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.

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.

A guide to controlling privacy, info on Google+

Google+is the new social networking kid on the block, and one of the main reasons so many people are interested in the service over Facebook is Google+’s proclaimed focus on protecting users’ privacy. Whether you’re a new Google+ user or you’re already a pro, understanding how to control your information on the site can make you feel much more at ease on the social network. Here’s the low-down on Google+’s privacy controls, including a few of the more buried settings you’ll want to know about.

This guide will take you through setting up Google+’s circles with an emphasis on how they work from a privacy perspective, how to control what others can see about you on your profile, your options for selectively sharing posts with others, and some miscellaneous settings you’ll want to tweak — like only allowing friends to start Huddles with you. A note on pseudonymity: Google has taken a strong and, I think, awfully mistaken stance on not allowing people to use Google+ with a pseudonym. While this is definitely a privacy issue, it falls outside of this post’s purpose of explaining how to use Google+’s privacy settings. Kee Hinckley, a Consulting CTO for Somewhere.com and Lead Architect at Zinc.tv, has written a compelling and thorough poston the subject, and hopefully Google is listening and will rectify this issue.Let’s go tackle your main Google+ privacy settings and options:

Click the link to read on…

via A guide to controlling privacy, info on Google+ – Technology & science – Tech and gadgets – msnbc.com.

Google+ Targeted By Spam Offensive In First Week | ITProPortal.com

Only a few days after its launch, Google’s social networking platform, Google+, has been exploited in a massive spam campaign.

According to a post on the Naked Security blog run by security firm Sophos, scammers are sending out fake Google+ invites that redirect users to a pharmaceutical website.

“The messages look similar to the real emails that users may receive from friends who are already members of Google+,” the security firm said.

Instead of redirecting users to the social networking platform, the spam email takes users to a website that sells Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.

“The spammers are no doubt hoping that the email will be too hard to resist for many people eager to see Google’s new social network, although just how many users will be tempted to buy drugs online is a mystery,” wrote senior technology consultant at Sophos, Graham Cluley.

Google’s new social network, which is currently undergoing a limited public trial, is becoming increasing popular with everyone frantically trying to get access to the platform. Spammers seem to realise that and are exploiting the situation for their nefarious purposes.

Meanwhile, even Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has registered on Google+, and has indeed become the most followed user within the first week.

via Google+ Targeted By Spam Offensive In First Week | ITProPortal.com.

Google Realtime search suspended after Twitter deal ends – Telegraph

Up until July 2, Google had been allowed access to Twitter’s data stream in real time, allowing it to feed tweets into the main body of its search engine and power Google Realtime, a dedicated search engine to live information.The deal was announced by top Google search executive Marissa Mayer in October 2009 at the high profile Web 2.0 Summit. The partnership was seen as a way that the search giant could quickly and easily improve the relevancy of its search index, which had started to look out of date following the advent of Twitter and real-time information. Google was believed to have somewhere close to $20 million for the access.A Google spokesman said: “Since October of 2009, we have had an agreement with Twitter to include their updates in our search results through a special feed, and that agreement expired on July 2.“While we will not have access to this special feed from Twitter, information on Twitter that’s publicly available to our crawlers will still be searchable and discoverable on Google.”Evan Williams, one of the Twitter founders, told The Telegraph in an interview last year that deal was set up on a rolling contract. He left the firm a few months ago.

via Google Realtime search suspended after Twitter deal ends – Telegraph.

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.

Intel Android hook-up leads to share price boost – Yahoo! News UK

Image via CrunchBase

Rumours of Intel’s demise have been greatly exaggerated it appears, as the chip giant seems set to quell suggestions that it cannot survive due to the boom in mobile computing by joining the party itself.

Intel Android hook-up leads to share price boost…

After announcing that its first quarter earnings rose by 29 per cent to $3.16 billion, its shares closed up 7.8 per cent.

But the rise in share price may also have a lot to do with the fact that Intel’s chief executive Paul Otellini used the earnings announcement to confirm that the tech company would be getting friendly with Google and allowing Honeycomb to work on its chips.

“We’ve received the Android code – the Honeycomb version of Android source code – from Google, and we’re actively doing the port on that,” Otellini said.

Expect a wave of Intel based Honeycomb tablets to arrive in the next few months then as Otellini also said that he expected Intel “to be able to ramp those [Honeycomb] machines over the course of this year for a number of customers” and admitted that Intel based smartphones were on the horizon too.

“I would be very disappointed if we didn’t see Intel-based phones for sale 12 months from now,” he said.

It’s new territory for Intel, that’s for sure – but it’s also a brand that the mainstream population is familiar with, so we’d expect nothing but success.

It’ll be interesting to see which manufacturers are first to welcome Intel aboard the mobile bandwagon.

© copyright Pocket-lint 2010

via Intel Android hook-up leads to share price boost – Yahoo! News UK.

yuri gagarin – Google Search

Yuri Gagarin – Google Doodle.

50th Anniversary of the first human space flight.

Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space on April 12, 1961.