BreakingSports delivers everything sports in a slick and quick Material Design package

Speed is something that both sports and mobile applications require. Why not combine the two? That is what BreakingSports claims to do by packaging an in-depth, efficient sports app covered with Material Design. The app, which is available for free in the Play Store, covers all areas expected from a sports app.

It does add an abundance of options for notifications. Users can deem the importance of notifications for headlines, injuries, suspensions, lineups, rosters, scores, stats, rumors, and trends. BreakingSports will then forward notifications when necessary. This is especially handy during the ongoing NCAA Tournament. Fire up BreakingSports and users are greeted with the Material Design goodness that we have come to know and love.

Hit the break for the gallery and download links.

Play Store Download Link

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Google Play Newsstand adds support for Austria, Belgium, Ireland, and Turkey

Content offered in the Play Store can be limited depending upon which country you reside in. Anyone in any country can access free content offered by Google in its digital store; however, only certain countries can make purchases. Today, four new countries received support for Play Newsstand. People in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, and Turkey can purchase and subscribe to magazines and newspapers from their mobile devices.

Source: Google Play (Google+)

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Tablets Are Not In Motorola’s Game Plan According To President Rick Osterloh

Motorola has made great strides in the mobile business this last year, even if they haven’t toppled over the behemoth Samsung as the top Android manufacturer. There have been plenty of questions over the last few months about what some of Motorola’s plans for the future of their devices would be, including questions about the next version of the Moto 360 and when we might be able to expect it. A question that many have been wondering about for some time is when and if Motorola would be getting back into the tablet market at any point in time, and today during a Twitter Q&A the company’s President Rick Osterloh answered that question among many others in response to users.

According to Osterloh, Motorola has no plans to manufacturer another tablet. Instead, he directs attention to the many great offerings manufactured by Lenovo, who now owns Motorola, and then proceeds to highlight the Yoga line. Quite simply put, Osterloh’s statement says that Motorola has no plans regarding tablets, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Motorola won’t be making another tablet at some point in the future, even if it is far in the future. It does however mean that if Motorola ever does produce another slate, we’re not likely to see another Motorola branded tablet for quite some time if not for a long while.

After successes like the 2014 Moto X, the DROID Turbo and the Nexus 6, it seems that Motorola has brought their A-game with devices, so it can be hard to imagine why they wouldn’t want to try their hand at tablets again, but when you consider the launches and lifespan of the last two tablets they offered, the Xyboard lineup which launched on Verizon Wireless a few years back, those devices were a far cry from the type of success seen by Motorola’s most recent smartphones. Even though it would be nice to see a Motorola branded tablet featuring all of the new tech and software they’ve put into their latest devices, there are already plenty of tablet choices out there, and in a way this leaves Motorola free to continue focusing on whatever they have planned for moving forward in the immediate future.

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Samsung Galaxy S6 Active might trade fingerprint scanner/heart rate sensor for micro SD card slot

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Active might look something like the recently announced Samsung Xcover 3 (above)

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is chock-full of amazing hardware features (wireless charging, fingerprint scanner, DDR4 RAM), but when we found out some of the Galaxy S5’s best features wouldn’t be making a return — water resistance, micro SD card, and removable battery — we have to admit, we were a little bummed out.

When it came to water resistance, we had a feeling that Samsung would bring this feature back for an all new Samsung Galaxy S6 Active. Not too long later, a few leaks started making the rounds, hinting to the S6 Active’s existence and we were excited to see what else the phone bring. Today, a Reddit user claims to have had a sit down meeting with Samsung rep out of Europe (along with picture proof). When asked about Samsung Galaxy S6 Active, the Samsung rep was willing to divulge a few details about the device. First off, Samsung could be ditching the fingerprint reader/heart rate sensor for the S6 Active. While that sounds like an odd move (given the S6 Active will likely be marketed towards those who are active), he mentioned the phone will feature an SD card slot.

He also went on to mention that the camera might be “less good” than the regular S6’s and that we can look forward to a mid-summer release date. We should note, he did mention the device was still under development and that any of these hardware features could change down the road, so there might still be hope for that fingerprint reader on the retail-ready version.

With a rumored 3,500mAh battery and now a micro SD card slot, anyone else thinking about picking up the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active over the regular version?

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Motorola ruled to have infringed on Intellectual Ventures patent

A US Jury in Delaware has found Motorola guilty of infringing on one of Intellectual Venture’s patents, while clearing the company of a second potential infringement. The infringed patent in question deals with multimedia text messaging, while the non-infringing patent dealt with wireless bandwidth. Damages will be figured up later.

Intellectual Ventures probably isn’t a company that you’re familiar with as a consumer, as they deal mostly with licensing out patents to other companies. The company says they’re not like other patent trolls as they don’t file frivolous lawsuits, but they do have a pretty good track record with lawsuits that they do file. Either way, it’s still hard not to see these kinds of patent disputes hurting innovation and consumer devices.

source: Reuters

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Android Installer Hijacking Exploit Could Affect Users On Jelly Bean 4.2 And Below

A new research report from Palo Alto Networks is bringing attention to a potentially dangerous exploit that could affect a decent number of Android users. They’re referring to this vulnerability as Android Installer Hijacking, and like all malware whether on mobile or PC it’s worth knowing about just in case. However, there are specific limitations to this vulnerability that users will also want to pay attention to as there’s no reason to stress out about something if you or your device aren’t included in the groups of users who this exploit is attempting to attack.

First and foremost, this particular exploit only affects users running on versions of Android that are older than Jelly Bean 4.3. So if you’re running on Android Jelly Bean 4.3, Android Kit Kat, or Android Lollipop, you generally have nothing to worry about. The other main factor to consider here is that these exploits and vulnerabilities are relying on users to grab applications that have come from unvalidated and unofficial sources and install them. This means that apps in the Play Store, the Amazon App Store and other trusted sources are not affected, so if you are running on a device with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean or older, you can avoid running into this issue and these exploits by only downloading applications that come from official channels like the ones listed here.

As outlined by Palo Alto Networks, the Android Installer Hijacking vulnerability gives attackers a way to infect users with malware by replacing a seemingly trustworthy app with the malicious code. Once infected, users private and personal information like passwords, usernames, and other sensitive data are at risk of being gathered and can be used for nefarious purposes. If there’s anything to be gathered from this information, a “moral of the story” as it were, it’s that you shouldn’t be downloading apps that don’t come from the official app distribution stores, because this is the most common vessel for hackers to infect users and get a hold of sensitive data. Following this one simple rule can do a world of good to ensure that you aren’t affected by the Android Installer Hijacker vulnerability.

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Android 5.1.0_r3 factory images (LMY47I) arrive for Nexus 5 and Nexus 6

[Bonus Round] Alien Star Menace, Syberia 2, Silly Sausage in Meat Land, And Do Not Believe His Lies

Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got a pixelated tactical game, and adventure classic, a stretchy platformer, and...

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[Bonus Round] Alien Star Menace, Syberia 2, Silly Sausage in Meat Land, And Do Not Believe His Lies was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Top 10 Ways To Perfect Your App’s Listing In Google Play

One of the trickier parts of submitting your app to Google Play is writing a description. As well as the logo, keywords and many other aspects of it. Today, we’ll be looking at a few ways to perfect your app’s listing in the Google Play Store.

Play Store Description

Obviously, you’ll want a description that gets people’s attention, while also stating the features of your app. Many people will read the description of the app before downloading it to see if they want to be bothered with it. One thing you shouldn’t do is use quotes from an app review that you perhaps got from us, or another news site. Google has actually banned developers from doing that in their descriptions now, and have been removing that content from their descriptions.

Keywords

Within your description, it’s important to find keywords and place those in the description. It’ll help your app get noticed when people search. It’s pretty similar to SEO on websites, and news sites. You can use sites like AppAnnie to find relative search terms that will be sought after and work those into your Play Store description.

The Logo

Many people don’t really think about the logo, but the logo or app icon is a pretty important piece. It’s actually the first thing potential users will see when they stumble across their app. They’ll see the logo or app icon along with the app’s name and your name. So it’s important to put a nice looking logo, as it serves as a first impression often times.

Video Overview

In Google Play, they allow you to add a YouTube video to your app’s description. In this video, it’s a good idea to introduce yourself and what your app is about. As well as what features your app has. You’ll want to keep this one short and simple. Users aren’t looking to watch a 10-minute long video before downloading a new app. We’d suggest something closer to about 2-3 minutes at the max.

Your App’s Name

There are some guidelines for app names in Google Play. You can’t use Android in just about any app’s name. And if you have a Twitter app, it can’t have Twitter in the name either. Otherwise, it’s pretty much fair game. You’ll want something catchy. Something memorable. Similar to the app’s logo, this also serves as a first impression for potential users. And as we always say, you only get one chance at a first impression.

Categories

As you more than likely already know. Google Play has categories for apps. Social, Communication, Finance, Travel, Weather, are just a few of the many. To be sure that your potential users will find your app, you need to be sure you’re putting it in the right category.

Screenshots

Google Play as well as just about every other app store, allows you to upload screenshots to your app’s listing. These screenshots are important as pictures are worth a thousand words. Whenever you add new features or change up the UI, it’s a good idea to add new screenshots. Don’t be afraid to replace them.

Price

If you’re looking to go freemium, or paid, then price is something you need to research. It’s okay to undercut your competition (we’ll talk more about competition next), but you don’t want to go to cheap. Since you’re going to want to break even. $0.99 – $4.99 is about the normal price for an app or game. Depending on what the app or game does.

Competition

Research your competition. This is important as it will help you figure out what you should do to better optimize your app’s listing on Google Play, as well as what price to set the app and in-app purchases at. This will definitely help you figure out what needs to be fixed, or optimized, and what is perfect the way it is.

Reviews

To any developer, reviews are like a gold mine. It tells the developer whether people are appreciative of their work and if there’s anything that needs to be or should be changed. Google Play now allows developers to respond to reviews on the Play Store. So if you get a bad review, you can reply to the user and find out what can be done to make that a perfect review.

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Latest Android malware sneakily installs rogue apps, but Play Store users need not worry

Quick heads-up on a vulnerability you might learn about soon. The folks at Palo Alto stumbled across a major security vulnerability within Android that could allow malicious apps to hijack an app install. Before you freak out and hook your phone up to a chemo machine to rid it of any impurities, stop — there’s almost nothing to be worried about here:

• Google has already patched it ahead of this report being released


• The initial bug was reported to Google as early as January 2014. We suspect Google kept it under wraps this long to make sure no-gooders wouldn’t try to target exposed devices


• The vulnerability only affects sideloaded apps or apps downloaded from third-party app stores


• It only affected Android versions prior to 4.4


• For devices not on 4.4 or higher, Palo Alto worked with top manufacturers like Samsung to patch this fix in with their most recent software updates. Amazon also updated their Appstore to patch the vulnerability

So what does it do? According to them, since a side-loaded APK is installed from an unprotected source such as an SD card, an app could hijack the process of installing the app by Android’s package installer. It’d do this by replacing the legit APK with one that would most likely contain some sort of malware and other nasty stuff, and it would all happen without the user even knowing.

The dirty (but full) details can be found in the report published here, but the reality is that most folks with a phone made within the past couple of years are probably safe. Still, if you’re the oddball who still as a Nexus One on Android 2.3 and might be using a third-party app store over Google Play, you’ll be glad you know about it.

Palo Alto made a neat app that will check your phone to see if it is vulnerable. If it’s not, you’re good to go. If it is? Well, you should definitely try to download a ROM based on at least Android 4.4, or use this as a good excuse to finally get that new phone you’ve been eying. Be safe friends, and try not to download anything outside of Google Play unless you absolutely have to.

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Samsung to make devices with iris recognition in partnership with SRI

Google Execs have Visited The White House about Once a Week, for the Past Four Years

The Wall Street Journal has a pretty juicy report that just went out. It’s about Google and the Obama Administration. We know that Google and Obama’s Administration have been pretty tight, but now we’re learning just how tight they are. The Wall Street Journal has obtained visitor logs and emails from teh White House, and it shows that high-ranking Google execs and staffers such as Chairman Eric Schmidt have met with White House officials about 230 times over the past 4 years. In simple terms, that means about once a week over the past 4 years. It’s also important to note that these meetings also took place in the final weeks before the FTC settled with Google in 2012. Which backed them away from what could and would have been the biggest antitrust lawsuit since the Justice Department went after Microsoft over 20 years ago.

These documents obtained by the WSJ do not show what was discussed in the late-2012 meetings, unfortunately. However, the FTC continues to insist that they maintain independence as a regulatory agency. White House spokeswoman, Jennifer Friedman spoke with the WSJ and stated that the administration is “cognizant that it is inappropriate to discuss issues relating to regulatory enforcement.” On the other hand, these documents do show that Google has become a lobbying powerhouse in Washington in recent years. That they were able to defeat this antitrust investigation from 2012.

Comcast, by comparison has about the same amount of power in our current government. They were actually the only company to outspend Google on lobbying last year. Google spend about $16.8 million in Washington in 2014. Comcast did only visit Obama and the White House 20 times in the last few years. Much less than the 230 that Google visited. In the past, we’ve seen Google employees move over to White House positions as well with the most recent being VP Megan Smith moving to Washington as Obama’s Chief Technology Officer, last year.

It appears that Google knows they have an antitrust lawsuit coming up, especially with their anti-competition tactics they use, primarily in search. And visiting Washington and lobbying there has helped them a bit. We’ll see what happens when a new administration takes over in a few years.

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Rumor: YouTube Is Preparing A Re-Launch Of Its Live Streaming Service With A Focus On Twitch-Style Gaming

Have you noticed that it's impossible to search for a game-related video on YouTube without seeing dozens of hour-long "Let's Play" videos? You're not the only one. According to a report from The Daily Dot, Google is looking to re-make YouTube's live streaming service (the one you use for every official Android event) with a focus on video games. The report cites anonymous sources "within the streaming industry," so it's firmly in the rumor department for the time being.

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Rumor: YouTube Is Preparing A Re-Launch Of Its Live Streaming Service With A Focus On Twitch-Style Gaming was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Google Has Apparently Fixed The Reminders Voice Command Bug

Some bugs only cause problems for a select few users, but that was not the case when Google bungled the reminders voice command in a recent update to its back end. A lot of people noticed. Instead of setting a reminder when you asked for one, Google Search would set an alarm, which isn't really as useful. Now that appears to be fixed.

I've checked on a few devices, and they once again correctly respond to setting reminders.

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Google Has Apparently Fixed The Reminders Voice Command Bug was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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