Android

Android 5.0 Lollipop still missing on Android Platform Versions report

Android version distribution - December 2014

Google today published the latest edition of its Android Platform Versions report. While Android 4.4 KitKat has now made its way onto more than a third of Android devices, the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system has yet to crack the charts. While Google has begun to ship its latest Nexus devices preloaded with Android 5.0 Lollipop and pushed […]

Android 4.4 KitKat cracks 30% mark on day that Android 5.0 Lollipop launches

After missing in action in October, Google today updated its Android Platform Versions report. Published on the same day that Android 5.0 Lollipop is out with the HTC-built Google Nexus 9, it shows that Android 4.4 KitKat is now on nearly a third of all Android devices. Since Google last published numbers in early September, KitKat has increased its share of the […]

Andy Rubin leaving Google

Andy Rubin

Andy Rubin, one of the founding fathers of Android, is leaving Google. According to The Wall Street Journal, Rubin is leaving to start an incubator for startups. “I want to wish Andy all the best with what’s next,” Google CEO Larry Page said in a statement received by the publication. “With Android he created something truly remarkable—with a billion plus happy users. […]

Google said to have shelved Android Silver program

Google Nexus 7

Goodbye, Android Silver, we hardly knew ye! It appears that the new Google program that at one point would have replaced the Nexus program has been shelved. According to The Information‘s Amir Efrati, the decision is tied to internal changes at Google. One of its strongest proponents was Google Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora who recently left the company. Other […]

IDC: 300 million smartphones shipped in Q2 2014

Graph - Going up

The worldwide smartphone market showed no signs of slowing down in the first half of the year. Following strong numbers in Q1, 301.3 million smartphones shipped in Q2 2014 according to market research firm IDC. This is up 25.3% from the 240.5 million shipped the same quarter a year ago. Echoing similar findings by Strategy Analytics earlier this month, the IDC reports […]