Articles about Android

To get more consumer attention, a smartphone vendor has to cover all major segments well. It has to have solid low-end handsets, balanced mid-rangers, and, of course, cutting-edge flagships in its lineup. HTC does the last part well in US, with One M9, but, outside of this segment, its presence is not as strong.

HTC wants to change this, announcing four new Desire Android smartphones for the US market, which it hopes will get the attention of consumers on increasingly popular prepaid plans. Desire 520, Desire 526, Desire 626s and Desire 626 borrow design elements from the One M9 flagship, but at much lower price levels.

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Google has partnered with Indian smartphone vendor Lava Mobiles to work on a new Android One handset. The companies will be launching the phone in a few days, a spokesperson for Lava Mobiles confirms to BetaNews. The mobile maker hasn’t finalized the launch date yet, but notes that it will be sending out the press invites in a couple of days.

The companies have been working on version 2.0 of the Android One program, as per an earlier report on The Economic Times. The report noted that the two companies will be launching the phone at a media invite on July 14. A spokesperson of Lava Mobiles tells us that they had to postpone the event.

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Google's decision to break up Google+ into a number of separate apps and services led to the launch of Google Photos. Just like with Apple's iCloud, the app can automatically upload your images to the cloud ready for sharing, viewing, or just as a backup. You might decide that this automatic uploading isn't for you and opt to uninstall the Google Photos app... but your photos will probably continue to upload in the background.

This is the discovery that many Android users have made; what gives? Is Google being sneaky? The answer's not quite that simple. Before you start freaking out, proclaiming that Google is indeed evil, and wondering how on earth the company thinks it can get away with it, consider this: it's actually your fault.

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Although the majority of consumers are well aware of potential malware attacks on the Android platform, and they overwhelmingly understand the importance of mobile security, they're still not taking the steps needed to safeguard their devices and they’re reluctant to pay for protection.

This is among the findings of a new survey of more than 100 Android users from Chinese company 360 Security. It shows that Android mobile users worry most about untrustworthy apps (27 percent), online payments (20 percent), and hackers (13 percent).

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The smartphone market is becoming increasingly competitive in India. Over the past few months, we have seen a number of Indian and international companies launch some of the most exciting phones in the country. Today, Indian smartphone vendor Xolo is taking the opportunity to launch its latest flagship, the Xolo Black.

Competing with the likes of Xiaomi’s Mi 4i, Meizu’s M1 Note, and Lenovo’s K3 Note, the Xolo Black is not only putting up a fight on paper (specs sheet), but also trying to beat rival phones in the looks department. With a waistline of 7.3mm, both sides of the phone come protected by Gorilla Glass 3, a feature Xolo has seemingly picked from Samsung’s Galaxy S6. In addition, the back of the phone also has an oleophobic coating, which the company says, makes the handset resilient against smudges and stains.

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It's not long since we first learned about Android M at Google I/O and today Google launches Android M Developer Preview 2. As the name would suggest, this is a build aimed primarily at developers, giving them an opportunity to ensure their apps are ready to take full advantage of everything the latest version of the operating system has to offer.

Two key changes between Lollipop and Android M are improvements to security and battery life. The second developer preview includes more improvements to permission settings such as how fingerprint authentication works and changes to the way permissions are handled for external storage.

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Hot on the heels of rumors of an Android-powered phone by BlackBerry, the Canadian smartphone manufacturer announces its partnership with Google to do something cool together. As part of the collaboration, BlackBerry -- known for its highly sophisticated and secure enterprise security suites -- will be working with Google to create a more enterprise-ready version of Android operating system.

The deal makes perfect sense for both of the companies. Google’s Android is the most popular mobile operating system on the planet. However, the infamous Edward Snowden revelations have affected Google's as well as other companies’ reputations. Moreover, Google has a long way to go to entice enterprise users to pick its operating system over others'. For BlackBerry, which once held a large market share but has lost most of it since, this partnership could help the company find a reliable revenue channel. But most importantly, enterprise users are the biggest winners here.

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Add a few friend on Facebook, join a few groups, and follow a few people you know and your Facebook feed can collapse into a jumbled mess. The way Facebook's algorithm works means it's all too easy to see too much stuff you're not really interested in, and miss what you want to see most.

Today the social network is rolling out a new set of options that can be used to gain better control of what you see. The latest update gives prioritization options so you can be certain that you'll always see posts from a particular friend. Will it be enough to please those who are critical of how things work at the moment?

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There are many third-party keyboards available for Android and iOS, but few of them stand out. Fleksy is certainly among the best that you can get today, alongside the likes of SwiftKey and Swype, and, to make it even more appealing, the company behind it has decided to make it available for free.

Fleksy is actually following in SwiftKey's footsteps, which took the freemium route more than a year ago on Android and stuck to this strategy for its iOS launch. Fleksy used to sell for $0.99; it is not much for a quality app by any means, but it is a barrier of entry nonetheless. Users could have picked something else, that is just as good for their needs, without spending a dime. And this is a problem for a startup, which prioritizes growth.

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LG has been busy expanding the G4 smartphone lineup, catering to a much wider range of consumers. After unveiling the G4 Android flagship, the South Korean maker has announced G4 Stylus and G4c. And, today, the lineup gets its fourth member, called G4 Beat.

G4 Beat is positioned as a mid-range Android smartphone, sitting above G4 Stylus and G4c in LG's portfolio. It features better specs than the aforementioned two devices, making it a more appealing option for more demanding consumers. As expected, it retains the design characteristics from its upmarket sibling, G4, but not its higher price-tag nor high-end hardware.

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What do you do if you need to encourage developers to produce more apps for your platform? Make it much, much simpler of course. This is the problem Microsoft has faced for some time now, and in a bid to address the issue it hopes Project Westminster is the answer. With the launch of Windows 10 looming, there's never been a better time to be seen addressing the so-called app-gap.

We learned a little about Project Westminster at Build 2015 earlier in the year -- it basically makes it easy to convert existing web apps into Universal Windows Apps that can run on phones, tablets, and computers. Microsoft is also pushing other projects -- Astoria, Islandwood, and Centennial -- for converting Android and iOS apps, as well as traditional Windows applications into universal apps. Is it enough?

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Even though it is nowhere near as popular as Apple, LG, HTC or Samsung, up and coming Chinese maker OnePlus has managed to capture the public's attention with the One flagship, and is likely to do so again with its successor. Known as OnePlus 2, it will be officially unveiled towards the end of the month.

In the meantime, OnePlus has revealed some interesting things about its upcoming Android flagship smartphone, including a pricing estimate. Here is everything we know about OnePlus 2 so far.

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The Android One program targets consumers in emerging markets who are looking for smartphones with an untainted Android experience, devoid of the typical bloatware and customizations that they can expect from major vendors like Samsung. At the same time, Android One is also about offering that vanilla Android experience in an affordable package, so that more consumers can afford to make the switch to smartphones.

Android One launched in India in September of 2014, and has since expanded to include other Asian countries. The latest market to join the program is Pakistan, where QMobile's A1 is now available.

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Google has decided to significantly reduce the price of its Nexus 6 models in the UK. The devices are now available on Google Store for as low as £399.

The 32GB model of the Motorola-made handset comes in at that price, while the 64GB version is down to £479. The devices' initial prices were £479 and £549 respectively.

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Virtual reality is making a comeback. Forget the atrocious examples we endured in the 90s, now we have the likes of Oculus Rift to delight our senses, and Microsoft is tempting us with HoloLens. Neither of these are particularly cheap, but Google came up with a cheap alternative in the form of Cardboard.

As the name suggests, this is a foldable cardboard unit which can be used to transform a variety of smartphones into a fully-fledged VR headset. While much cheaper than the likes of Oculus Rift and HoloLens, Cardboard is not free... or at least, it wasn't. Ahead of the launch of OnePlus 2, OnePlus is offering its own OnePlus CardBoard for free.

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