Ice Cream Sandwich adoption doubles from July to August

Another month is upon us (again already?), and that means it's time for another breakdown of Android versions. This is the monthly look at the percentage of the various Android versions that are on active phones. Here's the gist:

• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean): 0.8 percent
• Android 4.0.3 to 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich): 15.9 percent
• Android 3.1-3.2 (Honeycomb): 2.3 percent
• Android 2.3-2.3.7 (Gingerbread): 60.6 percent
• Android 2.2 (Froyo): 15.5 percent
• Android 2.1 (Eclair): 4.2 percent
• Android 1.6 (Donut) 0.5 percent
• Android 1.5 (Cupcake): 0.2 percent

Our big takeaway from this is that Ice Cream Sandwich has more than doubled, from 7.1 percent at this point last month. And that'll grow again for August, and presumably the rest of the year.

Jelly Bean makes its first appearance at less than 1 percent, and we're not expecting a huge bump until more retails devices (as in, anything not named Nexus) are released, though any increase may be a good indication of how the Nexus 7 tablet is selling.

[Source: Android Central]

Gmail 1.3 for iOS now saves image attachments

The official Gmail app for iPhone recently got a nice update, and in addition to a few bugfixes and performance enhancements, users now have the ability to save picture attachments straight to their iPhone (or iPad's) camera reel. That's a nice feature -- it means that you can browse and save attachments more easily.

I can imagine some nice use cases as well: You could grab an image from Gmail and put it right into a slideshow on your iPad, or send yourself some images from another computer, and insert them on to your iPhone or iPad's lock screen wallpaper easily.

The Gmail app in general is a solid app to have. Though I usually use the Gmail web client in my browser when I'm at home, and Apple's own Mail app when I'm out and about, there are times when I'd just rather have an official Google experience when browsing mail. With this update and a few others lately (the last update added support for Notification Center), Gmail makes an even better case for owning a spot on your home screen.

[Source: TUAW]

O2 launches value Pay & Go Pocket Hotspot to create “Wifi in your Pocket”

O2 has entered the Mobile Wifi arena with O2 Pocket Hotspot , a new pocket-sized device and tariff that will enable anyone to get a “Wifi hotspot in their pocket”. The new service launches on 2 August 2012.

The new device enables up to five devices to connect simultaneously, sharing mobile internet access. The device is the perfect partner for a growing number of Wifi-enabled mobile devices that consumers increasingly want to be able to use on the move – including tablets, games consoles and cameras, as well as conventional laptop users. It will mean customers can use all their internet-connected devices on the move.

The new device will come with two Pay & Go data options: a daily top-up and 1GB or 2GB bundles (both of which have a 30 day term). Offering a Pay & Go mobile Wifi solution means that O2 Pocket Hotspot customers can get some of the most competitive rates available for mobile internet access without having to sign up to 12 month (or longer) contracts.

Gary Booker, GM Consumer at O2 says of the launch:

“We saw a big gap in the market for a Mobile Wifi package that offered lower start-up costs and competitive data. 

“Customers have told us that they want access to the web on the go, but that they don’t always want to sign up for year-long contracts or to buy lots of data from the outset. O2 Hotspot has been designed to cater for exactly those needs: lowering up-front costs and offering customers lots of options when it comes to the amount of data they buy – what they need, when they need it.”

Starter package costs: O2 Pocket Hotspot

Device Cost	Starter Data	Data Cost	Total Cost
£59.99	Pay daily (200MB/day)	£2.04	NA
£59.99	1 GB (lasts 30 days)	£10.21	£70.20
£59.99	2 GB (lasts 30 days)	£15.32	£75.31

Ongoing cost: O2 Pocket Hotspot Pay and Go data

Data	Cost	Term
1 GB	£10.21	30 days
2 GB	£15.32	30 days

O2 Pocket Hotspot offers 802.11b/g Wi-Fi connectivity and maximum download speeds of 21.6 Mbps and upload at 5.76 Mbps.

 Gary Booker added:

“There are growing numbers of consumers wanting to be able to use the devices they get internet access on at home while they’re on the move.

“Whether tablet users who want access to the web, gamers who want to carry on playing wirelessly while they’re on the move or business customers who are fed up with slow connections on trains or hunting down the nearest WiFi point, O2 Hotspot is the ideal solution.

“Because you can connect up to five devices at once, we also think that this product will appeal to students who want a fast connection but don’t have a telephone line for home broadband or even those who want internet access out of the range of their home router – in the garden for example.”

To find out more, visit: http://www.o2.co.uk/broadband/mobile-broadband/o2-pocket-hotspot

Huawei to introduce 10.1-inch tablet PC in Russia and China

Huawei Technologies aims to expand its tablet PC product line. The firm plans to introduce the MediaPad 10 FHD with a 10.1-inch IPS screen that has a resolution of 1900 by 1200. The tablet PC, featuring Android 4.0.4, will be launched in Russia and China first.

Unlike most tablet PC makers that develop similar applications such as smartphones and notebooks, Huawei has been developing tablet PCs using its home appliance department. The firm hopes to integrate home appliances with the tablet PCs.

Huawei has been cooperating with Foxconn on OEM orders.

According to Huawei, MediaPad 10 FHD comes with a HiSilicon quad-core K3V2 1.5GHz processor and 2GB RAM. The product has a thickness of 8.8mm and weighs 598g. MediaPad 10 FHD will be introduced in Taiwan at the end of the fourth quarter.

Huawei has been dominating the set-top box (STB) market in India, Brazil and Mexico, an mainly focuses on cable TV and satellite STBs. The firm indicated that IP STBs are a development trend.

[Source: DigiTimes]

Crucial outs v4 SSD for solid-state storage on a budget

Solid-state drives cost just a fraction of what they did a few years ago, but with prices that can still exceed $1,000, you could hardly label them as cheap. Crucial still aims to put solid-state storage within reach of those on a budget, however, releasing its 2.5-inch v4 drive with pricing that starts at $50. That entry-level model will net you just 32 gigs of storage -- hardly a lust-worthy sum -- but the series is also available in configurations of 64GB ($70), 128GB ($100) and 256GB ($190), offering read speeds of up to 230 MB/s and write speeds of up to 190 MB/s with SATA 2-capable desktops and laptops. The v4 joins Crucial's higher-end m4, which offers much speedier performance and Ultrabook-friendly configurations to boot. You'll find full details in the PR after the break.

[Source: Engadget]

Entrepreneur: How I made $10K in one day with Facebook Ads

As a counterpoint to the company that claimed its Facebook Ads didn't work because most clicks came from bots, entrepreneur Brendan Irvine-Broque decided to tell the story of how he used the social network's advertising platform to make five figures in one day.

After deciding to get rid of a record collection consisting of 6,000 vinyl records, Irvine-Broque created a Facebook Event titled "MASSIVE Vinyl Sale in the East Bay!" He then spent $150 to promote it using Facebook Ads, which simply said "6000 Vinyl Records, $3 Each" and pointed to the event. Here's the description in full (sans address):

I used to be a record dealer, specializing in rare and private press LPs and 45s, and have thousands of vinyl records sitting in storage, many of which I've never even seen. It's time to let go of them, and now that it's warm outside, I figured it'd be a good time to setup some tables outside and have folks over to dig through. There are well over 6000 records, including tons of private press of all genres, obscure 12-inch singles, etc. Everything is $3 each, save for 1-2 boxes of heavily discounted rarities. I'll have snacks and drinks, feel free to bring your own too. Lots of good food just up the street in case you get hungry. Hope to see you there!

[Source: cnet - Click to read the full story]

PC makers falling further behind Apple, says Canalys

Things are not looking good for PC makers in the age of the iPad.

Market researcher Canalys makes this point with PC shipment stats, which are a function of the way it sees the PC market. In short, tablets are PCs too. (And note Canalys defines "PC" generically, not the traditional definition of a Windows PC.)

That gives Apple an overwhelming lead over No.2 Hewlett-Packard. In the second quarter, Apple shipped about 21 million PCs versus about 13.5 million for HP, according to a Canalys report released today. Lenovo was a close third with 13.1 million (see table below).

"There is now a large base of replacement buyers that simply must have the latest Apple product," Canalys said in a statement. "The decision to continue shipping the iPad 2 at lower price points has opened up new customers, for example in education."

[Source: cnet - Click to read the full story]

Dropbox sends password change notification to some users

In a blog post today, Dropbox's VP of engineering Aditya Agarwal explained that the online storage company is addressing some key security concerns in the wake of some concerning incidents. Some Dropbox users saw a spike in spam messages to their registered email accounts over the past few weeks, which drove an internal investigation.

The spam emails turned out to be the result of a breach of an employee's Dropbox account, which contained a project file with some user contact information. The employee's account info had been stolen from a third-party website that was compromised -- which points out the necessity of having password diversity among your web service accounts, rather than using the same password for all of them.

To help protect against future security issues, Dropbox is implementing some policy and technical changes immediately, and also rolling out others over the next few weeks. Two-factor authentication is one of the future changes, similar to what Google has already implemented for Gmail accounts; users will be able to validate password changes with a separate fact or via a cellphone verification pass.

In the meantime, some Dropbox users who have never changed their password or who have an easily crackable password will be getting email reminders to change their password. These emails may appear suspicious, but they are coming from Dropbox (and you should double-check, should you receive one, that you're directed to a Dropbox reset page). When you pick a new password, you can make it extra secure by using a random generation system like Diceware -- endorsed by the makers of 1Passwordand XKCD alike.

[Source: TUAW]

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6 Winners

Back on the 20th July we posted a video review of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6 (see video below). This superb collection of applications really does deliver a well rounded package to give the creative designer some very powerful & intuitive tools. Please do check out the video & the Corel website.

In the video, we also gave viewers the chance to win one of three CorelDRAW packages. With so many entries, I would like to personally thank everyone who took part.
The winners are detailed below, congratulations go out to;
@TekCrazy7
@5bobert2
@geogant

BBC shows off 33-megapixel Super Hi-Vision Olympic footage

The first live Super Hi-Vision broadcast for public consumption was of the Olympic opening ceremony in London last week. We didn't get to see that premiere, or the second or third screenings either -- but the fourth? Oh yes. We grabbed a seat right up front of a small theater inside BBC Broadcasting House, watched a live 33-megapixel feed from the Aquatics Center and absorbed some very fond memories in the process. At the same time, a question hung over the footage like a watermark: why bother? The world is barely getting to grips with the notion of 4K, so why did the BBC and Japanese broadcaster NHK go to the expense of sending a dedicated SHV video truck, a 22.2-channel SHV audio truck, and the world's only three 8K Ultra HDTV cameras to London? Fortunately, we caught up with someone in charge who was able to respond to that question. Read on for what they said, plus a slightly fuller sense of what the footage was like to watch.

[Source: To read the full article visit Engadget]

Next-Gen iPhone Dock Offers Robotic Motion

In April 2012, an ambitious Kickstarter project made headlines for exceeding its $100,000 funding goal by more than half a million dollars. The project was Galileo, an iOS-controlled, robotic motion platform for the iPhone and iPod Touch.The brainchild of Motrr team Josh Guyot and JoeBen Bevirt, the guys behind Joby and Guyot Designs, the dock certainly captured the imagination of the Kickstarter community, with more than 5,000 backers getting involved.The Galileo isn’t just a high-end iOS dock though, it’s due to be an entire platform. With apps already in the works and a software development kit due soon, we file the project under “one to watch,” with exciting potential for video conferencing, photography, videography and social networking. To find out more we spoke to one of the founders.

[Source: Mashable]

HootSuite Extends Its Social Media Wings With Evernote, Storify and Zendesk Integrations

HootSuite, the Vancouver-based developers of a social media management dashboard for enterprises and other power users, is adding three new outlets to the list of social networks that are supported on its platform: from today there will be plugins available for Evernote, Storify and Zendesk that will let users send content created natively for Twitter and Facebook to these three, on top of support already offered to manage interactions on Twitter, Facebook and other sites like LinkedIn for some five million users worldwide.

HootSuite notes that this is a development on how the App Directory has been used since its creation in 2011: originally it was intended as a dashboard “focused primarily on populating streams within HootSuite.” It says it will be adding more plugins to extend the new functionality even further, covering areas like customer support, CRM and publishing — putting HootSuite in much closer competition with the likes of Oracle and Salesforce, which are also converging on this area.

[Continue Reading … Source: Tech Crunch]