Posts Tagged ‘android’
OnLive, a company that provides console-quality games streamed over the internet, has announced the launch of its app for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. The OnLive app allows portable device users to play console games that they normally would not have access to.
OnLive calls its service “cloud gaming,” and it offers access to nearly 200 console and PC games without having to install them locally. The company’s servers do all of the hard crunching and processing of the game remotely, and then stream it to users’ devices. This method allows relatively slow mobile devices to play high-end games that usually require much more computing power. Users have the ability to stream the games to their devices over Wi-Fi or 4G LTE cellular networks, though the service will obviously work much better with faster connections.
The company says that over 25 games in its library, including top-tier titles like L.A. Noire, have already been adapted to the touchscreen controls that smartphones and tablets require. The rest of the games can be played with the optional Universal OnLive Wireless Controller that connects to a device over Bluetooth and costs $49.99. The OnLive service has built-in syncing across multiple devices, so users can play a game on their tablet, and then pick up where they left off on their PC with the OnLive PC app.
The OnLive app is available for free in the Android Market now and is expected to hit the iTunes App Store in the near future. The Universal OnLive Wireless Controller is expected to be available in the U.S. and UK in the near future as well. Games can be rented or purchased for play on the service, and OnLive also has subscription options available.
Though Android Ice Cream Sandwich is only available for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus right now, it’s done enough to make us Android 2.3 users pretty dissatisfied with our perfectly decent OS. If reports are accurate, the update floodgates should be set to open – starting with the Google Nexus S.
The Google Nexus S is the former lead Android device and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus’s immediate predecessor. It’s a decent phone, with a 4-inch Super AMOLED display and a 1GHz single-core processor. It didn’t rock people’s world half as much as the Galaxy Nexus has, though.
Still, one of the key benefits of Google Nexus S ownership over the past 12 months or so has been priority updates – and that seems to be the case even with the next gen Android Ice Cream Sandwich too.
According to a number of Google+ postings, Google is in the process of testing its new OS on its old Nexus S device. How is it doing this testing? By using its own employees as guinea pigs, of course.
The mighty Angry Birds has come to the Nokia Lumia 800 and it’s better than ever. Looking fantastic on the stunning 3.7-inch AMOLED screen, we’ve recorded a quick hands-on video preview to whet your appetite for our full Angry Birds on Nokia Windows Phone review, coming tomorrow.
We doubt there are many people left that haven’t heard of Angry Birds, but if you’re one of them, here’s the deal. A pack of evil green pigs has run off with your eggs and it’s up to you, the angry birds, to take the battle to the swine, smash their defences and bring home the eggs and bacon.
While this amazing game has long been one of our favourites and by far the best smartphone game you can play, it looks better than ever now thanks to the stunning Nokia Lumia 800, with the gorgeous 3.7-inch AMOLED ClearBlack screen showing the great cartoony graphics to their best effect.
We’ve got a full review of Angry Birds coming for you soon, but to tide you over until then, we’ve recorded a quick hands-on video of Angry Birds on the Nokia Lumia 800, giving a glimpse into how great the game looks on the Nokia Windows Phone, thanks to the unbeatable Windows Phone 7.5 OS.
Top 10 Android phones in India
Posted on: November 26, 2011
Handset maker Motorola is back with the new version of its best-selling smartphone Razr, which is sleeker and more powerful than the earlier models.
The latest version of the Android 2.3 ( Gingerbread) device is equipped with a 4.3-inch super AMOLED display, scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass screen, 1 GB RAM and a dual-core 1.2GHz processor. It also has a front-facing 720p HD video camera and 8-megapixel rear-facing camera.
The handset is priced at Rs 35,990, while the best buy price is Rs 33,990.
“One of the best-selling mobile phones of all time, the original Motorola Razr redefined what a mobile phone was as people worldwide proudly flaunted their fashion items,” Motorola Mobility Mobile Devices business country head-sales and operations (India and South West Asia) Rajan Chawla said in a statement.
The device comes preloaded with the Motorola MotoCast app, which allows users to stream or download content straight from the PC.
“With the new Razr smartphone, we’re bringing sexy back in a stylish and sleek body…We expect style-conscious and technology-savvy people in India will be eager to get their hands on this new fashion icon,” Chawla said.
By YE12, more than 30% of interactive videos invoked for collaborative purposes will be satisfied through cloud computing.
By 2013, more than 25% of the content that workers see in a day will be dominated by pictures, video or audio.
A surplus of existing monitors, low prices for new monitors, and easy connectivity will enable more than 60% of knowledge workers to routinely use at least three displays as part of their primary PC work spaces by 2015.
Plan for less than 20% of employees being able to replace a laptop with a tablet through 2012.
By 2020, mobile and web AD will have evolved into multichannel application development.
By 2015, mobile Web technologies will have advanced sufficiently such that half of the applications that in 2011 would be written as native apps will be, instead, delivered as Web apps.
By 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide.
Fewer than 5% of handsets sold in 2014 will support LTE. 75% of tablets sold in mature markets in 2014 will have a screen size of approximately 10”
Android will remain the top smartphone platform in shipment terms through 2015.
Most CIOs should plan to support at least three mobile platforms by 2012.
By 2013, Microsoft will overtake RIM in smartphone shipments.
(Source: Gartner)
Google senior product manager Michael Siliski introduces the company’s digital music store. Photograph: Jae C Hong/AP
Google and Apple have stepped up their corporate battle with the launch this week of music services for their smartphone platforms.
Android handset users in the US will now be able to get access to Google Music, where the search engine company has signed up the main music labels except, so far, Warner Music.
The service is not available outside the US because Google has not completed negotiations with record labels to allow it to sell songs elsewhere.
The Google Music offering comes with exclusive content from the Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Busta Rhymes, Shakira, Pearl Jam and the Dave Matthews Band.
Songs are available in MP3 format encoded at 320Kbps. Song prices range from 69c to 99c and $1.29, the same as on Apple’s iTunes.
The absence of Warner Music means Google Music will lack some famous names such as Led Zeppelin and Prince which are available on rival stores such as Apple’s iTunes.
“They’ve got to get that [music] catalog filled pretty quickly,” said Mike McGuire, an analyst at industry research firm Gartner. “It’s a launch, but it’s kind of like a work-in-progress.”
Analysts say selling online music is unlikely to provide much of a lift to Google’s revenue. But they say Google needs to be in the market to ensure that its Android-based mobile efforts can match offerings from competitors.
Android is the world’s No. 1 smartphone operating system, powering about 200m devices worldwide. But without a music service, Android-based smartphones and tablets may not be as attractive to consumers seeking a product that offers a seamless media experience.
The service costs $25 per year, leading Jamie Rosenberg, Google’s director of digital content for Android, to take a dig at it: “Other cloud music services think you have to pay to listen to music you already own. We don’t,” he said.
via Google opens Android music store to challenge Apple iTunes guardian
Worldwide Mobile Device and Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor & Operating system
Posted on: November 16, 2011
Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users by Vendor in 3Q11 (Thousands of Units)
|
Vendor |
3Q11 Units |
3Q11 Market Share (%) |
3Q10 Units |
3Q10 Market Share (%) |
| Nokia |
105,353.5 |
23.9 |
117,461.0 |
28.2 |
| Samsung |
78,612.2 |
17.8 |
71,671.8 |
17.2 |
| LG Electronics |
21,014.6 |
4.8 |
27,478.7 |
6.6 |
| Apple |
17,295.3 |
3.9 |
13,484.4 |
3.2 |
| ZTE |
14,107.8 |
3.2 |
7,817.2 |
1.9 |
| Research In Motion |
12,701.1 |
2.9 |
12,508.3 |
3.0 |
| HTC |
12,099.9 |
2.7 |
6,494.3 |
1.6 |
| Motorola |
11,182.7 |
2.5 |
8,961.4 |
2.1 |
| Huawei Device |
10,668.2 |
2.4 |
5,478.1 |
1.3 |
| Sony Ericsson |
8,475.9 |
1.9 |
10,346.5 |
2.5 |
| Others |
148,990.9 |
33.8 |
135,384.1 |
32.5 |
| Total |
440,502.2 |
100 |
417,085.7 |
100 |
Source: Gartner (November 2011)
Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 3Q11 (Thousands of Units)
|
Operating System |
3Q11 Units |
3Q11 Market Share (%) |
3Q10 Units |
3Q10 Market Share (%) |
| Android |
60,490.4 |
52.5 |
20,544.0 |
25.3 |
| Symbian |
19,500.1 |
16.9 |
29,480.1 |
36.3 |
| iOS |
17,295.3 |
15.0 |
13,484.4 |
16.6 |
| Research In Motion |
12,701.1 |
11.0 |
12,508.3 |
15.4 |
| Bada |
2,478.5 |
2.2 |
920.6 |
1.1 |
| Microsoft |
1,701.9 |
1.5 |
2,203.9 |
2.7 |
| Others |
1,018.1 |
0.9 |
1,991.3 |
2.5 |
| Total |
115,185.4 |
100 |
81,132.6 |
100 |
Source: Gartner (November 2011)
First Look: Huawei Sonic
Posted on: November 16, 2011
Despite being an entry level handset, it boasts a very rich look, smooth user interface and cloud based storage of 16 GB.
Huawei Sonic is priced at Rs 8,800, but the way the device looks it doesn’t look like a budget Android phone that the price points to.
The chrome stripe in the front, mat finish at the back and a 3.5 inch screen makes it look like a much costlier device. And fortunately the good part doesn’t end there. The touch response was pretty smooth.
Ice Cream Sandwich coming to full Xperia lineup, Sony Ericsson confirms
Posted on: November 15, 2011
Last month, Sony Ericsson hinted, via Facebook, that Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich would soon be making its way to its entire lineup of Xperia handsets. Today, this forthcoming upgrade has become officially official, though details remain equally fuzzy. “We can today confirm that we plan to upgrade the entire 2011 Xperia portfolio to the next version of Android known as Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich,” the company wrote in a blog post this morning. “We are working on merging our current Xperia experience with the new features in Android 4.0.
via Ice Cream Sandwich coming to full Xperia lineup, Sony Ericsson confirms — Engadget.
Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android software ran on more than half of all smartphones sold in the third quarter as consumers snapped up handsets made by Samsung Electronics Co., said researcher Gartner Inc. (IT)
The Google system accounted for 52.5 percent of smartphone sales, more than doubling its share from a year earlier, Gartner said in an e-mailed report. Even as some consumers delayed purchases to wait for Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s latest iPhone and other models, smartphone sales by volume grew 42 percent, it said.
- E-commerce leader Amazon has enabled its AppStore for Android users in India, according to various media reports.
- Amazon’s AppStore has over one lakh apps and is offering one paid app for free daily. Users will need to register for Amazon.com before downloading the app. Like Apple’s AppStore, users will also need to add their credit card information before accessing the app store. On the other hand, Google’s Android market, which comes loaded with all Android OS-based phones, does not require this information and only asks for it when you download a paid app. This could be a make or break for Amazon’s AppStore in India, where credit card usage is still low. By restricting access to free apps, we doubt Amazon will see much traction for its app store unless it offers a huge USP.
- According to a report by mobile market intelligence firm Research2Guidance, Google’s Android Market crossed six billion downloads in August. It also states that as of the end of August 2011, the Android Market contained 277,252 apps and on average, weather apps generated the highest total revenue from paid downloads.
- Blackberry smartphones are losing ground to the combined strength of iPhone and Android smartphones, as far as their use at the workplace is concerned, according to a survey of 1,681 U.S.-based workers released Thursday by Forrester Research.
- That finding amplifies what many have known for a while about the entrenched workplace smartphone veteran: the BlackBerry faces trouble from its competitors.
- The BlackBerry, made by Research in Motion, still leads among U.S. workers, with 42%, the survey said, with Apple”s iPhone accounting for 22% and Android devices, 26%.
- The survey also found that nearly half, or 48% of the group, said that they chose the primary smartphone used for their work without considering what their company supports. Only 29% said they chose the smartphone from a list of phones the company supports, while 23% said they had no choice in the matter.
- Often, corporate IT shops will choose BlackBerry smartphones when requiring a worker to use a specific smartphone, partly because of the perceived security benefits, many analysts, including at Forrester, have found. The growth in Android phones and the iPhone — many of them brought to workplaces by workers independently — are forcing IT shops to rethink that decision
MarketBite 