Android software

Google won't be able to compete with the attention lavished on Apple for the launch of the sixth-generation iPhone, but it did announce the notable milestone late tonight of half a billion device activations.

"Today is a big day for Android... 500 million devices activated globally, and over 1.3 million added every single day," said Hugo Bara, Android's director of product management, in a Google+ post. It's not clear how many devices are replacing older ones, though.

Barra said in June at the Google I/O show that 400 million Android devices had been activated … Read more

Sprint today confirmed that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean rollouts have begun for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Samsung Nexus S 4G.

The updates will be made available to consumers over the air and will not require Samsung Kies. According to Sprint, Android 4.1 will download in the background and notify users when it's ready to install.

As we first learned in June, Jelly Bean brings a number of new features to Android devices, including enhanced notifications, Google Now, and smarter widget management.

Sprint also reiterates the added accessibility features that come with Android 4.1. Once these … Read more

Mobile users are increasingly downloading free apps, a new study from research firm Gartner has found.

The company announced today that 45.6 billion apps will be downloaded worldwide in 2012. Out of that, a whopping 89 percent, or 40.6 billion, will be free apps. The remaining 5 billion will be downloaded after users purchase them.

Last year, free apps accounted for 88.4 percent of all downloads. Last year's total download tally hit only 25 billion.

When users actually download paid apps, they're largely unwilling to pay a significant sum. In fact, Gartner research director Sandy … Read more

Some Android smartphones have a dedicated camera shutter button, or at least a button combination that takes a photo. Usually, it's on the top of edge of the phone, and it works well when you're trying to hang onto the phone and snap a shot at the same time. If your only camera button is onscreen, as in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S III (S3), you can actually tell the camera when to take a photo instead of tapping the button.

To do this you'll need to enable voice commands for apps, which can be … Read more

Depending on which version of Android you're running, there might be a Bugdroid or gender-neutral silhouette that appears for each contact that is missing a custom photo. While seeing these instead of a contact's photo isn't too big of a deal, it's always nice to see the faces of your family and friends that are calling you. This is especially useful if you're at a location where the volume of your device needs to be turned off and you can see who is calling with just a quick glance.

While this method is a bit … Read more

When Amazon launched the original Kindle Fire in 2011, the $199 tablet was a surprise hit that reigned as one of the top budget tablet options. But that reign came to a dramatic end with the introduction of the Nexus 7, Google's flagship Android 4.1 tablet.

To keep things interesting, Amazon just upped the ante with a Kindle Fire HD, offering several key hardware improvements, overhauled software, and that same $199 price tag. And while it's not likely to send Google back to the drawing board, the Kindle Fire HD does offer an interesting alternative to the pure Android experience of the Nexus 7.

Which of these $199 tablets is right for you? It's a tough call, so let's weigh the pros and cons and check the specs.… Read more

The upcoming Wikipad tablet, first spotted back in January at CES, now has an official release date and price. The 10.1-inch Android handheld gaming system will be available for $499 on October 31. Starting September 7, the system will be available to preorder through game retailer GameStop, although the Wikipad is expected to be available through other retailers as well.

Wikipad is part of a growing trend of independently developed game consoles outside of the major Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft axis.… Read more

HTC may have two Android tablets for its upcoming September 19 press conference, if recent chatter is to be believed.

According to rumors making the rounds this week, HTC is working on a 7-inch Flyer/Evo View 4G successor that will be based off Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and likely feature a custom HTC experience with support for the Scribe digital pen.

Hardware specifications are said to include a 7-inch 1,280×768-pixel display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, a 3-megapixel camera on the rear, and a 1-megapixel front-facing camera.… Read more

Your face just helped Google win a patent.

The search giant yesterday was awarded a patent, called "Login to a computing device based on facial recognition," that describes a technology for identifying a person's face and delivering to that person full access to personal information on a device.

In order for the technology to work, Google's patent requires a camera that can identify a person's face. If that face matches a "predetermined identity," then the person is logged into the respective device. If multiple people want to access a computer, the next person … Read more