An Android World: Limitless Expansion in Tablets, Smaller Devices, and New Hardware
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-03-05 15:49:17 UTC
- Modified: 2014-03-06 16:22:39 UTC
Android Domination in Tablets
-
It's no secret that Android has become a dominant force in the smartphone arena, with Strategy Analytics estimating that it commanded 79 percent of smartphone market share last year. Much of that success has come on Samsung devices, and so it's notable that Gartner researchers are out with new data showing that Android has become the biggest tablet operating system with 62 percent of the market, and Samsung's Android tablets are flourishing.
Beating Proprietary
-
The title says it all. Folks are using their Android/Linux smartphones a lot everywhere, even at work. Same with tablets. The personal computer has been redefined by consumers, employees, everyone but the sycophants of Wintel. The small cheap computers flooding the markets are computers and people, real people, love them. They are personal. Since “7ââ¬Â³ is on borrowed time and declining while Android/Linux usage shows higher growth than M$’s other offerings, it looks like in a year or two, Android/Linux will be the top dog in a sea of “others”.
-
When it comes to mobile operating systems, iOS and Android are still the frontrunners. Despite the brilliant and not-so-brilliant efforts of Microsoft to topple the two giants, the mobile market space is dominated by Cupertino and Mountain View. iOS, which made its beginnings in an era where touch-screen smartphones was a relatively new concept. With the late Steve Jobs at the helm, Apple was instrumental in starting what we now call the smartphone revolution. iOS with its brilliant and shiny design wowed many users thus catapulting the company into the role of a technology giant. As iOS was soaring at a breathtaking pace, a little-known open-source operating system was making its presence felt ever so slightly. Neither Steve Jobs nor the open-source community could guess how the mobile market space would change in the next few years.
-
This is a story about ARM Holdings (ARMH), the mobile technology company.
Ballnux (Microsoft-taxed)
-
Samsung Electronics came to Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress to show off its newest smartphones and smartwatches to
'Embrace' and 'Extend'
-
It sounds like Microsoft is working on a dual-boot smartphone strategy that would cover both Google Android and Windows Phone. Um... this strategy sounds a bit like the 1990s, when IBM launched a dual-boot initiative involving OS/2 and Windows. Anybody else remember how that story turned out?
-
For those who do not know, Nokia uses its own proprietary fork of Android, rather than stock Android, in its X-series devices. It also removes all Google services and replaces them with its own. Therefore, these devices ship with Nokia Store in lieu of Google Play. However, ports have been made in both directions, i.e., Google apps on Nokia X, and Nokia Store on other Android devices.
-
The end of Windows Phone?
ZDNet thinks that Microsoft's purchase of Nokia may indicate an embrace of Android and the possible end of Windows Phone.
Deception and FUD
-
Does 'open' mean 'lack of security'?
According to Google, no. Instead, an open platform is the best path to take in order to make a platform as impermeable to threats as possible.
-
A local site quoted Pichai as indicating that Google’s Android operating system was, to quote one reblog of the comments, “not designed to be safe, it was designed to be open.” Naturally, something of that nature caused a stir. Google admitting that Android is inherently insecure due to its core tenet of openness?
Embedded
-
The aim is to integrate smartphone functions such as playing media content, phone calls, messaging and navigation with the vehicle's control system, the ad continues. “You [will] develop one of the most significant technological innovation in the field of telematics, which should be used in all Mercedes-Benz vehicles and in all markets worldwide,” it adds.
-
The module is available in an industrial temperature version. It ships with a Yocto Project-certified Linux Linux 3.12 or 3.2 BSP that offers a choice of several distributions, including Arago and Ubuntu. Board support packages are also available for Android 4.x and WEC7.
-
The release of 64-bit Android will depend on Google, whose current Android 4.4 version code-named KitKat is 32-bit. But 64-bit Android adoption will be swift if software, drivers and tools are ready ahead of the OS release, said George Grey, speaking Sunday at the Linaro Connect Asia 2014 developer conference in Macau.
New Hardware
-
Found on the company's $135 S5 Android-powered smartphone (not to be confused with Samsung's Galaxy S5), the 5.5-inch handset uses two infrared emitters, a secondary infrared camera to map a 3D image of your facial features.
-
Google has published the app which turned the Android home screen into a ‘Google Search’ screen by tightly integrating search features with the search box. The feature is however not part of the base-OS, thanks to crazy patent claims by Apple.
-
Under the hood Xperia Z2 tablet has a Qualcomm’s latest top of the line Snapdragon 801 2.3Ghz quad core processor with Adreno 330 GPU, making it one of the most powerful Android tablet at the moment. Along with that it contains 3GB RAM enough for multitasking and internal memory options of 16GB or 32GB. The tablet also has support for expandable storage using microSD card upto 64GB.
-
Motorola believes that it will be a compromise if they try to include other OS ecosystems in their products. “We’d have to compromise if we spread across ecosystems.” When asked if they have any plans for a Windows Phone, now that they are free from Google, the reply was simple : “We are committed to Android.” Also Motorola is looking to keep the UI clean and add as less customisations as possible. “This approach allows us to create, simple, meaningful experiences – like provide software updates quicker than competitors.”
-
The phablet carries a massive 5.5 inch screen, but no fancy 1080p stuff, but rather sports a respectful 720Ãâ1280 pixel resolution display. It is powered by a quad core Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.6GHz. There is 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB internal memory which is expandable upto 128GB. There’s no ultra pixel camera but HTC has managed to put in a 13 megapixel snapper, along with a decent 5 MP front camera for better selfies. The battery is non-removable and has a capacity of 2600 mAh.
Blackphone and Boeing
-
With the NSA and other news of spying circling the internet, it's making more of us give security and the protection of our personal data a second and deeper thought. It’s with this matter in the forefront that Silent Circle came up with an innovative and clever plan to counter this rising concern: the Blackphone, one of the most interesting smartphones presented at the MWC this year. We were able to shoot a short hands-on video of the high-security smartphone.
-
NSA revelations of the last few months have prompted new thinking about mobile-device security. (If content from the phone of Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel can be intercepted, what hope is there for yours?) Two of the more dramatic examples of this are the Blackphone, from Silent Circle and Geeksphone, which became available for preorder Feb. 21, and the Boeing Black smartphone.
-
Black is based on a proprietary security architecture that Boeing calls "PureSecure." Like Samsung’s Knox platform, it has a “trusted boot” mode that can detect and thwart any attempt to root the device—or disable it if it can’t. In addition to onboard media encryption for internal storage, the phone can be configured to inhibit certain functions based on location or the network it is connected to in order to prevent data loss. It might also be used to disable the device’s camera in secure facilities.
Ara
-
Google is in the process of selling Motorola to Lenovo, but it’s keeping Motorola’s Advanced Research and Projects (ATAP) R&D group. ATAP announced Project Ara in October, and a week ago tipped its Project Tango 3D sensing phone prototype. Now, Google has confirmed it’s moving ahead with Project Ara, and announced an Ava Developers’ Conference, along with a more details on the project and images of a phone prototype.
-
Developers interested in creating their own features for Google’s Ara customizable phone project will soon get their chance: the company revealed today that developers kits and conferences are on their way.
-
In the long run it may change the market dynamics and break the unibody Apple shell where even battery is locked out from user’s reach and popularize device which are user-upgradable. If I have to choose, I will definitely choose a device which can be upgraded over time unlike devices which become obsolete in 2 years just because you can’t even upgrade the RAM. Google’s approach with Ara is a complete U-turn from what Apple is trying to do with their devices.
-
Google's Project Ara promises not only to give consumers control over the features and functionality they want in a smartphone, but also to reduce the volume of e-waste dumped into landfills. A smartphone with interchangeable parts theoretically could live forever. "Like other Google moon shot projects, [its success] depends on enticing and exciting developers," said tech analyst Charles King.
Apps
-
Having a good selection of Android apps is pretty well essential: there’s so much happening in the world that it’s tough to keep up with everything without a little help.
-
Infraware appears to be counting its chickens before they're hatched. Its Polaris App Generator can turn a lot of Android eggs -- um, apps -- into Tizen apps, but there's not yet a Tizen phone to use them on. At a rumored cost of $5K, the generator might be a good deal for developers once a Tizen phone actually sees the light of day, but it's a big chunk of change to gamble on an as yet unfulfilled promise.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- [Video] Microsoft's Attack on Education
- Microsoft's cult-like activities and overt entryism
- Microsoft Windows Used to Have Nearly 100% in China and Now Google Has 50% (With Android)
- Will China bring about a faster "fall" for Microsoft?
- GNU/Linux Growing Worldwide (the Story So Far!)
- Microsoft is unable to stop GNU/Linux
- Red Hat Loves Microsoft Monopoly (and Proprietary Surveillance With Back Doors)
- full posting history in RedHat.com
-
- Nigeria: Windows Down to 6%, Android at All-Time High of 77%
- Google is becoming the "new monopoly" in some places
- [Meme] Money In, No Money Out (Granting Loads of Invalid European Patents)
- EPO production?
- Staff Representation at the EPO Has Just Explained to Heads of Delegations (National Delegates) Why the EPO's Financial Study is Another Hoax
- Here we are again 5 years later
- Canonical and Red Hat Are Not Competing With Microsoft Anymore
- What a shame they hired so many people from Microsoft...
- Links 21/05/2024: "Hating Apple Goes Mainstream", Lots of Coverage About Julian Assange Ruling
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 21/05/2024: Losing Fats and Modern XMPP
- Links for the day
- Pursuing a Case With No Prospects (Because It's "Funny")
- the perpetrators are taking a firm that's considered notorious
- GNU/Linux in Honduras: From 0.28% to 6%
- Honduras remains somewhat of a hotspot
- Good News From Manchester and London, Plus High Productivity in Techrights
- what has happened and what's coming
- [Video] The 'Linux' Foundation Cannot be Repaired Anymore (It Sold Out)
- We might need to accept that the Linux Foundation lost its way
- Links 21/05/2024: Tesla Layoffs and Further Free Speech Perils Online
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 21/05/2024: New Gemini Reader and Gemini Games
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Monday, May 20, 2024
- IRC logs for Monday, May 20, 2024
- [Video] Just Let Julian Assange Go Back to Australia
- Assange needs to be freed
- Microsoft-Connected Sites Trying to Shift Attention Away From Microsoft's Megabreach Only Days Before Important If Not Unprecedented Grilling by the US Government?
- Why does the mainstream media not entertain the possibility a lot of these talking points are directed out of Redmond?
- The WWW declares the end of Google
- Reprinted with permission from Cyber|Show
- Gemini Links 20/05/2024: CMSs and Lua "Post to midnight.pub" Script Alternative
- Links for the day
- Windows Has Fallen Below 5% in Iraq, GNU/Linux Surged Beyond 7% Based on statCounter's Stats
- Must be something going on!
- Brodie Robertson - Never Criticise The Linux Foundation Expenses (With Transcript)
- Transcript included
- Links 20/05/2024: Protests and Aggression by Beijing
- Links for the day
- Can an election campaign succeed without social media accounts?
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Read "Google Is Not What It Seems" by Julian Assange
- In this extract from his new book When Google Met Wikileaks, WikiLeaks' publisher Julian Assange describes the special relationship between Google, Hillary Clinton and the State Department -- and what that means for the future of the internet
- Fact check: relation to Julian Assange, founded Wikileaks at University of Melbourne and Arjen Kamphuis
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Julian Assange: Factual Timeline From an Online Friend
- a friend's account
- Breaking News: Assange Wins Right to Challenge Extradition to the US
- This is great news, but maybe the full legal text will reveal some caveat
- Gambia: Windows Down to 5% Overall, 50% on Desktops/Laptops
- Windows was measured at 94% in 2015
- Links 20/05/2024: Microsoft Layoffs and Shutdowns, RTO as Silent Layoffs
- Links for the day
- The Issue With Junk Traffic in Geminispace (Gemini Protocol)
- Some people have openly complained that their capsule was getting hammered by bot
- Peter Eckersley, Laura Smyth & the rushed closure of dial-up Internet in Australian universities
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Brittany Day, Plagiarist in Chief (Chatbot Slinger)
- 3 articles in the front page of LXer.com right now are chatbot spew
- Guardian Digital, Inc (linuxsecurity.com) Has Resorted to Plagiarism by Chatbots, Flooding the World Wide Web With Fake 'Articles' Wrongly Attributed to Brittany Day
- busted
- [Meme] Bullying the Victims
- IBM: crybully of the year 2024
- Ian.Community Should be Safer From Trademark Censorship
- We wish to discuss this matter very quickly
- Microsoft and Its Vicious Attack Dogs (Attacking Women or Wives in Particular)
- Sad, pathetic, destructive people
- Upcoming Series About the Campaign to 'Disappear' the Father of GNU/Linux
- Today we have Julian Assange's fate to focus on
- A Month From Now Gemini Protocol Turns 5
- June 20
- Colombia: From Less Than 0.5% to Nearly 4% for GNU/Linux
- it's not limited to this one country
- Rumour: Well Overdue Red Hat Layoffs to be Announced in About 3 Days
- we know they've planned the layoffs for a while
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, May 19, 2024
- IRC logs for Sunday, May 19, 2024
- Gemini Links 20/05/2024: Updated Noto Fontpacks and gemfeed2atom
- Links for the day
- GNU/Linux in Georgia: Looking Good
- Windows down from 99% to less than 33%
- Tomorrow is a Historic Day for Press Freedom in the UK
- Take note of the Julian Assange case
- Hiding in a Forest Without a Phone and Hiding Behind the First Amendment in the United States (US)
- some serial defamer is trying to invert the narrative
- Links 19/05/2024: Iran's President Lost in Helicopter Crash, WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange Awaits Decisions in Less Than a Day
- Links for the day
- Links 19/05/2024: Microsoft Investigated in Europe
- Links for the day
- 4 Old Articles About Microsoft/IBM SystemD
- old but still relevant
- Firefox Has Fallen to 2% in New Zealand
- At around 2%, at least in the US (2% or below this threshold), there's no longer an obligation to test sites for any Gecko-based browser
- Winning Streak
- Free software prevalence
- Links 19/05/2024: Conflicts, The Press, and Spotify Lawsuit
- Links for the day
- GNU/Linux+ChromeOS at Over 7% in New Zealand
- It's also the home of several prominent GNU/Linux advocates
- libera.chat (Libera Chat) Turns 3 Today
- Freenode in the meantime continues to disintegrate
- [Teaser] Freenode NDA Expires in a Few Weeks (What Really Happened 3 Years Ago)
- get ready
- GNU/Linux is Already Mainstream, But Microsoft is Still Trying to Sabotage That With Illegal Activities and Malicious Campaigns of Lies
- To help GNU/Linux grow we'll need to tackle tough issues and recognise Microsoft is a vicious obstacle
- Slovenia's Adoption of GNU/Linux in 2024
- Whatever the factor/s may be, if these figures are true, then it's something to keep an eye on in the future
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 18, 2024
- IRC logs for Saturday, May 18, 2024
- Links 19/05/2024: Profectus Beta 1.2
- Links for the day