Android News

Google is all set to launch a service called Android Device Manager by this month's end to locate or securely wipe a lost Android phone. The service will locate the device on map along-with its real-time motion if it is switched-on. Moreover, the service will allow users to make their misplaced phone ring even if it is in silent mode.

Jelly Bean has now become the most-widely used version of Android (OS of nearly 75% smartphones) with its use in 34% Android devices surpassing Gingerbread(33%). ICS(22.5%) stood 3rd in the league. Still, more than 50% users of Android are using its older versions, because of the fragmentation in updating and delay in enrolment of newer versions by original equipment manufacturers.

As per a report of Strategy Analytics, Google's OS Android has topped the world's smartphone market with 80% of handsets sold in Q2-2013 accounting to 182.7-million handsets. Apple's iPhone sales dropped to 14% and Microsoft lags behind it with only 4%. 34.6-million Android slates had been sold during that time period, which is more than double the 14.6-million iPads sold.

Following the announcement made by Google last week, its Android Device Manager, which can track your phone's location on Google maps, has now been made available for all Android devices. It also enables you to ring the device at full volume for 5-minutes and even erase all the data. Apple, Microsoft and BlackBerry have already been offering similar services.

Security firm Kaspersky Lab's analyst Christian Funk said that 99.9% of all new phone malware targets Android and one year ago, the firm recorded 30,000 versions of malware targeting mobiles. According to stuff.co.nz, the malware attacks Android due to its wide availability making it a big target as its market share has risen about 80% in recent times.

Sundar Pichai, head of Android division at Google, revealed on Twitter that the next version of the company's mobile operating system (OS) will be called Android KitKat. The KitKat will be Android 4.4. The OS is likely to debut in the market with the new Nexus phone in the coming months.

A potentially damaging virus, which is affecting all the versions of Android prior to version-4.2.2(Jelly Bean), has been detected in Indian-cyberspace. The virus could be used to steal SMS, personal-details, IMEI-numbers, installed-applications and send SMS or make calls from infected-devices without user-consent. Internet-security sleuths have asked users to download applications only from trusted sources, reputed application-markets and Google Play Store.

According to IDC (International Data Corporation), Google's mobile operating system, Android has a 91% share in India's smartphone market, giving it an overwhelming lead over its competitors. Windows Phone (second most used mobile OS in smartphones in the country) and Apple's iOS have market share of 5.4% and 2.3% respectively. Android holds 79.3% share in the global smartphone market.

According to a report by Engadget, Google has announced three dedicated Google Play machines in Tokyo offering 18 gaming titles including both free and paid-for titles. Japanese Android smartphone owners would be able to load games to their devices through these vending machine simply by inserting coins. Users will even get goodies as rewards for trying out other apps.

With the increase in market share to 81% from 74.9% a year earlier, Android continues to be the most used smartphone OS, while Apple's iOS, the second most used one, recorded a decline of 1.5%, from 14.4% to 12.9%, an IDC survey revealed. Microsoft's Windows Phone also recorded a significant jump, from 2% to 3.6%.

In the latest update to Android(4.4.2), Google has removed an experimental privacy feature from it, that allowed users to block apps from collecting their personal information. It is speculated that Android users, who do not wish to upgrade to Android 4.4.2, could be vulnerable to security risks. The company claims to have included the privacy feature accidentally, in Android 4.3.