Why The Apple-IBM Deal Should Not Be Underestimated By Google

The news about Apple and IBM coming together is a big one and should they make this partnership work, it could be catastrophic for Google. Original Equipment Manufacturers of Android phones will also start feeling the heat of this partnership.

ANDROID IS ZOOMING AHEAD

There is a lot for Google to feel proud about. They hold a stranglehold 85% market share in the smart phone Android market and even if 20% of that is due to their AOSP initiative, it is still a huge success. They have been able to keep both Windows and Apple at bay.

However, the very reasons for the success of Android have also had a negative spin off effect on other aspects of Google’s business. There are other aspects to this smart phone business that impact profitability which they would surely like to address and they are as under:

• Usage of the many apps on Android phones has impacted internet browsing of users. Consequently, Google has lost out on ad monetization due to reduced searches on the net.
• Those using Apple devices on the other hand still do a lot of browsing and thankfully for Google contribute to their ad revenues.
• Developers find the iOS revenue and reward model to be more lucrative though the number of apps downloaded on Google Android is significant. The engagement of iOS users is more rewarding to developers.
• Android is by far the market leader in selling smart phones but profit share of Apple remains high. Apple by virtue of owning two-thirds of the profit share gets a lot of revenue even as many of the Android OEMs have reported losses. Samsung owns a third as well.

GOOGLE HAS A CHALLENGE

Now that close to 2 billion people already own smart phones, it is a challenge to find buyers of these phones in developed markets. Google has to look for them in developing markets where the buying power is much lesser and price sensitivity ranks high. That by itself is a major issue that Google has to contend with. After all, if the first billion or two have not produced the profits for OEMs and the developers at significantly higher price points, what is the guarantee, this new set of customers will do so.

Google also has to face the launch of the Apple iPhone in September with a bigger screen. The iOS 8 is supposed to be doing away with widgets and custom keyboards. This will mean that users who had moved towards Android due to these issues will see Apple in fresh light and may not shift to the Android platform. That will also put additional pressure on the margins for Google.

GOOGLE WILL HAVE TO TURN TO ENTERPRISE

Since the consumer smart phone segment is becoming fragmented and extremely price sensitive, Google may have to seek more of enterprise customers to boost margins. Typically, this market is not that price sensitive and the market as of now is still relatively untapped.

Windows, IOS Or Android: Who Will Win The Business Tablets Battle?

The battle for smartphone supremacy has been steadily shifting in the favor of Android for the past few years now. Judging by this trend, it won’t be a surprise if Android will finally emerge as a clear victor in the market soon. As of now, with a market share of over 80%, Google is sitting pretty and has an unassailable lead over both Windows and Apple in the smartphone  domain.

THE QUESTION NOW IS WHETHER IT WOULD BE ABLE TO REPLICATE THIS IN THE BUSINESS TABLETS SEGMENT AS WELL?

The consumer market is a different ball game as compared to the enterprise one. In the former, price sensitivity is high and users want value for money. This is not to imply, the enterprise market is a free for all and you can charge what you want. The difference is that businesses will pay a premium for good products backed by excellent after sales support.

The reason for the battle shifting to the enterprise market is also that the consumer segment is a bit saturated. Those who bought tablets are not going to go for replacements or buy a second one any time soon. The replacement figures are not encouraging at all.

The margins that companies make on selling tablets to consumers is also much lesser than what they make when selling to businesses. By combining consulting and after sales support as additional offerings, they are able to make better profits.

ENTERPRISE MARKETS HAVE PRESENT DIFFERENT CHALLENGES

The enterprise market though has its requirements clearly spelt out. The optional physical keyboard for consumers is a must here and gadgets also need to be fully tamper proof with high security features. It is a more demanding market which will pay a premium for companies willing to offer a good product and backed by service.

Companies not selling Windows based tablets have a bigger challenge. They have to convince the decision maker and users long accustomed to Windows to shift to something different. Most enterprise units have Windows computers, laptops and cloud services well entrenched in their psyche. Asking them to move over to Android or the iOS is no mean challenge.

APPLE ALLIANCE WITH IBM

The above challenges could have been the reason for Apple tying up with IBM to come up with enterprise specific solutions on the iOS platform. They have an edge currently over Android as Google has not been able to assert itself on the enterprise segment yet. They are better prepared with their iPads than Google which would also have to move fast through better and seamless integration of its smart phones and tablets to make a dent in the enterprise segment.

While Apple and Google are still formulating their plans, Microsoft has the edge and precious time to come out with the Surface tablet and also hybrid Windows tablets. Most businesses would not mind going for these hybrid tablets as the integration with their existing systems would be faster and hassle free. They can also do away with any training of employees on how to use Android or Apple systems.

We could be in for interesting times when all the three fight it out in the market. The enterprise customer can then negotiate harder and get more value for the buck spent.

Yes, You Can Hide Root Access From Certain Android Apps – Here’s How

Rooted Android users can download thousands of new and exciting apps.

Many apps only work when you have root access permissions. And some apps – like security apps – work better with root access permissions.

And then there are some apps which refuse to work because you rooted your device.

These apps are few and far between, but they definitely exist. Fortunately, there’s a way to outsmart these apps and trick them into thinking you have an unrooted Android phone.

Here’s how to trick certain apps into thinking your Android device is unrooted:

Step 1) Download an app called Hide My Root. It’s free and available on the Google Play Store.

Step 2) The app is dead easy to use. After installing the app, launch it.

Step 3) Tap the Hide su binary link. This hides the “su”, or superuser, binary that is associated with rooting. Most apps check your su binary to determine whether or not your phone has root access.

That’s it! You should be able to easily install apps that require your phone to be unrooted.

Apparently, there are a select few apps which do not work with Hide My Root, but these apps are extremely rare. Hide My Root does a very good job of hiding data from third party apps.

Best of all, the changes you make in Hide My Root are totally reversible.

WHAT HAPPENS IF HIDE MY ROOT DOESN’T WORK?

Like I said, Hide My Root doesn’t work with all apps and there’s always the occasional app that isn’t fooled by Hide My Root’s trickery.

If you encounter such an app, then Hide My Root has one more trick up its sleeve: you can actually tap the Uninstall su app from within the app to temporarily uninstall the SU app.

Then, once you’ve installed the other app, you can tap reinstall su app in Hide My Root with no harm done.

The only other way to trick phones into believing you’re not rooted is to actually unroot your device. And you probably don’t want to do that. Thanks to Hide My Root, you can easily install apps that don’t want to get along with your rooted Android.

Once again, you can install Hide My Root from here.

Everything That’s Wrong With Android Summed Up In A Single Image

We all know that Android is the world’s best mobile operating system.

But Android obviously isn’t perfect. It has some serious flaws – including the messiness of the Google Play Store and, more seriously, fragmentation.

A research company called OpenSignal recently produced the image you see at the top of this article. That image separates the entire Android market into squares. Larger squares have more users while smaller squares are more obscure devices.

It’s no secret that Android is fragmented: but it’s scary how fragmented Android actually is.

Here are some important statistics to get from the latest OpenSignal report:

-Last year, OpenSignal reported that there were 11,868 different Android devices. This year, that number grew to 18,796, which is an increase of 60%

-In 2012, there were “just” 3,997 different Android devices

-The Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, and S5 all carry heavy market share, followed closely by the Nexus 5 and Moto G

-Chinese manufacturers are slowly taking over the Android market, as Huawei, ZTE, and Lenovo all occupy huge segments of the picture above

Of course, the picture above doesn’t technically represent Android fragmentation: it just shows how many different Androiddevices are out there. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – unless they’re all running different operating systems.

That’s why OpenSignal also produced the chart listed below:

This nifty chart lets us see the rise and fall of operating systems in real time. Today, the vast majority of the Android market uses Android 4.0 and higher – which is good for fighting against fragmentation.

However, brand fragmentation, Android fragmentation, and device fragmentation all remain serious threats to Android.

ANDROID USERS FIGHT BACK

For whatever reason, Android users can be a bit insecure about their favorite mobile operating system.

Don’t believe me? Walk up to the next Android user you see and tell them Android is for poor people.

Anyways, this OpenSignal report has come under criticism from certain members of the Android community. Droid-Life.com, for example, ends their article by saying:

“Finally – piss off, OpenSignal, for calling this a “fragmentation” report.”

Obviously, they’re mad at OpenSignal for confusing the number of different Android devices with Android fragmentation. I get it. The wording is deliberately vague.

Unfortunately for Android users, fragmentation can refer to a few different things – including OS fragmentation, brand fragmentation, and device fragmentation. And like it or not, Android users, fragmentation is the most serious problem facing Android today.

Namco Releases Pac-Man Friends For Free On The Google Play Store

Pac-Man was one of early video gaming’s most popular characters.

Today, Pac-Man is coming back to Android. Namco recently released Pac-Man Friends for free on the Google Play Store.

It’s a new, updated version of Pac-Man that lets players navigate Pac-Man through a maze while being constantly hounded and harassed by ghosts.

The original cast of Pac-Man characters is still here but that’s about all that remains the same.

Players tilt their phone around to navigate Pac-Man through the maze. Unlike the original Pac-Man game, these mazes come in multiple shapes and sizes and feature a number of deadly obstacles.

Another similarity between Pac-Man Friends and the original game is the flashing power pellets that let you flip the switch on your attackers and start eating some ghosts.

This isn’t some small, basic game either: there are 95 (!) levels in total and you can unlock 8 different friends along the way. Your friends give Pac-Man different power-ups which he’ll need to use to clear through levels.

Additionally, there are daily rewards and multiple control schemes from which to choose.

If you’re feeling rich, you can also buy some in-app purchases. No, not even Pac-Man can avoid the traps of modern mobile game design.

The game, which is apparently officially branded as PAC-MAN Friends in all capitals, can be downloaded from the Google Play Store here.

LocationDetector Is The Pathfinding App That Could Save Your Life

Have you ever been lost in the woods?

It’s one of the scariest feelings ever – especially when it’s starting to get darker out.

Even the most experienced outdoorsperson can get lost in the woods from time to time. And when you lose your sense of direction, you go from “good hunting day” to “scariest moment of my life” very quickly.

Anyways, your smartphone won’t help you in the woods without an internet connection.

Unless, of course, you download this new app called LocationDetector.

LocationDetector is a “full suite for travelers, fishermen and mushroom pickers”, according to the app’s creator,BaseManAndroid at the XDA Developers Forum.

What does that mean? Well, here are the app’s key features and tools:

-LocationDetector is a mapping app that can work without your internet connection

-It uses your phone’s built-in compass to get North, West, East, and South direction information

-You can save locations and use the navigation arrow to find your way to saved locations

-You can send locations via SMS and view all your locations on a map

Obviously, Google Maps can work without an internet connection, but it’s not ideal for emergency situations, nor does it work very well in backwoods areas. And of course, if you haven’t saved offline map data ahead of time, then you’re out of luck.

LocationDetector might not be the prettiest app out there, but it can help you identify your location and navigate to nearby saved locations. Next time you’re going out hunting, fishing, or “mushroom picking”, save your parking location using LocationDetector and, if you happen to get lost, you can use this app to get back.

How To Solve “Root Access Missing Or Lost” Errors On Your Rooted Android

So you rooted Android. You went to install a “root only” app and that app had the audacity to tell you that root access was “missing or lost”.

What does that mean? How can you solve this annoying problem?

Today, I’m going to tell you how to fix this unique rooted Android problem.

Step 1) Sorry to ask. I know it’s embarrassing. But is your Android device even rooted? Double check by installing this app from the Google Play Store. If it’s not rooted, install One Click Root or TowelRoot and proceed to step 2. If it is rooted, you’ll see a message saying “Congratulations! This device has root access!”

Step 2) Now that you’ve made sure your device is rooted, it’s time to figure out why you’re seeing the “Root Access Missing or Lost” error. First, open SuperSU and update the binary according to the on-screen instructions. When prompted, click Continue.

Step 3) You may have accidentally limited permissions to a specific app, in which case you should go to Settings > Applications > All > SuperSU and then select that app. Tap the Clear app data button and then re-open that app and re-assign root permission if prompted.

Step 4) Did that still not work? Try opening SuperSU and tapping reinstall to make sure no SuperSU files are missing.

Step 5) If that still hasn’t fixed your problem, try to disable and re-enable SuperSU access via your Android device’s app drawer > Settings.

Step 6) Reboot your device? Sometimes, that can clear up problems – especially after you disabled and re-enabled SuperSU via your Android device’s app drawer.

Step 7) If none of the above solutions work, then you can consider this next option from our friends at DroidViews.com:

If you can’t fix your “root access missing or lost” problem using one of the above methods, then you’re doing something wrong.

Will Android Wearables Ever Replace Your Smartphones?

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It is no longer a fad. People are making use of wearables like Smart watches for their utility value now than ever before. As more and more apps get introduced, we are going to have many more people wearing them and making optimum use of these gadgets in addition to their smart phones. The market for these gadgets is expected to go up by three times by the end of 2014.

BUT CAN THEY EVER TOTALLY REPLACE YOUR SMART PHONES?

Though in its infancy at the moment, the wearables segment is poised to take off vertically and it is only a question of how quickly technological developments take place. As soon as more functionality and conveniences are made available on such devices, consumers would prefer to not use their smart phones as frequently as they are doing now and would prefer to keep their hands free.

For instance, Smart glasses can make available a lot of information directly to your eyes even as fitness tracking apps can monitor wellness and health. With Apple also about to introduce its iWatch, there is a lot of optimism in the market for wearables.

FIGURES ARE IMPRESSIVE EVEN NOW

When you consider that over 6 million wearables have already been shipped across the worldin 2013 and 2014 will end up with over 19 million, the market potential can be well estimated. By 2018, this figure is expected to cross the 110 million mark.

In contrast, the smart phones sales will cross the 1 billion mark comfortably in 2014 and by 2018 will hit 1.6 billion. The developers working on wearables applications have their job cut out for them and will do everything possible to wean people away from the phones to wearables more often.

As of now, the screen display and speed in browsing the internet issues have been worked out. The size of the screen on the watch is small but much bigger on smart glasses. Now it is a matter of developing the right content and once that is done, these wearables can possibly substitute the smart phone.

CARRIERS AND MANUFACTURERS INTERESTED

The positive aspect is that both manufacturers as well as wireless carriers are optimistic and interested about the wearables potential and wish to do what they can for its growth. AT&T took off 50% on its charges when you bought the LG G Watch and the G3 phone as one step towards it.There is no doubt others will follow suit and make it more affordable for users.

MARKET CONSTITUTION FOR WEARABLES

Currently, the wearables market has categories in the fitness bands, heads-up and smart watches. The fitness bands are being bought by those wishing to track their physical activities during the day and how many calories they have been able to burn. They are hoping they can use this information to complement what they can use from their smart phone and set goals. Smart watches currently function mainly as notifiers for alerts received on the smart phone. You can also send replies in some gadgets.

HTC Preparing To Release The World’s Ultimate Selfie Phone

A lot of people are calling 2014 the year of the selfie.

That’s dumb, because selfies have been around for a long time. But it wasn’t until 2014 that grandparents and probably even great-grandparents heard about the selfie.

In any case, HTC is preparing to release a phone that could solidify 2014 as the year of the selfie.

According to (now-retired) leaker @EVLeaks, HTC is developing a smartphone codenamed “Eye”. That smartphone is specially designed to be the ultimate selfie-taking device.

What does that mean? A few people have been guessing at the features that would make a smartphone the ultimate selfie device. Those features include:

-A high resolution front-facing camera

-Anti-vibration and intelligent auto-focusing features

-An easy-to-press capture button on the back or side

-A wide lens to capture larger group selfies

That would just about cover it, right? The rumors first broke back in June, but speculation has been mounting throughout the summer.

AT&T IS “ALREADY TESTING” THE HTC EYE

The latest news about the HTC Eye is that AT&T is already testing it. Unfortunately, this testing phase hasn’t led to any additional leaks or information.

The HTC Eye wouldn’t be the only smartphone with a high-resolution front-facing camera. The Huawei Ascend P7 includes a 13MP rear camera and 8MP front-facing camera, making it an excellent selfie phone. I would expect the “world’s ultimate selfie phone” to have specs that are even better than that.

HTC doesn’t have the best record with ultra-niche smartphones. Last year, the company released the HTC First, which was a phone specially targeted to Facebook’s biggest fans (it came pre-installed with Facebook Home). That phone was pulled from shelves after just a few weeks due to disappointing sales.

Expect the HTC Eye to be released before the end of 2014 – possibly in October 2014.

You Can Now Get Early Access To IOS 8…But Only On Android

Apple announced iOS8 earlier this summer. It wasn’t the biggest iOS update ever, but it introduced a number of popular features – like the ability to add widgets to your notifications tray and revamped app icons.

Apple users won’t get iOS8 until the iPhone 6 is available, but Android users can now enjoy access to iOS8 thanks to a new iOS8 Launcher app.

That app is an “easy-to-use, no-frills, lightweight launcher” which comes preloaded with iOS8-style wallpapers, icons, and launcher animations.

It’s an improvement to the stock Android experience and is surprisingly smooth for a third-party skin.

The skin aims to unclutter your home screen while smoothing out transition effects. Users can also customize their transition effects using tools like Rotate, Bulldoze, Windmill, Cube, Scale, Flip, and Fade.

Better yet, the developers plan to continue adding to the app in weekly updates.

You can download the new iOS8 app for free from here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.one.appx.launcher

I recommend you download that app as soon as possible – these apps tend to disappear from the Play Store quickly becauseApple likes to sue anybody that even thinks about their intellectual property in the wrong way.

After installing it, you’ll enjoy an iPhone-esque experience that combines that smooth functionality and customizability of Android with the eye-pleasing aesthetics of iOS.

Freaking Math: The New Numbers-Based Android Game That Will Melt Your Brain

Some Android games are stupidly hard – like Flappy Bird. Others are stupidly simple – like Snake or Solitaire.

Freaking Math somehow manages to be both.

In Freaking Math, your job is to identify correct math equations. You have two seconds to choose whether a math equation is right or wrong.

Two seconds seems like a lot of time to decide whether 2+2 = 5 is correct or incorrect, but it’s harder than it seems.

The goal of Freaking Math is to get as many equations right in a row as possible. The first few equations are easy. After that, your brain and fingers start to argue with each other to a point where you can almost feel your mind melting.

All of the equations are simple addition. By the time you lose, it will be to an equation so simple your first grade math teacher would ridicule you for missing it.

Anyways, you can download Freaking Math for free from the Google Play Store here. Whether you just want to sharpen your mind or improve your ability to think on your feet, Freaking Math can be surprisingly fun to play.

Two seconds never seemed so short.

New Report Claims Apple Inadvertently Admitted To Installing NSA Backdoors On IOS Devices

Over the past few years, a number of tech companies have been involved with the NSA spying scandal.

Apple has always been at the top of the list of culprits, and many have claimed that the NSA can access a direct backdoor on almost all Apple devices.

In other words, if the NSA wants to spy on your iPhone or iPad, it can easily do so – and indeed has done so to catch criminals.

Apple has repeatedly denied any links between the company and the NSA, but according to a new report, Apple has already privately admitted to deliberately installing backdoors.

That report comes from ex-hacker, forensics scientist, and iOS expert Jonathan Zdziarski, who claims that Apple has developed “several services and mechanisms” that let Apple and government agencies extract personal data from iOS devices.

Zdziarski claims there is no way to shut off this data leakage and users never explicitly grant their consent to sharing this information.

Even more interesting is that Zdziarski claims Apple has inadvertently admitted to developing backdoors with the following sentence:

“As we have said before, Apple has never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services.”

Zdziarski claims that Apple specifically worded that line to avoid the truth and calls that sentence a “seeming admission to having these backdoors.”

Why?

Well, Apple never explicitly claims that it hasn’t created backdoors into its products or services. Apple never says “We did not create backdoors that let us access user information.”

Instead, they simply say they weren’t helped by any government agency.

Thus, as Zdziarski believes, Apple has maintained iOS backdoors for years. When government agencies asked for access to these backdoors, Apple acquiesced. The government agencies never helped Apple create those backdoors, they simply used backdoors which already existed.

The lines preceding the sentence above also indicate that Apple knows more about its users than some may like:

“We have designed iOS so that its diagnostic functions do not compromise user privacy and security, but still provides needed information to enterprise IT departments, developers and Apple for troubleshooting technical issues.”

The key word there is “enterprise”. The word “enterprise” sounds a lot less malicious than “government organizations”, but it’s equally as broad. It basically means that Apple has installed data collection services on iOS devices and that data can be collected by Apple, developers, and “enterprise IT departments.” That’s a lot of broad groups of people.

Apple, of course, was also renowned for pre-installing the carrier spyware app “Carrier IQ” on all its iPhones.

Apple is repeatedly denying its involvement with NSA spying and backdoors, but the company’s awkward wording of its latest statement has left many users confused about where their data is going.

Two Horse Race Has Never Been More Obvious: IPhone And Android Account For 96% Of Global Smartphone Market

It’s no secret that Android and iPhone are the two most popular smartphone operating systems on the market today.

But recent IDC data shows exactly how popular those smartphone operating systems are.

The latest IDC data for Q2 2014 shows us that worldwide Android and iOS market share rose to 96%.

In other words, for every 1 non-Android/non-Apple smartphone sold, 24 Android/Apple smartphones are sold.

That’s a ridiculous stranglehold on market share and consumers should be worried. Here are some concerns that members of the tech industry have about that 96% market share figure:

-Android and iOS combined have 96.4% market share, which leaves “little space for competitors”

-Android rose 33.3% year over year, while Apple’s market share actually fell over the same period

-Mobile OS competitors have faced “an incredible upward slog”. Windows Phone, for example, has been around since 2010 but has never risen above 5% market share. Blackberry, on the other hand, is virtually a non-player in the market at this point.

-App developers can drastically minimize development costs by focusing on the two largest ecosystems while ignoring all other OSes, which further increases their stranglehold on the market

-Phone manufacturers, by extension, have little incentive to develop their own operating system

WHY THIS ISN’T NECESSARILY A BAD THING

When you read the news that two operating systems have 96% market share of the global smartphone market, that sounds really bad for competition.

However, there’s more than meets the eye.

Android isn’t really a single operating system managed by a single company. Instead, there are two separate parts to Android: forked Android and “standard” Android.

Forked Android is the open-source Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Anyone can download and run AOSP on their devices without paying any money to Google.

Standard Android, on the other hand, requires paying subscription fees to Google for using its services – including the Google Play Store and Google Maps.

Approximately 20% of all Android devices are forked. In other words, the market share controlled by Google and Apple is slightly less than 96%.

As consumers, we should be encouraging competition. I like writing articles talking about how Android’s market share is gaining while Apple continues to slip – but at the end of the day, consumers lose when there are only one or two dominant mobile operating systems.

Facebook Hates Him! How To Check Facebook Messages Without Using Messenger

Facebook has started aggressively pushing its Messenger app.

That Messenger app comes with some scary permission requirements. It may be useful for those who chat with Facebook friends all the time, but for many people, it’s just another messaging app that takes up space on your device.

Fortunately, there’s a sneaky way to avoid Facebook Messenger completely and continue checking your messages like you normally would.

To do that, follow these steps:

Step 1) Open the main Facebook app and tap the Messages button

Step 2) Facebook will display an alert telling you that Messaging has moved

Step 3) Tap “Get the App” to be redirected to the Google Play Store

Step 4) Download Facebook Messenger but cancel the download immediately after it starts

Step 5) Now, open the main Facebook app again and check your messages tab. It

The loophole appears to work on some Android devices, but not all. It’s also unknown how long this loophole will stay open.

Anyways, if you’re mad at Facebook for requiring you to use Messenger, you can use this neat little trick to outsmart Zuckerberg and his buddies.

Once again, Facebook Messenger requires you to accept a bunch of scary permissions when you install it: including the ability to record audio and film video at any time without user input. Those permissions have turned many users away.

Shoutout to Phandroid for finding this “exploit”!