Android Jelly Bean devices double in January

Jelly Bean is on twice as many Android devices now than it was two months ago.

The Jelly Bean build of Google's Android platform is finally making its way to devices. According to Google's Android Developers Dashboard, versions 4.1 and 4.2 now account for 13% of Android-powered devices.

This figure is up from 6.7% in December of last year, a doubling of installs in the last 60-days. This sharp increase is attributable to several high profile devices receiving the Jelly Bean update over Christmas, including the Samsung Galaxy S3.

Jelly Bean graph

Slowly but surely

Google first announced Jelly Build back in June of 2012, alongside the Nexus 7 tablet. The upgrade included major performance enhancements and the new Google Now predictive search tool.

The largest fragment of the Android pie still belongs to Gingerbread, with 45% of devices still running version 2.3. This number is shrinking though, down 9% since November.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/android-jelly-bean-devices-double-in-january-1129605

Read More

ZTE Blade 3 unveiled as mid-range smartphone on a budget

The rule of 3 - something about being cheap we think

The ZTE Blade 3 has been officially announced by the Chinese firm and promises big value and a big screen experience.

ZTE is best known as a budget smartphone manufacturer, and while it's trying to shift that reputation with flagship products such as the Grand S there's no question where the Blade 3 sits in the market.

The Blade 3 will only set you back £69.99 plus £10 PAYG top up, or if you prefer you can have it for free on contact starting from £13 per month (as long as you are a Virgin Media customer).

Bargain?

For your £80 outlay you'll get a 4-inch 800 x 480 TFT display, 1GHz single-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage (of which 2.5GB is available), 5MP rear camera, 1,600mAh battery a Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich.

That's a decent set of specs for the money and puts the Blade 3 up against the more expensive Sony Xperia Miro and HTC Desire C which are both almost £100 dearer.

We were pretty impressed during our hands on ZTE Blade 3 review but we'll reserve proper judgement for our full in-depth review.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/zte-blade-3-unveiled-as-mid-range-smartphone-on-a-budget-1129496

Read More

Jailbroken iPad files hint at Apple's streaming music service

The 'radio buy' icon resembles the radio button from past iTunes versions (credit: 9to5Mac)

Because there aren't enough streaming music services already, rumors about Apple's own contender have been flying for months.

9to5Mac reported late on Monday that it had discovered some files deep within the bowels of an iOS 6.1-running iPad that hint at the existence of such a service.

The .png files are labeled "transport radio buy button" with several variations, and they reveal a pair of buttons, in grey and green, that resemble the radio icon used in older versions of iTunes.

The presence of the word "buy" in the icons' file names seems significant. Could Apple be planning to charge for its rumored streaming music service?

The streaming music blues

The buttons currently have no purpose in the OS, and they don't appear on iPhones, according to the site - just on iPads with the .1 update of iOS 6.

But it's unclear when Apple plans to launch its streaming radio service, if at all, and the relevant files could be added in a subsequent iOS update for iPhones if necessary.

Rumors of the planned Apple radio service appeared in September, when the Wall Street Journal reported that the Cupertino company was preparing to launch a bonafide Pandora rival.

Those preparations supposedly hit a snag in October, when Sony and Apple were said to be having disputes over the terms.

Then, in December, CNET reported that Warner and Universal, who together with Sony comprise three of the largest music labels in the industry, had joined in making Apple's life difficult.

What a coincidence

Rumors pegged the Apple music streaming service with a Q1 2013 launch, and the arrival of these mysterious "radio buy" files in iOS 6.1 could indicate that Apple is indeed preparing for the radio service launch.

The update to iOS 6 arrived just last week, and by Monday hackers had already cracked it and released a jailbreak utility.

Whether or not Apple really is launching a streaming music service, we'll doubtless know soon, as the end of Q1 is already approaching.

TechRadar reached out to Apple to see if the company would comment on the function of the files, but we have yet to hear back.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/audio/hi-fi-radio/jailbroken-ipad-files-hint-at-apples-streaming-music-service-1129566

Read More

Channel 4 releases 4oD app for Android, pair no longer 'Undateable'

4oD makes a belated appearance on Android

Channel 4's 4oD catch-up app has finally been released for Android smartphones and tablets long after its launch on Apple's iOS platform.

The free, on-demand service brings access to the last 30 days of programming from Channel 4, More 4 and E4, which includes The Undateables, Peep Show, Utopia and Embarrassing Fat Bodies.

There's also an A-Z library featuring a host of classic Channel 4 archive content like Father Ted, The IT Crowd and The Inbetweeners for fans of the old school.

The app offers unlimited, free streaming over Wi-Fi, but doesn't accommodate playback over mobile networks at present.

No Live TV...yet

However, the app doesn't facilitate the Live TV functionality promised by Channel 4 late last year, but we suppose it's important for C4 to walk on Android before it starts to run.

"We're pleased to be able to extend our successful video-on-demand service to this range of modern Android devices with a dedicated 4oD app," said Sarah Milton, head of video on demand at Channel 4.

"Users will now be able to catch up on their favourite Channel 4 shows and enjoy many more classics from the Channel 4 archive via their smartphones and tablets," she added.

To use the app you'll need to be running Android 4.0 and above, while C4 claims it has been specially optimised for the Google Nexus 7, Google Nexus 4, the Samsung Galaxy S3, Galaxy Tab 10.1 and, curiously, the ancient HTC Desire S.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/channel-4-releases-4od-app-for-android-pair-no-longer-undateable-1129533

Read More

Jelly Bean coming to BlackBerry Android runtime sometime down the road

BlackBerry flavored Jelly Bean?

What good is a tool like Android runtime if it's not even up to date?

Thankfully, BlackBerry announced on Tuesday at the BlackBerry Jam Europe event in Amsterdam that the Android runtime environment will eventually be updated to Android 4.1: Jelly Bean.

Android runtime allows developers to re-package Android apps for use on BlackBerry, but it's currently stuck at Android 2.3.3: Gingerbread.

The newly renamed company reportedly announced that Jelly Bean is in the works for Android runtime at the developer-oriented event, later confirming the news with Engadget, though it provided no time frame for when Jelly Bean might arrive.

Jelly Bean apps on the Z10

BlackBerry Z10 owners will certainly benefit from an update Android runtime environment, as it ushers more up-to-date Android apps through a shortcut onto the BlackBerry 10 platform.

As of Monday, it seemed the BB Z10 could be released in the U.S. on March 27, though the BB10 flagship is already available elsewhere. And, from the looks of it, the phone is selling quite well.

Time for an update

Good on BlackBerry for bothering to upgrade Android runtime - no doubt the Canadian phone maker would rather see developers port their apps to run natively on BB10, but runtime provides an easy (if imperfect) alternative.

As it stands, Android runtime is like a version of Wine for Mac, which allows Windows apps to be packaged individually for use on Apple's OS without need for a Windows OS license, that's only compatible with Windows XP software.

It's true that some emulators, like those for retro video game systems, are meant to preserve old software, but when it comes to Android runtime we'd rather have it as current as possible.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/jelly-bean-coming-to-blackberry-android-runtime-sometime-down-the-road-1129526

Read More

HTC readying new sound and camera experience in 2013

In a nice little infographic it created earlier today, HTC is promising to bring "a new sound and camera experience in 2013". All eyes are naturally turning to the upcoming M7 1080p flagship.

This aligns nicely with yesterday's rumors of the M7 featuring a new type of stacked image sensor with what HTC calls ultrapixels. This means the senor will have three layers of pixels stacked on top of each other - combining into one ultrapixel and saving the need for interpolation.

As for the sound experience we're guessing some kind of Beats Audio amplifier inside the soon-to-be M7 flagship but we can't be sure.

If what we heard so far is true, the HTC M7 should be announced on February 19 and go on sale on March 8. So we won't have to wait that long to find out.

And here's the infographic by HTC on the history of photography.

Source | Via

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_readying_new_sound_and_camera_experience_in_2013-news-5484.php

Read More

Nokia to bring out a Lumia device with 41-megapixel sensor

Nokia's 41-megapixel sensor, which was showcased for the first time at MWC 2012, bought a whole new dimension to the cameraphone game. After its recent success with the 808 PureView, Nokia will be bringing its class-leading 41-megapixel sensor to its Lumia lineup.

New reports from The Guardian back up previous rumors that the 41-megapixel Lumia device will be dubbed EOS, and the smartphone is expected to launch in the summer in the US. Unfortunately, there are no confirmations on the specifications of the device yet.

The Lumia EOS is expected to capture images with about 5 megapixel resolution, using oversampling, just like the 808 PureView did in its default Auto mode.

The latest Nokia Lumia 920 comes out with a floating lens technology, which is actual optical image stabilization - a first for a smartphone.

Combining the two technologies could result in a smartphone too tempting for cameraphone lovers to resist, regardless of their opinion on WP8.

Thanks, Adil Usman, for sending this in!

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_to_bring_out_a_lumia_device_with_41megapixel_sensor__-news-5483.php

Read More