A pointless rip-off of a pointless app: Meet Yup, India’s version of Yo!

We’ve already discussed before how pointless the Yo app was and even though the app has seen some new features like the ability to send links, start Hashtags and follow third-party services, the idea of just ‘Yoing’ people borders on lame.

Of course, when there’s an idea that creating some serious buzz in America, an Indian rip-off is never far behind. So now Gurgaon-based Nucleus Research has launched its own version of the Yo app and called it Yup! Yup that’s right, they didn’t even choose a name which started with a letter other than Y.

The app which is currently available on Android, is going to be available on Apple and Windows Phone 8 soon. Interestingly when you head to the developers’ site, it takes to you to a bunch of terms and service which point out that any copyright violation will be dealt with in a court of law. The irony is hard to miss.

According to a press release, the company has also roped in singer Yo Yo Honey Singh as their brand ambassador. Take that Yo, Yup! has the singer whose name might have really been useful for your brand.

Also if you download the app, he will be your first (and possibly only) friend on the app. Honey Singh had this to say at the launch of the app, “I am excited to become a part of YUP!team as this gives me an opportunity to engage with my fans in a unique way. My fans can now interact with me and share their feedback by just Yupping me anytime, anywhere. Join Yup! to become a Yup Star.” Put away that bottle of vodka and we suggest your start Yupping to Honey Singh on your mobile.

So what does the app do? Well you can send a Yup! to your friends once you download the app and convince other friends to do the same. According to the company, here are some scenarios in which you can send or say Yup:

1) Yup! to say Good morning – receive Yup when your coffee is ready.
2) Yup! when you reach home, work or getting late at night.
3) Yup! when work is done – bank, office task or you finish a meeting.
4) Yup! if you making a plan.

And of course who can forget the most useful one “Yup! to interact with Yo Yo Honey Singh.” The app allows also you to send more than a Yup, but you’ll have to add contacts and can’t do the same with just the two default contacts (Honey Singh and the Yup team.)

The things you can send to your contact other than Yup are “Miss Me?, Love Me?, All Ok? Coffee? Let’s Go? Reached? Can Talk? Party?” So each of the messages you send via Yup! will have a crazy question mark at the end and we can’t help but wonder why. Somebody should point out that Miss me and Love me with a question mark at the end sound just so damn needy or creepy depending on who sends it.

Since Yup! has so many uses, we came up with two other scenarios in which you can rely on the app.

When the girlfriend/boyfriend is harassing you on WhatsApp or Hike with questions like “Are you leaving me? Are you cheating on me?” Just reply with a Yup! It will definitely revolutionise break-ups. When your boss asks if you’re quitting, just send a Yup. If like you feel Yup doesn’t have enough swag, we suggest you use Yo.

So what does the app look? Exactly like Yo. Yup, true story. The UI is like Yo, down to the colourful blocks for the various buttons.  Even the purple and green colours are taken down from Yo and so is the font.

So how is it like to use the app? Well after sending a ‘Yup’ to Honey Singh, we waited a while for a reaction or some kind of a response, but got nothing. Maybe we should have sent him a Yo. Even a bot saying ‘Yup’ back in place of Honey Singh would have been nice but sadly it was not to be.

Given that the app is a total rip-off of the Yo app, (which itself has limited uses) it’s a little surprising that the company expects to have 50 million users by the end of 2015. Whether or not Yo will try to have the app removed from the Play Store remains to be seen. But we won’t be surprised if it’s booted out before it hits the ambitious goal of 50 million users.

Samsung launches Android-powered printers, with a 10.1″ screen that connects you directly to the Web

Android has long transcended its smartphone roots, but Samsung is now taking the Google-led operating system to the printing realm, with what it’s calling the world’s first Android-powered printer.

Straight out of left-field, this news falls hot on the heels of the Korean technology giant launching its first tablet for enterprises earlier today, and a virtual reality headset yesterday, so it’s been a busy and diverse week for the company.

The internet on your printer

The new multi-function printer (MFP) models were introduced at IFA in Berlin, and are aimed squarely at the business fraternity. As you can see from this close-up of the printer’s control panel, it very much has the familiar Android look and feel, though with options specific to printing – including ‘Scan & Send’ and ‘Job Status’.

Curiously, the Samsung Smart MultiXpress series feature a 10.1-inch full touchscreen panel that lets you connect directly to the Web, meaning you can access maps, emails, and pretty much any online content without the need for a PC.

There are ten new MFP models, across four separate categories. These are:

• X4300 series of A3 Color MFPs: The X4300 series of A3 color MFPs consist of X4300LX, X4250LX, and X4220RX models with an output speed of 30, 25, and 22 pages per minutes (ppm) respectively. X4300 series are equipped with Dual-Scan ADF technology, enabling them to scan up to 100 double-sided images per minute (ipm) for color and up to 120 double-sided ipm for mono. All models are equipped with Samsung’s Rendering Engine for Clean Page (ReCP) technology and Polymerized Toner, proving sharp, vivid, glossy professional color quality. The X4300LX model MFPs have a print capacity of up to 85,000 pages per month, with 23,000 pages for black and white toner and 100,000 pages for drum.

• K4350 series of A3 Monochrome MFPs: The K4350 series of A3 Monochrome MFPs consist of K4350LX, K4300LX, and K4250RX models with an output speed of 35, 30, and 25 ppm respectively. The K4350 series MFPs are equipped with Dual-Scan ADF technology, enabling them to scan up to 100 double-sided ipm for color and up to 120 double-sided ipm for mono. The K4350LX model MFP has a print capacity of up to 85,000 pages per month with 35,000 pages for toner. Drum has an output of 200,000 pages.

• M5370 series of A4 Monochrome MFPs: The M5370 series of A4 Monochrome MFPs consist of M5370LX and M4370LX models with an output speed of 53 and 43 ppm respectively. The M5370 series MFPs are equipped with Dual-Scan ADF technology, enabling them to scan up to 80 double-sided ipm. The M5370 series MFPs can print up to 300,000 pages per month with 30,000 pages for toner. Drum has an output of 100,000 pages.

• M4580 series of A4 Monochrome MFPs: The M4580 series of A4 Monochrome MFPs consist of M4580FX and M4583FX models with an output speed of 45 ppm. M4580FX is sold through the OA channel and M4583FX is sold with the IT channel. The M4580 series MFPs are equipped with Dual-Scan ADF technology, enabling them to scan up to 60 double-sided ipm. The M4580 series MFP can print up to 200,000 pages per month and 40,000 pages for toner. Drum has an output of 100,000 pages.

So…what do these badboys look like? Have a gander for yourself.

Toshiba's new $119 Windows 8.1 tablet could be a problem for Android

The Encore Mini – which Microsoft had initially called the Encore 7 back at Computex earlier this year – is about as basic a Windows 8.1 machine as you are likely to see. Built around a no-frills 7-inch 1024 x 600, the Encore Mini contains a 1.83GHz Intel Atom Z3735G processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage.

According to Toshiba's specs, the tablet features a micro-USB 2.0 port, a 0.3MP front-facing camera, a 2.0MP rear-facing camera, a microSD card slot, and a battery capable of powering it for 7.3 hours.

It's not going to win any medals for speed, but as a platform to run apps on, consume content, and access web-based services such as Facebook and Twitter, it's enough.

On the software front, the Encore Mini runs the lower-cost "Windows 8.1 with Bing" operating system (lower cost because Microsoft it hoping to make a return from people using its services), and comes with a year's subscription to Office 365 personal. It also comes loaded with third-party apps such as Amazon Kindle and Netflix.

The price tag on all this is a low $119. The estimated ship date is September 17.

While on first blush it might seem like cheap tablets represent a threat to more expensive Windows tablets, the real threat is to the flood of low-cost Android tablets entering into the market. The Encore Mini with it's Atom processor and 1GB of RAM doesn't have the grunt to run heavyweight applications, but it does have more than enough power to make people think twice about buying a cheap Android device, especially if they come from a Windows background.

Giving OEMs access to cheaper versions of Windows could be a game-changer as it allows Microsoft to compete on a more level playing field against Android, and gives OEMs a way to bring Windows to market on cheaper devices.

Evernote for Android completely overhauled with new look, navigation, Web clipper and more

Evernote has released an updated version of its Android app which ushers in a number of new features and a significant redesign aimed at making navigating the app a bit more efficient.



For version 6.0 of Evernote for Android, the company focused on fully refreshing the feel of the app, so there’s now a floating New Note button denoted by a + sign) to provide faster access to creating all kinds of different new Notes.

You can also now swipe from the left edge to quickly access your notebooks, tags and other shortcuts. Business users will also be able to switch between personal and business notebooks here.

The update also introduces the Evernote Web Clipper found on other platforms to Android for the first time. To use it, simply tap the Share button on a webpage and select Evernote as the destination. Once you’ve done this, the actual clipping takes place in the background so you can carry on with other tasks.

There are a few more changes under the bonnet too, like easier sharing of notebooks with friends and colleagues, an improved search function and an ‘Explore Evernote’ section of hints and tips which point out features you may not be aware of.

Reddit’s AMA interview app is now available on Android

Reddit this week introduced an app that makes it easy to peruse its treasure trove of interviews with people of note. It was initially for iOS only, but now — two days later — the AMA (ask me anything) app is available on Android too, as Android Police first noticed.



The Android version is much like its iOS cousin. Users can switch between trending, recent and all-time popular AMAs — each one is summarized and laid out to let users of the app skim the questions, answers and conversations that are often buried deep inside Reddit’s website

There’s no word on whether the app will also come to other mobile platforms, but we’d suggest that Windows Phone and BlackBerry fans don’t get their hopes up on this one.

5 must-have Android apps to make you smarter and more productive

We’re halfway through 2014, Google has just wrapped up its annual I/O developers’ conference in San Francisco, and a long Fourth of July holiday is behind us.

So now seems like a fitting time to look at some of the best Android productivity apps of the year. Some are brand new, others are not -- though usefulness is the real point of these apps, not how fresh out of the oven they are. But all are worth downloading and trying out.

Yahoo Aviate

I never would have thought something from Yahoo would improve the overall experience with my Android phone, but Yahoo Aviate -- which just came out of beta and is available in Google Play -- pulls it off.

Android Work: What IT pros need to know
Aviate is an Android launcher that Yahoo acquired in January. Android launchers basically make it easier for users to access apps and features from their devices. I know, this sounds overwhelming, but the right launcher can really improve your smartphone experience.

And Aviate likely will be the right launcher for many Android users, especially those who tire of the cumbersome displays and features on phones that have been altered by manufacturers under their license agreement with Google.

Aviate excels at organizing your apps in a logical manner. As you can see from the screenshot, it groups apps by category, so my productivity apps (Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, etc.) are all in one place at the top of the screen, instead of being interspersed in alphabetical order or by frequency of use.

Below that are categories for entertainment, music, social and transit apps. Users kick off the set-up process by selecting their 10 most important apps (which will be featured on the Aviate home screen) as well as five important apps categories. After that, Aviate takes over.

Even better -- and I’ve only just begun to use this feature -- Aviate will feed users contextual information throughout the day, beginning when they wake up and the app automatically shows them how long they’ve slept (not sure how it does that, to be honest), along with the day’s news and weather. During work hours, Aviate will present a screen with productivity apps, event listings, and directions to the user’s home. Aviate also will automatically give users on the road the latest local traffic conditions and directions back home.

As with any apps that provide a new interface, users can get lost in Aviate’s many swipe screens, and I somehow the screen with the 10 most-important apps I chose was altered so that I was getting apps grouped in categories. Then the apps wouldn’t work when I tapped them. It turns out that I had taken a screenshot of screen listing apps by groups. I just had to hold down the screenshot and swipe it into the trash bin.

My big concern with Aviate was how (and if) it would play nice with Google Now, which I rely on heavily throughout the day, especially on my smartphone. The good news is that Google Now works seamlessly with Aviate. This is particularly important given the latest update to Google Search, which includes a function that allows users to voice-activate Google Now from any screen (and not just when the Google Now widget (and microphone) is visible.

In the week or so that I’ve used Aviate, it’s made my phone easier to navigate and use. I recommend giving it a try. You can always uninstall it or revert to your phone’s old look by accessing Aviate’s settings and tapping “Show previous homescreen.”

Contacts+

I’ve been using Contacts+ for about a year and it’s one of the most useful apps on my phone.

Just as Aviate organizes your apps by categories, Contacts+ organizes the wide variety of real people for whom you have email addresses, phone numbers and social media accounts.

Tap on a name in your Contacts+ directory and you are presented with numerous options for contacting that person, including text, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and even telephone. If you have an address for your contact, you can even tap the Google Maps icon and get directions to them.

Lumosity

Our fast-paced digital world doesn’t suffer fuzzy thinkers kindly, so it behooves working professionals to stay on top of their game. And while there are plenty of fitness apps out there to help keep your body in shape, this Lumosity app from Lumos Labs provides workouts for your brain.

We’re not talking Candy Crush and Angry Birds here, people. Lumosity was developed by neuroscientists to help improve users’ memory, attention, mental flexibility and speed, and problem solving.

The app tailors its mental challenges to whatever the user would like to work on.  Under “memory,” users can choose training that would allow them to lose fewer objects, remember people’s names, learn new subjects quickly, or keep track of multiple ideas. Choices under “attention” are to avoid distractions, concentrate better, improve productivity and precision, or focus longer on important tasks. There also are four options under mental flexibility, speed and problem solving, but you get the general idea.

As for the games themselves, they’re light on bling but heavy on challenge. For example, the goal of the “Speed Match” game is to improve a user’s “initial identification and analysis of incoming sensory input” by having users indicate whether a shape that pops up on their screen is identical to the previous shape.

Granted, there are no egg-stealing pigs to bombard, but all apps have their shortcomings.

Lumosity will run users through about five mental exercises before declaring their training over for the day, which is a good reminder to use your sharpened brain for the challenges of real life.

Smart Voice Recorder

There are a lot of voice recorder apps for Android, but I like Smart Voice Recorder  by Smartmob Development. I keep the app icon on my homescreen for easy access when I need to record a thought, an interview or a conference session.

Smart Voice Recorder has a very simple user interface and a “silence skipper” option, so dead time isn’t recorded. Once you’ve recorded something and saved it, you can rename the file, set it as a ringtone, notification or alarm, and share it via Dropbox, Evernote, Google Drive, Gmail, email and text.

That’s pretty much all that Smart Voice Recorder does, but it does those things well.

Mobile Backup & Restore

Some apps are valuable because users rely on them daily. Others are valuable even if they are hardly ever used -- because they help prevent disaster.

Trend Micro’s Mobile Backup & Restore falls into the latter category. This free Android app makes copies of whatever you ask it to and keeps them in the cloud until you need them.

This backup app requires you to create an account after download. Once you do, you can choose what the back up from the following categories: Contacts, Calendar, Call History, Text History, Photos, Music, and Videos.

Backup and Restore offers only 50MB of free online storage space, so I use it for smaller text and contact files. For $19.99 a year, you can get 5GB of storage space.

You can set Backup and Restore to automatically back up designated files on a daily or weekly basis, as well as transfer files to another device.

India's smartphone wars: Google's Android One adds to Samsung's worries

Google Inc's (GOOGL.O) partnership with three Indian phone makers is set to rev up fast-growing demand for lower priced smartphones, and spell more trouble for Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) which is rapidly losing share in emerging markets.

Micromax Infomatics Ltd, Karbonn Mobiles and Spice Group are the first phone manufacturers to sign up for Google's Android One initiative, which provides specifications for key hardware parts. Some of the new phones are due to hit the market this month.

The aim is a vast improvement in quality that would lead to a surge in demand for low-end Android phones. Currently many cheap emerging market smartphones run different and somewhat customised versions of the Android operating system, which along with the many variations in hardware make apps on those phones prone to glitches.

While Google plans to push Android One globally, India, the world's third-biggest and fastest growing smartphone market, offers fertile ground for immediate results. Many Indians are buying a smartphone for the first time and a strong reception for Android One could promote common standards and consolidation in a market where more than 80 smartphone companies operate.

But any boom for higher-quality low-cost smartphones in India and other price conscious markets has the potential to exert intense pricing pressure on Samsung. The South Korean firm uses a customised version of the Android operating system but focuses on higher-margin offerings like its Galaxy S series.

"A major threat for Samsung is that Android One will accelerate the race to the bottom on smartphone pricing," said Neil Mawston, a UK-based analyst at Strategy Analytics.

"Android One now makes Google a foe, not just a friend, for Samsung."

A major strategy rethink for low to mid-tier products is now in order for the world's biggest phone maker and top seller in India, analysts say, particularly as Samsung is also losing share to Apple Inc (AAPL.O) at the higher-end.

GAINS FOR GOOGLE

For Google, a strong uptake of Android One smartphones should increase access to the Internet and Google's suite of products.

Analysts and industry sources also note the potential for Google to expand revenue in ways more favorable to itself than in the past, as Android One phones won't come with the heavy customisation that Samsung and other phone makers using the Android operating system provide.

That will mean more default settings for Google products and less competition from rival search engines and other app stores.

For the Indian phone manufacturers, they are banking on Android One to be the weapon that helps them grab further share as well as providing a launch pad for more exports.

Karbonn hopes the programme will expand its overseas revenue to near 20 percent in the next two years, from 5-7 percent now. It is looking to export to markets such as Europe, South Africa and Russia, Chairman Sudhir Hasija told Reuters.

Why Do Android Apps Want So Much Access to My Data?

Every time you install an Android app, you’re asked to OK the app’s access to certain parts of your phone. You might see this, for example:

This week, reader Maureen noted that these apps seemed to be overreaching just a tad. Why, for example, would The Weather Channel app need access to your Device and Call information? Why would it need to know if WiFi is enabled and the names of all nearby WiFi devices?

You may recall that Facebook encountered a bit of public pushback on this same issue when it released its Messenger app a few weeks ago. To install it, you had to give it permission to access your entire address book, send text messages, record videos using your camera, know your location at all times, and access the Internet when it wants. Everybody accused Facebook of getting greedy with its data harvesting.

As it turns out, all apps seem to ask for a lot of permissions, and most of it sounds a lot scarier than it is. If you’re an app developer for Android, Google says you must declare what parts of your phone your app can use — and you must use Google’s wording.

So Facebook had to use text that says, “Has access to your phone,” even though what it really means is “…if you try to call someone from within the Messenger app.” It had to use text that says, “Can access your camera,” when what it really meant was “…when you take a photo to send to a friend.”

I wrote to The Weather Channel to ask about its permissions, and a spokesperson told me the same kinds of things: Why does it need access to your phone? So that the app can make severe weather alerts pop onto the screen. Why does it need to know about nearby WiFi networks? Because Android phones use WiFi to help them figure out where you are — and The Weather Channel app needs to know where you are so it can give you local weather forecasts.

Google recently updated the way it displays permissions, making them cleaner and a little less scary. But if you ask me, the iPhone’s method is better yet. It asks you for access to some part of your phone only at the moment when it needs access.

In any case, it’s ironic that Google runs into public-perception problems with these permissions screens, because the whole idea was to shine as a beacon of transparency and openness — not to scare people with overly broad wording.

20 best Android apps and games this week

APPS

MIX by Camera360 (Free)
This is a spin-off from the well-regarded Camera360 photography app: pitched as a “companion to Instagram”, it has lots more effects and filters to tweak your shots, with lots of scope to mix up your own settings (hence the title).

Grabble: The Fashion Finder (Free)
There have been plenty of apps promising to help you find clothes to buy, but few have made a lasting impact. Can Grabble buck the trend? It looks good: capable of browsing UK retailers including Top Shop, ASOS and Net-a-Porter, with a simple, accessible interface.

Fragment (£1.20)
More photography here, with a nifty (if somewhat novelty) app to turn your snaps into “prismatic art” then share them on various social networks. You choose frames, shapes and patterns, then use intuitive touchscreen controls to make a mini-masterpiece (or a mess).

WeTransfer (Free)
Online, WeTransfer is a simple way to share large files with friends. Its Android app is just as useful: you can upload up to 10GB of photos and videos, entering friends’ email addresses to send them a link to the files. Good for sharing after large communal events – weddings, for example.

Line Toss: Photo Sharing (Free)
Social network Line clearly didn’t consult a British slang expert when naming its new photo and video-sharing app. Still, if you are a Line user – and the numbers are growing outside its native Japan – it’s a neat way to share and sort your snaps and videos with friends.

Delvv: Your Personal News Feed (Free)
Isn’t that Facebook or Twitter? No, Delvv is one of a group of apps aggregating news stories for you to read, based on your interests. Advanced users can add in RSS subscriptions to tune their feed, but it’s accessible enough for anyone to use.

SpinMe Alarm Clock (Free + IAP)
I’ve not yet met the alarm clock capable of getting me out of bed without at least three bleary-eyed presses on the snooze button. SpinMe might be the cure for that bad habit: to turn the alarm off, you have to get up and spin around holding your phone. Fun, if punishing.

Wakie (Free)
It’s officially the week of Android alarm-clock apps. Wakie is an even stranger idea, but quite fun: you set an alarm, then get a phone call – for 60 seconds maximum – from another Wakie user at that time. And you can do the waking if you like too. Sounds creepy, but the community seems friendly.

Folr (Free + IAP)
Finally, Folr is the latest location-tracking app, designed to be used (with permission, obviously) to keep tabs on your nearest and dearest. Parents are likely to be its key audience, although the developer is angling for schools to use it too.

Tiny Tower Vegas for Android.

GAMES

Tiny Tower Vegas (Free + IAP)
The two previous Tiny Tower games – Tiny Tower and Star Wars: Tiny Death Star – were both brilliant. This one is pretty good too, at first glance: you build a pixelly hotel and casino, filling its floors with gambling, and then popping in to play yourself.

Madden NFL Mobile (Free + IAP)
EA’s American football franchise returns to Android for a new season, in its recently-adopted guise as a free-to-play game. Expect official players and teams, deep tactical depth, and (hopefully) less server issues as the game gets into the swing of things in the coming weeks.

Calculords (£1.76 + IAP)
This is one of the most inventive games on Android at the moment: a turn-based card-battling game with a twist: maths. You have to solve sums in order to deploy your troops in a series of battles. It’s addictive and clever.

Swing Copters (Free)
Yes, the sequel to Flappy Bird, from developer Dong Nguyen. This time, instead of flapping a bird horizontally while avoiding pipes, you’re zig-zagging a propeller-headed character upwards between platforms and swinging hammers. Manages the dubiously-impressive feat of being even more difficult and frustrating than its predecessor.

They Need To Be Fed 3 (£1.19)
The previous They Need To Be Fed games were fab, and this continues the trend: a beautifully-crafted platform adventure with a “360-degree” schtick that means you’re not restricted from going in one direction. Excellent stuff.

Ascension (Free + IAP)
Card-battlers are now ubiquitous on mobile devices, but Ascension was one of the first good ones back in 2011. It’s taken its time to come to Android, but is well worth a look if you’re a fan of the genre: collecting cards to form your deck then exploring its deep battle strategy.

Five Nights at Freddy’s (£1.81)
One of the scariest Android games you’ll play this week, here: a conversion of the equally spooky PC game. It sees you playing a security guard in a restaurant, keeping an eye on its animatronic animal mascots – with a murderous plotline bubbling in the background. Creepy, but very good with it.

Deep Under the Sky (£1.99)
A psychedelic feast for the eyeballs, here, with a game that’s a bit reminiscent of PlayStation classic Fl0w. You guide a jellyfish through 80 levels on the dark side of Venus – be quiet, space biology experts – enjoying the visuals as you go. A relaxing treat.

Mountain (£1 + IAP)
Mountain is very silly, but fun too: you create a giant mountain that hangs in space, then watch it get hit by the weather and various items of flying junk. Yes, that’s it. But in an age of timer-based freemium games, checking in on this is a breath of fresh (mountain) air.

Pac-Man Friends (Free + IAP)
If the thought of Pac-Man re-imagined in a freemium game borrowing its level structure from Candy Crush Saga bothers you, avoid this. But if not, you may wish to give Pac-Man’s latest mobile comeback a try: it’s a new spin on the traditional ghost-chasing pill-chomping action.

Fionna Fights - Adventure Time (£0.60)
Finally, the latest game based on the marvellous TV show Adventure Time, this time with Fionna, the female version of hero Finn in gender-swapped episodes. It’s a colourful, fun action beat-em-up.

Those are our picks, but what have you been enjoying on Android this week? Post your recommendations (or feedback on these) in the comments section.

Paranoid Android 4.5 Beta 4 Update for Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10 Now Available for Download

Earlier last week we told you that the folks at Paranoid Android releases a minor PA 4.5 Beta 2 update for Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10. As promised, the developers have issued a new Paranoid Android 4.5 Beta build for supported devices. The beta builds are usually released once a week, but the Beta 4 build was made available for download within days after the previous update rolled out.

As you may know, the Paranoid Android 4.5 Beta 3 build has had some issues, the PA team confirming this in their latest blog post. Even though the Beta 4 build was supposed to bring Android L Dynamic status bar, the new build only arrives to fix the issues of the previous Beta build. The new update is set to fix issues with mako WiFi and kernel, issues with Theme Engine causing reboots, and the bug that was affecting hammerhead flashlight. As you may know, the Paranoid Android 4.5 Beta builds are also including some of the design elements of the Android L release. Therefore, you will be able to partly enjoy the Android L interface before the new update goes public.

Besides the Paranoid Android 4.5 Beta 4 update for Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10, the PA team has also made the new builds available for other supported devices. You would also be able to download and install the Beta 4 builds for OnePlus One, Oppo Find 5, Oppo Find 7, Oppo N1, or Galaxy Nexus. You can download the Paranoid Android 4.5 Beta 4 builds for the aforementioned smartphones from the PA download page, here.

Even though the Paranoid Android 4.5 builds are labeled as Beta, they are quite stable. I am currently running the Beta 4 build on my Nexus 5 as daily driver and I haven’t encountered any major glitches yet. The builds are usually released on a weekly basis and, as you might have guessed already, new releases are bringing fixes for the bugs found in previous versions.

If you are used to flashing custom ROMs on your Android device, installing Paranoid Android 4.5 shouldn’t raise any problems. After you have properly unlocked the bootloader, rooted your device and installed a custom recovery, you will have to download both the PA 4.5 Beta 4 and Gapps ZIP files from here and here, respectively. After you copy both files on your device, boot into Recovery Mode, go to install ZIP, choose PA 4.5 Beta 4 and Gapps, then flash them. After you perform a factory reset, reboot the device, and you should be running Android Paranoid.

If you have no idea what you’re doing, feel free to check our tutorials on how to install Paranoid Android 4.5 Beta 4. You can find tutorials for Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 here and here, while the tutorial for Nexus 10 can be found here. If you happen to own a 7-inch Nexus tablet you can find tutorials for Nexus 7 2012 WiFi-only, Nexus 7 2012 3G, Nexus 7 2013 WiFi-only, and Nexus 7 2013 LTE here, here, here, and here, respectively.

Google Sends Invites for September 15 India Event; Android One Launch Likely

Google has sent invitations for an event in India on September 15. While the invite itself says "More details closer to the date!", it is expected that the much-awaited Android One smartphones will make their debut at the event.

Android One was announced back in June at Google I/O with India's Karbonn, Micromax, and Spice the confirmed launch partners, though more Indian companies have reportedly joined the list since then.

Android One smartphones with their affordable price tag and near-stock Android software are Google's attempts to regain control of the customer experience in the entry-level segment. While the success of the likes of Moto E (Review | Pictures) has made a little bit of a difference, the experience in the sub-Rs. 10,000 smartphone segment has been sub-par for most Android users.

This can largely be attributed to low-end hardware and an OS that often comes pre-installed with all kinds of bloatware due to the marketing deals that many manufacturers sign in a bid to offset some of the costs.

Sundar Pichai, Senior Vice President, Android, Chrome and Apps at Google told NDTV Gadgets that the Mountain View-based company will not subside Android One hardware. Instead, Pichai hoped that the by sharing resources between Google and the OEMs, the companies would be able to keep the total cost of manufacturing in check.

It is widely believed that Pichai himself will make an appearance at the September 15 event, given the importance of the Android One project to the company.

Google Can Kill Samsung with Android KitKat and Android One: Here's How

Google's operating system, Android KitKat and the Android One Initiative, signify yet another bad news for Korean Electronics Giant, Samsung.  Emerging markets like India and the Philippines, which are both very populated countries, are switching from feature phones to smartphones. People find it exciting to get the upgrades at cheaper costs.



Although, Google's latest upgrade with its Android Kitkat 4.4 does not impress anybody with more innovative designs and state of the art feature changes, it is certainly able to reach its main goal of being available for all kinds of smartphones, be it high-end or low-end.  Google's intention is to make the operating system a little bit smaller so that it can be used on more devices.  This certainly narrows the wide gap between high spectrum and low spectrum phones.

Lower end devices typically use only 512mb of memory so that they can keep their device affordable according to the Economic Times.  But this makes the smartphones react slower than expected.  However, Google has made Kitkat a more practical operating system, which can run efficiently with just 340 mb of memory. This is an incremental improvement for users in terms of speed and efficiency. With the help of Kitkat, people can now purchase low-cost smartphones but get the high-end experience. Users in India, are particularly ecstatic about this development.

Moving forward, this poses a grave threat to Samsung.  Xiaomi, translated as "little rice" in English, has already penetrated and beaten them in China with $100 smartphone offerings according to TIME.  The danger becomes more imminent with the availability of Kitkat and Android One.  The Android One aims to provide design references to smartphone makers who will price their phones at $100.  Currently, brand names such as Karbonn, Spice and Micromax are hitting the stores and continuing to loom over the Korean titan, Samsung.

Microsoft's OneDrive Android app merges personal, professional

Microsoft has released an updated version of its OneDrive for Android cloud-storage app that adds for the first time on Android support for OneDrive for Business.



The updated Android OneDrive app is available for download for free from the Google Play store as of August 28.

A few months ago, Microsoft moved the different teams working on a consumer version of its OneDrive cloud storage service and the business version of that same service into the same business unit. That may sound like a no-brainer move, but the two different OneDrives have shared little but the OneDrive name. OneDrive for Business is a feature of Office 365 and/or SharePoint.

With today's new unified OneDrive app for Android, nothing has changed from a back-end perspective. There are still separate OneDrive consumer and OneDrive for Business storage services. Microsoft is trying to make it easier for users to distinguish when they are saving and accessing files, documents, and photos in OneDrive consumer vs. OneDrive for Business.

The first revamp of the unified OneDrive consumer/business experience is happening on Android. Microsoft's updated OneDrive for Android app adds support for OneDrive for Business. (Previously, the OneDrive for Android app, which can be used on both Android phones and tablets, supported only the OneDrive consumer cloud storage service.)

A new single Android OneDrive app also features a new interface that allows users to more easily keep their work and personal files separate. Microsoft also has added support for setting up a four-digit pin to the new unified OneDrive Android app.

Microsoft officials said the company will be providing a unified OneDrive consumer/business client app to iOS and Windows Phone devices "in the coming months."

In the interim, Microsoft has made a few tweaks to those OneDrive for iOS and OneDrive for Windows Phone 8.1 apps.

OneDrive for iOS, which works on iPhone and iPad, now lets users swipe down in the app to get a search box to make searching for files and folders quicker and easier. The app also gets an "All Photos" viewing option.

Microsoft is updating OneDrive for Windows Phone 8.1 with an update for the OneDrive recycle bin, making it easier to restore accidentally deleted files and folders. It also is receiving "a number of bug fixes," according to Microsoft officials.

How to Find the Best Deals on Android Apps

In an earlier article, we described how you can track great deals on great iOS apps, but that information is of little use if you're an Android user. If you find yourself scouring dark corners of Google Play store in the hope of landing yourself a good deal, worry not, help is at hand. Android may not necessarily have the best paid apps, but it definitely has the best app for finding deals on paid apps. Read on.

AppSales
AppSales is our favourite discount tracking app, and it's only for Android. It comes with several advanced filtering options to narrow down your search. With this app, you can filter search results by the amount of discount being applied, or show only apps that have gone free, which had a minimum rating you set. Here's how to use it:

1. Install AppSales and run it. You'll see two tabs - Sales and Watchlist. The first tab shows all apps on sale and you can tap any of these and click the eye icon to add it to your watch list to track deals at a glance.

2. To filter your deal hunt, tap the three vertical dots icon on the top-right > Settings. The first option is Set filters. Select the minimum discount and rating here to narrow down on the best apps. You can also select app categories and configure notifications in the Settings menu.

One problem with the app is that you can only add 10 apps to your watch list for free. The app charges a subscription fee of around Rs. 250 per year to let you add up to 100 apps in this list.

You can also find the deals using the AppSales website. It doesn't have the same search tools, but it's a quick way to find deals.

Amazon Appstore for Android
The other option for Android (and BB10) users is to install the Amazon Appstore. The Amazon Appstore has daily freebies, and it usually keeps offering up really nice apps; there are also huge discounts from time to time. Recently Amazon gave away paid apps worth $100 for free - so installing this on your phone is definitely a good idea.

IFTTT
IFTTT, short for If This Then That, is a great service that lets you automate several tasks. You can make it do several things, such as send you alerts when the currency exchange rate crosses a threshold, for you. It has a channel called AppZapp, which lets you track app deals for top-rated apps. The process of setting it up for Android is similar to what we'd explained for iOS earlier.

1. Go to IFTTT > Create a Recipe.

2. You'll see this in huge font size: "if this then that". Click "this" > select AppZapp > scroll to the bottom > select one of six triggers.

3. Triggers are events that tell IFTTT to send you an alert. In the case of AppZapp, the triggers you can choose from are when a top-rated app goes on sale, goes free or gets an update. These three triggers are available for Apple's App Store and Google Play store. Pick the trigger you want to get relevant alerts, such as top app gone free.

4. Now choose your country (you can choose between US, UK or Germany, but no India) and category of apps you want an alert for. Now click Create Recipe.

5. The next step will show you the same text you saw in step 2. Instead of "this", you'll see the AppZapp icon. Now click on "that". This is where you select the kind of alerts you want. We recommend that you pick one of Email Digest and Android notifications. This will send you one email every day or a quick notification on your smartphone. You need to install the IFTTT app on your phone to get this to work.

We found this to be the best method to keep an eye on apps on sale or apps that go free due to the notifications. You can tap these notifications, tap the alert in the IFTTT app and you will be redirected to Google Play.

Now that we've covered how to find the best deals on Android and iOS apps, we are certain that Windows Phone, BlackBerry, PC and Mac users are feeling left out. There's no need to be sad as we will help you save money on those platforms in an upcoming article.

Android LMP: Is Lemon Meringue Pie the name for the next version of Android?

Google had codenamed the next version of its Android operating system - that it has rolled out to developers - as Android L. The L, to many, stood for lollipop. But now, as many leaks are emerging - the next version of the most popular smartphone operating system could be Android LMP - the LMP probably stands for Lemon Meringue Pie.

Many mentions of LMP can be found in the Android Open Source Project repository. Even the WiFi certification for the Nexus 9, manufactured by HTC, lists its firmware as LMP.

The upcoming Nexus 6, that some believe could instead be called the Nexus X, is expected to come running on Android 5.0.

Lemon meringue pie is a dessert that has a flaky pie crust, tart lemon filling and soft meringue on top.

Google is known for nicknaming its Android mobile operating systems for smartphones and tablets after desserts. But it surprised all, when it named its 4.4 version KitKat, after the popular chocolate candy bar. Android 4.4, was widely expected to be called Android Key Lime Pie.

Google might have a surprise up its sleeve this time around too.

Matter app will add 3D backgrounds to your photos

Fancy adding 3D backgrounds to your photos right from your iPhone or iPad with the Matter app which is up for grabs on iTunes? This iOS tool is designed to let users make some creative 3D changes to pictures clicked through their Apple devices and then export these as plain old images or even video loops.



If you use the provided background sensibly in your photographs, then there good chances of the result turning out nicely. That’s because the 3D objects you can choose from within the Matter application are made to look somewhat realistic with the inclusion of reflections and shadows. You will be able to see what we mean by checking out the image posted below.

The shadow of the 3D structure can be adjusted to match the rest of the photo in which it is inserted. The positioning, strength and opacity of the shadow may be altered. What’s more, there’s an in-built editor which also permits users to erase parts of the 3D object in question. Customers get to pick from 4 packs of backgrounds covering basic geometric shapes to architectural pieces.

The 3D item you’ve added to your picture can be rendered opaque, reflective, translucent or refractive. As for the videos, you could choose from effects which make the concerned object pulse, spin or hover with the frame. The direction and rotation speed can be fine-tuned too. The Matter app is supported by Free for All community images which can be edited and shared by just about any user.

If you’re willing to cough up $1.99, the Matter app is all yours as a 26.8MB download. Here’s the link to the iTunes page hosting this Pixie creation.

Xolo beaming Android 4.4 KitKat update to Q1200, Q900s, A500 Club, A600, A550 devices

Indian mobile manufacturer Xolo will be beaming the Android 4.4 KitKat update to a set of devices soon, and the company has already released a beta version of the software for the Q3000 phablet. Other products which are in lineup include the Q1200, the Q900s, the A500 Club, the A600 and the A550.



Indian companies not ignoring their affordable smartphones while preparing their update schedules, is quite a rare sight these days. This is why Xolo should be credited for showing commitment towards delivering new versions of Google’s OS to its devices.

In the past, the Q1010i, Q1010, Q700s and Q1000 Opus from Xolo were also been granted the Android 4.4 KitKat boost by the company, and it’s finally the turn of others from the league. While the Q1200, the Q900s, the A500 Club, the A600 and the A550 will be getting the upgrades in the months to come, the one for the Q3000 is live now in its beta form. It can be downloaded OTA or from the company’s website.

This smartphone which was released late last year originally ran the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS. It kicks in a 5.7-inch full HD display and is fueled by a quad core 1.5GHz processor. 2GB worth of RAM and 16GB of storage serve its memory needs, while there’s a 4000mAh battery onboard as well, that keeps it going in between charges.

If you are the owner of any one the Xolo phones that are to receive the Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade soon, do stay with us for updates on the same.

Enter The Ambitious World Of Yo

For better or worse, the creator of the notorious and 'stupid' Yo app has grand plans to change the way we communicate.

WhatsApp hits 600 million monthly active users

In the six months since Facebook announced it was buying the messaging app, the service's monthly active user base has grown by 150 million.



It appears WhatsApp's popularity hasn't slowed since Facebook announced it was buying the service in February. The messaging app's CEO and founder Jan Koum posted on Twitter Sunday that the service now has 600 million monthly active users.

"Now serving 600,000,000 monthly active users. Yes, active and registered are very different types of numbers..." Koum tweeted.

WhatsApp is the maker of a 5-year-old mobile messaging app for exchanging texts, photos, and videos. The application is in the process of being purchased by Facebook for around $19 billion in cash and various stock options. The proposed deal has been approved by the Federal Trade Commission, but Facebook still needs to get international regulatory approval before it can complete the purchase.

In April, WhatsApp announced it reached the half a billion users milestone and that people share 700 million photos and 100 million videos on the app on a daily basis. At the time of Facebook's buyout announcement, WhatsApp had about 450 million monthly active users.

At $1 a year, WhatsApp is a cheaper alternative to SMS for those users in emerging markets, and appears to be already growing Facebook's total audience beyond the 1.23 billion people using the social network -- though it's unclear just how many people use both apps.

Most smartphone users download this many apps per month: zero

In summer of 2008, Apple introduced another game-changer that would affect the way people used smartphones moving forward – the iPhone App Store. This has now contributed to the global consciousness about apps, and Google saw that this was the only way to go to peddle its apps as well through the Android Market, concluding in the current incarnation of the Google Play Store. But why does comScore’s new data point to a staggering truth – that most smartphone users average ZERO app downloads in a month?

According to the same study, 52 percent – a little over half the time people spend on digital media (Internet, smartphones, tablets) are on apps. Yet the numbers of the report say this – that 65.5% of all smartphone users in the country average zero app downloads in a month. Only one third – roughly 30% -- download any apps at all, and that would be around 1 to 3 apps.

What’s the deal? It’s not like these apps aren’t useful – the usage numbers say that more than half of US smartphone owners tapped and used apps on a daily basis (comScore). Are good apps too pricey? We all know that most apps are free, and even then, most paid apps average on from a few cents to a few dollars, and the market is such that it pushes prices down rather than up.

One suitable explanation maybe that over the years, the app saturation has gone on to very high levels that it pushes users to have an “app routine” – that is, get to know the apps that do the job for you, and stick to them like glue. Once a user falls into a routine, they will still have the same apps even if they upgrade devices – the Google Play Store has made this tremendously easy, and even I can say that I am glad for it.

Another explanation may be that the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store – but more Apple than Google, really – has made it very difficult to discover new apps. The Apple App Store ecosystem is notorious for relying heavily on “top lists” and also known for not improving its search functions over the years. This only makes “editor’s picks” and bigger companies get all the profit and pushes an app – however ingenious it is – to the bottom.

The numbers won’t lie, the app ecosystem has pushed people to a state of non-discovery. It falls a lot to Android journalists and writers to discover and recommend the cool apps that need to be unearthed out the pile. But it also points to Apple and Google having to improve their market ecosystems, or else it might die a slow and painful death.