June 2014 Android distribution numbers are in, KitKat making even more ground

Posted on by Rithvik Rao

Google’s monthly Android distribution statistics are finally in for the month of June 2014. The Android version we most care about, of course, is KitKat, which has grown by leaps and bounds since our last check-in for May.KitKat has increased from 8.5% distribution to 13.6%, which is remarkable to say the least (especially considering KitKat’s seemingly-slow start, as the February ...

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iOS 8 vs Android: how much catching up did Apple really manage?

Posted on by Joe Levi

Yesterday’s WWDC 2014 keynote brought a lot a fun, interesting, and exciting things – especially for Android users like you and I! Why? Apple validated the direction that Android is taking, and improved upon some of Google’s services and features in some creative ways.Before you draw-and-quarter me for blasphemy or for being a witch, hear me out.I’m Joe the Android guy for a reason. I was even offered an iPhone free of charge from my day job. I turned them down and opted to pay for my own device as well as my own line of ...

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Android 4.4.3 shows up on Samsung Developer website

Posted on by Rithvik Rao

We look to be really close to the announcement of Android 4.4.3, Google’s big bugfixer update for their newest KitKat operating system. Previous reports have mentioned that it could possibly be becoming official for Nexus users, and while that is still a possibility, it is becoming more and more unlikely by the minute. Thankfully, it looks like even OEMs are prepared for the release —

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Android’s Holo theme is practically dead; does anyone actually care?

Posted on by Taylor Martin

Android was not always the pretty, refined operating system we know today. Pre-Matias Duarte, Android was a conflicted, hideous mess that drastically changed in color, design, and overall look with nearly each iteration. Cupcake (1.5) and Donut (1.6), for example, had a white undertone with orange and Android green accents. Both of these versions also had the original incarnation of the app drawer, a virtual drawer which was accessed by pulling a tab up from the bottom of the display. Eclair (2.0) still had the virtual app drawer, but traded the white undertone for black. By the time Froyo ...

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The new Google Camera app: finally, Android’s stock shooter stops sucking (Video)

Posted on by Michael Fisher

“Once we’ve got the 3D pose of each photo, we compute the depth of each pixel in the reference photo using Multi-View Stereo algorithms. MVS works the way human stereo vision does: given the location of the same object in two different images, we can triangulate the 3D position of the object and compute the distance to it. How do we figure out which pixel in one image corresponds to a pixel in another image? MVS measures how similar they are — on mobile devices, one particularly simple and efficient way is computing the Sum of Absolute Differences (SAD) of the RGB colors ...

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Christian Bale as Steve Jobs, HTC One countdown, AT&T GS5 & more – Pocketnow Daily

Posted on by Jaime Rivera

Watch today’s Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the AT&T announcement of the Galaxy S5 for pre-orders, along with the Samsung Gear line-up as well. Then we talk about HTC and its countdown to the announcement of the All New HTC One. The we go through the rumors of a new build of Android 4.4 KitKat. Amazon follows the news as we go through more rumors of a possible smartphone. We end today’s show by going through the rumors of Christian Bale possibly playing Steve Jobs in the Sony biopic. All this and more after the break. Stories: -

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New KitKat build spotted in testing

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

When are we likely to see the release of the next version of Android? We got 4.3 last July, 4.4 in October, and the latest, 4.4.2, in December. Will we be sitting around until summer before new updates are on their way, or could a release come much sooner? Earlier this month we talked about Google acknowledging high-CPU-usage bugs with the Nexus 5 and its ...

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KitKat updates incoming for Sony Xperia Z1, Z1 Compact, and Ultra

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

So far this year, Sony’s introduced us to plenty of new hardware, including the Xperia Z2, the Z1 Compact, and the Xperia Z2 Tablet; that’s all well and good, but what’s cooking over on the software side of things? Sony’s been working at updates for a number of its Android models, and today announces the start to distribution of KitKat updates for the Z1, Z1 Compact, and Z Ultra. Android 4.4 is on its way to all three of those handsets beginning today, but expect the usual regional delays as ...

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Samsung Galaxy TabPRO 10.1 review: “Pro” in name only

Posted on by Michael Fisher

There’s a certain minimum threshold that a product should be required to meet before it can rightfully wear the “pro” label. It should offer high-end specifications and enhanced capabilities over its more mundane, “non-pro” counterparts. Ideally, it should appeal to the consumer looking for a more versatile, more capable product. Above all, it should offer a top-notch customer experience. With the Galaxy TabPRO 10.1, Samsung gets some of that right. This Galaxy Tab is far and away the most powerful yet produced, with capabilities never before offered on the ...

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Google Play Deals, iOS 7.1 launch, Microsoft Cortana video & more – Pockentow Daily

Posted on by Jaime Rivera

Watch today’s Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the new Google Play deals due to its anniversary celebration. Then we talk about Microsoft’s Cortana, which just got featured on a leaked video. Samsung follows the news as we discover that the company is removing benchmark boosters from its phones. Apple follows as we expect iOS 7.1 to be launched very soon. We end today’s show talking about Nokia and its plans to provide us kinetic charging for our smartphones. All this and more after the break. Stories: -

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HTC One Android 4.4.2 KitKat update roll out suspended in the UK

Posted on by Anton D. Nagy

While some versions of the phone have already received the HTC One Android 4.4.2 KitKat update (like the Google Play Edition, some US versions, as well as Indian and European variants), others are just now getting a notification that the firmware is available. This was the case with our UK unlocked HTC One the other day, ...

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Hands on with KitKat’s built-in printer support (video)

Posted on by Joe Levi

Ever since the advent of the modern personal computer, the promise of a “paperless” office has been omnipresent. To-date, that promise hasn’t been fully realized. Even with tablets, which are excellent reading devices, there are still times when we need to get the information from our screens and put it on to paper. Until recently, that hasn’t been very easy. Let’s go hands-on with printing support, one of the lesser known features that comes built-in to Android 4.4

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Sprint Galaxy S 4 KitKat update could hit as soon as tomorrow

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Last week, we saw the first Android 4.4 KitKat updates start heading out to owners of the Galaxy S 4. With international distribution underway, out thoughts turned to what the situation might end up looking like for North American GS4 owners; would the carriers drag their feet, or would our own GS4 KitKat updates be swift to arrive? We heard from Rogers in Canada that the ...

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HTC shares news of carrier One KitKat update approval; who’s getting it next?

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

After a brief lull in news about KitKat updates for some of our favorite Android flagships, new tidbits started arriving earlier today, as we learned about the first Galaxy S 4 Android 4.4 updates to reach South Korea. Aside from the GS4, the other Android model that’s been demanding a lot of attention for its own KitKat update status has been the HTC One. Late last month, we heard from HTC about the delays it was ...

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Galaxy S 4 KitKat updates finally start going out OTA

Posted on by Stephen Schenck

Itching to get Android 4.4 KitKat on your Galaxy S 4? Unless you have a Google Play edition GS4, you’ve been waiting for a while now. Last fall, a few weeks following the release of KitKat, we got to look at a leaked schedule that appeared to reveal Samsung’s plans for making Android 4.4 updates available to several of its both current and past flagship ...

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