Tag: Android Market

Indian Mobile Market Plunges for the First Time in 20 Years

India’s mobile market has developed over the past few years. Every global firm is eyeing to set up a manufacturing plant in the country, and many Chinese firms have already taken progressive steps in this direction. Amid all these advancements, the recent report have raised concern over the future of mobiles in the country. According to research firm CyberMedia Research, the mobile phone sales in India has shrinked consecutively for the second time in Q1 2015.

The statistics released by the firm clearly speaks of the dropped sales in Q1 2015 (January – March) and in the last quarter of 2014 (October – December). In the first quarter of this year, the mobile phone sales in total dropped 14.5% that is, from 62 million to 53 million. Out of this, feature phones sale rolled down to 34 million, while that of smartphones remained 20 million.

The Lead Analyst at CyberMedia Faisal Kawoosa spoke on the same –

With major announcements of new handsets and with the entry of some new brands happening in a big way in Q4 2014, there wasn’t really something very exciting in the market for customers that could push up sales in Q1 2015. At the same time, a change in duty structure and the longer continuation of Chinese new year festivities which generally conclude by mid-February each year, affected the supply chain and inventories

India is one of the tremendously booming electronic markets in the world. In 2014, the nation emerged as the fastest growing smartphone market in Asia-Pacific, and was speculated to overtake the US as the second-largest smartphone market across the globe after China.

The slow down of mobile sales in India reportedly depends on a number of factors like unexciting phones, increased tax, mounting competition and the extended Chinese new year festivities. The smartphone brands need to think of innovative device structures that stand out of the pack; immediately enticing the customers to buy one. LG’s G Flex series is one such example of innovation and style, which makes it ahead of the league. The increased tax is another area which is pulling smartphone vendors to offer devices at cheaper rates. Oppo, Xiaomi, and a few more manufacturers have found a solution to this, but there are many more who are yet to find an answer.

May 18, 2015
Google Indoor Maps come to UK

Google Indoor maps was launched in the US last year mapping all the insides of malls, hotels, etc. But now Google has started to expand the reach of indoor maps, extending to more than 40 indoor venues in the UK including a mix of museums, stations, malls and airports in the main mostly in London. With building owners being able to upload their own maps, however, this should / could expand quickly. Hit the Google Lat-Lon blog for more info.

[Google Lat-Lon]

July 4, 2012
Over 1.2 Billion apps downloaded in the last week of December

According to reports the total downloads of Apps was at an all time high in the last week of December ( also considered holiday season) . Apps downloaded on the iTunes and Android Market crossed a massive 1.2 billion downloads. This could also be considering the millions of activations received during the previous christmas week.

[Flurry]

January 6, 2012
RIM puts the Playbook on a massive sale 16, 32 and 64 GB versions all for US$ 299

Looks like RIM is following up in HP’s footsteps, and has decided to liquidate the Playbook all over the world. The US however seems to get the best deal, RIM’s official webstore is offering the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB model for $299, the pricing is quite strange especially since no one would buy the cheaper ones. Those who have the tablet can get access to the Android market in a few easy steps detailed by the team at Crackberry. It requires a rooted PlayBook, WinSCP, the latest version of Cyanogen Google apps.

In India the Playbook has been sold out at the lower pricing, with just an asking price of Rs. 13,500 for the 16GB, Rs. 15800 for the 32 GB and Rs. 24000 for the 64Gb versions. People are going gaga over the failed tablet simply because its priced right.

We will try getting our hands on a such device for a better review.

[RIM]

[CrackBerry]

January 4, 2012
Eric Schmidt says ‘Android will be bigger than iOS’

Speaking at Le Web in Paris Google CEO, spoke about why Apps were first written for iOS and then ported over to Android. The response was one that would not surprise any Android user, Schmidt claims ” In about 6 months its going to be the other way round.” He predicts that the new OS Ice Cream Sandwich will remove the device fragmentation and lead people closer to the OS, making it a preferred choice of developers.

[Engadget]

[Le Web (YouTube)]

December 8, 2011
Google Maps on Android now with indoor locations

If you have updated to the latest version of Google Maps on Android, you will now notice that Maps is now updating indoor locations on its maps app. Google Maps 6.0, which is a free update for phones loaded with Android 2.1 and up, will bring you intimate details of many shopping centres and airports in the US and Japan. The app is also sensitive to which floor you’re on, so if you go up an escalator in the shopping centre, the list of stores will update.

Now this is seriously useful utilization of your portable handheld device.

[Google Blog]

November 30, 2011
New Gmail Android App v2.3.4 integrates Labels, custom tones and priority inbox among others

The new Gmail app v 2.3.5 available now via the marketplace update adds a lot of new features to the on system app. the most important feature is the ability to sync only priority inbox with your device allowing you to save up on battery life. The other new feature that we like is label specific tones allowing you to customize the way you receive email.

Officially What’s in this version:

1. Save bandwidth and battery by only syncing priority mail
2. Use label notifications to mash up filters, labels, and ringtones
3. Remember ‘Show Pictures’ for senders
4. Turn off sticky message actions in landscape or all orientations
5. Better TalkBack support for accessibility
6. Performance improvements

[Android Market]

July 29, 2011
Qualcomm launches Vellamo browser benchmark for Android devices

The mastermind behind a flurry of chipsets for Mobile phones, also responsible for graphic benchmarks like Neocore. Qualcomm has just launched the Vellamo Benchmark for Android devices. This benchmark if for mobile browser lagging tests. Vellamo is essentially a suite of 11 tests designed to gauge browser performance on Android phones and tablets.

To operate it requires any Android Device over OS 2.0

July 15, 2011
Google Updates Android Market to add Movies and Books tabs

Google is updating the marketplace app in their Android OS to include a easy tab for Books and Movies being sold and rented on the Android Marketplace. At movie titles starting at just US$ 1.99 or IN Rs. 84/- it makes it a highly worthwhile option for Android device owners who had to earlier toss around looking to download rich media content to their devices. The Update is said to roll out within the coming weeks but a pre-release build is already doing the rounds and can be found here(download )

Watch the video below to get a quick overview of the design.

[Google Mobile Blog]

July 13, 2011
Google blocks Movie Rentals on Rooted Android Devices

Google is blocking users with rooted Android devices from renting movies via Android Market. The reason stated is “due to requirements related to copyright protection”. Android 3.1 is only currently available on the Xoom and Android Market movie rentals aren’t yet available on Android 2.2+ devices. So not a large user base is affected with the blockages.

Now the rooting community is already furious about this fact and it looks like there might be a workaround sooner than the world gets updated to movie rentals.

May 23, 2011
Android Market launches movie rentals direct on your Phone and Tablets

Google just announced movie rentals in the Android Market at its I/O conference. You can choose b/w thousands of movies and download and view them with a single click. “Pinning” mirrors the experience with apps and books, you can select it on your PC and download to the device in the background for offline viewing.Devices with Android 2.2 or higher will support this service and it should be made available to everyone in the coming weeks.Tablets however will get this service in the new 3.1 OS upgrade.

Renting works in a simple manner 30 days to watch the downloaded movie and 24 hour window once you start watching. Prices range from 48 Rs. upwards and about 280 Rs. for High Definition popular movies.

May 11, 2011
Leaked : Google Prepping Android Music 3.0 Cloud Based Music Player

The folks over at Tech From 10 have managed to get their hands on developer version of the market place, allowing them to download the yet to be released Android Music 3.0 app. The app is identical to the current version of the music player, but the settings panel has been modified to show various streaming related options.

You can also download the app for your device if you like from here.

April 6, 2011
PlayStation games now available in Android Market Limited to Xperia Play

Sony PlayStation games have begun appearing in Google’s Android Market. Five title’s became available in the Market on Thursday, including Syphon Filter, MediEvil and Cool Boarders 2. Currently available titles are listed for $6.38 each. More are on their way and should be added to the list of ever-growing Apps on the Android Marketplace.

Sony Ericsson’s Xperia PLAY will be the first PlayStation Certified Android smartphone that will be capable of playing original PlayStation games downloaded through the Android Market.

April 2, 2011