Articles about Android

Facebook may have the rather lofty goal of wanting to "empower people all over the world to stay connected", but for most people the social network is just about chatting. Facebook Messenger has proved massively popular, and to cater for people with slower internet connection, the company now has Facebook Lite.

As you would probably guess from the Lite tag, this is a slightly cut-down version of the messaging tool but it still offers all of the core features. As well as helping out those with slow internet connections, it's an app that will appeal to people with more basic Android smartphones.

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Lenovo is already a well-established brand in Western Europe thanks to its personal computer brand which counts the legendary ThinkPad range and German manufacturer, Medion, amongst its ranks. It also absorbed storage vendor Iomega, IBM’s Intel-based server business and NEC personal computer range.

The company has acquired phone manufacturer Motorola, inheriting yet another iconic brand whose name still carries a lot of value for a mainstream audience. But the latest move of the Chinese company, which is also the biggest PC vendor in the world, has been surprising.

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Google Maps on an Android phone is a great way to get from A to B without getting lost, but if you need to check details of your route or want to make a change to settings, you'll need to pull over to do so. Or at least that used to be the case. Google has just added a load of voice commands to the app.

Of course, having to pull over is an inconvenience, and trying to fiddle with your phone while driving is dangerous. With this in mind, the addition of a series of voice commands triggered by saying 'OK Google', is not entirely surprising, but it is also very welcome.

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Easter eggs -- secret extras hidden in software and on websites -- are not quite as prevalent as they used to be, but there are still plenty to be found out there. Google is one company that continues to hide little gems in its products, and many of them are games.

From Google Search and Android, to Maps and Google Earth, there are numerous little pick-up-and-play games that are perfect for killing a few minutes at work. So, grab yourself a coffee, have your fingers poised over Alt-Tab in case the boss appears, and get ready to play!

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Now that Android 7.0 is officially available, OnePlus 3 users are starting to wonder when their "flagship killer" will receive a software update to Nougat. The smartphone has received frequent updates since its launch in June, but the latest version of OxygenOS that you can get today has yet to make the move from Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

OnePlus is committed to improving the software for its third flagship, as evidenced by the numerous updates released so far and the introduction of a community build, and, as such, it should not come as a surprise to hear that it is "actively working" on bringing Nougat to OnePlus 3.

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Israeli security firm Cellebrite -- the company said to have helped the FBI access the San Bernadino iPhone -- says that it has the power to break into, and extract data from, just about any phone out there. Speaking with the BBC, the company demonstrated how it can crack the password on a smartphone to access its data.

It said that it was able to extract data from the very latest handsets including Android 7 devices and the iPhone 7. Cellebrite says it works with law enforcement agencies around the world too, and stopped short of saying it refused to work with oppressive regimes. The interview raises some interesting questions.

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BlackBerry used to be an incredibly successful smartphone maker, but the iPhone and Android changed that. Now, the company formerly known as RIM cannot even manage to sell a measly one million units in a quarter, let alone compete against players like Apple and Samsung.

So, with a market share hovering around the 0.1 percent mark, BlackBerry has decided to take a big step back, announcing that it will stop developing its own smartphones. Instead, BlackBerry will focus on a more lucrative market -- enterprise software services.

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Looking to paint a more accurate picture of what mobile coverage is like across the country, UK communications regulator Ofcom has released an app that can pull in data from millions of Android users.

The app, called Ofcom Mobile Research, is only available for Android and has been designed to measure not only mobile broadband performance, but also voice call quality. While building up a mass of data from participating Android users, iPhone owners are locked out of contributing because of the way iOS works.

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YouTube is a very popular destination for millennials -- and older folks -- to consume media. Entertainers like Gabbie Hanna (The Gabbie Show), Ian Carter (iDubbbzTV) and Justine Ezarik (iJustine) are the real stars for some of these young folks -- not dinosaurs like Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Courteney Cox. This is a huge shift for the entertainment industry.

Unfortunately, while YouTube popularity grows around the world, many countries still suffer with slow data connections. Apparently, in India, many citizens still use 2G, which creates a poor video streaming experience. Google is looking to change this, and today, it announces 'YouTube Go'. This new app not only optimizes the viewing for slow data, but adds easy offline viewing, and social aspects too.

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OnePlus has done a fantastic job with its latest "flagship killer". The OnePlus 3 is an awesome smartphone not just because of its impressive hardware but also its software, which has received constant attention since launch. OnePlus has released a significant number of updates so far, which have noticeably improved the user experience. The latest official build to see the light of day is OxygenOS 3.2.6.

The "sizable" OxygenOS 3.2.6 OTA update, which is rolling out now, addresses certain issues, improves different features of the Android distribution, and adds new options. It also packs the latest security patches from Google, released in September.

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HTC, while not exactly a name to have the likes of Apple and Samsung quaking in their boots, has always been a brand to get rather excited about. Choosing a smartphone is clearly a highly personal affair, but in terms of build quality, features and value for money, HTC never fails to impress.

The newly announced HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle and HTC Desire 10 Pro both sit firmly in the mid-range for the company, and unashamedly ape the look of iPhones of yore. Despite the naming convention, both of the phones seem to be targeted at the millennial market, with a great deal of attention placed on selfies and music. Clearly the Pro model packs the most into the case, but do the handsets continue the HTC tradition of delivering more than you would expect?

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Gmail was designed to be a cross-platform email tool, but even Google recognizes the fact that it is far from perfect. With this in mind, Gmail -- and Inbox by Google -- are undergoing a redesign to improve things.

With the redesign, Google says that it is focusing on adjusting the formatting and general look so that it better suits the device emails are being viewed on. You may well have thought that this should have been the case from the beginning, but it seems that an update is in order.

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Subscriptions can generate a lot of revenue for developers, which is why we are seeing them in so many apps these days. And it is not just new titles that now involve regular payments, as subscriptions are making their way to existing apps as well.

This is now the case with CloudMagic, one of the best -- and my favorite -- cross-platform email apps. It just got an update that changes its name to Newton and adds a number of new, premium features. The latest extras are offered as a rather costly one-year subscription.

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Canadian telecommunications company Blackberry announced new services for its Android Hub+ platform this week. Besides the Hub, Calendar and Password Keeper, which were available earlier, another six apps are now available for Android users, for both Marshmallow and Lollipop versions of the operating system.

These apps include Contacts, Tasks, Device Search, Notes, and Launcher, all part of Blackberry's productivity suite. They are available for a free 30-day period, after which they'll cost 99 cents per month. Hub, Calendar, Password Keeper, and Launcher will remain free, but with ads.

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Google has released a new Android security fix that deals with the final two flaws in the Quadrooter set of vulnerabilities that was discovered last month.

Quadrooter refers to four undiscovered security vulnerabilities found in Android phones and tablets containing Qualcomm chips. These vulnerabilities are particularly troubling as they were found on every version of Android and affected at least 900 million devices.

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