Mobilityfeeds

Nokia was right to shift to Windows Phone

This week’s news from Nokia, including corporate restructuring, lowered income projections, and losses for Q2 2012 expected to be in the hundreds of millions, would not have made comfortable reading for the Finnish company.

Switching to a new mobile Operating System (OS) was always going to cause a lot of necessary financial pain, the question for CEO Stephen Elop and the Nokia Board is simple.
Will they be able to follow their chosen strategy, and will Microsoft's Windows Phone deliver for them?

It’s important to remember just how bad the market perceptions of Nokia were on 10^th February 2011, the day before Stephen Elop announced the new direction for the Finnish company. 

LG launches the Optimus L5 Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone, heading first to Europe

LG has announced the launch of its new smartphone - the LG Optimus L5, which is touted to be one of LG's stylish, high fashion L-Series smartphones.

The smartphone will make its global debut in key European markets this month.
The device will be available in the UK, Germany and France, followed by markets in CIS, Middle East and Asia before crossing the ocean over to Central America and South America.

Dressed in a slim body measuring only 9.5mm, the smartphone has dual SIM capabilities (in Asia, CIS, Middle East, Central and South America only) and NFC "Tag and Play" (in Europe and North America) for mobile commerce and peer-to-peer sharing.

Sony Xperia U Android budget smartphone review

The Sony Xperia U is the baby of Sony's Xperia family, but takes a lot of design cues from the more-expensive Xperia S.

In essence, the 3.5" device is a successor to the Xperia Ray, which was released last year to great acclaim.
Sony is one of the few companies that continues to build Android devices under 4", and the Xperia U is a great example of a device that hits all the right notes without breaking the bank.

Is this the right entry-level phone for you?
Let’s dive right in.

Specs:

- Google's Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread with custom Sony overlay
- 3.5" 480×854 pixel LCD display
- 1Ghz dual-core NovaThor SoC with Mali-4ooMP GPU
- 512MB RAM / 4GB internal storage / 1.9GB app storage
- 5MP camera w/ flash, VGA front-facing camera
- 720p video capture
- WiFi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1, A-GPS
- HSDPA 14.4Mbps / HSUPA 5.76Mbps
- 3G: 850/1900/2100Mhz, 2G:  850/900/1800/1900Mhz
- 112 x 54 x 12 mm
- 110g

After Windows Phone and iOS, Xbox Live comes to Android

Xbox fans with Google's Android phones can now keep up – or at least begin to keep up – with their fellow gamers using Apple's iPhones and Microsoft's Windows Phone devices, now that Microsoft has released an Xbox Live app for the Google Operating System (OS).

The XBox Live app for Android went live on Google Play Wednesday, and requires an Xbox Live account as well as Android 2.2 Froyo or higher – and a WGVA screen resolution or higher.

"Take your Xbox LIVE experience wherever you go with the My Xbox LIVE app. Track and compare your achievements, connect with your Xbox LIVE friends, and change up your 3D Avatar," read the description on the app's page on Google Play.
Review all the recent great games you and your friends love to play and compare achievements with them. Access Xbox Spotlight feeds, get breaking news from Xbox LIVE, game tips and tricks, gamer spotlight and much more."

iPad should confirm its lead over Android tablets in 2012

The overall demand for tablet computers is on the rise, and amongst most customers, the Apple iPad’s lead over rival Google Android systems will increase over the next several years, according to a new International Data Corporation (IDC) study released on Thursday.

The IDC has increased its forecast for global tablet sales in 2012 from 106.1 million to 107.4 million, anticipating strong second-half sales of the devices, according to AFP reports.
The firm also increased projected 2013 tablet sales from 137.4 million to 142.8 million, and predicted that worldwide shipments could top 222 million in four year’s time.

The outlook isn’t promising for everyone though.
According to Chloe Albanesius of PCMag, IDC forecasts that Apple iOS tablets (the iPad family of products) will increase their global market share from 58.2% in 2011 to 62.5% in 2012.
Meanwhile, the Android tablet market share is expected to dip from 38.7% to 36.5%, while Research in Motion (RIM, BlackBerry maker) tablets are anticipated to drop from 1.7% market share to just 1%, Albanesius added.

Get Microsoft's Kinectimals now also from Google Play

As Google's Android continues its attempt to chip away at the Apple's iOS audience bit by bit, it received quite the boost in confidence this week, as Microsoft published its first game for the Google Play store.

OK, so Kinectimals has already been on Windows Phone and iOS for ages, and no doubt iPhone and iPad users will be using lines like "I was playing that game before it was cool" or whatever the kids say these days.

But it's a notable move by the big Microsoft, as the company essentially shows that it has faith that Android games will sell.
It also no doubt signals the start of a relationship between Microsoft and Android devices, as other Microsoft games are bound to follow.

US military thinks of moving away from BlackBerry

The United States military on Friday released a new strategy aimed at tapping the full potential of smartphones and other mobile devices while maintaining adequate security and reliability.

Details must still be worked out, but the policy lays the groundwork for big battles between Research in Motion (RIM), which makes the Pentagon's most commonly used BlackBerry device, and competitors like Apple and Google.

The strategy aims to better coordinate an array of pilot programs and other initiatives already under way across the Department of Defense and the various military services.

Teri Takai, the Pentagon's Chief Information Officer, said the Pentagon hoped to leverage the technology of smartphones and other mobile device technologies to improve information sharing, collaboration and efficiencies across the military services and other Pentagon agencies.

Apple needs to change if it wants to win over Android

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs believed Google's Android mobile Operating System (OS) was a stolen product and said he was ready to fight to destroy it.

"I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product," he said, according to biographer Walter Issacson. "I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this."

Apple has not quite gotten to nukes, but it has taken aim at Google and pulled the trigger.
It launched patent lawsuits against Google's Android hardware partners, HTC in 2010 and Samsung in 2011.
It challenged Google on its home turf, advertising, with the introduction of iAd.
It began working with mobile carriers beyond AT&T in the United States to limit Android adoption in markets where it had withheld the iPhone.
And it launched iCloud.

Groupon for Android gets a much needed new look

Popular deals service Groupon has had its Android app facelifted, resulting in a new look, as well as a couple new features and services.

Take a look at the brand-new User Interface (UI) after the break.

As you can see, the app now looks looks decidedly more Google's Android Ice Cream Sandwich-y, has added a universal share button, and swipeable categories.

You'll also notice new categories for Pets and Rewards (spend enough money at certain businesses and you get loyalty rewards).

Overall, this was a much-needed refresh.

Learn to recognize Android five main malware types

The folks over at Sophos have released a list of common Android malware types showing that cracked apps make up a significant chunk of the Android malware landscape.

Sophos examined statistics collected from users who have downloaded the Sophos Mobile Security app to identify five leading types of malware currently affecting Android devices, Graham Cluley, Senior Security Consultant at Sophos, wrote on Naked Security.

The data was collected from Android devices in over 118 countries.

We regularly discuss mobile threats and the importance of securing our smartphones and tablets.

Lenovo launches the LePad A2107, first dual SIM Android ICS tablet - China only (unfortunately)

While everyone is trying to produce the thinnest tablet or one with the best camera, or the highest screen resolution around, the folks from Lenovo have just launched their own specialty.

The LePad A2107 will apparently be the world’s first dual-SIM Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet.

The specs might not be groundbreaking but lets take a look.

Lenovo introduced this tablet earlier today for the Chinese markets, and it comes complete with two SIM cards.

Kobo Vox eReader offers now full access to Google Play

The headline would make more sense if it read “Android Market access,” as opposed to “Google Play access,” but that wouldn’t be technically correct thanks to the Android Market’s rebranding.

In any event, Kobo’s Android-powered Vox eReader - the company’s answer to the B&N Nook or Amazon Kindle – is today announcing (at last!) full access to the official Google's Android app store, or whatever you want to call it.

The colorful eReader tablet has a lot going for it, including a low price point (just US$179.99 / €142.57, currently), but until now was only offering a limited, “curated” collection of some 15,000 Android applications. Today, it gets 500,000 apps.

The Google Play support also brings music and movies to Kobo Vox users, too. (Oh, we guess the headline does work, after all).

New Android app tells you when you get a stressing message

Would it help you manage your stress level to get a warning that the text message you're about to read is your boss or partner chewing you out?

The creators of a new mobile app think so.

Stress@Work is an Android app developed by a student at England's University of Portsmouth.
It color-codes incoming messages on Facebook, Twitter and via text, using their choice of language to predict their tone.

Green means positive, blue is neutral and red is a warning of potential nastiness.

Masters student Lorraine Chambers said she created the app so people know whether to expect to feel better or worse after checking in.

"The ultimate objective of this application is to make the user aware of the negative contents they receive so they are able to manage their stress in the best possible way," Mohamed Gaber, a Senior Lecturer at the university, added in a news release.
"For example, if most of what is received from social media Websites by a user on a particular day was negative, it is important that the user attempts to take an action in order to not get stressed, especially if this may affect the individual's performance at work and/or their behavior at home."

Japanese police arrests cybercriminals that targeted Android devices

Japan has arrested six men for allegedly distributing a virus-infected application and swindling some 21 million yen (US$265,062/€202,837) from smartphone users.

The application, uploaded on an adult site on 30^th December 2011, was made available for free and targeted people using Android-powered devices, according to The Daily Yomiuri's report on Thursday, citing Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department.

Once downloaded, the app opens up with a screen that demands 99,800 yen (US$129.98/€102.96) every five minutes. The app also steals users' personal details such as their phone numbers and Email addresses, it added.

Amazon adds support for children books, comics to its Kindle eReader app

Amazon on Thursday released updates for its Kindle for Apple's iOS and Google's Android apps, as well as its Cloud Reader, adding support for children's books, comics, and graphic novels.

More than 1,000 children's and comic book titles are now available on the Kindle Fire, Kindle for Android, Kindle for iPad, and Kindle Cloud Reader, Amazon said.
Children's titles Brown Bear and Curious George are available, along with comics such as Batman and Superman.

The new additions will feature a "beautiful layout and full color," Amazon said.
Supported children's books, for example, utilize the Kindle Text Pop-Up feature to magnify text for easy reading on any size screen.
Supported comics and graphic novels are presented in Kindle Panel View, "showcasing the artwork in a panel by panel experience that reads as the author intended," Amazon said.

Business users and IT managers prefer Android tablets over iPad - Report

Apple's iPad may still be considered the king of tablets in many quarters, but new research data casts a shadow of doubt over how long that will continue.

In fact, a full 44% of first-time tablet buyers in business and IT plan to purchase an Android device in the upcoming 12 months, compared with just 27% planning to go with an iPad, according to a new study from IDG Connect.

"The rise in tablet usage and increasing prevalence of BYOD is set to have a fundamental impact on IT and business over the next few years,” said Kathryn Cave, editor at IDG Connect, in a press release announcing the results. “These findings signify changes in work mobile consumption and market leadership in the tablet arena.”

There is more in the mobile world than the 'great four' operating systems

Presenting our new infographic – the Clash of Ecosystems.

Google's Android, Apple's iOS, Microsoft Windows Phone, Research In Motion (RIM) BlackBerry, Samsung bada, Nokia Symbian and others are locked in a winner-takes-all battle – and everything revolves around an ecosystem.

This infographic presents key figures for each of our competing platforms, smartphone penetration per region – but it also shows what happened to platforms that didn’t make it.

Which platform has the largest sales base?
Which has the largest app store, with the most downloads?

Check out the answers in the Clash of Ecosystems infographic after the break.
As well as the mural of dead (or dying) platforms, our Dead Platform Graveyard.

First look at ViewSonic Android Smart Display 21.5" 'tablet'

ViewSonic might not be one of the major tech players on the market, but one thing you can say about them is that they never fail to throw some curveballs come tradeshow time.

Computex 2012 was no different, with ViewSonic showing off what could legitimately be described as a 21.5” Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet, called the Android Smart Display.

The 21.5” 1920 x 1080 HD display is anti-glare and multi-touch, and runs Google's Android Ice Cream Sandwich.
The 21.5” whatever-you-want-to-call-it stands on its own, and runs on a 1 GHz TI OMAP 4428 dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, with 1 GB of LPDDR2 RAM. WiFi connectivity and Bluetooth v2.1 support is also on board.
There is a front-facing 1.2 MP HD camera, one HDMI port, three USB 2.0 ports, a micro SD slot supporting up to 32 GB of storage, and a headphone jack, as well.
Audio comes from Supreme SRS Sound technology.

Tablet prospective buyers outside USA favor Android over iPad

IDG Connect's study of 3,124 worldwide IT and business professionals demonstrates a startling move away from Apple iPads, especially in developing regions.

Results show that 71% of respondents own a tablet, 51% of these have an iPad, but more first time buyers will opt for Google Android over the next 12 months:

- 44% will buy an Android tablet

- 27% will buy an iPad

- 3% will opt for Windows 8

- 21% aren't sure

Developing countries users get access to smartphones thanks to budget Android devices

When the first device powered by Google’s Android Operating System (OS) was unveiled in 2008, it was intended to shake up how phones were made and sold, and also how the mobile Internet would be used.

Just over three years later, with Android on the cusp of global domination, Google is well on its way to accomplishing all those goals.
And while it would be understandable to fear such dominance, this may be a positive development for phone users, especially those in developing countries.

“It’s about being better connected with the knowledge of the world and democratizing forces,” says John Lagerling, Director of Global Partnerships for Android. “These are people who have never had a computer.”