It would appear that HTC isn’t going to keep a selection of key software features from its 2013 HTC One lineup here in the present if one (unofficial) software leak for the HTC One X+ has anything to say about it. Though Engadget’s chat with HTC suggests that this software update is not one sent […]
It’s been one day since the Moto X was introduced as the rebirth of Motorola: a Google Company. Now it’s time to take a moment and reflect. What did we just see? At it’s most basic, Moto X is an Android smartphone that epitomizes the new wave, the Context Ecosystem, as it’s been dubbed, and […]
It’s time to get up close and personal with the Huawei Ascend P6 once again. This device was first introduced to the world in June of 2013 at an event in England, complete with a full-on test of its software. This device is Huawei’s answer to the 2013 wave of hero devices from Samsung with
When Google first introduced Photo Spheres with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and the Galaxy Nexus, it was already envisioned that there would one day be a way to share these creations both easily and effectively between Android users. These Photo Spheres began to appear in Google+, a fun and rather simple place to share photos. Then game Google Maps integration – suddenly Android users were shaping the way the world was seen through their own Street View-like presentations.
Finally there’s “Views”, Google’s newest way to present Photo Spheres, connecting Google Maps and Google+ in a new arena, one made specifically for this Street View-tuned universe. This social network extension of sorts works with Google login, making it just as easy to enter and use as it is to access Gmail or Google+.
“Have you ever wanted to show people what a place looks like (think natural wonders, landmarks, or your business), but found regular photos just don’t capture the feeling of being there? With Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) you can use Photo Sphere in your camera app to create immersive 360-degree panoramic photographs and submit them to Google Maps for everyone to explore.”
Unfortunately it would appear that past Photo Spheres are not retroactively included in this new interface – at least not for SlashGear Editor Chris Burns or other users we’ve spoken with. From here the Photo Sphere universe must expand.
This system includes the Street View Gallery and it would appear that some Photo Sphere addicts have been at work filling up locations already – so it’s not a total start from zero. Have a tap on the “Explore” button at the top of the main Views site to see a full map of special locations – most popular Street View collections, that is, interspersed with additions from the public – like you!
VIA: Google Lat Long Blog
Views for Google Photo Spheres expands usability with tagged maps is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It’s time again to have a peek at how fragmented the world of Google’s mobile operating system Android is – and to see how one app can take a stab at bringing a real survey sample to the public in turn. What the developers behind OpenSignal have done is to analyze the Android device market using the data they’ve collected from users downloading their app. What this amounts to in short is 8 versions of Android still in use today, 37.9% of Android users using some form of Jelly Bean, and 11,868 distinct Android devices “seen” this year alone.
This study doesn’t even cover the entirety of 2013 and already the team at OpenSignal have seen nearly twelve thousand different pieces of Android hardware. That doesn’t mean they’ve all been made or introduces this year, but it certainly does speak to the idea that Android device makers have saturated the market. It’s easier to spot a phone with Android these days, it seems, than to spot one without.
This study also saw 3,997 distinct Android devices last year. When the team here says “seen”, it means that these devices have either downloaded or attempted to access their OpenSignal app.
As for the fragmentation of Android operating system iterations out there in the wild today: it’s really Jelly Bean that’s carving out the biggest piece of the pie today. After that, of course, is Android versions 2.3.3-2.3.7 Gingerbread (34.1%), then a small fragment at 6.1% of the whole dedicated to versions 2.1 (Eclair 3.1%) and 2.2 (Froyo 3.1%) of Google’s mobile OS.
Perhaps the most interesting sliver included in this breakdown is the 0.1% that is Honeycomb. This was a tablet-oriented iteration of Android that was only out on a variety of tablets – and a small handful of smartphones – that either sold in very small numbers or were upgraded to newer versions of Android in turn.
This information is also compared in turn with Apple’s mobile operating system iOS which is, as expected, at 95% in the wild up on iOS 6, with just 5% at iOS 5 and 1% on any earlier version.
BONUS: HTC’s Jeff Gordon lends some words of wisdom:
SOURCE: OpenSignal
Android Fragmentation visualized by OpenSignal: Jelly Bean in the lead is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This week NVIDIA SHIELD launches, bringing the company’s vision for a high-powered mobile gaming device to the market with a console-quality physical controller attached to a flip-up display with Android under the hood. This machine will be shipping to customers who preordered this device starting Wednesday, while in-store availability also starts its spread this week at locations like GameStop, Microcenter, and Canada Computer. You’ll be seeing SlashGear’s full review soon, as well.
This device works with a 5-inch “retinal-quality” multi-touch display which flips up in clamshell fashion from a controller full of buttons. This device works with two custom-tuned bass reflex audio-pumping speakers, and users will have full access to Google Play for media, apps, and games.
NVIDIA SHIELD works with a massive number of Android games, NVIDIA providing a list of 100+ games compatible with the physical controls of this device right out of the box. You’ll be working with both wired and wireless connectivity options for projecting the content of SHIELD’s display as well, these including a mini-HDMI port on its back, Miracast wireless display mirroring, and PC streaming.
PC streaming remains in Beta at the moment, but will be pulled up to full strength sooner than later. This connectivity allows SHIELD to play full-powered PC games while synced with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPU-toting gaming computer over a Wi-fi connection. Below you’ll see our most recent demo with PC streaming, while above you’re seeing a bit of Android gaming from our first NVIDIA SHIELD hands-on and unboxing.
This device will be rolling out for $299 this week and will be coming out in a Wi-fi-only form. There’s just one internal storage size: 16GB, and you get a microSD card slot to expand all the way up to 64GB if you wish. Stay tuned for SlashGear’s big run-down, sooner than later!
NVIDIA SHIELD launches this week: the mobile desktop gaming crossover is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It’s no secret that many Android phones and tablets show a decrease in performance over time. Nexus devices are not immune — it’s particularly noticeable with the original Nexus 7. Our friend Brian Klug over at AnandTech discovered an interesting tidbit while testing the new and improved Nexus 7: Android 4.3 supports TRIM. What this means is that Google’s mobile OS can now instruct the flash storage controller when to collect / recycle unused data pages / blocks. The net result is that devices running Android 4.3 will no longer become sluggish with time — in fact, existing Nexus handsets and tablets will see performance improve after the update. It also looks like Jelly Bean invokes TRIM maintenance once within a 24-hour window (after one hour of inactivity), and only if the battery is 80% full (30% when charging). Follow the source link below for all the details.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Google
Source: AnandTech
We saw a lot of new features during the unveiling of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean earlier this week, including multi-user account support with restricted profiles, as well as Google Play Games, which is Google’s version of Apple’s Game Center. However, there’s a new feature installed as well called Apps Ops, which is an app permission manager.
Apps Ops is hidden for the time being, most likely due to it not being fully ready yet, but luckily, you can install a third-party app that unlocks the hidden app permissions manager, letting you set individual custom controls for each app and give them their own permissions that they’re allowed to perform.
For instance, you can fine tune permissions to apps to prevent them from accessing your contacts, getting your location through GPS, and accessing your call log. Obviously, this is a huge win for those worried about their privacy, but it’s also a huge win for smartphone hypermilers, as you can turn on automatic GPS in apps to save on battery.
We’re not sure when Google plans on unlocking the feature for everyone, without the help of a third-party unlocking app, but this gives us a sign that Google is becoming more aware of privacy and wants users to be able to fine tune settings in order to have the level of privacy they want.
The hidden feature also seems to give users the ability to to deny some permissions in apps at the time of installation, which would be rather convenient and time-saving. Currently, many of us don’t read the app permissions anyway when we install the app, and simply just hit “Accept,” but this could make us pay more attention to the information that apps can get a hold of.
SOURCE: Android Police
Android 4.3 app permission manager discovered, hidden for now is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It’s no surprise that Android runs on all sorts of different resolutions, including small smartwatch displays, all the way up to the Nexus 10′s better-than-Retina-quality screen. However, we could see Android devices in the future rocking 4K resolutions, thanks to an interesting piece of source code in Android 4.3.
To make it possible for Android to run on all sorts of different resolutions, it must support a vast number of pixel densities for app content. This means that there are different categories for different resolutions, including Low DPI (LDPI) for 120 DPI devices, Medium DPI (MDPI) for 160 DPI, High DPI (HDPI) for 240 DPI, Extra High DPI (XHDPI) for 320 DPI, and Extra Extra High DPI (XXHDPI) for 480 DPI.
However, Android 4.3 includes a new DPI range called Extra Extra Extra High DPI (XXXHDPI) for devices that have 640 DPI. According to the comments in the source code, this category is intended for 4K displays. Obviously, this refers to 4K televisions specifically, meaning that Google might have plans for a device that’ll support the higher resolution.
Whether that device is a new set-top box or what is anyone’s guess, but it’s possible that the company could update its Google TV with Android 4.3, that way it could play 4K content on the higher-res televisions that no one can really afford yet. However, this merely seems like a tactic that Google is using to prepare early for the future.
Then again, it could also just a move by the Android team to cover their bases. The HTC One was pushing the envelope for DPI with its 468 pixels per inch. The added category to Android 4.3 could just be a cushion that Google is adding, but we really think that Google may have something cooking in the 4K realm.
SOURCE: Android Police
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean code hints at 4K resolution support is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
We’ve seen Android run on anything from low-resolution smartwatches to high-PPI phones and tablets, including the new 1920 x 1200-pixel Nexus 7 Google launched earlier this week. To make this possible, the mobile OS supports a number of pixel densities for app content — from 120PPI (LDPI / Low DPI) to 480PPI (XXHDPI / Extra Extra High DPI). Close examination of the Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) source code reveals the addition of a 640PPI (XXXHDPI / Extra Extra Extra High DPI) pixel density, which — according to the comments in the code — is intended for 4K televisions. Does this mean we’ll begin to see Android devices with 640PPI Ultra HD displays? Perhaps, but considering 480PPI is overkill on handsets, this is most likely designed to make image assets and fonts, such as the Google TV UI, readable on 4K screens when viewed from a distance.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, Mobile, Google
Via: Android Police
Source: Git at Google
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