Tag: Android

Articles

Opinion: With iOS 9, Apple Is On A Warpath For Google’s Users | Gizmodo

Apple’s other Android app will help you switch to iOS, “recycle” your Android for free | Android Authority

My Comments

Increasingly most operating-system vendors are reaching in to competing platforms either to allow your computing environment to be centred around their platform or simply to shift you over to their platform.

Microsoft was achieving this through supplying apps for Android and iOS to connect your smartphone or tablet to a Windows-10-centric computing environment.

On the other hand, Google and some Android smartphone vendors were developing apps that import data that exists on an iPhone or iPad to your Android device. Now Apple has written an Android app to simplify the process of moving over from Android to iOS.

But what Apple has done is not just export your contacts, messages, photos, music and videos from your Android device. Rather they have used this app to take an inventory of the apps you have installed on your Android phone and purchased from Google Play, correlate them with their iOS equivalents that are in the iTunes App Store and either install the free apps or add the paid apps to your iTunes App Store Wishlist so you can buy them there. Then they make you feel good by inviting you to hand your old Android phone to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store for recycling.

It is part of Apple’s effort to reach to the “opposing” platforms to bring them to their own platforms by using “halo” products and services which convey the positive image about the brand. In this case, it is all of the iOS devices that are Apple’s “halo products” and having these devices work with Windows or Macintosh regular computers courtesy of the iTunes program.  This same practice also ties in with the iTunes Store available on both these platforms along with the iOS platform and is leading to the Apple Music service, seen as an answer to Spotify, with the companion app being ported to Android.

This was also underscored with some Apple fanbois saying that they headed over to the Macintosh platform once they experienced Apple’s iPod, iPhone or iPad products and even them underscoring that people who use iOS devices as their mobile devices should jump over to the Macintosh platform for their regular-computing needs.

What we are seeing here is the existence of a highly-competitive marketplace affecting both the mobile and regular computing platforms with the platform vendors pulling out the stops to get people to switch. In some cases, it could become a reality where multi-platform computing will become the norm for sessile and mobile computing needs both at work and at home.

Introduction

I am reviewing the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Android tablet which is styled on the same look as Lenovo’s Yoga lineup of “fold-over” convertible laptops. This 10” tablet is pitched more as a something that would appeal to home users and businesses who want something that can answer the Apple iPad.

The unit itself

Aesthetics and build quality

How it looks standing up

The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 tablet is an example of a tablet that has strong build quality with metal housing. As well, the Lenovo doesn’t exhibit any problems with overheating even if you are watching video content.

The integrated kickstand works properly and smoothly allowing it to be free-standing and could support applications like an electronic display frame. As well, the Yoga Tablet 2’s “hinge-pin” which is part of the kickstand is used effectively for the audio jack and for the on-off button.

Display

Sharp display

The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 comes across with a bright sharp display that is very responsive but it is very glossy which is something common with a lot of consumer tablets. It has performed well for video material and also for games.

Audio

The Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 implements Dolby audio tuning in conjunction with the two inbuilt speakers that are positioned far apart thus allowing for improved stereo separation when you are watching video material. But, like with a lot of tablets, they come across with sound that has very little bass response.

Connectivity and Expandability

The headphone jack is positioned in the centre of the hinge pin

The only data port that the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 has is the microUSB charge / data port like what is expected on most Android phones. Here, this one also supports USB On-The-Go connectivity which provides for extra storage connectivity with USB flash-drives and memory-card adaptors at least. The omission here would be that it doesn’t support connectivity to external displays via MHL technology.

As for storage beyond the 16Gb flash memory, there is the ability to install a microSD card in a cavity behind the kickstand for this extra storage. There is also a 3.5mm stereo headset jack in the “hinge pin” so you can connect your headphones to the Yoga Tablet 2.

As for wireless networking, the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 works to 802.11n dual-band Wi-Fi networking along with Bluetooth 4.0 Smart Ready connectivity.

Performance

A friend of mine has a soft spot for Plants vs Zombies 2  on the iOS platform, so I downloaded the Android port of this game and gave him a chance to play a few rounds of this game on the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2. Here, his experience with device performance was very similar to what he experienced on an iPad 3 Retina which he was regularly playing the game on. There was still the same level of responsiveness that was required for that game.

As for video play, the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 worked properly for YouTube playback and wasn’t draining the batteries even after a three-hour Microsoft video presentation about WIndows 10.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

Lenovo could offer an increased number of model variations of its Yoga Tablet 2. This could be in the form of a model that has increased storage capacity, a high-performance “gamer-grade” model that suits the new wave of mobile gaming along with one or more models that are equipped with integrated wireless broadband. This means that people can choose the model that suits their needs rather than being stuck with one model.

As well, to be considered up-to-date, Lenovo could implement 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless technology and deliver the Yoga Tablet 2 with Android 5 Lollipop.

Conclusion

Android-based lifestyle tablet

I would position the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 as a viable Android-based alternative to the iPad, especially if you want something that can be freestanding especially for showing pictures or engaging in videocalls. Here, I would best describe it as an Android-based lifestyle tablet.

Article

Android Auto in the 2015 Hyundai Sonata

First production car powered by Android Auto rolls out – and it’s a Hyundai | The Register

From the horse’s mouth

Hyundai America

Press Release

My Comments

Android Auto is starting to appear in production vehicles firstly with Hyundai. Here, this isn’t an extra-cost add-on or prototype, rather something that is par for the course for the vehicle’s premium trim levels.

This will be in the form of their 2015 Sonata executive sedan and only on the Eco, Sport, Limited, Sport 2.0T and Limited 2.0T trim levels. As well, you would need to make sure that you have bought the “Navigation” option for your vehicle. These trim levels will come with a large LCD touchscreen as part of an infotainment system that can handle Apple AirPlay and Android Auto.

2015 Sonata

But Hyundai is also extending this option to those of us who have already purchased the eligible vehicles by supplying it as a free upgrade. This is done by you downloading the new firmware from the MyHyundai website and copying it to a USB memory key to install in to your vehicle. Here, I would recommend that those of you who are unsure about this process have the firmware upgrade done by your Hyundai dealership’s mechanics when you have your vehicle serviced by them.

A good question that I would raise would be whether this option will be rolled out across other current-model-year Hyundai vehicles like the Tucson or Veloster that have the high-end navigation / infotainment system as standard for their trim level or can be “optioned up” to this functionality. Similarly, will any of the other vehicle builders offer Android Auto as an in-place upgrade or as standard for existing vehicles with the right infotainment system?

Article

Microsoft slams Android updates, claims Google ships a ‘big pile of… code’  | The Verge

Microsoft takes a pop at Android updates | TrustedReviews

Microsoft disses Android: ‘Google ships a big pile of … Code’ | Android Authority

My Comments

A common complaint by people who use Android phones and tablets is that it takes too long for an operating-system update to materialise on their device after Google releases the software code. Microsoft, a key competitor to Google, described Android as a “heap of … code” during the keynote speech for the Ignition 2015 business-computing conference’s keynote speech.

Typically what happens is that the update is delivered to the hardware manufacturers who will package it with their software like shell replacements before issuing it. In the case of smartphones or tablets that have wireless-broadband functionality, these updates have to be modified and approved by the telecommunications carriers before they are allowed on devices that their customers use.

Google has worked around this by using the Google Play Store to deploy updates to their software and, in some cases, offer plugins. Some manufacturers are even using this path or their own app store to roll out updates to their software.

Other platforms like iOS and Windows Phone allow the operating system’s software developer to push updates independent of manufacturer or carrier approval. This is similarly true for desktop operating systems like WIndows and OS X.

But what can Google do about this if the goal is to roll out security patches and bugfixes in between platform updates? This is important when, for example, my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 handset was failing frequently when it came to discovering Bluetooth devices and this was due to bugs in relationship to Android Jelly Bean’s Bluetooth stack which was based on Bluetooth LE / Smart functionality tacked on to an existing Android Gingerbread or ICS Bluetooth stack.

A way to assure the ability to work with manufacturers and carriers yet roll out the important patches could be to allow the deployment of the patches without need to have the prior approval. But Google would need to work with the manufacturers when rolling out major platform updates like when transitioning from KitKat to Lollipop.

A platform update for Google Android and any other operating system should also be about rewriting various parts of that operating system that gain functionality boosts that will change the device’s behaviour rather than “tacking on” the new functionality. This is what led to Windows Vista being criticised by the industry for its performance because the new security abilities were “tacked on” to an existing Windows XP codebase.

Articles

How Microsoft Is Going To Port Everything To Windows | Gizmodo

Android applications will be able to run on Windows 10 | Android Authority

From the horse’s mouth

Microsoft

Welcome speech for Build 2015 – Blogging Windows

My Comments

This game has been the test-bed for porting to Windows 10

The Web has been awash with rumours about Microsoft allowing Android apps to run on Windows 10. The image projected by these rumours underscored ideas of users running Android APK program files in the Windows 10 environment or a gateway to Google Play on this operating system.

But Microsoft announced at Build 2015 conference a very different scenario that is more about developers being able to easily port iOS and Android apps to Windows 10 Universal Apps. It is part of a simplified code-porting mechanism that will come with this new operating system.

As you already know, a Windows 10 Universal app is designed from the outset to run on a regular desktop / laptop computing environment, a tablet or 2-in-1 in “tablet mode”, a smartphone or even the XBox One games console.

The process of “porting” an app to run on different computing platforms is about making sure that the program conveys a user experience that doesn’t differ no matter the platform that you are running it on. Rather it takes advantage of the bouquets that the platform provides like improved sound or graphics and is something I have seen in action through the late 1980s with games written by the likes of Sierra and Broderbund. In that era, there were a few different home / desktop computing platforms in circulation ranging from the IBM PC (MS-DOS) platform, Apple’s Apple II and Macintosh platforms, to Commodore’s legendary C64 and Amiga computer platforms and anyone who wanted to cover a large market with a games title had to port these titles across the different platforms.

Now easier to port from mobile platforms to this platform

Take for example “Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego” which I had played on an Apple IIe and on an IBM-compatible running MS-DOS 3.3 . These games were ported in a way to take advantage of the graphics abilities the different platforms offered and were worked to give the same smooth operating environment for the platform you bought it for. If I had played that game on a Commodore Amiga, it would have come through with graphics and sound performance appropriate for that platform such as sharper graphics with many different colours along with a richer music soundtrack.

If you were to port an application or game to a different platform, you had to rewrite the program code from the ground up to target that platform. As well, you had to re-engineer all of the resources like the graphics and sound for that platform. This became a costly affair because you had to hire programmers who were conversant with your native computing platform and the target platform to do this job and make sure they run as expected on that platform. In some cases, the software may not run exactly as required nor would it properly take advantage of the platform’s assets.

Microsoft has made this process simpler courtesy of the Project Islandwood and Project Astoria software-development kits which simplify the process of porting iOS or Android apps to Windows 10 Universal Apps. These would allow the developer to reuse the iOS Objective C or Android Java/C++ code as the mechanism for the program and allow them to tweak the code to run smoothly in Windows 10, taking advantage of its assets like Cortana, Live Tiles, XBox Achievements and the like where appropriate.

They worked with King.com to use the new software-development kits to port Candy Crush Saga to Windows, having the gameplay experience on a Windows Phone similar to what was expected out of an iPhone.

What does this mean? It could allow a software developer to target iOS or Android for their programs then have it ready for the Windows platform very shortly after that without it being a costly affair..Who knows when a game like Candy Crush Saga could appear on the XBox One as a “quick-play” game to play on your TV?

Article

LG G4: hands on with the new leather-clad smartphone

LG Promotional Video

My Comments

Time to play some smooth-sounding yacht rock! Personal electronics devices are coming on the market that show a style that doesn’t look out of place in that hotel room at Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto or in that nice BMW or luxury yacht.

How is this coming about? Here, manufacturers are paying attention to how a device looks in order to make that premium device stand out. For example, Harman-Kardon had released the Esquire range of Bluetooth speakers that are finished with the leather trim on a beautiful metal finish.

Then Apple launched their Apple Watch which conveys the look of their personal-computing products and has the Edition premium variant that has that look of luxury with even a model in that variant having a gold finish. LG came up with their Watch Urbane which is the latest in a run of smartwatches offered by different vendors that have the look of a dress watch that you could wear when you want to dress to impress. This has been brought on by Swiss watchmakers like TAG Heuer considering connected watches as part of their luxury watch product lines.

Now LG has raised the bar for how a smartphone looks with their G4 Smartphone that has a lot of attention paid to its looks. One feature that has been added for some variants to have leather trim on the back of the device. Along with this, there is a carbon-fibre look on the front as part of maintaining that luscious look. Previously, one would look around for accessory cases that make a phone have that desireable look. Now this is an effort to make these devices special.

Who knows what will come about for other big-name smartphones, tablets and notebooks that will make them look the part in that C-suite office or premium hotel room. As well, it will be a chance for manufacturers to make sure that these personal-electronics products aren’t just drab and ordinary but are highly special.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 8″ business tablet

Article

First business-specific Samsung Galaxy tablet goes on sale | PC World

Samsung launches the Galaxy Tab Active for business and enterprise | AusDroid

Samsung means business with new tablet for work | Geelong Advertiser

From the horse’s mouth

Samsung

Galaxy Tab Active (Product Page)

My Comments

Samsung have released an Android tablet that has for the first time been pitched at business users including tradesmen. This tablet, known as the Galaxy Tab Active has been designed from knowledge Samsung gleaned from their interaction with the US’s Fortune-500 companies about the kind of tablets they require.

Personally, I see this as a small-form 8” tablet that could answer Apple’s iPad as a workplace tablet that is based on a mobile operating system. It is designed to IP67 rugged-use specifications which would make it even useful for outdoor work including as a workhorse for tradespeople who are effectively working out of the back of their vans.

The Android 4.4 KitKat tablet is security-hardened courtesy of Samsung’s KNOX security platform for business Android devices. It can link to an 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi network and mobile-broadband variants can work with the 4G LTE mobile-broadband services. It has 16Gb memory on board and the ability to work with “infinitely swappable” microSD cards like most other Android devices.

Of course the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active is pitched for business users and may not be easily available through the big-box consumer-technology stores, but would be available through some carrier outlets and business-technology specialists including independent computer / technology stores. The durability aspect could also appeal to those of us who want an Android tablet that “bridges” between the smaller coat-pocket personal tablets and the 10” tablets of the iPad ilk.

There is also the billion-dollar question about whether Android 5.1 Lollipop will be offered to this tablet rather than it being stuck with the Android 4.4 Kitkat software.

Personally I would like to see Samsung offer a 10” variant of this model to the business community for applications where such a screen size can play in handy. As well, if a unit has done its business tour of duty, it could earn its keep as a cost-effective alternative to equipment like the iPad.