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Thursday, January 21, 2016

Oracle: Google Has Generated $31 Billion in Revenue From Android

According to court documents made public this week by Oracle, Google has made a ton of cash from the Android mobile operating system. In total, taken from what Google says is information from confidential and internal financial documents, a revenue of $31 billion has been posted, with profit at $22 billion. This money stems mainly from advertisements seen on Android devices, as well as money made from Google Play.

This information was made available in Oracle’s ongoing court battle with Google, with Oracle claiming Google used Java software without paying for it to develop Android. Google is urging a San Francisco federal judge to redact and seal portions of the public transcript from last week’s hearing where this information was made public. 

Google makes the claim that, “non-public financial data is highly sensitive, and public disclosure could have significant negative effects on Google’s business.” Oracle is currently seeking $1 billion in damages from Google.

How these exact figures were conjured up is currently unknown, but if they are even semi-close to being correct, Android is a very profitable business for Google, one which they have been fighting to protect for five years now from Oracle.

At the end of the day, we as consumers don’t really need to care about how much Google is making from Android, just as long as they continue to support and innovate with the OS.

Via: Bloomberg

Oracle: Google Has Generated $31 Billion in Revenue From Android is a post from: Droid Life



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Is HTC Going to Wait Until After MWC to Unveil Next Flagship?

The smartphone business is a pretty easy one to figure out in terms of release cycles and the timing of events to show off new products. We know that Apple has WWDC and a Fall event to show off new products, that Nexus phones arrive around November, that Samsung takes the stage at both MWC and IFA with Galaxy S and Note lines, respectively, and that HTC will bring us a new One device towards the end of February or in March.

We not only know that this is when these companies will release products because we have history on our side, but we also typically see a series of leaks lead up to their unveilings. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S7 rumors are everywhere at this point. We’re basically just waiting for the invite to show up to formally confirm what we already know. And you can’t help but recall the hilarity surrounding the past couple of HTC One launches, where we essentially saw full reviews of devices before HTC had ever officially announced them. Remember this kid? Of course you do. 

That brings me back to the title, which involves HTC possibly skipping MWC this year and throwing everyone for a loop. Is HTC going to wait until after MWC to announce their next flagship, potentially called the One M10? Let’s talk about this.

First, we have reports out of China suggesting that a variety of sources throughout “China Taiwan Forum” have claimed that HTC won’t have a presence at MWC next month. They are suggesting that early prototypes couldn’t cut it and that HTC is revising the phone before making it official. Because of those revisions, it won’t be ready for MWC and will instead be the focus of a stand-alone event before going on sale in April.

Rumors peg the phone as having a 3000mAh battery, Snapdragon 820 processor (maybe a MediaTek in some areas), 23MP camera, Android 6.0.1, Sense 8, and a front-situated fingerprint reader (woof).

Specs and rumors aside, HTC not showing up to MWC in any sort of meaningful wouldn’t shock us at this this point. Unless HTC has figured out how to keep a secret – and they have given us no reason to believe they have – then the complete absence of any legitimate rumor or picture leads one to believe that late March could be more accurate.

If we look at last year, we figured out the name of the HTC One M9 and the fact that it was coming to Verizon before the end of December 2014. We then saw a full hands-on gallery of it in mid-January, just days after HTC announced their MWC event. As for the One M8, well, the first leak of its backside was in November of 2013, yet the phone wasn’t announced until the end of March. Even the original One M7 and One A9 leaked plenty early.

The point is, HTC is terrible at controlling leaks. Again, unless something has changed on that front, an MWC absence wouldn’t shock us. If that’s the case, then the question becomes, do we think HTC has enough pull in this industry for anyone to care about a stand-alone event? We’ll care, obviously, but will the rest of the world – the people who HTC needs badly to buy their phones. Or is everyone going to still be fixated on whatever LG and Samsung showed off weeks before at the biggest mobile conference on the planet?

Is HTC Going to Wait Until After MWC to Unveil Next Flagship? is a post from: Droid Life



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Deal: Pay What You Want for the Complete 2016 Coder Bundle

It’s a new year, making it the perfect opportunity to learn a few new skills, if improving upon yourself is something you are into. On the DL Deals Store, you can pay what you want for Complete 2016 Coder Bundle, featuring almost 200 hours of programming content that could help you create the next best thing the Interwebz has ever seen. 

If you pay more than the average, which currently sits at just over $12, you will gain access to 10 courses, including Android Marshmallow Development Tutorial, a Guide to Building Apps and Products, Ruby Programming courses, and so much more. Even if you intend to developer for Apple’s range of products, you are covered on that front, too.

Each course is valued at $199+, bringing the combined bundle value to nearly $2,000. For the price of $12, this is not too bad. If you choose to pay less than the average, you will receive two of the ten available courses – Android development and Ruby Programming.

If you want to code in 2016, start by clocking the link below.

Deal Link

Deal: Pay What You Want for the Complete 2016 Coder Bundle is a post from: Droid Life



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Sprint Offering Up to $200 for Trade-Ins Toward Purchase of LG G4

Over the course of this weekend, Sprint will offer up to $200 in trade-in value of any smartphone to use towards the purchase of the LG G4. The promo can be used by new and existing customers who activate or upgrade to the G4, and the promo will cease on Monday, January 25. 

As for which phones are acceptable trade-ins, Sprint does not give a detailed list, but they do state “any smartphone.” We will have to assume this would include any relatively recent Samsung device, Apple device, Motorola, and HTC smartphones. For those on another carrier who were contemplating a switch to Sprint, the carrier would like to remind you that it offers no-hassle switching, with up to $650 in American Express Rewards credit to cover the fees of current carrier contract breakage.

Now, is the G4 worth buying at this time? No, not exactly. The LG G5 is reportedly scheduled to be shown off next month at this year’s MWC, so if a LG phone is on the wish list, we would recommend you wait for that. But hey, if the G4 is something you want, here’s a chance to get one for relatively cheap.

Again, the promo kicks off tomorrow and ends Monday, January 25.

Via: Sprint

Sprint Offering Up to $200 for Trade-Ins Toward Purchase of LG G4 is a post from: Droid Life



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Verizon: Haha, No, We’re Not Bringing Unlimited Data Back

A couple of weeks ago, AT&T grabbed a bunch of headlines when it re-introduced an unlimited data plan that has limited availability. Today, following Verizon’s quarterly earnings call, the company’s CFO Fran “ShamWow” Shammo was asked by CNET if they planned to bring back their own unlimited data offering. Shammo wasted no breath in saying, “At this point, we are not going to entertain unlimited.” 

Not even going to entertain it!

After posting better than expected Q4 numbers, I can’t say I blame Verizon for sticking with what’s (clearly) working at this point. During a year where T-Mobile, Sprint, and even AT&T to some extent, took swing after swing at Big Red with promotion after promotion, Verizon still managed to add customers and post solid numbers.

Maybe network is the most important thing after all, even if access to it does come with a hefty cost?

Via:  CNET

Verizon: Haha, No, We’re Not Bringing Unlimited Data Back is a post from: Droid Life



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Poll: Do You Use a Fingerprint to Unlock Your Phone?

Yesterday, we asked if you are all using a secure lock screen after reading a report that said 1 in 3 Android users go without one. Our results turned up with slightly better numbers, showing that 77% of you utilize some form of a secure lock screen. That means about 1 in 4 aren’t, which isn’t amazing news, but is certainly not as bad as 1 in 3.

Today, we want to see which percentage of you who are using a secure lock screen, are unlocking with a fingerprint reader. More and more phones seem to be including fingerprint readers at this point, which to us, is a good sign. I say that because a number of you mentioned yesterday that you probably wouldn’t use a secure lock screen if Android Pay didn’t force you to, but also that it hasn’t been that big of an issue thanks to your fingerprint readers. Bring on more fingerprint readers! Secure lock screens are a good thing.

So tell us, are you unlocking your phone with a fingerprint?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Poll: Do You Use a Fingerprint to Unlock Your Phone? is a post from: Droid Life



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Brave Browser App Looks to Block Intrusive Ads, Replaces With Clean Ads to Help Content Creators

A new Internet browsing application is about to the hit the streets, called Brave, aimed at combating intrusive ads that slow down your mobile browsing experience. If you have ever been the victim of slow load speeds on websites, it’s most likely that ads are the culprit. With Brave, ads that slow your load speed will be replaced by ads that are “clean,” meaning that the site owners will still get paid, but your browsing experience won’t be greatly hindered.

When you first load up a webpage, a site using ad technology that tracks you can place cookies and other miscellaneous content onto your browser, which in turn, allows an ad to show things relative to what you have been looking at online. For example, if you browse Amazon, then head to another website, you might see an ad for whatever it was you were looking for on Amazon. This is nothing new, but for anyone not looking to be tracked constantly on the web, Brave wants to solve this problem, while also not hurting content creators.

According to Brave, “Up to a whopping 60% of page load time is caused by the underlying ad technology that loads into various places each time you hit a page on your favorite news site. And 20% of this is time spent on loading things that are trying to learn more about you.” To help combat this issue, the Brave browser strips all of the non essential data away, leaving only the true content you want. However, doing so does not hurt the sites you know and love. Instead of being a straight ad-blocker, Brave replaces those intrusive ads with clean (no tracker, pixel watcher) ads, and users can decide to go ad-free (payment) on the sites they truly want to support. It’s a win for users, and a win for content creators.

The app has yet to launch, but is completely open source, with the Android version viewable on GitHub right here. A beta for multiple platforms is available, but currently, there is a waitlist.

If this app interests you, you can sign-up for the beta on the Brave website.

Via: Brave

Brave Browser App Looks to Block Intrusive Ads, Replaces With Clean Ads to Help Content Creators is a post from: Droid Life



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Official Kickstarter App Finally, Finally Launches for Android

On the verge of being almost too late, Kickstarter has launched an official Android application onto Google Play. I say almost too late because, you know, Kickstarter is sorta lame these days, am I right? Back in the day, a few interesting ideas would pop up here and there, but now it’s nothing but folks looking to fund food carts and PC games. But hey, that’s just my opinion.

Anyway, if you don’t already know, Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform that has been helping people fund their ideas that a traditional bank or investor would never touch. Over the years, Kickstarter has given us a few cool products, but it has also given us a ton of crap. And now, finally, an Android app can navigate you through the world of crowdfunding. 

With the app, you can browse the latest projects available for funding, Editor’s Picks, search through individual project categories, login to check the projects you have backed, and also keep up with the folks you follow on the service. The app seems stable enough, built with a few Android touches, but really, this app seems to be a couple years late to me. I recall my buddy showing off the Kickstarter app a few years ago on his iPhone, so I don’t know why Android development took so long. Hey, maybe they should have made a Kickstarter to help fund the developers.

If you want to browse the latest and greatest ideas to hit Kickstarter, follow the Google Play link below.

Play Link

Official Kickstarter App Finally, Finally Launches for Android is a post from: Droid Life



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This is the New Google Weather, and It’s Awesome

A new weather experience is coming to your Android phone today, and I think you are really going to enjoy it. The new experience is arriving through a Google app update that hit our phones, though that could be initially through the beta channel before it arrives everywhere. Either way, it’s coming very soon to you all. 

In the new weather experience, by asking Google what the weather is like, or by typing in “weather” into the Google search bar, you not only get a beautiful and more colorful opening card, you also get more information than ever. You’ll now see detailed hourly weather conditions, if there is a chance of rain, get weather alerts, a detailed 10-day forecast, UV index, sunrise and sunset times, and much more. Google even added in the ability to save locations for quick weather updates. After performing a search for a location’s weather, you should see a little “Add” prompt at the bottom of the screen.

The Google app update hit our phones as v5.8.50.19 this morning. Be sure to check for an update!

Play Link

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Via:  Inside Search

This is the New Google Weather, and It’s Awesome is a post from: Droid Life



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Facebook Announces Sports Stadium, a Dedicated Sports Experience Not Yet Available for Android

This morning, Facebook announced that it is launching Sports Stadium, an experience catered entirely to fans of sports all across the globe. Available starting today for iOS users in the US who want to watch real-time updates of the American football games taking place over the weekend, Facebook states that they will soon rollout compatibility for additional platforms and for other sports, such as soccer and basketball. 

So, what exactly is Sports Stadium? It is a place on Facebook that is dedicated entirely to sports that can be enjoyed alongside your friends. You can get real-time updates on games, play-by-play stats, comments from friends on specific plays, commentary from experts, and much more. Think of each game as an event you are invited to. Instead of all of that information being posted to your timeline, you would instead find it all in a dedicated section, allowing you and the buddies to curse the refs and argue what a “catch” in the NFL actually means on a week-by-week basis.

For now, the service only supports American football, but as mentioned, more sports will come soon. For us Android folk, we will have to wait until Facebook is ready to grace us with Sports Stadium.

If you do use iOS, you can search for games using the search tab inside of the Facebook app, and as the platform grows, additional ways to find the games you want will be made available.

Via: Facebook

Facebook Announces Sports Stadium, a Dedicated Sports Experience Not Yet Available for Android is a post from: Droid Life



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Please Ignore: Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge Cases are All Over Amazon Already With April 1 Release Dates

Our favorite time of the year! (That’s sarcasm, by the way.)

Before our inbox fills up with, “ZOMG Galaxy S7 cases, with April 1 release dates!” and our RSS apps are blowing up with “MASSIVE GALAXY S7 LEAK” stories, we thought we’d jump out in front of this one. Yes, case makers are already taking to Amazon with their products that will support the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. Should you look into any of this as a leak or hot tip as to what you can expect from Samsung in the next month or so? No, not really. 

This happens every year. Case makers put out cases to support upcoming products to jump into headlines (Hey, it worked again!), but also to start working on those search rankings and fill up on hype-based pre-orders. You see, case makers get every single little measurement about upcoming phones because they need to be able to build precisely designed and measured cases that are available at launch. These companies actually do sort of know, at least in terms of shape and look, what to expect from new phones like the Galaxy S7. And so they put up listings for cases that are mocked up to look in a way like what we might see. They typically use imagery from past phones or from renders made from fan sites to fill up their case mock-ups and get fankids excited.

Most of the time (unless you get full-blown CAD recreations of leaked schematics), these case postings show us nothing because case makers can’t exactly out products ahead of time or they’d be shooting themselves in the foot. They need access to early dimensions and designs. If not, well, they are then months behind their competitors.

Soooooo, yes, you’ll see Galaxy S7 cases all over the place from now until the phone is announced (likely at MWC next month). Try not to get too excited. Try not to buy into the headlines.

Wait, why are you still reading through here? I told you to “Please ignore.”

Amazon Links: Spigen Cases | GOOSPERY Cases

Please Ignore: Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge Cases are All Over Amazon Already With April 1 Release Dates is a post from: Droid Life



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A Couple of Verizon LG G3 Owners Received Marshmallow Last Night

Last night, a couple of lucky LG G3 owners on Verizon received a fluffy white treat by way of software update. The update appears to be Android 6.0 Marshmallow and software version 46A or VS98546A. 

At this time, Verizon hasn’t said anything about an official rollout, nor have they updated their software page for the G3. We also can’t tell how many owners of this phone (assuming there are many left) actually received the update. The first reports of it arriving were last night around 7PM Pacific, but we aren’t seeing any new reports this morning. It could be that the update slipped out to a few and is still very much in testing.

So what’s new? Users should see Google Now on Tap, new impressions controls, Doze battery management, and easier text selection. Outside of those features, we won’t know until we get the update and see a more thorough walkthrough than the handful of screenshots floating about.

G3 owners on Verizon, seeing an update?

Via:  XDA | reddit

A Couple of Verizon LG G3 Owners Received Marshmallow Last Night is a post from: Droid Life



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