The OTA update is more of bug fix and solves the Bluetooth bug found in the previous Android 4.2.1.
Followed by the official release, the LiquidSmooth team has released
LiquidSmooth (RC1) custom ROM featuring Android 4.2.2. The key
difference is, along with software update the LiquidSmooth ROM brings an
array of customised features which are not found in the official build.
Since the custom ROM is in its development stage, bugs are likely. Head
over to the development page to learn more about the ROM.Features of the LiquidSmooth Android 4.2.2 Jelly BeanGoogle GCC 4.7 Toolchain
10.1in Samsung Galaxy Note 16GB Tablet - White - Tablets (Google Affiliate Ad)
O3
Strict-Aliasing (Linaro)
C++11 Mode
Optimised String Handling Routines (Linaro/Sony)
Misc other Linaro and Code Aurora optimisations
Customisable lockscreen buttons and sliders
Chronus clock widget
Customisable hardware and software keys
Transparent navbar and status bar
Customisable navbar ring
Navigation bar widgets
Customisable power menu
Notification power widget
Customisable quicksettings panel
Statusbar mods
Theme engine
Quiet hours
Volume rocker music controls
Full Rotation ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T, Black TF300T-B1-BL (Google Affiliate Ad)
Friday, February 1, 2013
Documents revealing spring release for Android Key Lime Pie taken down by Qualcomm
By Aaron Souppouris on February 1, 2013 05:39 am
On Wednesday, Android Police published information from leaked Qualcomm slides that showed the tentative release date for the next version of Android, "Key Lime Pie." The slides indicate that the Android "K-release" will be announced during "spring 2013." The date neatly lines up with this year's Google I/O, scheduled for May 15-17tth. Shortly after posting the slides, Android Police, and other sites repeating the story, were ordered to remove the information by Qualcomm.
It's not clear if the takedown was related to the Key Lime Pie timeframe — cited as a "Google Estimated Release" — or information regarding future Qualcomm chip development, but the fact that the chipmaker scrambled to suppress the information indicates that the spring date may be accurate. After all, Qualcomm supplies the chips for a huge number of Android handsets, so it probably has a good idea of Google's plans.
On Wednesday, Android Police published information from leaked Qualcomm slides that showed the tentative release date for the next version of Android, "Key Lime Pie." The slides indicate that the Android "K-release" will be announced during "spring 2013." The date neatly lines up with this year's Google I/O, scheduled for May 15-17tth. Shortly after posting the slides, Android Police, and other sites repeating the story, were ordered to remove the information by Qualcomm.
It's not clear if the takedown was related to the Key Lime Pie timeframe — cited as a "Google Estimated Release" — or information regarding future Qualcomm chip development, but the fact that the chipmaker scrambled to suppress the information indicates that the spring date may be accurate. After all, Qualcomm supplies the chips for a huge number of Android handsets, so it probably has a good idea of Google's plans.
Android's Web share down 13% since Nov.; Apple's is up 1%
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt February 1, 2013: 6:32 AM ET
Usage numbers contradict estimates of Samsung's smartphone and tablet sales
Data: Net Applications Mobile operating system share
Data: Net Applications' Feb. 1 report
FORTUNE -- According to a report issued Friday by Net Applications, the Web presence of Android devices peaked in November at 28% and has been drifting down ever since.
By contrast, Apple's (AAPL) iOS has climbed since October, after the company launched the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini.
That quite a different story than the one being told by market research firms like IDC, which has Samsung's Android-based smartphones outselling the iPhone and Samsung's tablets rapidly catching up to Apple's iPad. "IDC says Android is the new king of tablet market share," was Thursday's headline on CNNMoney.
I was skeptical of IDC's tablet shipment numbers Thursday, given that of the major tablet manufacturers, only Apple actually releases unit sales data.
And I'm doubly skeptical today, given the trends shown in Net Applications' data above. Unlike IDC, which seems to pull numbers out of thin air, Net Applications is actually counting something: The browser data from 160 million users per month weighted geographically according to the number of users in each country. (StatCounter, a competing service, does not weigh its data geographically and gets very different results.)
How can Google's (GOOG) Android be the king of tablets and smartphones if more than 60% of Web users are on Apple devices and only 24.5% on Android?
Either a lot of Android owners are not using their devices to surf the Web -- which is certainly possible -- or someone's numbers are screwy.
Posted in: Android, Apple, IDC, Net Applications, Samsung
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