Nexus 10 (16GB) – Google Play

This is on my wish list for Crimbo i know that for sure, the nexus 7 is awesome and I’m one happy chappy… Get them while their hot! https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_10_16gb

Dolphin Add-ons

Come n get your addons the best are free. http://dolphin-browser.com/android/addons/index.html

Android ICS 4.0.4 rolling out to Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S?

Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.4 has reportedly started rolling out to the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S devices

Published on Mar 29, 2012

The Android ICE Cream Sandwich update (version 4.0.4) is now rolling out across SIM free Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S devices in Europe.

Google announced the milestone on its own Google+ page.

The exact announcement read:

‘We’ve started rolling out Android 4.0.4, Ice Cream Sandwich, to UMTS/GSM Nexus S, Xoom Wi-Fi, and HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus devices, and we’ll be rolling it out to more devices in the coming weeks. Some of you will be receiving Ice Cream Sandwich for the first time, while others will be receiving an update to your existing Ice Cream Sandwich experience with stability improvements, better camera performance, smoother screen rotation, improved phone number recognition and more.’

Followed by a load of predictable comments asking when it will be released for other devices, including the HTC Desire HD, Xperia-branded devices, Galaxy Note and Galaxy S2 (network-branded devices).

Google declined to comment when all these other updates would be coming, but everyday we’re hearing about more devices benefiting from the update.

If you do have the Galaxy Nexus or Nexus S, it may be a good idea to check whether the update has arrived. For those with network-branded devices, you may have to wait a little longer for your network to properly test the update before rolling it out.

via Android ICS 4.0.4 rolling out to Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S? – News – Know Your Mobile.

Google’s Android will overtake Windows by 2016

Android devices will surge to slim lead in 2016

Number of ‘smart devices‘ shipped worldwide will DOUBLE in five years to 1.84 billion in 2016

By 2016, devices running Windows will be eclipsed by phones and tablets running Google’s Android, according to a report by analysts IDC.

More than 90 per cent of the world’s PCs still run Windows – but the whole technology landscape is changing around Microsoft’s operating system.

By 2016, Microsoft’s leading market share of 35.9% will slip to 25.1%.

Devices running Google’s Android will climb from 29.4% to 31.1%.

As smartphones grow in relation to PCs, Microsoft’s market share will slide so that its once-dominant Windows software will be second-placed after Google’s Android.

Microsoft is to launch a new ‘tablet friendly’ version of Windows, Windows 8, later this year.

But analyst IDC still predicts a ‘dramatic shift’ towards devices running Android.

‘IDC expects a relatively dramatic shift between 2011 and 2016, with the once-dominant Windows slipping from a leading 35.9% share in 2011 down to 25.1%,’ the analyst predicts.

The number of Android-based devices running on ARM CPUs, on the other hand, will grow modestly from 29.4% share in 2011 to a market-leading 31.1% share in 2016.

Google ‘to launch’ new GDrive storage service in April to take on rivals such as Dropbox

Meanwhile, iOS-based devices will grow from 14.6% share in 2011 to 17.3% in 2016.

Last year, 916 million smartphones, tablets and PCs were shipped worldwide.

By 2016, that figure will have doubled to 1.84 billion units.

‘Android’s growth is tied directly to lower-priced devices,’ said Tom Mainelli, research director, Mobile Connected Devices. ‘So, while we expect dozens of hardware vendors to own some share in the Android market, many will find profitability difficult to sustain.’

Samsung’s mid-sized Galaxy Note device which recently passed 5 million units shipped: In the next four years, Android devices are predicted to pass Microsoft’s Windows in terms of units shipped.

‘Whether it’s businesses looking at deploying tablet devices into their environments, or educational institutions working to update their school’s computer labs, smart, connected devices are playing an increasingly important role in nearly every individual’s life,’ said Bob O’Donnell, vice president, Clients and Displays at IDC.

Next year, 1.1 billion ‘smart devices’ – smartphones, PCs and tablets – will ship worldwide.

The numbers are growing at a compound annual growth rate of 15.4%.

Research conducted by IDC suggests that many individuals own and regularly use multiple smart connected devices. ‘We are in the multi-device age,’ continued O’Donnell, ‘and we believe the number of people who use multiple devices will only continue to increase. The trick, moving forward, will be to integrate all these devices into a unified whole through use of personal cloud-type applications and services. That’s the real challenge of what we have often called the ‘PC Plus’ era.’
‘Smartphone growth will be driven by Asia/Pacific countries, especially China, where mobile operators are subsidizing the purchase of 3G smartphones, thus increasing the total addressable market. In many if not all instances, the smartphone will be the primary connection to the Internet,’ said Will Stofega, program director, Mobile Phone Technologies and Trends. ‘In countries where devices are not subsidized by the mobile operators, competitive and component-based pricing will help drive volume.’

Google’s Android will overtake Windows by 2016 | Mail Online.

CyanogenMod-7.2.0-RC1 is upon us…

It’s been a long time in the making, but it’s finally here: CyanogenMod 7.2, the latest version based on Android 2.3(.7), has reached the release candidate stage!

We’ve been delaying it for too long, mostly because new devices kept being submitted to us, and now we feel that at 69 devices, CM7.2 is more than ready for everybody to enjoy 🙂

7.2 adds a couple of backported features and fixes from Android 4 (ICS), over 20 new devices when compared to 7.1, and even some new features to boot (be sure to check out the new predictive contact search in the phone dialer!). We’ve also fixed some bugs along the way. Some of them device-specific, others that affected everybody, and one in particular that’s been plaguing Android for a long time: the mysteriously vanishing SD-card ringtones are no more! You can check the full list of noteworthy changes at the CHANGELOG.

As usual, you can submit bug reports on these builds: if you find anything broken in your device while running CM7.2-RC1, (as downloaded from our mirrors or ROM Manager! Please do not submit reports if your build came from elsewhere), be sure to submit a report through http://code.google.com/p/cyanogenmod/issues/ , so that we can fix it in time for the final 7.2 release.

Also worthy of note: the new release files have a slightly modified naming-scheme, including the codename instead of the commercial/common name in the filename. So the following is a handy “translation chart” to make sure you don’t mis-identify your device:

ace – HTC Desire HD

anzu – SE XperiaArc-LT15i

blade – ZTE Blade

bravoc – HTC Desire CDMA

bravo – HTC Desire

buzz – HTC Wildfire

c660 – LG Optimus Pro

captivatemtd – Samsung Captivate

click – HTC Tattoo

coconut – SE LiveWithWalkman-WT19i

cooper – Samsung GalaxyAce

crespo4g – Google Nexus S 4G

crespo – Google Nexus S

desirec – Droid Eris

droid2 – Motorola DROID2

droid2we – Motorola DROID2 World Edition

e510 – LG Optimus Hub

e730 – LG Optimus Sol

e739 – T-Mobile LG myTouch

encore – Barnes&Noble Nook Color

epicmtd – Samsung Epic

espresso – HTC Slide

fascinatemtd – Samsung Fascinate

galaxys2att – Samsung Galaxy S2 ATT

galaxys2 – Samsung Galaxy S2

galaxysbmtd – Samsung GalaxyS_B

galaxysmtd – Samsung GalaxyS

glacier – T-Mobile myTouch 4G / HTC Glacier

hallon – SE XperiaNeo-MT15i

heroc – HTC Hero CDMA

hero – HTC Hero

inc – Droid Incredible

iyokan – SE XperiaPro-MK16i

jordan – Motorola Defy

legend – HTC Legend

liberty – HTC Aria

mango – SE XperiaMiniPro-SK17i

mesmerizemtd – Samsung Mesmerize

morrison – Motorola Cliq

motus – Motorola Backflip

olympus – Motorola Atrix

one – Geeksphone ONE

p920 – LG Optimus 3D

p925 – LG ATT Thrill

p970 – LG Optimus Black

p990 – LG Optimus 2X

p999 – T-Mobile G2x

passion – Google Nexus One

saga – HTC Desire S

satsuma – SE XperiaActive-ST17i

shadow – Motorola Droid X

sholes – Motorola Droid

showcasemtd – Samsung Showcase

smultron – SE XperiaMini-ST15i

speedy – HTC Evo Shift

supersonic – HTC Evo

tass – Samsung GalaxyMini

u8220 – Huawei U8220

urushi – SE XperiaRay-ST18i

v9 – ZTE V9

vega – Advent Vega

vibrantmtd – Samsung Vibrant

vision – T-Mobile G2 / HTC Desire Z

vivo – Droid Incredible S

vivow – Droid Incredible 2

zeppelin – Motorola CliqXT

zero – Geeksphone ZERO

zeusc – SE Xperia Play CDMA-R800x

zeus – SE Xperia Play -R800i

And that’s all, folks; Head on to http://get.cm/?type=RC , install, and have fun!

Aaa

Woho

via CyanogenMod-7.2.0-RC1 is upon us | CyanogenMod.

Google rebrands US Android market as ‘Google Play’

Google wants to sell you “content” that you might otherwise buy from Amazon, Apple or Microsoft etc. It has therefore rebranded the Android Market as Google Play, and pulled its apps, ebooks, music, and movies — excluding its YouTube movie service — into a single cloud-based offering. Or at least, it has if you live in the USA. If you’re one of the UK residents contributing £6 billion a year to Google’s revenues, you can just wait in line with the rest of the world, though there is hope….

Google introduced Google Play in a blog post today that says:

“In the US, music, movies, books and Android apps are available in Google Play.

In Canada and the UK, we’ll offer movies, books and Android apps; in Australia,

books and apps; and in Japan, movies and apps. Everywhere else, Google Play

will be the new home for Android apps.”

However, the link from “When will I get Google Play?”, at the bottom of the home page, brings up a page that says: “We’re sorry, but the information you’ve requested cannot be found.” It should lead to the Play FAQ.

Google says that “Google Play is entirely cloud-based so all your music, movies, books and apps are stored online, always available to you, and you never have to worry about losing them or moving them again.”

If so, “always available” means users can access their files when they have a working internet connection. This could work out very expensive for people who pay for bandwidth.

Cross-platform approach

Only Android apps are actually written for Android, and the content files are mainly cross-platform, so the Android name had to go. Google could have held on to “Market” but this has a somewhat downmarket feel, so that went as well. Play is dull but does the job, though it remains to be seen if the popular online retailer Play.com will object. (Google would have rejected iPlay as making the service sound too much like an iTunes knock-off.)

Being cross-platform should give Google an advantage against Apple, which is only really interested in providing content to play on Apple devices, and tries to force Windows PC owners to use its widely-hated iTunes software. However, that hasn’t helped Amazon much, even though it frequently offers better products than Apple at lower prices.

But at this stage, it’s not clear whether Google actually intends to target Play at the cross-platform market. Play could be aimed mainly at users of Google TV, and possibly at owners of Google-branded mobile phones and tablets, in the way that Amazon uses its Kindle Fire tablet as a shop window.

In December, Google chairman Eric Schmidt apparently told an Italian publication: “In the next six months, we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality.” In May, before that, Google showed developers some Android@Home devices that streamed music. An FCC application has revealed that Google is testing the device in homes this year, from 17 January to 17 July.

Google is in the process of buying Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion — a 63 percent premium on what it’s worth — so it should soon own its own hardware division. This would enable Google to make phones, tablets, set-top boxes and other devices without consulting or involving other Android users such as Samsung and HTC… and risk wrecking the Android ecosystem.

@jackschofield

via Google rebrands US Android market as ‘Google Play’ | ZDNet UK.

Dolphin Browser Comes to Barnes & Noble’s Nook | Dolphin Browser® Blog

Browsing just got sweeter for those of you with a Nook tablet.

Dolphin Browser HD is the fastest, easiest and most fun mobile Web browser. It’s also the world’s first Gesture, Webzine and Add-on enabled mobile web browser on Android — All of this is now available on Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

Continue to browse your favourite sites, books, magazines and videos through Dolphin Browser on your Nook.

Download your free Dolphin Browser for Nook Colour and Nook Tablet here.

• #1 Mobile Web Browser on Android Market Over 10 million downloads

• #2 on CNETs 100 Android Apps for 2011

• #1 PC Mags “The 40 Best Free Apps for 2011″

• Dolphin Browser’s Gestures and sidebars make Web surfing fast, intuitive and fun while on the go. – USA Today

• Its a great, simple browser that feels more at home on a touchscreen device than pretty much anything else you’ll try. – Lifehacker

Features:

• Gesture – Let your inner artist out and create a personal Gesture (symbol) to access the mobile and desktop websites you use the most.

• Webzine – Fast Web page loading, with no ads. Dolphin Webzine simplifies the way you read your favourite mobile content, from news to blogs and websites.

• Speed Dial – Visit you favourite mobile and desktop websites on the go with one touch.

• Tabbed browsing – No need to toggle between screens, tabbed browsing lets you open and switch between Web pages fast as lightning.

• Sidebars – Make the best of mobile interface via Dolphin Sidebar.

via Dolphin Browser Comes to Barnes & Noble’s Nook | Dolphin Browser® Blog.

Android To Run On Intel Chips

Google and Intel on Tuesday said that the two companies will work together to ensure that future versions of Google’s Android operating system function on Intel’s Atom processors.

The partnership will help Intel compete against ARM chips, which have been supported by Android since 2008. It also underscores the fact that the “Wintel” alliance between Microsoft and Intel isn’t what it used to be.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini showed off a smart-phone running Android on a Medfield chip at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco on Tuesday, though details about the specific version of Android were not revealed.

He characterized the partnership as a step toward bringing Intel-powered phones to market.

Google SVP of mobile Andy Rubin showed up too, signalling the two companies’ continued commitment to a relationship that encompasses Intel’s involvement in Chrome OS, Google TV, and its effort to port Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” to the x86 chip architecture. Rubin said that all future versions of Android will be optimized for x86. Presumably this includes the next major Android release, known as Ice Cream Sandwich, which is expected before the end of the year.

Intel has had trouble convincing mobile device makers to use its x86-based chips because of their power consumption characteristics. Instead, many have preferred the ARM architecture.

Apple, for example, bought chip design company PA Semi in 2008 and has been deploying its own ARM-based A-series chips in its mobile devices. Intel is reportedly interested in manufacturing Apple’s chip designs, a testament to the direction in which the mobile market is moving.

Even Microsoft is moving to support ARM chips in Windows 8, in addition to x86 chips. The company provided details about its ARM support plans at its BUILD conference on Tuesday.

To compete more affectively against ARM designs, Intel is betting on its Medfield chip platform, which includes a low-power Atom design for mobile phones, and on chips arriving in 2012 based on a 22-nm manufacturing process.

Android To Run On Intel Chips – Hardware – Processors – Informationweek.

Androinica » Android: A History in Infrographic Form [STATS]

Infographic by Android Developers at [x]cubelabs

While the version distribution is a little dated at this point (its from July 5), this great little graphic provides us with a good bit of information. It covers the release date of every major Android update, from 1.0 clear though to Honeycomb. Along with those, it gives us major feature additions as well as Android’s market share at that point.

As you can see, this if a really well put together infographic history of the little green robot. We can use this to remember our humble beginnings, and to make sure look forward to the future with hope. Android keeps getting better all the time, and hope for the future will always remain.

via Androinica » Android: A History in Infrographic Form [STATS].

Come visit Suttronix.co.uk

The Best Browsers for Android | PCMag.com

Image via CrunchBase

Your Android phone didn’t ship with the best Web browser. That isn’t to say that Google hasn’t bundled a good all-around browser. The stock browser supports multiple windows, bookmarks, and a host of sharing options. Add to this JavaScript, and, if you’re running Android 2.2 or later, Adobe Flash, and what you see on your phone looks a lot like what you see on your desktop. But that doesn’t change the fact that a mobile browser can be so much more. That’s why we’ve reviewed and rounded up the most talked about alternatives.

Android Means Choice

There’s a flurry of activity in the mobile browsing market. Cult-favorite Dolphin continues to lap the competition with rapid-fire updates to their Mini and HD browsers. Mozilla recently released Firefox 4 for Android alongside the desktop release. And, in the same week, Opera revved their Mobile browser to version 11 and refreshed their massively popular Mini browser. Now is the time to consider out the fruits of the competition.

Regular or Mini?

For this roundup, I’ve explored five alternatives to Android’s stock browser: Dolphin Browser HD 4.5, Dolphin Browser Mini 2.1, Firefox 4, Opera Mobile 11, and Opera Mini 6. The easiest way to sort these browsers is by cleaving them into two categories: traditional, full-featured mobile browsers—Dolphin Browser HD 4.5, Firefox 4, and Opera Mobile 11—and smaller, data-frugal Mini browsers—Dolphin Browser Mini 2.1 and Opera Mini 6. Mobile browsers tend to deliver a more desktop-complete mobile experience with advanced feature sets and support for embedded video, whereas Mini browsers tend to prize performance and backward compatibility.

However, boundaries prove porous with closer examination. For example, while Firefox 4 isn’t classified as a mini browser, Mozilla disabled support for embedded video in order to improve performance. Dolphin Browser Mini 2.1 wears the mini moniker but supports Flash, and, in my testing, failed to miniaturize load times.

Browsers Benchmarked

I’ve benchmarked these browsers wherever possible, and in the case of the mini browsers—not suited to JavaScript tests—I’ve performed real-world testing. Take a look at the reviews, performance charts, and slideshows. What you think you want may change, but, no matter what, you ought to find an exciting alternative to that dusty old stock browser.

via The Best Browsers for Android | PCMag.com.