When Android KitKat rolled out we got our first glimpse of what could be the new runtime heading to Android. Dubbed ART, it was introduced as a preview for enthusiast users and came with a fare share of warnings. Code changes spotted in a recent commit to the AOSP ie Android Open Source Project suggest that the switchover from Dalvik to ART may be coming sooner rather than later. Owing to the rapid adoption in the community, numerous bug reports, it is quite possible that the Android team has managed to get the runtime ready for primetime sooner than expected. Continue reading “AOSP commit suggests Android to replace Dalvik with ART in upcoming release”
Android runs on 79% of 2013 smartphones, Windows Phone posts fastest growth
It’s the numbers season, with various analysis groups releasing their take on the smartphone market for the whole year of 2013. We saw the IDC report recently that the Smartphone market has crossed the 1 billion threshold. In that lineup, we have Canalys reporting that Android dominated 2013 with almost 80% of that whole Smartphone market in 2013, and amongst them, Windows Phone posted the fastest growth, with a 69% rise YoY between the three major platforms. Both Android’s meteoric rise to the top and Windows Phone’s slow rise from the bottom are pretty much known quantities now, but some of the numbers are interesting. The second biggest platform, Apple’s iOS, has almost stagnated with only 7% growth by losing marketshare, whereas Android is steadily growing at 54%, a good 10% above the market growth percentage. This technically means that Android will reach its maximum in about 2 or 3 years if it and the market retains the growth pattern. Yes, it can happen only at the expense of gobbling up other platform’s shares but it begs this question. Will we we start to see saturation in the Smartphone market soon?
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Inq Mobile, the first Facebook phone maker shuts down
Inq Mobile, UK-based smartphone and software development company has shut down after six years of business. It was the first company to launch Facebook phone, the INQ Cloud Touch with built-in Facebook app back in 2011. Later it launched apps from the INQ Cloud Touch and other INQ smartphones for other Android smartphones. The company was backed by Hutchison Whampoa based in Hong Kong. Continue reading “Inq Mobile, the first Facebook phone maker shuts down”
Samsung Galaxy S4 and S4 Mini go Black with faux leather back
Samsung Galaxy S4 was announced last year and it is all set to be replaced by the Samsung Galaxy S5 which is rumored to arrive on February 23rd. Samsung unveiled various editions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 – Gold Edition, Crystal Edition and now, we have the black edition. What the black edition does is that it comes with a faux leather back that featured in Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
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Motorola Moto G coming soon to Flipkart
Motorola may have been sold to a Chinese manufacturer – Lenovo, but Moto G is on its way to India. A few days back, Motorola teased about release details of Moto G on their Facebook page and now we have more. But this time it comes from India’s leading eCommerce portal – Flipkart. Motorola Moto G is coming soon to Flipkart and they have a separate dedicated Moto G page to keep track of the device.
Uber launching in Chennai soon, limited cars are available for trips already!
Uber which is one of my favorite services in USA for commuting is launching in the South Indian city of Chennai soon. The service is already available in Delhi & Bangalore and the company has announced that it is rolling out the service in Chennai with a limited number of cars. I just opened the app and found that a black car would pick me up in around 10 mins in the city which is very good news for Chennai residents.
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Cygnett launches car mounts for smartphones and tablets in India starting at Rs. 1099
Cygnett, popular international digital accessories brand has launched new range of car mounts. These are compatible with most leading Smartphones (Standard and large screen ones) andtablets (all sizes). These allow for full gadget functionality. The Cygnett Car Mount Universal I & II are easy-to-install car mounts with adjustable grip to fit almost any phone width and 360-degree rotation. It launched all-weather smartphone bike mounts couple of weeks back. Continue reading “Cygnett launches car mounts for smartphones and tablets in India starting at Rs. 1099”
Mxit cross-platform mobile messaging app officially launched in India
Mxit, South Africa’s giant mobile messaging app has been officially launched in India. South Africa’s cricketing icon and former Indian Cricket team coach Gary Kirsten is Mxit India’s Brand Ambassador. You get the usual images sharing, group chat with up to 50 users across platforms, apart from the text chat. It is also data light allowing users with even the most basic 2G connection. Continue reading “Mxit cross-platform mobile messaging app officially launched in India”
Archos unveils 9, 9.7 and 10.1-inch Android tablets in new Neon series
Archos had already launched tablets in Cobalt, Titanium, Platinum and Gen10 XS series. Now the company has unveiled three new tablets, the Archos 90 Neon, Archos 97 Neon and the Archos 101 Neon in the new Neon series. The Archos 90 Neon has a 9’” (800 x 480 pixels) display and is powered by a 1.4 GHz quad-core Cortex A9 processor. Continue reading “Archos unveils 9, 9.7 and 10.1-inch Android tablets in new Neon series”
Lenovo tablets A3500 and A3300 spotted at Bluetooth approval
Lenovo has bought Motorola, but that doesn’t mean the company has even paused for anything. Two Lenovo tablets – Lenovo A3500 and Lenovo A3300 have been spotted at the Bluetooth approval yesterday. There is no official word on their launch yet, but they will be announced very soon.
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Yahoo discovers Yahoo Mail hack, resets passwords on impacted accounts
Yahoo has asked the users to change their Yahoo Mail passwords, after hackers manged gain unauthorized access to Yahoo Mail accounts. The company has reset passwords on impacted accounts and is closely working with federal law enforcement to find the perpetrators responsible for this attack. Continue reading “Yahoo discovers Yahoo Mail hack, resets passwords on impacted accounts”
Evernote for iPhone and iPad updated with customizable home screen and new features
Evernote has updated its iPhone and iPad app to version 7.3.0 that brings a lot of new features including new home screen customization options. Last year it was completely redesigned with a new look inspired from simplified look of iOS 7. The new customizable home screen option lets you Choose Color themes (light, dark and classic green), option to show or hide items from sections, sync status below the Settings gear to view sync progress and more. Continue reading “Evernote for iPhone and iPad updated with customizable home screen and new features”
Foxconn made BlackBerry OS 10.2 Smartphone gets certification
Foxconn would be manufacturing BlackBerry OS 10.2 smartphones and the company’s chairman Terry Gou announced that these smartphones will be showcased at the MWC 2014 which is three weeks away from now. Among the phones that could be showcased there, a phone by the model number STJ100-1 passed Bluetooth SIG certification yesterday.
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Lava Iris 401e Review
Lava Iris 401e is an entry range smartphone from Lava and it is aimed to be one of the most affordable Android devices out there. It was released back in June and it has bare minimum specifications for an Android smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo with 5.5-inch HD display, Hexa-Core processor official
After the specificationsand the press images of the smartphone got leaked this month, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo has gone official in Poland. It exactly looks like the Galaxy Note 3 with S Pen Stylus and a faux leather back cover. It has a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED screen, powered by a 1.6 GHz quad-core or a Hexa-Core processor (1.7 GHz Dual Core Cortex A15+ 1.3 GHz Quad Core Cortex A7) and runs on Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean). Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo with 5.5-inch HD display, Hexa-Core processor official”