Samsung Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One and Nexus 4: Which should you get?
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
No question about it: We're entering one of the busiest times of the year for new Android arrivals. And with options like Samsung's Galaxy S4, HTC's One, and Google's LG-made Nexus 4 now competing for your attention, it can get a little tricky to figure out which device is the right one for you.
So where to begin? This step-by-step guide should help you figure it out. Think carefully about the following prompts, then put your answers together and see what you get.
(You can also check out a side-by-side view of the devices' key specs by clicking the chart below; that's good information to have, but remember that numbers only tell half the story.) Read more...
Sencha CEO: Treat HTML5 apps as a programming platform, not a Web page
Sencha provides tools for buildings Web applications to run on a variety of devices, including tablets, mobile phones, and laptops with touchscreens. Focused on HTML5, Sencha's products include its Sencha Touch mobile application development framework. InfoWorld Editor at Large Paul Krill recently met with Sencha CEO Michael Mullany to discuss the mobile application landscape, sizing up native versus Web development, and emerging platforms, including Tizen and Firefox OS. Read more...
Eric Schmidt: Google won’t thwart Facebook Home
Google won't do anything to thwart Facebook's recently launched Home software for Android devices if it becomes explosively popular, according to Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt.
Home, which became available for download April 1, alters Android's look and feel but isn't a full-blown fork of the OS.
Google would not take negative actions toward Home, such as removing it from the Play app store, Schmidt said Tuesday during an onstage interview at the AllThingsD Dive Into Mobile event in New York.
"It would be counter to our public statements, our religion," he said. "The answer is no. It's called open source. They read the manual, they read the rules and adhered to them." Read more...
Google may build early models of Glass in U.S.
Early models of Google's wearable computer, Glass, may be manufactured in the U.S., according to a report.
The Glass eyewear, which is still in development, is expected to be built in Silicon Valley, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources. The Times also reported that Google is working on a deal with Hon Hai Precision Industry, the Taiwanese contract manufacturer also known as Foxconn.
The manufacturer would build the computerized eye glasses in Santa Clara, Calif., the Times said.
Google declined to comment on where Glass will be manufactured. Read more...
Ubuntu Preview alpha arrives for fondleslabs and phones
As promised, Canonical has released the Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview, complete with full source code and installation images for supported devices. The company warns, however, that this early, alpha-quality release is strictly for developers and enthusiasts only.
"While a huge amount of Engineering and Design work has been put into ensuring that the foundations for our user experience vision are in place, we want to stress that the Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview is currently work in progress," Canonical's David Planella wrote in the official announcement on Thursday. "It is not intended to replace production devices or the tablet or handset you use every day." Read more...
VMware Horizon Suite brings virtual desktop into post-PC era
At VMworld today, VMware offered a peek at its forthcoming VMware Horizon Suite, a technology bundle designed to provide mobile users secure, consistent, 24-7 access to their desktop, applications, and data from any device. Complementing the announcement, company execs talked up the fruits of the Wanova Mirage acquisition, which VMware said extends the VMware View VDI platform to cloud applications.
The Horizon Suite represents the second comprehensive bundle VMware has rolled out at VMworld, the first being the all-encompassing vCloud Suite 5.1 unveiled yesterday. VMware's Horizon vision is an ambitious one, seemingly a panacea to BYOD-induced headaches. To the company's credit, it has been baking the components into the suite for some time now, and the company knows its way around a virtualized desktop.
Currently an Alpha release, the VMware Horizon Suite aims to equip IT with the tools to customize a service catalog for all company data and applications. The suite can recognize user attributes and environment, such as what device type, location, and connectivity, and enforce appropriate policies across applications, data, and desktops, according to VMware, which posted a video of the suite in action. Read more...
When are you getting Android 4.1? Good question
Since the launch of Android 4.1 in June, one thing's been on everyone's mind: "When is my device getting Jelly Bean already?"
Believe me: I've heard it plenty. And understandably so: Since I maintain an evolving list of Android 4.0 upgrade info (and did the same for Android 2.3 and Android 2.2 before it), I've developed a bit of a reputation for staying on top of upgrade news. Hey, compared to some of the other reputations I've developed in my life, that's not half-bad.
So in response to everyone who's asking, here's the answer: For the most part, we just don't know yet. It's not the most satisfying answer, I know. But anyone who tells you otherwise is probably guessing, lying, or relying on unreliable rumors, all of which are equally dangerous things to do.
Now, I did say "for the most part" -- and sure enough, there are a few exceptions. Google's Nexus and Google experience devices -- specifically, the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, and U.S. Wi-Fi Xoom -- have all gotten Jelly Bean, as you'd expect. (As for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus and Verizon Xoom, good luck: Sadly, thanks to the carrier's involvement with those devices, there's no telling when their upgrades will be pushed out.) Read more...
MDM moves beyond mobile devices into Macs
MobileIron today announced that its mobile device management (MDM) tool now supports the new OS X Mountain Lion operating system for Macs, released on Wednesday. The company cited fast adoption of Macs in business as the reason it moved out of its mobile-only roots (iOS, Android, and some lesser-used mobile OSes). "Forrester Research forecasts that enterprises will spend $19 billion on the Mac and iPad in 2012, with that number increasing to $28 billion in 2013," MobileIron noted. In June, MDM provider AirWatch annoucned similar support for OS X Lion and says Mountain Lion support is due soon.
The management capabilities MobileIron and AirWatch offer IT for OS X are minimum passcode and password requirements, Wi-Fi and VPN configurations, authentication certificates (for users, apps, and devices), email configuration, remote lock and wipe, and removal of enterprise provisioning information when retiring Macs. Although OS X Server provides these same capabilities for Macs and iOS devices, it requires that IT have a separate server than what is used for managing other devices and doesn't provide as much management capability as available in an MDM tool such as MobileIron's or AirWatch's. Read more...
Apple’s Siri-ous mistake
One thing that Apple has been known for is anticipating what consumers want in a device before they even realize it. It's what they did with the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad -- all devices that sparked high demand in categories that had been either dormant or fairly static.
Then came Siri.
Siri was around as a stand-alone app before Apple acquired it; and other apps such as Vlingo responded to voice commands -- including Google's voice actions on Android. But it was Apple's version of Siri that ratcheted up interest in mobile-device "personal assistants" that could help users organize appointments, send messages and fetch information. Read more...
Oracle scales back plans for Java 8
Oracle is moving to drop a major component from its upcoming Java 8 release, in an effort to get the flagging Java development process back on track.
The component, known as Project Jigsaw, was an addition to the language that would have allowed Java developers to write and distribute programs as modules. It would also have made it easier to scale the Java platform to more types of hardware, ranging from large servers to small embedded devices.
On Tuesday, Mark Reinhold, chief architect of the Java platform group at Oracle, wrote in a blog post that despite repeated promises that Project Jigsaw would be included in Java 8, it is no longer feasible to have the technology ready in time for that version's planned September 2013 ship date.
"Steady progress is being made, but some significant technical challenges remain," Reinhold writes. "There is, more importantly, not enough time left for the broad evaluation, review, and feedback which such a profound change to the Platform demands." Read more...
Wi-Fi Direct may get a reboot for better ease of use
The Wi-Fi Direct standard may get a much-needed boost next year from work by the Wi-Fi Alliance to make it easier to use for both consumers and developers.
The specification for peer-to-peer links among devices debuted in 2010 and has been delivered in some products, including the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone, but it has yet to become a major platform for new uses of Wi-Fi across a wide range of devices.
The Alliance's Wi-Fi Direct Services task group, formed last month, plans to develop new software mechanisms to help devices and applications determine how they can work together, Wi-Fi Alliance Executive Director Edgar Figueroa said in an interview on Wednesday. Those efforts are on a fast track and should be completed within 12 to 18 months, he said. He spoke at a daylong event on "The Power and Potential of the Unlicensed Economy" at Stanford University, saying Wi-Fi is expanding beyond the home and office wireless LAN technology most familiar to consumers. Read more...
Summer security: 4 warm-weather worries
Think summer means emptier offices and less to worry about in the security department? Not anymore.
According to the security experts we spoke with, more mobile devices, and folks using their own smartphones to access corporate networks, means summer vacations pose a new kind of risk these days. And while the financially-motivated criminals may be on vacation, the politically-motivated "hacktivists" actually view summer as a prime time to strike.
Read on for the four security threats you should be on guard for during these warm months. Read more...
Verizon launching shared data plans June 28
After years of study, Verizon Wireless Tuesday unveiled a shared data plan that works across 10 Verizon devices.
The data plan is folded into Verizon's new Share Everything Plans that's slated to roll out on June 28 for new and existing customers.
The Share Everything Plans will offer unlimited voice minutes, text, video and picture messaging for 10 Verizon Wireless mobile devices, the company said in a statement.
The plans call for customers to pick a monthly access fee per device, ranging from $10 for tablets up to $40 for smartphones. Each device must be added to an account. 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...
Why it’s unlikely we’ll see multiple Nexus devices this year
Since the early days of Android, the loyalists in the Google ecosystem have hoped that one day Andy Rubin would descend from the Googleplex with a series of devices that were stock Android with unlocked bootloaders. In other words, the simultaneous release of multiple “Nexus” type devices is the dream of a large part of the Android community.
The core problem with the current Nexus system, in a nutshell, is that it is designed to be a reference device. It is the first device on the latest version of Android, and as such the rest of the Android OEMs will deliver vastly superior hardware to that product a month or two later. Take the recent Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which was recently thoroughly trounced by the Snapdragon S4-powered HTC One X in every way but the pure Android experience. Read more...