Top Android news of the week: Amazon apps big, Samsung S6, Android fork to kill Samsung
In the world of Android this week we saw the release of Samsung's latest flagship phones, prediction of Samsung's demise, and Amazon's Appstore is growing at a fast clip.
The CEO of Cyanogen, Kirt McMaster, thinks his forked version of Android can disrupt the smartphone space in just a few years. McMaster told Business Insider that by opening Android up at the system level it will take the emerging markets by storm.
He gave India as an example, where a couple of new players have grabbed a significant amount of business in just a year.
Adoption of new versions of Android always happens slowly, as device makers and carriers control how fast (or slowly) they roll it out. That's why only 3.3 percent of Android devices are running version 5.0, Lollipop.
As paltry a number as that is, it is double the number from the month before. Jelly Bean is running on the most devices.
CNET reports that the Amazon Appstore is getting very big, with almost 400K apps on the virtual shelves. The number of apps has roughly doubled in the past year.
Significantly, Amazon says customers of its Appstore often return to buy apps. This is attributed to the familiarity many have with Amazon and the ease of buying apps.
This week the Korean company showed off its new flagship phones. The Galaxy S6 and the Edge variant take a page from the iPhone and are thin, with metal construction.
Samsung also dropped a user-replaceable battery for a sealed case, and got rid of the slot for a memory card. The Edge model gets two curved edges with little displays for showing information in addition to the home screen.
