Syrian Electronic Army hack Sky's Google Play and Twitter accounts over the weekend: Apps still not back!

 

   Over the weekend Sky have been having a few issues with their Google Play account and their Twitter accounts, both of which were hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army. Both of these hacks come just days after ITV had their accounts hacked by Anonymous just days after Twitter brought in two step verification to try to prevent this sort of hack!


   Sky spoke with PocketLint over the weekend and confirmed some of the issues which they had been having. It turns out that the hack of their Google Play account, aside from displaying some pictures of the Syrian Electronic Army's pictures, didn't have any negative affects for their customers and the Tweet which they issued on Sunday, which read, 'We are aware that the Android apps of Sky+, Sky News were hacked and replaced... please remove the apps if you are already installed it.' It turns out that this wasn't actually the case and Sky said that "Sky Android apps previously downloaded by Sky customers are unaffected and there is no need to remove them from Android devices."

   Apparently the Google Play hack was emphasised by the SEA as they took over Sky's Twitter account. The hack seems to have achieved some disruption with Google removing all Sky apps for the moment and so they're not available for download, but the apps should be back online at some point in the relatively near future.
Via PocketLint.

Please contact us for permission to use the screenshots.

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Google merge Gmail, Drive and Google+ photos storage, whilst allowing all developers to respond to comments on the Play Store!

   Google's suite of email, online storage through Google Drive and Picasa or Google+ photos, depending on which you prefer, has been separated out and people have been awarded storage based on each service in turn. From today though, things will be changing.

   Google will now bundle the free 5GB of storage which comes with Google Drive together with the 10GB of storage which comes with Gmail, so that you'll have a total of 15GB of storage to divide up across the services however you fancy!  

   If your 15GB of cross-storage proves to be too little then now you'll have to fork out a little more to extend your storage, as Google has dropped the plan which gave you 25GB of extra Google Drive space for $2.49 a month. Instead, your cheapest option is now 100GB for $4.99, whicnto be fair to Google is half of the price of the 100GB plan which Dropbox offer. Don't be alarmed if these changes haven't happened to you yet because they're rolling out over the next few weeks.

   One thing which definitely will be changing from today though is that all developers on Google Play will be allowed to respond directly to comments on their apps. There's not too much to add on this, but it should help developers eradicate spam comments and genuine issues should probably be a lot easier to resolve now!

Google (1) and (2) Via TheVerge and Engadget respectfully.

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Google Glass specs discovered by enterprising owner as Google update their Play Store Terms to stop updates outside of their control!

   Google have been in the news a fair bit today! It seems as though they might have something being organised with Samsung in the OLED arena, but the guys have also revealed the processor and internals of their Google Glass headset as well as updating their terms and conditions on the Play Store to make sure that people can't update their apps without going through their marketplace!

   We'll start with the internals of Google's Glass, which haven't really been confirmed as much as they've been discovered by an enterprising owner who managed to get them to boot up on ADB! His investigations led him to find that Android 4.0.4 ICS is powering the device, with a dual-core OMAP 4430 processor being back up, by what we assume is 1GB of RAM because 682MB was available while the Glasses were running! We already know that there's 16GB of internal storage and a 5MP camera, which when all is said and done, makes this a solid mid-range Android device, but there's nothing too spectacular here except for the form factor of course.

   Secondly, it seems as though Google is none too happy that Facebook has been going behind their back and updating their apps without using Google Play to provide the updates. As a result Google have updated their terms and conditions to try to make sure that this doesn't happen any more!

   When Facebook used the tactic it wasn't against Google's Terms of Service, but they've now been updated to read:

“An app downloaded from Google Play may not modify, replace or update its own APK binary code using any method other than Google Play’s update mechanism” Google Play Developer Content Policy

   This change has been made to Google's 'Dangerous Product' section of their policy, which is totally understandable because it'd be easy for people to 'spike' an app on Google Play that way. Google for their part reiterated that, "Google Play is a trusted source for Android application downloads, and we are committed to providing a secure and consistent experience" and that's what they had to do in this situation really. There's been no word from Facebook on the changes, but then again there's not much which they can say any more!
Via TheVerge and Slashgear.

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In Other News: 06/03/2013.

• It seems that Samsung and Apple products have more in common than the lawsuits suggest! Last week we heard that Apple's iPhone had an issue with a lockscreen bypass and look what the Galaxy S3 has: a lockscreen bypass. ZDNet has a guide if you want to try it out, we got it to work once, but haven't been able to since! Hopefully Samsung will be quick with a fix!
  Via ZDNet.

• The XperiaBlog believes that Sony is set to launch the Xperia L this summer. One of their 'reliable sources' believes that there will be a 1GHz dual-core processor paired with Adreno 305 graphics which will power a 4.3-inch FWVGA, that's 480x854p resolution display. Other than that there's an 8MP Exmor RS camera , 8GB of internal storage, microSD memory card support and a 1700mAh capacity battery all expected to arrive with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean running the show!
  Via Xperia Blog.

• Samsung have invested $110 million in Sharp for a three percent stake in the company. This gives the South Koreans access to some of Sharp's IGZO screen tech, their television screen tech and it gives them a small hand in one of Apple's biggest screen suppliers!
  Via Reuters.

• Spotify have confirmed that they do not have any immediate plans to release an app for BB10 devices!
  Via KnowYourMobile.

• Samsung are reportedly working on a new 5.9" oled panel for a new phablet. This rumour is from the Korean Times so take it with a pinch of salt, but this could indeed be in the Galaxy Note 3 because the trend of bigger and bigger screens isn't quite done yet!
  Via PhoneArena.

• HTC had a disappointing February 2013 too! The guys from Taiwan scraped in NT$11.4 billion ($390 million), down from NT$15.54 billion ($520 million) in January. So for the first two months of this year HTC have earnt NT$26.9 billion ($910 million), down over $300 million dollars from the same period last year! Fingers crossed the HTC One turns things around, otherwise we're not sure what'll happen to HTC!
  Via AndroidCentral.

• We've realised that Samsung are dominating today's news by this point, but alas the South Korean giants have cancelled Windows RT tablets in some parts of Europe, claiming that the demand simply isn't there! Germany is a likely to get their ATIV tabs withdrawn and 'select other countries' will face the same fate too!
  Via TheVerge.

• Verizon have released an update for the Samsung Galaxy Stellar today! The update brings the mid-range phone onto Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and adds numerous other features such as support for 64GB MicroSD cards! The update is over 400MB so we highly recommend using WiFi for this downlaod! You can check out the instructions here!
  Via AndroidCentral.

   And finally, Google has decided to celebrate the Play Store reaching its first birthday with a sale! There's a selection of apps available for discounted priced every day, as well as movies, books and some magazines too so keep checking your Google Play for more deals!
Via AndroidPolice and GoogleBlog.

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Absolutely everything you need to know from the Google I/O Keynote!

   Today Google has had their annual announcement/press conference/ everything you need to know about Android day and along with that came the ever exciting keynote. This one in particular, was so good people on Twitter have literally been calling it the 'best keynote ever'! And lets find out why!

   The Nexus 7.

   It's hard to choose the best place to start with the sheer amount of events from today, but the widely rumoured Google tablet definitely did come to fruition, with a few very pleasant surprises too!

    Firstly, the specs of this 7 incher are very solid indeed. The screen has a resolution of 1280x800 and it's an IPS display, which is coated in "scratch-resistant Corning glass". At the moment we can only assume this is a variety of the extremely robust Gorilla glass. As well as this great screen, there's a front-facing, 1.2-megapixel camera, but no rear camera, which arguably isn't particularly useful on a tablet anyway!

   Inside there's 1GB of RAM, and NVIDIA's quad-core Tegra 3 SoC. Connectivity options are as diverse as you would expect thanks to the GPS, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Micro USB options and as a bonus there's NFC for all your Android Beaming needs.The battery is rated at 4325mAh and the usual spate of sensors: accelerometer, magnetometer, and a gyroscope are all present and counted for. 

   The whole device has been squeezed down to 198.5 x 120 x 10.45mm and you have a choice of either 8 (£159 or $199) or 16GB (£199 or $249) of storage. This is an insanely cheap price for what you actually get here. The devices will be available on the Play store in the USA for pre-order now and the UK has the same option now too! And you can expect the device to land on your doorstep in mid-July!

   The video below is a brief introduction to the tablet and the new version of Android, which is called Jelly Bean or 4.1!

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean!

   This is the latest update to Google's Android Operating System and appears to be a minor upgrade over ICS. The update has been confirmed to be available on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S and Motorola Xoom in mid-July as an OTA update, and the SDK will be available today as part of a developer preview.

   One of the biggest features is Project Butter, a huge effort by Google to improve performance and response time. The whole system will be ticking over at 60fps from now on, and while the difference of a few miliseconds might sound minimal but, the guys over at Engadget have described it as 'glaringly apparently the moment you run Jelly Bean next to an ICS device', so it must be a very notable improvement. Animations are said to appear a lot smoother and quicker and your devices CPU immediately increases it's speed the second a touch is detected to ensure an almost immediate response.

   The home screen has also been reconfigured, with the addition of some clever features like dynamically resizable widgets, so you don't have to run through the steps of; placing, resizing and again placing it exactly where you want it. From now on if there is room on a home screen, but your app icons are a little in the way, the widget will automatically push them off to the side or to the next 'page'. Another nice touch, which is undoubtedly inspired by Mathias Duarte's efforts with WebOS, apps and widgets can now be removed by flinging them off the screen. Another highly useful addition is offline voice input. Now you can tap the microphone and dictate a message even with the phone in airplane mode, saving you time and your internet allowance!

   The camera app, which was really sold in ICS has been updated again in Andorid 4.1. The gallery's integration has been tightened up and looks great. It allows you to quickly pull up the photo you just took with a swipe to the left. You can continue swiping through your images or you can pinch to zoom out and view all your images in a filmstrip view. Deleting images is as simple as swiping a pic off the screen and, if you've manage to accidentally removed one, a quick tap of the undo button restores it, because we can see a lot of accidental swipes going on here. And both images and video can be shared using Google Beam, and Android now supports pairing with Bluetooth devices with the assistance of NFC.

   

The Nexus Q.

   Google's first own-brand consumer electronics product is a small, sphere-shaped device that will work with the Nexus 7 tablet and other Android devices to stream media from the cloud. It's designed to take centre stage in a living room, preferably yours, with the ability to pull content from YouTube and the Google Play music app, among other services, allowing you stream music and video. Anyone with an Android device will be able to take control of the Q to play content from their library; basically, everyone can be the DJ. What's more, the device can double as an amplifier, letting users plug in external speakers to receiver power from the Q's 25-watt amp.

   The device will be powered by an OMAP 4460 processor, that's the same chips that's in the Galaxy Nexus, and there's also 16GB of storage and 1GB of RAM. The connectivity options include dual-band WiFi and Ethernet, together with Bluetooth and NFC for tapping a device to the Q to exchange software and media. The little streamer will go on sale for $299 in mid-July. Google will also offer up a set of $399 Triad bookshelf speakers to go with the Q, it's expensive by my goodness it's also uber cool! 

   For those of you who care about employment opportunities, the Nexus Q will be entirely constructed in the United States!

All the other details:



Google+:

• Google+ has 250 million users, more mobile users than desktop users interestingly!
• Google has announced Google+ Events.
• Google+ on Android and iPad have got specific tablet versions!

Misc.:

• Google Play has started offering movies, TV shows and magazines from today!
• Google has cut the price of the Galaxy Nexus to $349 and it now comes with Jelly Bean.
• 400 million Android devices have been sold in total, with 1 million activations per day!
• Google Play now has 600,000 apps and has had 20 billion downloads.
• Google's Project Glass has official availability for early 2013! The 'Explorer addition' which is demoed in the video below, will set you back $1500.

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25/05/2012

HP lose Enyo developers from the Open WebOS project.

   Google have today pinched the developers of Enyo from HP in a bid to boost their mobile HTML5 prowess, particularly in Android and ChromeOS. Although, initial rumours suggested most of the team had jumped ship it turns out that it's roughly only a dozen individuals who have actually gone, but importantly project leader Matt McNulty has made the trip too.

   Despite this exodus HP insists the Open WebOS plans are still on track to meet their January timeline, so this obviously isn't a surprise to the company. HP had this to say about Enyo:

“We’re pleased with the traction Enyo has gained to date and plan to continue its development along with the open source community....The Open webOS project is on schedule and we remain committed to the roadmap announced in January.”

Sony announces there won't be ICS for Xperia Play.

(My post from Coolsmartphone!)

   Yesterday the interwebs came alive with rumours that the Xperia Play wouldn’t be getting an update to ICS because it was sneakily left out of a press picture detailing Sony’s update plans. Today unfortunately the rumours have come true; Sony have come out and announced the Xperia Play won’t be getting updated to Android 4.0 after all.

   You might be surprised to hear this news given that Sony have invested a great deal of time testing and even going as far as releasing a developer beta rom for the device. But, their exact words are that ‘a consistent and stable experience, particularly with gaming, cannot be guaranteed for this smartphone on Ice Cream Sandwich’. So there we have it folks sometimes it’s in your best interests not to update phones… Hmmm haven’t we heard that somewhere else before?! Motorola we’re looking at you.

   As for the rest of you who own Sony devices from 2011, don’t worry the company expects all of you to get your dose of ICS in the near future, if you haven’t already.

   Do you agree companies should really try a lot hard or do you think there is a concern that ICS won’t run well because it does sound like they’ve really tried here? Sound off in the comments or head over to the forums.

    The full quote given to Slashgear is below:

   “In regards to Xperia PLAY, after extensive in house testing with our developer teams and working with our partners, we have concluded that a consistent and stable experience, particularly with gaming, cannot be guaranteed for this smartphone on Ice Cream Sandwich – therefore, we will not make the Android 4.0 upgrade available for Xperia PLAY.

   This decision was also verified when we received similar feedback from the developer community; both experienced developers and advanced users, along with game content providers following our ICS beta ROM for unlocked Xperia PLAY smartphones.

   Our priority has and always will be, to provide the best possible user experience on Xperia smartphones. In this instance the ICS upgrade would have compromised stability, where we look to ensure a quality gaming experience with games optimized and developed for Xperia PLAY”

In other news:

• Apps on Google Play can now have in-app subscriptions!
• Any suggestions of cross-platform BBM have been scrapped today, so you will have to have a Blackberry to use this feature, but if not you've always got ChatON which is available on every platform!
• If you've pre-ordered a Galaxy S3 it might land on your doorstep a few days early, they have been across the UK so far!
• Nvidia has said there will be 30 Tegra 3 phones coming before the end of the year! Quite intriguing!!!
• Facebook has bizarrely released a Facebook camera app, which to all intents and purposes is an Instagram rival. Strange!!
• Apple have filed a patent for... wait for it... an I-Pen. So when we thought cheap rip offs were going out of fashion it seems Apple is just about to start. Just remember who came up with this reinvention first Apple, yep Samsung with the S-Pen. At least they had the decency to give a nod to Samsung's naming convention!

Deals, deals, deals!!!

1. The HTC Explorer is going cheap if you get it new, £80 on pay-as-you-go. Click Here.
2. Expansys have the Galaxy Tab 10.1" at least £50 cheaper than anywhere else with it going for £269.99. The White version is here. And this is the Black version.

There's hundreds more at the moment. Argos, Clove, Expansys and ASDA are amongst your best bets for everything from tablets to TV's you can get a steal in the summer!

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Editorial: Why Google should have kept it as the Market

   Google have this week rebranded the Android Market as Google Play; something we all initially thought would be the name of the Google Nexus Tablet supposedly coming from Asus, but alas we were very wrong. I for one am very unhappy with this change and for me it makes little or no sense at all.
 
   My first difficulty with this change is the fact the market is no longer a market; it does not make any sense to go on to 'Google Play' to download a productivity suite app or a note taking app, it seems much more logical to head to an 'Appstore' or maybe a 'Marketplace' for this type of app. This means that fundamentally Google is unintentionally misleading consumers, consumers who do not need any more problems navigating around their Android device. These difficulties are proven by the fact that so many people have taken to Twitter to report that their phone has 'lost' the Android Market! This really is something Google overlooked; first they should have advertised the change of naming scheme instead of assuming people actually keep up with the news relating to Android and secondly the rename makes little or no logical sense. (I'll explain this bit in a minute).

   Ok, so I am not a big fan of the rebrand, but even I can see where Google are trying to go with this. They are trying to highlight the fact that the Market is not just a place to get apps, instead you can buy movies, books and everything else that I don't buy, but maybe some people do, from the Market. But still the word 'Play' to me evokes notions of gaming primarily, similarly it also evokes notions of video watching, but it certainly does not evoke images of reading, productivity, creation and business, all of which are also in the Market on Play.

    Call me stupid because I'm not the leader of a worldwide, multi-billion pound corporation but I just cannot see why the Market should become Play, although there is one exception and again I look to my limited knowledge of Apple products for the logic behind this decision.

   To the best of my knowledge Apple has an 'Appstore' for apps and they also have the iTunes store for movies, books, etc which you can purchase through separate apps (ie not the Appstore) on your IOS device. Now that is a model which makes sense, the reason I bring this up is because perhaps Google is going to fork what was the Market to an appstore on one hand and a video and music service on the other. This would make sense somewhere down the line, but for the moment they saw it best to promote just 'Play'.

   This is all pure speculation and perhaps I couldn't be further from the point but the word Play fundamentally does not cover everything Google offers us in the Android Market and that is why, I am not and probably will not be convinced or happy with the rebranding of the Android Market to Google Play.

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