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April 27, 2012
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Apple discontinues Chomp for Android

By on April 27, 2012 at 6:08 PM.

Apple discontinues Chomp for Android

Chomp For Android Discontinued

Apple in February acquired the San Francisco-based company Chomp, a startup that develops application search and discovery software. Apple went forward with the acquisition in an attempt to improve the application search and discovery features within its App Store — the company’s Genius recommendations are a little half-baked. The service was previously available for both Android and iOS, but a recent visit to Chomp’s website has revealed that you can no longer search for Android applications. The app has also been removed from Google’s Play marketplace. It is unclear what will become of Chomp’s earlier partnership with Verizon, which used the service to powering its own app store marketplace. More →

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mobile
April 24, 2012
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‘Galaxy S3′ moniker revealed in new Samsung app

By on April 24, 2012 at 11:05 AM.

‘Galaxy S3′ moniker revealed in new Samsung app

Samsung never confirmed that the highly anticipated Galaxy S III would be unveiled at the company’s press conference in London on May 3rd, merely stating “come and meet the next Galaxy” in its invitation to the press. According to the South Korean vendor’s Unpacked Mobile 2012 app now available in the Google Play marketplace, however, we can expect Samsung to take the wraps off its “Galaxy S3″ flagship smartphone next week. The slip up confirms what everyone already assumed — that the Galaxy S3 will be unveiled in London next week, although the actual device name may still vary from the moniker mentioned in the Unpacked app. The next Galaxy phone from Samsung is expected to feature a quad-core 1.5GHz processor, an HD display, 4G LTE, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and a ceramic case. A screen capture of the app description follows below. More →

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mobile
April 16, 2012
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New deal brings 600 MGM movies to Android and YouTube

By on April 16, 2012 at 11:40 PM.

New deal brings 600 MGM movies to Android and YouTube

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Google have come to an agreement to offer 600 movies for rent through YouTube and the Google Play marketplace for users in the U.S. and Canada. “Thanks to MGM, you’ll be able to join in this trend and grab its movies online and on the go,” the company said in a blog post on Monday. “From timeless love stories like West Side Story and Moonstruck, to sci-fi action films like The Terminator and Robocop, to modern classics like Rain Man and Rocky, you can now rediscover MGM’s movie-making magic on Google Play and YouTube.” The Mountain View-based company has rental deals in place with five other major Hollywood studios, including Paramount, Warner Brothers, Disney, Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures. NewsCorp’s 20th Century Fox remains as one of the few studios that has not yet reached an agreement with the Internet giant. More →

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mobile
April 11, 2012
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Major Android vulnerability gives apps access to sensitive data without permission

By on April 11, 2012 at 3:15 PM.

Major Android vulnerability gives apps access to sensitive data without permission

The security of the Android mobile platform has always been a topic of debate. Due to Google’s open ecosystem and less invasive app policing policies, researchers argue that the Google Play marketplace is home to numerous malicious apps. Reports have surfaced over the past few years that claimed even applications from legitimate companies — such as Facebook, Skype and Path — were exploiting Android permissions and secretly accessing data. Paul Brodeur of Leviathan Security had a simple question: what data can an app access when it has no permissions? What he found may be shocking. More →

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mobile
April 5, 2012
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New Android malware can remotely root phones

By on April 5, 2012 at 5:40 PM.

New Android malware can remotely root phones

Lookout Mobile Security on Tuesday published a report stating that a known malicious Android program has been updated with the ability to harm a device without depending on a user’s interaction. The new version of the “Legacy Native” (LeNa) app utilizes an exploit called GingerBreak to gain root permission on Android phones. The new variant of LeNa hides its payload just past the End of Image marker of an otherwise fully-functional JPEG. The malware is then able to communicate with a command and control server to install and launch packages unbeknown to the phone’s user. According to the report, this new version of LeNa is currently being distributed in a fake version of Angry Birds Space, but the malicious program is not believed to have made its way into the Google Play marketplace at this time. More →

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Internet
April 4, 2012
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Google and Paramount strike a deal: 500 movies coming soon to YouTube, Google Play

By on April 4, 2012 at 6:50 PM.

Google and Paramount strike a deal: 500 movies coming soon to YouTube, Google Play

Google on Wednesday announced a new deal with Paramount Pictures that will allow more than 500 movie titles to be rented through YouTube and the Google Play marketplace. The Mountain View-based company now has rental deals with five of the six major Hollywood studios — including Paramount, Warner Brothers, Disney, Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures — and 20th Century Fox is the only studio that hasn’t yet reached an agreement with Google. “Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, Paramount has been responsible for some of the most memorable films in cinema history,” said Malik Ducard, YouTube’s director of content partnerships. “With the addition of Paramount, we now have five of the six major studios and over ten independent movie studios offering nearly 9,000 movies for rent to millions of people around the world. It’s still early days for us, and we’ll continue adding new titles and expanding our service to more countries this year.” The majority of the movies tied to this deal are available now, and the rest will be added to YouTube and Google Play over the next few months. More →

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mobile
April 4, 2012
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Instagram for Android surpasses 1 million downloads in less than 24 hours

By on April 4, 2012 at 8:50 AM.

Instagram for Android surpasses 1 million downloads in less than 24 hours

One of the most popular photography applications for the iPhone has quickly become one of the most popular Android apps. Instagram for Android surpassed 1 million downloads less than 24 hours after its release on the Google Play marketplace on Tuesday. The Android application opened its pre-registration last week, attracting more than 430,000 users. When the service launched it reportedly saw 2,000 sign-ups per minute, nearly crashing the company’s servers. The popular app allows users to capture photos and edit them using a number of filters that give images a unique retro look. Pictures can then be shared through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and email. The company previously announced that it had more than 30 million users on iOS alone. More →

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Tablets
April 3, 2012
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Google’s Nexus Tablet possibly revealed in leaked images

By on April 3, 2012 at 12:55 PM.

Google’s Nexus Tablet possibly revealed in leaked images

It is widely believed that Google will enter the tablet market in 2012 with a self-branded 7-inch Android tablet. Earlier rumors indicated that the Internet giant had teamed up with ASUS and a Google-branded tablet is reportedly a “done deal.” Pocketnow on Tuesday published what it believes to be a press image of Google’s Nexus tablet, although the blog received no other details. The image reveals a very familiar design with a full-sized SD slot, a microUSB connector and a micro HDMI port. The icons on the display reveal that the render was clearly done before Google’s massive Play rebranding, so things may have changed slightly since the images were made. It should also be noted that the company’s previous “Nexus” devices offered no expandable storage. Google’s tablet is expected to enter production this month and ship around June. The slate could be unveiled at Google’s annual I/O conference on June 27th if earlier rumors pan out. More →

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mobile
April 3, 2012
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Instagram for Android now available in the Google Play store

By on April 3, 2012 at 11:54 AM.

Instagram for Android now available in the Google Play store

One of the most popular photography applications ever to hit Apple’s iOS platform is now available for Android. Instagram allows users to capture photos and edit them using a number of filters that give images a unique retro look. Pictures can then be shared with other Instagram users, and also shared on Twitter, Facebook or via email. Filters can be applied to images imported from a handset’s camera roll as well, and the app supports devices running Android 2.2 or later. Instagram announced during the annual South by Southwest conference that its Android app would be better than Instagram for the iPhone in a number of ways, and now Android users can find out exactly how the new build stacks up. Instagram is available immediately for free in the Google Play store. More →

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mobile
March 30, 2012
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Amazon Appstore apps earn three times more than Google Play apps; Apple still No. 1

By on March 30, 2012 at 4:30 PM.

Amazon Appstore apps earn three times more than Google Play apps; Apple still No. 1

Earlier this month, Apple crossed a record 25 billion downloads from more than 550,000 available apps, while Google in December surpassed 10 billion downloads from 400,000 available apps. Analytics firm Flurry on Friday announced the results of a new study that examined various mobile app markets, and interestingly enough, the study found that apps in Amazon’s competing Android Appstore earns three times more revenue than those within Google’s own marketplace. Apple’s App Store took in the most revenue, with the Amazon Appstore earning 89% of the revenue Apple did and Google’s Play marketplace making just 23%. “Another way to interpret the results is that for every $1.00 an app generates in the iTunes App Store, it generates $0.89 in the Amazon Appstore and $0.23 in Google Play,” Flurry analysts wrote in their report. “These results mirror those of a similar analysis conducted by Flurry last December, where we found for every $1.00 generated in the iTunes App Store, developers generated $0.24 in the Android Market.” The statistics come from 11 million daily active users of top-ranked applications available on iOS and Android over a 45-day period between mid-January through the end of February. More →

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mobile
March 26, 2012
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Instagram for Android signup page goes live ahead of imminent release

By on March 26, 2012 at 3:00 PM.

Instagram for Android signup page goes live ahead of imminent release

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom previously confirmed that an Android version of the company’s popular iOS application was in the works, even claiming that “in some ways its better than our iPhone app.” On Saturday, the company launched a teaser page, allowing users to sign up to become “first in line for Instagram for Android.” The release date for Instagram’s Android app is still unknown, however. As an iOS exclusive, Instagram has already racked up more than 27 million registered users, making it one of the App Store’s most popular photography apps. With an Android release imminent, Instagram will soon solidify its position as one of the top photo-sharing app makers in the mobile world. More →

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mobile
March 23, 2012
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Windows Phone Marketplace tops 70,000 apps

By on March 23, 2012 at 7:30 AM.

Windows Phone Marketplace tops 70,000 apps

Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace has reportedly reached another milestone according to Chinese website Sina. The company’s chairman and chief executive officer for the Greater China region Simon Leung said that the mobile platform is now home to over 100,000 registered developers who have made more than 70,000 apps available in 63 different markets. The number of apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace, however, is still a relatively small figure when compared to Apple’s App Store, which boasts more than 500,000 apps, and the 450,000 apps in the Google Play marketplace. More →

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Gaming
March 22, 2012
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Angry Birds Space now available for $0.99 [video]

By on March 22, 2012 at 8:40 AM.

Angry Birds Space now available for $0.99 [video]

Rovio on Thursday released Angry Birds Space for iOS and Android devices, as well as OS X and Windows PCs. In the fourth major Birds release, users will get to fling birds on zero-gravity planets while utilizing new gameplay features such as slow-motion and lightspeed destruction. “This is Rovio at its finest, and we are more than excited to bring Angry Birds Space to all our fans worldwide,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “This launch marks a huge step for us as a company, and our whole team and partners have really pulled together to bring out a fantastic array of exciting products and experiences. We hope that our fans will find all things Angry Birds Space as delightful as the Rovio family does.” Angry Birds Space is available for $0.99 in the App Store on the iPhone and iPod touch, and Angry Birds Space HD is available for $2.99 on the iPad. The Mac version is available for $4.99 in the Mac App Store. The game is available for Android devices for free with advertisements in the Google Play marketplace, with an ad-free versions available for $0.99 and an HD version for Android tablets available for $2.99 in the Amazon Appstore. Read on for a video and Rovio’s press release. More →

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