Articles about Android

I was sold on Windows 10 before I could even try the first Technical Preview. Now, after seeing the latest slew of changes unveiled at Build 2015, it is clearer than ever that Microsoft is on the right path and that Windows 10 will be the most impressive release yet. There is no doubt in my mind about it.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Microsoft expects Windows 10 to attract one billion users within the first two to three years of its release. The timer starts this summer. It may sound like an empty claim, but when you look at everything that has been done so far to make Windows 10 so exciting, and consider the huge unlocked potential, it certainly sounds plausible. While I am no fortune-teller, I can’t see Microsoft getting anything important wrong. And that’s something I haven’t felt in ages in regards to the software giant.

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Android phones have become a bit of a boring affair. Sadly, what was once an exciting market has become stale and stagnant. Bigger screen? Faster processor? Yawn and yawn. In order to stand out, manufacturers need to offer something unique. Samsung accomplished this with the gorgeous Galaxy S6 edge -- the curved screen edges made consumers take notice. Gimmick? Maybe, but it worked.

Now it's LG's turn to attempt to wow. Today, the manufacturer announced its newest flagship, the G4. This time, it is the materials that attempt to make the device stand out. You see, LG is offering the options of beautiful leather or ceramic. In other words, LG seems to be creating a luxury experience. Android purists will greatly appreciate the removable battery and microSD card slot.

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Got a spare patent or two lying around, gathering dust and cluttering the place up? Google might be interested in taking those patents off your hands in return for cold, hard cash. Today the search giant announces details of the Patent Purchase Promotion which will run for two weeks in May.

The move is an attempt to "remove friction from the patent market", with the added benefit for Google that it will help the company to expand its patent portfolio. The online patent-selling portal will run from May 8 to May 22 and has been designed to be accessible to smaller players.

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Many people -- let's call them 'haters' -- like to make fun of Microsoft's mobile market share with Windows Phone. True, the platform is a failure in this regard, but many users of the OS like it. Quite frankly, besides the lack of apps, Windows Phone is a rather smart and well-designed operating system.

If you choose to laugh at Microsoft over its mobile presence, feel free, but please know that Microsoft is laughing too; all the way to the bank. What you may not know is, Microsoft makes money from Android handset sales thanks to its patent portfolio. In fact, it also collects money from Chromebooks too. In other words, Microsoft is profiting from Linux, since both operating systems are based on the kernel. Today, Microsoft increases its number of patent licensing agreements, by making a deal with Qisda Corp.

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Avoiding online ads can be fairly easily achieved by installing a tool such as AdBlockPlus, but it's a different matter when it comes to ads in mobile apps. Security researchers at Doctor Web have discovered that a number of Android apps found in Google Play are plagued with aggressive ad modules.

Advertising is considered aggressive if it appears on top of other windows, interferes with the use of applications, and makes normal use of a smartphone or tablet difficult.

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Google hides lots of Easter eggs in its products and services. Usually fun little extras designed to amuse. However, the latest one discovered in Google Maps is of questionable taste.

Tucked away in Pakistan, close to the New Islamabad International Airport, is a cartoon image of Google’s Android urinating on an Apple logo. Nice.

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Dedicated satnav units are less popular than they used to be, and this can be attributed in part to the rise of direction-providing smartphone apps like Google Maps and Waze. If you are invested in Google Maps, you may well check out directions on your desktop computer and then have to get them set up on your phone as well.

Today that changes. Google has unveiled a feature that makes it possible to push directions from your desktop computer or laptop to your phone. This eliminates a step and makes the whole process of getting from A to B much easier.

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Acer held a massive press conference today in Manhattan to unveil its new product lineup. BetaNews was there, live, at 4 World Trade Center. The views from the 60-something-th floor were magnificent, but even more awe-inspiring to a tech nerd like me, were the Acer products.

Acer is one of my favorite manufacturers because it focuses on value. Not only are the company's computers beautiful and powerful, but affordable too. While the company kept its focus on the affordable segment with Windows, Chromebooks and Android products, it also introduced its new Predator gaming computers. The star of the show? A small gaming-tablet running Google's mobile OS.

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Though we're constantly being warned about the threat offered by new malware it seems that, for Windows systems at least, the old favorites continue to catch us out.

The latest threat report from security company F-Secure shows that Conficker continues to be the number one Windows threat, kept alive by the number of unpatched legacy systems still around.

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It's easily forgotten with the number of apps available, but mobile phones are primarily designed for making calls on the move -- whodda thunk it? When you receive a call you'll usually see the number of the caller, but this may not be helpful in identifying them before you decide whether to pick up. Facebook's answer to this problem is Hello.

This new app comes from the Facebook Messenger team and aims to tell you more about the person getting in touch with you even if you don’t have their number saved in your address book. Currently available for Android, the dialer app also allows for the blocking of calls from individuals.

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I am a huge gadget guy, and yet I have never owned an iPhone because it is too expensive and restrictive. Android is my mobile platform of choice for a number of reasons. It is a Linux-based operating system (sweet), it has an accessible file system (awesome), and the handsets can be affordable (woo-hoo). This is in stark contrast to Apple's rotten iOS ideology.

While the expensive (yet not restrictive) Nexus 6 is my current smartphone, I did consider a different, less costly model before I got it -- the OnePlus One. That Android phone is very affordable and powerful, but it had one fatal flaw -- a lame invite scheme. Whether invites were implemented due to strong demand or as a way to create perceived demand, it rubbed me the wrong way. I'm not into playing games when it comes to spending my hard-earned money. Luckily, this is changing. To celebrate the one-year anniversary of announcing the phone, OnePlus is killing the invite system for it. Yes, anyone can buy the One at any time (as long as there is stock). Unfortunately, not all of the news is good.

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Twitter today announces a number of key changes to the way its messaging system works. Until now it has only been possible to exchange a private Direct Message with another user if you both follow each other. This all changes as Twitter introduces the ability to DM anyone as long as they have the feature enabled on their account.

Just last week, Twitter announced that it will use a Dublin-based branch to handle all non-US account data but today's news is all about communication. If you're happy to receive DMs from anyone on Twitter, you can flip the switch on a setting that makes this possible.

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Much as Apple would like you to think otherwise, Apple Watch is yet to blow other wearables out of the water. Smartwatches are still something of an emerging technology, but Google has managed to carve out yet another niche for itself with Android Wear. Today the company unleashes an update that aims to make Android-powered watches easier to use.

The first major addition is support for always-on apps. Most Android Wear watches included support for displaying the time round the clock (sorry!) but this feature has now been expanded to other apps. If you're using your watch to get directions or follow a shopping list, you can opt to keep the relevant app active at all times. The update has more to offer too.

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Sony has finally launched the much-awaited successor to last year's Xperia Z3. Called the Xperia Z4, the new flagship smartphone features a range of incremental improvements to its last generation handset. It features a 5.2-inch 1080p display with the latest and greatest (and controversial) 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor from Qualcomm. The smartphone runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop.

The Xperia Z4's FHD (1920 x 1080) display might not please a lot of people given how most of the other flagship devices are offering QHD display these days, but Sony continues to value a longer battery life over bragging rights. Other specifications of the device include 3GB of RAM coupled with 32GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card.

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Earlier this week, Cyanogen Inc announced that it has entered into a partnership with Microsoft to bundle some apps into its future Android-based operating system. While the companies meticulously chalked out most of the specifics of their collaboration -- and how it wouldn't much affect consumers in the coming months -- many people and even some news outlets are having a hard time understanding these facts, and have started to make bold, misleading conclusions.

Wired, for instance, believes that this tie-up between the two companies will end up taking Android’s future out of Google’s hands. I think they are wrong, and much to the contrary, I believe that this alliance will only be good for Google (and Android). Here’s why.

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