You say tomato, I say tomahto. You say potato, I say potahto. And that's where we stand on the state of Android, at least compared to Mark Spoonauer of Laptopmag. Mark, whose opinion we certainly respect, tonight in a "Spoon Fed" blog post titled "Why Android is broken," highlights four reasons why he believes Android is "more vulnerable than ever," despite activating more than 700,000 devices a day.
So is Android really doomed? At the rate it's been growing, can it be doomed? Let's break down Mark's points.
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Technorati Tags: break down, Fed, laptopmag, nbsp, post, quot, Spoon, spoon fed, tomato
Symantec has "adjusted" its statement to Computer World that as many as 5 million Android users may be affected by the latest bit of malware, coming to the conclusion that the applications in question are simply using an aggressive ad network SDK. This mirrors the statement issued by Lookout, as well as our own. (And as well as Computer World's Android Power faction.)
After initially telling users that the "malicious code" found in 13 Android Market applications was malware and capable of data theft and other nefarious activity, Symantec now says the apps in question are more akin to Windows adware and not inherently malicious.
In other words, it's crapware. This we can all agree with. The apps in question use an advertisement SDK that allows things none of us likes — it can add bookmarks, change your homepage, add shortcuts to the home screen and the like. We've all installed some free Windows program from the web, and had it install (or try to install) browser toolbars, add shortcuts to the home screen for more spammy programs. We all hated it then, and we hate it now. What we hate even more is when a company that claims to be acting in the interest of our security jumps the gun and labels these types of programs the same way it would label a bot or trojan.
We're mostly informed users here, and quickly realize the difference. But how many of those who stumbled across websites parroting Symantec's cries of five million infected are as Android savvy as we are? There's a good chance that it's not that many. Instead those readers were left confused and concerned that they had been "hacked."
We hope that the rest of the web that followed along will update their stories with today's news. And more important — we hope that app developers stay far away from this sort of thing. Lord knows we're going to stay away from them if they don't.
Source: Symantec
Technorati Tags: computer, computer world, crapware, free windows program, home, market applications, screen, Symantec, symantec updates, web
LG has been busy selling various flavors of its high-end Optimus LTE over the past few months, but that doesn't mean it's forgotten about its entry-level line-up. A new budget device, dubbed the LG E400 Optimus L3, has appeared over on Swedish retailer CDON, running Android 2.3 (and LG's Optimus UI) on a 3.2-inch screen. Other specs include a 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA and Wifi connectivity and a microSD card slot. There's no information on what CPU you'll find powering this thing, but we wouldn't expect anything beathtakingly fast — maybe a 1GHz single-core chip, if that. Nevertheless, from the outside the Optimus L3 looks like a stylish little device for anyone on a budget.
But there's some cause for concern regarding that 3.2-inch screen, as according to CDON's spec list, it's a QVGA (320×240) panel. In 2012, that kind of resolution borders on unacceptable, even on a budget device. Last year's Optimus One was fitted with a HVGA (480×320) screen, so we're hoping this is just an error on the part of the retailer.
The Optimus L3 is shown with a pre-order price of 1290 SEK (~£120, $190) off-contract, with stock apparently due to arrive on Feb. 27.
Source: CDON; via: GSMArena
Slingplayer for Android devices has been around for a while now. Sadly for Kindle Fire owners and their lack of the Android Market, they haven't been able to indulge upto now. Jan. 31 is the day though, as Slingplayer for Kindle Fire will be arriving in the Amazon Appstore for $30.
Shown off at CES, the interface is pretty much the same as the handset version, and thankfully matches the same price point as its Android Market brother. Definitely a welcome addition to Amazon's media consuming tablet. Download will be available at the source link below from tomorrow. Until then we'll just have to wait patiently.
Source: Amazon Appstore
Technorati Tags: amazon, haven, interface, Kindle, s media, SlingPlayer, source link, tomorrow, upto, welcome addition
Since the first talk at CES, Android Authority has been following the Droid Razr Maxx for some time now. Released on January 26, the Maxx sports an impressive 3300 mAh battery. That’s enough for around 21.5 hours of talk time!
Now that is quite special, however there isn’t much difference between the Maxx and its past brother, the original Razr. With models of the original Razr now offering white and purple, along with the previous option of black stirs up a deep battle.
Hardware
For hardware it is essentially all the same. It contains the same TI OMAP, 1.2GHz dual-core processor. Tagging along with 1GB of RAM.
With a kevlar sealed backing, you are highly ensured for leakage and internal damage to the battery and other contents. Of course in extreme situations, nano-coating inside the device will help protect from an Android death.
On the top of the Maxx you will find two ports; a micro-USB and mini-HDMI port. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack for music and other entertainment. Elsewhere on the phone there really isn’t anything, besides the SD card slot and volume rocker.
Getting into the camera, you will have a rear 8 megapixel camera along with a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera. Looks like this phone is almost identical of the original Razr.
Software
Like the predecessor it is running on Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread. Unfortunately there is still a noticeable lag between screen switching and menu scrolling. The good news is that 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is right around the corner.
And carrying on traditions of Motorola products, Motoblur is a known factor when picking up the device. But, if you cannot wait for the official ICS update, there are a few ROMS out there to fulfill your needs.
Style and Design
The Razr Maxx is an excellent device, even though many changes haven’t been added. Motorola really kept the great design from the past Razr, making it just a little bit thicker.
The final thickness comes in only at 8.99mm. This gives you enough room in your pocket with a great profile. Once it is in your hands, the Maxx has a great build, making it very sturdy and reliable. Perhaps they took some advice from Casio?
Along with the sleek design, comes accessories compatible with the device. The only downfall in the accessories department is that original Razr cases will not fit the device, as it is a bit larger. You will still be able to fit screen protestors and maybe “some” universal docks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKvJCh5fDzQ
One Hit Wonder: The Battery
Without the battery on the Droid Razr Maxx would be like a Ferrari with no engine. There would be really nothing else selling the device. The 3300 mAh battery is capable of 21.5 hours talk time or even 2.5 days of listening to music.
Now of course you will not be able to achieve maximum life every time, because it depends on which settings for battery saving you have enabled. But, wouldn’t it be nice to play games all day at work and still have juice left for the GPS ride home?
However, in order for Motorola to unleash their beast of a battery, they needed to add the restriction of keeping it internal, to maintain the slim design.
Round-Up: Best Phone of 2012?
Would I say it is the best phone of 2012? It is one of the top competitors, but simply not the best. I believe if Motorola added an even faster processor, more RAM memory and more “in-box” perks it would be groundbreaking. But you have to think, “how would they sell the original Razr?”.
The battery is a major positive when it comes to purchasing the phone. But the lack of internal storage is quite depressing. Seeing how the white and purple models just released with an option of 32GB and 16GB, a little more time could be spent in adding more storage.
So the bottom line question is quite simple. Should I buy a great phone with an outstanding battery, or wait for the upcoming 2012 phones to release? But that is the problem. We cannot always wait as these devices are changing quickly. This is essentially why you are reading off of sites like Android Authority.
The Maxx is available on Verizon for $299.99 on a 2-year contract. I think you will be happy with your purchase, especially with the future ICS Android 4.0 update. What do you think about the Droid Raxr Maxx? Will it be in your pocket soon? And if you have the Razr Maxx what is your experience with it? I would love to hear your comments.
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This article,
Exclusive Review – Droid Razr Maxx Review [Video] , was originally published at
AndroidAuthority.com – Your Android News Source.
Technorati Tags: camera, droid, dual core processor, extreme situations, Motorola, motorola products, Phone, Review, sd card slot, ti omap
There is what about 200+ Android devices on the market right now? But which one are you using? Perhaps the Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch on Sprint, or maybe the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon or the GSM version, could it be the HTC Sensation 4G on T-Mobile, or the Motorola Atrix 2 on AT&T’s LTE network, or some other device?
Personally I am running the Motorola Droid Bionic on Android 2.3.4, which is rooted stock on Verizon’s blazing fast 4G LTE network. You can add as much of that information into the comments below, we love seeing our readers get involved in our posts. Feel free to add all your devices or just your daily driver, it’s all up to you. Just don’t say you own an iPhone or Blackberry, some of us might start looking at you funny.
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This article,
What Android Device(s) are you Rocking Right Now? , was originally published at
AndroidAuthority.com – Your Android News Source.
Technorati Tags: atrix, Device, google docs, iphone, lte, medfield, Motorola, network, Verizon, version
Some people seem to think that because the $47 ($23 for students) Android tablet from the Indian Government is built with the minimum necessary specs for it to function, then it’s just a gimmicky tablet and no one will want it. First of all, a lot of people already want it and over 1.4 million units have been sold. So you can’t say people don’t want it. They clearly do.
Now, the argument may be that “ok so they bought it, but now they are going to be very disappointed with it”. I wouldn’t be so sure to decide that. Why would they be disappointed with it? You can only be disappointed when you have something to compare it with. Will the performance be frustrating at times? Sure. But disappointing overall? I think that’s far from the truth. And here’s why.
Not having a capacitive touchscreen is a first world problem. Resistive screens are definitely not as responsive as capacitive ones – but unusable? Far from it. Instead of touching it with the tip of your finger, you have to press a little harder, almost as if you were pressing a very sensitive physical button. Is that such a big deal that makes the tablet unusable? I don’t think so.
Not having a dual core Cortex A9 processor is a first world problem. I probably hate the ARM11 processor, which is about a decade old (hard to believe, right?), probably more than anyone, and I think we should’ve gotten rid of it a long time ago. Cortex A5 was supposed to replace it, but for some reason it hasn’t so far, and now I’m starting to think they’re just waiting for Cortex A7 to appear and replace both ARM11 and Cortex A8, as a much cheaper and more efficient alternative.
So yes, the ARM11 is barely suited for a full modern mobile OS like Android, and having it run at 333 Mhz, which is half of what low-end smartphones have today, is even worse. But you know what – as long as it doesn’t crash all the time, and the only downside is being slower, I think that’s more than ok for most Indian people.
Here’s why people who argue against this are missing the point. The performance of the tablet is NOT the killer app. Having access to the World Wide Web, being able to read free e-books, perhaps from Google Books or from school, and play some low-end games, ARE the killer apps of a tablet. This may be hard to believe for many of us who take these for granted now, and to us is like having access to clean water. But to most of them it’s not like that at all.
Having access to the web’s information is not something that comes easy for them or something they are used to. So having to wait say 1 minute instead of 15 seconds for a webpage to load on their tablet will not be a huge problem that makes such a cheap tablet unacceptable. That’s like us saying 10 years ago that 3.5 KB/s dial-up speeds were unacceptable because they made loading pages too slow.
Does anyone still remember those days? Sure the pages loaded slow, but we were too excited to actually see that information and that website, to care about how slow it loaded. So this is exactly how most of the owners of this tablet will feel, too. The Aakash Android tablet will be a portal into a world of knowledge to which they didn’t have access before at all. Being 5x slower than what most of us can deal with will not stop the Indians from buying this very cheap tablet and be happy they did.
Besides, the people buying this tablet now are only the “early adopters” from the “poor people” in India. And we all know that early adopter types are the ones who can deal with the bugs and slow performance the most, because of the “potential” of such a device. By the time the majority of Indians will want a $50 Android tablet, it will probably be 3 years from now, and it will have a dual core Cortex A7, and Android 5.0 on it.
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This article,
The $47 Aakash Android Tablet Should Not Be Dismissed So Easily , was originally published at
AndroidAuthority.com – Your Android News Source.
Thanks to a NenaMark benchmark on their own site, someone managed to capture a screenshot of a Galaxy Nexus device featuring a PowerVR SGX544 GPU, much like a TI OMAP 4470 chip would have. Although, it has never happened before for Google to release a “Plus” version of their Nexus, they did release a “4G” version of the Nexus S. Also, seeing how Samsung is on a spree of making “Plus” versions of all their older phones, could it be that there’s an actual upgraded Galaxy Nexus device on the horizon?
I would take these rumors with a huge grain of salt, because it’s still possible the benchmark was spoofed (it also appears a lot of people are overclocking their CPU’s), but what if Samsung/Google are actually going to upgrade the Galaxy Nexus? And why would they do that anyway?
First of all, I’m pretty sure this will upset many Galaxy Nexus owners, because they will feel as if they got the short end of the stick and just bought the “weaker” version. This is why, although I could agree with “Plus” versions of phones, it would have to be at least 6 months after the release of the original version. Otherwise the original buyers might hate the company for it.
I think a Plus version is fine, as long as it actually comes with significant upgrades in every way: processor, display, storage, RAM, and last but not least, the OS version (phone design should probably stay mostly the same, to recognize it). Google is already on a 2-per-year major Android versions cadence, so I could see how a “Plus” version can serve as a mid-life kicker for the original device, that also comes with Google’s latest and greatest major Android upgrade. Of course, this doesn’t mean in any way that the manufacturers can slack off and not release an update for the original version as soon as possible.
What I don’t like though, is when they release a new phone 3 months later, it barely has anything changed other than a 20% faster CPU, and comes with the exact same version as the original. What’s the point of that? It might give a short boost to their sales, but it will get them fewer sales in the future if their customers start feeling ripped off.
Again, I think this could be just a benchmark spoof, because even though it says SGX544, it’s not as powerful as it should be compared to an OMAP 4460 GPU, and the CPU is also way underclocked compared to what an OMAP 4470 should have (1.8 Ghz). So don’t get too worked up about it until we have more official news.
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This article,
Rumor: More Powerful Galaxy Nexus on the Horizon? , was originally published at
AndroidAuthority.com – Your Android News Source.
Technorati Tags: CPU, grain of salt, horizon, os version, Plus, PowerVR, Rumor, short end of the stick, ti omap, way
For those of you that want the latest news on Android development before Android Authority can bring it to you, you may want to go onto Google+ and circle Android Developers now. If you are already following Android Developers on Twitter, then why not follow them over on Google+? They will probably be using Google+ more then Twitter since it is a Google product, but we will see.
We’ve seen Android give away some cool prizes on their Google+ account, so I’m sure Android Developers will do the same. Make sure you go and circle Android Developers soon, in the first hour since they launched the page they have had over 3,000+ people circle them! While you’re at it, don’t forget to add Android Authority to your Android circle, and get all the latest news from the best Android site on the web! If you’re looking for a specific author here at Android Authority, head over to our About page and you can add us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and grab our RSS feed to our posts.
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This article,
Android Developers now on Google+, Go Circle them Now! , was originally published at
AndroidAuthority.com – Your Android News Source.
Technorati Tags: cool, Development, Google+, news, news source, SDK, site, style guide, twitter, web
The Qualcomm S4, based on the Krait architecture (the one before was called Scorpion), will boldly push performance forward compared to its Cortex A9 or S3 cousins, and if Qualcomm is to be believed, the S4 should deliver all that performance boost at an even lower power draw, with the chip being manufacturered at 28 nm.
Its Adreno 225 GPU is not as brand new as the Krait-based CPU, being made still on the old Adreno 200 architecture, the one they bought from AMD, but it appears they’ve been trying to optimize it as much as possible, at the very least it does pretty well in benchmarks. Although, it remains to be seen if it can show that performance in real world scenarios, because the Adreno GPU’s are known to have good theoretical potential on paper, but they don’t perform as well in practice.
As you can see the Adreno 225 scores 55 FPS in the Nena GPU benchmark running on an Android 4.0.3 device with a 1024×600 resolution. That seems pretty good, and it should outmatch the “old” Mali 400 GPU in the Galaxy S 2, at least in theory, but by the time this will be out, it will most likely have to face the Exynos 4212, which Samsung has already said has a 50% faster GPU, or even the much more powerful Mali T604, if the rumors are true and Exynos 5250 is going to ship this spring, too.
I think it’s good that Qualcomm’s GPU is not being made obsolete in the day of the launch, even if there are much better GPU’s just around the corner. But to be honest, I’m much more excited about the Krait-based S4 CPU, and I’m looking forward to see what it can really do in benchmark and in real world tests. I’m looking forward to see what the future revamped Adreno 300 architecture and the Adreno 320 GPU can do, too. However, I doubt that it’s coming out by the end of the year, and it may have to face yet again stronger competition unless the Adreno guys have really outdone themselves this time.
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This article,
Qualcomm’s Adreno 225 Benchmarks Show Up Online , was originally published at
AndroidAuthority.com – Your Android News Source.
Technorati Tags: Adreno, cortex, CPU, Exynos, gpu, Online, qualcomm, Show, world scenarios, world tests
