Google - 66/79 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Mar

[Updated] Google Acknowledges DroidDream: Remotely Wiping Apps, Removing Exploit, Making Changes To Prevent It From Happening Again

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

Google continues to be admirably quick to react to DroidDream, the nasty Android Trojan we helped uncover on Tuesday. After removing the offending apps from the Market in just a few minutes of finding out about them, a new post on the Google Mobile Blog reveals that they're now ready to take further steps.

Update: The tool Google is using to bulldoze DroidDream malware off your phone has surfaced in the Android Market: Android Market Security Tool. From the app's description:

"There is no need to download and install this application on your own.

This is an Android Market security update that undoes exploits caused by the malicious applications that were removed from Android Market on 03/01/2011.

Mar

Looks Like Google Is Starting To Listen - Hundreds Of Pirated Books/Apps Deleted From Android Market Minutes After Report

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Up until some recent events, it was quite hard to get through to Google regarding anything going on in the Android Market, be it stolen apps, copyrighted material, or getting any feedback regarding why your own app was removed. Sure, they still listened to DMCA requests and malware reports, but it seems that complaints by mostly large copyright owners saw any action, while reports by small-time developers getting ignored were getting abundant around the web.

The Android Market really doesn't need more bad publicity at this point, and Google knows that. Whether they will be beefing up their service personnel to handle complaints in an appropriate manner or not remains to be seen, but they are already quite a bit more sensitive to Market complaints, at least thrown by us into the atmosphere on Twitter.

Mar

Google Maps Updated to 5.2 - More Foursquare-esque Features Added

Posted by Will Shanklin in Applications, News

Google Maps for Android was updated to version 5.2 today, and the influence of mobile check-in services is becoming more and more apparent with the addition of four social location features.

While v5.1 added Latitude check-in functionality, Maps v5.2 brings the ability to post reviews of places to Twitter. Additionally, Google Latitude friends can now be pinged, beckoning them to check-in where you would like them to be (they will then receive a 'request'). In case you need a little inspiration for your next destination, the update also lets you search for a place to check-in from Latitude. Finally, Maps v5.2 allows you to explore hotspots in your area.

Mar

Google's Human Body Browser Is Now Available (Again) For Honeycomb Devices

Posted by Zak Stinson in Applications, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Google Body, the Google Earth-style anatomy app announced at February's Honeycomb event, has finally hit the market. After spending the month as a web app, owners of a shiny new Honeycomb tablet can glide through skin, muscle, bone, organs, veins and nerves with the swipe of a finger.

Note: Yesterday, Google published Google Body and then almost immediately pulled it for an unknown reason before we even got a chance to announce it. Today, it seems like the app is finally available again.

Those lucky ones of you who get to play with the app may notice there is only a rendering of the female anatomy for perusing.

Feb

Honeycomb Statue Arrives At Google's Headquarters

Posted by Will Shanklin in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Off-Topic

Who needs to visit Disneyland to feel like a kid again? Google's collection of dessert statues that correspond to their Android releases has a new addition today, in the Honeycomb statue.

Last week, we were wondering when we could expect a shrine in the Googleplex, and had the following exchange with the search giant:

Less than a week later, we give you (drumroll, please): THE HONEYCOMB.

What's that? You aren't satisified with a still shot? Check out: VIDEO OF THE HONEYCOMB.

Families, you can proceed to change your vacation itinerary from Anaheim to Mountain View, as Google's kingdom just got a little bit more magical.

Feb

Google Releases Android 2.3.3 Update .ZIPs For Nexus One And Nexus S

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Gingerbread 2.3, News, Nexus One (Passion), Nexus S (Crespo/Soju)

Google may have jumped the gun on announcing that the Android 2.3.3 update for the Nexus One was available - although they did say that it could be a few weeks until the update deployed OTA, it wasn't available for download and install, either. Or, rather, it wasn't until now: the update .ZIPs have been posted and can be downloaded directly from Google.

Nexus S:

Nexus One:

2.2.2 FRG83G -> 2.3.3 GRI40 update

Obviously, Gingerbread brings a ton of new features, and 2.3.3 builds upon them even further. Install instructions are the same as previous updates:

I grabbed these instructions from Android Central, so be sure to show them some love:

Download the update from here.

Feb

Hello, Literature: Books Page Goes Live On Android Web Market

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Apps/Games, News

You read that right: the Market now includes a totally awesome Books site. To be honest though, none of us is really sure what all has changed, since none of us really used it before - but it doesn't seem like a lot, other than a flipped switch. Let's start with what it looks like:

Notably, there's now a dropdown to sort by genre (to the left of the search box, above). When you select a book (protip: Sherlock Holmes is free... or if you're like Artem: Walden is free.), you're presented with the option to read it on the web or, assuming you already have Google Books set up and synced, on your Android device.

Feb

Google Puts One Over Apple - Launches One Pass Subscription Service

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, News

Google has announced a new subscription service called One Pass, which will allow publishers to create a centralised system for "user authentication, payment processing and administration".

One Pass will take a 10% cut of the cash collected, with 90% going straight to the publishers. This will be a welcome alternative to Apple's draconian model which takes a significant 30% of each transaction. However, Google will also be providing publishers with the names and email addresses of subscribers, something which Apple has refused to do.

Furthermore, One Pass will work across multiple websites and platforms, so it will be possible to purchase content once and then view it on all your different devices.

Feb

Android Movie Studio For Honeycomb Unveiled At MWC By Eric Schmidt, Looks Awesome

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Right now at MWC, Eric Schmidt is showing off a brand-new, Google-developed Android app: Movie Studio. The app, as the name may suggest, is a video editor. It's designed specifically for Honeycomb tablets, and as a video editor, that sort of makes sense. It's pretty rough trying to edit video on a smaller screen, though not impossible (which is to say, I imagine an XDA port for phones will happen as soon as an APK gets leaked).

Movie Studio will contain most of the features you'd expect in a competitive (*cough* iMovie *cough*) video editing app: transitions, audio import, splicing, A/V timeline, and multi-format export and sharing options.

Feb

Android Intervention, Part 3 Of 4: Google's Multimedia Problem And How They Can Fix It

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Android OS, Editorials

This is part three in a series of editorials addressing our editors’ biggest gripes with Android. Part one, which focuses on fragmentation, can be found here; part two, which is centered around cohesiveness and uniformity, is located here.

Let's be honest here: Android's current multimedia situation is a mess. For one thing, the included music/video players are seriously lackluster; for another, there's no officially sanctioned way to buy songs or movies from an Android device. Though such features are probably in the pipelines, I believe these are issues Google needs to address now - after all, the iPhone has had these features since its incarnation.