ICS and Jellybean now on a quarter of all Android devices, but over half still stuck on Gingerbread

Android Stats

It seems like only yesterday that Google bundled Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 in its little biscuit layers and sent it off into the world (it was December, 2011, actually). That Android flavor has since climbed the charts rapidly, around four percent each month for the last while, and now occupies the ROM on 23.7 percent of robot-based devices -- up from 20.8 percent last month. That's in part due to new devices (like many in China) still coming out of the box with it, on top of older warhorses like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 finally grabbing some ICS. Meanwhile, its smooth-running younger sibling, Jelly Bean, made a slight gain to 1.8 percent of all Google-run slates and phones -- though that will likely change when the Galaxy Note II hits the market en masse and the Galaxy S III OTA 4.1.1 disseminates to all its owners. Meanwhile, Gingerbread still dominates Google OS installed devices at 55.8 percent, probably thanks to delays or denials of newer flavors to legacy devices.

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ICS and Jellybean now on a quarter of all Android devices, but over half still stuck on Gingerbread originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 03:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Play services arrives for Android 2.2 and above, the eager can download directly

Google Play services rolls out to Android 22 and above, the eager can download directly

Google recently announced to developers the availability of a new "Services" platform, to allow better integration of its core products in 3rd party apps. The update comes in the form of an APK that will automatically find its way to handsets with Android 2.2 and above. But, for the impatient amongst you, it's available for download directly from the Play store now. This first release centers around better integration for Google+ (for account sign-in / Plus buttons etc) and providing OAuth 2.0 functionality, but it's expected that deeper functionality with the Google universe will take root soon. Most handily, as Mountain View decided to deliver this in the form of an app / APK, there's no pesky waiting around for networks to get it to you. Read up on the benefits via the more coverage links, or head to the source to make sure you're on-board.

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Google Play services arrives for Android 2.2 and above, the eager can download directly originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 10:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ICS now on one in five Android devices, Jelly Bean grows to 1.2 percent

DNP Jelly Bean stats

Last month was the first time Jelly Bean poked its head up in the Android distribution charts, debuting at 0.8 percent. It's bumped that stat by a significant proportion, if not a crazy absolute amount, to 1.2 percent of smartphones and tablets using Google's OS. But ICS 4.0 was the biggest gainer, moving up sharply from 15.9 percent to 20.8 of devices at the expense of Gingerbread 2.3, which dropped about 3.5 percent from July. Still, at 57.2 percent saturation, that version is still the richest Android confection by a wide margin. Our aging Galaxy S contributed a bit to its demise this month, thanks to CyanogenMod, so where does your own device sit? Check the source for a further breakdown of the stats.

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ICS now on one in five Android devices, Jelly Bean grows to 1.2 percent originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 06:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lexibook kids-tablet coming to the US, makes fifth-graders dream of an Aakash

Lexibook

French educational tech maker Lexibook is bringing its eponymous kiddy-tablet to the US from next month. It's not talking specs or price, but we're expecting it to be close to the Lexibook First currently available in Europe. The seven-inch slate packs a 600MHz processor, 256MB RAM, 4GB storage (expandable to 16GB with an microSD card), parental controls and 802.11 b/g WiFi. The FroYo-running device retails for £150 ($237) over the pond, but if the company tries something similar over here, we suspect people might plump for something a little more powerful, or less expensive, or both.

Continue reading Lexibook kids-tablet coming to the US, makes fifth-graders dream of an Aakash

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Lexibook kids-tablet coming to the US, makes fifth-graders dream of an Aakash originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 23:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ice Cream Sandwich takes a bite out of Gingerbread, represents 15.9 percent of Android devices

Ice Cream Sandwich takes a bite out of Gingerbread, represents 159 percent of Android devices

Two major updates later (three if you count the tablet-exclusive Honeycomb), and Gingerbread is finally starting to falter. According to Google's latest two week survey of devices accessing the Play store, Ice Cream Sandwich is on the rise, filling out 15.9-percent of the Android user base. That's a full five points ahead of Android 4.0's July score, and it's eating into the OS' other flavors: Gingerbread (Android 2.3) dropped by 3.4-percent, Froyo (Android 2.2) by 1.8 and Eclair (Android 2.1) by a meager half a percent. Google's latest confectionery update, Jelly Bean (Android 4.1), made an appearance as well, eking out a shy 0.8-percent of the market. Check out Google's collection of charts for yourself at the source link below or let us know where your devices falls in the comments.

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Ice Cream Sandwich takes a bite out of Gingerbread, represents 15.9 percent of Android devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 22:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google slips out YouTube Android Player API, third-party apps get full Nyan Cat experience (video)

Google slips out YouTube Android Player API, thirdparty apps get the full Nyan Cat experience video

For all of Google's emphasis on integrating its own services across Android, playing YouTube videos outside of the official YouTube app has usually required losing some piece of the experience, whether it's backwards compatibility, mobile optimization or just keeping viewers in the same app where they started. As it turns out, Google was well aware of this problem during Google I/O this year and teased a solution while everyone else was still recovering from their Nexus 7-induced fevers. A new YouTube Android Player API will let third parties integrate a full YouTube player into their Android apps with adaptive streaming, orientation and other special tricks intact. Any Android 2.2 or later device (including Google TV boxes) can come along for the ride, and views will count towards producers getting paid. Full details are only coming in the next few months, but app developers who've been craving a chance to slip in some viral videos can get an early look at the API near the start of the session video below -- or just load the Google I/O 2012 app, which has the code baked in.

Continue reading Google slips out YouTube Android Player API, third-party apps get full Nyan Cat experience (video)

Google slips out YouTube Android Player API, third-party apps get full Nyan Cat experience (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ice Cream Sandwich consumed by one in ten Android devices

Ice Cream Sandwich consumed by one in ten Android devices

The latest Dashboard numbers for Google's Android operating system have been released. The verdict? One in ten devices is leveraging Ice Cream Sandwich as their mobile OS of choice. The numbers, which are current as of July 2nd, put Gingerbread (Android 2.3) in first place with a 64-percent install base; followed by Froyo (Android 2.2) with 17.3-percent and ICS with 10.6-percent. Jelly Bean (Android 4.1), announced just last week at Google's IO Developer Conference, was not included in this instance of the report (as it is not officially available yet). Hit the source link to view all the stats, and feel free to let us know what Android codebase your handset is rocking via the comments.

Ice Cream Sandwich consumed by one in ten Android devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 07:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Native Firefox Android browser adds speed, Flash, HTML5 and a fresh look (hands-on)

DNP Native Firefox Android browser adds speed, fresh look, Flash, HTML5 and, er, speed

After a brief stretch in beta followed by some vague teasing, Firefox's native Android app update is finally set to hit Google Play. While there are a raft of bells and whistles -- a new welcome page, curvy Australis tabs, Flash and HTML5 support, for starters -- it's the browser's newfound speed that is getting the MVP treatment. That rapidity is as good a place as any to start a quick hands-on, especially since the native browser lag on one of our older handsets, a Galaxy S, often makes us want to hurl it through a pane of glass. Mozilla claims it built Firefox to a new benchmark it developed called Eideticker, resulting in an overall browser experience twice as fast as the stock Android one. As advertised, initial loading is quasi-instant, and navigation, zooming and tab switching seemed smooth as well, even on the two-gen-old phone.

Feature-wise, preferences and other desktop settings imported easily with Firefox Sync's shared password system, and the unfortunately named "Awesome Screen" is the new home page shown above, from which it's fairly simple to launch your preferred sites. Flash and HTML5 generally displayed correctly despite a few minor rendering bugs, and the curved tabs and other design touches make it one of the more elegant Android browsers we've played with. Unfortunately, many sites display in full because they don't yet detect Firefox as a mobile app, but the installation of the Phony 3.2 add-in lets it impersonate other smartphone browsers, and it seemed to work well. We also didn't like that tabbed browsing now requires two taps to get to another page, unlike the previous version, but we imagine that was needed for the increased speed. Overall, Firefox is a welcome addition to the Android ecosystem -- we bet you're just as eager to start browsing as we are, so stay tuned for the app to hit Google Play later today, or jump past the break for a quick speed demo from the kind folks at Mozilla.

Update: The new version is now available at the source link below.

Continue reading Native Firefox Android browser adds speed, Flash, HTML5 and a fresh look (hands-on)

Native Firefox Android browser adds speed, Flash, HTML5 and a fresh look (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Offline Google Maps to work on ‘all devices with Android 2.2 or higher,’ 3D compatibility less clear

Offline Google Maps to work on 'all devices with Android 22 or higher,' 3D compatibility less clear

We'd heard earlier that Google had "nothing to announce" in regard to Android compatibility with the newly-announced offline Maps support and 3D modeling, but look -- things change. We reached out to the company and urged 'em to dig a little deeper, only to have the following confirmed: "For offline Google Maps for Android, all devices with Android 2.2 (Froyo) and above will be supported." As for the 3D portion? "We'll have more details about device compatibility for 3D imagery on Google Earth for mobile at launch." After the event, we spotted a Googler using the 3D build on a Galaxy Nexus, so it's obvious that Android 4.0+ will be supported, but we have to assume that some of these older Froyo devices may simply lack the proper oomph needed to fly around the downtowns of [insert major metropolitan area here].

Offline Google Maps to work on 'all devices with Android 2.2 or higher,' 3D compatibility less clear originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jun 2012 17:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google: Ice Cream Sandwich now accounts for 7.1 percent of Android user base

Google Ice Cream Sandwich now accounts for 71 percent of Android user base

Well, it's about time that Ice Cream Sandwich made some headway -- even if the process is much slower than consumers deserve. According to the Android developer hub, Android 4.0 now accounts for 7.1 percent of all Android smartphone and tablet installations, which is a sharp and welcome increase over the 2.9 percent figure that we reported just two months ago. Naturally, Gingerbread users still account for the lion's share of the Android ecosystem with 65 percent, but it's worth pointing out that this segment also grew during the last month -- no doubt at the expense of Froyo and Eclair. Don't know about you, but we like our desserts fresh, thank you very much. Go ahead and hop the break to see the full breakdown.

Continue reading Google: Ice Cream Sandwich now accounts for 7.1 percent of Android user base

Google: Ice Cream Sandwich now accounts for 7.1 percent of Android user base originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 22:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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