Android studio for easy Android Programming for developers

Android developers could use the Android Development Tools (ADT) plug-in for the Eclipse IDE, but Android Studio will be the first dedicated IDE for the mobile OS. Google built Android Studio on the base of IntelliJ’s Idea Java IDE.

Apple invested a lot of effort into its Xcode IDE in order to make it easy for developers to write apps for the iOS iPhone and iPad that compete with Android.

It was presented during the Google I/O 2013 Keynote presentation Hugo Barra that Google is working on a new integrated development environment (IDE) for Android app development. It aims to resolve some of the difficulties that Android developers face when developing apps.

Besides all the sophisticated features like code completion, code analysis, and Android specific code re-factoring, the new IDE includes a built-in layout previewer. This will be a big bonus for app 

developers for a couple of very important reasons. First getting an app’s user interface right can be hard. Although actually adding the different components to a UI is relatively simple, actually making that design easy to use and intuitive can be difficult. By adding new design tools including the preview mode Google is trying to make that job easier. Often the difference between a good app and a bad app can just be the design of the UI, regardless of the level or completeness of the functionality. 

The new preview window is live in the sense that it reflects changes to the XML in the layout file as the developer types. As soon as a new component is added it will appear in the preview without the need to manually re-render it.

Watch as Tor Norbye gives a quick a preview of Android Studio:

Download the IDE here:  Android Studio

Read More

The Lazada goes Mobile

Experience the biggest online shopping mall with the new LAZADA app for Android

The Lazada Android app is equipped with an advanced internal search engine, allowing users to explore products by categories, brands, price and more. Customers can also discover the latest promos, use discount vouchers, and get exclusive updates on special arrivals. The Lazada app also features full screen views of product images, product reviews, and ratings. Customers can enjoy flexible payment terms through Cash on Delivery and credit / debit cards.

Lazada Android app features:
• Segment / Category Browser Full Text Search
• Specific Brand Search
• Discounted & On-Sale Products Filter
• Product Ratings, Reviews & Details
• Shopping cart management
• Detailed Product Images
• Easy Account Registration and Management
• Mobile Payment
• Push Notifications
• Country Selection

Lazada’s mobile app is poised to revolutionize every Filipino’s shopping experience. Download the app now and get ₱750 off your total purchase (with a minimum spend of ₱2,000) when you order through the Lazada app. Lazada will also be raffling off 5 tablets to the first 100 downloads. Don’t miss out on this exciting new giveaway!

For more details, visit http://www.lazada.com.ph/mobile-apps/

Read More

How to Unlock Android Lockscreen When You Forgot Your Password

Being locked out on your own device is really frustrating especially if you don’t know a way to unlock it. People around you usually want to tinker with your smartphone without your consent and that’s when things start to go bad. Fortunately, I was able to discover a way to unlock an android device even if the password of the Gmail account was forgotten. Hit the break and I’ll tell you how!

First of all, I would like to let you know that I’m not sure if this will work well on other android devices. We all know that there are different android versions out there and one can be significantly different from another. Since they have different softwares installed, it’s kinda hard to predict if it will work. Anyway, there’s no harm in trying, right?

But before I tell you how I was able to do it, I’d like to share the small story first. The locked device was actually not mine and I was just asked to unlock the android device for my girlfriend. She told me that she was asleep when her brother tried to unlock it because he wanted to play Temple Run 2 on the android phone. Due to his persistence in guessing the pattern password, it was locked out cold. The next day I called her, she told me what happened and I was okay with it because I already know a solution for it – root the device then install ClockWorkMod recovery so I can wipe the data and start it again from scratch (stock recovery is a no go). However, as soon as I sat down to fix it, I realized the problem. I cannot install ClockWorkMod without moving around the phone because some steps require it. It hit me, I was left without a clue on how to do it. I don’t want to use ADB and other complicated methods anymore as I’m afraid I might do more harm with it.

After a while, I remembered a tip that I read before that I can somehow access the homescreen by doing a trick. I read this before when I was searching for some information regarding on how to unlock android devices when the user have forgotten their email password because a lot of people have been asking me about this on our Link2SD tutorial. So this is where it all started and it’s the reason why I figured out how to bypass the android lockscreen even without the email password.

*Note: The device that I had success with is an android phone running on Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. We’re not sure if this will work on other versions but you should give it a try.

Tutorial: How to Unlock Android Device if you forgot the Pattern and Email Password

• The first thing I did was to tap the ‘Emergency Call’ button and ‘Home Button’ alternately and as fast as possible. This way, you’ll be able to enter the homescreen for a while but you need to be alert to get this one because it’ll happen in the middle of your tapping of the emergency and home button. My tip is to slow down occasionally because you can catch it by doing that.
• The moment I first reached the homescreen, I was locked out again when I tried to open the app drawer and other apps. So I tried to do the trick again and this time I swiped down the notification area and clicked on the ‘Settings’ which allowed me to enter it. Since I already know that I can’t do much inside the Settings, I immediately think of a good move.
• I switched on the Wi-Fi and synced the attached Gmail account in hopes that it would grab the new password that I will be putting on it. I was able to put a new password because I have a recovery email with it which lets me do a password recovery anytime. If you don’t have one, you’ll be asked with your own security questions that you need to fill up and after that you can type a new password that’ll be used in your Gmail account. If you don’t remember the answer, I’m afraid you need to look somewhere else.
• From there, I tried to enter the new password in the lockscreen of the android phone that’s connected to Wi-Fi and voila! It suprisingly worked! I managed to unlock the android phone without the forgotten pattern and email password!

So there, that’s our guide on how I did it. We all know that this thing is quite a task to do, and I was just lucky enough to find a solution. A pattern lock for an android phone is not a bad thing but always be sure to keep it out of kids (and friends) who want to play with your device. Well, that’s about it and I hope you find our guide on how to unlock your android phone/tablet useful.

As always, you can leave questions below but I won’t guarantee you that I’ll be able to help because we might have a different case. Also, if any of you have tips on how to unlock android lockscreen when you forgot the pattern and password, let’s all dish them out in the comments section so we can help people fix their handsets.

Share this if you find this useful!

[Source : noypigeeks.com]

Read More

Quad-core O+ 8.15 android phone launching this May 11, Php3k off! Other O+ android devices also on SALE

O+ USA just sent us the details of the launch of their upcoming quad-core android phone, O+ 8.15. The initial unveiling will happen in an O Plus Concept Store on SM North EDSA and the first 100 people who will buy from 10AM-11AM will get Php3,000 off from its original price.

O+ 8.15 is the new flagship android phone from the O+ brand, 

But now, they are even more suited to be more successful with the launch of one of the best quad-core android phones here in the Philippines. Well, just take a look at the specs.

It’s one of the thinnest 5-inch android phones in the market.

O Plus 8.15 has a 5-inch HD (1280×720 pixel resolution) IPS Display which is sharp and vibrant than other sceens out there. It will also be accompanied by a speedy 1.2GHz quad-core Cortex A9 processor, 1GB of RAM, and Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean – one of the few come pre-installed with the said OS out of the box. It also has a plentiful 8GB of internal for app and games addicts so you can bring loads of apps on the go. As for other multimedia features, it will have an 8-megapixel BSI autofocus rear camera and 2-megapixel front camera. What’s even more exciting about this smartphone is that it’s very thin, measuring only 8.4mm, it’s definitely one of the thinnest 5-inchers in the market. To give you an idea, the Galaxy S4 measures 7.9mm thin. Check out the complete specs below.

O+ 8.15 Specs

• Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean
• Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
• 5-inch HD IPS Display, 1280×720 pixel resolution, 294ppi
• MT6589 1.2GHz quad-core Cortex A9 (A7) processor (According to O+, for confirmation)
• PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB internal storage
• expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• 8-megapixel BSI autofocus main camera with LED flash
• 2-megapixel front facing camera
• 3G, HSDPA
• WiFi, WiFi hotspot
• GPS, A-GPS
• Bluetooth
• microUSB
• Air Shuffle music, photos, camera, and FM radio
• Quad-band
• 2000mAh battery

Other O+ android phones on SALE!

Aside from O Plus 8.15, other O+ android phones such as the O+ 8.12, O+ 8.9, O+ 8. 6, and O+ 9.76 Pad will also be on discounted prices. You can check out their prices below.

Good deals, right? So if I were you, mark your calendars now and take advantage of the great offering from O+ USA! O Plus android devices are known for their stellar build quality and I can attest to that as I own several android phones here. Now, tell me which one do you like?

UPDATE: Other O+ android devices listed above will go on sale on other kiosks starting May 17 and the sale will last for 1 month.

Read More

This Day in Tech: Microsoft plans to press Android patent case

Filed Under:

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Friday, August 19.

• In a hearing Monday before the International Trade Commission, Microsoft plans to press its case that Motorola's Android-powered devices violate its patents. The hearing will focus on the validity of Microsoft's patents and on whether Motorola infringed on them. The hearing should last 10 days.

• What are the risks of wireless medical devices? One security researcher discovered that he could hack his wireless insulin pump and remotely control it. "The second reaction was one of maybe sheer terror, to know that there's no security around the devices which are a very active part of keeping me alive," security researcher Jay Radcliffe said. U.S. lawmakers are looking into the situation.

• HP's shares dropped 20 percent after the company announced its plan to ditch its PC business. Meanwhile, stocks of U.K. software company Autonomy shot up 76 percent, after HP announced that it was acquiring Autonomy for $10.25 billion.

• Apple allegedly messed with an image of the Galaxy S smartphone to make it look more like the iPhone 4, a sister site of Computerworld reported. The site also claimed that Apple touched up pictures of the Galaxy Tab to make it look more like the iPad. The fight between Apple and Samsung is one of the more heated disputes going on in tech these days.

• The FTC tweeted that it will not pursue Ashton Kutcher for failing to disclose his investments in many of the tech companies profiled in a special online issue of Details magazine he guest edited.

• Mozilla hopes to help Web apps match phone apps, so developers have to write only one, cross-platform application. Mozilla, developer of the Firefox Web browser, plans on doing this through a project called WebAPI.

• Germany doesn't like Facebook. The "like" button on Facebook has been declared illegal in Germany. CNET reports, "the state of Schleswig-Holstein has ordered all government offices to remove the button from their Web presence and shut down any Facebook 'fan' pages, on the grounds that these things violate German and European data privacy laws." If the sites don't comply, they could pay a fine of up to 50,000 Euros.

If you have a question or comment for Boonsri Dickinson, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response.

Boonsri Dickinson is a multimedia journalist who covers science, technology, and start-ups. She is a contributing editor at CBS SmartPlanet, and her work has appeared in Wired, New Scientist, Technology Review, and Discover magazine. E-mail Boonsri.

Your destination for the latest news on enterprise-level information technology, from chip research and server design to software issues including programming, open source, and patents.

View the original article here

Read More

Google beefs up Android armament (week in review)

Filed Under:

While beefing up protection for its Android mobile operating system, Google this week made a deal that puts it into the handset business.

Google has agreed to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, giving the search giant valuable wireless intellectual property and simultaneously lending stability to and shaking up the Android world.

With Motorola, Google gets a treasure trove of patents to defend itself and its partners against a rising tide of legal opposition. Over the past few months, major technology players such as Apple and Oracle have sued either Google or its partners in an attempt to slow down their competitors and extract licensing fees.
•  Google just bought itself patent protection

Even though Google said Motorola will continue to run as a separate unit, the deal puts Google in the awkward position of competing against many of its partners. Google is backtracking from its vow not to get into the handset business, adding a new potent competitive threat to a field that is already crowded.
•  Regulatory scrutiny likely for Google-Motorola

When the dust settles over the acquisition, consumers may be the big winners. While, Google has traditionally taken an open approach to the mobile market, making Android free and available to any hardware maker, Apple's strategy of controlling the operating system and building the mobile hardware has given it greater vertical integration. The deal gives Google its own hardware, which could pave the way for the company to create an end-to-end mobile experience akin to what Apple has done with its iOS devices.
•  Five possible responses to Google-Motorola
•  Motorola shareholder sues, says $12.5 billion not enough
•  Complete coverage: Google's $12.5 billion hookup with Motorola Mobility

More headlines

Hewlett-Packard says it will discontinue its WebOS operations, including its TouchPad tablet, as the company cuts its outlook for the next two quarters.
•  What HP's PC spin-off plans mean for you
•  WebOS goes down in quiet death Microsoft President Steven Sinofsky includes the much-rumored feature in a blog identifying the teams working on the next version of Microsoft's operating system.
•  Windows 8 build locked down to prevent leaks?
•  Windows 8 prerelease launching in coming months Database of San Francisco-area transit police accounts, with e-mail addresses and passwords, appears online as a protest to cell phone service disruptions.
•  FCC reviewing SF subway cell shutdown
•  Anonymous defaces BART site, leaks user data
•  SF subway closes stations during Anonymous protest The latest rumors floating about the next version of Apple's smartphone say that it will hit the streets on October 7, with preorders to begin September 30.
•  China Mobile confirms talks with Jobs for iPhone Filing in The Netherlands seeks a ban on importation and sales of Galaxy smartphones and tablets, as well as a stock recall within 14 days, according to a Dutch publication.
•  Samsung Galaxy Tab ban lifted in Europe
•  Is Apple's case against Samsung based on shaky evidence?
•  HTC sues Apple, again A purported issue that had Google+ invites not showing up on Facebook users' news feeds has sparked some subtle suggesting by Google executives that Facebook's trying to muzzle the growth of its new social network.
•  U.K. men get 4-year sentences for Facebook riot posts
•  Brit arrested in water fight planned via Facebook, BlackBerry
•  Facebook: Ceglia contract an 'outright fabrication' Attacks against Facebook and other social networks are on the rise, though users are becoming more diligent about protecting themselves, according to a new survey.
•  Android malware masquerading as Google+ app Some casual measuring of Apple's floor plans for its campus reboot have found that it's slightly larger than another quite famous, uniquely shaped building.
•  New details of Apple's campus: Really 21st century?

Also of note
•  IBM says new chip mimics the human brain
•  Google launches music discovery site
•  Software can tell if you're mean and ugly

If you have a question or comment for Steven Musil, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response.

Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers. E-mail Steven.

Your destination for the latest news on enterprise-level information technology, from chip research and server design to software issues including programming, open source, and patents.

View the original article here

Read More

Microsoft's Android patent claims get tested Monday

Filed Under:

The first test of Microsoft's claims that device makers running Google's Android mobile operating system have infringed on its patents comes Monday.

That's when Administrative Law Judge Theodore R. Essex of the U.S. International Trade Commission will hear Microsoft's claims against Motorola, in one of the most closely watched patent disputes in techdom. Microsoft filed claims last October that Motorola's Android-based smartphones infringe on nine patents related to syncing e-mail, calendar, and contacts, and notifying applications about changes in signal strength and battery power. Microsoft brought the dispute before the ITC in order to block shipments of Motorola devices from manufacturing facilities abroad before they hit U.S. soil. Both Microsoft and Motorola declined to comment on the hearing.

Microsoft has filed similar claims with the ITC against other mobile-device makers, including Barnes & Noble for its Nook electronic reading tablet. Apple has similarly sued Taiwanese handset maker HTC over claims that its handsets infringe on iPhone patents.

The hearing that begins Monday at the ITC's headquarters in Washington, D.C., will focus on the validity of Microsoft's patents and on whether Motorola infringed on them. In addition to Microsoft and Motorola making their cases, lawyers from the ITC may also chime in to guide Judge Essex. The hearing is scheduled to last about 10 days.

But don't expect an instant verdict. The judge will make an initial determination later this year, followed by a final judgement in 2012. If he rules that Motorola did infringe on Microsoft's patents, he could then issue an injunction blocking shipments of devices in dispute.

While Google is not a party to the litigation, it will loom large in the case. Earlier this month, Google sought to bar one of Microsoft's expert witnesses from testifying, arguing that Microsoft improperly disclosed Android source code with him. Last week, Essex denied that request, ruling that Google didn't appear to make an attempt to resolve the matter within the rules he has set for the case.

Microsoft also has a separate lawsuit in federal court in Washington state alleging the same patent infringement claims. And, as is typical in patent disputes, Motorola has filed a countersuit, accusing Microsoft of infringing 16 patents in its Xbox gaming console and in Windows for servers, PCs, and mobile devices.

If you have a question or comment for Jay Greene, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response.

Jay Greene, a CNET senior writer, works from Seattle and covers Microsoft, Google and Yahoo. He's the author of the book, Design Is How It Works: How the Smartest Companies Turn Products into Icons (Penguin/Portfolio). He started writing about Microsoft and technology in 1998, first as a reporter for The Seattle Times and later as BusinessWeek's Seattle bureau chief.

Stay up-to-date on news centered in Redmond, Wash., from acquisitions to product updates to leadership developments.

View the original article here

Read More

This Day in Tech: Microsoft plans to press Android patent case

Filed Under:

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Friday, August 19.

• In a hearing Monday before the International Trade Commission, Microsoft plans to press its case that Motorola's Android-powered devices violate its patents. The hearing will focus on the validity of Microsoft's patents and on whether Motorola infringed on them. The hearing should last 10 days.

• What are the risks of wireless medical devices? One security researcher discovered that he could hack his wireless insulin pump and remotely control it. "The second reaction was one of maybe sheer terror, to know that there's no security around the devices which are a very active part of keeping me alive," security researcher Jay Radcliffe said. U.S. lawmakers are looking into the situation.

• HP's shares dropped 20 percent after the company announced its plan to ditch its PC business. Meanwhile, stocks of U.K. software company Autonomy shot up 76 percent, after HP announced that it was acquiring Autonomy for $10.25 billion.

• Apple allegedly messed with an image of the Galaxy S smartphone to make it look more like the iPhone 4, a sister site of Computerworld reported. The site also claimed that Apple touched up pictures of the Galaxy Tab to make it look more like the iPad. The fight between Apple and Samsung is one of the more heated disputes going on in tech these days.

• The FTC tweeted that it will not pursue Ashton Kutcher for failing to disclose his investments in many of the tech companies profiled in a special online issue of Details magazine he guest edited.

• Mozilla hopes to help Web apps match phone apps, so developers have to write only one, cross-platform application. Mozilla, developer of the Firefox Web browser, plans on doing this through a project called WebAPI.

• Germany doesn't like Facebook. The "like" button on Facebook has been declared illegal in Germany. CNET reports, "the state of Schleswig-Holstein has ordered all government offices to remove the button from their Web presence and shut down any Facebook 'fan' pages, on the grounds that these things violate German and European data privacy laws." If the sites don't comply, they could pay a fine of up to 50,000 Euros.

If you have a question or comment for Boonsri Dickinson, you can submit it here. However, because our editors and writers receive hundreds of requests, we cannot tell you when you may receive a response.

Boonsri Dickinson is a multimedia journalist who covers science, technology, and start-ups. She is a contributing editor at CBS SmartPlanet, and her work has appeared in Wired, New Scientist, Technology Review, and Discover magazine. E-mail Boonsri.

Your destination for the latest news on enterprise-level information technology, from chip research and server design to software issues including programming, open source, and patents.

View the original article here

Read More

Welcome to the United States of Android and iOS

We know about the "blue state/red state" divisions in America, but now we have a map showing a "North vs. South divide" in the battle between Android and iOS (Apple) phones.

Consumers in the South and Southwest "tend to be Android-biased compared to the rest of the country, while those in the Midwest and Northeast lean towards iOS," according to Jumptap, a targeted mobile advertising company, which put together the map.

"California, Texas and Florida over-index for Android use, and states in New England and the Midwest over-index for iOS use." Over-indexing, says Jumptap, means that a mobile OS "is used/requested at a rate higher than the national average in that area."

Research In Motion's BlackBerry use, interestingly, is "over-indexed in New York."

The data, Jumptap said in a report, "establishes an evolving narrative of a North vs. South divide in the ongoing battle of the two top mobile operating systems..

The report is based on information from the first half of the year from more than 83 million users on the company's mobile ad network.

Jumptap found, as other research companies have, "that Android continues to hold the top spot in terms of overall share (with iOS coming in a close second), but that iOS ads continue to outperform ads on other operating systems."

(That's because "the uniformity of the iPhone’s browsing and app experiences generates higher advertising interaction," Jumptap said. "Updates of the Android and BlackBerry OS platforms should strive for the same seamless experience.")

While the map shows an OS divide, it also shows that some states, normally not allied in politics or much else, can be when it comes to wireless: California and Texas, for example, are Android dominated; Montana and Louisiana are iPhone-heavy. Stuck inbetween an iPhone and Android state: both North Dakota and South Dakota, which lean toward the BlackBerry.

Update: While Hawaii and Alaska aren't shown on the map, "Hawaii is a state that falls in the iOS camp, and Alaska over-indexes for both Android and iOS," Jumpstat says.

Related stories:

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

View the original article here

Read More

Welcome to the United States of Android and iOS

We know about the "blue state/red state" divisions in America, but now we have a map showing a "North vs. South divide" in the battle between Android and iOS (Apple) phones.

Consumers in the South and Southwest "tend to be Android-biased compared to the rest of the country, while those in the Midwest and Northeast lean towards iOS," according to Jumptap, a targeted mobile advertising company, which put together the map.

"California, Texas and Florida over-index for Android use, and states in New England and the Midwest over-index for iOS use." Over-indexing, says Jumptap, means that a mobile OS "is used/requested at a rate higher than the national average in that area."

Research In Motion's BlackBerry use, interestingly, is "over-indexed in New York."

The data, Jumptap said in a report, "establishes an evolving narrative of a North vs. South divide in the ongoing battle of the two top mobile operating systems..

The report is based on information from the first half of the year from more than 83 million users on the company's mobile ad network.

Jumptap found, as other research companies have, "that Android continues to hold the top spot in terms of overall share (with iOS coming in a close second), but that iOS ads continue to outperform ads on other operating systems."

(That's because "the uniformity of the iPhone’s browsing and app experiences generates higher advertising interaction," Jumptap said. "Updates of the Android and BlackBerry OS platforms should strive for the same seamless experience.")

While the map shows an OS divide, it also shows that some states, normally not allied in politics or much else, can be when it comes to wireless: California and Texas, for example, are Android dominated; Montana and Louisiana are iPhone-heavy. Stuck inbetween an iPhone and Android state: both North Dakota and South Dakota, which lean toward the BlackBerry.

Update: While Hawaii and Alaska aren't shown on the map, "Hawaii is a state that falls in the iOS camp, and Alaska over-indexes for both Android and iOS," Jumpstat says.

Related stories:

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

View the original article here

Read More

Android phone returns eroding sales gains?

Google

So many Android handset the reason for returns?

Some Android phones are better than others, at least to consumers who are reportedly returning them at a rate of 30 to 40 percent.

That figure is based on an unnamed TechCrunch source, "a person familiar with handset sales for multiple manufacturers," and led Phandroid's Kevin Krause to write, "Yes, we can believe that some Android handsets are getting returned at a rate nearing 50 percent, but not Android handsets as a whole." 

Because there are so many Androids out there — dozens from the likes of Motorola, HTC, Samsung and LG, just to name a handful — there is apt to be just as much variance in quality, while there is only one handset for Apple's iOS, the iPhone. In contrast, the iPhone 4 had a 1.7 percent rate in returns (51,000 phones out of about 3 million) at about this time last year.

Safety in numbers for Android, which propelled it to the top of smartphone sales at the beginning of the year, may also be its undoing, especially as the iPhone continues to spread to other carriers.

TechCrunch's John Biggs says that to the "average" phone user, "Android is a maze." (Cue the inevitable back and forth between fanboys and Google plussers, and carry on in the comments below.)

We'll keep looking for back-up for those return rates, but here's one CEO, Motorola's Sanjay Jha, who does seem to blame Android for his company's handset returns:

70 percent of all smartphone returns tend to be for software reasons. We're beginning to understand now what has been going on ...  One of the good and problematic things about Android is that it's very, very open, so anyone can put third party apps in the marketplace without any testing process. There is a way of taking malicious applications off the marketplace, but generally for power consumption, for CPU utilisation, for some of those things those applications are not tested.

We're now beginning to understand the impact that has. Remember Android is really, truly multitasked, so you can run 64 parallel applications at the same time, and it has an impact on consumer experience. We're beginning to understand why 70 percent of the devices are coming back — because they're downloading third party applications and the impact that has on the performance of the device."

(Thanks, Mobile-Device.biz for its transcription of Jha's remarks at a technology conference in June.)

More stories:

Check out Technolog on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the Google+ stream.

View the original article here

Read More

Android phone returns eroding sales gains?

 Google

So many Android handset the reason for returns?

Some Android phones are better than others, at least to consumers who are reportedly returning them at a rate of 30 to 40 percent.

That figure is based on an unnamed TechCrunch source, "a person familiar with handset sales for multiple manufacturers," and led Phandroid's Kevin Krause to write, "Yes, we can believe that some Android handsets are getting returned at a rate nearing 50 percent, but not Android handsets as a whole." 

Because there are so many Androids out there — dozens from the likes of Motorola, HTC, Samsung and LG, just to name a handful — there is apt to be just as much variance in quality, while there is only one handset for Apple's iOS, the iPhone. In contrast, the iPhone 4 had a 1.7 percent rate in returns (51,000 phones out of about 3 million) at about this time last year.

Safety in numbers for Android, which propelled it to the top of smartphone sales at the beginning of the year, may also be its undoing, especially as the iPhone continues to spread to other carriers.

TechCrunch's John Biggs says that to the "average" phone user, "Android is a maze." (Cue the inevitable back and forth between fanboys and Google plussers, and carry on in the comments below.)

We'll keep looking for back-up for those return rates, but here's one CEO, Motorola's Sanjay Jha, who does seem to blame Android for his company's handset returns:

70 percent of all smartphone returns tend to be for software reasons. We're beginning to understand now what has been going on ...  One of the good and problematic things about Android is that it's very, very open, so anyone can put third party apps in the marketplace without any testing process. There is a way of taking malicious applications off the marketplace, but generally for power consumption, for CPU utilisation, for some of those things those applications are not tested.

We're now beginning to understand the impact that has. Remember Android is really, truly multitasked, so you can run 64 parallel applications at the same time, and it has an impact on consumer experience. We're beginning to understand why 70 percent of the devices are coming back — because they're downloading third party applications and the impact that has on the performance of the device."

(Thanks, Mobile-Device.biz for its transcription of Jha's remarks at a technology conference in June.)

More stories:

Check out Technolog on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the Google+ stream.

View the original article here

Read More