Meet Tizen and Firefox: The challengers to Android’s OS throne

Barcelona: A small band of upstarts is chipping away at Google’s mighty Android, hoping one day to overthrow the system that runs eight in 10 smartphones sold worldwide.

Mozilla’s Firefox OS and the Samsung-promoted Tizen staked a small claim to the market at the industry’s largest fair, the February 24-27 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

If there is a threat to Android’s dominance, however, it could emerge from a slowdown in saturated smartphone markets and the birth of a new interest in smart watches, bracelets and glasses, analysts say.

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AT&T's Samsung Galaxy S4 Will Get The Android 4.4.2 OTA Tomorrow, February 26th

Prepare yourself AT&T customers – the Galaxy S4 is about to finally get that KitKat update that's been slowly rolling out across Samsung's product lineup. AT&T just posted the update details, and tomorrow (February 26th) is the big day.

The OTA will bump the device up to Android 4.4.2 with build number KOTH49H.I337UCUFNB1. Here's what it will include.

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Microsoft rallies Windows for price war with Android

Dirt-cheap Windows PCs and tablets are coming, and it's all thanks to Google's growing low-price threat.

Android tablets are eating the world, Chromebooks have been gobbling up market share in both the commercial and sub-$300 segments, and once-loyal PC builders are even dabbling with "Droidbooks" and Android-based all-in-ones. On the other side of the coin, Windows tablets have struggled to pick up steam, and the PC market has been sinking ever since the iPad saw the light of day.

Microsoft made two moves this weekend to counter the small but growing rebellion. First came news of the company reportedly cutting the cost of Windows 8 licenses to a mere $15 for devices sold under $250. Then on Sunday, Microsoft confirmed the long-rumoredWindows 8.1 update, which essentially halved the system requirements for Windows devices.

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How to watch Nokia X Android launch event live: follow Nokia's MWC 2014 press conference

How to watch the Nokia X Android launch event from MWC 2014. Follow Nokia's Android phone launch from Barcelona.

Tomorrow morning from the MWC show in Barcelona, Nokia is set to reveal the Nokia X smartphone. It's expected to be a major step for Nokia: the Windows Phone maker about to be purchased by Microsoft is believed to be readying an Android handset. Here we'll show you how to find out first what is going on.

What is Nokia X?

The Nokia X is expected to come in a total of six different colours and have a budget line-up of specifications, putting it at the bottom of Nokia's lineup, offering a decent-sized but cheap alternative to the successful Lumia lineup. The Nokia X will be powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. Not great but it will have a microSD cards slot, we're led to believe. As such it

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AT&T: HTC One, LG G2 Android 4.4 updates now rolling out

It was just two days ago that we were discussing the Android 4.4 updates for the HTC One and LG G2, and now it looks like AT&T customers with the One and G2 will get to try those KitKat updates for themselves.

AT&T today announced that it has started to roll out Android 4.4 to its versions of the HTC One and LG G2. Both updates are rolling out over the air and include a bump up to KitKat, user interface enhancements and some device-specific goodies. Here's AT&T's changelog for the HTC One update, which also includes a bump to HTC's Sense 5.5 overlay:

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Lenovo's Android-powered Yoga Tablet 10 HD+ promises huge spec improvements

BARCELONA—Our first experience with an Android-powered Lenovo tablet was unfortunate. Powered by a weak MediaTek processor and a low-resolution display, the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 was, as we originally wrote, “a shining example of mediocrity.” 

But on Sunday Lenovo announced what appears to be a worthy Android do-over. The new 10.1-inch  Lenovo Yoga Tablet HD+ boasts a much more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon processor along with a 1920x1080 screen—the kind of specs that could help Lenovo battle Android tablet mainstays, mostly notably the second-generation Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX. 

Just like past Lenovo tablets, the Yoga Tablet HD+ employs a nifty kickstand. You can tuck it away to hold the tablet for reading, or flip it out to stand up the device for watching a video.

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Google Nexus 8 set to launch with Android 4.5 in July: Report

Reports have for a while indicated Google may be working on a Nexus 8 tablet, and the latest claim which is being said to launch in July this year, along with the next Android version, said to be v4.5.

It has being speculated that the search giant might be shifting away from its 7-inch devices because of the high competitiveness of the segment, which would be much less in the 8-inch bracket. Some of the popular 8-inch tablets in the market are Apple iPad Mini, Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 and LG G Pad 8.3.

As claimed in a report by Taiwanese publication , a senior employee of Google Dublin confirmed that the firm will be launching Android 4.5 OS in July along with the new tablet, Nexus 8. The source is also quoted to have that the upcoming Google I/O conference, which will start from 25 June, will concentrate more towards the services Google plans to bring for its users.

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T-Mobile HTC One users get Android 4.4 KitKat update

The Verizon and the Sprint models of the HTC One got the latest Android 4.4 KitKat update a couple of days ago. Now, HTC has started rolling out the KitKat update for all the HTC One users who are on T-Mobile US.

As it appeared on Verizon and Sprint update, the newest firmware comes with the Sense 5.5 user interface, which brings the customizable Blinkfeed homescreen pane. The latest version of Android also comes with several tweaks and improvements to enhance the overall performance.

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Jolla embarks on Sailfish 1.0 with an Android launcher -- and an Angry Birds cover

Jolla, the Finnish phone company founded by Nokia refugees, is ready to roll out the full, "commercially ready" 1.0 version of its Sailfish software. The attractive OS can run Android apps and you'll soon be able to try it out on your Android phone by downloading a launcher that mimics the Sailfish interface.

Sailfish started life as MeeGo, once the future of Nokia software, but sidelined in favour of Windows Phone when Nokia aligned with Microsoft. It's similar enough to Android that you can install Android app stores, and the company hopes it'll be adopted by canny phone users looking for an alternative to Google's green robot.

"Customers are now able to install their preferred Android app store, and choose from hundreds of thousands of available Android applications," said Marc Dillon, co-founder and COO of Jolla, in a statement. "In addition, the active and passionate Sailfish OS community has already developed major social media applications, such as Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, and Foursquare, natively to the Sailfish OS.

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Jolla Promotes Community Growth With Android Launcher And Installable Sailfish OS

While Jolla has released their own handset, the main product is the mobile operating system, Sailfish OS. The Jolla handset gives the Finnish company a platform to show off the OS in an optimised environment, but  the 400 euro price-tag does raise a rather large financial barrier for the early adopter crowd. That’s why the news regarding produce for Android handsets, released ahead of Monday’s Mobile World Congress event, is intriguing.

By making the Sailfish OS available for free to install on other Android handsets, Jolla will be able to increase the user base and gain more feedback on the OS. Jolla already has a number of early adopters contributing to the code, and the addition of a downloadable and bootable version of the OS will bring in more power-users looking for something different.

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Nokia X budget Android smartphone teased in images ahead of MWC 2014

Nokia seems to be leaving no stone unturned in an attempt to promote the expected launch of its first Android phone. The Finnish giant has now released teaser images ahead of the much-anticipated Nokia X (aka Normandy) launch.

Notably, the Nokia X teaser images do not reveal much about the upcoming device, but it explicitly shows an 'X' mark in a couple of the images. The images have been posted on Nokia's Weibo site, which is the equivalent of Twitter in China. The first teaser image shows two monkeys: one standing below a tree and another on the tree.

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Report: Malware-infected Android apps spike in the Google Play store

The number of mobile apps infected with malware in Google’s Play store nearly quadrupled between 2011 and 2013, a security group has reported.

In 2011, there were approximately 11,000 apps in Google’s mobile marketplace that contained malicious software capable of stealing people’s data and committing fraud, according to the results of a study published Wednesday by RiskIQ, an online security services company. By 2013, more than 42,000 apps in Google’s store contained spyware and information-stealing Trojan programs, researchers said.

Apps designed to personalize people’s Android-based phones were most susceptible, as well as entertainment and gaming apps. Some of the most malicious apps in the Google Play store downloaded since 2011 were Wallpaper Dragon Ball, a wallpaper app, and the games Finger Hockey and Subway Surfers Free Tips.

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Nokia's upcoming Windroid phone exploits Android's Achilles' heel: Its openness

The Android phone Nokia is expected to release next week at Mobile World Congress will apparently have an interface that looks more like Windows than Android, and feature Microsoft and Nokia services, rather those made by Android-maker Google. It looks as if Microsoft will be exploiting Android's Achilles' heel: Its openness.

Numerous news outlets have reported on the up-coming release of Nokia's low-end Android phone, to be called the Nokia X, including the Wall Street Journal. The Journal says that the phone will be "tailored in a way that won't promote some of the key Google-developed features that a more traditional Android-powered phone might." Instead of Google Maps, it's expected to have Nokia's mapping service. It won't run Google's app store, Google Play, and will instead run a Nokia app store. I would expect it to have some form of Microsoft mail rather than Gmail, and possibly Bing instead of Google as the default search engine. Microsoft's Skype will also be baked in.

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Android 4.4 KitKat Update Confirmed: Samsung Announces OS Rollout For 14 Galaxy Devices

The day U.S. Samsung Galaxy owners have been waiting for has finally arrived as Samsung has announced its Android 4.4. KitKat update plans for several smartphone and tablet models.

The Korean manufacturer released a press statement on Tuesday detailing that 14 of its Galaxy brand devices for various carriers will start receiving the Android 4.4 KitKat, with some handsets expected to update right away.

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Samsung smartphones, tablets to receive Android KitKat update

Samsung announced Tuesday the arrival of the latest version of Android 4.4.2, dubbed "KitKat," on its U.S. smartphone and tablet range.

The Korean electronics giant said a number of devices in the Galaxy range will receive the update soon — though, the specific rollout depends and varies based on carrier and product. Some users will receive the update as early as today, while others will continue throughout the coming months.

Devices compatible with the new version include the Galaxy Note 2 and Note 3, the Galaxy S4 and S4 mini, the Galaxy S3 and S3 mini, as well as the Galaxy Tab 3, Galaxy Note 8.0, and 10.1 tablets, and more.

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Samsung to debut Gear 2 smartwatch with Tizen, not Android

Sorry, Android, but you just got some more competition in wearables.

A new version of Samsung's Gear smartwatch will run the company's Tizen software instead of Google's Android operating system, people familiar with the matter said.

Samsung will unveil the device at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, the people said. Samsung also has been working on a Tizen-based smartphone to introduce at the show, as well as other Tizen devices for the first half of the year, people familiar with the products said.

However, Samsung's plans still could change, and the Galaxy S5 will be the star of the show at Samsung's Unpacked event on Monday. The company also is developing other wearables, such as fitness bands, that it may show at Mobile World Congress or in the coming months, sources said.

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International Galaxy S4 with Exynos gets Android 4.4.2 ROM

CyanogenMod has just released experimental Android KitKat firmware for the Exynos-powered international Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500). The GSM S4 has received limited support from the modding community, primarily due to the Exynos chipset that powers it, wile the LTE S4 has received plenty of support. Nightlies are soon to follow the release of this test firmware.

This is good news for anyone with an international model Galaxy S4 who may have been starting to think they'd been left out in the cold. CyanogenMod posted last week on Google+ that they were close to finishing the ROM for the GSM S4 thanks to a hardware donation and the efforts of several CyanogenMod community members.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Review: Still The Android Phablet To Beat

Samsung’s Galaxy branding reaches across their smartphone and tablet range, from the diminutive Galaxy Mini up to the recently announced NotePro and TabPro. One of the most successful handsets in the larger screened devices is the Galaxy Note 3, an update to the Note range of ‘phablet’ devices.

The Galaxy Note 3 sports a 5.7 inch screen running at HD resolution (1920×1080 pixels). This actually came as a bit of a surprise to me when I looked up the specifications, because the iconography and text in the TouchWiz UI is rather chunky and bold. By increasing the physical size of the UI, the Note 3 minimises the impact of the size of the device by showing an interface that feels more suited to a 4 inch screened device that the large screen on offer here.

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How To Install Android 4.4.2 KitKat On Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE (GT-I9505) Using AOSB KitKat Custom ROM [Tutorial]

The latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat can now be installed on the Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE using AOSB custom ROM. Here’s how to do it.

Now, users of the International LTE version of the Samsung (KRX:005935) Galaxy S4 with the model number GT-I9505 can update their devices to the latest Android 4.4.2 KitKat firmware with the help of a new Android Open Source Bam, or AOSB, custom ROM.

The AOSB custom ROM, based on Android 4.4.2 released by Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), is very stable and supports over-the-air updates among other key features. Users should note that, to flash the AOSB ROM, the handset must be rooted and have a custom Recovery, such as ClockworkMod recovery or TWRP recovery, installed.

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Android apps on Windows Phone sounds like a great idea

As my friend and ZDNet colleague Mary Jo Foley reports, Microsoft is pondering the idea of letting Android apps run on Windows.

This is one of two Android-slash-Windows Phone ideas that are currently floating around, the other being that Microsoft should give up on Windows Phone entirely and move over to Android.

Splitting

That last idea is either terrible, or pointless depending on the way you look at it. It's pointless because Microsoft already has an operating system that runs on phones, and it's called "Windows Phone".

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5 more great Android apps that do amazing things the iPhone can’t

Last week, we wrote about five Android apps that do amazing things the iPhone just can’t. There are countless clear benefits to owning a smartphone powered by Apple’s mobile platform but the simple fact of the matter is that the restrictions imposed on third-party apps inevitably leads to limitations. There are also good things about Apple’s approach to third-party apps, of course, and we think Apple’s mobile software ecosystem is easily still the best in the business. As good as it is, however, there are some amazing Android apps out there that remind us why Google’s open approach has some real advantages.

Our last post that collected various Android apps with awesome capabilities that reach beyond anything available in the iOS app store included some terrific examples. But there are thousands of great developers out there looking for creative new ways to make our smartphones more useful.

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What Google really means when it calls Android 'open'

The gooey center of Google's pitch to developers to make apps and services for Android is a series of terms easily misunderstood, but central to Android's flexibility and success.

Every once in a while, Android terminology discussions flare up like a stomach ulcer for Google. They center on Android's nature as a development platform, which in turn affects the variety and breadth of Android apps -- from Minecraft to Pandora to the latest Flappy Bird copycats -- that you can download, and how up-to-date they are. Is Android truly open-source? Can you "fork" Android? What does Google mean when it talks about Android's "openness"?

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Strange bedfellows: Microsoft could bring Android apps to Windows

Of Microsoft’s many challenges in mobile, none loom larger than the app deficit: it only takes a popular new title like Flappy Bird to highlight what the company is missing out on. Windows 8 apps are also few and far between, and Microsoft is stuck in a position where it’s struggling to generate developer interest in its latest style of apps across phones and tablets. Some argue Microsoft should dump Windows Phone and create its own "forked" version of Android — not unlike what Amazon has done with its Kindle Fire tablets — while others claim that’s an unreasonably difficult task. With a new, mobile- and cloud-focused CEO in place, Nokia's decision to build an Android phone, and rumors of Android apps coming to Windows, could we finally see Microsoft experimenting with Google’s forbidden fruit?

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Smartphone market: Android extends gains on Apple, Windows Phone is third

WASHINGTON: The Google Android system extended its gains over Apple's iPhoneglobally in the last quarter of 2013, and Windows Phone grabbed the number three market position, a survey showed Wednesday.

The IDC survey found Android had a 78.1 percent share of global smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter, bolstered by a 40 percent jump in the number of handsets delivered.

Apple got only a modest boost in the fourth quarter from the release of its new iPhones, with sales up 6.7 percent compared with a year earlier. That means its market shareslipped to 17.6 percent from 20.9 percent, according to IDC.

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Android's 'Open' System Has Limits

Google Inc. GOOG -0.29% says its Android mobile operating system is "open." But newly disclosed documents reveal that open comes with strings attached.

The documents show that Google has imposed strict restrictions on device makers that want access to its search engine, YouTube or the more than one million apps in its Play Store. In return, the device makers must feature other Google apps and set Google search as the default for users, according to the agreements.

European antitrust authorities are examining those conditions, among others, as they consider whether Google has abused Android's position as the leading smartphone operating system. In Europe, companies with dominant market share are required to promote competition, said Ioannis Lianos, a professor at University College London who studies competition law.

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A dual Windows-Android machine: PC industry savior or non-starter?

It's pretty grim days for the PC industry, and the sector's next hope -- machines that run both Windows and Android at the same time -- may not be enough to save it.

The dual-operating system idea is just the latest attempt by the computer makers to juice sales, which have been on a steady decline: shipments posted their worst-ever drop last year, and on Thursday, Sony said it would exit the PC market. In the newest effort by the industry to revitalize computer sales, PCs would let users access both Android apps and Windows software with just the push of a button or the click of an icon on the screen. Users wouldn't have to reboot their PCs to switch between the operating systems. At least, that's the goal.

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Android 4.4 KitKat Update: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 And Galaxy S3 Confirmed For New OS?

Android 4.4 KitKat has been seen officially on several models of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 as well as in firmware leaks for the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy S4, but many wonder if the latest Android system will be coming to older Samsung devices such as the Galaxy Note 2 and the Galaxy S3. Currently, some reports suggest that the Galaxy Note 2 and the Galaxy S3 will be updating to Android 4.4, and that their rollouts will commence around March.

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Nokia will reportedly unveil its Android phone later this month

Nokia is preparing to unveil its first Android phone later this month. The Wall Street Journal reports that Nokia will unveil its "Normandy" phone at Mobile World Congress later this month. Citing sources familiar with Nokia’s plans, the WSJ reiterates previous reports from The Verge that Nokia’s first Android phone will use a modified "forked" version of Google’s operating system. The effort is similar to Amazon’s use of Android for its Kindle range of tablets, and Nokia is expected to integrate Microsoft services onto the device with a special application store for some existing Android apps.

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Android 4.4 KitKat Update: New CyanogenMod 11 Nightlies Available For Extensive Device List

Several devices are receiving the CyanogenMod 11 custom ROM (Android 4.4 KitKat), including some that would otherwise be deemed too old to run the newest Android system. More than 30 smartphone and tablet models are updating to the latest CyanogenMod 11 nightlies or are receiving them for the first time.

CyanogenMod 11, which is based on the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system, appears to be going through development quickly. The Custom ROM team CyanogenMod released the CM 11 M2 Snapshot in January for 65 device models, while the first CM 11 nightlies when out in December.

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Android Apps 2014: Top 5 Free Apps to Download Today

We all like free things and free apps that will improve how our phones work are even better. Some apps can improve our life with useful information and functions and, while other apps are not very practical, they provide crucial entertaining breaks into the monotony of our workday. Here are some of the most useful and not so useful apps available for free from Google Play in case your list of apps does not seem particularly long enough yet.

Dropbox: You probably already use this on your computer (and if you don't, you probably should). This app allows you to back up to 2 GB of files, images and anything else on a cloud for free. Having the app on your phone or tablet will make any data already uploaded available on the go.

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Android 4.4 KitKat Update to Roll Out for Galaxy Note 2, S3, Tab 3 and Galaxy Mega

The Android 4.4 update will be rolling out for a number of Samsung devices soon, according to new reports. 

Tech. website, Phandroid, has indicated that it received some information from an inside source revealing a number of Samsung handsets and tablets that will have Android 4.4 KitKat sometime in the near future.

The list includes the Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Tab 3 7.0, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S4 Active, Galaxy Mega, Galaxy S4 Zoom, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 8.0 and Galaxy S3 mini.

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Update Galaxy S3 I9300 to Android 4.4.2 KitKat with Carbon Nightly

Team Carbon has recently announced the availability of official Carbon KitKat nightlies, based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), for a number of Android running devices.

As the team notes the Carbon custom build is fast, stable and filled with numerous customised features. Click here for changelog to know more about the features of the latest Carbon nightly.

The Carbon nightly build featuring Android 4.4.2 KitKat is available for Galaxy S3 bearing model number GT-I9300. 

Galaxy S3 users who wish to update their devices to Android 4.4.2 with Carbon nightly builds may follow our step-by-step guide.

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Neither Microsoft, Nokia, nor anyone else should fork Android. It’s unforkable.

As happens from time to time, the suggestion has been made that Microsoft cancel Windows Phone, and instead fork Android. It's not the first time this suggestion has been made. It's probably not the last, either.

It's a poor idea. Google has worked to make Android functionally unforkable, with no practical way to simultaneously fork the platform and take advantage of its related strengths: abundant developers, and abundant applications.

The outline of the "Microsoft should fork Android" argument is as follows: Windows Phone doesn't have huge developer buy-in or sales success, but Android has both. By forking Android, Microsoft could provide unique value—corporate integration with things like Exchange, Active Directory, and System Center or InTune; full Office support; a polished user experience—and make the platform depend on its own cloud services (Bing, Bing Maps, Azure) rather than Google's. But simultaneously, it would still have access to all the Android applications that people depend on.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook On The War With Android For The Future Of Personal Computing

Ever since Android started taking off, people have warned that Apple was going to lose the smartphone wars, just like it lost the PC wars. 

In the 80s, Apple led the way with computer innovation for the Mac. But it was Microsoft that eventually took control of the personal computing market and never let go. Apple was relegated to a niche player, and almost died. 

This time, Apple led the way with the iPhone, but Google's Android is now shipping on 80% of all smartphones, relegating Apple to a niche player. Apple, with $160 billion in cash, isn't anywhere close to death, but for some people, memories of the 90s linger, and there is a concern that the same thing is going to happen eventually. 

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10 Samsung devices in line for Android 4.4 KitKat updates?

At least ten Samsung devices are in line to pick up their Android 4.4 KitKat update, according to Android blog Phandroid.

Phandroid, citing an unnamed source, said Samsung is expected to roll out the update to a mix of smartphones and tablets in the near future, all of them either relatively new or popular.

Samsung models rumored for KitKat updates:

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Add a pop-up dictionary to Android

If you're familiar with the iOS pop-up dictionary, you may wonder why the same functionality isn't built into Android. On iOS, you can select words in most apps, and easily access their definition.

WordLookup is an Android app that can offer you that same convenient and omnipresent dictionary. The one restriction when using the app is whether or not the text will be available for long-press selection -- as not every app allows this. Ready to check it out? Let's get started:

Step 1: Grab a copy of WordLookup for your Android device.

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Apple should consider building an Android phone, says co-founder Steve Wozniak

Speaking at the Apps World conference in San Francisco, Steve Wozniak has suggested that Apple might want to consider offering an Android-based phone, before it potentially suffers the same fate as BlackBerry. ”There’s nothing to keep Apple out of the Android market as a secondary phone market,” said Wozniak. Woz, who co-founded Apple, seemed to be making the remarks in response to the fact that Apple might not be able to produce the next killer product that everyone expects, and that unless it can continue to innovate, it could go the way of BlackBerry, which was knocked out of the running far faster than anyone would’ve expected. Personally, I think hell would freeze over before Apple released an Android phone.

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