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A new report from Bloomberg claims Google is about to revamp the way privacy is handled in Android apps. The changes would allow users to approve permissions individually for things like the camera, location, or the contact list. With Android M expected at I/O later this month, it seems like a perfect time to make this happen. It's long overdue.
Sure, you could just wander through the Play Store and buy whatever strikes your fancy, but are you made of money or something? You can wait for some sweet sales and get more for your money, and we're here to tell you what to get. It's one of the many services we offer.
Amazon has phones and phone accessories on sale constantly, but it's not usually so time-sensitive. The new Huwaei SnapTo is on sale through Amazon as a Lightning Deal, meaning it's only available at this price for a few hours, or until the deal is sold out. It's usually $179.99, but right now you can have it for $139.99 with Prime shipping. So snap to it.
Cyanogen is on a mission to free you from Google's evil clutches, apparently by delivering you into the clutches of other companies it gets along with better. Rather than integrating Google services with Android, Cyanogen has been investigating other partnerships, and the latest example is Truecaller. This is a caller ID service for Android, and it's going to be available in Cyanogen OS soon.
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There are a lot (a lot) of caveats when it comes to Google's just-announced Project Fi mobile service. Aside from all the phone and network tomfoolery, Google Voice users have some tough choices to make as signing up for Fi essentially nukes your Voice account. It's nice to know that at least you can go back, according to Fi product manager Simon Arscott.
Oculus VR has been through quite a ride since it raised nearly $2.5 million on Kickstarter in 2012. It has produced two prototypes of the Oculus Rift head-mounted display, and been acquired by Facebook along the way. Now the company has announced a release window for the first consumer version of the Rift—Q1 2016. That's almost all we know, though.
The Dell Venue 8 7840 was released in early 2015, and it was a pretty good tablet. It's certainly the best Android slate Dell has ever made. It was slightly annoying to have the device launch with KitKat back then, but it still doesn't have Lollipop all these months later. That hasn't stopped Dell from updating its product page to claim the Venue 8 does in fact run Lollipop. Here's everything we've learned from Dell about this mess.
Google has updated the Nexus developer page with links to factory images for the latest Nexus 9 Lollipop build. Don't get too excited, though. This is the 5.0.2 build that started going out as an OTA earlier today. Google, you monster.
Some games from the late 90s have not aged well, and that's completely irrespective of the dated visuals of the era. Sensibilities are different now, and we expect different things from a top tier game. Grim Fandango, on the other hand, is still widely regarded as a masterpiece. Now you can play the remastered version on Android courtesy of Double Fine Productions.
Samsung makes a lot of products, including flash storage cards. The company has just announced new PRO Plus and EVO Plus cards with increased read and write speeds. And by the way, you can't use them in Samsung's new flagship phone.
You know how the Nexus 9 is still waiting to get the Android 5.1 update? Well, there's an OTA update rolling out right now that isn't Android 5.1. When next you see that glorious system update icon, it'll probably be for a build of Android 5.0.2, which is rolling out right now. Oh, Google.
What if you could simply draw a shape in the air and your enemies would be incinerated by fireballs? That'd be quite a trick, but it isn't happening in real life. It totally happens in Spellcrafter, though. This strategic RPG has just launched on Android, and it's completely free of in-app purchases. Just buy it once, and it's yours forever.
There's a new version of Feedly out there, but it looks like a staged rollout (currently a beta channel release). Normally that wouldn't be a huge deal, because it's just a feed reader. However, there's some cool stuff in the v27 update. This one adds Google Now integration, and we've got the APK below.
Google's monthly platform distribution numbers are in, and there's finally a respectable showing for Lollipop. Meanwhile, the remainder of the versions ticked downward as the Android device ecosystem marches slowly into the future.
There's a new Humble Mobile Bundle today, and that means it's time to get some cheap games and support charity at the same time. The selection right out of the gate is good, but there are more games on the way as usual. You can probably get the bundle a little cheaper if you jump on it now.
Comcast has had a rough couple of weeks with the implosion of the Time Warner merger. Maybe releasing a new feature will help it move past the disappointment? Xfinity Share is a tool that lets you stream pictures and video to a cable box, either yours or someone else's. This is part of the Xfinity X1 platform, so both you and the owner of the target box need to be subscribers.
Tower defense games have existed on Android since the very beginning. Remember Robo Defense? Yeah, me too. The genre has evolved over the years, and Kingdom Rush is one of the finest examples of it. Developer Ironhide Games has apparently decided to do Android gamers a solid and has made the original Kingdom Rush free. It was previously only a buck, but still. Yay, free stuff!
The YouTube Kids app came out a while back to offer a safer way for small humans to watch YouTube videos. It's a little light on features, but today's update makes a few welcome tweaks.
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There are a lot of Android users out there, and many of them probably use the same apps you do. AppChat is a clever app that lets you talk to them in a series of live chat rooms. This app was just released as an alpha on XDA, but it has tons of potential.
Samsung and T-Mobile are starting to roll Android 5.1.1 out to the Galaxy S6 Edge, which is crazy when you consider the Nexus 9 is still sitting there on 5.0.1. According to engineering program manager Sascha Prüter, the OTA will be ready soon. For real this time.