The latest Google Play Store app APK 4.2.9 is now available for download. This version of Play Store is extracted directly from Android 4.3 ROMs.
There are many advantages to owning a smartphone running stock Android, one of which is that, when a new version of Google's software arrives, you don't have to wait forever for the OTA to hit your device. Such is the case with the Google Play Edition Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One, which will both begin to see the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update as of today.
While Android continues to go from strength to strength in offering consumers a better all-round user experience, there are still some noteworthy trade-offs when comparing with the likes of iOS. Malware remains a significant issue on Google's mobile operating system, and with this week being the week of the Black Hat Security conference, new threats and possible solutions pertaining to Android security have been coming to light. One, outlined by Director of Kindsight Security Labs Kevin McNamee, involves the installation of a malicious app by the name of SpyPhone, which, once it infiltrates your device, can essentially keep tabs on all of your activity.
Finding a misplaced smartphone can often be a losing battle, but with technology being what it is in this Digital Age, there are all manner of tools available out there to help you track it down. Most of these apps offer some sort of alarm, vibration, tracking system, and even security features like screenshotting the faces of those typing failed password entries or remote wipe. Yet while Apple has offered this feature to its customers for a long time now with Find My iPhone, the same cannot be said of Android - until now.
Among other things, Google’s primary and biggest source of revenue, should you ever look at the company’s financials, turns out to be advertisement revenue. Google makes most of its income stream from the ads business that it runs, and it’s been doing that successfully for years. What’s even better is the fact that Google shares the ad revenue with its publishing partners, as well, through its AdSense program.
Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility has yet to bear any fruit, leaving many an analyst and commentator to question the value in the $12.5 billion acquisition last year. But the Moto X smartphone, which has long since been rumored as a mid-range device with wider appeal, has finally been revealed. And far from being another standard smartphone, offers more variants than one could shake a proverbial stick at. With plenty of surprises, the Moto X smartphone is much more than just another run-of-the-mill handset, and we've got all the details after the jump.
Samsung's Galaxy S series of smartphone remains by far the most popular Android handset on the market and in terms of sales, only Apple's iPhone can claim to have shifted more units over the past few years. Yet while consumers continue to flock to every new iteration, a growing sect have become increasingly frustrated with Samsung's insistence on encasing its prized asset with a cheap plastic coating. For such a high-end handset, it leaves a rather cheap, mid-range feel to the touch, but a new patent filing suggests the Galaxy S5 could finally buck the trend.
In an attempt to try and reestablish itself in the smartphone market it was once a key component of, Canadian outfit BlackBerry announced earlier on this year that it was bringing its famed, exclusive BlackBerry Messenger service to iOS and Android. Neither of the big two ecosystems are short on IM services already, but with BlackBerry short on ideas, the decision to open up BBM could well be the catalyst needed for the brand to reemerge as a giant. Today, a beta version of both the iOS and Android versions are now available on the BlackBerry Beta Zone, and although not all members have been offered a chance to test out the unfinished software, it would appear that we're drawing ever closer to the official release.
The mobile community has waited a long time for Microsoft Office to finally begin supporting devices other than the Redmond's own range, and today, the launch of the famed productivity suite on Android begins. Although there's not yet any support for Android tablets, the smartphone community on Google's mobile OS can today enjoy Office on their handsets, provided they're running Ice Cream Sandwich or higher. Details after the break.
As a company, Samsung offers plenty of products for the smartphone world to consider, but while its range is wide and covers most areas of the market, its flagship models derive from the Galaxy S series. One thing you might've picked up from every new Galaxy S device, including the Galaxy S4, is that when it comes around to benchmarks, the new model always performs significantly better on paper than its predecessor. This, in terms of digital evolution, perhaps stands to reason, but AnandTech has done a little digging, and discovered evidence that appears to suggest the latest and greatest Samsung Galaxy S4 may have been tweaked to show favorable numbers in the benchmark tests, even if this doesn't necessarily translate to real-world performance improvements.
