Exclusive: Facebook integrates WhatsApp into Facebook for Android

Though it took Facebook a little over a year, we just got a glimpse of what the company’s first integration with WhatsApp will look like

A few months back, we first uncovered WhatsApp’s plans to integrate voice calls into its app. Now, we’ve got another early look to share with you.

It took Facebook a little over a year since the acquisition of WhatsApp to start incorporating its new asset into Facebook’s platform. On Saturday, we learned that Facebook has begun testing a new feature in its Facebook for Android app (Version 31.0.0.7.13) that includes the first major integration of WhatsApp.

As you can see in the images above, Facebook has added a “Send” button with the familiar WhatsApp icon as a part of the status actions buttons that appear under each status update. The new button appears on the right side (for left-to-right languages) for some users in the most recent version of the Facebook for Android app.

Here are more photos demonstrating the new update.

What does that mean?

We’ve known for a while that Facebook and WhatsApp work closely together to enhance each other’s capabilities. Back in the day it was Jan Koum, WhatsApp’s co-founder and CEO, who promised users after the acquisition that nothing was going to change and that WhatsApp would keep operating independently.

Up until today, we hadn’t observed any integration between the two platforms. On the contrary, we’ve seen Facebook keep pushing its Messenger platform, especially with its latest announcement at F8.

Now that this is out, we believe that this is merely a first step towards connecting the two platforms in order to sustain growth and take control of the messaging market together. According to unconfirmed rumors, teams from both companies are already working on a deeper integration that will include the ability to send messages between Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

Credit: Geektime

Rithm wants to be WhatsApp for music messaging

If you’re looking for new music, how often do you ask fellow audiophiles for a recommendation? And how much do you trust their musical taste? For Rithm, the mobile music app which lets users send each other musical messages, pictures, text and emojis, the answer is hopefully ‘not often enough’ and ‘better than Pandora.’

The service, which has been around since 2013 (and is an offshoot of MavenSay, their lifestyle recommendation app), relaunches this week as a more robust, entirely legitimate music streaming service.

Rithm’s bread-and-butter is in its ability to easily share music clips to friends. “This is a different type of [music streaming] service,” CEO Mike Wagman tells Forbes. “Spotify has fully on-demand [songs] — anything, anytime. For us, it’s expanding the streaming market to consumers who want a messaging service.”

That said, they’ve secured major label licensing with Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Merlin and indie distribution stalwart, The Orchard. Its database currently has seven million catalog tracks which can be shared from one user to another.

It’s a freemium service, letting free users send 30 second music clips to friends. The paid version ($3.99 per month) allows users to listen to full songs, but only songs in their chat history and a self-curated playlist of 40 extra songs. Users can make up to 60 swaps within their playlist which essentially means access to 100 self-selected songs per month.

Also intriguing is its ability to send music-related stickers and animated emojis for 99 cents, including the adorable one below featuring DJ Steve Aoki.

The market for streaming music services is a over saturated — if not bloated — one but Rithm’s differentiation is in its merger of social music sharing and messaging. It’s lower price point and focus on messaging make it a desirable product for a younger audience. We don’t know of any direct competitors, so be on the lookout: you may be hearing more from Rithm.

Credit: Digital Trends

WhatsApp Says It’s Not “Permanently” Banning Users From Its Service, Just Blocking Third-Party Clients

Quite a few reports circling the web this week appear to indicate a tightening of WhatsApp’s policy toward the usage of third-party WhatsApp client applications. That is, word has it that those using an unofficial app will be banned from WhatsApp for life. However, that’s not exactly the case, WhatsApp explains. In fact, there’s been no larger policy shift since we last reported on the now Facebook-owned company’s crackdown on third-party app usage earlier this year.

As you may recall, in January, WhatsApp began banning users from its service when they were found to be using a third-party (unofficial) WhatsApp mobile application. In order to be allowed back into WhatsApp, users were asked to uninstall the offending app from their phone, then download the authorized version of WhatsApp from the app store instead. The company also explained the policy via an FAQ on its website.

At the time, one popular app maker even reported receiving a cease-and-desist from WhatsApp related to his service’s development.

The reason for the crackdown, the company explained, was related to security and privacy. It simply can’t guarantee such apps are safe, given that WhatsApp doesn’t control their source code.

That challenge is one many mobile application makers today face, as failing to restrict third-party app usage can lead to disastrous results – as Snapchat found out last year when its users were hacked. The event, dubbed “The Snappening,” came about due to insecurities in third-party applications.

The confusion this week related to WhatsApp’s policy on third-party clients appears to stem from a Google+ posting from WhatsApp+’s developer where he states that WhatsApp has started a “Permanent Account Disable” recently. That post was picked up by a German blog, and then subsequently began making the rounds as other sites repeated the story, and the details (in some cases) became fuzzy.

The problem is that there’s confusion around this terminology of a “lifetime ban.” That makes it sound like users are being banned from WhatsApp forever, but that’s not the case.

Instead, the same policy as before still stands: if users continue to use WhatsApp+ (or another third-party app), they will not be able to use WhatsApp anymore, as the company explained previously.

What has perhaps shifted is that, before, the company was issuing 24-hour “temporary” bans complete with a countdown timer displayed to affected users, but now those users are simply not able to use WhatsApp’s services at all until the third-party apps are uninstalled.

[Update: some additional confirmation on how this works has been provided. If WhatsApp has warned the user more than once, they may not see the 24-hour clock. But after they uninstall WhatsApp+ they should be able to use WhatsApp within a few days. ]

“If a user doesn’t uninstall WhatsApp+ then they will continue to be banned until they stop using it. But there is no permanent ban,” a WhatsApp spokesperson confirms.

In other words, once a user removes WhatsApp+, WhatsApp Reborn, OgWhatsapp or any other third-party client from their smartphone, they’ll again be able to use the official WhatsApp app – just the same as before. Their account and associated phone number is not “permanently” banned or “banned for life” from WhatsApp itself.

Credit: TechCrunch

OnePlus Will Reveal Details Of Its ‘Oxygen’ Android ROM On February 12

OnePlus introduced its own version of Android for its One smartphone earlier this month in response to its standoff with Cyanogen, and now the company has revealed that it will unveil its own ROM which can be installed on third-party Android devices on February 12.

Correction: OnePlus told us that, in fact, it won’t launch the ROM on the 12th. This is a tease-of-a-tease, and instead we can expect to see “more information about the ROM” not an actual download. Furthermore, co-founder Carl Pei told TechCrunch that OnePlus is not going to release the ROM for third-party devices, though he suggested some fans will develop unofficial ports.

Named ‘Oxygen’, OnePlus described it as being “open, customizable, and free of bloat and unnecessary features,” but those are the only details you’re getting for now. That vague description chimes with the Android fork for the One, which is initially based on Google’s stock version of Android but will be tweaked with new features over time.

“We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what this ROM means to us and our fans. We realized that, like everything we do, our true goal is to make the product that we ourselves would want to use—to make great technology more accessible for everyone,” OnePlus said in a post.

OnePlus’s entry into the software side of the smartphone business is an interesting one. Xiaomi was the first major company to develop both smartphones and its own operating system, and its success and unique identity has triggered a number of other firms to do similar. Letv just announced its first smartphone and own LeOS, while Cyanogen itself has grown its reputation through deals with Micromax and OnePlus, while — according to reports — there may be a tie-in with Microsoft coming.

Source: Techcrunch.com

Get Facebook Lite for your Android device

"Made for phones with limited space and connectivity, this may be the lightest version of Facebook for Android yet."

Facebook is testing a stripped down version of its mobile app that requires far less data, which could help increase usage of the social networking service among people with weaker Internet service or older phones.

Facebook “Lite” is available for devices running Android 2.2 and up. The size of the free app is 252 kilobytes, and it’s meant for 2G networks in areas with limited connectivity. Users can perform a bunch of basic functions like post status updates with photos, comment on people’s posts, message friends, have group conversations, and receive notifications. Posts from the news feed are meant to load quickly.

Early reviews on the Google Play store for the app have been positive, with many praising its low data and battery usage.

Facebook launched the app over the weekend in parts of Africa and Asia, said a report in TechCrunch. A Facebook spokeswoman declined to comment further.

The Lite app appears to be related to Facebook’s Internet.org project, which seeks to provide free access to Facebook and other basic Internet services in developing countries. The Internet.org app is already available in a handful of countries such as Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya and Colombia. In addition to Facebook, the app provides access to other services like the weather, Wikipedia, and health and educational information. Carriers can charge users for paid access to other services. In addition to Facebook, other founding partners of Internet.org include Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung.

With the Lite app, Facebook might be testing people’s responsiveness to a set of basic Facebook services without the ancillary ones. It may also help Facebook learn how it could further improve the functions of its Internet.org app.

Facebook tested a different stripped down version of its site in late 2009 and early 2010, although only for the desktop. It was shut down in April 2010.

Facebook has not made this slimmed-down version of its app globally available on the Play Store. If you want to check it out, you'll have to manually install it on your device. To get a copy of the app, visit AndroidPolice's APKMirror website and download it directly onto your device. After the download is finished, tap the notification and install the app. 

Source: CNET & CustomToday

Xiaomi Unveils MIUI 6 Android UI That Looks a Lot Like iOS 7

Xiaomi, as promised at the Mi 4 smartphone's launch, unveiled the next version of its MIUI user interface, MIUI 6, on Saturday at an event in Beijing, China.

MIUI 6, the new smartphone UI for Android-based Xiaomi devices, comes with major design refresh and also brings a slew of new features. Notably, the Mi 4 runs MIUI 6 out-of-the-box.

The company, also referred to as 'China's Apple', defined the new Android skin as "the best MIUI ever." However, as numerous industry pundits have pointed out, the new MIUI version noticeably takes a lot of design inspiration from Apple's iOS 7 and the newly announced iOS 8 smartphone and tablet operating systems.

The Chinese handset maker announced that the MIUI 6 is currently in beta testing with over 1,000 beta testers; though the number is likely to grow up to 10,000 people by Friday.

The company announced that the MIUI 6 developer version will be open to the public by September and will be rolled out to as 'final upgrade' to select Xiaomi handsets by October. 

The Xiaomi will begin testing MIUI 6 on the Mi 2, Mi 2S, Mi 2A, Redmi 1S, and Redmi Note by the end of this year, and updates for these devices can be expected to be rolled-out by next year.

Some of highlight features that the MIUI 6 brings is a brand new design (in what the company calls 'Content is essence' philosophy) with flat app icons. The company said at the launch, "MIUI believes that content is the essence, and has put that belief in the design of MIUI 6."

"MIUI 6 supports moving apps by holding on the app and switch screens. It has the most convenient icons organizing method, supports batch organize and delete icons," added the company.

MIUI 6 also brings a revamped camera app that will allow swipe down to switch between front and back camera, swipe left to launch menu panel, and swipe right to launch filters. The company has also re-worked the lockscreen notifications on MIUI 6, which will now appear as folded by default.

The new Android OS customisation adds a global search function feature that will allow users to place the search box anywhere on home screen, and even locate apps via it. Some other additions on the MIUI 6 include new Linux kernel and RAM optimisation techniques; new power-saving features to adjust the standby time of the device; 10GB free Mi Cloud storage space for storing images, contacts, messages, call logs and more, and the redesigned Mail app.

In addition to the iOS-styled flat icons and lockscreen notification on the MIUI 6, some of the app icons on the new MIUI appear to come straight from iOS 7 or iOS 8, like the calendar, compass, timer, and calculator.

What do you think of the new Xiaomi MIUI 6? Does it look like iOS 7? Let us know via the comments.

Source: NDTV

Sony’s Xperia M2 Aqua is a Waterproof Phone for Cheap

 

Sony just announced the latest addition to its Xperia lineup with the M2 Aqua, a water-resistant variant of its sleek mid-range Xperia M2. The new handset offers the same middle-of-the-road hardware and industrial design as the original M2, but adds the waterproof coating that’s helped the company carve out a niche in the smartphone market.

Just like the the Xperia M2, this water-resistant variant comes equipped with a 4.8-inch qHD display, a Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz, a 2300mAh battery, an 8-megapixel rear camera with a dedicated camera button and LTE capability. There’s no official word on software, though we’re guessing it runs Android 4.4 with a bit of Sony’s own stuff on top, including battery-saving Stamina Mode.

The Xperia M2 Aqua is set to launch this fall in Europe, South America and Asia, where it will probably cost a little more than the $300 Xperia M2. Unfortunately there’s no plan to ship the device to U.S. stores any time soon, though you’ll probably still be able to find one through a third-party reseller online. If you’re willing to pay a bit more, it might be worth waiting for the rumored Xperia Z3, which we have on good authority will be available from at least one American carrier when it hits the market.

Source: TechnoBuffalo

Google releases Android L preview source for Nexus devices

Google has published some of the source code for the Android L developer preview, giving devs a bigger taste of what's in store for its successor to KitKat.

Google has published Android L code on Android Open Source Project for the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 (all versions between 2012 and 2013), and the Nexus 10.

The move expands on last week's release of Android L firmware for developers to begin flashing the new OS to Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 wi-fi 2013 edition devices.

Developers have been poking around in the new system ever since, exploring some of the significant changes Google announced at its recent I/O conference, such as Material Design, Android's new user interface scheme that redesigns how it displays notifications, settings, the lock screen, and navigation bar. It's also introducing the cards concept from Google Now to Android apps for displaying key information.

It's still only a week or so since Google announced Android L, and while the company is going to lengths to showcase the new OS to developers, Google hasn't released everything just yet. As Android Police notes, the code doesn't include binary packages or kernel source, which means that stock AOSP builds — such as those used by custom ROM developers — won't be possible yet.

However, the list of hardware the source code has been released for is being taken as solid evidence that at least these recent Nexus devices will receive Android L when it's released, expected to be this autumn.

While it's too early to say which non-Nexus devices will get Android L, a leaked HTC road map suggests it is on the cards for the company's flagship HTC One M8 and M7.

One of the most anticipated features that Android L is said to bring comes in the form Google's power-saving plan for Android devices, called Project Volta, also flagged at I/O.

Battery life is a concern for everyone with a smartphone, and Google's answer to the problem is Battery Saver mode and a new Battery Historian UI. Similar to Samsung's S5 ultra power saving mode, Battery Saver winds down background and screen processes to conserve charge. A test run of what's available in the preview firmware by Ars Technica suggests Volta could deliver around 30 percent more battery life.

The other big change is the move from the Dalvik to the 64-bit ART runtime, which Google promises will double performance, and with improved efficiency, should lighten the load on the battery.

Source: ZDNet

Android 4.4.3 tipped to bring major Dialer redesign

Google has yet to roll out its Android 4.4.3 KitKat update, which is believed to bring various bug fixes and improvements, but a leaked screenshot seems to indicate that at least one major new feature may also be part of the upcoming software update. According to an image posted on the xda-developers forum, the Google Dialer is getting a completely new look.

The Android 4.4.3 Dialer app features a series of cards for each contact instead of a list. The cards have a colored background with the first initial of the name placed on them, but they can apparently also show a picture of the contact when one is assigned to it. Other elements in the screenshot include the top search bar and the bottom blue action bar.

The new Dialer app was apparently spotted on a Nexus 5 handset running Android 4.4.3 firmware version KTU84F. Android Police speculates that the Nexus 5 belongs to a Googler, considering the names of some of the contacts.

It’s not clear when Android 4.4.3 will launch, although a recent report revealed that Google may have expanded testing to other Google employees, in addition to members of the Android team. Recently, Sprint announced an Android 4.4.3 update for its Nexus 5 version, but Nexus devices are yet to receive the latest Android version available.

The leaked screenshot showing the Dialer app redesign follows below, alongside a second image that shows the Android version running on the phone.

Source: BGR

Flappy Bird: New Season soars to top of the App Store charts

Don't call it a comeback. No, seriously: don't. A game called Flappy Bird: New Season may have flown to the top of Apple's App Store charts, but it doesn't appear to be the work of the original Flappy Bird developer Dong Nguyen.

The release of a new Flappy Bird clone isn't news in itself: on one day alone in February, The Guardian tracked 95 such releases. Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play have been equally awash with flappy clones, after Nguyen removed his game last month.

Something strange is afoot with Flappy Bird: New Season, which is currently the most popular free iPhone download on Apple's UK store, and the fourth most popular free iPad download behind Microsoft's Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

According to its App Store listing, the game was released on 29 March by developer Animated Emoji, although the listing carries a "© dotGears" credit – referring to the trading name of Nguyen. At the time of writing, Flappy Bird: New Season has an average rating of four stars from 255 reviewers on the store – an impressive total so soon after its launch.

Is it the real return of Flappy Bird? Almost certainly not. The game was not released through Nguyen's existing App Store developer account, for example, where he still has his Shuriken Block and Super Ball Juggling games available. Meanwhile, on Twitter there's an excitable quote that purports to be from Nguyen:

 

Dong Nguyen  

@dongatory_ 

I BROUGHT FLAPPY BIRD BACK GO ON THE APP STORE FLAPPY BIRD NEW SEASON #flappybird

12:33 PM - 2 Apr 2014

Again, this isn't Dong Nguyen's official Twitter account – his handle is @dongatory without an _ on the end, and his last tweet was on 23 March.

The @dongatory_ account claims to be a "backup" for Nguyen's official account, but past tweets like "RT if you want a free itunes gift card :)" and "Let's trend a hashtag to be easier! Hashtag #dongatory_ as much as you can lets trend it!! #dongatory_ :-)" don't seem a good fit for the famously-shy Flappy Bird developer.

Meanwhile, the support link on the App Store page for Flappy Bird: New Season leads to this blank page on the Weebly website, while a search for the game's title on Android's Google Play store brings up this game from a developer called Gameslogic Mobile, whose other titles include Clumsy Ninja Go! 2 and Farm Hero Saga 2 3D, masquerading as new versions of two popular mobile games from big publishers.

In short, Flappy Bird: New Season almost certainly isn't the return of the original Flappy Bird to iOS and Android. So why write a story about it? Because its success raises big questions about how the game managed to rise to the top of the App Store chart so quickly, at a time when Flappy Bird clone-fever has been dying down.

This isn't just a quirk in the UK App Store. Flappy Bird: New Seasons is the third top free iPhone app in the US too, where it also has a four-star rating, this time from 659 reviews, most of which are glowing.

The sudden success of the original Flappy Bird provoked speculation that Nguyen had in some way gamed the charts – he denied this – but the rapid rise of Flappy Bird: New Season may be a spur for more debate about the value of those charts to Apple, developers and players alike.

Update: As independent developer Matthew Wiggins points out on Twitter, search placement is likely to be a big factor in the game's rise:

Stuart Dredge  

@stuartdredge

Flappy Bird: New Season soars to top of the App Store charts (but it’s fake) http://gu.com/p/3z4h7/tw  via @guardian pic.twitter.com/UKlGIvYH0A

Matthew Wiggins 

@wiggo

@stuartdredge @guardian I suspect it's rapid ascent of the app store is down to search placement pic.twitter.com/3oPKK2MIDj

Source: TheGuardian

This is what the new CyanogenMod OS looks like on the OnePlus One

OnePlus has been constantly dishing out teasers for its upcoming One smartphone since December, but little is known about its UI until we received these two screenshots today, courtesy of a reliable tipster. First of all, this Android KitKat-based OS is dubbed "CyanogenMod 11S," and given how the lock screen on the left looks nothing like the one in the original CyanogenMod, we assume the "S" indicates that this flavor carries OnePlus' customizations. This cleaner lock screen lacks the usual unlock slider, but it still shows the clock, date, weather, battery level and text messages over a solid-color background. Here's hoping that we can also toggle specific apps from the lock screen using swipe gestures.

The screenshot on the right confirms the presence of the three virtual Android buttons (as opposed to hardware ones), and that this Android 4.4.2-based OS is made for a device named "One." With 23 more days to go until the phone's launch, we'll be keeping an eye out for the OnePlus One's few remaining secrets -- especially its sub-$400 price tag, which is very competitive for this 5.5-inch 1080p, Snapdragon 801-powered device.

Source: engadget

CyanogenMod says goodbye to Jelly Bean with 10.2.1 release

Aftermarket firmware company CyanogenMod has released a final update to its 10.2 line of Jelly Bean-based code.

The latest CyanogenMod update, CM 10.2.1, will be the last to be based on Android 4.3, according to the company. "CM 10.2.1 has been branched and released, officially ending our planned release process for Jellybean (Android 4.3) code," the CyanogenMod team announced on Saturday.

As a "maintenance release", the update focuses on bug fixes over adding features but does bring support for a handful of new devices too. The CM 10.2.1 release sees support extended to the Droid RAZR HD, Photon Q, Nexus Q, Nook, Nook HD and HD+, which are among around 40 other devices that have a stable release.

The first CyanogenMod release for Android 4.3 came last August, about a month after Google released that version of Android.

As noted by Android Community, the 10.2.1 release doesn't support the international version of Samsung's popular Galaxy 2 (the i9100), which got a stable release last September under Android 4.2-based CM 10.1.3. The site points out that OmniROM, a younger alternative ROM-maker with a smaller list of supported devices, has added the device to its roster, however. The device is also supported in the nightly build of CyanogenMod's KitKat-based CM11 release.

As with previous final releases, the developers of Cyanogen Mod will now plough more resources into building new features for its CM11 codebase. The team plans to add CM11 support for at least 65 devices and currently has a "snapshot" release (one up from the bleeding edge nightly releases) for around 50 devices. 

Cyanogen Inc, the newly formed company behind CyanogenMod, is also working with Chinese hardware startup OnePlus to deliver a device in the first half of the year that will feature a customised version of the firmware. 

Source: ZDNet

BBM on Android and iOS Updated With “Find Friends” Feature

BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) got off to a rocky start when it made the jump to Android and iOS, but at this point the app appears to be running pretty smoothly. Today, the Canadian company introduced a new “Find Friends” feature to help you add more contacts to your BBM account.

The new feature should be available starting today. Once the app has updated, you can use it to scan your phone for any contacts who are already using BBM. You can then send out individual invites to chat or simply add everyone you know with a single tap. And of course, you’ll also be able to invite your friends who aren’t already on BBM to join the service. That alleviates any need to fumble around trying to exchange BBM PINs.

With BlackBerry’s smartphone business hanging by a thread, the company’s fondly remembered messaging service may be its best chance to stay relevant. The company hasn’t revealed how many active users the BBM app has been able to grab, but helping current users find and invite their friends should help the service continue to grow.

Source: BlackBerry

KitKat claws 1.8 percent Android market share

According to stats published by Google, the newest Android release, codenamed KitKat, is powering under two percent of Android devices accessing the Google Play store.

The data, which is based on smartphones and tablets accessing the Google Play store over a 7-day period ending on February 4, 2014, shows that Android 4.4, codenamed KitKat, is installed on 1.8 percent of devices.

This time last month KitKat market share was at 1.4 percent.

(Source: Google)

Android 4.4 was release on 31 October, 2013, and first made its public appearance on the Nexus 5.

This latest version has a long way to go to catch up with the previous release, codenamed Jelly Bean. This release, which includes versions 4.1.x, 4.2.x and 4.3, power 60.7 percent of Android devices and makes it the single most popular version. However, Android version 4.1.x is the single most popular release, installed on 35.5 percent of devices.

This means that there's considerable fragmentation among devices running Jelly Bean, with the majority unable to benefit from features introduced in versions 4.2.x, 4.3, and now 4.4 as KitKat is rolled out to handsets.

However, Jelly Bean's nearest rival continues to be Android 2.3.x Gingerbread, a version first released back in February 2011, and this version continues to power 20.0 percent of the devices accessing the Google Play store. However, the good news is that this version's dominance is eroding slowly as the months progress, but it is likely to remain significant for at least another year.

The problem with getting users up to the latest version is not down to a lack of interest. Indeed, the speed and ferocity with which iOS users upgrade to the latest version shows that users clearly are interested in new versions of operating systems. The problem is that Google is the beginning of a long system that updates have to go through.

Whenever Google releases a new version of Android, device OEMs have to then customize the release, add their own tweaks and personalizations. Then, for smartphones and tablets that are hooked to a carrier contract, the carriers have to add their own branding. The problem is made worse by the fact that neither the OEMs of the carriers feel there's much of a benefit in pushing free software updates to customers, and would rather focus on selling owners a new device.

Beginning in April 2013, Google started delivering data collected from each device when the user visited the Google Play Store. Previously, the data was collected when the device simply checked in to Google servers. Google believes that the new data "more accurately reflects those users who are most engaged in the Android and Google Play ecosystem."

Source: ZDNet

Mozilla previews Firefox Launcher for Android with adaptive app search from EverythingMe

Mozilla today offered a sneak peek at its upcoming Firefox Launcher for Android. The organization has teamed up with EverythingMe, which will power the contextual adaptive app search.

The company says it will share updates as soon as “development is finished” and it prepares for a beta release. It wouldn’t offer any timing details so there’s nothing to mark on your calendar just yet. Update: EverythingMe tells TechCrunch a download will be available “in the coming weeks.”

As you can see, the early version of the launcher lets you group apps into categories and pin contacts for easy access. The search icon above presumably leads to EverythingMe while the microphone icon is probably the usual Google voice search on Android. There’s what appears to be an alarm clock app, but other than that other apps all look alike, with Chrome naturally swapped out for Firefox.

Other than that, Mozilla is throwing around phrases like “makes it easy to discover the content you want in any moment, “optimized for the way you use your phone,” and “a personalized and customizable Web experience that is fun and intuitive.” With no specific features to go on, it’s difficult to say whether this Android launcher will be able to differentiate itself effectively from the many options out there.

The EverythingMe partnership will be the key differentiator. An excerpt of our coverage from just yesterday seems particularly relevant:
 

EverythingMe released the first version of its Android launcher last year, with a search-focused approach. However, the Israeli startup found that not many people actually like to search on their phones, and you can be a lot more successful if you give users what they want, when they want it, without them having to do anything. In fact, they’ve found that there are 20 times the amount of interactions per day with their contextual homescreen than with the previous version.

Mozilla knows it will be very difficult to convince Android users to use its launcher over another. It’s hoping EverythingMe’s unique approach will help.

Source: TNW

Nokia's Android operating system pops up in leaked image

Evidence that Nokia is working on an Android phone is mounting. First, we got a glimpse of the hardware, codenamed Normandy, and today we're getting a first look at the software and operating system that will run on this rumored device.

The first images of the company's Android user interface were leaked by frequent Twitter tipster @evleaks. The images show a series of three design mockups of a what appears to be heavily-modified version Android on a Nokia device, but it's not clear that this operating system is in fact Android.

Cell phone manufacturers often modify the "pure" Android operating system released by Google to include their own designs and software features, such as Samsung's TouchWiz interface and S Voice voice-control service. Looking at the leaked photos, the OS looks more like a newer, more feature-rich version of Nokia's Asha operating system, which Nokia uses on its lower-cost Asha phones sold in emerging markets. It certainly doesn't look like any form of Android I've seen before, and it's nothing like Windows Phone either.

The leaked images reveal a few features inside the alleged Normandy phone, including support for two SIM cards (a popular feature in Europe, Asia, and South America), a pre-installed Skype app, and some sort of notifications system.

The notion that Nokia would be building an Android phone is a bit strange, considering Microsoft is poised to purchase Nokia's mobile business in a $7.2 billion deal announced in September 2013. It's entirely possible that Nokia was working on Normandy and its own version of Android before any sort of deal was discussed. It's also plausible that as Nokia has become more popular in emerging markets, where customers are seeking low-cost smartphones, Microsoft sees an opportunity to continue that vision with Android instead of the lesser-known Asha OS. Whatever Nokia's reason to build an Android phone, we'll keep you updated on this device as we learn more.

We've reached out to Nokia about the leaked photos, and the company said it doesn't comment on rumors or speculation.

Source: CNET

Cyanogen gets $23 million for 'Android on steroids' operating system

You can add all the apps in the world to that phone in the palm of your hand.

But the device manufacturer still has more say over how your phone looks and works than you do.

Some people in the tech community don't think it should be that way.

"I am a big believer that if you buy one of these devices, you should have the freedom to do what you want with it," said Steve Kondik, co-founder of Cyanogen.

Kondik, with co-founder Kirt McMaster, takes the open source code Google makes freely available to create CyanogenMod, an alternative to the Android software that manufacturers put on mobile devices that is itself built on Android.

You don't have to be a hardcore geek to want to personalize your phone. More people are exploring modifying their phone's operating system to extend the life of older devices or breathe new life into devices with buggy software. Others are looking for features they can't currently get on their devices.

Kondik says Cyanogen can get rid of unnecessary software installed by device manufacturers so that Android phones run faster and batteries last longer.

Cyanogen also offers features that some Android phones don't, such as mobile Wi-Fi hot spots, a new theme or look for the phone or putting your name, not the wireless carrier’s name, on the home screen.

It also has its own bells and whistles. One app lets you see at a glance all of your most recent conversations, whether on text, email or social networks. A privacy feature keeps apps from snooping on your personal information. And for true NSA-phobes, there’s a feature that encrypts text messages so you can have secure communications.

"We are like Android on steroids and LSD. There are a bunch of features we enable that Google does not enable," McMaster said.

The company, which has offices in Seattle and Palo Alto, announced Wednesday it has raised $23 million from venture capitalists. It said in September it had raised $7 million.

Cyanogen, which currently has 22 staffers, plans to hire as many as 60 more over the next nine to 12 months as it ramps up its operations and looks to break into the mainstream, McMaster said.

Andreessen Horowitz and other investors are betting the average Android user is going to see the benefits of breaking free from their phone's preinstalled operating system.

"Because consumers are clamoring for increased personalization and customization options, the Android open source community has been happily taking up the task of fulfilling that demand," said Andreessen Horowitz general partner Peter Levine. "We believe that [CyanogenMod] has the opportunity to become one of the world's largest mobile operating systems."

Analysts say it will be some time before the concept of modifying your phone goes mainstream.

"Mainstream consumers are not comfortable with installing system software unless it is packaged in a bulletproof manner and supported by the device maker," said wireless industry analyst Charles Golvin. "While these cooperative development efforts deliver meaningful benefits they will remain attractive largely to those who possess the technical chops to understand and be comfortable with the implications of installing a system-level update like Cyanogen."

Kondik started building Cyanogen in 2009 when he was developer in Pittsburgh. He said he was simply trying to "scratch my own itch" and add some features to his own Android phone.

At the time, you had to be pretty technically adept to customize your phone. Not anymore, Kondik said.

And that's why he and McMaster have taken what was at first an open-source project and turned it into a commercial venture.

Now they are looking to reach beyond Android hobbyists to people who are increasingly interested in personalizing their phones.

Cyanogen's basic service will be free of charge, they said. In the future, the company plans to charge for premium features. It's also shipping preinstalled on the Oppo N1 and Cyanogen says its operating system will ship on more devices.

But can Cyanogen break into the mainstream?

Though Cyanogen has ambitions of becoming a major force in mobile as an alternative to Apple's iOS and Google's Android, it's for now still a niche player. It says it tracks nearly 11 million users but thinks that's a conservative estimate.

Cyanogen has had some hiccups. It launched its installer app in the Google Play store in November. But Google asked Cyanogen to remove it because of concerns that it encouraged users to void their warranty by gaining root access to their Android phone and not giving consumers an easy way to return the device to its original state.
 

"We are actively talking" to Google, Kondik said. In the meantime, you can still download it from the website http://www.cyanogenmod.org/. 

Source: Los Angeles Times

Android customizer Cyanogen notches $23M

 

Talk about a mobile revolution.

A growing software movement is quietly taking hold on Android-based devices, allowing people to customize smartphones and tablets more to their liking.

What's known as Android "software mods" can soup up devices with mobile Wi-Fi hot spots, new looks, alternative text messaging and more. Personalizing Google's operating system has morphed beyond geeky obsession as a means to add new features.

Startup Cyanogen is leading the way. With "tens of millions" of installs, today it announced $23 million in funding for its popular CyanogenMod mobile software.

"Currently, we're like Android on steroids and LSD. There's a bunch of features that you can't get on stock Android ... that you just can't do with any other OS," says CEO Kirt McMaster.

Formed in 2009, Cyanogen is the brainchild of founder Steve Kondik, who launched his Android modification, now dubbed CyanogenMod, into the open-source software community. Developers can make their own modifications to the code to bring new features, and such enthusiast ideas can be adopted by Cyanogen.

"There's kind of a whole underworld," says Gartner analyst Brian Blau of those modifying operating systems. "It totally makes sense, but they have a lot of competition."

Cyanogen's development team wants to make customizing Android phones more accessible to the masses. The startup last month launched an installer in an effort to automate the installation process that was otherwise reserved for the ultra-tech savvy.

"The market is speaking, a revelation is under way here in the sense that users want a 100% compatible OS that is all about customization and personalization," says Peter Levine, a partner with Andreesen Horowitz. "I believe that trend will only continue."

Cyanogen's McMaster says the startup's variant of Android can boost battery life on devices. But he also says that there are a lot ways that apps will be able to communicate and work together to enhance device capabilities in ways standard Android versions and Apple's iOS can't.

Andreessen Horowitz led the funding round in Cyanogen and included participation from Benchmark Capital, Repoint Capital and China's Tencent. The investment in Cyanogen will be used to hire developers to boost the software's functions and ease of use. The investment round brings Cyanogen's total funding to $30 million.

Source: USATODAY

BlackBerry Messenger for Android, iPhone delayed

BlackBerry said it will be at least next week until it relaunches the BlackBerry Messenger service for Android and iOS.

The delay comes amid some drastic problems that are hitting BlackBerry, including slow smartphone sales, layoff plans and an offer by an investment firm to take the company private.

In a blog post late Monday, BlackBerry Messenger head Andrew Bocking said workers are now trying to completely block an unreleased version of the BBM for Android app that first appeared on Saturday.

The unreleased app "resulted in volumes of data traffic orders of magnitude higher than normal for each active user and impacted the system in abnormal ways," he said.

About 1 million active users of the unreleased app suddenly appeared on Saturday, and BlackBerry quickly realized that the "only way to address the issue was to pause the rollout for both Android and iPhone."

Both rollouts had been scheduled for the weekend.

In addition to trying to completely block the unreleased app, BlackBerry is adjusting the system to avoid a similar scenario down the road. "While this may sound like a simple task, it's not," Bocking said. "This will take some time. I do not anticipate launching this week."

BBM has about 60 million monthly users on BlackBerry devices and the product is considered a bright spot in an otherwise dismal year for the Canadian smartphone maker.

On Friday, BlackBerry said it plans to take a nearly $1 billion write-off in its second fiscal quarter because of poor sales of smartphones, primarily the Z10, and would lay off 4,500 workers out of more than 12,000.

In August, BlackBerry created a special committee to study a possible sale of the company, and on Monday, the company announced that Fairfax Financial Holdings of Toronto has offered to buy Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry for $4.7 billion and take the company private. The deal is expected to close by Nov. 4.

Fairfax already owns 10% of BlackBerry shares. Its CEO, Prem Watsa, resigned from BlackBerry's board when the formal search for buyers kicked off in August.

In a statement released Monday, Watsa said that Fairfax would execute a long-term strategy at a privately-held BlackBerry "with a focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to BlackBerry customers around the world."

BlackBerry had said last Friday that it planned to focus its smartphone business on enterprise and "prosumer"-centric devices, and that its product portfolio would be cut from six to four devices.

The Z10, which first shipped in the U.S. in March, is a full-screen touchscreen phone marketed as a consumer-centric product. BlackBerry's move into the consumer market represented a clear departure from the company's long-held reputation as a provider of smartphones to business users, especially those seeking a physical qwerty keyboard.

BlackBerry attributed slow sales of devices like the Z10 to the high level of competition in the smartphone market, where BlackBerry products are pitted against many popular Android phones, such as the new Galaxy S4, and Apple's iPhone, including the brand-new 5S and 5C models.

Roger Entner, an analyst at Recon Analytics, said BlackBerry is "going through massive losses and it is unclear how long [Fairfax] can keep the company afloat with no sales and a new product [the Z10] that flopped."

Source: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9242630/BlackBerry_Messenger_for_Android_iPhone_delayed

Malware-like program lets your Android phone spy on you

A security firm has figured out how to turn an Android smartphone into a surveillance device that would make Q, the fictional gadget master in the James Bond movies, proud.

The Security Labs of Kindsight, a part of Alcatel-Lucent, has built a proof-of-concept program capable of tracking the user's location, intercepting messages, recording conversations, and taking pictures.

"Effectively, it turns the Android device into a spy phone," Kevin McNamee, lab director for Kindsight, said Friday. McNamee plans to present the espionage tool at the Black Hat USA conference next month.
Runs inside any app

The technology, codenamed DroidWhisper, can be hidden as a component within any Android app and run covertly in the background, booting up automatically when the device is turned on.

Once installed, the spyware would receive instructions from a command-and-control (C&C) server, which could communicate either over the Internet or through the phone's Short Message Service used for text messaging.
spyware privacy

From a control panel on the server, criminals or government spies would be able to control the phone's camera, video and still, and make use of its microphone and recording capabilities. The panel also would be used to collect all the recorded content and images, as well as any personal information on the phone.

"The smartphone is an excellent platform, if you want to launch an insider attack against a corporate network or government network," McNamee said. "The device has all the capabilities that it needs. It has Internet access over the air, it can take pictures [and] it can record sound—a very powerful surveillance platform."

While not part of the proof-of-concept, the spyware platform could be used to download tools for scanning a corporate network for vulnerabilities when an employee logs into a Wi-Fi network, McNamee said.

"[The phone] has a completely fully functional network stack, so if it has access to the corporate Wi-Fi, yes, it can scan the network," he said.
Anti-malware programs may halt it

The most likely ways the spyware could be installed secretly is through an email-carried link to a malicious website, or an app provided through an online store. For example, the component could be injected in a bogus version of a popular game.

While Google Play, the official Android store, scans for malware, most third-party stores do not. Roughly three in five of such stores originate in China and Russia, notes the latest mobile threat report from Juniper Networks.

As of March 2013, more than 90 percent of the mobile malware detected by Juniper targeted the Android platform, nearly double the percentage in 2011.

To install and run Kindsight's component on a device, the criminal would have to find a way to bypass Android's built-in security features. By default, applications do not have the permission needed to perform operations impacting other apps or the device in general. Such permissions would have to be granted by the user.

Assuming that the spyware penetrated those defenses, then the next mode of detection for businesses would be in catching the network traffic between the component and the command-and-control servers.

Source: http://www.techhive.com/article/2043321/malware-like-program-lets-your-android-phone-spy-on-you.html