SmartUbuntu

Ubuntu phone OS has eight carriers signed on to boost development

Rune.K — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:06:12 +0000

Carrier list may put Ubuntu on phones throughout the world.

Canonical has formed a “Carrier Advisory Group” of eight mobile operators who will collaborate to influence the development of Ubuntu for smartphones.

Canonical said the first members of the group are Deutsche Telekom, Everything Everywhere, Korea Telecom, Telecom Italia, LG UPlus, Portugal Telecom, SK Telecom, and “the leading Spanish international carrier.” Canonical declined to identify the Spanish carrier when we contacted them, although based on the description it may be Telefónica (also known as O2). With the exception of Deutsche Telekom, the owner of T-Mobile, the list doesn’t include any major US carriers. Canonical said that “any national or multinational carrier” may join.

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For Android Tablets, Big is Back

Rune.K — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:26:08 +0000

The Computex show in Taiwan is still a PC show, but it’s increasingly known for debuting tablets and tablet reference designs. There have been some misfires over the years, like the thick, Atom-based Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) shown in 2008, the “Smartbooks” of 2009, and the flawed “Honeycomb” Android tablets of 2011. Things have looked up since then, however, with the 2012 event showcasing numerous high-octane Android 4.x slates that have gone on to collectively overtake the iPad and threaten the PC market.

If smaller tablets have been in vogue over the last year, thanks to the impact of the Kindle Fire and Nexus tablets, the big slates are back in style in 2013, looking to steal even more market share from PCs. The most prominent new Android tablets were not the 7-8 inch tablets dominating sales, but rather 10-inch devices more suitable for the office, many with keyboard docking options. There were even several full-fledged Android notebooks from OEM vendors such as Allwinner to match HP’s more high-profile, Tegra 4-based SlateBook x2 Android tablet.

Here’s a look at some of the more notable big-time tablets that shined at Computex:

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Top Android Apps for Managing Mobile Data Usage

Rune.K — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:20:24 +0000

These days our smartphones let us do much more than just send a text or make a call. These pocket-sized gadgets have transformed themselves into little computers that we can carry around anywhere we want. They let us send emails, browse social networks, upload photos and do much more. Needless to say, they can let you do pretty much everything that you do on an Internet-enabled computer.

Having said that, these powerful features come at a price. Often times, even a task as simple as uploading a photo ends up emptying a major chunk of your mobile Internet data. Mind you, 3G and 4G cellular data connection can be pretty expensive and one has to be careful not to use too much data at once. So, the big question is, how does one take full advantage of a smartphone’s features while not paying exorbitant mobile data charges?

Thankfully, the answer to the question lies in the Google Play Store. There are a lot of Android apps that work intelligently in the background to help you save precious data. So, if you’re looking for an application that allows you to save mobile Internet data, and of course your money, here’s a list of the best data-saving apps in the Play Store:

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Using Gestures to Quickly Launch Apps on Android

Rune.K — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:59:19 +0000

To open apps in Android, the typical way is to go to the app drawer and select the app you want to run. This may not be an efficient method. Using gestures to quickly launch your favorite app is perhaps one of the better way to be productive.

Some apps have gesture options. Browsers, searches and even apps that call and text can all be activated through gestures on Android. Trigger is one of the newer apps to the Google Play Store, but is really making some waves. While other apps are geared towards a specific task (e.g. dialling or searching), Trigger is all about launching Android apps and actions. The free version of Trigger will let you make up to six gesture actions so it is a good way to try it out before you buy it.

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Android May Soon Have ‘Intel Inside’

Rune.K — Fri, 31 May 2013 14:54:35 +0000

NEW YORK (TheStreet) – Intel (INTC) may finally have a big “in” when it comes to getting its processors inside Android devices. To date, it had been primarily ARM (ARMH)-technology- based processors that have been powered millions of Android devices.

According Reuters, an upcoming Samsung tablet, running Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system, will contain a next generation, x86-computer-based Intel Atom processor. That would be significant in a number of ways.

Intel was late to the game. So, they struggled to get a foothold in the world of ARM-based mobile computing – smartphones and tablets. So far, almost every Android devices has included processors utilizing the ARM architecture. Last year, we began to see Intel make their move. A few manufacturers began experimenting with Intel/Android devices. One of them was a Motorola model which went on sale in selected world markets – not in the United States.

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Can Ubuntu Become a Real Consumer Brand?

Rune.K — Wed, 29 May 2013 09:47:19 +0000

Ubuntu is a reasonably successful desktop Linux distribution. But what will it take to make Ubuntu a well-known consumer brand that customers demand on notebooks, tablets and smart phones?

Canonical’s long-term Ubuntu strategy remains focused on convergence — a single operating system designed for smartphones, tablets and PCs. But here’s the thing: Can Ubuntu really achieve mass-market consumer success without a proper multi-million-dollar consumer marketing push? Hmmm…

To Canonical’s credit, Ubuntu found its way onto millions of PCs and laptops over the past decade. But much of that success has to do with PC culture: Developers, hackers, power users and even some consumers are willing to migrate their PCs and Macs from one operating system (say, Windows or Mac OS X) to Linux.

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7 Most Elegantly Designed Android Apps

Rune.K — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:54:55 +0000

Ever since Google started focusing on design, its flagship product Android has become one of the biggest names in the industry. Earlier, it was Apple who was the frontrunner in terms of design, but soon Android caught up and disrupted the competition. That said, Android isn’t yet the most beautiful phone OS around. Thanks to the ever-growing fragmentation and the plethora of customizations out there, the only thing that makes Android beautiful is its pure vanilla design that is found in Nexus 4. Otherwise, Android is still battling head-to-head with other superbly designed phone operating systems like Windows Phone and even Blackberry 10.

Despite the surging competition however, Android has millions of apps to boast of, which itself, puts it way ahead of its archrivals. Though the elegant design won’t be found on all Android devices, you will, instead, find some apps that surpass the expectations of the usual Droid-hater. These beautifully designed apps remind the consumers about the dominance of Android thus making it the best mobile OS around. So, if you want to spice up your smartphone with apps designed to perfection, here’s a list of the 7 most elegantly designed Android apps:

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Android Gobbles Up The Competition, Runs on 59.5% Of All Devices Sold in Q1

Rune.K — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:02:24 +0000

The Android operating system might only be five and a half years old, but you would never of guessed that by its overwhelming dominance of the world’s mobile landscape. And according to at least one research firm, its grip on mobile is getting even stronger, as it now runs on a staggering 59.5% of all ‘smart’ mobile devices in the world today.

A new report from Canalys shows that the global mobile device market, which includes not just smartphones but also tablets and notebooks, grew by more than 37.4% over the last quarter with a total of 308.7 million such devices shipped. That statistic probably won’t surprise anyone who’s been following the mobile revolution over the last couple of years, but given that it also includes shipments of all Windows-powered notebooks, Android’s individual performance is seriously impressive.

Android is now close to running two-thirds of all new devices sold in the world, while in comparison, Apple’s iOS powers only 19.3% of tablets, smartphones and computers. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Windows operating systems (inc. Windows Phone and Windows 8 on notebooks) run on just 18.% of devices sold in the first quarter of 2013.

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7 Android Apps That Will Help You Lose Weight Fast

Rune.K — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:33:12 +0000

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is that of losing weight. This is the time people invest their hard-earned money in diet books, gym membership, and protein shakes. Unfortunately, though, most people fail to stick with their resolutions as they lose the motivation to do so. Even though they go on a strict diet, they often resort to overeating as they fail to monitor what they eat. This doesn’t help at all when losing weight, no matter how much you exercise.

Luckily, our very own Android device can become a weight-loss companion and coach in no time thanks to some great weight-loss applications that are available for this platform.

Noom Weight Loss Coach

Noom Weight Loss Coach is a free Android application that gives you daily tasks so that you can reach your weight-loss goals one step at a time. Motivating as well as educating the user about their food habits, Noom pushes the user to make healthy, positive changes into their lifestyle. Once installed, you get a free, personalized weight-loss plan along with a detailed food log for those who love to watch what they eat.

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All Things Appy: 5 Best Android News Apps

Rune.K — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 06:22:04 +0000

News junkies can get their fix with an assortment of free Android apps. The five best are Google Currents, which delivers full editions of magazines and newspapers; Twitter, which can’t be beat for local breaking news; Feedly, a good alternative to Google Reader, with strong RSS chops; Flipboard, which mashes up nicely with social feeds; and The Guardian, an international daily that’s known for high quality, despite the typos.

With the unexpected news that Google’s RSS feed reader, Google Reader, is being put out to pasture, many users are scrambling to find new tools for news consumption.

However, TechNewsWorld has been very much on top of the Android news app melee over the last year, and we can recommend the top five free news apps still available for the Android platform.

About the Platform

Google’s Android OS apps can be downloaded from Google’s Play Store.

Browse to the Play Store in the device’s app drawer by clicking on the app drawer icon. Then search for the app.

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