Top Android news of the week
KitKat craving satisfied for almost a quarter of Android devices
This week wasn't all about the new iPhones, with some news about the Android world. ZDNet's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes reported that KitKat, the current major version of Android, is now installed on almost a quarter of all Android devices.
That's a significant number of devices, and it's taken a while to reach this point. KitKat has been out for almost a year and its share of Android installs has been creeping up slowly.
The next big version of Android, so far dubbed "L", should be appearing soon to replace KitKat. Of course, its share will increase very slowly as is typcial for Android.
Source: ZDNet (Adrian Kingsley-Hughes)
Four Android apps come to the Chromebook
Google announced earlier this year it was working on a way to bring Android apps to Chrome OS. This would address a complaint about Chromebooks, namely that it only has web apps and not that many of those.
This week the first four Android apps were released for the Chromebook. These four apps are a small start to fulfilling Google's promise.
The first apps released for Chrome OS:
- Evernote
- Vine
- Duolingo
- Sight Words
According to Evernote, the Android app now on Chrome is better than the pre-existing web app as it is optimized for mouse and keyboard use.
Source: Google Chrome Blog
How to speed up your Android smartphone
Android phone owners know the frustration of having it slow down over time. The causes behind the slowdown can be hard to track down and fix.
The folks at IT Pro Portal took a look at the slowdown issue and published some good tips on how to prevent and correct the Android phone slowdown.
The old faithful tips are in the article and some you might not have tried. The instructions for controlling background data usage are particularly useful.
Source: IT Pro Portal
Moto X (2014) review
My ZDNet buddy Matt Miller touches more phones than prolific phone thieves. His experience with all mobile platforms make him a source to listen to when it comes to smartphones.
His latest review of the Moto X offers a great take on the handset from Motorola and is well worth a read. The title says a mouthful, as he calls the Moto X the "best Android" phone.
Source: ZDNet (Matt Miller)
Google Hangouts gets voice calls
Google services are integrated tightly into Android, and Google Hangouts got a key new feature this week. It is now possible to make voice calls and handle SMS messaging using your Google Voice number, from within Google Hangouts.
The text messaging and voice calls made within Google Hangouts will show your Google Voice number to the recipient. They will not have any idea you're in Google Hangouts and not on a phone. This will be a good feature for business users.
Source: Google