Android

Judge green-lights lawsuit against Apple over text message delivery issue

Cody Lee ∙ November 11, 2014

Federal judge Lucy Koh has green-lighted a lawsuit against Apple over its long-standing iMessage issue that causes some former iPhone users to not receive their text messages, reports Reuters. The lawsuit was filed in May by San Jose, California resident Adrienne Moore.

Moore says Apple didn't properly warn her that she'd quit receiving text messages after switching from an iPhone to a Galaxy S5. There's no word yet on what kind of damages Moore is asking for, but she is seeking class action status, which would allow others to join the suit.

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Disney’s Movies Anywhere out for Android, makes cross-platform movies a reality

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 2, 2018

In a somewhat ironic twist of fate, Disney is helping blur the lines between Apple's and Google's respective ecosystems with Tuesday's release of its Movies Anywhere app for Android, now available free of charge in the U.S. Google Play Store. That's right, the app now lets folks buy and enjoy Disney content on both iOS and Android devices.

The movie-curating app debuted as an iOS exclusive in February 2014 with support for free streaming of any Disney, Pixar and Marvel content previously purchased from Apple's iTunes Store. Any of the 450 Disney movies you bought using the app would immediately register as purchased inside the iTunes Store.

Now that Disney Movies Anywhere is available for both iOS and Android, not only can you watch your Disney movies across Apple's and Google's platforms, but also purchase any Disney, Pixar or Marvel Universe movie on Google Play and have it available on iOS and vice versa.

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Native Google Calendar app with Material Design coming to iPhone soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 3, 2014

Fantastical, Sunrise, Readdle, Tempo... You can safely add Google to your list of stock calendar replacements on iOS as the search giant confirmed today bringing the native Google Calendar experience to the iPhone and iPad soon, though without providing a timeframe for availability.

Google currently does not have a Calendar app in the App Store, but that's going to change soon as it's now started rolling out a brand new Calendar experience to first Android 5.0 Lollipop devices.

“Yes, we’re also working on a version for iPhone,” the Gmail team said in a blog post Monday announcing the new Google Calendar for Android 5.0 with Material Design.

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Google roundup: Android Lollipop, Nexus 6 phone, Nexus 9 tablet and Nexus Play streamer

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 15, 2014

With less than 24 hours left until Apple's “It's been way too long” iPad and Mac media event, the Internet giant Google in a pre-emptive strike Wednesday officially unveiled the next major version of its mobile operating system, Android 5.0, along with the newest Nexus-branded hardware devices: a Motorola-made smartphone, a HTC-made tablet and an Asus-built game console and media streamer.

“A sweet new take on Android,” Android Lollipop is actually the Android L software the search giant teased at its Google I/O conference back in the summer. Containing over 5,000 new APIs for developers, Lollipop has been designed to be flexible to support all screen sizes and devices while taking Android's customization to the next level.

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FBI director says he’s ‘very concerned’ about new privacy features in iOS 8

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

The FBI is very concerned with the new privacy features Apple is touting in iOS 8, the organization's director James Comey told The Huffington Post on Thursday. In particular, he's concerned the company is marketing something "expressly to allow people to place themselves above the law."

Comey's remarks follow Apple's move last week to be more transparent and informative about its user privacy policies. In a new webpage on the topic, the Cupertino firm said it no longer stores encryption keys for devices running iOS 8, meaning it can't bypass pass codes—even under subpoena. 

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Google announces first low-cost Android One handsets launching in India, starting at just $105

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

The Internet giant Google during a Monday media event in India announced the first wave of low-cost Android handsets running the company's optimized Android One software, with prices starting as low as $105.

“The world is filled with potential: people who are ready to leave their mark and need a phone as ambitious as they are,” said the firm during the event. The Android One project has been conceived to bring stock Android experience to inexpensive mid-to-low-range handsets sold in emerging markets such as Russia, India, Brazil and China.

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Poll: is leaked iPhone 6 design too Android-ish?

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 7, 2014

With 48 hours until Apple's big reveal, we've by now seen our fair share of leaked footage showing off a nearly-assembled 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and a new iOS 8 Passbook icon with a credit card pictogram on top.

There's also that fresh clip out of China making the rounds this morning, giving us our best look yet at purported iPhone 6 design and the smoothness of iOS 8 running on the device. Still, there's no denying that all some folks can muster after seeing these videos is Android.

I guess you could make an argument that the iPhone 6 design aesthetics are reminiscent of some high-end Android handsets from the likes of HTC and others. On the other hand, there are only so many ways to design a bar phone.

What are your feelings on the matter? Is the leaked iPhone 6 design too Android-ish for your tastes? And has the handset lost the design language that made it uniquely an iPhone, do you think?

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Motorola’s Android Wear-powered $249 Moto 360 smartwatch arrives

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Having previewed it in March, handset maker Motorola today launched its Moto 360 smartwatch with wireless charging, a rounded face, optical heart rate monitor, “all-day battery” and other perks.

Starting at $249 and available through Motorola's website, Google's Play store and Best Buy, the device runs Google's Android software for wearables dubbed Android Wear and features premium materials making the circular smartwatch feel “comfortable and familiar” on your wrist.

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Flappy Bird returns as an Amazon Fire TV-exclusive with new features

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

It's been nearly 6 months since Dong Nguyen pulled his smash hit Flappy Bird from the App Store. The game was reportedly earning over $50,000 per day in revenue at that time, but Nguyen didn't like the added attention it brought him, so he pulled the plug.

As he promised, though, Flappy Bird has made its triumphant return as 'Flappy Birds Family,' bringing along with it a new multiplayer mode and other additional features. Unfortunately, it looks like the title is exclusive to Amazon's Fire TV platform for now...

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iPhone captures 42% market share in the United States for May

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

The latest numbers reveal that the iPhone remains the most popular smartphone in the United States, with 41.9% market share for a three-month period ending May 2014. Samsung was the second most popular smartphone maker with a 27.8% share, attributed to its Galaxy-branded devices. LG (6.5%), Motorola (6.3%) and HTC (5.1%) round off the top five.

While the iPhone was the most popular smartphone, Android held a commanding 52.1% share among mobile platforms. iOS followed not too far behind at 41.9%, while Windows Phone (3.4%), BlackBerry (2.3%) and Symbian (0.1%) all trailed by quite a distance. Android also had 52.1% market share for the three-month period ending February, while iOS gained 0.6 percentage points… 

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