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Leaked: Galaxy S4 Zoom Replaces the Galaxy Camera in 2013

The Galaxy Camera failed to be a camera that Samsung wanted it to be, and people truly asked for a camera which had phone capabilities as well. By the looks of the leaked images, that might just happen this year, The Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom, as seen in the images, will replace last year’s mess-of-a camera and will add phone features along with a camera device on their June 20th event in London.

SamMobile and TechTastic have leaked out renders and leaked images respectively, and seem to glorify the claim with adding, that the features on the camera-phone combo will be a mix of all the S4 Zoom hardware from the Galaxy S4 fused with the camera from the Galaxy Camera. Honestly if that is the case with the S4 zoom, we might just have another premium android phone, but this time it will also have a bulky camera that takes horrible pictures.

But rumors suggest that Samsung will replace the 16.3 MP sensor from the Galaxy Camera with a 20.9-megapixel sensor on the Galaxy S4 Zoom, which has zero shutter lag for a faster picture taking experience and better image handing.

The leak could also be Samsung’s answer to Nokia’s teaser video of the Pureview equipped Lumia EOS. They have been known to do similar leaks in the past, and the S4 Zoom’s leak around the launch could also mean that the company has established a separate launch cycle for its Android camera.

[SamMobile, TechTastic]

June 8, 2013
Official Photos of the 2014 Toyota Corolla

The 2014 Toyota Corolla has finally been unveiled, and with it Toyota has released lots of official shots of various versions of the car. Scroll down to compare how different variants of the 2014 Corolla stack up visually, as well as the Euro-spec version featuring a slightly different front-end.

Here are official pictures of the Euro-spec version of the 2014 Toyota Corolla. Note the difference in its front end?

And in these pictures, one can see some of the other colours in the 2014 Corolla range, as well as the visual differences between variants.

June 8, 2013

2014 Toyota Corolla Finally Revealed

The Toyota Corolla is widely known as the best-selling car on the planet and after tons of teasing, the long overdue update has finally been unveiled by Toyota. This is the 2014 Toyota Corolla and it features the new design language, first seen on the Furia Concept, which Toyota calls “Iconic Dynamism.” Likely to be known as the Corolla Altis in India, the car features much sharper styling than its predecessors. In an effort to solve the demerits of a now dated design, Toyota has added nearly 4 inches to the wheelbase. Here are the exact numbers:

Exterior Dimensions (Change compared to current model)
Overall length	182.6 in. (+3.90 in.) 183.1 for S-grade	4639 mm (+99), 4650mm for S-grade
Overall width	69.9 in. (+0.63 in.)	1776 mm (+16)
Overall height	57.3 in. (-0.39 in.)	1455 mm (-10)
Wheelbase	106.3 in. (+ 3.93 in.)	2700 mm (+100)
Front Overhang	37.7 in. (+0.90 in.)	958 mm (+23)
Rear Overhang	38.6 in. (-0.94 in.)	981 mm (-24)

The newly designed front end is testament to Toyota’s ambition of attracting a younger generation to its 47 year old torch bearer, with its aggressive and sporty styling. A prominent shoulder line, the kink in the window line and heavily creased bumpers remain from the Furia concept, adding character to the previously demure image of the Corolla. The wraparound tail-lamps are sharper and the presence of the Furia’s modern, tightly stretched skin is also evident. We wish more attention had been paid to the uninspiring rear end, but have no doubt that the 2014 Corolla’s new image is a very welcome change.

Internationally, engine choices will consist of two 1.8-liter four-cylinder units. One will offer dual VVT-i technology – where the valve timing on both the intake and exhaust are infinitely variable – and will produce 132 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque. The other, more efficient version will utilise Toyota’s new Valvematic technology to put out 140 horses and 126 lb-ft of torque. It is not known right now if the Valvematic engine will make its way to India, but the 1.4-litre diesel engine currently offered in the country is expected to be available as well. Here are detailed specs of the two internation 1.8-litre engines:

Engine Specifications
Engine Type	2ZR-FE	2ZR-FAE
Number of Cylinders/arrangement	4 cylinders, in-line	4 cylinders, in-line
Valve Mechanism	16-valve DOHC with Dual VVT-i	16-valve DOHC with Valvematic
Bore x Stroke mm	80.5 x 88.3	80.5 x 88.3
Displacement c.c.	1798	1798
Compression Ratio	10.0:1	10.6:1
Fuel System	EFI	EFI
Max Output	132 Hp/ 6000 rpm	140 Hp/6100 rpm
Max Torque	128 lb-ft/ 4400rpm	126 lb-ft/4000 rpm

With the new CVTi-S automatic, Toyota claims a “17 kpl estimated highway fuel economy” with the Eco trim. The CVTi-S also offers a sport mode, which alters shift points and the power steering. With the S model, paddle shifters will also be part of standard equipment on the car. Apart from the new CVT, the base model Corolla L will be offered with a four-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed manual transmission, which is also available in the Corolla S in case you prefer either to paddle shifters for changing your Corolla’s gears.

The S model comes with 17-inch wheels and ventilated disc brakes on all wheels, whereas the base model is equipped with 15-inch wheels with rear drums, however “Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Traction Control (TRAC), Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist” will come as standard, as will the Smart Stop Technology brake-override system and the electronic tire pressure monitoring system.

All new interiors make the 2014 Corolla a much nicer place to be than the outgoing model. Official pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but we’ll be sure to update you when Toyota shares any more information about the new Corolla. What do you think about the newest version of the world’ best selling car? Let us know in the comments section below!

Click here for a detailed picture gallery of the different versions of the 2014 Toyota Corolla.

Images courtesy: Toyota

June 8, 2013

Report : Internet Explorer 10 Is the Most Energy-Efficient Browser on Windows 8

Microsoft loves its Internet Explorer browser and has no problem showing off to the world what it is capable of doing. This time around, IE is championing a new title as the most energy efficient browser on Windows 8.

According to the new findings, Internet Explorer 10 is the most energy-efficient browser on Windows 8, using less energy than Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox to display a large number of websites.

The study discovered some pretty miniscule changes between each browser when it came to situations like “Average, Top 10 Websites” and “Fishbowl Benchmarks.” However, the introduction of Flash into the test showed a fairly substantial change between browser power consumption, with Internet Explorer consuming approximately 18.6 percent less wattage than Google Chrome.

“In the above scenarios, Internet Explorer 10 exhibited the lowest energy consumption. In some scenarios such as playing Adobe Flash video on laptop PCs, it was 18% more energy efficient than Google Chrome, and it was 17% more efficient than Mozilla Firefox in playing HTML5 video,” Microsoft explained.

Microsoft goes so far as to say that if every single Chrome and Firefox user switched to Internet Explorer 10, it would save enough energy to power over 10,000 US homes for a year.

“This is enough energy to power 10,722 households in the United States for an entire year [and] would eliminate the release of over 85,000 metric tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent in greenhouse gas emissions,” it said.

[SoftPedia, TechCrunch]

June 7, 2013
Samsung Rolling Out New Galaxy S4 Update To Implement Apps To SD Feature

The Galaxy S4 may be on its way to selling 20 million units faster than any other Android device, but it’s not without its issues.

One of the major out-of-box problems with the Samsung Galaxy S4 is something users may not notice until it’s too late: of the 16GB advertised storage, only 9.15GB is available to the user. The rest is used for high-resolution assets, system files and other Samsung necessities, all but ensuring that extra expenditure for a microSD slot.

An upcoming software update, rolling out to users in Germany starting today, addresses that issue by harkening back to Android 2.2 Froyo, adding a “Move to SD Card” button in the App Settings menu of the Galaxy S4. The system update also reclaims 800MB or so for users, bringing the default free space to 9.23GB, but having that option to move individual apps to the SD card could be the difference between playing that big-time 3D game or not.

The main issue here is that Samsung seems unapologetic about its misleading advertising of the Galaxy S4, preferring to resurrect a feature that was a security concern to developers and an annoyance to users rather than releasing a high-end phone with enough storage to satisfy the needs of its buyers.

The update to build I9505XXUBMEA also fixes many performance issues present on the release build, including a graphics bug that made the screen appear like it was tearing when the user scrolled through an app.

The camera app adds a new firmware and the ability to take HDR video, a net positive for users trying to eke that extra bit of dynamic range from uncertain lighting conditions. Users can also toggle Smart Pause in the Expanded Settings portion of the notification shade, but we’ve yet to see whether the software improves the feature itself.

Samsung hasn’t officially mentioned the new software update so there’s no news on availability in other countries. Given the understandable disappointment in free storage for the 16 GB models of the phone, however, we don’t expect Samsung to wait too long to get this update out globally.

[SlashGear]

June 7, 2013
Wolfenstein : The new Order launching at E3 (Trailer)

If you have ever played Wolfenstein on PC, you are one of the few who have seen the evolution of the gaming industry. Wolf 3D was ~~one of~~ the First “First Person Shooter” game to release on PC.

The next generation release: Wolfenstein The New Order, developed by MachineGames, is set in an alternate timeline that saw the Nazis win World War 2. How the whole future would have changed and what our hero does to change that.

The graphics seem enhanced, and the game may have been designed for next generation consoles including the Xbox One and The PS4.

Watch the trailer below and see for yourself.

[youtube id=”BlvfqfGTar4″ width=”100%” height=”300px”]

June 7, 2013
BBM For Android And iOS Not Coming On June 27th

BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is coming to Android and iOS this summer and according to a T-Mobile UK Tweet the released yesterday, the date is set for June 27th.

When Thorsten Heins announced the news that their popular messaging app would arrive on other platforms he also noted that BBM would be slimmed down. The app will be free and compatible on devices running iOS 6 and Android Ice Cream Sandwich (OS 4.0) or higher. BBM for iOS and Android will be limited to messaging and groups at launch, then updated “later on” with BBM Voice, screen share, and the BBM Channels.

T-Mobile UK then deleted their Tweet claiming BBM for Android and iOS coming June 27th. Rumours are that they jumped the gun on pressing publish and that the app is not available for download on that date.

The company has confirmed the rumored date is wrong,

“On May 14th, BlackBerry announced plans to make its ground-breaking mobile social network, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), available to iOS and Android users this summer, subject to approval by the Apple App Store and Google Play. While there have been reports that BBM will be available to iOS and Android on June 27th, this is not accurate. We will communicate an update as soon as we have an availability date to share. (via MobileSyrup)”

T-Mobile UK later apologized for the error, noting on Twitter that “Sorry folks, we got over-excited about the #BBM app coming to Android / iOS. No specific availability date yet, stay tuned for details”

Are you guys excited about BBM coming to Android And iOS? Let us know below!

June 7, 2013
Honda Hikes Amaze & CR-V Prices

Honda has implemented the second phase of its price hike by increasing prices of its new Amaze compact sedan going up by Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 8,000 depending on the variant in Delhi. The price hike has also hit the company’s only SUV in India, the CR-V, with prices going up by Rs 6,000 to Rs 14,000 depending on the variant in Delhi. Both hikes were in effect since 1st June 2013.

April 2013 saw the first phase of a price hike by the Japanese manufacturer across the City (Rs. 3,000), Brio (Rs. 2,000-10,000) and Accord (Rs. 5,000) to offset the increased cost of onboard diagnostic compliance changes (OBDC) and rising freight charges due to hike in diesel prices.

We’re not looking at another round of price increases just yet. Short-term volatility s covered by forward contracts, and only very few car makers have big ticket dollar imports. Like Honda only imports a few parts for the Accord from the US. Our larger imports are either from Japan or from Thailand and if the yen and the baht also depreciate vis-a-vis the dollar, the rupee movement will be neutralized.

– Jnaneswar Sen, Senior VP-Marketing and sales, Honda

Image credit: Honda

June 7, 2013
Skoda announces new Octavia vRS

The Skoda Octavia vRS is back and its better than ever. The third generation of the Octavia vRS is the fastest production Octavia ever and it ticks all the right boxes with distinct styling and a range of fuel-efficient engines. It will be available both in sedan and station wagon ‘Combi’ bodystyles.

The 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine is the same as that used in the international Volkswagen Golf GTI, and puts out 217 bhp. It will allow the Octavia vRS to sprint for 0 to 100 kmph in 6.8 seconds and will hit 248 kmph flat out. Another option is the 2.0-litre TDI diesel unit from the Volkswagen Golf GTD, tuned to produce 182 bhp and 280 lb-ft of torque. It will hit 100 kmph in 8.2 seconds and go on to touch a top speed of 232 kmph. All these figures will apply to the standard six-speed manual gearbox, and a six-speed dual clutch transmission with paddle shifters will be on the options list. Skoda claims both engines are up to 19% more fuel efficient than the outgoing fast Octavias.

The new Octavia vRS comes with sports suspension and front wheel drive, with an electronic XDS differential equipped as standard to help improve traction and reduce understeer. Also featuring is a retuned steering set-up to require less steering angles on more challenging roads.

The vRS can be easily distinguished from standard Octavias due to a host of external modifications, most prominent of which is a new bodykit. Alloy wheels can be ordered in sizes of 17, 18 or 19 inches diameter, and add to the sporty feel of the car. Red brake calipers and bi-xenon lights with integrated LEDs are standard on the Octavia vRS. Compared to the standard model, it rides 12mm lower (13mm in the case of the Combi), has a new front bumper with a bigger air dam featuring a honeycomb grille and sleeker fog lamps as well as a rear diffuser flanked by chrome exhaust pipes on either side. Traditional vRS badges all around ensure that nobody mistakes it for a standard Octavia.

Sports seats, a leather-wrapped sports steering wheel, stainless steel pedals and a new instrument panel can be found inside. The new Skoda Octavia is expected to launch in India later this year, while the Octavia vRS will hopefully follow suit soon after.

Image courtesy: Skoda

June 7, 2013
Mercedes Benz offering new Illuminated 3-pointed Star Accessory

Mercedes Benz has offered the 3-pointed star on their vehicles for decades, and it has now evolved into a symbol which goes beyond the idea of brand recognition. The 3-pointed star has come to stand for a guarantee of excellence for the customers of the German manufacturer, one which every Mercedes Benz owner would flaunt with pride.

Well, now Mercedes Benz is making it easier for owners to flaunt their cars with a new accessory. An illuminated 3-pointed star emblem will now be available in a number of Mercedes Benz vehicles including the 2006+ CLS-Class, 2012+ M-Class, 2013+ GL-Class and the 2014 E-Class. A dealer-fitted option, the accessory utilises LED and light tube technology to light up the 3-pointed star in the radiator grille of the car when the car is unlocked, its engine is turned off or its doors or trunk are opened – remaining on for 15 seconds. It does not work while the car is being driven.

If this accessory takes off, expect other OEMs to come up with something similar for their cars soon. Is the illuminated 3-point star accessory cool and classy, or too blingy and garish? Let us know in the comments section.

[youtube id=”Il5-uuSXpDk” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

Image courtesy: Mercedes Benz

Video courtesy: mbusa

June 7, 2013
$2.9 Million Pagani Zonda Revolucion packs 800 hp

The hypercar which refuses to die is back for one last hurrah, or so Pagani would like us to believe. We say this since Pagani has announced more than a few models of its most successful car, the Zonda, as the last of its kind. But if this really is it, they’ve definitely saved the best for last. The Pagani Zonda Revolucion is quite simply a Zonda R on crystal meth.

You would think that the Zonda R was pushing the limits with its 740 hp engine, to the point where it wasn’t road-homologated and was only permitted to be driven on race tracks. The Zonda Revolucion has one-upped its older brother, with an evolved version of the same AMG Mercedes 6.0-liter V12 now producing an astonishing 800 hp and 538 ft-lbs of torque. Due to monocoque structure of carbon-titanium, it boasts a curb weight of only 1070 kgs resulting in a mind-boggling power to weight ratio of 748 hp per tonne.

The engine is mated to a 6 speed magnesium transversal and sequential gearbox which Pagani claims can change gears in 20ms. A Bosch-developed traction control with 12 different settings and a new ABS system helps the driver to adapt the behaviour of the car to his liking. Most impressive of all is a Formula 1 style drag reduction system (DRS) on the rear wing.

The system has two different operating modes, both can be activated by the driver at any time. The manual system is controlled with the DRS button on the steering wheel. The rear wing changes between maximum and minimum downforce settings, at the occurrence of a lateral acceleration of + / – 0.8 g and a minimum speed of 100 km / h. Holding down the DRS for more than two seconds engages the DRS to work automatically according to the algorithms developed by the Pagani Automobili engineers during the development phase.

New, ligther and more durable Brembo carbon ceramic brakes take the responsibility of stopping the fastest and most outrageous Zonda ever. Personally signed by Horacio Pagani, the Zonda Revolucion will set you back $2.9 million (Rs. 16.5 Crores before duties).

Image courtesy: Pagani

June 6, 2013
Hands-On With The Blackberry Q10 At India Launch

Blackberry today launched the first Blackberry 10 powered QWERTY device, the Blackberry Q10 (read here).

BlackBerry believes there is a niche for QWERTY-based smartphones in today’s mobile space with around 80 per cent of users wanting large-form touch-only devices like the iPhone 5, Galaxy S4, and HTC One – that explains the decision to launch the Z10 first. We wen’t hands-on with the device.

Blackberry Q10 Initial Impressions

The BlackBerry Q10 is the first phone to land running the BlackBerry 10.1 operating system update. As a result, the Q10 is a joy to use, mostly.

Jumping through menus and reverting back to the home screen is prompt and fuss free. Opening apps, however takes that fraction of a second longer than desired.

After looking at the Blackberry Q10 in images on the internet for quite some time, we had the impression that it would be a small device. Instead, the Blackberry Q10 feels great in the hand, with beveled edges all around the plastic back. There is a black steel edge around the entire device and a glass front above the keyboard.

The back comes with a gray tweed-over-black pattern, which Blackberry claims is unique to each Black Blackberry Q10. The white Blackberry Q10 has a glossier look and feel to it and it does not have the poly carbonate weave at the back.

Overall, it looks and feels elegant, refined and professional.

Moving on to the keyboard, one thing to note is that the once curved keyboard has now been straightened out and the metallic frets separating the rows of characters are now slightly raised for improved tactile feedback – in other words you should be able to feel where your thumbs are on the board more easily. The break in the keys is a nice clean look however and the overall size of the keyboard is similar to previous devices. Impressive.

The Blackberry Q10 has a 3.1-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, albeit with a square 720 x 720 resolution rather than a widescreen aspect like a typical touchscreen phone. It’s a necessary trade-off to fit in the keyboard, but it does mean any video you watch is squashed and hard to view. The screen looks neat though, and the bright and bold Super AMOLED display does a good job of making everything pop.

The Q10 uses a removable 2,100 mAh pack that’s plenty large enough given the relatively compact screen. It is reported that BlackBerry has even taken advantage included some darker color schemes for BlackBerry 10 apps, to take advantage of the fact that AMOLED uses less power for dimmer parts of the display.

Also, we were really impressed with the Blackberry Q10’s browser. Pages load quickly over cellular or Wi-Fi means, and well laid out options and quick access to shortcuts make the Q10 browser is efficient and business like. The QWERTY keyboard makes inputting URL’s a breeze, with no pop-up digital display crowding out on-screen content. It also has an option to load flash content.

An impressive feature for business customers is that they can take advantage of BlackBerry’s new Balance feature, which made its debut with the Z10. With Balance, a user can blend both work and personal email streams into a single email stream. (Phones with BES advanced policies set require users to go to separate work and personal email inboxes.) Other apps are divided into separate work and personal containers.

To make Balance or these advanced policies work, users must be connected to a BES server, which in most cases means an enterprise buys the server to locate behind the firewall.

In conclusion, we’d like to say that for existing users, the Q10 is an obvious upgrade: it’s the best QWERTY smartphone available in the market today, but that may have more to do with the fact that very few manufacturers are interested in revisiting that segment. It is fast, snappy, and has that old-school Blackberry feel to it. However, we feel that the Blackberry Q10 is overpriced by at least Rs. 10,000, and the company will have to reconsider it over time.

Full review coming soon!

June 6, 2013
Additional Shots Of The Nokia EOS Surface Online

Nokia currently has three versions of its Windows Phone flagship, in the form of the Lumia 928, the thin and light aluminium-bodied Lumia 925, and the original Lumia 920. But as we’ve known for some time, a new range-topper is set to join the company’s line-up soon, Nokia’s 41-megapixel ‘EOS’ device.

After yesterday, not one, but two sources bubbled up photos today of a Nokia Windows phone that could be the handset-maker’s next flagship, the Nokia EOS.

Known as the Nokia EOS, photos from a GSM Arena tipster and from a new Twitter user going by ViziLeaks (via WP Central) both show a similar squared-off shape and tall dimensions.

As you can see from the photo,the device features a large camera lens on the back, with what looks like a massive flash for a smartphone and also a focus assist light, this could possibly be a prototype of the device, as the ‘XX Mega Pixel’ shows that this is not the final version of the device.

Much of the EOS’ design echoes what we’ve seen before on the Lumia 920, so it has a fully polycarbonate bodyshell and it’s quite thick and chunky.

The Nokia EOS is reportedly only 1mm thinner than the Lumia 920, which was widely criticised for its weight and bulk, so it’ll be interesting to see how consumers react.

It will apparently feature a 4.5-inch 1280×768 pixel AMOLED display, like the Lumia 928, along with wireless charging support and a full-sized Xenon flash.

While these images, like yesterday’s, are also unconfirmed – originating from anonymous or unverified sources – the fact that multiple sources have revealed what appears to be the same device would seem to confirm that this is indeed Nokia’s new flagship Windows Phone.

[GSMArena, @ViziLeaks]

June 6, 2013
Stock Google Keyboard Now Available On Google Play
Do you use Swype or SwiftKey on your Android? Google wants you to switch away and use their stock Android keyboard.

Google today released its Google Keyboard app for phones and tablets running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and above. You can download it now directly from Google Play, although it’s only available in English-speaking locales (Google says more countries will be added soon).

This is the same keyboard that was introduced with Jelly Bean (Android 4.2), that includes Gesture typing, a way to swipe from letter-to-letter to spell out words. It should also actively predict words on-screen as you gesture between letters, making this one of the smartest keyboards you’ll use.

Downloading and launching the Google Keyboard app will walk you through turning on the keyboard and setting it as your default, after which your Android phone will have the same typing experience available on Nexus devices. Switching back to the keyboard that came with your phone (or any other alternative keyboards you may have downloaded) can be done from the device’s Settings page.

Google Keyboard’s features:
- Gesture Typing with dynamic floating preview.
- Voice Typing.
- Next-word suggestions and current-word completions.
- Dictionaries for 26 languages.
- Advanced keyboard layouts.
- Works across your Android devices (tablets and phones).
So if you’re unhappy with what companies like Samsung and HTC have cooked up, you can always use the stock Google keyboard now.

[Ars Technica]
June 6, 2013
Blackberry Finally Launches The Blackberry Q10 In India

Blackberry has finally launched the Blackberry Q10 in India, at an initial price of Rs. 44,990/-.

The Blackberry Q10 smartphone, which comes with the physical keyboard that many BlackBerry fans prize, is selling well in both Canada and Britain, the 2 main countries where it was launched first.

The BlackBerry Q10 is the successor to their premium QWERTY phone which is Bold, and features a square 3.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen with 720 x 720 resolution. The usual shortcut buttons are now part of the user interface with the space below the screen dedicated solely to BlackBerry’s tried and tested QWERTY keyboard. BlackBerry also noted that the Q10 has a glass weave body for added strength and weight reduction.

The Blackberry Q10 sports a 1.5GHz processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage, which is expandable with a microSD slot. The 3,1-inch touchscreen has 330ppi, 720 x 720 display.

Blackberry Q10 will come running on BlackBerry 10, which will also come with applications and games such as Foursquare, Skype, Twitter, Facebok, Angry Birds Star Wars, Where’s My Water, Cisco WebEx and many more.

The Blackberry Q10 was listed on online retail sites for pre order, Blackberry claims they have already received over 1000 pre orders.

BlackBerry hopes its new line of smartphones, led by the touchscreen Z10 device it introduced earlier this year, will help claw back market share lost to the likes of Apple Inc’s iPhone and Samsung Electronics Co.’s wildly popular line of Galaxy devices, which are powered by Google Inc.’s Android operating system.

June 6, 2013