Hasta La Gadget!

We figured Apple’s firm response to Lodsys earlier this week regarding its claims against iOS devs would prompt the patent holder to move on to its next target, and sure enough, it looks as if said target has been selected. Unfortunately, a group of Android app devs have now found themselves in the Texas-based company’s crosshairs, which is citing the same patent infringement that Apple recently addressed, relating specifically to in-app upgrade purchases. As was the case with the last round of letters, Lodsys is demanding licensing fees from small, individual developers, who don’t have the resources to fight back. Lodsys appears to be maintaining its trend of ignoring media requests, so we’re keeping an eye on the patent troll’s blog to see if anyone comes up to the surface to defend this latest round of allegations. In the meantime, plugging your ears while humming and ignoring the mailman might not be such a bad idea… you know, if you do this kind of thing for a living.

Lodsys shifts in-app purchasing target to Android devs following Apple response originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 May 2011 14:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tired of content providers bossing you around, telling you what you can do with your own phone? Good, because Netflix is sick of telling you kids to keep off its lawn. Following a recent update, the outfit’s Android app now officially supports the LG Revolution, Motorola Droid, Casio G’zOne Commando C771, and any unsupported device that just happens to work on its own. In addition to adding official support for the aforementioned trio (and of course, some minor bug fixes), the stream king removed a device check that previously blocked unsupported handsets from attempting playback. Your mileage may vary, but the folks over at Droid Life are reporting success with both the Droid X and Droid X2, as well as the Xperia Play. That’s no guarantee for you and your unsupported device, but at least you have the freedom to fail. That’s nice, isn’t it?

Netflix updates Android app, expands device support originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 May 2011 21:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For now, Google is restricting rooted Android devices from using its movie rental service on the Android Market. Photo: Duncan Geere/Wired.co.uk

For many Android enthusiasts, having total control is part of the platform’s attraction. But Google is imposing some annoying new restrictions for those who want to be superusers on their own phones.

Google is blocking access to its new Android Market movie rental service for those using rooted Android devices. If you try to access a movie from the Market using a rooted device, you’ll receive a “failure to fetch license” error message.

Obtaining root access to an Android device gives you full administrative privileges, letting you make changes that wouldn’t otherwise be possible running the stock operating system out of the box. That means anything from installing a custom version of your operating system to deleting the prebundled bloatware that came with your device. A minority of Android phone owners do this, but for those who do, the flexibility and control is an important feature and, for some, a right.

On the help menu of the official Android Market, Google gives a vague reason for the holdup, stating that “rooted devices are currently unsupported due to requirements related to copyright protection.”

Ostensibly, the holdup is coming from the end of the movie studios.

“Rooted devices can probably work around the DRM system that they have set up,” says Gartner analyst Phillip Redman. DRM (Digital Rights Management) systems control the uses of digital content — like movies or music — that aren’t intended by the host of the content. It’s likely the studios are worried that if you’re using a rooted device, you could potentially run an app that would make copies of the movies you’re renting on the Android Market’s movie service.

This restriction isn’t unique to Android movie rentals. Netflix has been available for iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad for months, yet the streaming video service hadn’t extended to Android until this month. And even now, Netflix is currently available on only five specific Android phone models. The reasoning, according to Netflix, has been because of protestations from movie studios.

“The same security issues that have led to piracy concerns on the Android platform have made it difficult for us to secure a common Digital Rights Management (DRM) system on these devices,” wrote Greg Peters of Netflix product development in a November blog post.

Google had no further comment on the issue.

As Google only recently launched its movie rental service, it is still in its infancy stage. Currently, you can only watch movies from the Android Market on either your desktop web browser, or on the 3G version of Motorola’s Xoom tablet. The Android Market says support for phones and the Wi-Fi Xoom is coming soon.

We may not see movie rentals on rooted devices any time soon, but if Netflix’s foibles are any indicator, we can probably expect more non-rooted devices to gradually gain access. “There are requirements we must fulfill in order to obtain content from major studios for our subscribers to enjoy,” Netflix’s Peters wrote. “Although we don’t have a common platform security mechanism and DRM, we are able to work with individual handset manufacturers to add content protection to their devices.”

The restrictions bring into question Android’s “open” platform campaign. Google’s Nexus model phones — HTC’s Nexus One and the Samsung Nexus S — both come with the built-in ability to gain root access to the phones. And the Motorola Xoom comes with an unlockable bootloader, which also allows for root access. Yet it seems for the time being, you’ll have to choose between rooting your phone and renting movies from the market.

Until you figure out a workaround, that is. “There’s always a lot of content available out there,” Gartner’s Redman said, “but mostly to those that are more technically savvy and can navigate around the roadblocks put into place by the studios.” And according to one user’s comment on Android Central, “all you have to do is spoof your info,” or conceal your phone’s actual identification information.

But however unhappy these restrictions make root users, it may be the cost of doing business. “If you’re going to build a successful platform,” says Redman, “agreements have to be made. I think this one is entirely reasonable.”

The HTC Inspire, one of five AT&T Android phones that will now be able to sideload apps like Amazon's Appstore. Jim Merithew/Wired.com

After years of restrictions, AT&T will now allow Android smartphone customers to install applications downloaded outside the official Android Market.

The recently launched Samsung Infuse is the first of AT&T’s phones capable of installing apps from outside sources, including unofficial app stores or web links, a process called sideloading.

Eventually after some software updates, all AT&T Android smartphones will be capable of sideloading, according to AT&T.

“Over the next few weeks, we will also roll out this capability to existing devices in our base for which an upgrade is possible,” an AT&T spokesman said.

The HTC Inspire 4G, Samsung Captivate, HTC Aria and LG Thrive will receive the over-the-air upgrade. AT&T is also working on bringing this upgrade to the Motorola Atrix, although AT&T is waiting on a “future maintenance release” for the Atrix in order to upgrade the phone.

What AT&T isn’t saying, however, is that you most likely have Amazon to thank for this.

On March 22, Amazon released its Appstore for Android phones in the form of a standalone app. Those who wanted to access the 3,800 Android applications — including a new version of Angry Birds — from Amazon’s market were required to download the Amazon Appstore app from Amazon.com.

The problem was, AT&T’s phones wouldn’t let you do that. Users could only download apps available on the official Android Market, and because of Google’s policy of not allowing competing app stores to exist within the Android Market, Amazon’s Appstore wasn’t allowed in.

AT&T customers unable to access Amazon’s Appstore weren’t happy, and took to the forums to express frustration.

“Every day, Amazon releases a new app for free,” one upset customer wrote on AT&T’s own hosted message boards. “We continue to be left in the dark … Why can’t you just allow us to install 3rd party apps on our supposedly ‘open’ Android devices?”

On the same day as the Amazon Appstore announcement, however, AT&T changed its position. On March 22, AT&T told Wired.com, “We’re working to give our Android customers access to third-party application stores.” With the release of the Samsung Infuse this week, AT&T customers will finally have access to sideloaded apps.

Amazon confirmed to Wired.com that it had been in discussion with AT&T prior to the Amazon Appstore launch in March, and that Amazon is currently “working closely with AT&T to help make it as easy as possible for AT&T customers to have access to the Amazon Appstore for Android.”

On other non-AT&T Android phones where sideloading is allowed, users must check a box in the application settings menu for the phone “to allow installation of non-Market sources.” After checking the box, a small disclaimer pops up, letting you know it’s your fault if you download malware and screw up your phone. AT&T confirmed that a similar process will be available to the five listed AT&T phones in the coming weeks, as well as future AT&T Android phone releases.

According to an AT&T, the company wasn’t allowing sideloading because of security issues. In an interview with AllThingsDigital, AT&T CTO John Donovan said that “although there was a vocal minority clamoring for such access,” the vast majority of AT&T users prefer a secure phone more than one that can access any and every app out there.

“I’m a gigantic new services risk-taker,” Donovan told AllThingsDigital. “I’m not at all a risk-taker as it relates to security and privacy.”

A security researcher previously told Wired.com that allowing your phone to download apps from unofficial sources required some security compromises.

“As soon as you flip that switch and go away from the Android Market, which is the one place where most people go, then you are putting yourself at some risk,” security analyst Charlie Miller told Wired.com in a previous interview.

But with the release of Amazon’s Appstore, AT&T seems to be more of a “risk taker” than CTO Donovan let on. Maybe the clout of a multinational online retailer can make a company loosen up a bit, even if it supposedly means being less secure.

That Android 3.1 update that Google announced during I/O is slowly rolling out to 3G Xoom owners as we speak. How’d we know such a thing? Why, it just landed on our in-house Xoom, of course! Most of the changes to Honeycomb are happening under the hood — better HTML5 support, faster performance, and USB host functionality for connecting peripherals like game controllers and mice — but there are some improvements that will be a lot more obvious to the user. Perhaps our favorite is the addition of resizable widgets. For the moment only the email and Gmail inbox, calendar and bookmarks widgets can be stretched or shrunk, but we’re sure others will follow. We’re particularly appreciative of the expandable calendar widget, which always felt a tad cramped. The task switcher also received a much requested upgrade and now lets you scroll through your last 18 launched apps, instead of just the five most recent. Lastly, the Android Market now offers movie rentals, alongside books and apps, which range in price from $1.99 to $4.99 for 24 hours of playback. There isn’t a ton of revolutionary stuff going on here, but it’s certainly a welcome and worthwhile update. Check out the video after the break to see Android 3.1 in action.

Continue reading Android 3.1 on the Motorola Xoom: hands-on (video)

Android 3.1 on the Motorola Xoom: hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 May 2011 19:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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