android

Nearly half of smartphones sold in Europe hail from Samsung

Android is flying high in Europe, due mainly to the "relentless" popularity of Samsung's smartphone line, according to a new report.

During a three-month period that ended in May, nearly half of all smartphones sold in Europe were produced by Samsung, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reported Monday. The research firm found that Samsung helped lift Android to a 70.4 percent share of the key European markets, Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, and Spain. During the same period last year, its market share was at 61.3 percent.

Trailing far behind Android, Apple's iOS platform owns … Read more

Windows 8.1 vs. Apple: Twofer or tablet?

Will new Windows 8.1 hybrids finally expose the iPad for what it really is, a mere tablet?

That's what Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer suggested this week.

When speaking at the company's Build Conference on Wednesday, he described in colorful -- and maybe just a tad exaggerated -- terms how tablets don't measure up to laptops (or even pencil and paper).

Enter the "2-in-1," as Microsoft likes to call hybrids. During his keynote presentation, Ballmer brandished the Lenovo ThinkPad Helix as an example of a 2-in-1 he has used.

The Helix can be a pure … Read more

Prizefight: The Fitbit Flex takes on the Jawbone Up

Wearable tech is becoming a hotbed for innovation, but fitness tech has been the category that's opened people's minds to wearing tech 24-7. So we're taking the Fitbit Flex and the Jawbone Up and throwing them into the Prizefight ring!

The Fitbit Flex is the company's first fitness wristband with Bluetooth syncing. The Jawbone Up brings a unique design that's been fine-tuned after its initial release.

Both of them measure your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and quality of sleep with complementary apps.

Who will cross the finish line first? Will it be the … Read more

Could Google be next with a game console?

CNET Update hearts it:

In this episode of Update:

- Preorder a GamePop by Sunday to get it for free, or else get the GamePop Mini free with a subscription.

- Prepare for a Nexus Q comeback if Google relaunches it as an Android-gaming console.

- Leave your evening plans in the hands of Max, the new Netflix suggestion feature.

- Catch a glimpse of Android 4.3 leaked screenshots.

- Ditch the extra cable box this summer with Time Warner Cable's live TV app on Xbox.

- Bid farewell to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, which isn't getting an upgrade … Read more

How to move Google Authenticator to a new device

Two-step verification can help thwart malicious attacks against your online accounts. Anyone trying to break into your account would need both your password and the mobile device that authentication codes are sent to in order to gain access.

Google has done a splendid job of providing options for those who are interested in setting up this extra security measure: you can get text alerts, or you can use Google's authenticator app, available for Android, BlackBerry, and iOS.

When using the app as your method of authentication code delivery, you may wonder what happens when you want to retire an … Read more

Transfer files between Android and OS X with Droid NAS

Before I bought a Macbook Air, I began to fear the hassles that could potentially come with sharing files between my other devices, particularly my Android phone. What's the easiest way to transfer files between my two most beloved devices? Droid NAS is one elegant solution.

Droid NAS lets you send files back and forth between your Mac and Android phone. The app makes this possible via Wi-Fi and the built-in Bonjour protocol inside OS X.

Download and launch Droid NAS from your Android phone. Make sure that your Android device and your Macbook or Mac are all connected … Read more

BlueStacks' new Android console is (almost) free forever

BlueStacks really wants to see Android spread across all the disparate screens in the universe, and it's willing to hand out a free gaming console based on Google's mobile OS to help achieve that vision.

Today the company behind the BlueStacks app player, which brings Android apps to other platforms like Windows, and the $129 Android-based GamePop mobile gaming console and service announced the GamePop Mini, a free version of the console available to subscribers who pay a $6.99 monthly fee. … Read more

Android 4.3 allegedly caught on Google Play Galaxy S4

Google's next version of Android may have taken its latest bow courtesy of a batch of leaked screenshots.

Images obtained and posted by Sammobile purport to reveal an early Android 4.3 build running on the Google Play Edition Galaxy S4. The screenshots clearly display the Android version number as 4.3, while the model number of GT-i9505G refers to Google's new "pure" version of the Galaxy S4.

Another screenshot shows that Google is apparently sticking with the Jelly Bean moniker for Android 4.3.

This isn't the first time Android 4.3 has surfaced … Read more

Gripe and ye shall receive: Google fixes Gmail for Android

Google has come to its senses with its Gmail app for Android.

A June Gmail overhaul dropped the delete button by default from the e-mail software, a move judged to be silly by me and by 88 percent of the CNET readers who responded to our poll.

Plenty of other people didn't give a fig, the button's absence wasn't a showstopper, and it could be restored by changing the settings, but I thought it a departure for a company that today is supposed to be fanatical about crafting a great experience for users.

Well, happily, it's … Read more

Google said to be creating game console and smartwatch

Google appears to be boosting both its wearable tech and its gaming status. According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), the tech giant is working on developing both a video game console and a smartwatch that could run on Android.

Last year, Google unveiled a Web-connected media-playing console, dubbed the Nexus Q, but it never sold it to the public. The spherical device featured glowing LEDs that responded to music. The Q also streamed content directly from Google Play Music, Google Play TV & Movies, and YouTube, using an Android phone or tablet as the controller. However, a couple … Read more