FIFA launches World Cup 2014 app for iOS and Android

FIFA has introduced a set of apps that provides fans with results, news and live coverage of the World Cup draw in the run-up to Brazil 2014

Football’s governing body is making preparations for the upcoming 2014 World Cup in Brazil by launching a new app available for iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones and tablets. 

Fans will be able to stay updated on a massive 197 leagues around the world covering hundreds of domestic and international tournaments in both men and women’s divisions providing access to match schedules, scores, news, destination guides and team profiles. 

The 32 national teams to have made the finals - including England, Australia and the United States - will learn their fate at the World Cup draw on Friday December 6, which users can also stream live via the FIFA app. 

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This Cyber Monday Sale Is the Best Way for Google's Android to Surpass Apple's iPhone

The Moto X, the flagship handset from Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) subsidiary Motorola, will be on sale this Cyber Monday. Motorola will sell an unlocked version of the Moto X for just $350, the same price as Google's own unlocked Nexus 5. T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS  ) subscribers should find the deal especially enticing, given that their carrier no longer subsidies smartphones.

Although Google's Android dominates the globe, in the U.S., Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) iPhone remains the premier smartphone platform. Selling cheap, unlocked Android smartphones would be the easiest way for Google to change that.

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The Future of Gaming is Android, Says Nvidia

Android is the most versatile operating system the company has known.

Given Nvidia's involvement with Valve's Steam Machines initiative, it's a little weird to hear the GeForce GPU company call Android the future of gaming. Then again, both Android and SteamOS are based on Linux, so maybe the prediction isn't quite so farfetched. The company also ignored the Windows platform with the recently-releasedShield handheld console, which uses Android "Jelly Bean" even though it can stream PC games from a Windows-based, Kepler-based computer.

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AllCast for Android pushes media to Apple TV and Roku, available for willing beta testers (video)

If you've been eager to send cloud or locally-stored media to your TV, another option could be on the way. Currently in beta, AllCast is an Android app that streams content from places like Google Drive, Dropbox or your mobile device's storage to an Apple TV, Roku, Xbox console, Samsung Smart TV and other DLNA-compatible hardware. ClockworkMod dev Koushik Dutta is behind the wheel here, however there's currently no support for Chromecast -- something we hope he'll be allowed to restore once the device's Cast SDK is released. In order to test drive this latest version of the software, you'll need to join the ClockworkMod beta testers group before nabbing the download from the Play Store (no rooting required). Need further convincing before opting in? Head down past the break for a video demo.

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Android 4.4 KitKat Release Date Arrives: HTC One Unlocked And Developer Edition Receive New OS; HTC Sense 5.5 Also On Board

HTC has been on top of its game yet again, pushing out the Android 4.4 KitKat update for the HTC One Unlocked model and the HTC One Developer Edition before the end of the year. 

HTC announced the updates via social media on Friday, making the HTC One Unlocked model and the HTC One Developer Edition the second and third HTC One models to update to Android 4.4 in 2013. Last week, the HTC One Google Play Edition, updated with a stock Android 4.4 build, which was refined by HTCand rolled out by Google. This time, it’s HTC pushing out the update. With both HTC One models unlocked and not branded to any specific carrier, they do not require any network certifications before they can update, and therefore can update much sooner than carrier-branded devices.

HTC says HTC One U.S. carrier branded models will begin to update to Android 4.4 KitKat by the end of January. The HTC One is powered by such carriers as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. An Android 4.4 update for the Verizon HTC One is uncertain, or at least may not happen at the same time as other carriers, as the model is expected to finally receive its Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update during the second week of December. 

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Android 4.3 Jelly Bean Update: AT&T Galaxy S4 Rollout Resumes As International Galaxy S4 Models Receive Patch Update

The Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for the AT&T Galaxy S4 has resumed after being

postponed nearly two weeks ago due to various bugs that impaired the update. In addition, a patch update for international Galaxy S4 handsets, which were affected by the bugs in the initial Android 4.3 update, has begun to roll out.

Many Samsung Galaxy S4 models were affected by the bugs and post-update issues that arose with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. The AT&T Galaxy S4 update and U.S. Cellular Galaxy S4 update to Android 4.3 were postponed. Verizon and Sprint Galaxy S4 owners also reported issues with the update prior to its halt. International Galaxy S3 models were also among Samsung Galaxy models affected by Android 4.3 bugs. Reports indicate that many overseas models were left completely nonfunctional after the update.  

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Sailfish OS will be available for Android users to install

Want to try that sweet-sounding Sailfish OS, but don’t want to fork out the €399 for the first Jolla handset? Fret not as the company will allow you to sideload its OS to any Android device that you might already have.

The option isn’t yet available, but it’s currently being worked on as has been confirmed by the company’s CEO Tomi Pienimäki. In an interview with a Finnish website Mr. Pienimäki stated the following:

”That is the plan. We are on device business and OS business. It is fairly easy to install the OS on Android devices"

”There is no such culture in these parts of the world [Finland], but there are people that are installing new operating systems on their devices. In China it is mainstream. About half of the smartphone buyers are upgrading their older or cheaper devices with a better version of Android.”

“For us it is a possibility to distribute our operating system especially in China. There are websites that already distribute [OS] software and the Chinese customers are doing it ¬so we don’t have to teach them. We just have to get Sailfish to those websites – and to make sure that Sailfish will run on different kind of Android devices.”

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