Blackberry's first Android phone rumoured to come in August

A few days ago, there were rumours that the Blackberry's first Android-powered smartphone - codenamed Venice - might arrive in November. However, a new report is suggesting that the Venice might not run Android at all.

As per the report, the Canadian company's debut Android phone will instead be called Prague. Aimed at emerging markets, it will be a low-end, all-touch device, with form factor similar to that of the BlackBerry Z3 (shown in the image above). The handset is expected to be released in August this year, the report notes.

Needless to say, none of this has been officially confirmed by the company, so take it with a pinch of salt.

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Apple vs. Android: Does The Technology We Use Influence The Way We Travel?

When it comes to phones and tablets, there are die-hard Apple users and those who swear by Android. But do their differing tastes in technology influence other parts of their lives? To find out, hotel search trivago.com analyzed travel differences between Apple and Android users in the U.S. who have searched for hotels via the trivago app over the past year.

Apple users spend 24% more on hotels than Android users

On average, an American Apple user is willing to spend $32 more per night on accommodation than an Android user. The average price selected by travelers using iPhones and iPads is $166 per night. For Android users, the average price for a searched hotel is $134 per night, a difference of 24%.

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Here’s what Microsoft Cortana will look like on iPhone and Android

Microsoft quietly confirmed today what Cortana will look like on iOS and Android devices later this year in a YouTube video introducing the “phone companion” app.

Cortana on both Android and iOS will look similar to their Windows counterparts and can answer the same queries across devices. On Android, you’ll also see integration with the operating system for reminders and other alerts.

A companion app on Windows 10 PCs will offer to help users install Cortana on their devices.

Cortana on iOS and Android can’t do things that are possible on Windows Phone, however, like toggle settings.

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Factory reset FAILS in 500 MEEELLION Android phones

Cambridge University boffins Laurent Simon and Ross Anderson say half a billion Android phones could have data recovered and Google accounts compromised thanks to flaws in the default wiping feature.

The gaffe allows tokens for Google and Facebook among others to be recovered in 80 percent of cases. Encryption keys can also be recovered and can with some brute-force password guessing allow attackers to access previously wiped data.

Those keys, along with a host of data including SMS, photos, and videos, can be recovered because the factory reset process in Android 4.3 Jellybean and below is flawed, the pair say in the paper Security Analysis of Android Factory Resets (PDF).

Here's the gist of it:

We estimate that up to 500 million devices may not properly sanitise their data partition where credentials and other sensitive data are stored, and up to 630 million may not properly sanitise the internal SD card where multimedia files are generally saved.
We found we could recover Google credentials on all devices presenting a flawed factory reset. Full-disk encryption has the potential to mitigate the problem, but we found that a flawed factory reset leaves behind enough data for the encryption key to be recovered.

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Be among the first to download the Periscope Android App

The latest social app sensation, a creation by Twitter called Periscope, let’s users share live video with people around the world. The good? The app is supposedly awesome and seeing record adoption rates. The bad? The app has thus far eluded the Google Play Store and is currently only available on that pesky iPhone.

That all will soon change and you can be among the first to download the new Periscope for Android App from the Google Play Store.y

If you follow a link to a  Periscope live stream from your Android phone, you’re now directed to an e-mail sign up form offering instant notification when the Periscope Android app is available on the Google Play Store.

In reality you can visit any link to a specific Periscope live stream, the above being just one of them. But doesn’t somehow knowing that Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Genevieve was Periscoping while she cooked make you want to download the app that much more? Us too. And if not, we’re sure you can find your own excuse with enough browsing.

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The Week's Best Android, iPhone, iPad, and Windows Phone Apps

It always seems like a hassle when you buy new tech, doesn't it? I mean the pay off is great, but you have to spend time setting it up and making sure it's got everything you had on your old device. Especially if you're switching browsers and need your bookmarks copying across. Blimey, that's annoying.

Speaking of installing software, here are a few things you should be plonking onto your phone/tablet this week.

Iphone apps

Santander Cycles: London's bike hire scheme was rebranded a couple of months ago, and that rebrand has made it to the apps world. Not only can you pay and release your bike from the app, without having to deal with the terminals – you can also find the nearest hire station, and plan your journeys. The only thing it won't do is reserve you a bike, you'll have to find one yourself. 

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Android M Might Be Unveiled At Google I/O: Here Are Some Features To Expect

There's no official word on when Android M will be officially revealed, but the 2015 Google I/O conference schedule hints at a number of features users can expect from the newest iteration of the Android operating system.

Set for May 28 and 29, the Google I/O conference will be held in San Francisco at the Moscone West Convention Center. There, Google will be bringing together developers to showcase product and platform innovations the company has been working on, potentially including Android M.

What can be expected of Android M?

First, there's "Voice Access." As its name implies, the feature will be adding a voice component toward accessing apps, a likely support for Android M services offering hands-free convenience. Other details about the talk are not detailed in the I/O schedule but it is described as "Your app, now available hands-free," making it obvious that voice actions may soon be in the picture for Android users.

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