Tag: Android

Google’s big push to make better iOS apps than Apple

Some of the best basic iPhone apps hitting the iOS App Store lately aren’t from the iPhone maker, but from one of its biggest rivals. Google, which recently launched or relaunched a series of well-received apps for Apple’s flagship devices, is now courting Apple developers, in addition to wooing Apple users over to Android.

This week, the company published a recruiting video for an in-house iOS developer team, as noted by 9to5Mac. This video is just the latest part of a recent push from Google emphasizing its commitment to Apple’s platform after its Google Maps and YouTube apps were dumped from their default presence on iOS devices this summer. Google acted shocked and semi-insecure (publicly, at least) when Apple made it known that both apps would no longer come preinstalled on its devices.

Away from the public war of words, Google has not only recovered from the fallout, but has come roaring back and embraced its status as just another developer working on Apple’s platform — and one that’s trying to best Apple at its own game. You can see this outward confidence in the new video, which invites iOS developers to come “do cool things that matter.“

Google isn’t just making cool apps that people like on a competing platform, such as its Android mobile OS. It’s making well-liked apps that are core to the functionality of its rival’s devices. By improving on Apple’s Mail, Maps, Safari, Camera and Siri with apps of its own, Google is successfully beginning to wedge itself between the iPhone and iPad maker and its customers. And in the process, it’s begun to build its own lot of loyal iPhone and iPad users.

The last three months, in fairly quick succession we saw:

Google’s own voice-enabled Search app for iOS
A redesigned Gmail 2.0 app
A new (long-awaited) YouTube app for iPad
The maps saga come to an end with a brand new Google Maps, which saw 10 million downloads in 48 hours
And a YouTube recording app called Capture, which targets Apple’s own Camera app
And this list doesn’t include other popular, earlier releases in 2012 like Chrome for iOS, and YouTube for iPhone. As has been previously noted by the Next Web, the new design language Google is using in these apps is very, very good. It’s quite clear that Google is swiftly getting better at mobile design.

And it’s not an accident: the company’s iOS development team has cultivated a specific look and feel for its products on Apple’s platform. Now it’s devoting and building whole teams to creating apps for iOS. After years of internal debate over the role of apps or websites as the best home for Google services on mobile devices, it’s become pretty clear that those within Google advocating for better apps have prevailed.

People are starting to take notice of Google’s improvement at the same time that Apple’s design chops have been taking some heat. When Apple releases a new app these days, its design is nitpicked to death, and complaints about gaudy textures, poor functionality, and confusing design details get the design community and users in a huff. The Apple Maps disaster is just one example. But Podcasts, Siri, Calendar, Game Center and more have also been met with criticism.

2013 is going to be a year when Apple must prove itself again in many ways: can its leaders improve the company in the eye of investors? Can it come up with more revolutionary products that keep customers coming back? Can it continue to stave off tablet challengers?

And now with Google’s full-court press on iOS, another big thing we’ll be watching for is whether Apple’s internal reorganization can produce basic apps that are core to its own device’s experience and will defend and reassert Apple’s design strengths.

via Google’s big push to make better iOS apps than Apple.

CyanogenMod 10 ported to the Google Nexus 7

The Google Nexus 7 may be the first tablet to ship with Google Android 4.1 preloaded. But that hasn’t stopped independent developers from building custom ROMs for the tablet. One of the first is an unofficial build of CyanogenMod 10 for the Nexus 7.

Like the tablet’s default software, it’s based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. But it also includes CyanogenMod enhancements including a a customizable lock screen, additional options for the power widget, and support for USB OTG — which means you can plug in a USB flash drive if you have an adapter cable.

CM10 is the first version of the popular CyanogenMod operating system to be based on Android 4.1, and the developers have only been working on the software for a few weeks.

There’s not an official build available for the Nexus 7 yet, but xda-developers form member winner00 compiled his own build based on CyangoenMod source.

If you’ve already rooted your Nexus 7 and installed ClockworkMod or TWRP custom recovery, you can download the latest version of winner00′s CM10 Kang from the xda-developers forum and flash it through your recovery app.

It’s probably a good idea to use your recovery tool to make a backup of your device first, in case anything goes wrong. While most things are working in the CM10 Kang, it is an experimental build so there’s always a chance you might want to go back to the default Android firmware.

via CyanogenMod 10 ported to the Google Nexus 7.

How to change the Nexus 7 user interface to full tablet mode

The Google Nexus 7 tablet has a user interface that looks like a cross between the Google Android UI for smartphones and tablets. With Android 3.0 through Android 4.0, things were pretty clear-cut: If you had a phone, the notification area was at the top of the screen and you couldn’t rotate the home screen. On tablets, it was at the bottom and rotation was supported.

But Android 4.1 on the Nexus 7 includes a notification area at the top of the device, home, back, and recent apps buttons at the bottom, and a default home screen that doesn’t rotate. It’s a 7 inch tablet that works more like a phone — unless you apply a patch that makes it work like a 10 inch tablet.

Google still supports the same full tablet mode we saw in Android 4.0 and earlier, but only for tablets with larger displays. The new user interface we see on the Nexus 7 is designed specifically for 7 inch tablets.

When you run some apps you’ll see the two-pane view that you get with 10 inch tablets, but overall the user interface looks more like the one you’d expect for a phone. It’s not a bad way to do things — but if it’s now what you’re looking for, there are other options.

The operating system doesn’t actually know what size your screen is. It just knows how many pixels your screen can display, what the pixel density is, and what the cutoff is for showing the 7 or 10 inch versions of the Android interface. So there are a few ways to trick the Nexus 7 into thinking it should display the notification bar at the bottom.

If all you want is a home screen that can rotate, you can install any number of apps from the Play Store, including Nova Launcher, ADW Launcher, or Apex Launcher.

But if you want to use the full tablet UI, you’ll need to root your Nexus 7 and make some changes.

Option 1: Change your LCD Density

This is the easiest way to enable the tablet UI (for now). Once you’ve rooted your tablet, just install an app such as ROM Toolbox that allows you to change your LCD density. You can find that option in the build.prop Tweaks section of ROM Toolbox.

The default setting for the Nexus 7 is 213. But if you change it to something between 160 and 170, the tablet should automatically display the full Android user interface.

Unfortunately there’s a down side to this method. The Nexus 7 has a 1280 x 800 pixel display. Normally that just means text, images, and other content will look less pixelated on the tablet than on a Kindle Fire or another 7 inch tablet with a 1024 x 600 pixel screen. But if you change the LCD density, text, images, and other content will look smaller on the Nexus 7 as well.

Basically what you’re trying to do is cram all the content that would normally be displayed on a 10 inch screen onto a 7 inch screen. If you have great eyesight or like holding tablets very close to your face, this might be a good thing. If not, you might be interested in the second option.

Option 2: True Tablet UI Patch

A group of folks at the xda-developers forum found a setting in the Android 4.1 code called ShortSizeDP. Basically this tells the operating system whether to use the phone, 7 inch tablet, or larger tablet user interface depending on your screen resolution and LCD density.

If you change the ShortSizeDP, you can get the full tablet user interface without making all the text and graphics smaller.

So they’ve posted a True Tablet UI Patch that lets you do that.

It’s still a work in progress and only works if you’re running a deodexed version of Android 4.1 on your Nexus 7. Eventually the plan is to release a version that makes it easy to switch between full tablet and 7 inch tablet modes, so if that’s what you’re looking for you might want to keep your eye on the xda-developers forum thread and wait.

For now, just make sure to use ClockworkMod Recovery or TWRP to backup your device before applying the patch — that way you can always restore from the backup if you’re not happy with the results.

via How to change the Nexus 7 user interface to full tablet mode.

If you need these, you have a problem! Wearcom Jeans With Touch-Transparent iPhone Pocket

Alphyn Industries’ DELTA415 Wearcom jeans may as well have been called the Dork-O-Tron 3000, for they are nerdy in the extreme. They are also flat-out awesome, and if I was the kind of person who spent $160 on a pair of jeans, then I’d be al over them. Or all in them, I guess.

The Wearcoms are simple: the front right pocket has been replaced by a see-through phone pouch, complete with a protective flap to cover it.

Apparently inspired by the G-suits worn by fighter pilots, the jeans have a clear pocket through which the wearer can use a multi-touch screen, and a button hole through which you can thread a headphone cable.

It is of course ridiculous, although I can see at least one scenario where it would be useful: on a bike. You could ride and still have your iPhone ready to glance at maps or change the music you’re beaming to your Bluetooth speaker, all without having to put it on a handlebar bracket.

Orienting your phone screen-out does have some problems, though. Even with the flap closed, a good whack is going to break the screen and not just crack or dent the back.

The jeans are made of indigo-dyed denim, and come in fatty-unfriendly sizes of 28 to 38 inches. Available now.
via Wearcom Jeans With Touch-Transparent iPhone Pocket.

Flipboard – Android Apps on Google Play

Flipboard, Your Social Magazine
Flipboard’s award-winning experience lets people see everything in one place. By bringing together the world’s stories and life’s great moments, you can stay up to date with the things that matter most. Flip through the news from your Twitter timeline as well as from outlets like the BBC, USA Today and The Verge. See everything from posts and photos shared by friends on Facebook and Instagram to videos from Stephen Colbert and pop culture nuggets from Rolling Stone. Find inspiration for your travel, style and life from places like National Geographic, Oprah and Cool Hunting.
It’s the one thing to simplify your daily life. Bring Flipboard on the train during your morning commute, catch up over coffee or on vacation, use it as a tool at work or simply to wind down your night. Search for anything or anyone, and make it your own.
You’ll be amazed by what you see.
NOTE: This app is optimized for smartphones, not tablets.

via Flipboard – Android Apps on Google Play.

Nova Launcher & Prime for ICS 4.0 for the Win!

Nova Launcher has made it’s way out of the beta stage and into the Android Market. This Ice Cream Sandwich launcher is chock full of features you won’t find in the stock launcher, and comes highly recommended by our own Android Central forums Super Moderator Cyber Warrior. A look at the feature list and we see why:

Custom homescreen grid
Scrollable dock
Scroll effects
Infinite scrolling
Custom folder icons
Backup/Restore
Custom app icons

The paid version offers up even more, like gestures, dock swiping, and the ability to hide apps in your app drawer. 

If you found the stock Android launcher in ICS a bit lacking, you should really give Nova Launcher a look. It requires Android 4.0 and both free and a paid $4 version are available in the Market

via Android Central.

Apple at it again, calling for injunction against the Galaxy Nexus

Apple has once again called Samsung into court. This time it’s about the Galaxy Nexus and four patents that Apple says it infringes. The patents in question are:

U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647: a patent for data being used as a hyperlink
U.S. Patent No. 8,086,604: a unified search patent
U.S. Patent No. 8,046,721: a slide-to-unlock patent
U.S. Patent No. 8,074,172: a word completion patent 
Apple is requesting that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus be blocked from sale in the United States because it violates these patents.  Should the court find in favor of Apple, a ban against the Galaxy Nexus would be put in effect until the final court decision.  

Could it happen? Certainly. But if it does, it won’t go into effect any time soon, it would only affect stores inside the U.S. selling these products, and no jack-booted thugs from Cupertino will come pry your Nexus from your hands. We can’t be sure how the courts will act, but all of these are pretty shaky patents, and once again Apple is not going after Google directly — even though the Galaxy Nexus has a pure vanilla version of Android.  The only certainty here is that the patent system is broken and only serves the company willing to spend the most in the courts.

It’s time for Google to step in and put a stop to this bullshit. The first patent in question is the same one that was upheld against HTC in a move that shocked the tech community at large, essentially giving Apple the rights to the hyperlink — something invented over 20 years ago by numerous companies that aren’t Apple.

The other three are just as laughable, or would be if not for the fact that Apple was allowed to secure the patents at all. Every single one of them has existed as prior art long before Apple became relevant, yet a patent was granted each and every time. This is the core of the problem. You can’t blame Apple for trying, it’s cheaper to litigate away your competition than it is to out-innovate them.  And make no mistake — that’s exactly what’s going on here.  Apple wants Android to go away, and a look at any chart that shows market share will tell you why.  It’s a shitty way to get ahead, but it’s too easy not to try. It’s going to take a tech giant to change the way this all works, and we know nobody can count on Apple or Microsoft to do it, because this is their system, created the way they like it, and making them rich. If Apple is afraid to go after Google, Google needs to go after Apple instead of sitting on their laurels waiting to ride in and save the day at the last minute.

via Android Central.

Official Google Blog: Introducing Chrome for Android

Introducing Chrome for Android
In 2008, we launched Google Chrome to help make the web better. We’re excited that millions of people around the world use Chrome as their primary browser and we want to keep improving that experience. Today, were introducing Chrome for Android Beta, which brings many of the things you’ve come to love about Chrome to your Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone or tablet. Like the desktop version, Chrome for Android Beta is focused on speed and simplicity, but it also features seamless sign-in and sync so you can take your personalized web browsing experience with you wherever you go, across devices.

Speed:
With Chrome for Android, you can search, navigate and browse fast—Chrome fast. You can scroll through web pages as quickly as you can flick your finger. When searching, your top search results are loaded in the background as you type so pages appear instantly. And of course, both search and navigation can all be done quickly from the Chrome omnibox.

Simplicity:
Chrome for Android is designed from the ground up for mobile devices. We reimagined tabs so they fit just as naturally on a small-screen phone as they do on a larger screen tablet. You can flip or swipe between an unlimited number of tabs using intuitive gestures, as if you’re holding a deck of cards in the palm of your hands, each one a new window to the web.One of the biggest pains of mobile browsing is selecting the correct link out of several on a small-screen device. Link Preview does away with hunting and pecking for links on a web page by automatically zooming in on links to make selecting the precise one easier.A nd as with Chrome on desktop, we built Chrome for Android with privacy in mind from the beginning, including incognito mode for private browsing and fine-grained privacy options tap menu icon, ‘Settings,’ and then ‘Privacy’.

Sign in:
You can now bring your personalized Chrome experience with you to your Android phone or tablet. If you sign in to Chrome on your Android device, you can:View open tabs: Access the tabs you left open on your computer also signed into Chrome—picking up exactly where you left off.Get smarter suggestions: If you visit a site often on your computer, youll also get an autocomplete suggestion for it on your mobile device, so you can spend less time typing.

Sync bookmarks: Conveniently access your favorite sites no matter where you are or which device you’re using.

Chrome is now available in Beta from Android Market, in select countries and languages for phones and tablets with Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich. We’re eager to hear your feedback. Finally, we look forward to working closely with the developer community to create a better web on a platform that defines mobile.

Posted by Sundar Pichai, SVP, Chrome and AppsCross-posted from the Chrome blog and on the Mobile blog

via Official Google Blog: Introducing Chrome for Android.

Latest Apple patent lawsuit targets Galaxy Nexus lockscreen

The latest installment of Apple vs. Samsung saga sees Cupertino taking offense with the lockscreen on the Galaxy Nexus. The complaint, filed once again in Germany, is the first directed towards the Android 4.0 flagship device. The claim made is that the Galaxy Nexus infringes upon Apple’s own slide-to-unlock utility model. 

FOSS Patent’s blogger Florian Mueller describes this utility model as a limited fast-track patent that companies are allowed to file for alongside traditional patents. Apple has done just this with slide-to-unlock in Germany. Samsung’s defense points to a device from Sweden known as the Neonode, which managed to persuade a court in the Netherlands in 2011 to question the validity of the Apple’s slide-to-unlock filing.

The court is expected to reveal its decision on Mar. 16. What’s clear already, though, is that we’re sure to see more of these patent lawsuits as the year continues.

via Android Central.

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