Is this the Nexus 5?

Pinch of salt time: a render of what purports to be the Nexus 5 has surfaced online, along with a spec list. There are plenty of reasons to think it's fake, but a few that hint it could be the real deal too.

An anonymous source claiming to work for Google sent the image and specs to Android and Me. They say the Nexus 5 is due for release around October, and Google is currently evaluating several prototypes from different manufacturers. This one is from LG and is codenamed "Megalodon". Sound real? Or bent as a nine bob note?

The spec list does sound too good to be true. The Nexus 5 is said to be packing a 5.2-inch OLED display with 1,920x1,080 resolution. Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, clocked at 2.3GHz, along with a ridiculous 3GB of RAM. Storage is said to go up to 64GB (dwarfing the Nexus 4's 16GB), and a 16-megapixel camera is capable of capturing 4K video. Like I say, sounds too good to be true.

Some of the tech isn't found even in devices yet, like Qualcomm's chip, though it should be by October. It also seems a bit early to be seeing renders, but then this could be more of an artist's impression. We've also heard previously that a successor to the Nexus 4 was already on the cards.

Adding fuel to the fire, the very reliable Twitter account @evleaks tweeted: "LG Nexus 5 looks pretty hot, if that was just it…" It followed this up with: "I had to beg to say even that much :P"

The Nexus 4 has been wildly popular, but Google has had trouble meeting demand, with the device being in and out of stock at Google Play since its debut in November. That price tag of £239 will have helped, no doubt. Buy it elsewhere, and you'll have to shell out way more than that.

[Source: CNET]

More Than 750M Android Devices Have Been Activated, 25B Apps Downloaded

Google CEO Larry Page published a letter earlier today alerting the world that Andy Rubin, the company’s head of Android, is stepping down. There was a bit of golden information in that letter, however.

Page also noted that more than 60 manufacturers currently sell devices powered by Google’s mobile operating system, and that since the OS launched there have been more than 750 million Android devices activated around the globe. That figure includes tablets, smartphones and other connected devices. Page said that consumers have downloaded more than 25 billion apps from Google Play, too.

Just over a year ago Google’s Andy Rubin said that there were more than 300 million Android devices activated and that 850,000 devices were being activated daily. That means the figure has since doubled in just over a year.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Phil Schiller Goes on Offensive Against Android and Samsung

Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller went on the offensive against Android in a unusually forthright interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of world-wide marketing, also said that Android users are often running old operating systems and that the fragmentation in the Android world was "plain and simple."

He added that "Android is often given a free replacement for a feature phone and the experience isn't as good as an iPhone."

In addition to the above comments, Schiller saidthat Android devices and the operating system "don't work seamlessly together" because they come from different vendors, unlike Apple which makes both the software and hardware in its devices.

Samsung is expected to announce an update to its flagship Galaxy S smartphone line tomorrow.

[Source: MacRumors]

 

 

Google Play Birthday Celebration Includes Game, Movie Sales

Today is Google Play’s first birthday. That might sound a bit confusing, because prior to calling it that the store was simply named the “Android Market.”

Google’s celebrating by highlighting a number of free games (some of which were always free, such as Zenonia 5), and offering discounts on movies, music and books. The pilot of Breaking Bad is free for example, and Kung Fu Panda is available for just $2.99.

There’s nothing too juicy to be had, but we wish Google Play a happy first birthday anyway.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Jelly Bean Marches to Greater Market Share

Another month, another collection of Android adoption data shows Jelly Bean’s slow march toward bigger marketshare. During a two week period ending on March 4, data reflects a jump up to 16.5 percent distribution compared to 13.6 percent in February. That’s actually a pretty big jump, owing in part to manufacturers pushing out updates and more recent phones releasing with the latest OS.

Gingerbread, which still dominates, fell slightly, as did Ice Cream Sandwich, but not by much. The leap is promising, and it’s great that all phones we’ve seen announced this year are coming with Jelly Bean outright. Gingerbread is still an imposing number, and will likely continue to be for awhile. Probably even during Key Lime Pie and beyond.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

XX

Twitter Killing TweetDeck for iPhone and Android

Twitter will shut down multiple TweetDeck apps to focus on the product's web-based version, the microblogging service announced Monday.

In yet another sign of the battle between social media's two biggest players, Facebook integration will be removed, too.

The announcement was met largely with a chorus of "nooooooooo," "whyyyyyyy" and "gaaaaaaaah" on social media, reflecting TweetDeck's widespread popularity with hardcore Twitter users.

TweetDeck AIR, TweetDeck for iPhone and TweetDeck for Android will be removed from their respective app stores in May, and stop working soon after, according to a TweetDeck blog post.

"To continue to offer a great product that addresses your unique needs, we’re going to focus our development efforts on our modern, web-based versions of TweetDeck," the post says.

TweetDeck is a well-regarded Twitter client that the microblogging network bought in 2011.

Moving forward, TweetDeck's web and Chrome apps will be the first that Twitter enhances with updates and new features, while the Mac and PC apps will continue to evolve as well.

Your final couple months using TweetDeck's AIR, Android and iPhoneversions may not be smooth sailing, either. Those apps will continue to rely on version one of Twitter's API, which will be retired this month. Blackout testing on version one begins March 5, so mobile TweetDeck users will likely begin experiencing outages with their apps on Tuesday.

"In many ways, doubling down on the TweetDeck web experience and discontinuing our app support is a reflection of where our TweetDeck power-users are going," the post reads before later adding: "And for those of you who are inconvenienced by this shift, our sincere apologies."

Is this a pain, or not such a big deal? Give us your take in the comments.

Photo courtesy Flickr, Andy Miah

[Source: Mashable]

Android 4.2.2 code now pushing to Android Open Source Project

Google open-source guru Jean-Baptiste Queru has announced on the Android Building group that theAndroid 4.2.2 source code will shortly begin pushing to AOSP -- the Android Open-Source Project. The build number is the same as what's now being pushed to Nexus devices -- JDQ39  -- and the tag is android-4.2.2_r1.

In addition, proprietary bits for all supported devices have been published online, and Android 4.2.2 factory images are also available from Google's developer site. Significantly, JBQ points out the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 (all variants) now have a full set of proprietary binaries available online, bringing full AOSP support to these devices.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

EE rolls out 4G LTE in nine more UK towns and cities

Sole UK 4G LTE carrier EE (Everything Everywhere) has announced that it's switched on 4G coverage in a further nine towns and cities across the country. From today, EE customers in Barnsley, Chorley, Coventry, Newport, Preston, Rotherham, Telford, Walsall and Watford will be able to pick up LTE reception on supporting devices. Four months after it first rolled out 4G, EE's total market count stands at 37.

The network plans to have 4G coverage in 65 towns and cities by the end of June, by which time it may face competition from the other mobile operators. Following the recent wrap-up of the 4G spectrum auction, Three, O2 and Vodafone will be looking to roll out their own LTE services in late spring and early summer.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

Will Large Screen Smartphones Wipe Out Tablets?

We have been seeing a major push in smartphones lately, especially smartphones with a large screen. Large screen smartphones are nearly as big as a small tablets now. At the moment, there is a massive trend for companies to make and push out phablets (phablet = a screen size of 5 inches or more). We have been seeing a lot of these new devices being released at MCW 2013. Below, I have listed some of my favourite devices, that really do stand out. 

Mobile phones or phablets are all well and good but if your in an area with poor or no signal and are looking for a better solution then a set of Mototrbo radios would be advised.

  • LG Optimus G Pro - This beast is a phablet that has a 5.5 inch full HD IPS screen with a 1920x1080 resoluto and 440ppi.

  • Nokia Lumia 720 - This is one of the many new smartphones that Nokia have released at MWC. However, I really like this particular smartphone because it has a stunning unibidy type of design. You can wirelessly charge it, and it has 8GB of internal storage.

  • ZTE Grand Memo - This is another very large screen phone. The screen size is 5.7 inches. It runs Android version 4.1.2. This phablet also has a 13-megapixel camera on the rear with a 1-megapixel on the front.

  • Fujitsu Arrows X - This is a new flagship smartphone from Fujitsu. It's rocking a Tegra 3 CPU, with 2GB of RAM. It has a 5-inch 1080p screen with a finger print scanner!

Will a large screen smartphone eventually overtake a tablet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

HP Slate 7 Android Tablet Revealed – Launches in April for $169

On the eve before Mobile World Congress officially kicks off in Barcelona, HP announced its first Android tablet, the Slate 7.

The device is a relatively mid-range 7-inch tablet with a 1024 x 600-pixel resolution. It packs a 1.6GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Beats Audio support, a 3-megapixel camera, a VGA front-facing camera for video chat and 1GB of RAM. It packs just 8GB of storage, however.

The real meat of the story here is that HP is re-entering the tablet space after its failed launch of webOS powered tablets. The Slate 7 is expected to launch in April for a budget-friendly price of just $169. We’ll be trying to find one here at Mobile World Congress to bring you a closer look.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 now official

Samsung has stepped forward and officially announced the Galaxy Note 8.0. We've sen and heard enough leaks and rumors to know that we would be seeing an 8-inch version of the popular Note series, but tonights' news clears up al the speculation and replaces it with information direct from Seoul. 

The Note 8.0 takes everything you love about the Note series, adds some great new features, and packages it all into a solid tablet form factor. The Note 8.0 will still be able to make phone calls in some countries, but the 8-inch screen puts this one squarely into the portable tablet genre. And that's a good thing. Users who didn't want a full-sized 10-inch tablet, but still wanted access to the great S Pen technology now have that option.

We've spent some time with the Note 8.0 on the eve of Mobile World Congress 2013, and have the answers to all your questions covered. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 will be available world wide (Europe, Korea, North America, S.E. Asia, S. W. Africa, the Middle East, China, Taiwan, and Latin America) in Q2. Keep an eye on Android Central for exact dates and pricing. The full press release, press photos, and a Chat-On video featuring the Note 8.0 are after the break.

[Source: AndroidCentral - Read the full story here]