Amy Eichelberg

Say farewell to Key Lime Pie and say hello to Kit Kat, Google’s next big Android version. Android head Sundar Pichai finally revealed the new name of the next major version of Android along with a reveal of the candy bar statue on the campus lawn. For anyone unfamiliar with the importance of the lawn statue here’s how it works: each major version of Android is represented by a statue outside of the Android team’s Google building. When a new statue makes an appearance we know that the next version of Android is right around the corner. The picture above […]

Google has quietly updated the Android Distribution Charts for September leaving us to focus on not what versions have increased this month but rather what versions were left out. Donut version 1.6 and Eclair versions 2.1 can no longer be found on the familiar pie chart. Those versions of Android only accounted for approximately 1% of devices that checked in to Google server according to Google reports. Froyo decreased 1% from last month to 2.4% and Gingerbread is down to 30.7% from 33.1%. Ice Cream Sandwich went from 22.5% to 21.7%. As expected, Jelly Bean continues to grow increasing from

The highly anticipated LG G2 finally has a US launch date and T-Mobile has announced that they will start shipping the device to retailers on September 25th. Online availability will begin a few days before on September 18th. T-Mobile customers can expect to throw down a $100 initial payment towards a down payment plan. Consumers wishing to buy the Android flagship outright will have to come prepared with $630 large. The good news is that you can pre-order the device today in either a black or white color version. For anyone who isn’t looking to shell out that kind of

Loyal Shazam users have been dying for an overhaul for about two years now. Thankfully, the company has heard your cries with the release of Shazam 4.0. The enhanced app provides Android users with a modern, Holo-inspired interface that scales to all Android devices, including a wider range of tablets. Perfect for those of you who prefer your slab to your mobile device. iOS users were also included in this update as version 4.0 enables iOS users with faster sound scans and a more dynamic listening screen. The full press release awaits you below and interested users can grab the updated

Sure we already know that Samsung is launching its Galaxy Gear smartwatch on September 4th, but that doesn’t stop the flow of related leaks coming in. True to his reliable nature, our friend @evleaks has posted legit screenshots of Gear Manager, which is the smartphone app that will support the user’s smartwatch. The screenshots confirm rumored details like the SM-V700 model number, app support and NFC pairing. What we weren’t expecting was the “find my watch” tool and an abstracted representation of the Galaxy Gear itself. While an abstract representation is far from the real thing, thankfully September 4th is just a stone throw away.

According to a Chinese tech site ePrice  the new ASUS PadFone Infinity is ready for launch. Images obtained by the site show the device’s exterior design to look almost identical to the existing PadFone Infinity. Sorry guys, no radical design change this time. The new smartphone is expected to fit into the existing Infinity’s tablet base. The images also show the possibility of a microSD slot next to the SIM tray which could be a result of existing PadFone Infinity user’s feedback. ePrice sources claim that the new PadFone Infinity should launch in Taiwan during the third week of September, which would mean consumers

If you are currently in the market for an affordable unlocked stock Android phone, then now is the time to bust out your wallet. Google has just reduced the price of the Nexus 4 8GB to $199 from the original price of $299, and the 16GB model to $249 from $349. When the Nexus 4 first hit the scene it was the only quad-core smartphone available at such a reasonable price that didn’t tie you to any contract or one particular carrier. You can literally use this device anywhere in the world.Most consumers would expect to shell out a pretty

If you supported and backed the MoDaCo.Switch campaign on Indiegogo, then the company is paying you back in the form of a GS4 ROM. Users will be able to seamlessly switch between the TouchWiz and AOSP versions of Android OS. This ROM is only compatible with the GSM variant of the Galaxy S 4 and it is a beta release, so expect a few kinks. Galaxy S 4 users can check out the demo in all it’s glory at the video below. The information has already been emailed to backers, and they’re the only ones who can test the software for the time

How many of you fall asleep to music? Listening to music can be the ideal way to unwind or make it through the work day. The problem becomes what happens to your data usage during 8 hours of nonstop Bruce Springsteen radio? If you fall into this category and call Pandora your music streaming app of choice, then this news should interest you. Beginning in September Pandora will lift the 40-hour listening limit that it had imposed on users earlier this year. In its replacement users will now see a new sleep timer feature. The feature is designed to protect

Verizon decided that the HTC One wasn’t the only phone they would debut today. Say hello to the LG Enact, a full QWERTY slider aimed right at the budget market. The device sports a 4-inch WVGA screen with a landscape full QWERTY keyboard hiding underneath. Additional specs include a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 5-megapixel rear camera, a VGA front camera and 8GB of expandable storage. While these specs won’t stand up to a high end smartphone it is still quite affordable and ideal for anyone craving the delights that only a full keyboard can offer. The LG Enact is priced

According to several XDA forum members, the Verizon  HTC One bootloader is currently unlockable through HTCdev.com. We have seen Verizon HTC phones get thrown up on the HTCdev site with unlockable bootloaders only to be removed and locked down after the launch fanfare dies down. So, it might behoove you to take advantage of this while you still can. There’s no way to tell if HTC plans on leaving this up for good or for how long. The great thing about HTCdev is that all you have to do is the follow the steps provided for you and you’ll soon be on your

Now Android users can squeeze a little bit more out of their beloved Vine app. The Twitter owned company just released a new update, Version 1.3.4, that allows users to @ mention their friends in posts and comments and autocompletion for hashtags. Way to go Vine, what would we do without autocompletion for hashtags? In addition to these two new features, the changelog outlines “other bugs fixes and improvements”. What we’re most pleased about with this update is that it finally brings Android users up to speed with their iOS compadres. You can download the updated Vine app at the Google Play

There’s nothing quite like a gold colored iPhone to really fan the fires of the rumor mill. While we sift through the rumor rubble, these images from Weekly Ascii in Japan caught our eye as they depict a unique champagne version of the speculated iPhone 5S model. The images (shown below) show off a phone champagne in color with more refined design elements grouped together with the exisiting iPhone 5 models. This is a far cry from other leaks that have the next gen iPhone sporting an “in your face” gold color. You can be the judge of the images below and don’t

Two clamshell phones in less than one month? Yes, you read that right. Obviously Samsung thinks that there is a market for dual-screen flip phones these days and they are unleashing them at warped speed. Today the Korean manufacturer unveiled the Galaxy Golden, which looks extremely similar to the Galaxy Folder we covered just a few short weeks ago. The Golden offers up dual 3.7-inch Super AMOLED screens, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, a 1.7GHz dual-core processor and an 8MP camera. This device seems designed with an older demographic in mind as users will find an “easy mode” that can optimize the

In an effort to provide real-time news to its users, Twitter has added context to embedded tweets. Prior to this update, blogs and news sources would use embedded tweets to enhance their original news story. Now, embedded tweets will include a “related headlines” area that can be found just underneath the original tweet. Followers will be able to not only view the tweet’s permalink page but a listing of websites with their links where the tweet was embedded.Here’s what the official Twitter Blog had to say about the update: Every Tweet can foster stories elsewhere. Starting today, you will see