Category: Android

Firefox OS 2.5 Comes To Android Phones

After having announced an iOS App, Mozilla Firefox now announces the launch of a Firefox OS 2.5 developer preview for all Android devices.

There are a couple of highlighted features that arrive with the app such as add-ons, private browsing with tracking protection and ‘pin the web’.

The add-ons are a feature that will allow users to use an extension of one or more apps along with the system app itself; the private browsing feature is exclusive to Mozilla’s Firefox version which allows you to browse through the web with a tracking protection; last but not the least is the ‘pin the web’ feature that removes artificial distinction between web pages and websites so that you can pin any website to your home screen.

Obviously, the app is still being tested out, and you can click here to check out the ‘developer’s preview’. Oh, just one more thing, the app runs without needing to flash the operating system over your current Android OS.

November 16, 2015
Roadmap Shows Upcoming Marshmallow Update for Samsung Devices

It’s been a couple of months to the launch of the latest version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and yet the the OS has only been installed on about 0.3% of Android devices so far. The job of rolling out the latest update lies on the OEMs. Today, there’s finally some good news for eager Samsung users.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5

For those who own Samsung devices, a leaked document reveals possible dates for the Marshmallow update. The updates will take place in three phases. Samsung Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ users will likely receive the update in December, though the exact date is not revealed. The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will receive the Android update in January 2016. Meanwhile, older models like the Galaxy Note 4 and Note Edge are expected to receive their’s in February.

There’s no word yet on when the Galaxy S5, Alpha and the Galaxy A and E-series will receive the update since it’s still pending approval.

November 16, 2015
Motorola Rolling out Android Marshmallow for Moto X Style in India

Update:
Marshmallow 6.0 Update for Motorola rolling out now. Watch this space for our hands-on video.

Here’s another one of #MotoXStyle’s list of amazing features. Get Android 6.0 Marshmallow & improve your experience! pic.twitter.com/TuxViqXuoQ

— Motorola India (@motorolaindia) November 20, 2015

Motorola has just announced that they will begin rolling out the new Android Marshmallow 6.0 on the Moto X Style and Moto X 2nd Gen. What is even better is, that for the first time it is getting rolled out in India before anywhere else! This initial integration will be available only to Brazil and India for the Moto X Style and Brazil will be exclusively availing the Moto X 2nd Gen rollout. However, this is just the current market strategy, more markets will be added in the near future.

Moto X Style gets Android 6.0 updates ! #android #motox #igyaan #igyaanlife #marshmallow

A photo posted by iGyaan Network (@igyaan) on Nov 19, 2015 at 10:39pm PST

Therefore, let us give you a brief recap on some features you can expect with the Android 6.0. Firstly, you will have an ‘app standby’ feature that will allow you save battery energy by putting your seldom used apps into a reduced activity state. You will also have a ‘Doze’ feature, to help you further save your phone’s battery life by recognizing when your device is idle and automatically going into a ‘deep sleep’ state. This basically means, that when you are not using your phone, the new software will automatically shut down all unnecessary background functions to save power.

Apart from battery saving skills, this Marshmallow will also allow you to have greater control over what you share with a new permissions model that comes with the newly designed ‘app permissions’. This also allows you to install a feature when required, instead of installing the entire thing all at once. Another feature called ‘app links’ allows you to decide what action you want to perform for each of your apps when you click on a web link.

Android Marshmallow will also affect your expandable storage options by allowing your SD card to extend to its maximum internal storage rather than just using it for media files. There will also be a ‘do not disturb’ button, whose functions are self-explanatory, and volume controls are expected to be more efficient too.

Two final features are the ‘Now on Tap’ and ‘Direct Share’. The first one will provide Google Now with context to show your results according to the app you are using and ‘direct share’ will enable sharing anything, from a contact or a conversation, within an app directly.

That was our little recap, for more details about the Android Marshmallow click here. Until then, if you own the phones mentioned above, sit tight and await your update.

November 13, 2015
Apple Music has Come to Android But With Glitches

Apple Music has finally arrived on Android. The newest music streaming app is the third Apple app to make its way to Android – the first to being Move to iOS and BeatPill+. Apple Music is something many Android users have been waiting for. It is one of Apple’s better launches this year and one that has pleased music lovers all over.

The Android app looks similar to Apple Music on iOS with only some differences that are particular to Android. The design is pretty much the same and all the Apple Music options are there including Beats Radio. True to Android the app has a left slide-out menu that features the For You, New, Radio, Connect, Playlists and My Music tabs. The For You section is packed with albums and curated playlists based on your taste. The suggestions look just like the iOS.

But those are just the pros to the story. The Android beta version of the Apple Music comes with a host of bugs and glitches that are quite putting off.

The app is far from working smoothly at the moment. Saved playlists and album artworks take a long time to load properly even with fast network connectivity, and you’re left with black spaces and a white background that makes the overall app a dull affair.

Downloading multiple songs or a playlist seem to fail occasionally while single downloads work fine. Since it’s still in beta stage one expects the app to come with some issues. The updated version will look to smooth things out.

Furthermore, the app does not sync with your music folder, which one would have preferred since Android users tend to use their phones like an MP3 player, storing music files for years. Thus, the My Music page will only show songs purchased from iTunes and songs saved from Apple Music. Google Play Music allows streaming as well as downloaded music files so Android users may just stick with that.

Apple Music has a massive library of music and one can pretty much find anything in there. For users in India, this means that there is now a great alternative for popular music streaming apps like Saavn, Wynk and Gaana. To download the Apple Music for Android, head on over to the Google Play Store and try it out. As mentioned above, the app has a 3-month free trial after which you’ll have to pay to stay on.

November 12, 2015
After Priv,BlackBerry Might Be Creating Another Android Device For You

BlackBerry seems to be in the forefront of things currently, and along those lines there seems to be another leak about an alleged Android device being created by BlackBerry and code-named Vienna. The Vienna is slightly different looking, as compared to the Priv. While the Priv has a hidden keyboard which can be revealed by sliding the display upwards; the Vienna has a visible QWERTY keyboard.

Image Source: crackberry.com

However, one must note, that this is just a leak and the images may not be the end design of the project. It is further speculated that this product could possibly be cheaper than the BlackBerry Priv. Now, as we speak about the display of the Vienna, it can be seen that there are three physical Android keys above the QWERTY keyboard. Along with that, we can also see the rear and front cameras.

As of now, this is all we know about the Vienna. There is no information about the launch or announcement of the device.

November 12, 2015
Android Safer Than iOS According to Reports

The mythbusters are back, and this time one of the all time popular myths regarding iOS has been busted. According to a new study, it turns out that iOS isn’t as malware-proof as people have come to believe. In fact, reports suggest that Android is safer and more secure than iOS.

The study carried out by Checkmarx and AppSec Labs claim that Apple’s ‘wall garden’, that is the App Store, is filled with apps that have greater percentage of critical or high severity security vulnerabilities when compared to Android apps.

According to the report, a critical vulnerability is defined as one “that exposes a major security risk with a direct exploit (not needing user involvement). If exploited, the security threat might cause major damage to the application and/or have major impact on the company.”

Here’s what the claim means for everyone. Firtsly, it breaks the image of iOS being regarded as the most fool-proof operating system. Secondly, it also means that there is now no safe operating system out there as all the major players are now on the same boat. Of course, it was only a matter of time for a report such as this to come out. Hackers do tend to target big names, especially ones that claim to be unbreakable.

“With more than 1.5 million apps available in the two main app stores, Apple and Android, and hundreds of billions of downloads to date, the mobile landscape has quickly become the main playground for hackers and attackers.”

As the reports suggest, 36 percent of Android apps were found to be potentially critical or highly severe while a surprising 40 percent of iOS apps were deemed critical, crushing the common misconception that iOS is a safer platform.

There seems to be some credibility to this report, especially after the recent news that a popular app on the App Store, called InstaAgent, has been leaking Instagram username and passwords and sending them off to a remote server as well as publishing unauthorized images to users account without their consent.

Checkmarx’s Amit Ashbel explained to GeekTime that most of the security flaws are the result of vulnerabilities in developers’ code. “The mobile application industry as a whole is lagging behind on secure coding best practices,” he added.

Well, that’s one less thing for iPhone users to brag about now.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”https://www.checkmarx.com/2015/11/05/the-state-of-mobile-app-security/”]Checkmarx[/tw-button]

November 12, 2015
Facebook Wants Some Employees to Switch from iPhone to Android

According to reports, Facebook employees simply have too much love for the iPhone. So much so that the company’s chief product officer Chris Cox is forcing some employees to shift to Android. The reason behind this is that Facebook needs to know how its social networking site is doing across all platforms and not just on high-end iOS devices.

According to Cox, Facebook workers need to be “reporting bugs and living in the same experience that most Facebook users experience today,”

Facebook’s primary goal is to enter as many markets as it can. This means that the company has to tailor its software for every platform emerging across devices both advanced and old. Facebook is also keen on entering markets in developing nations where internet speeds are slow and older devices are still commonplace.

“I am mandating a switch of a whole bunch of my team over to Android, just because people, when left up to their own devices, will often prefer an iPhone.”

iPhone might be popular in some countries like the U.S., U.K .,and China but Android still dominates globally with around 82% of smartphones on Android’s operating system. Furthermore, the Android devices range from low-end to high-end. Thus, in order to study how Facebook functions in Android, employees will need to have a hand-on experience with it.

The seriousness of Facebook’s aspirations is also understood when this news is clubbed with last week’s decision to have ‘2G Tuesdays’. The new initiative will see employees work for one hour ever Tuesday on 2G connections. This will give employees an “opportunity to experience for themselves the slow mobile Internet speeds found in developing countries.”

November 3, 2015
Daniel Craig Refused $50 Million Android Product Placement in ‘Spectre’

A James Bond movie is a hotbed for product placements. That’s because Bond himself has a rich taste when it comes to cars, watches and everything else and only prefers the luxurious side of life. Bond films are characterized by Aston Martin cars, Rolex and Omega watches and the latest in Q technology. So, there is no way that Bond would be caught with a phone that does not keep with his image.

However, too much product placement can damage the image of the character as well. Which is why the latest James Bond flick, Spectre, has cut down on endorsing products. This also included not giving Bond a smartphone. Both Bond star Daniel Craig and director Sam Mendes refused offers by Sony and Samsung to have Bond stylishly carry their smartphone.

The offers that started with $5 million escalated to $50 million (Samsung’s offer). Samsung was additionally ready to pay $5 million to Craig for being seen using an Android phone in the movie with Samsung’s logo. However, both offers were rejected after judging the phones to be too lackluster for Bond.

“Beyond the $$ factor, there is, as you may know, a creative factor whereby Sam and Daniel don’t like the Sony phone for the film (the thinking, subjectively/objectively is that James Bond only uses the ‘best,’ and in their minds, the Sony phone is not the ‘best’),” wrote Andrew Gumpert, President of Worldwide Business Affairs and Operations for Columbia Pictures.

Another reason behind shunning Android could be because of its cheap image and notoriety for suffering security vulnerabilities like Stagefright that happened only a few months ago. This surely does not keep with the image of an international super-spy.

Spectre has surpassed Skyfall, the previous Bond film, in the opening week at the box office. The film has grossed $80.4 million in UK alone. The movie will hit theaters in India on 20th November.

November 3, 2015
Android M Update to Roll Out for Honor Phones in February 2016

Huawei’s latest update is likely to get Honor users excited. The company has announced February 2016 as the time when Android Marshmallow 6.0 would be available as an update for Honor handset owners. Huawei made the announcement on its Twitter India handle.

Coming soon! Starting February 2016, we will be rolling out Android M to honor phones. pic.twitter.com/BN3gwPqs6g

— Honor India (@HiHonorIndia) November 1, 2015

However, the company is yet to announce when will this update be made available for other Huawei phones other than Honor. Looks like Huawei is busy basking in the success of Nexus 6P, the first Nexus device by the company.

In other news, Huawei is expected to hold an event on the 5th of November which could mark the announcement of its new chipset, Kirin 950. There could also be the announcement of the Huawei Mate 8, the first phone by the company which runs on this chipset. Watch this space for more news about the company.

November 2, 2015
Why a Chrome and Android Merger Could Spell Disaster for Google

In a merger that could probably spell disaster for Google, the company is planning to fold its Chrome OS into its Android OS. Why is this a bad thing? Well, the Chromebook with Chrome OS was introduced as a lightweight operating system with limited native apps for low-powered netbooks. It was meant for students who would do most of their networking through the browser.

With this merger, Google has basically stated that the Chromebook is opening the gates for a horde of Android apps. This will not only leave the Chromebook more cluttered, but could also invite potential security concerns.

Samsung Chromebook

The news is not unexpected, though. Plans for a Chrome and Android merger have been on the cards since 2013. In the past few years, Google has been getting Android apps to run on Chrome, and back in 2009, Google co-founder Sergey Brin himself said that Chrome OS and Android would “likely converge over time”.

The end result of this merger will be an all encompassing OS for both mobile devices and notebooks. Again, net security is the primary concern for people after this merger news. While Chrome OS has been relatively malware-free due to its minimalism, Android apps have been riddles with vulnerabilities. As expected, users took to Twitter to express their disappointment at Google’s latest move.

Most experts I know have deep respect for the security in Google’s Chrome OS. None have respect for Android. Sad that Android won vs Chrome.

— Christopher Soghoian (@csoghoian) October 29, 2015

Chrome OS is the most secure operating system you can buy. Lauded by experts everywhere for its design. Plz dont go away =(

— SecuriTay (@SwiftOnSecurity) October 29, 2015

October 30, 2015
Micromax’s Takes a Jibe At OnePlus 2 With Its Upcoming Yutopia

Micromax is certainly speaking out loud about its upcoming Yu Yutopia. CEO Rahul Sharma said that it would be the “most powerful phone on the planet”, however, the Indian smartphone makers have gone even further with its new teaser on Facebook that read- “Calling a 1080p Display a 2016 Flagship killer? #WhySettle #YUTOPIA.”

https://www.facebook.com/yuplaygod/posts/835514269879082

The new teaser is an obvious dig at the “2016 flagship killer” OnePlus 2, however, apart from that they’ve also confirmed that the Yutopia will come with a Quad HD display. The Facebook teaser also includes a blurred image of the OnePlus 2 with the words “Never Settle For 1080p” on it.

Therefore, with this teaser and the previous one, we now know that Yu’s next premium smartphone will sport a metal build, as compared to its usual plastic build and a Quad HD display for the first time.

However, speculations about the upcoming Yutopia’s specifications include a 5.2 display, 64 bit class Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 backed by a 4GB RAM, Cyanogen 32GB memory with expandability and a rumoured 21MP primary camera with an 8MP front camera.

The company has not confirmed any of the rumoured specs so until then, let’s just hope all the mud-slinging pays off.

For more details, click here.

October 29, 2015
Apple Owes 30% of Last Quarter iPhone Buyers to Android Switchers

Following the official announcement of its revenue and profits for the fourth quarter, Apple reported that one third of iPhone buyers during the quarter had been using Android devices before the switch. The company also claims this shift to be the largest ever since they started tracking people’s movements from one OS to another, three years ago.

Needless to say, Tim Cook is more than just glad about the news, especially in the light of the lukewarm response the new iPhones have received since their launch in September. Cook comments on the switch of so many users to iOS and says,

“That number is the largest that we’ve ever recorded since we began measuring it three or so years ago. It’s a huge number and we’re very, very proud of that number.”

No doubt this movement has been one of Apple’s goals for a while now and the company has left no stone unturned in achieving it. The recent ‘Move to iOS‘ app of the company which allowed users to switch their Android devices to iOS is one such attempt.

The fourth quarter ended on the 26th of September, which means it could include only two days of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales. With the new iPhones not faring as well as Apple expected or would have preferred, it would be interesting to see Apple’s report for the next quarter. There will be more colourful bits of news for both Apple loyalists as well as haters once that report is made public. Hold your breath until then.

October 29, 2015
BlackBerry Priv Rumoured to Cost Rs. 50,000 in India

Though BlackBerry Priv is marked at a price of $630, latest rumours suggest the smartphone would cost around $780 (over Rs. 50,000) in the country.

Zauba informs us that four BlackBerry Privs have been recently imported to the country for testing and evaluation purposes. The site shows them marked at a price of $780. Though this doesn’t necessarily mean that this will be the final price of the device in India, we can assume it to be a rough estimate.

Priv will be BlackBerry’s first phone to run on the Android OS and is viewed by many as a comeback for the company in the tech world. It would be sad to see a price tag which discourages eagerly awaiting customers from getting to lay their hands on the phone.

Priv will have a slide-out keyboard feature and a curved display that is reminiscent of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge. Registration for the device has already begun on the official website, along with a few officially confirmed specs put up as description. They include a 5.4 inch screen, 3410 mAh battery and Schneider-Kreuznach certified camera. Watch this space for more updates on the BlackBerry Priv.

October 21, 2015
Android Devices Vulnerable to New LTE Security Threat

AT&T and Verizon devices have been revealed to be open to a security threat which can lead to data spoofing, eavesdropping and incorrect billing for millions of users. Implementations of LTE by these networks have left Android devices open to these security flaws.

T-Mobile was facing the same issues until a spokesperson revealed in an official statement that the problem has been ‘resolved’. However, T-Mobile and Verizon are two companies which are both susceptible to peer-to-peer attack. Apple users don’t have anything to worry about when it comes to this.

When contacted, Google did not confirm which Android versions were affected but it did go ahead to assure Nexus users that their devices will be free of the risk with the November Monthly Security Update of the company. As per the current update, researchers have revealed that every version of Android is at risk, while at the same time attacks are also dependent on the users’ network.

Consequently, because the security trouble is carrier-dependent, it is unclear when other gadgets running on Android OS will cease to be at risk. Both AT&T as well as Verizon have refused to comment on this so far.

October 19, 2015
This Is How Siri and Google Now Can Help Hackers Break Into Your Phone

Next time you think of leaving your wired headphones plugged into your iOS or Android phone, think again. The wires of headphones act as antennae which can be used to hack into your phone with the right equipment. Welcome to the world of hacking where radiowaves are the newest tool.

A group of researchers at a French government security unit have figured out a way to send silent commands to phones. All that they needed was a laptop and an antennae -things that fit pretty much in a bag.

Like FM radio chips, the antenna on the headphones catch radiowaves to convey the command of the hacker to your handset. Depending on these commands, your phone can be used to make calls, send messages, open websites, subvert governments or spark a revolution. However, since this specific kind of hacking doesn’t disable the display of the phone, users are highly likely to realise if their phones start obeying ‘silent’ instructions.

This test was conducted from a distance of 6 feet, with above average gadgets. If they throw in slightly fancier gadgets, hacking would be possible from a distance of up to 16 feet. Looks like it’s time for Apple and Google to sit up and listen.

October 16, 2015