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!
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.
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.
Over the past few years, more and more users have been ditching their old-style cell phones for smartphones, as demand for full-featured web browsers and email continues to grow. For the fifth year in a row, the iPhone continues to be the main beneficiary of this shift, with 51.2% of the market share in the last quarter of 2012.
The beauty of Android is that it’s not just limited to one specific manufacturer or operating system variant, which gives it the real edge over Apple’s iOS. The iPhone in comparison has only one company behind it, and while their work so far has been nothing sort of stellar (I am talking the sales volumes here – no judgment), the open source nature of Android and the large manufacturer support behind it makes the platform far more diverse and unique, not to mention variable. The availability of multiple OEMs not only impacts the buyers’ choices and hardware diversification, but also impacts the software side of things. How? HTC has its Sense theme, Sony came up with Timescape. Samsung favors TouchWiz and Motorola cooked up MotoBlur, just to name a few Android skins.
If you have been a technology enthusiast for the last few months, you are probably aware of Project Glass, the Internet giant’s take on augmented reality that relies on a simple pair of high-tech glasses. Google is now inviting developers to two two-day-long events in San Francisco and New York in order to develop software for these glasses.
The technology industry seems to be overflowing at the moment with discussions related to whether or not smart watches are a particularly good idea and feasible piece of consumer tech that will stand the test of time. The Pebble E-Paper watch managed to raise a staggering $10 million through its Kickstarter funding, a total that all but confirms consumers are ready for an intelligent watch that can adapt and change depending on the owner and the devices that they own. Although we have subsequently seen a number of smart watches appearing in recent months, we now have a Google inspired concept design coming from design Adrian Maciburko.
If big stories in tech are your forté, 2012 will have been a real treat. This year has had it all - buyouts, lawsuits, great releases, and of course, great fails. Here, we round up these past twelve months with a quick look back at the revelations that had us all fixated.
Android is constantly a target for those looking to spread malware, and the latest - discovered by Russian security outfit Doctor Web - is probably one of the more significant to date. Arriving in the form of a trojan, it can aid the loathed Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, while also housing the ability to send spam SMS messages and receive commands from the criminals behind them.
Remember when Google blindsided most of the mobile industry with their $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility? Well, it seems like they are actually in the process of putting their extremely expensive purchase to good use, with The Wall Street Journal reporting that they are working hard on an advanced smartphone that is referred to internally as the “X Phone”.
