The Problem With Android

Android is the leading smartphone platform with a diverse array of devices available from a variety of manufacturers, and from virtually every wireless carrier. As capable as the Android OS might be, though, its diversity is also one of its greatest handicaps.

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Google recently unveiled the next major release of Android: Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich”. The latest iteration of Android combines the features and capabilities of the Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” OS for smartphones, and Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” OS for tablets into an integrated OS that serves both types of devices simultaneously.

“Ice Cream Sandwich” sounds yummy, but who knows when I’ll get it for my Xoom?”Ice Cream Sandwich” will soon be available on the flagship Samsung Galaxy Nexus samrtphone. if you don’t rush out to get the Galaxy Nexus, though, it is a guessing game when you might be able to get an Android 4.0 update for your existing Android smartphone or tablet…or if you ever will at all. that is the problem with Android.

Motorola’s latest Android phone–the Droid Razr–begins pre-orders today, and will ship to customers sometime during the first half of November. when users receive this cutting edge device, it will already be obsolete because it is built on Android 2.3.5–a variant of last year’s “Gingerbread” release. Motorola promises that the Droid Razr will be updated to “Ice Cream Sandwich” in the first half of 2012. Woo hoo?

Meanwhile, owners of the initial Android showcase phone, the Google Nexus One, are just out of luck. Google has already announced that the Nexus One hardware is “too old” and the device will not be updated to Android 4.0.

It is a problem that plagues all Android devices. a chart from undertstatement.com illustrates the Android smartphone models that have been released in the United States, and how far behind most of them are in relation to the current Android release.

Compare the Android update history with iOS. The iPhone 3GS was initially launched in June of 2009. It is more than two years old, yet when iOS 5 was released it was immediately available for download for the iPhone 3GS, as well as the iPhone 4. while it took more than six months for “Gingerbread” to be deployed on a statistically significant segment of Android devices, when Apple updates iOS it generally has 90-plus percent penetration in a matter of days.

I have a Motorola Xoom tablet running “Honeycomb”–Android 3.2.1 to be exact. The Xoom is one of the standard-bearers of what Android tablets are supposed to be capable of. when “Ice Cream Sandwich” is released for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, I would expect to be able to immediately download the new OS for my Xoom as well. I won’t hold my breath.

The reality is that I will be lucky to get “Ice Cream Sandwich” on my Xoom in the next six months. Meanwhile, my original from April of 2010, and my iPad 2 are both happily running the iOS 5 update that came out a couple weeks ago.

Answering the question of why Android devices take so long to get the latest update, or don’t get the update at all, the understatement.com post explains, “Obviously a big part of the problem is that Android has to go from Google to the phone manufacturers to the carriers to the devices, whereas iOS just goes from Apple directly to devices.”

Vendors often claim–as Google has with the Nexus One–that the older hardware just can’t keep up with the newer Android OS. The understatement.com post goes on to point out, though, that the hacker community often ports the latest OS to these devices just fine, so that argument seems to be invalid in at least some cases.

There is no denying that hardware eventually becomes obsolete, and that some older devices truly lack the horsepower and capabilities that the newer Android OS demands. on the Apple side of the fence, there are still legacy models that are no longer supported as well. It’s just that they are three years or so old–not devices that were sold as cutting edge, flagship smartphones a few months ago.

Google, Android device manufacturers, and wireless carriers all need to work together to implement a more streamlined system to get the latest updates out to devices faster, and to create a more predictable environment where users can be confident that the cream-of-the-crop smartphone or tablet they are investing in won’t be rendered obsolete for six months or more while it waits to catch up…just in time for the next release of Android to put it two steps behind again.

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Exclusive Big-Name Games, Apps Coming to Nokia Phones

LONDON—Game-maker Electronic Arts, Muppet masters Sesame Workshop and sports network ESPN will all produce exclusive apps for Nokia’s new Windows Phones, presenters on a panel at the Nokia World show said today.

The Windows Phone marketplace has about 35,000 apps, but that’s less than a tenth of what’s available for the iPhone. Nokia has promised to pump up the Windows Phone app list with both first-party and third-party apps, and EA, especially, is bringing some big names to the platform.

EA showed a slide advertising sports games FIFA, Madden, NBA Jam and Tiger Woods PGA Tour, popular puzzle game Bejeweled 2, and third-person shooter Dead Space, among others. The company also pledged to bring 40 top EA games to Nokia’s Series 40 feature phones, including FIFA 11 and 12, Need for Speed Shift and the Sims line. (See below for all the icons of games EA is promising.)

AT&T offers a few Series 40 phones in the U.S., including the Nokia C3; they’re also available unlocked direct from Nokia.

EA didn’t say when the games would become available, or whether they would later become available to other Windows Phones. Nokia’s Windows Phones are anticipated to launch in the U.S. in early 2012, possibly at the CES trade show in January.

Sesame Workshop showed an app which wraps together a lot of that company’s award-winning kids’ content. The app includes “read-along” books with the Muppets, videos, and games.

ESPN went into more depth on its ESPN Hub, which the company initially announced during Nokia CEO Stephen Elop’s keynote yesterday. The ESPN Hub will offer special localized experiences in each country, for example bringing cricket to the front in India and making sure countries where rugby is popular get news about that sport.

Sports fans will be able to drill down and access all of ESPN’s content from anywhere, though, pinning their favorite sports to the start screen. That’s sure to plan U.S.-based fans of European soccer, for instance, the EA presenter said.

Separately, I got a closer look at two of Nokia’s own upcoming apps, Nokia Music and Nokia’s public transit app. Nokia Music combines aspects of Pandora and Slacker, along with a full-track music download store. The core of the app is Nokia-created music mixes more than 13 hours long, which you can stream to your phone; 3.5 hours each of up to four mixes can be downloaded to your phone for offline playback.

The app can create custom radio stations from seed artists, just like Pandora. it can also analyze your desktop music library and produce a station based on the balance of genres you own; youc an then tweak the genre settings with sliders. That’s pretty neat. The full-track music store is Nokia’s current offering, and that part is unlikely to come to the U.S.

The public transit app thrilled me, but I’m a new Yorker. it has a great sliding-bar display like the travel booking site Hipmunk, showing you in a graphical way how long and complex various routes are to your destination. you can pre-set your favorite routes, and then it tells you how soon your train is coming by using a live tile on your home screen. It’s fun, useful and a great example of Windows Phone app programming.

None of these apps are anticipated to arrive in the U.S. until Nokia’s Windows Phones do, which the company has said will be early 2012. 

For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.

Refurbished iPhone – Discover Why a Refurbished iPhone is As Good As New!

Refurbished iPhone – Discover why a Refurbished iPhone is as Good as new!

Why? because they are rebuilt and upgraded with the latest bells and whistles and usually were previously unused. These refurbished iPhones may have been returned for various reasons and usually are still under the manufacturers original warranty. For instance, an Apple iPhone may have never been touched by a consumer and was a quality control model that was tested and put through many tests at the factory.It would be sold as a refurbished Apple iPhone rather than a new one even though it was never used.

An AT&T refurbished iPhone may have just been a floor model and as a refurbished iphone it is a great bargain.many times the package was opened and cannot be sold as new so the retail AT&T,or Apple iPhone dealer sends it back to the factory and it is repackaged and sold at a discount many times with upgrades added. Depending on which iPhone you are going to buy you can sometimes get a service contract that is as good as the original warranty.

Many refurbished products such as the Apple iPhone, or ATT iPhone 3G have sustained minor damage during shipping or perhaps just the outer packaging was torn or damaged. These will be sent back to the factory and repackaged and sometimes sold as refurbished iPhones. usually the damage is very minor and cannot be seen yet they are just as good as brand new iPhones and after leaving the factory for the second time they are top quality iPhones at a discounted price.

Sometimes refurbished iPhones were floor models or demonstration models in the store. These are eventually sold as refurbished and great bargains are to be scooped up by savvy, price conscious or discount buyers looking for the best prices.

Whether your looking for an Apple iPhone, an AT&T iPhone or any unlocked iPhone refurbished model there are some great deals out there that will give you an one that is just as good as new at a price that can’t be beat. even older iPhones are now being upgraded and repackaged and are of the same or better quality than those sold as new. Refurbished iPhones are as good as new and are a better value.

Mini Motor Racing with the Clouds on iOS 5

[prMac.com] Gold Coast, Australia – Start your engines! Mini Motor Racing, the snappiest racing game you’ve ever seen, is rapidly approaching the gate for iPad and iPhone as the first of its kind with announced support for iOS 5’s impressive new iCloud and AirPlay connectivity features. this new game from the Binary mill loads vehicles reminiscent of your favorite micro racers with an impressive array of nitro-fueled features: fully upgradeable cars, day and night races in various weather conditions on 20 different tracks with multiplayer support for up to 4 racers. And no assembly required! Just download from the iTunes App Store as soon as it releases and go!for devices running iOS 5, all race data gets stored online through iCloud – racing stats, race circuit progress status, unlocks, achievements and best lap times. So players can tear up the tracks in Mini Motor Racing on any device and have a seamless experience, picking up and playing from where ever they last left off. With AirPlay, players can mirror races from iPhone 4S and iPad 2 to TV screen for an even more eye popping experience.in first looks at the game earlier this year, Touch Arcade marveled at the "beautiful graphics" and Slide to Play called it "one of the more fully featured racers we’ve seen in a while." TouchGen wrote "takes the genre to a whole new level … action is buttery smooth." Mini Motor Racing was also a finalist for best Graphics in the recent Unity 2011 Awards.With crisp, colorful high resolution visuals, flexible car control settings, in depth car upgrade paths, a choice between 4 different default vehicle types (sports, hatch, big-rig and pick-up) and a series of race-circuit cups for the lengthy single player campaign to go along with multi-player, Mini Motor Racing will be sure to thrill players of all kinds when it releases in the coming months. Mini Motor Racing supports both Game Center and Open Feint for social gaming, as well as WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity for 4 player multiplay.Screenshots, video and additional details are available at the Mini Motor Racing website.the Binary mill will release more information on Mini Motor Racing and its expected release date in the coming weeks.

The Binary mill is an independent videogame and entertainment developer, specializing in iPhone, iPad and iPod touch development. the Binary mill creates engaging, original and compelling videogames that push the limit of what is possible on mobile platforms. for more information, please visit the Binary mill website. Copyright (C) 2011 the Binary mill. all Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Joel Dreskin Press Relations Australia

Android Market Closes Gap on App Store

Google’s Android Market is closing the gap on Apple’s App Store, taking away what used to be a big advantage for the iPhone and iOS.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company’s platform’s mobile app store has had more than half a million apps published, gaining ground on Apple’s App Store’s 600,000.

Apple has reportedly removed 24 percent of those apps for reasons like not being updated to work with the newest version of the OS, violating the company’s terms of service, and poor overall quality, according to data from research2guidance.

Although Google does not have as many stipulations on app approval as Apple, the company also removed its fair share of apps due to performance issues. Google later removed just over 37 percent of those apps published in the Android market.

The final count cuts into the advantage Apple had in total number of apps at the end of the third quarter of 2011, when a little more than 450,000 of its apps were active, compared to Android’s 319,000.

Analysts expect the Android Market to surpass Apple’s App Store in total number of apps by the middle of next year, but that may not be the advantage many expect it will be.

Even if the predictions come true, Apple’s mobile store will likely still offer more peace of mind than the Android Market. the company’s walled-garden approach keeps out viruses that come in the form of fake mobile apps, while Google’s more open model leaves the Android Market susceptible to malware.

High profile and successful apps like “Angry Birds” and “Cut the Rope” will also continue to come to both platforms. Developers are interested in selling as many copies of their software as possible, and gain little by making an app Android- or iOS-exclusive, unless Google or Apple offer monetary compensation.

The ability to offer more mobile apps than competitors was important when Apple’s App Store offered 200,000 apps and Android Market was just getting off the ground, but now that both sides will soon exceed a half million active apps, one side having even 100,000 more than the other means much less.

Now that the mobile app stores appear to be close to equal footing, other features of iOS and Android may become more important when users consider which platform is best for them.

This post originally appeared at Mobiledia.

Affiliate Marketing App Market by AvantLink

The AvantLink App Market encourages innovators to build capabilities that will enhance business relationships, provide new technical tools for Affiliate marketers, and continue to add functionality to the AvantLink platform.

Park City, UT (PRWEB) October 24, 2011

AvantLink.com announced this week the launch of their application market. Think platform technology (iPhone) and application software (foursquare), then apply that to Affiliate marketing. AvantLink has always offered Affiliates integrated ad technology for free, but the AvantLink App Market takes that one step further by allowing developers from around the world to add functionality to the network.

There are no fees for developers or end users of the applications. Developers have the opportunity to monetize applications, tools, scripts or widgets by participating in the income streams generated by these capabilities, and qualified network Affiliates have free access to certified app market tools. with the AvantLink App Market…

  • Affiliate marketers can utilize innovative marketing tools or applications from independent developers.
  • Affiliate developers can earn residual income (with zero marketing) on approved app market functionality they build and submit.

The AvantLink App Market is structured like any other Affiliate program. Software application developers will earn 20% of the network’s commission for every sale generated through their capabilities, as long as they keep their app available through the market. For access to the submission platform and for additional terms, Affiliate developers must first apply and be accepted.

“We have already seen lots of killer apps, widgets, dynamic scripts, plugins, etc. being developed out there with the use of our industry-leading Affiliate API… so why not allow developers of these tools to make them available to other Affiliates and further monetize them through our platform?” explains AvantLink CEO Scott Kalbach. “At the same time this expands our capabilities, and offers more innovative tools that can help drive sale conversion for Affiliates.”

About AvantLinkThe AvantLink Affiliate network is the premiere Affiliate referral tracking, analytics and technology platform for top tier Affiliates and web retailers. Founded in 2005 on the ideas of innovation, quality and service, AvantLink offers an array of industry leading Affiliate marketing tools and scripts integrated in the network platform free of charge.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: prweb.com/releases/prwebavantlink/apps/prweb8901167.htm

Gravinaytor Review » 148Apps » iPhone and iPod Touch Application Reviews and News

An array of hazardous test chambers. Platforming puzzles involving disorienting perspective shifts. An omniscient, creepy voice overseeing the entire affair. does any of this sound familiar? If you’re flashing on a popular, cake meme-spawning PC/console video game, don’t feel bad; you’re not alone. however, it also happens to handily describe Gravinaytor.

Gravinaytor, formerly a flash-based browser offering by Alnoor Games, drops the player into a side-scrolling, retro-styled puzzle-platformer where shifting gravity is the key component to solving each level. Each level’s background is marked with various sections of moving arrows, indicating which direction gravity will pull the player. The iOS port sports five new levels, in addition to a level select menu that allows easy replay of previously completed stages for better completion times.

Unfortunately, what it doesn’t sport is good, responsive controls. Players have to choose between either tapping the screen to jump while tilting to run, or dividing the screen awkwardly into three sections, with the middle third controlling jumps and the outer thirds your left and right movement. unfortunately, neither option works very well.

The tilt controls are simply far too imprecise for a game of this nature and render all but the easiest levels essentially unplayable. meanwhile, the awkward placement of the large onscreen touch zones make standard actions, like platforming up a series of fixed alternating ledges, difficult for the non-ambidextrous among us. Replacing the huge, unwieldy touch zones with virtual left/right arrow keys in one corner of the screen and a dedicated jump button opposite them would have been the way to go here. Go ahead and keep the tilt controls in there, though; having more options is never bad. also, it gives the hardcore something brutal to challenge themselves with. they love that sort of thing.

The pacing also seems uneven, with some levels essentially playing themselves, while the next could leave me wanting to fling my iPhone at a wall in frustration. It feels like the newly added stages are inserted randomly into the old sequence of levels with little consideration to how they affected the flow.

Likewise, the simple, retro visuals and soothingly appealing electronic soundtrack are undermined by the annoyingly repetitive voice samples of the odd child-voiced computer overseeing the entire affair. An option to disable it that didn’t involve shutting off all off the sound would be appreciated. And even when left on, it’s totally unnecessary to have the same line about buttons and cats play in every single test chamber that happens to contain a button.

Ultimately, the iOS version of Gravinaytor is a basically good game suffering from a case of bad port-itis. It still has some genuinely fun moments, but they’re tucked inside questionable controls that fight the player every step of the way. Unfortunate, but nothing a good update can’t fix.

Posted in: Games, iPad Apps and Games, iPad Games, iPhone Apps and Games, Reviews Tagged with: $0.99, Alnoor Games, Gravinaytor, gravity, Puzzle Platformer, Wild Games Studio Inc

Beauty swaps: Look good on the cheap

You’ve probably heard of clothing swaps, book swaps, maybe even plant swaps. the concept is simple: Gather a group of people, bring your new or gently used fill-in-the-blank, and trade it for someone else’s more appealing fill-in-the-blank. just about anything is swappable, as long as there’s someone willing to swap with you.

So why not beauty products?

Most of us have amassed a few "mistakes" — the mismatched foundation, the unflattering shade of lipstick, those gift-with-purchases that you thought you wanted but never did use. Instead of letting them collect dust in the back of a drawer, consider hosting a beauty swap.

Some fellow product junkies and I decided to give it a try. we invited friends to trade in their castoffs. Everyone came armed with a handful of new or barely used goods, from yellow nail polish to bottles of perfume. we organized the products into designated areas (hair, makeup, skin care, fragrance) and let the swapping begin.

Surprisingly, chaos did not ensue. That’s the beauty of limiting a swap to friends: Everyone plays nice and goes home happy.

Katie Najjar took a chance on a deep berry lip stain she probably wouldn’t have purchased otherwise. Laura Nelli of Nelle Handbags scored several fall eye shadow palettes ("the perfect shades for contouring!"). and beauty blogger Kara Nesvig found just the red-orange lipstick she had been looking for. It was fun, eco-friendly and heavy on the party favors.

If you’d like to host your own beauty swap, see the tips on E5.

BFFs only: Because beauty products are a bit more personal than, say, paperbacks, you’ll probably want to limit the group to good friends (i.e., people whose shampoo you’d be comfortable sharing). For variety and manageability, aim for about 10 people.

Go paperless: To reduce, re-use, recycle, we sent paperless invitations, using Red Stamp’s new iPhone app (Redstamp.com). Calling or sending simple e-mails works, as well.

What to bring: Barely used or new makeup, skin care, hair care, fragrance and accessories. to have enough to swap, ask everyone to bring at least five products.

What not to bring: "Personal care products, particularly those containing water, can be a breeding ground for bacteria," warns makeup artist and educator Julie Swenson of the Beauty Lounge. Avoid swapping jars of used moisturizer, eye cream or anything you dip your fingers into. Mascara and lip gloss also are off-limits because they’re too hard to disinfect.

Keep it clean: "all lipsticks and pencils need to be sprayed or dipped in alcohol, then scraped or sharpened," says Amy Presson of Jett Makeup. "Spritz powder, eye shadow and blush with a professional sanitizing spray." She likes Beauty so clean (beautysoclean.com).

Simple essentials: Use the makeup counter as your guide and have plenty of tissues, Q-tips, disposable applicators, rubbing alcohol or sanitizing sprays and, of course, mirrors.

Stickers or handwritten signs help keep products organized. Don’t worry about shopping bags — guests can use the same bags they brought to the swap.

Location, location: Hold your swap in a home, the party room of a condo or a private room at a bar or restaurant. make sure you have the space to display the merchandise.

What to serve: A single signature drink or wine, soda and water is fine. Messy food and makeup don’t mix, so keep snacks simple or wait until the swapping is done to dig in to something more substantial.

Organize for ease: to make shopping easier, group products either by type (hair care, skin care, etc.) or value.

If you assign values, give each guest tickets or tokens as currency to "spend" at the swap. But it’s much simpler to just let each guest take as many products as she brought to the swap.

No leftovers: Donate any unopened, unclaimed products to a local shelter.

Minneapolis-based lifestyle writer Elizabeth Dehn is the founder of beautybets.com.