Android OS - 51/164 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

May

Samsung The King Of Android With 45.4% Of All Global Shipments In Q1 2012

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, News, Samsung

IDC's report for the first quarter of 2012 indicates that Google's Android continues to grow its market share to 59%, while Apple's iOS lags in second at 23%. Unsurprisingly Samsung has given the biggest boost to Android, accounting for a whopping 45.4% of all Android smartphone shipments worldwide.

In total 152.3 million smartphones were shipped in the first quarter of 2012, of which 89.9 million were Android-based smartphones (59%), 35.1 million were iOS devices (23%), 10.4 million were Symbian-based phones (6.8)%, followed by BlackBerry, Linux, and Windows Phone 7/Windows Mobile devices.

Compared to the same quarter last year, Android's market share has increased dramatically by 145%, followed by iOS's modest increase of 88.7%.

May

[Updated] Verizon Galaxy Nexus Android 4.0.4 (IMM76K) Update Rolling Out To Some Users, Here's How To Get It Manually

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

Verizon Galaxy Nexus users, you finally have the Android 4.0.4 OTA update coming your way. You were one of the first to own a Galaxy Nexus (see our detailed review) and experience Ice Cream Sandwich, and yet now you're one of the last to receive updates (after GSM and Sprint LTE). Yup, the previous update, ICL53F, was in... December of last year. I know how bitter it makes you, and I don't really have excuses on Verizon's behalf, so let's just get down to business.

Note #1: First of all, the bad news - if you're not rooted or don't have a custom recovery, you will have to wait for the OTA.

May

Google And Motorola's Shotgun Wedding Is Final - And It's Definitely Going To Change Things For Android

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

Today, Google announced that its acquisition of Motorola Mobility had officially closed. Make no mistake, this merger is something of a shotgun arrangement - and the offspring conceived out of wedlock is Android. So, how did we get here, two and a half years after the first DROID?

A Brief History Of Motorola And Android

Motorola was once Google's model manufacturer partner. At least in the US, it produced what was the most popular "first generation" Android smartphone, the original Motorola DROID. The OG DROID was responsible for "hooking" many people on the operating system, whether through endlessly modifying and tweaking the device, or simply for its stellar build quality and reliability (those things were little tanks), it was truly the work-horse that first brought Android into the hands of a large number of people here in the US.

May

Android Cookbook Is A Crowd-Sourced Book Of Recipes For Learning App Development (Available Both In Print And On The Web)

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Development, News

There are countless methods out there for learning Android development from the Android Bootcamp video series to the boatload of print publications currently in circulation to Google's own Android tutorials. Looking to create something both unique and helpful however, Android Cookbook has compiled a crowd-sourced set of recipes for "writing great Android apps," making them available for free online.

The online cookbook, which relies on user recipe submission and group moderation, was recently finalized for publication by O'Reilly, meaning it's now available both on the web and in print from various retailers. In its 22 chapters (plus an "other" category available online), the cookbook already has nearly 300 recipes for those eager to learn Android, and it continues to expand.

May

Official CyanogenMod 9 Nightlies Come To Three More Variants Of The Galaxy Tab 10.1: Verizon, WiFi + 3G (Unlocked), And 10.1v

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Development, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 10.1v, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Last we heard, CyanogenMod 9's interaction with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 line was limited to the variants shackled either to T-Mobile or to WiFi. However, the CM team has been hard at work, and as of yesterday, the following three editions of the 10-inch tablet have been granted access to the CM nightly kingdom:

Verizon's Galaxy Tab 10.1 (SCH-I905) - Download: p4VZW
Unlocked WiFi + 3G Galaxy Tab 10.1 (GT-P7500) - Download: p4
Galaxy Tab 10.1v (GT-P7100) - Download: p3

Definition: A "nightly" is a cutting-edge release that is built on a daily basis, usually at night after a full day's worth of new code has been committed.

May

Because We May – Coalition Of Game Developers Set To Offer Deep Discounts In Celebration Of Pricing Freedom

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Games, News

From May 24th to June 1st, a boatload of your favorite Android games will be going on sale in celebration of pricing freedom. Because We May, a coalition of game developers that is "preparing for launch," announced the sale recently, explaining that the purpose of the sale is to "celebrate online stores that give us control over pricing."

The stores involved include the iOS App Store, Mac App Store, Steam, Google Play, and a few others (including a "Direct from Developer" option).

Games in the Google Play category (so far) include favorites like World of Goo, Osmos, Smuggle (and Snuggle) Truck, Canabalt HD, and 26 other great games.

May

Microsoft Wins Order To Ban Import Of (Some) Undisclosed Motorola Android Smartphones Into US

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

According to an exclusion order issued by the ITC, some of Motorola Mobility's smartphone devices are in violation of four claims in a Microsoft patent related to scheduling meetings in a calendar. The specifics really aren't important - basically, the ITC found that Motorola infringed a Microsoft patent related to mobile software for creating and sending meeting invitations.

Motorola and Google had argued that an exclusionary order banning the import of offending Motorola devices wasn't in the public interest, but the judge didn't buy it. More importantly, it's unclear exactly which Motorola devices fall under the scope of the exclusionary order, which should go into effect roughly 60 days from now.

May

Google Is Reportedly Planning A Renewed And Expanded Nexus Device Assault This Fall, And This Is Why I Love It

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Carriers, Editorials, Google, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Rumors

This is the sort of quasi-rumor (it's fairly detailed and comes from the Wall Street Journal, so we're inclined to trust it) that makes me happy to be an Android fan.

According to the WSJ, Google is in cahoots with up to five device manufacturers to provide early access to the next iteration of the Android OS (Jelly Bean, we assume) so it can have an entire "portfolio" of Nexus devices ready by Thanksgiving - that's late November for those without turkey day. It will then sell said devices, phones and tablets, unlocked through (again, presumably) the Play Store, much as it has done with the unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus.

May

HTC Evo 4G LTE Review: Sometimes The Ugly Ones Try The Hardest

Posted by Ron Amadeo in EVO 4G LTE (Jewel), HTC, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Sprint

Last Updated: June 14th, 2012

Hello and welcome! Allow me to introduce you to Sprint's next big boy phone: (deep breath) the HTC Evo 4G LTE.

This is Sprint's version of the HTC One X. HTC's much publicized "One" branding strategy survived a grand total of two carriers in the US - Sprint kicked it to the curb in favor of the aforementioned alphabet-soup-style naming convention. Keep in mind the original Evo was actually called the "HTC Evo 4G," so you're going to need to be detail oriented when talking about the Evo line. But hey, considering this is the same marketing department that birthed the novella known as the "Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch," we actually got off pretty light.

May

Facebook's Primary Post-IPO Goals Are To Improve Mobile And Advertising Experiences, Says Zuckerberg

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Applications, News

Fans of Facebook's mobile app and burgeoning integration with various online services should have something to look forward to in 2012 – founder Mark Zuckerberg, during the first week of a cross-country tour promoting the social networking giant's upcoming IPO, indicated that once the social giant goes public, its goal will be to focus on improving its mobile and advertising experiences.

Zuckerberg indicated that Facebook is "just getting started" with the app, and that the network plans to increase integration with other online apps while working to create a "transformative" ad experience.

Zuckerberg went on to explain that another key element in Facebook's strategy of integrating with other online apps will be to bring people together through Facebook in more ways than ever before.