Android software

Drivers who use mapping software on their phones to find out where they're going may not be paying enough heed to where they're going.

At least that's one way of characterizing a recent ruling by a California court.

Issued late last month and made more widely known by a tweet today from law professor Orin Kerr, the ruling says handling a cell phone while driving, even if "solely for its map application," is every bit as illegal in the Golden State as holding the phone to your ear while talking, or using your thumb (or … Read more

Mirror's Edge. Rush City. Temple Run. Subway Surfers. Agent Dash. Pitfall. If endless runners are your thing, you'll find no shortage of them in Android and iOS app stores.

So when Vector (Android | iOS) came along, I thought, "Meh, big deal, more of the same." So why can't I stop playing this game?

Because it's awesome, that's why. A side-scrolling endless runner (aka "free runner") that borrows its formula (if not its dystopian plot) from the likes of Mirror's Edge, Vector grips you from the first frame of its dramatic … Read more

The WebKit browser engine is becoming a less flexible foundation for open-source projects with the departure of Google from the project this week and Apple's consequent paring back of the project.

WebKit is a broad project that includes participation from many interested parties -- not just Apple and Google, but also BlackBerry, Samsung, Amazon, Oracle, Adobe Systems, and the programmers involved with the KDE and Gnome user interfaces for Linux. Indeed, the open-source project began as KDE's KHTML engine for the Konqueror browser before Apple got involved.

Google's Chrome team left WebKit this week, forking the open-source … Read more

Facebook is looking to get cozy with the home and lock screens of your Android device. The just-announced Facebook Home is a suite of apps that replaces your normal home and lock screens with social-media content. It puts Facebook in your face every time you power up your phone.

Users will get notifications from friends, plus photos, status updates, and link shares. It pretty much serves up all your Facebook information without you having to ask for it or open up a separate app.

Users will be able download Facebook Home from Google Play, like a regular app. It does require a special confirmation to install, since it makes such radical changes to the existing look of your screens.… Read more

The official Google TV Remote app for Android has received its first software update in years, adding in a number of new features.

Perhaps most notable in the change log is the addition of voice search support, which provides a more robust user experience.

With the update, users can now search for movies, television shows, and other content across the platform.

Previously, hardware limitations prevented users from being able to use voice as an input method.

The latest version of the Google TV Remote includes a new D-Pad navigation as well, which allows you to navigate more naturally.

Prior to … Read more

Facebook unveiled a new "Home" on Android at a press event at its Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters today -- a family of apps meant to keep mobile audiences always affixed to its social network.

Facebook Home consists of a set of the social network's apps that become the home of your Android phone. With Home, the device's home screen transforms into "Cover Feed," or a visually rich and swipe-able version of News Feed for your phone. Home also includes a more picture-perfect version of messaging, complete with a Facebook-invented feature called "Chat Heads,&… Read more

Blink, Google's new fork of the WebKit browser engine, is alive.

Yesterday, Google announced the project, which splits its browser work from Apple's in the open-source WebKit project. Today, Blink is up and running.

The first updates -- including a new list of 36 Blink "owners" who have authority to approve changes -- are arriving.

"Chrome 28 will be the first blinking release," Chrome programmer Mike West said in a Hacker News comment. The current stable version of Chrome is version 26; new versions arrive about every six weeks.

"The repository seems to … Read more

As one of the more handy options in Android 4.2.2, the Quick Settings menu gives users easy access to common device settings.

Accessible by swiping down from the right side of the notification bar, the menu allows for toggling of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, brightness, and more.

Unfortunately, only 2 percent of today's Android smartphones run Android 4.2, with even fewer running this particular release. Enter AntTek Quick Settings.

Available for any Android device running 2.1 or later, this free application provides not only the standard Quick Settings options, but a ton of extras as well.

Even … Read more

Today, Google launched Blink, its fork of the WebKit browser engine, and members of Google's Chrome team clearly are excited about their liberation.

With the fork, Google will concentrate its core browser development efforts on Blink, which will gradually diverge from the WebKit project on which it's based. You can read more about the context and history leading to Blink in CNET's coverage, or read the official Blink blog post and Blink FAQ for the party line.

But to get a feel for the emotion involved, check the commentary from the Chrome team members themselves. They're … Read more