Android and Me » android market

Google Wallet comes to Nexus phones on AT&T and Verizon

Taylor Wimberly — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:02:10 +0000

After much hoopla Google Wallet finally launched on the Nexus S last September, but it was only available on Sprint’s version of the phone and not T-Mobile’s. Then when Verizon announced their Galaxy Nexus, it was soon discovered that they would not support Google Wallet. Verizon claimed that Google Wallet “needs to be integrated into a new, secure and proprietary hardware element in our phones” and they were continuing their commercial discussions with Google on the issue.

Thanks to a recent app update, Nexus users on AT&T and Verizon can now install Google Wallet directly from the Android Market. Many users previously obtained a hacked copy or side-loaded it onto their device, but now they can have the comfort of getting the latest official version from Google.

AT&T users with the Nexus S or GSM Galaxy Nexus just need to search for Galaxy Nexus and install it. Those devices are recognized as supported in the Market and it’s a 1-click isntall.

Google Wallet Google Inc. MARKET QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

For Verizon owners of the Galaxy Nexus, the process takes a few extra steps. They need to visit the Android Market website from their browser and then trick their device into installing the official app. It might sound like a little much, but it only takes around one minute to complete.

From your phone open the browser and head to http://market.android.com. (Tip: You may want to clear data and defaults on browser and Market before doing this.)
Search for “Google Wallet.” (If your browser prompts you to open the Market, don’t. Just stay in the browser.)
When the results come back, tap on the Google Wallet icon.
Tap the “Install” button from within the browser and then sign into your Google account. (Again, this is all from the browser, not the Market app.)
Once you have signed in, you should be redirected back to the Market page in the browser.
Obviously, you will not have the option to install there since the VZW Nexus is not supported.
Tap the back button until you are prompted for the Market or Browser again, this time choosing the Market.
The Android Market should open to the Google Wallet page with an option to install.

If it doesn’t work right away, just sign out of the Android Market website from your browser and try the steps again. I tried this on my Verizon Galaxy Nexus and it worked on the 2nd try. Previously I had side-loaded an older version of Google Wallet, and the install updated it to the latest version with no problems.

We don’t have a Nexus S or GSM Galaxy Nexus on T-Mobile to test this trick out, but hopefully it works on that device as well. If you happen to have one on hand, let us know if you were able to install Google Wallet from the Market.

At least AT&T is now allowing Google Wallet on some Android phones with NFC, and hopefully Verizon is close to reaching an agreement with Google.

Google introduces Bouncer, keeps Android market free of malicious apps

Edgar Cervantes — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:53:44 +0000

Smartphone security continues to be a hot topic in the Android ecosystem. Whether you believe this is much of an issue or not, Android is the most popular mobile operating system, and the bad guys are known to target bigger markets. Google is not keeping its arms crossed, and they have just revealed Bouncer, a service that scans the Android Market for malicious apps.

This makes it easier to keep the Android Market safer while maintaining the simple process of uploading new apps (which is something developers and users love about Android). This service has been operating since the beginning of 2011, without our knowledge of its existence. And Google claims that the number of malicious app downloads has gone down by 40%, which is contrary to what most anti-virus app developers claim.

The procedure is simple (relatively). When a developer uploads an application, Bouncer analyzes it for known trojans, spyware and malware. The app is also scanned for any type of extraneous behavior, compared to past-scanned apps. The discovery of any dangerous behavior then raises a “red flag.” After finding a malicious application, Google goes on to revise the developer’s account, and prevents them from spreading any current or future dangers.

Google Mobile Blog’s post goes on to talk about the fact that Android was built with security in mind. There are multiple functions within the Android OS core, which help stop the bad guys from accessing all your goodies. Here are some of the features that help Google make our devices secure:

Sandboxing: The Android platform uses a technique called “sandboxing” to put virtual walls between applications and other software on the device. So, if you download a malicious application, it can't access data on other parts of your phone and its potential harm is drastically limited.

Permissions: Android provides a permission system to help you understand the capabilities of the apps you install, and manage your own preferences. That way, if you see a game unnecessarily requests permission to send SMS, for example, you don’t need to install it.

Malware removal: Android is designed to prevent malware from modifying the platform or hiding from you, so it can be easily removed if your device is affected. Android Market also has the capability of remotely removing malware from your phone or tablet, if required.Hiroshi LockheimerVP of Engineering, Android

As Hiroshi mentions, there is no way to stop malicious applications from getting to Android devices (or any smartphone, for that matter). What Android is trying to do here, is rid the Android market of all possible danger.

Bouncer may be the answer to all of those that worry about this issue. If an anti-virus app makes you feel more comfortable, though, it never hurts to have it. Plus, anti-theft solutions come in handy much more often than we would hope. My personal favorite happens to be avast! Free Mobile Security, followed by Lookout.

As always, though, the best solution is common sense. Getting a trojan, spyware or malware is simply not as common just yet. A googler even goes into detail about this, going as far as to mention that virus companies are “charlatans and scammers.”

Are anti-virus apps necessary?
I don't think so. Let's put it this way - I don't run those apps. That's obviously an individual choice, but I haven't felt the need for it.Hiroshi LockheimerVP of Engineering, Android

In an interview with JR Raphael, from Android Power, Lockheimer also mentions that he sees anti-virus apps as unnecessary. He also goes on to mention that the Android team is not stopping here, and they will be further trying to improve security within the Android ecosystem.

Android, security and its future
I want to emphasize that this is one piece of our overall security story. It doesn't start and end here. It starts with the device. It's not just about the app - it's the sandboxing, the (analyses of) developer accounts, and the scanning that happens. We're going for an end-to-end security path. Open source and security are not mutually exclusive.Hiroshi LockheimerVP of Engineering, Android

Just make sure you download apps from trusted sources (like the Android Market), and don’t forget to check out the permissions and app reviews. These techniques, along with Bouncer, should keep our devices safe enough, at least until this problem gets bigger (if it does). As for Google – we are glad they are working hard and have our backs.

Android Market offers free tracks from Drake, Maroon 5 and Mary J. Blige for a limited time

Taylor Wimberly — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:26:28 +0000

Have you purchased any music from the Android Market yet? Google just offered up some free hit tracks from Drake, Maroon 5, and Mary J. Blige in order to promote their Google Music service. Just click the links below to be redirected to the Android Market and add the free music to your library (sorry, appears to be US only).

Drake “Take Care (feat. Rihanna)” - http://goo.gl/x1aGw
Drake “Make Me Proud (feat. Nicki Minaj)” - http://goo.gl/Cb5Ri
Drake “Fancy” - http://goo.gl/4BzzA
Maroon 5 “Moves Like Jagger” - http://goo.gl/3Y8Xf
Maroon 5 “How” - http://goo.gl/OowOP
Mary J. Blige “Need Someone” - http://goo.gl/ITXH0

These latest free tracks are in addition to the Free Song of the Day and the hundreds of other free tracks. Let us know about your Google Music experiences in the comments below.

Android now has 400,000 apps, still a ways to go to catch iOS

Anthony Domanico — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:05:37 +0000

Distimo is reporting that Android now has 400,000 applications available on the Android Market, putting Android a mere 25% behind Apple’s App Store. Android’s smartphone market share continues to grow more rapidly than any other smartphone platform, and developers are taking notice.

With more and more developers developing Android applications before developing for other platforms, it will likely not be much longer before the number of Android applications matches the number of iOS apps, likely when both platforms are in the 550,000 to 600,000 range if Android’s market growth continues at the rate it has been.

Distimo’s report shows that Android’s application growth is largely coming in the free application category, with 68% of applications now available free of charge to end users, a 13% increase from April 2011 to December 2011. We expect this trend to grow even more as developers embrace the freemium model, where developers offer the basic application for free and offer premium features as in-app purchases.

While it’s encouraging to see the number of applications growing, we hope that the trend continues to bring useful and novel applications to Android rather than “crap-apps” or apps that simply replicate functions of another application.

My top 5 picks for Gameloft’s $0.99 Android Market sale

Taylor Wimberly — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:24:43 +0000

Gameloft has some of the best paid Android games around and for the next week all of them will be on sale for only $0.99. The one exception is Modern Combat 3 that will only go on sale for 24 hours, so follow Gameloft on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ to find out when. There are a lot of old games thrown in the mix, so here are my top 5 picks.

1. Modern Combat 3

Modern Combat 3 is easily the best action game on Android. I’ve been playing it a lot over the holidays and it continues to surprise and entertain me with how awesome it is. Keep an eye out for when this one drops to $0.99.

Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation Gameloft MARKET QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

2. 9mm

Fans of Grand Theft Auto will love this game, even though it plays more like Max Payne with a heavy focus on gun fights and slow motion bullet times. The single player campaign only took me a couple days to finish, but multiplayer mode extends the replay value. It earns the medium maturity rating that it received and reminds parents about the Android Market content filter settings.

9mm Gameloft MARKET QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

3. N.O.V.A. 2

I was so pumped for this game last Christmas and I think it lived up to the hype when it finally landed on Android. The gameplay from the single player is fun, but I actually spent quite a bit of time on the multiplayer mode. You will need a fast connection and dual-core phone to keep up with action, but this is one of the few online FPS games that I have enjoyed.

N.O.V.A. 2 Gameloft MARKET QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

4. The Adventures of Tin Tin

Gameloft just released The Adventures of Tin Tin to coincide with the release of the movie from Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I just handed over my $0.99 to check out the game. Early reviews have been good and I’ve been looking for a new adventure style game to check out.

The Adventures of Tintin Gameloft MARKET QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

5. Order and Chaos Online

I’m not a huge fan of MMORPG games, but those that are seem to enjoy Order and Chaos Online. The game has a 4.5 rating on the Android Market mostly because of the continued support by Gameloft. The community has been steadily growing and Gameloft is working on an update that will allow Android players to join and compete with their iOS friends.

Order & Chaos Online Gameloft MARKET QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Which Gameloft games are your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.

Gameloft’s New Year’s sale, all their games for only $0.99

Taylor Wimberly — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 20:18:45 +0000

Over the holidays Gameloft announced that all their games in the Android Market will be going on sale for $0.99 as part of a special New Years promotion. Starting Thursday Dec. 29th (10:00AM PST) until Thursday Jan. 5th (10:00AM PST) all paid titles on the Android Market will be reduced to $0.99. The only exception is the newly released Modern Combat 3 that will only be on sale for a single day.

Follow us to find out when you can grab ALL of our games, including Modern Combat 3, for $0.99 on the #Android Market!

— Gameloft (@gameloft) December 26, 2011

Games to be included in the sale include titles such as Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, 9mm, NFL Pro 2012, N.O.V.A. 2 HD, Order & Chaos Online, The Adventures of Tintin, and many more. In order to find out when Modern Combat 3 will go on sale, you will need to follow Gameloft on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

Expect 2012 to be another blockbuster year for Gameloft. They have now fully embraced the official Android Market and support a wide range of devices. Check out the Gameloft video podcast below to see what they have in the pipe for the coming months. Dungeon Hunter III is expected to release in January and should be their next big launch.

What Android gift did you get for Christmas?

Nick Gray — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:34:01 +0000

Christmas is here! We’re sure most of you got some pretty amazing gifts this year, but since we’re all about Android, we’re really curious about all those Android gifts you gave or received this year. The only Android related gift under the tree for me this year was a new SanDisk 32GB microSD card for my T-Mobile G2. I honestly don’t know what I’ll do with all the extra storage (I’m currently using an 8GB card), but I’m sure I’ll have it all used up in just a few weeks. My brother was the lucky recipient of an HTC EVO 3D and my mother in-law is one of the millions of new Kindle Fire users (her very first Android device).

A few of our team member were kind enough to share their Android Christmas stories with us as well.

Clark: I got my parents a Nest learning thermostat, which recently released an Android app. My dirty secret is that I really wanted the Nest for myself, but I knew for a fact that parents tinker with the thermostat more than I ever would. My dad was pretty intrigued; my mom doesn’t even have a smartphone. Maybe this will finally push her over the edge.

Dustin: My family doesn’t buy me anything for my phone because I change it so often. And they can never keep up with what accessories I have and don’t have. Last year I did get a Google Chrome and Team Android shirt though. My entire extended family got a Kindle Fire one way or another. I got my girlfriend an EVO View 4G because it was the same price as a Kindle Fire, but comes with two cameras, GPS, access to the real Android Market and it was just updated to Honeycomb.

So, what Android gift did you get/give this year?

Modern Combat 3 now available on Android Market for $6.99

Taylor Wimberly — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 06:34:09 +0000

Gameloft’s highly anticipated first-person shooter Modern Combat 3 has finally hit the Android Market for $6.99. North Korea, Pakistan and Russia have all teamed up to launch a terrorist attack on the United States, and it’s your job as Corporal James Walker to lead your special forces into enemy territory and stop them.

Android gaming fans familiar with the prequels will know they contained a lot of corridor action, but Modern Combat 3 will be all about large scale war. The game producer describes MC3: Fallen Nation as delivering “super large scale fights, something that hasn’t been done on smartphones. We wanted to make a point that smartphone gaming can be as huge and awesome as on any other home console.”

The solo campaigns will include 13 missions with locations from Los Angeles to Pakistan and the multiplayer mode will greatly enhance the replay value. Expanded multiplayer features include cross-platform battles, up to 12 players, 6 maps and 6 different modes. The developers are so confident with their multiplayer options that they said MC3 includes “everything that the hardcore first person shooter gamer is looking for.”

Gameloft has a strong track record as one of the best Android game developers, so I had no problem handing them $6.99 for Modern Combat 3. It requires at least 1.37 GB of free storage space, so I’m still waiting for it to install, but it looks like a wide range of dual-core devices are supported, including the newly released Galaxy Nexus.

Those wishing to save a few bucks should also be able to grab the game by visiting www.gameloft.com on their mobile device. Gameloft normally prices their new titles at $4.99, but their online store has always frustrated me, and I’m ok with giving Google that extra $2.

Check out the trailer below and then go download this game if your device is supported.

Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation Gameloft MARKET QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Android 4.0.3 becomes base version of ICS; not all apps ready to roll

Dustin Earley — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:50:56 +0000

Google has just announced an “incremental” update to Ice Cream Sandwich that will now serve as the base version of the OS. From this point forward, manufacturers looking to update their handsets to ICS will be doing so with Android 4.0.3. According to the Android Developers blog, 4.0.3 will be rolling out to production phones and tablets “in the weeks ahead.” While this is a good sign that manufacturers are just about ready to start rolling out updates, not all developers are ready for the jump.

The update to 4.0.3 isn’t exactly earth shattering compared to any other version of Android 4.0.x. There’s plenty of optimizations packed inside, as well as some big fixes, Bluetooth enhancements and graphic improvements. There’s also some new APIs for developers to play with that pertain to the camera, calendar and more. As badly as I’d like to see these changes brought to a device near me, there’s something else that needs to happen first. Developers need to make sure they update their apps to work with Ice Cream Sandwich.

Android 4 may have a relatively small user-base compared to previous builds, but that doesn’t mean app developers should postpone updating their apps until more people are using Ice Cream Sandwich. Of course some developers are ready for the update, but support issues for popular apps are more rampant then you think. We reached out to the followers of the Android and Me Twitter account to see what kinds of apps you’ve been having with trouble with, and which ones are working fine, on your shiny, new Galaxy Nexus.

Netflix: Netflix really needs no introduction, and fortunately, the app has been updated to work on ICS. Breathe easy streamers.
Dolphin Browser: Easily the most popular alternative browser for Android, ICS users are having trouble using Dolphin Browser.
OnLive: If you happen to use OnLive to get your gaming fix, you’re in luck. OnLive works on the Galaxy Nexus.
Facebook: Some users are reporting problems with Facebook. Considering it’s the most popular Android app on the Market, Zuck might want to get on that.
Light Flow: Light Flow gives users an added level of control over the LED notification light on their device. While most are saying it does indeed work on the Galaxy Nexus, there are some bugs that need to be smoothed out.
GTA 3: Probably one of the most popular games on Android at the moment, some users are reporting problems with the newly released game.
Swype: This is a big one. Swype has officially announced that their innovative replacement keyboard is not ready for ICS.
Adobe Flash: Adobe promised they’d update the abandoned Flash player to work with Ice Cream Sandwich, and sure enough, it was.

This is just a short list of the apps that do and don’t work with Ice Cream Sandwich and the Galaxy Nexus, so feel free to share any issues you’re having in the comments below. And developers, your users are waiting.

Google’s 10 cent deals – Day 10

Nick Gray — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:53:40 +0000

Well, this is it! Today is the final day of Google’s ten cent paid app deal on the Android Market. We’ve compiled the final list of apps that can be yours for only a dime. We know most of you are focused on getting your Samsung Galaxy Nexus from Verizon sometime today, but we think your shiny new Android 4.0 handset would be pleased if you purchased a few new games to show off its raw power.

You know the drill. Leave a comment below with any recommendations if you’ve used any of the listed apps. Once you make your final purchases, let us know how many ten cent apps you’ve purchased over the past ten days.