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Top Android news of the week: SwiftKey neural network, nasty malware, HTC plummeting

This week in Android we saw Marshmallow appear for Nexus devices, a major malware threat uncovered, and an app that uses neural network tech was released.
Written by James Kendrick, Contributor

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Marshmallow available for Nexus devices

Owners of Nexus devices can manually get the factory images with Marshmallow from Google. They were made available this week and can be downloaded and installed by those unwilling to wait for the official pushed version.

The devices with downloadable versions include the Nexus 5, 6, 7, and 9.

Source: Google Developers

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HTC reports NT $5.1b loss

The former number one Android device maker continues its slide into obscurity according to its most recent financial report. HTC has posted a NT$5.1 billion loss in the second quarter on revenue of NT$33 billion. This is the third year the company has seen revenues sliding downward.

According to analysts HTC will burn through its cash in two years if it doesn't find a way to stop the slide.

Source: ZDNet

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Top Android keyboard SwiftKey now built on neural network tech

SwiftKey has long been one of the top keyboard apps on Android due to its great ability to predict text. The longer it is used the better it can predict what an individual user will likely type next.

A new version is out that uses an artificial neural network to even better predict text entry. The SwiftKey Neural Alpha keyboard is available now for devices running KitKat and above.

Source: ZDNet

Nasty malware discovered on Android

Security researchers have uncovered malware that starts by serving up annoying pop-up ads and then turns more serious. It is able to drill deep into the Android OS and exploit up to eight vulnerabilities in the OS. It has already spread to more than 20 countries.

Don't download Android apps from unauthorized sources and keep your OS up to date.

Source: The Register

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