Subscribe:

Ads 468x60px

Labels

Android Wear bug blocks paid apps due to encryption

If you already have your hands on one of the earliest Android Wear smartwatches and are itching to get a hold of some dedicated Android Wear apps, you might want to hold of cashing out on a new paid app for a while. At the moment, installing paid Android Wear apps are silently failing due to an encryption mechanism in Android that is used to prevent paid apps from being pirated.



Android Police explains the relation between App Encryption and installing Android Wear apps. Since these smartwatches don't have Internet connections of their own, the only way to install apps on them would be to either sideload them, which isn't officially recommended, or to install via a smartphone. App developers will need to package Android Wear "mini apps" with a regular Android app. Once the regular app is installed, the Android installer will extract the Android Wear app and send it over to the smartwatch via Bluetooth to be installed. Sounds simple enough, until you get to the case of paid apps.


The problem here is that the App Encryption mechanism hasn't been updated to take into account the existence of Android Wear. Normally paid apps are encrypted with a device-specific key that protects the app from being cracked and pirated. However, the Android Wear installer doesn't know how to handle the case of extracting the Android Wear app from the encrypted paid app and simply aborts the installation process. As free apps don't get encrypted this way, they can be installed just fine.


At the moment, Google has not yet made a public statement about what looks like an oversight, but it is likely already aware of the issue. Although there are possible workarounds for developers to provide installable Android Wear apps and still get paid, it would probably be best to wait for an official fix, or at least a word, from Google and users are advised not to make any purchases just yet. It is somewhat good that this bug was exposed while Android Wear smartwatches are still shipping out, but Google should issue a fix as soon as possible before this becomes a PR nightmare.





4096 Hexa game app is 2048 on steroids

Some people have called the impossibly addictive download hit game “2048” as “Flappy Bird for math geeks”. To a certain point, we would agree to that, given the number of people on our social network timelines posting their 2048 game progress. But because we live in a global society where it’s getting more difficult to lengthen attention span – and because four corners are not enough – we bring you 4096 Hexa, and be scared now, because it is exactly what you think it is.



Think of 2048 on overdrive, and you get 4096 Hexa made by developer Rey Pham. Players of the game’s predecessor will immediately know what the game is all about, although for most of us normal people who had problems with the mathematical squares of 2048, what sort of evil would a hexagonal mathematical game bring to this world? Instead of being able to slide squares in four directions, there are now 6 possible directions you can bring your numbers to. Sounds like fun? We beg to disagree, but to each his own, yes?


In terms of the game’s visuals, 4096 Hexa uses functional aesthetics laid down in HD resolution. High contrast aesthetics make every detail on your screen pop – everything is easy on the eyes. Tiles show different colors according to the numerical value they carry. It’s a simple game, but you won’t really enjoy playing a game that is not visually polished. Fear not, this one is sleek to the core.


hexa3 hexa4 hexa2 hexa1


The game has no sounds to speak of, which would have been a welcome addition. The controls are intuitive and there are no visible lags while playing the game. In terms of originality – well, how original can you really get with this, right? We estimate the replay value of the game near the top, since we know how math geeks are, and we all saw what happened when 2048 came out. Check out the game free via the source link, with in-app purchases to support the developer.


SOURCE: Google Play Store





SphereShare app unlocks photospheres from around the world

One of the best things that has come out of the proliferation of high-quality cameras in smartphones is, not the emergence of the selfies, but having access to thousands of amazing looking panoramic pictures from all over the world. The SphereShare app for Android is one of the best ones out there, collecting over 24,000 photospheres and putting them into an ecosystem that is easy to search and share.



The app contains full 360° photospheres taken by Android devices that have been shared by hobbyists and photographers from around the world, mostly from Europe for now. Instead of trudging through Google Maps or Google+ to search for that beautiful panoramic shot of Paris at night, you can just search through SphereShare’s database and rate your favourite ones. You can also follow users whose photos you always fancy or discover new photographers by viewing the most popular photo spheres and sharers.


Or if you’re an aspiring travel photographer yourself, specialising in taking panoramic photos of places you visit, then this is a good app to showcase your work. You can easily share photos from your gallery or other photo-taking apps onto SphereShare and manage which ones you want to remain private and which you want to add to the World Photo Sphere Map.


The app is available for free at the Google Play Store, but of course with ad boxes at the bottom of almost every page. If you want an ad-free space, there is a paid premium option available. Premium users can also download the photospheres directly to their device’s photo gallery, so if you like having an actual copy of these photos, then you shouldn’t mind paying a little extra.


sphere5 sphere4 sphere3 sphere2


VIA: SlashGear


Isis rebranding due to militant Middle Eastern group

Michael Abbot, head honcho at mobile payments outfit ISIS, has put out a statement today saying that his company is about to go on a rebranding process. The call to rebrand has been triggered by recent political and militant movements in the Middle East, where a group with the same acronym (ISIS) has been linked with violent actions in the area.



Abbot said in his statement that the observed actions of ISIS – which translates to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – has caused veritable concern in the company and most likely its stakeholders. The naming is purely coincidental, as ISIS mobile payments launched in November of 2013 without any knowledge or indication of the recent troubles in Syria and Iraq.


With this situation, Abbot says that his company “has no interest in sharing a name with a group whose name has become synonymous with violence” and that ISIS mobile payments has made the decision to rebrand because of this. Abbot has not given any sort of timeline in his statement for the rebranding, only that he will be giving updates “in the coming months.”


The mobile payments industry in the US is a niche market, and we feel that no one has really stepped up to claim market leadership yet – but ISIS is probably one of the top contenders for it. How this rebranding/renaming process will affect their brand recognition is still up in the air, so it will be interesting to see how the company deals with this situation.


SOURCE: ISIS





TripAdvisor now allows offline browsing when traveling

When traveling to a new place, we all know that it is crucial to do research beforehand so you’d know where to eat, where to shop, which places to visit, etc. Sometimes though, you need to visit a travel website when you’re there already, but you know that roaming charges are a headache. TripAdvisor, one of the most popular travel recommendation and ratings website, now has an offline feature that can help you with this problem.



Let’s say you’re going to travel to Singapore for the first time and are quite nervous because it is your first foray outside of North America. Before you leave the comfort of your home and your cheap WiFi, search for the city on your TripAdvisor app. You just have to tap a button and now you can download the content for that city, which includes reviews, photos and most importantly, maps! So when you finally reach Singapore and realise there’s no free WiFi, just open the app and you can browse through the content you’ve downloaded.


When you have no data connection, the offline mode will show you 10 reviews for each point of interest. But when it detects that you finally have Internet, then it will switch to the full version. A very important feature for travellers is allowing you to download the latest version of the city map, as accessing your phone’s maps can sometimes be a huge data hog. You can add or remove the city maps as needed, especially when traveling in a country with many cities.


TripAdvisor has millions of reviews and content for over 300 cities around the world. The offline mode is available for countries where the app is present, and can also be translated in the language you prefer. Just visit the Google Play Store to download the TripAdvisor City Guides.




SOURCE: TripAdvisor


trip4 trip3 trip2 trip1


Android L theme available for Xposed devices

If you've wanted to experience the new Material design in Android L that almost everyone is talking about, this new Android L theme package might be for you. The only catch to this almost easy to install theme is that you need to have the Xposed Framework installed, which means you need to have a rooted device.



This still beats flashing an unsupported and barely tested Android L ROM, especially if you already have a rooted smartphone. Xposed lets you install modules that gives you custom ROM features without actually flashing a custom ROM. Such is the case with the Android L theme module that lest you enjoy the upcoming Android's look and still keep your favorite ROM or even stock OEM Android intact.


The Android L module contains options for Themed statusbars, Calculator, and Settings app. You can even get the Boot Animation for Android L, fonts and ringtones. XDA member Adhi1419, who made available this Xposed module, notes that those running on stock Motorola ROMs should use the No Font variant instead of the regular version, both of which can be downloaded from the source link below.


This Android L module is purely for aesthetic purposes and doesn't contain any Android L functionality. Of course, getting those aren't difficult either, as there are already a good number of ported apps roaming around the Internet. If you have a Nexus 4 and feel a bit more daring, you can opt to flash the whole shebang using the unofficial Android L port for the smartphone. Or you could also wait and see if the speculation about official images for slightly older Nexus devices will come to pass.


SOURCE: XDA





Android 4.4 nears 20% in latest distribution, Froyo almost gone

This month's latest distribution charts is definitely a good sign for the Android platform. Not only has the latest Android 4.4 version jumped by more than 4 percent, yet another legacy version, Android 2.2 Froyo, is almost on its way out, further cementing the road towards Android version defragmentation.



As of July 7, 2014, Froyo has descended to 0.1 percent of the market pie, down from last month's 0.2 percent. Considering how very little devices are left running this ancient version, the trend is likely to continue. But since Google removes versions with numbers lower than 0.1 percent from the chart, Froyo will most likely be edged out by next month. The most recent to get the boot was Android 3.0 Honeycomb last month. Given the criticism that Honeycomb earned when it was launched, no one will probably miss it.


Of course, Android 4.4 KitKat's rise is nigh unstoppable. As of this week, KitKat's penetration reaches 17.9 percent, a remarkable 4.3 percent increase from last month. That said, it was in June that KitKat saw the biggest increase, jumping by 5.1 percent from May's 8.5 to 13.6 percent. We are now starting to see newer devices carrying the latest Android version, even budget smartphones, like Samsung's latest quartet. Years old devices are also getting updated to KitKat, sometimes jumping straight from Android 4.2. Hopefully the trend will continue even with Android L looming over the horizon.



android-distribution-2014-07



It is somewhat interesting to note that Android Jelly Bean, which coveres Android 4.1 to 4.3, continues to flip-flop among themselves. Although Android 4.1 continues to decline steadily, Android 4.2 is increasing. Android 4.3, on the other hand, fluctuates from increasing to decreasing depending on the month, which could mean that manufacturers upgrading to Jelly Bean are sometimes choosing the slightly older 4.2 over the more recent 4.3.


SOURCE: Google





Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)