CM9 update for HP Touchpad is almost ready, according to official video

Just hours after finding out that the CyanogenMod family includes more than one million users, we are happy to inform you that the brilliant minds from CM are very close of releasing what should be their take on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on the HP TouchPad.

The 10-inch tablet from HP was discontinued last year due to low sale, and for months we were promised a working Android version on the TouchPad. The CM7 update, released in September 2011, was functional, but had way too many glitches to be considered satisfying by most TouchPad owners today, so a CM9 update was said to come soon, based on Android ICS.
Well, the CM9 is not exactly finished, but the CyanogenMod team has just teased us with a video showing their progress. Aside from the camera and video, everything seems to be working and the update looks promising as heck.
Of course, the software seems laggy here and there, but that’s to be expected, considering that what is shown in the video is only a pre-alpha version. And for a pre-alpha software version, the system boots pretty quick, Angry Birds plays ok, the Wireless and Bluetooth are fully functional, so all in all we have on our hands something to wait and crave for. And by ‘’we’’ I mean you lucky bastards who managed to get your hands on the HP TouchPad when it only went for 100 dollars.
No ‘’release’’ date has been revealed by the CM team for the CM9 update for HP TouchPad, but we know that the brilliant minds from CyanogenMod are ‘’well on their way in terms of progress’’ and hope to give us ‘’something to play with soon’’.
What say you, HP TouchPad owners? Are you as excited as I am for a scoop of Ice Cream Sandwich on your tablet? Or will you pass on the software, fearful for glitches and system instabilities?
Oh, right, I almost forgot. Here’s the video showing the CM9 progress so far:
Via AndroidPolice.com

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Android’s lead on iPhone among new smartphone buyers shrinks in Q4 2011

Android has enjoyed multiple quarters as the leading smartphone operating system in the United States. And though that lead remains, the gap between Android and its biggest competitor, Apple’s iOS, is more narrow than it has been in quite some time.

Nielsen reports that in Q4 2011, 46.3 percent of smartphone owners surveyed reported that their phone is based on Android. That was high enough to make Android No. 1, but the iPhone enjoyed a strong showing among people who recently purchased a smartphone. From October 2011 to December 2011, the percentage of people who reported getting a new iPhone rose from 25.1 to 44.5 percent. Meanwhile, Android dropped from 61.6 to 46.9 percent.

The iPhone 4S was a massive seller for Apple, and helped put the company on near equal-footing with Android among recent smartphone buyers. That’s important because competition between the two platforms will intensify most among new smartphone buyers. A large number of consumers have already chosen one or the other, but only 46 percent of respondents in Nielsen’s survey report owning a smartphone. That still leaves more than half the country, who are adopting smartphones at an increasing rate, up for grabs.

Why does that matter? Well, for a long time, Android app quality and diversity suffered because of developers, large and small, focusing on iOS because of the higher earning potential. The sheer number of Android users that came later created a situation where developers pretty much have to support Android. Going forward, it’s important that Android is able to keep its duopoly with iOS going so developers and carriers continue to support it as much as they have recently.

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Lookout: Android.Counterclank is Aggressive Ad Network, Not Malware

As a follow up to yesterday’s warning from Symantec about the threat of Android.Counterclank, Lookout Mobile Security came out with a more nuanced perspective on the Apperhand SDK central to the issue.

Unlike Symantec, they don’t go as far as to consider it malware, since it is not specifically engaging in malicious behaviour or stealing personal information, but they do consider it an aggressive form of ad network that you should think twice about permitting on your device.

They actually said that it is actually less aggressive than a similar one distributed in June 2011 that collected more private data. Apps including the Apperhand SDK do however allow for four annoying consequences that you probably didn’t expect when you downloaded the app:

1. Identifying your device uniquely from its IMEI
2. Potentially delivering “Push Notification” ads to the user
3. Pushing their search icon onto your desktop
4. Pushing their bookmarks to your browser

Remember, you are shown the permissions an app requires on installation so you can make an educated decision on whether to install. If you agree to this, you’re allowing these types of results. This case should be a good reminder to carefully consider what you’re granting them. If something looks inappropriate, research it further, or don’t download at all.

Lookout said they are continuing to monitor these trends in the app space, and are doing a good job to try and educate users about the risks. As the Android ecosystem continues to grow at its rapid pace, there will be more situations like this that find themselves on the borderline between annoying and malicious, and here at Androinica we’ll do our best to help keep you informed.

Source: The Official Lookout Blog

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Gingerbread increases its lead as number 1 Android version, while ICS grows slowly, but steadily

The Android Platform Version chart has just been updated with the December figures and, while there aren’t any important surprises, there are a couple of interesting changes.

Gingerbread remains the number one Android platform and has increased its lead from second place considerably. The 2.3 version powers no less than 58.6 percent of all Android-operated devices right now, while the runner up, 2.2 Froyo, only runs on 27.8 percent of Google powered gadgets.

Those two were in the lead a month ago as well, but the difference between them has increased from just over 25 percent to a whopping 30.8 percent. The second runner-up is Android 2.1 Eclair, with a 7.6% market share, down 0.9 percent from last month.

Honeycomb is in fourth place, as it was 30 days ago, down 0.1 percent to a 3.4% market share. Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest (and greatest, if I may say so) Android version is unsurprisingly only fifth in this share ranking.

Unsurprisingly, because after all there are only a couple of available smartphones running 4.0 ICS and one slate. On the other hand, the next Google developers report (or maybe the one after that) should see an important change in rankings, as more and more smartphones and slates running Ice Cream Sandwich are due to be officially launched this late winter and in early spring.

For the time being, we should mention that Ice Cream Sandwich has gone up from 0.6% a month ago to a whole percent right now, managing to tie the 1.6 Donut and surpass the 1.5 Cupcake. These two have still got teeny-weeny market shares, even though I personally don’t know anyone with a gadget running either of the two Android versions, but soon enough both Donut and Cupcake are set to become extinct.

Check out the full chart below or hit the source link for more details.

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Sony’s 2012 launch schedule leaks: 12 Android smartphones coming this year!

After it finally split up with Ericsson and started announcing and unveiling exclusive Sony branded gadgets, the Japanese multinational electronics giant seems to have big plans for 2012.

Sony is preparing the release of no less than 12 Android-powered smartphones during the course of this year, according to a leak picked up by the guys at gsmarena.com just a couple of hours ago. While this piece of information is far from being official, the list looks pretty legit and makes us think it’s trustworthy.

The first Sony smartphone to be released this year is, as we all expected, the Xperia S, coming in Europe and Asia for around 590 dollars. The monster 4.3-incher, powered by a dual-core 1.5 GHz processor, is set to be followed by three devices in April, codenamed Kumquat, Nypon and Pepper.

These should cost 335, 475 and 395 dollars respectively, being therefore set to hit the medium-end and low-end part of today’s smartphone market. The LT22i Nypon will sport a 4-inch WhiteMagic display, according to rumors, while the MT27i Pepper should come with a 3.7-inch Reality Display.

In June, there should be only one Sony launch, with a mysterious Olive I to hit the market at a 395-dollar price tag, while in July the Hayabusa and Tapioca are themselves set to come to a store near you. The Hayabusa has a $632 price tag next to its name, so it should be something pretty special, while the Tapioca will probably be the most basic Sony handset to hit the market in 2012, with a 188-dollar price tag.

Next up, we have another five smartphones to be released in August and September, but there’s little to nothing known about these, aside from the fact that they currently have exotic codenames like ‘’Lotus’’ and ‘’Mint I’’.

I for one am really excited to see what Sony has in store for us in 2012, especially after checking out the Xperia S, which looks darn nice on paper. On the other hand, I want to warn you to look at this leaked list with caution, because there’s a good chance for some of these smartphones to not be released this year (or ever), while most of them, if not all, will come with different names once they’ll hit the market. Also, keep in mind that the leaked prices are for the Asian and European markets, so in the US all these handsets (or the ones that’ll come, at least)  should be consistently cheaper.

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Which Version of Android Are You On? [Poll]

We see the periodical updates from Google on which operating system versions are more highly adopted and which are struggling to grow but we’re curious as to how our own reader base is distributed. We want to know which version of Android you are on. Whether it be via custom ROMs or official OTA updates, be sure to select your OS in the boxes below for both phones and tablets.
Personally, I’m on Android 4.0.3 thanks to owning a Galaxy Nexus but we know there are many of you who don’t have recent Nexus devices and are still rocking the latest and greatest. As I don’t have an Android tablet I won’t vote in the poll.
In the comments section, be sure to further discuss which phone you have and how you’ve gotten to whichever version of Android you have if it wasn’t an official OTA update. Poll options do not include triple digit increments for phones and do not include double digit increments for tablets. Let’s hear it!

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Rooted Users: You Spoke, Carrier Coverage Listened

(tl;dr – Carrier Coverage getting root support this week)

How would you characterize rooted android users? Geeky, technically savvy early adopters who enjoy tinkering, customizing and innovating? Absolutely, but after the launch of Carrier Coverage yesterday, I might bump a few other adjetives to the top of the list: vocal, influential, and demanding.
And I don’t mean demanding in a bad way. I mean demanding in a “we expect a lot from you” kind of way, like parents criticizing their kid for a B+ math grade because they know their child is capable of A+ grades. The Carrier Coverage team worked LONG and HARD on producing a great version 1.0 product (Android Market Download Link), but without support for rooted users, things went haywire.

The market flooded with 1-star ratings criticizing the lack of root support. Commenters suggested we hate root users and treat them like cheaters. In reality, it’s just VERY hard to accurately identify the correct info when many ROMs awkwardly change fields such as carrier, device, brand, and build name. To insure accuracy, we thought it would be best to disclude rooted user – at least initially – in our reports.
We were wrong.
A couple of the adjetives I left off the list are probably the most important of all: passionate and supportive. Rooted users are the EXACT type of Android users who are MOST likely to want to help and contribute to our vision. We know this and the LAST thing we want to do is alienate this group or make them think we don’t care. That’s why, as of last night, we began working on an update to the app and website that will allow inclusion of rooted data with a yes/no toggle button. Special thanks to all the people who suggested providing this option: it neither compromises data integrity or alienates root users, and might even provide a couple interesting data mining opportunities along the way.
We currently consider rooted user support to be our #1 priority and hope you appreciate that we’re listening to user feedback. We truly want to create a product and service that you love. We’re also hoping that those who left 1-star ratings and negative comments on Android Market will reconsider… we’d be heartbroken to see the long-term potential of Carrier Coverage killed because of a miscalculation in our launch strategy.
That’s right… I admit that we made a mistake. Now we’re correcting it. We hope you’ll continue to leave feedback on the Carrier Coverage Forums. We will continue listening, responding, and acting on your feedback so if you’ve got something to say, please let us know in the appropriate section of the forum. We’ve even created a special forum JUST for Rooted Users. We hope to see you there!
Carrier Coverage Users are ADVANCED
I just wanted to share these graphics which comes directly from the Android Market Developer Console.


Over 30% of Carrier Coverage users are running Android 4.X ICS while other similar apps have less than 1% of users on the most recent version of Android. Over 25% of all users are rocking the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. We’ve obviously got a smart, savvy, on-the-cutting-edge user base and we’ll continue catering to you. We hope you’ll continue offering your support and feedback.
We’ve also fixed a few bugs in an update now on the market as version 1.0.4:

• [Bug Fix] -> Fixed issue that prevented some GSM phones from not processing signal correctly.
• [Bug Fix] -> Fixed network detection before submitting signals. Awaiting feedback.
• [Bug Fix] -> Fixed first load sync issue.
• [Bug Fix] -> Fixed Honeycomb refresh from not showing.
• [Feature] -> Added more root user support.
• [General] -> Removed ICS menu for settings, replaced with single button.

Now head on over to the market, download Carrier Coverage,and hook us up with some encouraging feedback!

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