Thinking about the HTC One Google Edition? Here’s what you’ll be missing

Posted on by Joe Levi

Google used to have “launch partners” to help it show off a new operating system or new platform. Motorola showed off its XOOM tablet, Logitech showed off its Google TV set top box. After that, Google leaned more toward Nexus devices to show its new features, rather than its traditional “launch partner” approach. Many of us in the tech industry mused about the potential (albeit remote) of multiple Nexus devices in each category ...

Continue reading »

The post Thinking about the HTC One Google Edition? Here’s what you’ll be missing appeared first on Pocketnow.

The Google Edition Galaxy S 4 and HTC One will be a boon to the development community, and to you

Posted on by Joe Levi

When sites like Pocketnow review smartphones and tablets it can be somewhat difficult to flatten the playing field and return an unbiased evaluation comparing Apples to Apples (if you’ll pardon the pun). Part of this stems from the fact that in addition to comparing different hardware, journalists are also challenged with comparing dissimilar software features. These differences can reach beyond the user experience and can manifest anomalous readings in bench-marking utilities and negatively impact everyday performance. Thanks to

Continue reading »

The post The Google Edition Galaxy S 4 and HTC One will be a boon to the development community, and to you appeared first on Pocketnow.

Android tablet owners: Your life is about to get really exciting!

Posted on by admin

Up until Motorola and Google co-released the XOOM tablet, Apple dominated the tablet arena. Various manufacturers attempted to “shoe-horn” the smartphone version of Android onto tablets with much larger screens, and actually did some with some measure of success. Google politely asked manufacturers to hold off while they put together a version of Android that was designed specifically for the larger screen sizes that are what make tablets so much different than smartphones. Android Honeycomb was born… and everyone hated it.

Continue reading »

The post Android tablet owners: Your life is about to get really exciting! appeared first on Pocketnow.

Google’s focus on services makes me uncomfortable

Posted on by admin

Google introduced some very cool things at I/O 2013, primary among them was a renewed focus on services. In addition to talking a lot about new Google Play Services which will bring a whole new set of features and functionality to every Android handset and tablet from Froyo on up, we were also shown “Auto Awesome” and Hangouts (the replacement for Talk). Auto Awesome “Auto Awesome” is a set of utilities built in to the latest version of Google Plus ...

Continue reading »

The post Google’s focus on services makes me uncomfortable appeared first on Pocketnow.

Should you be excited about the June 10 Android 4.3 rumors?

Posted on by admin

Before any large event or conference there’s always a lot of speculation about what’s coming next. It may come as a surprise to many of you, but any software development project is never really “done”. There is always a list of features that didn’t make it in, known bugs that were deemed not to be “show stoppers”, bugs that weren’t identified prior to release, as well as other patches and updates that come with the normal development cycle. As such, there will always be updates to software, including operating systems like Android. There are ...

Continue reading »

The post Should you be excited about the June 10 Android 4.3 rumors? appeared first on Pocketnow.

Here’s why the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Google Edition is important

Posted on by admin

One of the announcements at Google I/O this year was somewhat unexpected. We’d heard a few scattered rumors of another Samsung-made Nexus based on their new Galaxy S 4 platform, but I don’t think anyone was ready for what we actually got: an unlocked, cross-carrier version of the Galaxy S4 — the Galaxy S4 Google Edition. Earlier today Pocketnow’s Stephen Schenck wrote about this new but “not ...

Continue reading »

The post Here’s why the Samsung Galaxy S 4 Google Edition is important appeared first on Pocketnow.

The Google Galaxy S 4 Is a (Slightly) Bad Deal

Posted on by admin

Those of you who watched along with the Google I/O keynote last week got to witness the debut of what’s essentially a Nexus Galaxy S 4. Everything was going great at the time: “it’s Google’s take on Android – on the Galaxy S 4″ *cheers* “it’s bootloader unlocked” *cheers* “it will get prompt updates with every Android platform update” *big cheers* “it will go up for sale on June 26 in Google Play for ...

Continue reading »

The post The Google Galaxy S 4 Is a (Slightly) Bad Deal appeared first on Pocketnow.

Google Thinking About À La Carte Permissions for Android

Posted on by admin

When you install an Android app, you’re presented with a litany of permissions that the app requires you to accept. Currently, that’s an all-or-nothing situation. While that makes things easier for developers, it also takes away a lot of power away from users, and potentially makes Android less secure. We’ve recently been talking about news uncovered thanks to Google I/O events, and that trend continues now, with Google addressing just this very issue during the Android team “fireside chat.” ...

Continue reading »

The post Google Thinking About À La Carte Permissions for Android appeared first on Pocketnow.

Google I/O Delivers New Key Lime Pie Teasers

Posted on by admin

Despite our expectations, Google I/O 2013 failed to deliver a new version of Android. As we’ve discussed, that wasn’t so much of a big deal, as we got plenty of improvements to services without needing a whole new Android build, but has left us wondering: just when might Key Lime Pie get here? We’ve seen evidence showing Android 4.3 in testing, and rumors have suggested that it could arrive sometime next month. We wait to learn if that will indeed come to ...

Continue reading »

The post Google I/O Delivers New Key Lime Pie Teasers appeared first on Pocketnow.

Google+ Overhaul Comes to Android App

Posted on by admin

Instead of bringing us a new Android version, last week’s Google I/O instead introduced a whole load of updates to Google services, giving the platform a refresh without requiring a full-on new Android build. A big chunk of those improvements centered on Google+, including a number of improvements to how the service handles photographs. Today an updated version of the Android Google+ app arrives to finally give you access to these new features, numbering 41 in total. Google+ will now let you automatically backup photos ...

Continue reading »

The post Google+ Overhaul Comes to Android App appeared first on Pocketnow.

Pocketnow Live, Ep. 16: Nokia and Google I/O Reactions

Posted on by admin

Last Friday we were excited about the week ahead, this week, as it contained two days circled with very promising events: Nokia’s Lumia 925 event in London and Google’s I/O. Both came and passed, leaving us with a phone (or two), and ecosystem improvements. Depending on your expectations and standards your excitement probably either turned into delight or disappointment. Of course we’ll talk about Nokia and Google I/O reactions, since they’re the most recent (and probably among the last until the next big event of the year bringing us the next iPhone), and you can ...

Continue reading »

The post Pocketnow Live, Ep. 16: Nokia and Google I/O Reactions appeared first on Pocketnow.

Microsoft Shoots Back at Google I/O Interoperability Jab

Posted on by admin

Those of you who stuck around for the entire Google I/O 2013 keynote address yesterday got to see a hoarse-sounding Larry Page take the stage to wax philosophical, answer questions, and take a few swings at Google’s competition. Microsoft found itself on the receiving end of just such a volley, with Page criticizing the company’s willingness to let its products interoperate with Google’s. Specifically, Page talked about Google offering to have the companies’ instant messaging protocols work with each ...

Continue reading »

The post Microsoft Shoots Back at Google I/O Interoperability Jab appeared first on Pocketnow.

Pocketnow Weekly 044: Galaxy S 4 Google Edition, I/O 2013, & Nokia Lumia 925

Posted on by admin

Last we checked, there are 52 weeks in a year – but you wouldn’t know it, given the announcement schedule of some major players in the tech space. Companies vying for the attention of fickle consumers often stack their events one right after the other in a strategic attempt to undermine competitors, sometimes hosting major announcements just days -or even hours- apart. Sometimes, it’s all a tech podcast team can do to keep up. Such a thing happened this week, with Nokia preempting Google’s annual I/O developer conference with an announcement of its own: the Lumia ...

Continue reading »

The post Pocketnow Weekly 044: Galaxy S 4 Google Edition, I/O 2013, & Nokia Lumia 925 appeared first on Pocketnow.

Google’s Lack Of Update For Android At I/O Was Actually Smart, Here’s Why

Posted on by admin

It’s not common to see Larry Page on stage for a Google event, regardless of how big it is. Usually Eric Schmidt or Sergey Brin have been the ones that have shined the most for their showmanship, and as I watched the Google I/O keynote yesterday, Larry changed that, and he said something that really struck a nerve – “We should be doing what nobody else is doing”. He also said things like “We should work on getting technology out of the way”, and other phrases we’ve heard in the past, but by the late CEO of another company I don’t even need to ...

Continue reading »

The post Google’s Lack Of Update For Android At I/O Was Actually Smart, Here’s Why appeared first on Pocketnow.

Why the New Google Play Services Make Android Better Than Ever

Posted on by admin

The keynote of Google I/O 2013 has come and gone. This would have been the time when Google announced a new version of Android. Instead they went into great detail about new features that are coming to Google Play Services. To bring everyone up to speed, Google Play Services are a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) — hooks that developers use to make apps do awesome things. While some may argue that APIs alone don’t do much to help end users like you and I, others would say they provide a foundation upon which developers can write new applications and extend ...

Continue reading »

The post Why the New Google Play Services Make Android Better Than Ever appeared first on Pocketnow.