The Google Play Store is the focal point of most Android users' digital world; the go-to portal for apps, games, movies, books, music, and other such wondrous content. But even though Google's stringent moderation system ensures that infiltration by malicious software is kept to a minimum, there appears to a fundamental flaw in the Play Store's infrastructure that leaves users potentially vulnerable to having their passwords and personal credentials logged without explicit consent.
Android's long and storied malware history is almost a thing of folklore at this point. Google's open approach to the way Android is distributed as well as the ability to side-load apps has left its platform wide open for all kinds of mischievous shenanigans, and even though security updates keep rolling out of Google, the issue of device security isn't going to go away overnight.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup is well and truly happening in Brazil, and if you want to ensure you don't miss a second of the 64 total matches being held over the next few weeks, then we're going to show you how you can tune in via your browser, smartphone, tablet, set-top box or console.
Google's chocolatey KitKat 4.4.x flavor of Android is seen by many as a rather incremental bump on 4.3 Jelly Bean, and as such, there's a real sense of anticipation surrounding what's next from the search giant's flagship mobile OS. According to reports and leaks, the next version is currently being referred to simply as "L" at its current developmental stage, and as per some more recent coverage, the so-called "Quantum Paper" movement underpinning the entire process will seek to bring uniformity to Google software in general - irrespective of device or platform.
If we can ask you to ignore this year's WWDC for just a moment, and kindly request that you cast your minds back to last year's event, you may remember that one of the least celebrated additions that iOS 7 was touted to bring was iBeacon. Technology that would allow iOS devices to essentially sense their surroundings, iBeacon has since been adopted by retail outlets and Major League Baseball alike.
The hacking community has certainly been on its game of late, and following on from the news that eBay had been hit by a breach that prompted users of the auction site to change their passwords en masse, it now appears that music streaming service Spotify has also been hit. Unlike the eBay fiasco, it would seem that the Spotify incident is small-scale and only affects those on Android, but nonetheless, the fiasco has been noted, acknowledged, and a remedial update is apparently en route to the Google Play Store.
With the smartphone market now fully fleshed out, companies like Apple and Google are now looking to try and find the next big growth market, which means both firms are now throwing as much at the metaphorical wall as possible, just to see what, if anything, sticks. Apple has already made a play for the car, while Google's push in wearables is easy to see in its Android Wear and Google Glass product.
The process of getting a refund for an app purchased on the Play Store can be a rather arduous task, and even though Google has a 15-minute grace period in place for those who wish to get their money back, things can get a little trickier after that time has passed. Sure, contacting the developer sometimes works, but if the dev chooses to ignore your protests, you're pretty much on your own. Now, though, Google has stepped in somewhat, and if you are in pursuit of a refund for an app or game, check the steps involved below.
If you still find yourself stuck in the middle of the ‘iOS or Android’ debate then the work that's being going on behind closed doors at Columbia University could be of interest. For a long time, one of the major factors that ultimately turned a lot of on the fence users to iOS was the quality and diversity of the native apps that are available for download via Apple's App Store infrastructure. Thanks to the work of six Columbia University students and the introduction of their Cider software that could no longer be a problem.
Let us introduce you to Andy. Or Andyroid. Not a particularly outstanding product name, but definitely something Android fans will need to have in their lives. It isn't exactly a great secret that the world of mobile is huge right now. Mobile hardware, the software that powers them and the third-party apps to extend them are extremely hot property at the minute. But don't you sometimes feel that the gulf between mobile and desktop is getting larger and larger? Andyroid is a product that's looking to solve that by breaking down the barrier between the two.
