Rumor: Apple Music App Headed To Android

According to Tim Cook, Apple Music is starting off very well, with 15 million subscribers already. Now that there's an Android version coming out, a lot about it seems to be coming to the surface.

MobileGeeks (via SlashGear), the german-language tech site, posted screenshots that show an Android version of Apple Music. The screenshots show different sections of the app, like the New and For You screens. It also has Beats One streaming radio. The app looks just like the iOS version, but it also has some Android design touches, Like the Hamburger menu in the upper right corner.

Apple recently announced that Android would be getting Apple music "this fall." MobileGeeks has been very reliable in knowing what's coming with Android. This isn't the first time rumors passed around about an Android version of Apple Music. TechAeris reported last month that some people were given invites to join a limited beta of an Apple Music app for Android. Although TechAeris's rumor-mill track record isn't fully known. There are some things that seem odd with Apple performing a beta test this way, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it couldn't be done.

Those of you that have Android, like me, may appreciate this music app. Sometimes only using Pandora for music just isn't enough.

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Two New Smartphones Unveiled By Google

Last week, Apple unveiled its newest iPhone models with the 6S and 6S Plus. Not missing a beat, Google has debuted two new smartphones as well. The new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P come with 5.2" and 5.7" screens, respectively, and are actually pretty inexpensive. In addition to that, these phones are aimed to be direct competition to the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. Both phones run the latest version of Google's Android operating system (6.0 Marshmallow), bringing a ton of updates to Google's operating system, including increased battery life.

The Nexus 5X, which comes from LG, is the least expensive of the two smartphones and comes with a 1920 x 1080 screen resolution and a pair of front-facing speakers for better audio. On the rear of the device, you'll find a 12.3-megapixel camera sensor with an f/2.0 aperture and larger pixels that will aid with low-light photos. Laser autofocus will help with detecting and focusing on objects faster, meaning there will be less delay when taking pictures.

In addition to that, the back of the 5X also has a fingerprint scanner. Granted, this is an odd place for a fingerprint scanner, but it is within easy access of your index finger while the phone is in your hand. The one thing this could cause problems with is when making mobile payments as this typically requires you to place the back of the phone on a retailer's payment terminal.

On the inside of the 5X, you'll find a 6-core processor with 2GB of RAM and either 16GB or 32GB of storage. Unfortunately, this storage is the only option you have as there is no place for upgrading. Still, the 16GB model will start at $380, which is a heck of a deal compared with the iPhone 6S starting price of $650.

On the flip side, we have the Nexus 6P from Huawei. This smartphone comes with a 5.7" screen that has a 2560 x 1440 resolution and is aimed at consumers looking for a big screen handset with a super high-res AMOLED display. This is Google's flagship device, meaning it gets the luxury of having an all-metal design made from aerospace-grade aluminum.

Like the Nexus 5X, the Nexus 6P comes with a 12.3-megapixel camera and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. On the front of the device, you'll find an 8-megapixel camera, making the billions of selfies you take everyday look nice and bright. Inside you'll find a powerful 8-core processor and 3GB of RAM for fast performance. In addition to that, the 6P also offers more storage than the 5X. Here you'll get 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB of storage.

However, that increased memory, bigger screen, and more RAM means a higher cost. The base Nexus 6P with 32GB of RAM will run you $500. That's still cheaper than the base model iPhone 6S Plus, which runs you $750 for only 16GB of memory.

Both phones get a USB Type-C port, which is faster than the older micro USB ports found on most Android smartphones, allowing you to stream video to external displays. In addition to that, this port is reversible, meaning you don't have to worry about which way you plug it into your device.

This is Android smartphone technology at its purest. The fact that both devices are being made by Google means that the Android interface is unchanged and you won't have to deal with any unwanted apps or things from manufacturers like LG and Samsung. It also means that you will get all the Android updates as soon as they become available, which is always nice. If you're looking for a nice, new Android smartphone, then the Google Nexus 5X and Google Nexus 6P may be precisely what you're looking for.

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Droidcon NYC 2015

In the world of mobile technology, we've all seen the rivalries. Apple has done their very best to stay at the top of the mobile market, but it seems that Android is always on their heels. While there are many conferences for both companies, one can't forget about Android's Droidcon coming up! Are you unfamiliar with Droidcon? In case you are, Droidcon is considered to be the world's largest, community-driven, Android developer's conference. It's a globally held conference that has hit beautiful locations, such as London, Dubai, Moscow, Madrid, and Berlin. With a developer's conference that has this type of following, it only makes sense that Droidcon come visit The United States in the melting pot capital of the world. That's right, Droidcon is heading to beautiful New York City, New York!

Although Droidcon is a conference on the global scale, there are still some who are uninformed as to what the goals behind the conference are. The idea behind the Droidcon conference is to support the Android platform and create a global network for developers and companies. The conference is known for offering high-class talks from different parts of the ecosystem, including core development, embedded solutions, augmented reality, business solutions, and games. The Droidcon Conferences have been being held since late 2009. Ever since the first two cons were held in that year, the community-driven conference format has repeated itself in all of the held locations since.

Droidcon covers all aspects of the Android ecosystem from mobile devices to TV to cars to gaming and so much more. It is organized by local partners and only possible with the generous support of sponsors from big blue chips of this industry to SMEs and a lot of volunteer work. It truly is a conference driven by a community that loves Android and wants to see as much progress for the products and services as possible. When Android has made such an incredible name for itself, it only makes sense that their community would go out of their way to hold an event like this.

What most people may not be aware of, is that this will be the first ever Droidcon to take place here in America for the development community! This year's event will host a vast majority of sponsors. Arguably the biggest sponsor this year will be Google Play. Google's cross-platform products for mobile developers help them to design, develop, distribute, and monetize apps and games. From the Google Play Store and Google Play game services to Google Analytics and AdMob, Google's solutions are helping millions of app businesses grow globally. It would only make sense to have Android be backed by such a huge sponsor. Other names, such as some of the larger social media sources (ex. Facebook and Tumblr), are sponsoring this year's event, as well as companies like American Express, Microsoft, and Uber.

This year's Droidcon schedule is still currently being updated at the time of writing, but even now the line-up looks superb. Between the different keynote speakers and the workshops, New York City's Droidcon will be sure to have something for everyone. There have been a couple of keynotes already confirmed for the conference this year.

The 2015 NYC Droidcon will be held at the Metropolitan Pavilion. The Metropolitan Pavilion is one of New York City’s most versatile and reliable event spaces for media-intensive events, trade events and product launches. This year it was the site of Internet Week New York and NYC Uncubed, among other cutting-edge tech events. This particular venue offers a wide range of audio-video, and entertainment technology enhancements; it's also within walking distance from the subway and minutes away from Madison Square Park and Union Square. Droidcon NYC will be held on the main floor (The Full Pavilion) and the second floor (The Suite) for breakout rooms and a lounge.

When you're visiting this year's event, but sure to check out the beautiful areas of New York City. Go out and enjoy the sights and attractions of Times Square. Everything from futuristic a McDonald's to a four-story Toys R' Us with a Ferris wheel inside. This event was made for tech geeks and is being hosted in the Melting Pot of America. You can bet there will be memories made here!

The event will take place August 27th and August 28th at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City.

For more information about the event or to register visit the Droidcon NYC 2015 website.

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New Liquidmetal Android Smartphone May Or May Not Be A Terminator

Apple's past has shown no sign of an upcoming Liquidmetal iPhone since they can only manage to use the strong material for small iPhone components. Alas in just a few weeks, Android is going to outshine Apple! An Android handset called the Turing Phone is actually set to launch the first smartphone ever to have a liquid metal case.

Venturebeat was told by Turing CEO S.Y.L. Chao that his company is the first company able to manufacture Liquidmorphium components, measuring more than 10 millimeters. The new liquid metal smartphone is finally beating Apple's iPhones tiny SIM card tray, that is the largest liquid metal smartphone part.

The lucky company to finally release the first "Liquidmorphium" phone in the world is Turing Robotics Industries. Since the handset's housing is far stronger than steel, aluminum AND titanium, you won't have to worry about the phone bending, even in the slightest. The front of the new smartphone has an appealing chrome look, but the back isn't as fortunate in the design. Also, the Turing Phone is coated inside and out with a nanoparticle treatment, to make it waterproof. Not even getting water INSIDE the phone and covering all the circuits will phase it.

The smartphone will include a 5.5-inch full HD display, 3GB of RAM, a fingerprint scanner, a 2.5GHz quad-core processor, a 3,000 mAh battery, 64/128GB of storage, a 13-megapixel dual flash camera and Android 5.1. The Turing Phone will be available in the U.S. and China, for preorder on July 31st, starting at $740.

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Ubuntu Launches New, Invite-Only Smartphone

So far one big thing we know about Ubuntu phones is that when they launch, it is in a very odd way. For the newest edition to their family, things haven't changed.

Canonical is launching an invite-only handset manufactured by Meizu. The company had hoped to launch an Ubuntu phone back in 2014, and now it seems they have finally done it in a really weird way. The new MX4 Ubuntu Edition has been available for a few months only to developers in China, but now you are able to order one in Europe too if you are one of the few people who are able to get an invite. They aren't announcing how many are available, but every day you can visit their teaser site and complete a few puzzles and other nonsense to compete for your chance at an invite. They also haven't said if they will release the phone outside of this odd invite system, or if it will be sold in other markets besides Europe. The whole thing is pretty much just extremely unusual.

The company has launched a few other phones, like the Aquaris E4.5 and E5, which are basically modified versions of Android phones that are already out, and the MX4 is basically the same idea. Its main features include a 5.36-inch display, an octa-core MediaTek 6595 processor, 2GB of RAM and a 3,100mAh battery. It also has a really nice 20.7-megapixel rear facing camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera for all of your selfie needs. It looks like a pretty good, solid smartphone, though there aren't really any features that make it stand out from the crowd and be the next "must have" phone.

Maybe it is coming out at a bad time. Compared to the Ubuntu Edge, it doesn't really seem very cool at all. Canonical has been really slow at developing the software for the device, and now it is almost outdated when put up against iOS 8 and Android Lollipop. There are also other operating systems about to drop soon, so it seems like the launch wasn't even thought out very well. Some people think that this phone's release is a strategic way of keeping expectations for the company low so that they can come from left field with something awesome and unexpected in the future. Whether this is true or not, who knows. But the phone isn't super awesome, that's the main point here.

The coolest thing about the phone is really the mystery behind its release, which is riding a fine line between being super cool and interesting, and really stupid and frustrating. Either way, the website is worth checking out, even if you don't end up getting an invite. At least check it out to see how weird it is.

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Android 5.1 Update from Google Looks to Decrease Phone Theft

Google is giving Android its first full blown update since the new version of the operating system came out back in November of last year. The main improvement that has everyone excited is the new feature that is supposed to cut down on phone theft tremendously. When you turn on Device Protection, your phone will stay locked until you sign in with your Google account. It will stay locked even if your phone is reset to factory settings. Because of this, there is pretty much nothing a thief can do with it. They won't be able to get ANYTHING off of it. A stolen Android phone is basically just a paperweight.

Apple did something similar a while back. Their feature is called Activation Lock, which comes with iOS 7. In San Francisco is cut down on phone theft by 40%, and in New York City is got cut down by 25%. The new Android update will surely have the same outcome for anyone who uses Android Lollipop. And even if you don't, a thief is going to be less excited about stealing your phone just because they will probably assume there is no point. It makes stealing smartphones not worth the risk.

Other features included in the new update include support for multiple SIM cards, the ability to join Wi-Fi networks and control Bluetooth devices from the Quick Settings menu, and high-definition voice calling.The support for multiple SIM cards will be awesome for people who want to share their smartphone with family members.

The 5.1 update is also supposed to improve Lollipop's overall stability. It is the biggest operating system Google has ever launched for a smartphone, so it was bound to have some kinks that needed to be worked out. It appears they are doing a good job at it!

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The 5 Best Apps You Don't Know About!

There are literally millions of apps on the market, and new ones come out every day. At this point, there are way too many to just gamble on them until you find the right ones for you. Hopefully, this list can help you find some super productive apps that will help you out in your everyday life!

Nintype: A super fast keyboard app

Nintype is an app that lets you type super fast by combining swiping motions and double tapping for double letters. It also has shortcuts for saved texts, emojis, hashtags, and any other shortcuts you set up. With this keyboard app, you can type more than 100 words per minute!

Cloe: Siri's smarter sister

Cloe is kind of like Siri. You can use it when you need to find an answer to just about any question. The main difference is that Cloe is actually powered by actual people. Sometimes Siri can steer you a little wrong, or give you something that isn't exactly what you were looking for. By interacting with a real human, the chances of that are slim. Also, you don't even need an app. It's not an app at all! You just have to sign up, and then you can text Cloe any time you'd like.

Workflow: Keeping  you from wasting time

Basically, Workflow is an app that can customize your phone to be more productive, in general. You can use it to completely skip tasks that waste time. You can tell your phone exactly what to do when it notices a certain action. You can schedule certain pictures to upload to social media, automatically call in to conference calls at the exact time they are scheduled, and pretty much anything else you can think of that will keep you productive.

Evernote Scannable: Grow your LinkedIn profile by scanning business cards

Basically, this app makes digital copies of business cards, receipts, and anything else. It pulls the information from these documents, finds the person on LinkedIn, and saves them to your contact list. Brilliant.

Duet: Use your iPad as a 2nd display for your Mac

If you have an extra iPad laying around, you can actually use it to be way more productive than you might have thought. Duet lets you connect your iPad to your Mac with the charging cable and actually use it as a second screen. This is especially awesome when you are doing photo editing, video editing, or music production. Nothing is cooler than having one screen dedicated to editing audio and another screen dedicated to an on-screen mixing board.

Microsoft And Samsung In Lawsuit Over $1 Billion Royalties Agreement

According to a recent court document it appears as if Samsung has been paying Microsoft $1 billion per year in royalties in order to use its technology in Samsung's Android smartphones and tablets. In addition to that, the filing also shows that Microsoft also offered to reduce Samsung's payments if the company developed Widows tablets and phones in addition to Android ones.

This information was recently brought to light during a lawsuit that Microsoft filed against Samsung back in August. The original complaint from Microsoft was partially blacked out in order to hide confidential business information, though the revised filing that was made available is unredacted. Both companies signed an agreement in the latter part of 2011 where Samsung agreed to pay royalties to Microsoft for seven years for the use of its patented technologies.

For years Microsoft has claimed that Android infringes its patents and that many other companies, in addition to Samsung, have signed such agreements. These contracts are usually highly confidential, meaning that it is unusual to get a peek at any of the numbers behind them.

According to the filing, for the second year of the agreement that spanned July 2012 to June 2013, Samsung was required to pay Microsoft a little over $1 billion in royalties. That number is based on the number of Android devices Samsung sold and the prices it charged for them. Microsoft is claiming that Samsung was lagging behind and was late on the payment. Part of the lawsuit was so Microsoft could recover nearly $7 million in interest that it says Samsung still owes it.

An the other half of the argument, Samsung claims that Microsoft invalidated the agreement due to the fact that it bought Nokia's handset business. As a result, Samsung is refusing to make further payments for this year and the years to follow. This would mean billions of dollars in lost revenue for Microsoft.

Microsoft is retorting, stating that its acquisition of Nokia's handset business does not breach the agreement it made with Samsung and says that there are "explicit provisions" that cover the acquisition of other companies. The original deal between Samsung and Microsoft was a cross-license agreement, meaning that Samsung was also agreeing to license technologies to Microsoft. With this deal broken, Samsung is threatening to sue Microsoft for using Nokia's technology.

Google developed Android and is currently the world's most popular smartphone operating system. However, Microsoft believes that the company infringes on a lot of its patents and, in 2010, it started a licensing program in order to collect royalties from Android smartphone makers. Samsung isn't the only company to pay Microsoft royalties. Twenty-four additional companies also pay royalties, including HTC, Acer and Barnes & Noble.

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Apple Acquires Beats Music, Plans On Continued Support And Development For Android And Windows Phone Devices

So some big news recently was the fact that Apple was acquiring Beats Music, which left many Android and Windows Phone users scared that Apple would have exclusive rights to anything and everything Beats related, leaving anyone else out in the cold. Well according to recent word from Apple, the Cupertino company plans to continue to offer Beats Music apps for both Android and Windows Phone after it finalizes the deal which also includes Beats Electronics.

Apple Executive Eddie Cue was at Code/Conference recently and was caught stating that the apps would continue to be developed and supported for devices other than Apple's. Code/Conference is a conference headed up by Re/Code, the website that was founded by the folks who previously hosted All Things Digital for the Wall Street Journal.

The Beats Music apps were recently updated on May 22 for the Windows Phone and on May 28 for Android. The updates for iOS and Android that followed the next day extended the previous 7-day free trial to 14 days and reduced the annual subscription fee from $119.99 to $99.99, a 17% reduction. Beats Music launched in the United States at the end of January and is a music streaming service similar to Spotify in that it offers users access to millions or songs and albums while also letting customers play an unlimited amount of music.

Cue, who is the head of Apple's Internet Software and Service group, will take up leadership for Beats Music. The two co-founders of Beats Electronics, renowned record executive and producer Jimmy Iovine and rapper/entrepreneur Dr. Dre, will join Apple as employees and report directly to Cue.  The deal itself, which totals $3 billion, should close later this year, according to Apple, and is said to be primarily cash with some stock to invest over time.

Beats Music attempts to differentiate itself from rival offerings like Spotify and Rhapsody, among others, with its music curation. Apple CEO Tim Cook, who did multiple interviews with different publications, cited the curation of Beats Music as a reason why Apple wanted the service in the first place. According to Cook, "We've got a streaming service that we believe is the first to get it right. They had the insight that human curation was very important. We think they've done an A+ job."

The most interesting thing about this whole deal is the fact that Apple has decided to continue supporting Android and Windows Phone, which goes against the entire business model of the company. Traditionally when Apple acquires the rights to cross-platform technologies it closes support to anything that isn't Apple. The main beef of Apple's revenue comes from hardware sales with the main focus of the company being the sale of more iPhones, iPads and Mac computers.

However, Beats Music is still young. At Code/Conference Iovine stated that the service has 250,000 paying subscribers, which is less than 3% of Spotify's 10 million. If Apple wants Beats to grow its paying accounts then that means support for the service on devices outside of Apple, like Android and Windows Phone, is necessary, especially when you realize that Android is the dominant mobile operating system in the world. According to Ben Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies, this is as much an opportunity for Apple as it is a reversal of past practice.

According to Bajarin, "What makes this interesting is, for Android in particular, that service could serve as the first experience with an Apple product for hundreds of millions and soon to be billions of potential customers. I would argue that Apple paves the way for their future success in iPhone and iPad by bringing iTunes to Windows. It helped get iPods in the hands of millions of people who never owned an Apple product. Much great research exists that point out that once a customer tries one of your products they strongly consider more in the future."

Apple is undoubtedly hoping that the success of iTunes on Windows resonates the same way with Beats Music on Android and Windows Phone. And who knows, maybe this will be the first seed planted into something that grows into an Apple/Android/Windows Phone merger that completely takes over the world! (But let's hope not because world domination never works out).

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Army Debuts New Army App Marketplace

There have been rumors of a specific Army app store created specifically for the United States military floating around for a while now, and those rumors may have just become real. The United States Army has officially launched the very first prototype for the Army Software Marketplace, a web-based app store that has also recently been approved for Army-wide use.

The newly launched app store only has 12 apps so far, each one designed as a mobile training application for soldiers, allowing them to use the apps while on personal phones or tablets. The apps themselves were designed by Army training schools in the Connecting Soldiers to Digital Apps (CSDA) initiative. Each app, all of which have been approved for Army-wide use, can be acquired online at www.marketplace.army.mil, with the CSDA community dedicated to providing more apps in the future.

According to Lt. Gen. Susan Lawrence, Chief Information Officer/G-6, "The Apps Marketplace is at the center of Army efforts to radically reduce the time to deliver applications across the force. This prototype is a first step in establishing and exercising new submissions and approval processes that will eventually enable Army members, organizations and third party developers to release applications for Army-wide distribution."

This new app marketplace prototype brings key Army stakeholders together, allowing them to focus on implementing industry-proven agile software-development practices, like increasing collaboration early on between developers and end-users as well as delivering software to users in short release cycles.

The marketplace currently supports publicly-facing apps on personal iOS devices, which means you can only have access to these applications if you are using an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad from Apple. The marketplace is, however, currently working on support for Android devices as well, allowing you to have access no matter what OS you're using. Some of the currently available apps include The Soldiers Blue Book (initial entry training guide), Army Values, Army Social Media Handbook and Developing a Performance Work Statement.

"Training aids, planning tools and other apps in the Marketplace give soldiers easy access to information we need to keep current," said Sgt. 1st Class Nanette Williams, a member of the Army Executive Communications Team at the Pentagon. Army CSDA Director Brig. Gen. Wayne Grigsby Jr. also stated that the prototypes "will allow CSDA to start distributing training and leader development content to the soldier at the point of learning."

Source: U.S. Army - Army launches apps marketplace prototype
Engadget - US Army debuts app marketplace prototype: iOS first, Android coming soon

Short-throw projectors only require half the projection distance of traditional projectors. The projector can be placed just a foot or so from the screen. This is nice because it keeps the projector and screen near each other instead of having a long throw projector that people can accidentally block.

Android App Size Limit Increased to 4GB

Ever since it first hit the scene, Android has limited its applications to a maximum size of 50MB. Overall this has worked pretty well, with smaller apps obviously having an easier time with the limitations. However, every megabyte you add that gets closer to 50 makes it that much harder for users to download the app and start using it. Other apps, specifically the ones that use high-end 3D graphics, use more local features. With regard to this, Android has decided to increase the Android app size limit from 50MB to 4GB.

Before you go planning the next mega-app, the size of the APK file will still be limited to 50MB to make sure you have secure on-device storage, though you now have the ability to attach expansion files to your APK. The Android Developers Blog listed some features of the new size increase, which includes:

• Each app can have two expansion files, each one up to 2GB, in whatever format you choose.


• Android Market will host the files to save you the hassle and cost of file serving.


• Users will see the total size of your app and all of the downloads before they install/purchase.

A lot of newer mobile devices expansion files will be downloaded automatically as soon as you download the app from the marketplace. The refund period won't start until the expansion files are downloaded. Older devices have your app download the expansion files the first time it runs through a downloader library, which can be found on the blog.

The Android Developers Blog also says that even though you have the option of using the two expansion files however you want, they recommend that you use one as the initial download and only update rarely, if at all. They say you should use the second one as a smaller file to act as a "patch carrier" that will get revised with each major release of the app.

This is definitely going to have some big implications on the app development world and it will be interesting to see how it affects both app developers and users alike. What do you think? If you're an app developer, is this something that you are very interested in or excited about?

Source: Android Developers Blog - Android Apps Break the 50MB Barrier
Engadget - Android Market raises maximum app size to 4GB, APK files still limited to 50MB

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Android Activation Reaches 850,000 Per Day

On Monday, February 27 Andy Rubin, Google’s senior vice president of mobile, announced that there are now more than 850,000 Android activations each and every day.

Rubin tweeted, “At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Enjoying watching the ecosystem at work. 850k activations a day now!"

This is definitely some great news for Google. Just two months ago, Rubin announced that Android activations had reached more than 700,000 per day. In a mere sixty days (approximately), Google was able to jump 150,000 activations per day.

Android has been having plenty of success in the past couple months. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day alone, there were 3.7 million Android activations. This wave of new activations then led to more than 1.2 billion iOS and Android app downloads between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.

Android has quickly been climbing the activation ladder. In April there were 350,000 activation per day; 500,000 in June and 550,000 back in November.

Nielsen reported earlier this year that Android was the most popular mobile platform in the United States. In December Android nabbed 46.9 percent of the new smartphone sales market; however, this was down from 61.6 percent in October. The decline was due to the release of the iPhone 4S.

Bottom line: Android seems to be doing quite well. Who knows, in a couple months Rubin could be reporting a million activations per day. You never know!

Source: PCMag - Android Activations Hit 850,000 Per Day

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Sony's Tablet S to Get Ice Cream Sandwich

If you bought Sony's Tablet S when it was released, or you happened to get one for Christmas, you can count yourself lucky because it has just been confirmed that the tablet PC from Sony will be getting the old Ice Cream Sandwich treatment. The only thing is that nobody really has any idea when you may get it though, not even Sony.

A Sony representative posted on the company forums last week confirming that Android 4.0, otherwise known as Ice Cream Sandwich, will be available for the Sony Tablet S. In addition to that, the rep stated that the timing of the update, as well as other details, will be "announced in due course".

The Tablet S is already pre-loaded with Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and hit the tablet market back in September. The 9.4" device is a little more expensive than most tablets, costing $499 for only a 16GB version and $599 for the 32GB. In addition to that it is WiFi only, at least in the United States, which means your smartphone better have WiFi hotspot if you want to use this thing literally wherever you go.

The good news is that the Tablet S does come with a lot of features designed to expand the use of the tablet, including PlayStation certification for mobile gaming, DLNA video and music streaming and an integrated universal remote control, just to name a few. Aside from the Tablet S, Sony is also poised to release the Tablet P, an Android-based clamshell device complete with a hinged pair of 5.5" screens, much like the Nintendo DS. Sony announced this device back in April but has yet to show it off in physical form.

A software development kit was released for the Tablet P in the middle of December in hopes of drawing in potential developers. Aside from that, however, the company has been pretty tight-lipped on the whole thing. The forthcoming Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Tablet S, however, follows recent news that a bunch of Sony Ericsson's Experia smartphones will also receive the Android 4.0 update beginning in late March. Whether that time frame is anywhere near that of the Tablet S remains to be seen.

Source: CNET - Ice Cream Sandwich update to flavor Sony S Tablet

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Android Tablet from Google Said to Give Apple Some Competition

This week, the chairman at Google, Eric Schmidt, said that in the next six months the company will be producing a tablet that is of the “highest quality” and will offer some serious competition to Apple’s iPad. I think that we have heard that story at least once before.

Schmidt recently did an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that was published on Monday, December 19. In the interview he called Steve Jobs "the Michelangelo of our time," however, despite this, he claims that Google will be truly offering Apple some “brutal competition.”

Google translated Schmidt’s interview with Corriere della Sera. Jobs was "[a] friend of mine and a unique character, able to combine creativity and visionary genius with an extraordinary engineering ability," Schmidt said. "Sometimes you find people who have one thing or the other, but not the two together. Steve realized the revolutionary potential of the tablet and created an amazing product [in] the iPad.”

"But our companies compete ... in the next six months, we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality. And in mobile communications and the smartphone market, you will see brutal competition between Apple and Google Android. It's capitalism."

It is not exactly clear as to whether the tablet that Schmidt was talking about will be built by Google. Some techies seem to believe that Google will build the device and then label it with Google’s Nexus brand. So far, this brand has only been used with Android-based smartphones, but the brand could definitely expand to tablets as well.

Right now, Google’s Android OS can be found in a variety of devices including Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, Asus’s Eee Pad Transformer Prime and Xoom and Droid Xyboard devices. The company will also be introducing its mobile OS, Android 4.0 (also called Ice Cream Sandwich) in different smartphones and tablets that will be released next year.

According to Schmidt, Google currently has "the best voice translation software" available but they “must develop it” in order to “use it to do things similar to Siri,” which is the iPhone 4S’s digital assistant.

In the interview Schmidt also discussed Google’s YouTube business.

"YouTube will be more profitable because it will have more publicity," Schmidt said. "But it will not be televised. ... [T]he business model of YouTube is different [from television], it's to help people make money with content that is produced and distributed independently, but on the Internet. Even the new channels that we are creating are for the Web.”

"Of course, it's true that people often prefer to follow these channels on the Web instead of watching television, but they are two different things. We have a strategy to allow the user to combine them together, but that's part of Google TV, which will arrive in Europe in the first half of 2012."

Sources: The Economic Times - Google to Debut New Android Tablet to Win 'Brutal Competition' with Apple and PCMag - Google Promises Highest Quality Tablet in 2012

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Samsung's New SCH-W999 Dual-Screen Flip Phone

Remember flip phones? You know, the phones everybody had before smartphones, touch screens and all that jazz? Instead of pressing a button to light up a screen, you flipped the phone open to reveal a screen on top and a keypad on the bottom. Those were the good ol' days and, apparently, days many phone enthusiasts have missed because that seems like the most logical reason Samsung would create a flip phone for this generation.

That's right, not too long ago Samsung introduced its second-generation dual-screen Android clamshell phone and it has finally arrived, announced in partnership with China Telecom. This SCH-W999 flip phone comes with two 3.5" 480 x 800 Super AMOLED panels back-to-back, as well as a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8660 processor. In addition to that, this device comes with Android 2.3 with TouchWiz, HyperSkin back cover (the same one found on the Galaxy Nexus for grip and anti-smear), 5 mp camera, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi and WAPI, China's rendition of WiFi.

As is the case with most of the phones on China Telecom, the W999 comes with dual SIM slots, as well as dual-mode connectivity in the form of GSM and CDMA2000 with CDMA2000 offering EV-Do 3G, though it does come with support for pentaband radio for those who fancy traveling the world.

If you are looking to get your hands on one, you are looking at a 2012 release date, though there is no word yet on any specific pricing. However, if you want a comparison, the previous model, Samsung's W899, starts at $1,410 so be prepared to spend quite a bit of money if you honestly can't live without it. The phone does look pretty cool and I do have fond memories of my own flip phone from days gone by, but don't expect to see me dropping that kind of cash for nostalgia.

Source: Engadget - Samsung's two-faced SCH-W999 Android plays the dual core, dual SIM game

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Android Ice Cream Sandwich to Add Native Stylus Support

Android OS 4.0, adorably nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich, has just let loose information on another new feature that will be gracing your Android devices when this highly anticipated operating system update hits handhelds in the future. The newest feature to be revealed is native support for smartphones and tablets with a digital stylus, a feature confirmed by Google.

This new feature will include pressure recognition, hover tracking and nib-tilt with a differentiation between pen and finger use. In addition to that, a specific stylus API, which was discovered by Reddit, will be able to differentiate between stylus, finger, mouse and eraser and will even support pens with up to three buttons. Before this, devices like the HTC Flyer and Samsung Galaxy Note required custom pen-control systems to be created in order to handle their digital styli.

Google is expecting big things from this feature including its capability to be used to improve Android phones and tablets in drawing and sketching applications. Google also hopes that it will help in boosting precision for gestures as well. Handwriting and shape recognition are also a few possibilities, even though Android currently lacks a native handwriting recognition engine.

In addition to all of this, Google has added a basic painting app, known as TouchPaint, to its API demo code. This allows developers to become capable with the different elements of the new functionality. However, it is still unknown what HTC and Samsung will do in regards to their own custom APIs. Samsung released the Galaxy Note source code on October 20 as a part of its strategy to get third-party developers to produce apps for the S Pen stylus. The HTCdev team has also stated that it too was prioritizing the Flyer, as well as the Jetstream, pen API in its developer outreach.

Source: SlashGear - Ice Cream Sandwich adds native stylus support to Android

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New Photo Session App from Flickr

On Thursday, September 29 Flickr unveiled an official Android app that will allow users to share their photostreams in real-time via a new feature called Photo Session.

The Android app is now available, and it lets users quickly snap photographs, enhance them with one of the optional filters and post them on social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. Sound easy? It is!

The app gives you a variety of different options that allow you to adjust your camera settings. Options include flash, shutter focus and ratio selection. Once you have taken the pictures, you can then view them by swiping through the images or tapping the screen to allow you to view them in full screen or slideshow modes.

"Browsing and navigating has been custom designed for Flickr to make use of maps, tags, and activity around your photos," Flickr said in a blog post. "You can stay up to date with the latest comments and activity on your photos and take advantage of gorgeous full screen browsing and slideshows."

The app also allows you to control how private you would like your pictures to be. You will be able to choose who will be able to download your images.

The new app also lets you and a small group of family or friends view and interact with the pictures that you take in real-time.

"Just got back from your African safari? Invite your friends to a Photo Session and inspire wanderlust in one and all. It's a girl? Congrats! The whole family is dying to meet her," Flickr said. "So set up a Photo Session to show off the latest pics of your newest member of the family and fill them in on every gurgle."

To access this, all you have to do is select all of the photos that you want to publish. Then invite up to 10 family members or friends to share them with. "Seamlessly flip through images as you doodle on your photos with the drawing tool and chat with each other, all at the same time. You can also pause or scroll through the photos at your own pace," Flickr said.

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Skype Video Calling Now on Android Devices

Do you own an Android device? If you do, then most likely you now have the ability to use Skype Video Calling. On Wednesday, August 3 Skype released an update to its Android app that brings video calling abilities to 17 more Android devices.

It was just earlier this summer that Skype added video calling capabilities to its Android app; however, it originally only worked on the Google Nexus S. Now, after this latest update, dozens of Android devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S and the HTC Incredible, will be able to enjoy video calling as well.

Skype said that the update also fixed a few bugs that the app was experiencing and included some performance enhancements. (If you have a Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini and you were having some issues with a faulty microphone, the update should have taken care of the issue.)

The updated version of Skype for Android, Skype 2.1, is now available in the Android Market or via Skype.com/m. “For those of you using Android 2.2 (Froyo) and above, you should…be able to enable video calling in your Skype settings. Just go to ‘Skype settings’ after launching the app and select ‘enable video calling’, said the Skype Blog.”

“Unfortunately, if you cannot see the video calling settings, it means your Android phone does not meet the minimum requirements needed to make Skype video calls,” the blog continued. “Please be aware that video call quality may not be as good as on a certified Android device and only the back camera of the device will work if your device is running on Android 2.2 (Froyo).”

“We are really excited that video calling with Skype for Android with video calling is now available on the majority of Android handsets, so you can easily share moments wherever you are with the people that matter most to you.”

Here is the complete list of devices that can now use Skype Video Calling:

• Acer A5
• HTC Desire (2.2)
• HTC Desire HD
• HTC Evo 3D
• HTC Evo 4G
• HTC Flyer
• HTC Incredible S
• HTC Sensation
• Samsung Galaxy S
• Samsung Galaxy S II
• Samsung Galaxy Tab
• Sony Ericsson Xperia mini pro
• Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY
• Sony Ericsson Xperia ray

U.S.-only phones getting the update include:

• HTC Thunderbolt - Verizon (2.2)
• LG Revolution - Verizon (2.2)
• Samsung Droid Charge - Verizon (2.2)

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Android Market Now Has Over 200,000 Apps

Google’s Android Market seems to really be taking off and doing quite well. In just a few months, it looks as though the Android Market has more than doubled in size. AndroLib.com is releasing numbers that show that as of Tuesday, December 28, the store had more than 200,000 apps available to the public.

It was just in October 2010 that Google announced that its Android Market had surpassed more than 100,000 available apps. Now, so far Google has not confirmed any current numbers concerning its app market, but if AndroLib.com is right, then Google truly more than doubled the number of apps that they offered on the Android Market in less than three months.

Now, despite these incredible numbers that have been put forth by AndroLib.com, Apple’s App Store is still the largest apps source available to-date. The Apple Apps Store features more than 300,000 apps in the entirety of its catalog. AndroLib.com did not seem to be worried about this though. They stated that although Apple has more than 100,000 apps more than Google, there have been more than 2.5 billion apps downloaded from the Android Market, so it looks as though Google is definitely gaining some ground.

When the Android Market first debuted in October 2008, there were only 34 apps and nine games available. In February of 2009, Google started moving forward when they began to accept priced applications from different developers in the U.S. and the U.K. Just a month after Google began accepting priced applications from various developers, Google reported that the Android Market then had 2,300 different apps, and by the end of the year, they reported that the Android Market consisted of 20,000 apps.

2010 has definitely been a year for some major growth on the Android Market. In April, Google reported that the app store featured more than 38,000 apps. Just three months later, AndroLib.com claimed that the app store had grown to offer more than 100,000 apps, but this report was denied by Google who said that the number was closer to 70,000.

To give a comparison of the Android Market to the Apple Apps Store, Apple launched their store in July 2008, three months before the Android Market was launched. It was reported by Apple that in November 2009 the Apple Apps Store reached the 100,000 app mark. This occurred just a few months after Apple reported that they had achieved 1.5 billion downloads.

Google’s vice president did announce in early December that more than 300,000 Android devices are activated each and every day. This announcement came only a few months after the chief executive of Google, Eric Schmidt, said that 200,000 Android devices were being activated every day. In just a few months, the daily activation of Android devices increased by 50 percent.

It was reported in October that Android had 8.4 percent of the global market, but in November that number moved up to 14.9 percent. Two separate studies have shown that Android is ahead of both RIM and Apple in the last quarter, claiming 44 percent of the market.

"Much of Android's quarterly share growth came at the expense of RIM, rather than Apple," Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD, said in a statement. "The HTC EVO 4G, Motorola Droid X, and other new high-end Android devices have been gaining momentum at carriers that traditionally have been strong RIM distributors, and the recent introduction of the BlackBerry Torch has done little to stem the tide.”

It’s exciting to see how well the Android Market is doing. I think that it is really fascinating how quickly they seem to be catching up to Apple’s App Store. For now, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if they can really do it.

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Amazon's Kindle for Android Goes 2.0

The Kindle, Amazon's electronic book reader, revolutionized the way people read books. The Kindle offered people not only a way to have their favorite book on hand at all time but also 750,000+ books. The ability to scan a database and find pretty much any book you wanted and then download it so you have it whenever you want is definitely a revolutionary idea.

With the popularity of smartphones increasing daily, it is no surprise that Amazon designed a Kindle app for smartphones that runs the Android OS. Since smartphones are basically a pocket-sized computer, why can't they give you books as well? That is what Amazon thought and that is why they developed the app.

Version 2.0 of Amazon's Kindle for Android has just crept its way onto the market, and it brought some friends, namely access to the company's vast library of newspapers and magazines, the ability to purchase content in-app and the freedom to choose where you want to store your app, even if that desired location is on your microSD card.

There are a lot of updates that come with v2.0. Among the new features, customers will be able to read the 100+ magazines and newspapers, sample and even purchase content using an integrated store, share book reading progress and double tap to zoom in. The app also allows you to access any books you have on your actual Kindle even if it isn't close by. It automatically syncs with your Kindle device to start reading where you left off, can adjust text size, add bookmarks, view any annotations you made with your Kindle, read in portrait or landscape views or tap on either side of the screen or flick to turn pages.

The Kindle store allows you to browse more than 750,000 books which includes 107 of 111 New York Times bestsellers, subscribe to specific magazines or newspapers having each new edition automatically delivered, or you can purchase individual issues. Like I said earlier, you can create social networking updates on your reading progress, zoom for images and graphics, and have the ability to use your volume buttons to double as page turners, you know, if you are in to that sort of thing.

If you are an avid user of a Kindle or the Kindle for Android app, then I highly recommend you update your app to the 2.0 version. It adds a lot of new features that many people will be impressed with and happy to have. The update is available on the Android Market now and requires Android OS 1.6 or greater.

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