Google Faces Enormous Forces In Fight Over the Future of Android

GOOGLE AND ITS Android mobile phone operating system are facing an antitrust investigation in Europe. But the roots of the probe stretch across the Atlantic and well into the past.

In 2010, enterprise software giant Oracle sued Google over the way Android made use of the Java programming language. Oracle had assumed control of Java a year earlier, after purchasing one-time tech powerhouse Sun Microsystems, and its suit claimed that Google had infringed on Java-related patents and copyrights. But the case turned up documents that would help spark a very different investigation in the Europe.

The trial revealed various contracts in which Google required phone makers to bundle certain Google services when using its Android operating system, such as Google Search, Google Maps, and the Google app store (a.k.a. Google Play)—and bundle them at the expense of other services from third parties. These contracts—which had been discussed in the press and behind closed doors for years—became the basis for an antitrust complaint brought to the EU by FairSearch, a consortium of companies that includes Oracle, Microsoft, Nokia, and many others, alleging that Google’s Android practices are anti-competitive.

“One way in which this case was helped forward was the trial between Oracle and Google,” says Dieter Paemen, a Brussels-based lawyer with the multi-national law firm Clifford Chance, who represents FairSearch and was part of the team that filed the complaint in the EU. “The core evidence comes—originally—from there.”

Paeman and FairSearch filed their complaint in April 2013. A Portuguese company called Aptoide lodged an additional complaint more than a year later. And this month, the European Commission announced that it’s opening a formal investigation into Android, indicating that it’s probing the kinds of contracts that surfaced during the Oracle trial.

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Android's System Bars And Your Interface - Whether And How To Theme

Google updated its design spec recently. The material spec, which Google says is a living document (as evidenced by its ongoing updates), gained further guidance on floating action buttons, dialogs, updates on typography, and a lot more.

One less-advertised update was a change to the section in "Structure" concerning the navigation bar in Android. The "color variants" text is still identical to that from the "status bar" subsection, but an image showing nav bars themed to match your device's hardware was removed. Here's the image in question:

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Android 5.1.1 (LMY47V) officially uploaded to AOSP and here’s the full changelog, Nexus Player factory images also available

While some still anxiously await Android 5.1 to hit their devices, Google is onto bigger and better things. Android 5.1.1 (officially 5.1.1_r1 build number LMY47V) has just been uploaded to AOSP and as the small .1 increase suggests, looks to bring smaller bug fixes. That’s not to downplay the software update which probably maybe hopefully patches up that nasty memory leak plaguing some devices.

While Nexus devices will have to wait a little longer before an official rollout begins, a factory image is currently available for the Nexus Player (Fugul) if you feel like getting a head start. If you’re looking for exact changes, a detailed developer changelog from Android 5.1.0_r5 to 5.1.1_r1 can be found right.

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Sony prices 2015 4K and Android TVs

We've known about Sony's 4K-heavy 2015 lineup of TVs since CES in January, when the company announced their existence and posted detailed specifications on their features and differences.

In February when the prices leaked Sony neither confirmed no denied their accuracy, until now. A couple weeks before the first models start shipping, Sony has announced official pricing and put the TVs up for preorder on its site. It also gave CNET a hands-on peek at the new sets, complete with details on its HDR (high dynamic range) strategy.

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Cyanogen takes the Google out of Android

Cyanogen Inc. and Google one thing in common – they both develop Android. In the latter case, it is more as a thinly disguised delivery vehicle for Googles advertising and services.

Cyanogen OS evolved from CyanogenMod in late 2013 and has been looking for funding since – more on that later. Its stated aim is to be an alternative to Google’s Android and a more pure version of stock standard Android Open Source Project (ASOP). It has become popular with many OEMs, especially in countries where Google is not welcome or supported.

Market share is unknown as it appears under the Android heading. Android shipped over 1 billion handsets in 2014 and there are vague references to it having about 5% of that market and growing.

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Android 5.1.1 references surface on Google’s own site

Google just recently began rolling out Android 5.1 Lollipop within the last few weeks, but there may be another software version already on its way sometime soon. The next version is Android 5.1.1, and it was recently found running on the Nexus 9 and Wi-fi Nexus 7 (2013) model on Google’s Android Audio Latency information page. The Nexus 9 is running build number LMY47S and the Wi-fi Nexus 7 (2013) is shown running build number LMY47W. We’ve attached a screenshot below so you can see for yourself.

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Use this new Google search trick to find and install the best Android apps

Google on Thursday announced a new app discovery feature that developers can use to further drive up app installs. However, this new developer tool is also a neat trick every Android user should know, as it could significantly improve the overall app install experience.

Google now lets you install any app from the Play Store on your smartphone or tablet directly from Search. Simply searching for certain things on a mobile device might lead to results that include direct links to apps that can be then installed from the Play Store, assuming you haven’t downloaded them on your device yet.

App indexing is not a new feature, as Google introduced it back in 2013. What essentially happens is that the app content index may appear in searches if a developer chooses to have his or her app indexed by Google. However, Google tweaked the feature so that an app install button also pops up in search for indexed apps, as long as that app is not installed on the device. After getting the app, the user is then redirected straight to the content in it that was found to be relevant to the search he or she performed.

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Europe Opens Probe of Google’s Android

European regulators opened a second front in their antitrust probe of Google Inc., launching a formal investigation of whether the U.S. Internet company used its position as the maker of Android, the most popular software operating system for smartphones, to favor other Google apps and services.

“Smartphones, tablets and similar devices play an increasing role in many people’s daily lives and I want to make sure the markets in this area can flourish without anticompetitive constraints imposed by any company,” said the European Commission’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager.
The new investigation of Android came as the commission filed formal charges against Google for allegedly abusing its position as the leading search engine by favoring its own Shopping service, after a separate five-year investigation.

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5 Things to Know About the Nexus 4 Android 5.1 Update

Google’s Android 5.1 Lollipop update is missing for a number of Nexus devices though it looks like we can finally take the Nexus 4 Android 5.1 update off of the list. With an OTA in sight, we take a look at what users need to know, right now, about the Nexus 4 Android 5.1 Lollipop update.

In March, Google released an Android 5.1 update for its Nexus smartphones and tablets. The update, the third incremental update for its new Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system, brought feature tweaks and a collection of bug fixes for select Nexus users. Owners of the Nexus 6, Nexus 5, Nexus 7 2012, and Nexus 10 were the first in line though the Android 5.1 update is finally starting to make its way to other devices.

Earlier this month, Google started rolling out Android 5.1 to the cellular version of the Nexus 7 2012, also known as the Nexus 7 3G. Up until today though, the Android 5.1 Lollipop update remained missing for the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 2013, Nexus 7 LTE, and Nexus 9. Today, we can confirm another Android 5.1 roll out, this one for a popular Nexus smartphone called the Nexus 4.

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Google Inc’s Android for Work partners up to crack the enterprise market

As BYOD becomes more entrenched in the enterprise, the Android operating system becomes more of a challenge. Android devices are often the phone or tablet of choice for consumers, and they’re bringing those choices into the office.

Google’s February launch of Android for Work showed businesses that Google was finally taking their needs seriously. “We want to make Android great for the enterprise,” said Rajen Sheth, director of product management, Android and Chrome for Work.

Until now, he acknowledged, there was no way to say “yes” to Android in the enterprise. But Google couldn’t go it alone – it had to look to its partners.

“The strength of Android is the people building on it,” said Mr. Sheth. “Devices don’t matter unless people can do great things with them. Partnerships bring enterprise apps to Android.”

With Android for Work, added Nicholas Barretta, Android sales engineer at Google, the company is making Android a first-class citizen in the enterprise.

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One Android fan’s righteous rant: He owns 6 Android devices and none of them have Lollipop yet

We all know there are good reasons why Android will never be rolled out as efficiently as the way Apple rolls out new versions of iOS. That said, surely the process can be better than it is right now… can’t it?


TechRepublic’s Jack Wallen recently published a righteous rant about the state of upgrading on Android devices that basically boils down to this: It’s been nearly half a year since Google released Android 5.0 Lollipop and none of his six Android devices have received the update.

This isn’t just a problem with one Android fan, either — the latest numbers show that only 3.3% of Android devices worldwide run on Lollipop while 42.6% of active Android devices still run on 2012’s Jelly Bean release. Even the positively ancient Gingerbread release still accounts for more than twice the number of Android devices than Lollipop does.

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Apple iOS 8 v Android 5.1 – which is best?

The phrase “Android vs. iOS” is usually linkbait fodder, quickly dissolving into an argument amongst warring factions who who put way too much emotional investment into their favorite mobile operating system.

There’s a better approach. Both iOS 8 and Android 5.1 are compelling platforms, offering both divergent and similar approaches in design, utility, and function. A nuanced analysis of both operating systems reveal where both Apple and Google are headed.

With mobile devices, smartwatches, connected TVs, and soon extensions to the car, choosing a platform is an important decision. So whether you’re on the fence or just want to find out more about what Apple and Google are up to, here’s our deep dive into.

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11 of the best Android apps from March

With voice calling on WhatsApp, the first sighting of Meerkat on Android and a number of other notable names hitting the virtual shelves, March was a busy month in the the Google Play store.

Here, we’ve got the best new and updated apps from last month in one place for your easy perusal. We’ve split this story over two pages to make it easier for you, but if you’d rather read it all as one, just click here.

Caviar

Square’s food delivery app for people living in certain US cities has been available on iOS for a while now, but it was only last month that it made the jump across to Android.

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ARC Welder Lets Devs (And You) Test Android Apps in Chrome

Strictly speaking, ARC Welder was designed as a developer tool, but as we’ve mentioned before, packaging Android apps for Chrome isn’t the most complicated affair in the world. It also simplifies much of what our previous guide covered. As a bonus, when you download ARC Welder, it will automatically install the app runtime that’s needed to make Android apps work. This process will work on any platform Chrome is on, including Windows, OS X, Linux, and Chrome OS (obviously).

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