market - 35/43 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jan

CES 2011: A Look At RCA's Android TV Prototype

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Google TV, News

At the RCA booth today we got a quick glimpseat something they're working on. It's a 42" full HD TV, that runs Android 2.2 at the same time. The OS can be controlled from the TV's remote or with what looked strikingly similar to the Brando Rii Bluetooth keyboard. The UI is a custom media-centric launcher which allows you to view images and videos on the large screen. Around the back we found a USB port which indicates that you should be able to play external media from your own storage devices.

As you can see in the notecard, the Android TV supposedly has access to the Android Market.

Jan

Nielsen Releases Smartphone Market Share Figures, Android Domination Imminent?

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, News

America's most trusted name in bar graphs, Nielsen, released an updated look at smartphone market share distribution today. The results aren't terribly surprising: Android is growing, and quickly at that. Blackberry's free-fall into the abyss has slowed to a steady death march. But what about Apple's fare?

Since the release of the iPhone 4 in June, Apple's total share of the smartphone market has increased by a paltry 0.7%, while Android has gained 10.8% more of the smartphone pie to reach 25.8% of the total - a mere 2.8% behind Apple, as you can see below.

Meanwhile, Android is outright dominating smartphone purchases made in the last six months, representing over 40% of all smartphones purchased since June.

Dec

[Updated] Rant: How To Piss Everyone Off By Gaming The Android Market - Yes, I Am Talking About You, Forester/Woodman/etc

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Apps/Games, Editorials

Last Updated: December 27th, 2010

This has been brewing for a while, but I've had enough. As you may know, throughout the week, I keep an eye out for any new worthy Android apps to be rounded up and published for everyone to enjoy. An important part of this search is looking through the new apps list, for which I had chosen AppBrain - specifically, this RSS feed, which lists every app entering the Android Market.

As I've looked at these new apps day by day, I started noticing something peculiar. No, it wasn't the amount of fart apps and soundboards - those, while annoying, are still legitimate applications, which, thanks to Google's openness, deserve a place in the Market just like any other app.

Dec

Carrier Billing Comes To Android Market On AT&T - Creates Audible Drop In The Paid App Bucket

Posted by David Ruddock in Apps/Games, AT&T, News

That's right, carrier billing is now available for some Android users on the least Android-friendly wireless carrier in the US. Huzzah. I guess I shouldn't be so cynical - I am an AT&T customer, after all. Unfortunately, I also run CyanogenMod 6 on my AT&T Nexus One, and have not yet received any Market update to allow me to use carrier billing, and doubt I will until an official Gingerbread build coaxes me off my custom ROM goodness.

The Android Developers blog has stated the carrier billing option will roll out to phones as part of the larger Market update that has been floating around in ZIP form for a couple of weeks - but it remains entirely unclear what phones or versions of Android will be eligible.

Dec

AppBrain Adds A Filter To Hide Sexually Explicit Apps In The Android Market

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, Applications, News

Google's recent updates to the Android Market have further refined the process of installing and purchasing apps, but they still haven't developed a suitable desktop alternative to browsing the thousands of Android apps available. AppBrain is a third-party website that fills this gap by allowing users to browse apps on their computers and then choose which ones to install on their phones.

AppBrain is a great tool, but it is limited by the policies of the Android Market, which allow almost any app to be installed. Unlike Apple's App Store, Google does not employ any kind of filtering system, so there are a number of apps which could be harmful for end users (i.e.

Dec

Google Maps v5 With 3D Maps And Offline Navigation Is Live In The Market - Download It Now

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Google Maps 5, which we have been anxiously waiting for, mostly due to its 3D capabilities and offline map caching, has arrived! You can download the update in the Market by clicking the following QR code from your mobile phone or scanning it with Barcode Scanner:

Here are the new changes:

Explore the map in 3D. Two finger drag down/up to tilt; twist to rotate on supported devices.
Use compass mode to rotate the map to where you're facing. Center the map with My Location then tap again.
Improved map caching and offline Navigation rerouting if you lose your connection.

Dec

Rooted Nook Colors Now Market-Capable, Terms And Conditions Apply

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Apps/Games, Development, News, NOOKcolor (Encore)

The rooting of Barnes & Noble's delicious IPS-wielding e-reader took place a couple of weeks ago, rendering the device more of a tablet than a single-use reading terminal in one gloriously justifying move. As with most other tablets, however, it lacked one thing: proper Google app support with access to the Android market. Of course, with the main rooting hurdle already surmounted, it was only a matter of time before these problems were dealt with, too. Some folks in the know over at NookDevs.com have put together a meticulous tutorial to turn that 7" slab into all you've ever wanted it to be.

Dec

[Updated: Hands-On] Breaking: New Android Market APK Ripped, Posted For All To Enjoy

Posted by Stephen Tenerowicz in Apps/Games, Development, News

Remember the new, upgraded Android market we told you about last night? Well, now it appears that the APK has been ripped and posted for all to enjoy (or loathe, depending on your personal feelings).

You can find it here (mirrored by us) and it brings with it all the UI changes and issues (15 minute refund limit) we discussed earlier. ~~I should warn you that as of now, the APK we have only works for stock Android 2.2 devices~~. I have it working on both my stock Android 2.2 Nexus One and stock Android 2.2 G2.

Update from Artem: It works on my rooted EVO 4G and reportedly works on other rooted devices - root by itself can't affect something like this.

Dec

Android Market Update To Bring New Home Page, Lessen Refund Time [+Poll]

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Applications, Games, News

It seems that Gingerbread is bringing the Market revamp we've all been hoping for - but that doesn't mean devices running older versions of Android can't join in on the fun, too. Google has announced via the Android Developers blog that the Android Market client will be receiving an update over the next two weeks that brings several important changes, and any device running Android 1.6 and up will receive it (sorry, Cupcake users, you're out of luck).

The most notable change will be in the UI - the Home and Categories pages now each feature a carousel that scrolls through promoted apps.

Dec

Gmail App Gets Big Update: Quick Folder Switching, Priority Inbox, And A Lot More

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

Update: This Gmail client update is only for devices with Android 2.2 or higher.

Gmail for Android received a substantial update from Google this afternoon - and the AndroidPolice team has agreed: some of the improvements are long overdue, while some of them are just plain cool.

The change blurb that you'll find on the Market page lists some of the biggies, but a major one (for us, at least) has been excluded: quick folder switching. In the top left corner of whichever folder you were in, there was a simple label indicating the name of the folder. This is now a button, similar to the account button at the top right.