honeycomb - 19/36 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jul

Google Updates Android Platform Distribution Chart Again - Eclair On The Decline, Gingerbread Continuing To Make Headway

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Android OS, News

As is its wont at this time of the month, Google has updated its Android platform distribution chart, and while there aren't any real shockers to be found, it's still nice to see which versions of Android are most popular.

Let's start from the top of the table: as should be expected, the number of devices running Android 1.5 (Cupcake) and 1.6 (Donut) is steadily dropping, as more and more users upgrade their devices or receive software updates. 2.1 (Éclair) is continuing to loose headway, with 17.5% of Android users running it.

Moving on to more modern versions of the OS, Froyo (Android 2.2) is still the king of the hill where stats are concerned, claiming 59.4% of users.

Jul

Acer Iconia Tab A500 Android 3.1 Update Rolling Out Now

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Iconia Tab A500, News

We just got word that the Android 3.1 update is rolling out in the US for the Acer Iconia Tab A500. The update brings all kinds of Honeycomb goodies, like resizable widgets, performance enhancements, improved multitasking, USB host support, and more.

Other details are limited at the moment, so make sure to hit us up on the tip line or drop a note in the comments if you find other new features!

Thanks, Sergei!

Jul

Words With Friends Gets Updated, Now Optimized For Honeycomb Tablets

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Games, News

Exactly one week ago we told you that Words With Friends dropped Honeycomb support. At the time, there was little explanation as to what happened (even Zynga support staff was completely clueless), but things are starting to make a bit more sense now (albeit not much).

Zynga pushed an update to Words With Friends today that brought something new to the table: full Honeycomb support. I'm still not entirely sure why they decided to drop Honeycomb support for one week - but it doesn't really matter now, as WWF is now fully playable on your Android-powered tablet.

^{Ignore those two losses on the side - I forgot I was playing and lost by default.}

Jul

[New App] PressReader For Honeycomb Brings A Real Newspaper Experience To Your Android Tablet

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Last Updated: July 7th, 2011

While Honeycomb already has a few good magazine readers, like Zinio for example, there isn't much in the area of newspaper readers. Enter PressReader for Honeycomb, a new app that brings over 1,800 different newspapers from 95 different countries to your Android tablet.

PressReader allows you to read your favorite newspaper in digital format while still retaining its printed appearance. You can set up automatic subscriptions, sort through publications by language and location, share articles, or even listen to your paper. While reading, you can flip through pages in a natural manner, pan and zoom, or tap on a headline to see the article in its text-only formatting for easy readability.

Jul

[Editorial] Why Honeycomb Is Taking A Beating (And What Google Needs To Do To Fix It)

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Editorials, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2

Last Updated: January 28th, 2012

When the iPad first hit the market, it changed the way consumers looked at computing, mobile devices, and productivity. It provided an easy way to accomplish basic tasks, a convenient way to surf the web, and bridged the gap between laptop and smartphone. As the natural competitor to iOS, Android had to fire back with a device that was comparable in function: the Motorola XOOM, the world's first Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) tablet. The XOOM and most subsequent Honeycomb tablets have achieved both form and functionality that rivals - and in most cases, bests - that of the iPad/2, so why hasn't the Android tablet market exploded?

Jul

Bloomberg Brings Tablet-Friendly App To The Android Market

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

If you're the business-minded-Android-tablet-toting type, then grab your beloved Honeycomb device and fire up the Android Market, as a tablet-friendly version of the Bloomberg app is now live. With this app you can grab the latest news, market data, and portfolio information, as well as charts and graphs, so you can stay on top of the latest business trends.

Although the Market listing claims that this app will work on Android 2.1+, that doesn't seem to be the case, as I couldn't install it on my phone at all - only my Galaxy Tab 10.1. In its current state, the app is little more than a glorified, expanded version of the phone app, but I have little doubt that more Honeycomb features will be added as the application is updated.

Jul

FlightTrack Gets Update, Now Optimized For Honeycomb

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Popular travel companion app FlightTrack received an update today that brings a few bugs fixes, as well as support for Honeycomb tablets. The updated interface really takes advantage of the screen real estate provided by most tablets, offering a large map-based overview of all flights that are being tracked and two new widgets. The flight search has also been optimized, creating a more intuitive experience across the board.

The standard version of FlightTrack will set you back $4.99, and the Pro version an additional $4.99, but judging by the near-five-star rating in the Android Market, it seems to be well worth the money.

Jun

New App: Kaspersky Unveils Honeycomb-Compatible Tablet Security

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Applications, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Tips & Tutorials

One of the geek community's favored anti-virus solutions on Windows, Kaspersky has recently made its move to secure the world of all things Android. Next up the company's sleeve is Kaspersky Tablet Security (clever name, right?), which brings Kaspersky's virus protection to Honeycomb (3.0 and 3.1, plus non-Honeycomb 2.1+) tablets. And it also runs on your phone, which allowed me (I am tablet-less) to take these screenshots:

Basically, it's Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 spruced up for tablets, with all the theft protection, call blocking, SMS, and other phone-specific features removed. It is kind of handy to have those superfluous features axed (except theft protection?) for the purpose of navigating the menus, but it seems like this app doesn't add much functionality over its phone counterpart, aside from a streamlined (and admittedly much better) home screen.

Jun

Words With Friends Loses Honeycomb Compatibility, Zynga Support Has No Clue

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Games, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

If you play the popular Scrabble clone Words With Friends on a Honeycomb tablet, then you may have noticed something a bit odd lately: it no longer shows up in the app tray. That's because Zynga - apparently unknowingly to its support staff - dropped Honeycomb support from the game. When one of our readers tried to contact Zynga asking why WWF was no longer supported on Android 3.0+, this is the response that was received:

Thank you for contacting Zynga With Friends Customer Support!

Currently, Words With Friends and Chess With Friends are only supported on Apple iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch) and Android devices.

Jun

Android 3.2: It's Honeycomb The Way It Should Have Been Since Day One - 7" Tablet Support, Bug Fixes, And More

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

When Huawei announced the new 7-inch MediaPad Honeycomb tablet this morning, ~~chaos~~ confusion ensued. The device runs Android 3.2, a new build of Honeycomb that nobody outside Google or Huawei seemed to have seen before. It didn't help that Huawei was quite secretive about what additions the new OS brought (other than support for 7-inch tablets and a new version number).

Well now, thanks to the folks at This is my next, we have a better idea of what's new, though it's important to keep in mind that this information is still very much a rumor, albeit one allegedly confirmed with three separate tipsters.