Motorola announced a few days ago the highly anticipated Moto X handset, and revealed that a Google Play edition of the device will be available in due time, directly from its Google Play Store. But is that really a good thing?
At first, one could think that it makes perfect sense for Google to have a Nexus-like Moto X in the Play Store, but that may not necessarily be the case...
Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority
A member of the Deutsche Telekom support team has confirmed on the company’s forum that the Galaxy S3 will jump directly to Android 4.3.
The Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 have been rumored to skip the Android 4.2.2 and get Google’s latest Android update instead, although Samsung is yet to confirm it. An Australian carrier (Telstra), answering to questions about the Galaxy Note 2 updates, has also hinted that the device will go straight to Android 4.3...
Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority
Along with support for Bluetooth Smart and Restricted Profiles Google has added some stronger security features to the latest release of the Android mobile operating system. Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, which Google is calling “a sweeter Jelly Bean”, adds support for Wi-Fi configuration on WPA2-Enterprise networks as well as a variety of internal changes that make it more difficult for hackers (and the NSA) to exploit security vulnerabilities...
Read the full story here... Source: Android Authority
The Moto X is finally here. We knew quite a bit ahead of time, but now that it’s official, we can talk about it… officially.
The hardware is definitely not top of the line, but the workaround for that is software. If you have a phone in which the software takes great advantage of the hardware, it forgives the shortcomings quite a bit. So, how will the Moto X take asdvantage of the hardware? Waht software feature(s) will set it apart? The answer is one you probably already know.
Android 4.2.2 backs everything up, and it’s a strong base layer for everything that’s going on here. Most importantly, the contextual awareness is there. Our initial reactions to that feature were wonderful. Now that we know the phone will learn your voice exclusively, the contextual application appeals to us much more. People won’t be able to accidentally activating your device, and kids in the car won’t have another way to bug you from the back seat.
The Moto X is always listening, too. That’s really good for a hands-free environment, like driving a car or riding a bike, but some find that a bit creepy. Fortunately, it seems to be activated by those key words of “Okay, Google Now”. So, you can curse drivers on your bike, and the Moto X won’t necessarily know you’re blaspheming all over the city.
Many reports on the camera software note it’s terribly stripped down, and that settings are somewhat hidden. This is because the device is meant to capture all of your moments, and quickly. A simplified UI for a camera would allow for quick shots, and the “shake to take” feature is also helpful for that. We haven’t seen much from the camera yet, but we’ll be sure to give it a thorough overhaul in our review.
If you’re going to have limited hardware, you’re going to need good software to make it appealing. Motorola has done that much, with a very slight skin over Android and a really nice contextual twinge. There is enough about this one to question, and camera UIs are subjective, but the software seems to fall in line with the real aim of the device: simple, and simply useful.
Source: Android Authority
The iPhone 5 may have found its polar opposite in Moto X.
For better or worse, Moto X -- which was unveiled Thursday -- is everything the iPhone is not. Rather than a tightly controlled look and feel for the device, Motorola will let customers tweak the colors and materials. Instead of the latest specifications, Moto X employs a solid -- but not cutting-edge -- set of hardware features. Instead of a proprietary operating system built for one device, it runs on an open platform available to hundreds of other phones.
"This is the blueprint for where Motorola and Google are going to go from here," said Ramon Llamas, an analyst at IDC.
While Moto X can be considered the anti-iPhone, it is not is an "iPhone killer." Despite the gratuitous use of that title over the last few years, the iPhone has not been felled by any device, and Motorola's latest won't be that lucky phone...
Read the full story here. Source: CNET
After launching an official but limited iOS Office application a short while ago, Microsoft has finally released a similar app for Android.
The Office Mobile app can be downloaded now free of charge from the Google Play Store, but don’t get too excited about it, as there are several limitations in place.
For starters, you will need an active Office 365 subscription to use the application. Furthermore, the app is compatible with devices running Android 4.0 and higher, and does not have tablet support.
But most importantly, we’re not looking at a full-fledged Office mobile client here, as users won’t be able to do everything they’re used to doing with Office apps on their desktops.
Here’s what the application will let you do once you get it:
However, we can only hope Microsoft will further update the app to add more functionality to it. Also worth mentioning are cloud- and email-related features for the app. Office Mobile will let you open documents from the cloud (SkyDrive, SkyDrive Pro, SharePoint), access recent cloud documents and even email attachments.
While there are other app alternatives for Android users to Office Mobile, including Google’s own Drive, the app will surely be appreciated by those users that spend a lot of time in Microsoft’s Office environment.
Source: Android Authority
A new Galaxy Note 3 report seems to suggest that Samsung is testing different sizes for its upcoming flagship smartphone, although it’s unclear at this point whether the company is actually thinking of launching the handset in different screen sizes.
While this is an unconfirmed rumor, it looks like there’s a document in the wild that lists shipments of several Galaxy Note 3 models with screen sizes of 5.5, 5.7 and 5.99 inches. This would match Samsung’s policy of launching a phone for almost every taste – just check out this year’s Galaxy S4 family.
Initially spotted by TechKiddy, the screenshot below comes from Indian logistics website Zauba, which shows the Galaxy Note 3 coming in three different sizes.
Considering the variety of Galaxy Note 3 rumors out there that are rather conflicting when it comes to display size – some older ones say 5.99-inch while newer ones say 5.7-inch – such a document makes some sense, and seems to indicate that Samsung may have not chosen the final design of the handset.
Similar reports concerning the nature of the display – flexible or not flexible – as well as fingerprint-reading technology have also circulated recently, suggesting that the design of the handset is far from final...
Read the full story here. Source: Android Authority
The new Nexus 7 was announced today and the Internet has been ablaze with the information all day. It’s a pretty impressive device and one that all Android fans have the potential to enjoy. It has amazing specs, a cheap price point, and best of all, it’ll be available on July 30. While it’s pretty much the common sentiment that the new Nexus 7 will be the best 7-inch tablet on the market when it gets released, we have to ask ourselves if it really is that much better.
With that in mind, here is a direct comparison with some of the more popular 7-inch tablets in the industry. For a full list of the new Nexus 7 specs, check out Andrew Grush’s earlier post detailing the official specs. For this comparison, we’ll take a look at the 5 major specs that people care about. Those are the screen, the CPU, the battery, the RAM, the storage, and the connectivity...
Read the full story here. Source: Android Authority
As Samsung prepares for the release of its Note 3, HTC is also getting ready to unleash two new devices of its own. The first of the handsets is known as the HTC One Max and is designed to compete directly against the Note series. The second is a previously unheard of handset by the name of Zara.
We’ll start by talking about the One Max, which we already know a great deal about.
For starters, the phone will feature a premium metal-body design similar to the HTC One. The handset is also said to have a 5.9-inch FullHD display, a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, UltraPixel camera and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.
What about the HTC Zara? The latest report from China Times suggests that the handset will arrive in September alongside the One Max. Unlike the One Max, the HTC Zara trades in the premium metal body for a plastic design that is probably more akin to Samsung devices.
Unfortunately, beyond its plastic shell, next to nothing is known about the Zara. We can’t say what markets it is being aimed at, its pricing or even what kind of hardware or screen size the phone might possess.
What we do know is that September is shaping up to be an interesting month. Not only will we see Samsung’s latest Note, but now we have two interesting HTC devices to look forward to as well.
With HTC’s push towards higher-end metal bodies, would you still consider a plastic-bodied HTC handset if the specs were right for the money?
Source: Android Authority
A new report says that Samsung is already working on the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for some of its top devices, with the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 said to make the jump directly to Android 4.3 and skip Android 4.2.2.
We will remind you that this is just a rumor at this point, so don’t get too excited about it at this time, as we can’t confirm the news just yet. Temefy has it from sources close to Samsung India that the company is working on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note, but also on the Android 4.3 update for the same devices.
Android 4.2.2 was already leaked for the Galaxy S3, but so was an Android 4.3 build for the Galaxy S4 Google Play edition.
Since Google is expected to launch Android 4.3 in the near future, it would make sense to see some devices skip a Jelly Bean version in order to run the latest Android OS available. But that doesn’t mean that Samsung will necessarily choose this route.
The report also says that an Android 4.2.2 for the Galaxy S3 and Note 2 would arrive in November instead of July, as initially expected. If true, that would be another reason to have the handsets move directly to Android 4.3 instead.
Finally, the publication says that the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 2 will all be further upgradeable to the next major Android version – supposedly Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie – but not all of them will receive it at the same time.
We’ll be back with more details about software updates for these particular handsets once we have them.
Source: Android Authority
Back in March, iFixit went to work on taking the HTC One apart to give us all a better look at the phone’s insides and determine how easy (or hard) the phone would be to repair. The verdict? Just 1/10 – with 1 being ultra hard and 10 being easy as pie.
The reason for the low score is that the HTC One is very hard to open without damaging the rear case. The good news is that the phone might be hard for everyday users to take apart, but HTC does have a special method for prying open the handset in the event that the phone needs servicing under warranty.
According to HTC’s senior manager of the One design team, Justin Huang:
“During the development [of the One], there was another team inside HTC who looked at the repair process.“ “So every phone sent to HTC, they have a special tool to disassemble the back cover, to let us have the ability to access all the components inside.”
In other words, you might not be able to self-repair or send it in to a third party for cheap and easy repairs, but at least you can rest assured that you can send it in directly to HTC. Unfortunately for those looking to get their phones repaired cheaply, this isn’t exactly great news.
On the plus side, if a tool like this really does exist, it is probably just a matter of time before a Chinese knock-off tool becomes available online. What do you think, does the HTC One’s low repairability score matter to you or not?
Source: Android Authority
While it’s not clear just why the app would do this, or what purpose it has for doing so, the Facebook app for Android is taking your phone number the first time you open it up. Without even logging in, the app takes your number and stores it on the Facebook servers. You don’t need a Facebook account, or even initiate an action within the app. Simply having it and opening it will allow the app to take your phone number.
Norton discovered this security flaw during routine testing they perform on apps for their Mobile Insight security app. According to Norton, their testing methods are sound:
Through automatic and proprietary static and dynamic analysis techniques, Mobile Insight is able to automatically discover malicious applications, privacy risks, and potentially intrusive behavior. Further, Mobile Insight will tell you exactly what risky behavior an application will perform and give you specific, relevant, and actionable information.
-norton
Norton then reached out to Facebook, who claimed to be unaware of the issue. They told Norton they“did not use or process the phone numbers and have deleted them from their servers”, and said they had no knowledge of the issue. Norton also notes that Facebook is not the only app doing this, or even the worst offender. They promise more information on other culprits in coming weeks, but we’re still curious why Facebook would take numbers from a device that wasn’t even logged in. If I were to download the app, then open it to see what it looked like out of curiosity, my number would then be uploaded to the Facebook server.
We’re not ready to call Facebook nefarious on this account. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, even in the face of all their other security flaws, we’ll chalk this up to another error on their part. What this does do is bring into focus app permissions, and how important they are. Perhaps more importantly, how they can be abused by the app publisher, and ignored by users as fine-print.
Source: Android Authority