One of the key new features of Jelly Bean is Google Now, the voice assistant that learns from you and provides information it thinks will be useful.  Many ICS users have been wanting this feature for themselves, but while there have been mods available for some time they have lacked full voice functionality. Now XDA […]

Gameloft (one of the top developers of games for both iOS and Android) has tweeted that going forward they intend to release their games for both platforms at the same time. In the past it has been common practice to release the iOS version first, followed by the Android version a month or two later.  […]

This time last month the percentage of active Android devices running Ice Cream Sandwich was 7.1%.  The latest figures show that this percentage has more than doubled at 15.9%.  Jelly Bean has also made it’s first appearance. Below is the full breakdown… Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean): 0.8 percent Android 4.0.3 to 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich): […]

Although Android still accounts for more than half of US smartphone shipments, Apple gained 10% market share in the June quarter compared to the same quarter last year, with both Android and RIM losing around 4%. With the new iPhone reportedly on the way in September, Apple will undoubtedly see a further surge in demand.  […]

Last week we reported that Madfinger games had made Dead Trigger free because of piracy.  The logic of making a game free because some people weren’t paying for it escaped me, and I felt the more likely scenario was that they thought they could make more money from in-app purchases when more people played the […]

If even after watching the Nexus 7 drop test, you’d still prefer a little extra protection for your tablet then the official Nexus 7 case might interest you.  They where initially available for pre-order bundled with your Nexus 7, but quickly went out of stock.  Recently people have even been selling them on eBay for […]

In their latest drop test video, SquareTrade pits the Nexus 7 against the new iPad to see which can withstand the most abuse. Both get repeatedly dropped on different surfaces, and even into a bathtub of water.  I’ll let you see the results for yourself, however I will say that the Nexus 7 may be […]

One of the most common criticisms of the Nexus 7 tablet is that it’s a little light in the on-board storage department (especially the 8GB model with 5.92GB of available storage).  Google are pushing the Nexus 7 as a device for accessing their cloud services, and therefore didn’t include a microSD slot for expandable storage. […]

A number of users are reporting significant screen flicker from the Nexus 7 tablet under low light conditions.  The issue appears to surface when back-light is dimmed under 30%, a weak WiFi signal and the device is accessing the net. I noticed this flicker myself last night on the device.  The screen brightness was low […]

Google have released a new video to advertise the Nexus 7 which shows off a lot of the great features. As the device is WiFi only and since they were camping, I watched this thinking they seemed to be highlighting the offline features of the device.  [SPOILER] However the twist at the end shows this […]

Massively popular zombie first-person shooter, Dead Trigger can now be downloaded for free from the Play Store.  Madfinger Games have done away with the initial 99c price tag, but the in-app purchases remain.  They have also updated the game with the following new features… New Weapons: Chain Saw, Lewis Machine Gun, Marine Engine with blades, […]

If you are one of the many people that have snapped up Google’s Nexus 7 tablet, you’re probably aware that as well as selling the device for a very reasonable price, Google are including a 25 USD / 15 GBP Play Store credit when you log in with your Google account. Well apparently you can […]

Charlie Miller, a veteran smartphone hacker and principal research consultant at security firm Accuvant has said that it will be difficult to write exploits for Jelly Bean as it is the first version of Android to include full ASLR and DEP. ASLR randomizes data structure memory locations, and as a result hackers are unable to […]

  As any Android lover knows, romance and Android goes hand-in-hand.  That’s how Android guys know that true romance doesn’t involve flowers, chocolates or balcony serenades.  What a Android gal really wants is a Galaxy Nexus with a specially customized boot animation. This is how one reddit user decided to pop the question… I’m sure […]

Check out episode 4 of Molly Wood’s Always On show, to see her torture-testing a Samsung Galaxy S3.  She puts one in the freezer for 2 hours, bakes it for an hour at 190 degrees fahrenheit, scratches the screen with keys, dunks it in a fish bowl and drops it 3 times. I don’t want […]

As promised, Google have released the source code for Android 4.1, allowing the developer masses to tear it apart.  What is most anticipated is when the development groups will be able to integrate the changes into the existing base code of their custom ROMs. As reported last week, the CyanogenMod team predict a fast turnaround.  […]

  According to a recent teardown of the Nexus 7, the combined cost of the hardware components is $184, and with a selling price of $199 for the 8GB model this leaves Google $15 to pay for marketing, R&D and manufacturing costs.  Profit margins on the 16GB unit look a little better, as an additional […]

When Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) was announced at Google I/O all we wanted to know was when we would get our hands on that buttery smoothness.  The Galaxy Nexus phone will begin shipping with Jelly Bean next week (it addresses the universal search Apple patent that is currently preventing shipment in the US), with the […]

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is no longer available for sale in the US Google Play store following the preliminary injunction raising by Apple and the rejection of Samsung’s appeal to delay the ban. The Galaxy Nexus entry and price remain unchanged, however the online store lists availability as “Coming Soon” and offers the chance to sign […]

The developers over at XDA have been hunting through a system dump of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean,  digging out some of the updated Google apps, and making them available for users of rooted ICS devices. First came Google Sound Search (also known as Google Ears) which identifies the song playing (like Shazaam / Soundhound) and […]

  On Friday a U.S. district judge granted Apple a preliminary injunction against one of the devices handed out at the Google I/O conference, Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus phone.  The injunction alleged that the device infringed on several of its patents, and will prevent it from being sold in stores in the U.S.  Last week an […]

The folks at Business Insider caught up with Google’s director of product management, Hugo Barra last night and asked how has the first days pre-sale gone?  Although he wouldn’t disclose specifics, he did say they were really, really good. Pressed for a ballpark figure, he simply said, “it’s big!” Apparently the 16GB version of the […]

Google pulled out all the stops on the first day of it’s I/O developers conference, with lots of cool announcements to please us technology enthusiasts.  If like me you couldn’t be there, here’s a summary of what we missed… Jelly Bean Android 4.1 proves that it’s worthy of a new dessert name (are jelly beans […]

A US judge has raised a preliminary injunction that says once Apple coughs up a $2.6 million dollar bond, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 will have to be removed from store shelves. Fortunately due to the speed of the American legal system, the device is now over a year old and the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 […]

Last week we reported on a survey from Frank N. Magid Associates that said Android tablet ownership in the US had almost caught up with iPads (see here). A follow up report by Chikita Insights indicates that this may not be the case.  Their report says that based on data from their ad network, iPad […]

Yes, I kid you not.  Transparent jeans.  When you don’t want to go to the trouble of pulling out your favorite plaything, you need a pair of Delta415 Wearcom jeans.  They’re not completely transparent of course, but they do have a transparent pocket that allows access to your touchscreen phone without removing it.  Your handset […]

After an extensive beta, SwiftKey 3 has finally been released.  SwiftKey’s fantastic word prediction has made it one of Android’s most popular replacement keyboards, and the innovative SwiftKey 3 beta received a lot of praise. It goes on sale today (with a number of further enhancements since the beta) on Google Play and Amazon Appstore, […]