Google’s has always had a rather funny and intriguing way of announcing new Android versions, coupling the news with the installation of a new Android statue at their campus. We’d seen these sculptures being erected for Froyo, then Gingerbread, Honeycomb, for Ice Cream Sandwich, and then Jelly Bean. Thus, it was no surprise when people went crazy over a certain Google+ post from Google’s Android community manager, Paul Wilcox, that indicated a new statue having been installed at the company’s official campus!
Google's Android ecosystem has made a spectacular amount of progress over the past year or so, and one of the key enhancements from Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) through Jelly Bean (4.1 and up) has been that of the task manager. Switching and killing tasks is a lot easier now than it was on older firmware, and thanks to the work of XDA-Developers member hamzawi, the recent apps menu is now available for those on Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Froyo, and other older Android ROMs.
One of the best things you can get out of technology is making your life easier by digitizing a huge chunk of your daily routine. Thanks to the smart devices that our phones have become today, we have gotten rid of a lot of stuff, like paper grocery lists, address books, pocket diaries and the like, replacing them with one intelligent device. However, there’s no limit to what you can imagine, right? So imagine if your phone was smart enough to perform various tasks for you on its own, without requiring you to perform actions like, say, triggering the text-to-speech engine through the device’s settings so that emails and messages can be read out load when you need your hands free. Having a smartphone that’s actually this smart would be cool, won’t it?
If there’s one thing that iOS hasn’t changed at all since its very inception, starting with version 1.0 and now to 6.1, it’s the look and feel of the interface. Granted, there have been various feature enhancements, and with iOS 6, there were some visual uplifts as well, such as the color-sensitive status bar and others, the overall feel of the operating system has remained the same. To be honest, this wasn’t a feel that was very catchy, either, so it’s not like Apple deserves any praise here either.
Several months ago, rumors starter swirling that Google and LG might be getting ready to unleash a new Nexus 4 in white color. To everyone’s surprise (or perhaps not), an entire photo gallery of pictures depicting a new white version of the device has surfaced, suggesting that a release might be closer than most of us might have expected.
Google's Nexus 7, built in collaboration with consumer electronics giant ASUS, has been a great success, having almost reached six million units sold since its release last Summer. Citing the usual sources familiar with upstream supply chains, the famously hit-and-miss Digitimes seems to think Google will team up with the very same manufacturing partner to bring a second-generation iteration of the popular slate, complete with a thinner bezel, full HD 1080p display, along with the Jelly Bean operating system.
Seeing as how Android is fast becoming one of the fastest growing smartphone and tablet platforms out there, it’s surprising to note how little clear information is available for the uninitiated towards the platform that would actually explain what certain terms – those that experienced users are so familiar with that it seems second nature to them – mean.
Samsung's Galaxy range is not only among the most popular in terms of the Korean company's outlets, but is easily the most revered range available for Google's Android platform. As such, even though the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II have been rousing success stories, Samsung has sought to capitalize on the consumer interest in the devices by releasing a series of similar handsets at lower prices. Following on from the Galaxy S III Mini in October and the Galaxy Grand in December, Samsung has expanded its mid-range product portfolio once more with the announcement of the Galaxy Express.
It is no secret that iOS and Android devices are the leaders on the smartphone market, with outputs that greatly outweigh the other players. The latest data published on Monday shows that their lead has edged, having taken over 92.1% of smartphone shipments in the last three months of last year.
One of the most important and widely used feature of any mobile device has to be the access to the internet it offers. Owners of devices have the option to stick with the default browser that is included as part of the operating system or scour the app market for a third-party offering. Owners of Android tablets and smartphones could do a lot worse than downloading and giving the Lightning Browser offering a chance to satisfy their web-based browsing needs.
