Rovio chucks up Angry Birds successor, hopes it will fly
Rovio has launched its follow-up to mobile gaming phenomenon Angry Birds, but this time even Android users will have to cough up to play.
The game is called Amazing Alex, and it will set you back 64 pence (99 cents) on iOS or Android, but it used to be called Casey's Contraptions when it was sold to Rovio by game devs Mystery Coconut. Rovio bought the rights to the game last year and has now tarted up the graphics and introduced some Angry Birds-inspired structure.
Angry Birds has been huge for Rovio, and for mobile games in general, but it's worth remembering that it wasn't Rovio's first attempt. The company had 50 or so failures before hitting the big time with Angry Birds, and since then has been extracting every possible penny from the franchise before it gets old. Read more...
Google fattens up Android devs with Jelly Bean sauce
Google will release the latest official build of its Android mobile operating system, version 4.1, to developers today. The web giant will parcel up the source code, codenamed Jelly Bean, ahead of the rollout later this month.
Jean-Baptiste Queru, the tech lead on the Android Open Source Project, announced the release on its Google Groups page.
"We're releasing Android 4.1 in AOSP [Android Open Source Project] today," he wrote, adding:
The name of the tagged release is android-4.1.1_r1.
The name of the development branch is jb-dev. Read more...
Android Jelly Bean won’t get Flash Player
As part of the slow death of Adobe's Flash Player, the company has announced it won't be making a certified version for Android's new 4.1 OS – aka Jelly Bean.
Adobe said on its blog that it won't be developing Flash for Android 4.1. The software company said it will also start taking steps to phase the player out of the Google Play Store by limiting access to updates to just those folks who already have it on their mobes. Read more...
Android Jelly Bean won’t get Flash Player
As part of the slow death of Adobe's Flash Player, the company has announced it won't be making a certified version for Android's new 4.1 OS – aka Jelly Bean.
Adobe said on its blog that it won't be developing Flash for Android 4.1. The software company said it will also start taking steps to phase the player out of the Google Play Store by limiting access to updates to just those folks who already have it on their mobes. Read more...
Android Firefox: Screaming, awesome, you’ll go blind etc
Mozilla has galloped a new version of Firefox for Android out of the gates just ahead of the expected full launch of Chrome on mobes later this week.
The open-source firm has had a version of its popular browser on little green phones since 2010, but it hasn't lit many Google-mobe-lovers' fires so far.
Chrome has been available in beta since February, but only on Android mobes running Ice Cream Sandwich (version 4.0). Read more...
Flipboard for Android arrives with Google+ and YouTube integration
Flipboard is now available for Android. The app, which aggregates content in a magazine-like format, also integrates content from Google+ and YouTube, a Flipboard blog post said on Friday.
The application can be downloaded from Google's Play store, Amazon's app store for the Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook App Store.
In the U.S., Flipboard will come pre-installed on Samsung's Galaxy S III smartphone when purchased from carriers including AT&T. Read more...
Applicasa expands server-side mobile app dev service to Android
Applicasa, which offers a server-side mobile application development service, is expanding its Web-based technology this week to include the Google Android platform.
The service enables native developers to build cloud-connected back ends for Android and Apple's iOS platform without having to write server code. Server-side mobile applications can use back-end data and leverage cloud-based features such as push notifications, geolocation, and shopping carts. A drag-and-drop interface is offered for database creation and queries, with server-side back ends developed in 10 minutes, Applicasa said. Read more...
What to expect from HTC’s Playstation Mobile certification
As part of their attempt to broaden the PlayStation brand and increase total market share, Sony has opened up the PlayStation Mobile certification to any Android manufacturer willing to pay for it. The certification allows manufacturers to offer the exclusive PlayStation Mobile games that have, until now, only been available on Sony Android devices.
During the Sony presentation at E3, it was announced that HTC would be the first hardware manufacturer to add the PlayStation Mobile certification to their devices. What does that mean for HTC devices, and the app developers currently working with them? Read more...
Why were Windows Phone users left out of Foursquare’s latest update?
In case you missed it, foursquare completely ripped apart and revamped its app for iOS and Android to make exploring and discovery easier. They’ve hit the mark as far as I’m concerned, and users seem to be pretty happy about the massive upgrade. Not all users, though.
In all of the excitement about the new version, it seems like the company left out a segment of users who are fans of the app on Microsoft’s mobile devices. Oops. Read more...
Android Malware Genome Project launched
At this year's IEEE Symposium on Security & Privacy, security researchers from North Carolina State University (NCSU) announced the launch of the Android Malware Genome Project. The goal of the new initiative is to find, collect and analyse Android malware and share it with other researchers around the world. Read more...
IBM doesn’t just block Siri, it restricts iCloud use too (but likes BlackBerry and Android devices)
IBM may have placed a ban on Apple’s voice-assistant Siri but it has various policies for the use of smartphones accessing and connecting to its networks, ensuring that devices on its internal networks aren’t subject to security issues and don’t disclose company secrets.
Shortly after IBM CIO Jeanette Horan confirmed that Big Blue had imposed the restriction, we were approached by an employee that was able to give us more of an insight into what IBM calls its “Do’s and Dont’s” of smartphone use. Read more...
Russia’s Twitter rival Futubra unleashes mobile apps
The Russian answer to Twitter, Futubra, just stepped up its game with the release of apps for iOS, Windows Phone and Android.
Using Futubra without being able to read Cyrillic is a bit tricky. On a desktop or laptop browser, you can rely on Google translate in chrome to help you along, on the mobile this won’t work. So, for now, best for those who can read the content to enjoy the mobile apps.
The interface for the apps is still nice and bright, with neon coloured icons show you where to upload images or follow updates. Read more...
Oracle-Google verdict signals need for copyright reform
Today, the jury in the case by ruling in favor Oracle against Google over Android's use of Java demonstrated how badly the copyright laws of the 19th and 20th century fit the technology market of the 21st century. The jury found that Google had infringed Oracle's copyrights on the overall design of Java (procured by Oracle in its purchase of Sun Microsystems), but Google's use of the Java documentation did not infringe -- and it was unable to determine whether Google's usage was justified as "fair use," which is a legally acceptable form of infringement. Read more...
Android malware used to mask online fraud, says expert
Android malware being automatically distributed from hacked websites looks like it's being used to mask online purchases, and could be part of a fraud gang's new push into mobile, researchers said today.
"The malware essentially turns your Android phone into a tunnel that can bounce network traffic off your phone," said Kevin Mahaffrey, co-founder and CTO of Lookout Security, a San Francisco-based firm that focuses on Android.
Lookout first published information about the new malware, dubbed "NotCompatible," on Wednesday. Further analysis, however, has revealed the most likely reason why cyber criminals are spreading the malware. Read more...
Android Is Either “Winning” Because Apple Is Letting It, Or Losing
In September 2010, I wrote a post that ignited an absolute shitstorm around these parts. “Shitstorm” in this case meaning a post with a thousand comments, the majority of which were spewed up by rabid Android fanatics. The title of that post:
Is Android Surging Only Because Apple Is Letting It?
At the time, we were in the midst of a massive Android surge to the top of the smartphone ecosystem food chain. This was happening all around the world, but the focus of this particular post was the U.S. market. Based on some comments made by developer David Beach at the time, I wondered if, as the title suggested, Android was only doing so well in the U.S. because the iPhone was still only available on one carrier, AT&T? Read more...