Mobile

Galaxy S4 shot of pure Android boosts relationships, not sales

A pure Android Galaxy S4 isn't likely to drive blowout sales, but it could give Samsung and Google a boost in other ways.

Google on Wednesday at its Google I/O developer conference unveiled a special model of Samsung's flagship smartphone that runs a pure version of Android. What that means is the GS4 model won't ship with Samsung's oft-criticized TouchWiz user interface, and the device will receive Android system updates as soon as they're available.

But the device also has some drawbacks. It's pricey -- $649, to be exact -- and is only … Read more

Porting Android apps to BB10 is quick but not for everyone

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Here at BlackBerry Live 2013, BB10 devices weren't in short supply though vendors hawking compelling consumer apps were few and far in between. … Read more

Apple's App Store downloads hit 50 billion

Apple's App Store on Wednesday passed another major benchmark, topping 50 billion app downloads.

That's according to the countdown timer on Apple's Web site and in iTunes. Apple also confirmed the benchmark on Twitter:

We just hit 50 billion app downloads. Thank you. It couldn't have happened without you. #50BillionApps tw.appstore.com/hgE

— App Store(@AppStore) May 15, 2013

The person who downloaded the 50 billionth app will get a $10,000 App Store gift card from Apple, and the 50 people who downloaded apps right after that each will receive a $500 gift card. … Read more

BlackBerry flaunts BB10 Bentley at BlackBerry Live

ORLANDO, Fla. -- One of the most memorable moments from BlackBerry Live 2013 was when CEO Thorsten Heins jumped into a special Bentley luxury auto tricked out with BB10 software. That's why I decided to see what the fuss was all about personally.

Luckily BlackBerry was thoughtful enough to provide the premium car for display on the BlackBerry Live show floor. And yes, after spending a short time behind the wheel of this fine automobile, I can report it's a sweet ride. Specifically I'm speaking to the Bentley's smooth integration of phone features, though the vehicle'… Read more

Google's Page: We should be building great things that don't exist

The technology industry should be moving faster to address opportunities instead of constantly battling each other, Google's chief executive said Wednesday.

Instead of "building great things that don't exist," some companies focus too much on negativity and one-upping each other, Larry Page said at the Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco.

"Every story I read about Google is us versus some other company or some stupid thing," Page said. "Being negative is not how we make progress. The most important things are not zero sum. There is a lot of opportunity … Read more

Google pushes Android tablets for the classroom

Google's new education initiative, Google Play for Education, is designed to put more tablets into K-12 classrooms, the company said Wednesday at its Google I/O developers conference.

The new store launches this fall. It enables teachers deploy an app or an e-book to all of their students' tablets at once, and has apps that have been recommended by other teachers to make sure they are appropriate for specific ages and grades.

"Each app has been recommended by a group of educators," Engineering Director Chris Yerga said during the keynote. "This is key because teachers trust … Read more

Google Play redesigned to focus on tablet apps

Google rolled out a new design for Google Play on Wednesday, showing some extra love to tablet apps.

Google Play's recommendations -- some of which are based on a user's Google+ account -- will now surface apps designed for tablets in its top app charts, Google announced at its Google I/O developer's conference.

Engineering Director Chris Yerga said the new Google Play will make it easier for users to find the apps they want.

Google unveils own Samsung Galaxy S4 variant

At today's Google I/O developers' conference in San Francisco, Google announced that it would release its own variant of the previously unveiled Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone.

For the most part, the device will remain largely the same. It will feature 4G LTE and 16GB of storage space.

However, the handset will offer a skinless Android 4.2 Jelly Bean Nexus experience, it will come with its bootloader already unlocked, and users will receive system updates as they come in.

This unlocked GS4 version will be available starting June 26 and will work on AT&T and T-Mobile … Read more

Google: Android activations to total 900 million this year

Google expects users to activate about 900 million Android devices this year, more than doubling the number activated in 2012, an executive said Wednesday.

Sundar Pichai, head of Google's Android and Chrome operations, said at the company's developers conference that users activated 400 million Android devices in 2012 and 100 million in 2011.

"The momentum has been breathtaking since then," Pichai said.

And Hugo Barra, vice president of product management, said Google Play has just passed 48 billion app installations, with 2.5 billion installations in the last month alone.

Google is hosting Google I/O, … Read more