ios - 5/12 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jan

Apple Files Two New Lawsuits Against Samsung In Germany: One Against 10 Phones, The Other Against 5 Tablets

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Legal, News, Samsung

The ridiculous and wasteful patent war continues, with a German court confirming that Apple has filed two new suits against Samsung. The first is against 10 phones including the SGSII, and the second against 5 tablets. Details are light at the moment, but evidently Apple is using these two (unsurprisingly very vague) patents in the smartphone suit:

Yes, seriously - their patents are basically for a shape. Readers familiar with the current lawsuit situation in the tech world know the situation is violently out of control, and close followers of AP have heard my thoughts on just how hypocritical and ridiculous Apple is.

Dec

[New App] Amazon Releases Android App For Students - Compare Prices, Buy, And Trade In Your College Stuff; Six Months Of Free Prime In Tow

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Amazon, Applications, News

Amazon has just launched the Amazon Student app for Android, providing students with an easy way to shop for textbooks, electronics, apparel, and all the other gear they need to survive their college year.

In addition to browsing and buying stuff, the app also features a barcode scanner that gives students a chance to compare prices on anything they intend to buy from a brick and mortar store. The scanner also allows students to scan their old textbooks, games, DVDs, and a million other eligible products to see their current trade-in value. These items can then be shipped to Amazon for Amazon.com Gift Cards.

The iOS version of this app has been out for quite some time now and offers much of the same features as the Android one.

Nov

Motorola Says Apple's iCloud Infringes On Patent In Germany, Presiding Judge Seems To Agree

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Legal, Motorola, News

A court in Mannheim, Germany today held a preliminary hearing in a patent dispute between Motorola Mobility and Apple Sales International (a European Apple distribution subsidiary), and it seems like Apple's on the ropes.

While the hearing didn't discuss the particular merits of Motorola's patent infringement claim against Apple, the presiding judge issued substantial blows to Apple's defense by indicating that he believed the patent-in-suit was ripe for trial. The judge also seemed to agree with Motorola's reading of that patent (also known as "construction claims") in important ways that would allow it a broader scope of applicability at trial.

The judge did not seem interested in many of Apple's defenses, such as Motorola's claim lacking specificity, the patent in question being invalid, or that the patent should be construed more narrowly.

Oct

Timeline Graphic: US Android Phone Releases - We're Definitely Moving Faster, But How Fast Is Too Fast?

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials

There's been some discussion of late that, perhaps, Android phone manufacturers are iterating handsets at a pace which is detrimental to product polish and subsequent software support. In fact, a couple of days ago I took a look at the state of Android phones on US carriers with a few simple charts.

I also promised to write another post looking at how quickly, as opposed to how prolifically, Android handsets are moving in the US marketplace. I decided to look at two carriers - T-Mobile and Verizon. In the interest of cleaning up the timelines, I decided not to include budget handsets or QWERTY phones, because we all know the subtext of this whole conversation: the iPhone.

Oct

New Data Shows Android Has Surpassed iOS For App Downloads, But Still Has Far Fewer Apps Downloaded Per Person

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

An analysis of recently compiled data by ABI Research indicates that Android phones are for the first time downloading apps in greater numbers than Apple's iPhone. This would seem like a milestone, but ABI's research also shows that while the total number of apps downloaded onto Android devices in the last quarter exceeds that of the iPhone, Android handsets outnumber iPhones by a factor of 2.4 to 1.

This means that Android users are still downloading far fewer apps on an individual basis than iPhone owners - ABI suggests by a ratio of 2 to 1 one, in Apple's favor.

The growing marketplace for app revenue on Android is clear, as Android growth continues to outstrip the iPhone by a significant margin, app developers are turning their attention to the mobile OS that was once considered a lost cause in terms of making a profit.

Oct

[New App] Want Your Android Launcher To Look Like iOS? There's Now An App For That - Espier Launcher

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

I'm not sure I would personally ever do that (wait, I'm sure - I'm shrugging just thinking about it), but let's say that you really love the look and feel of the the iOS desktop UI found on Apple's iPhone, with the launchpad, rounded corners, folders, trembling icons with little X's, etc. However, you also love the flexibility that Android offers. Can both be combined? The answer, as it turns out, is yes - Espier Launcher, which just landed in the Android Market (probably immediately infringing on a few dozen Apple patents).

The app is openly advertising its similarity to the iPhone desktop layout, icons, and functionality - if it ever picks up, I give it a few days on the Market before Apple wheels in the ~~big guns~~ lawyers.

Oct

iPhone 4S VS. Android Benchmarks Posted: Even The Galaxy S II Is Getting Smoked (For Now, At Least)

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Galaxy S II, News

Last Updated: August 20th, 2012

The folks over at the always impartial, numerically obsessed hardware review and benchmarking site Anandtech have gotten their hands on some results comparing the iPhone 4S to a slew of Android devices in browser and GPU performance. The results are, well, interesting. Take a look at these graphics comparing browser JavaScript performance:

The closest competitor to Apple's iPhone 4S? The testers decided to make the Galaxy Tab 8.9 the Android Honeycomb representative, and even with its aging Tegra 2 chipset the Tab pretty much matched Apple's iPhone 4S inch for inch. But we think we have an explanation for the Tab 8.9's extreme browser performance figures: Honeycomb.

Oct

Myriad Looks To Brings Android Apps To The iPad With Alien Dalvik 2.0

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Android OS, News

Last Updated: August 2nd, 2012

Myriad is continuing their quest to make Android apps run on just about everything with the release of Alien Dalvik 2.0. The latest operation system in their crosshairs is none other than iOS -- specifically the iPad branch of iOS. That's right, Android apps on an iPad.

I can sense your skepticism over the internet (it's a new WordPress plugin) so perhaps some background info will make this a little more believable: Myriad is a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance, a Google-assembled group of companies that support Android. They aren't some no-name company. This isn't their first time porting Android to where it doesn't belong; the previous version of Alien Dalvik got Android apps up and running on MeeGo.

Oct

Popular Physics Game World Of Goo Coming To Android, Dubbed 'GooDroid'

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Games, News

World of Goo, by indie developer 2D Boy, is a highly addictive physics-based puzzle/construction game that has won several design and gaming awards since its release. The basic objective of the game is to get a requisite number of goo balls to a pipe, which represents the exit. The goo balls can be used to make bridges, towers, and other structures to overcome gravity and terrain. Currently, the game is available on a number of platforms, including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, and Wii; and earlier today 2D Boy announced that the game would finally be coming to Android tablets and smartphones "soon."

Physics-based games, such as Angry Birds, Shoot U!

Aug

Over Two-Thirds Of Smartphones In The US Run Android Or iOS

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in News

A recent report from ComScore indicates that as of July 2011 82 million Americans own smartphones, with Android running on 41.8% of those devices, iOS on 27%, BlackBerry OS on 21.7%, Windows Phone on 5.7%, and Symbian on 1.9%.

The survey clearly indicates that significant gains have been made by Google and Apple at the expense of RIM, Microsoft, and Nokia.

Additionally, the survey also looked at the market share of hardware manufacturers and interestingly Samsung was well ahead of the rest with 25.5% market share. I nearly choked when I first saw this figure as just a month ago Samsung's market share in the US was at a measly 8%.