Facebook tops Nielsen’s list of most popular Android apps

I know, I know, stop the presses: Facebook is the most popular app on Android. The statistical wizards at Nielsen reached this conclusion based on active usage, not total downloads, noting that the recently-updated Facebook app has the most penetration across all of Android’s user groups after the Android Market itself. The fact is at least a little surprising, since Facebook beat out Google’s entrenched apps like Search, Gmail and Google Maps, which all had slightly lower user groups in every category.

Nielsen breaks down the distribution of most-used apps by how many users opened the app in the last 30 days. So while nearly 4/5th of the Android population uses Facebook on a regular basis, only about three quarters actually use Google Search, which is built right into the framework of Android. When it comes to third-party apps, Facebook absolutely kills the competition, with Angry Birds getting less than half the active users that Facebook enjoys from the 35-44 crowd. Other notably popular apps by usage include Pandora, QuickOffice, Yahoo Mail, Adobe Reader and Advanced Task Killer Free, despite the latter being unnecessary for almost all current Android devices.
The Android Market beats all, but since it’s a gateway to almost all third-party apps that’s understandable. Strangely, younger users actually seem slightly less inclined to download apps than their 25-44 counterparts. Among 18-24 year-olds, 89% use the Market regularly, compares to 92-95% for older users. Angry Birds is also significantly more popular in the older age group, a fact that lines up with some personal observations. Don’t install Angry Birds on your grandmother’s shiny new DROID this holiday season, unless you’re keen on hearing a dozen different varieties on the theme of “SQUUAAAAK” all weekend.
[via Androinica]

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Barnes & Noble readies massive Nook Color update with Netflix and Marvel Comics

It’s always nice to see a company supporting its products after an erstwhile successor has been introduced, and it looks like Barnes & Noble is doing just that with its Nook Color tablet-reader. The bookseller just released a huge update to the Nook Color’s software, well over a year after its original release, and almost a month after the Nook Tablet relegated it to the second tier of Barnes & Noble’s hardware offerings. Customers who weren’t swayed by the incremental updates in the Nook Tablet will no doubt be appreciative.

The update focuses on more media consumption, with the most notable addition being baked-in support for Netflix streaming. Flixster is also coming along for the ride. Barnes & Noble is also touting “the largest collection og Marvel graphic novels” coming to the 7-inch tablet, apparently integrated into the Nook bookstore instead of in a stand-alone app on the Android Market. The comics are formatted specifically to look and read well on the Nook Color, making the jump from the more expensive Nook Tablet where they debuted.
All this is likely to pass nearly unnoticed by the Nook Color’s active community of Android modders. CyanogenMod 7 continues to be the most popular aftermarket ROM for the easily-hacked tablet, and CyanogenMod 9 will likely make Ice Cream Sandwich available to them early next year. That at least is one reason to go with the Nook Color over the Nook Tablet; Barnes & Noble placed a locked bootloader on the newer hardware, putting the kaibosh on most custom ROMs. Stock Nook Color users can download the update from Barnes & Noble’s website.

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European Union slams the breaks on Google-Motorola antitrust review

Excited at the prospect of Google having its own in-house hardware branch? Prepare to curb your enthusiasm: Bloomberg reports that antitrust proceedings for Google’s acquisition of Motorola in the European Union will take even longer than normal, after the European Commission has halted its investigation to allow for more discovery. The Commission is requesting “certain documents that are essential to its evaluation of the transaction”, with no ETA on the continuing process.

This sort of thing isn’t entirely unexpected from the European Commission, but it does serve as a considerable roadblock for Google’s high-profile purchase of Motorola’s hardware division. While the EU couldn’t actually stop the two American companies from merging, it could essentially bar them from operating in its member nations, meaning that the merger almost certainly will not be finalized without the EU’s consent. Dedicated followers of technology news will recognize the pattern: the EU has a long history of strict regulation on large American tech companies.
A Google spokesperson in Brussels notes that the request is routine, and doesn’t expect it to seriously impede the merger, now expected to complete some time next year. “We’re confident the commission will conclude that this acquisition is good for competition and we’ll be working closely and cooperatively with them as they continue their review.” said Al Verney, in an email with Bloomberg. Motorola’s stockholders have already approved the merger, so approval form regulatory organizations is now the biggest hurdle for the two companies to overcome.

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LG Spectrum/Revolution 2 pics surface

Some photos of a new smartphone from LG called the LG Spectrum have surfaced. The phone will head to Verizon and be called the Revolution 2 on the Verizon network. The photos surfaced after the rumor that the handset was coming reports PocketNow. The Spectrum has now been confirmed as the Revolution 2, which surfaced in the Verizon system last month as model number VS920.

A photo showing the phone from just about all angles has surfaced and a few specs are tipped as well. The phone will run Android and pack a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. It will have an 8MP camera and will rock LTE connectivity for the Verizon 4G network as shown with the little 4G logo on the back of the smartphone.
The phone appears to be reasonably slim and has the three buttons on the bottom of the screen that are seen on most of the Verizon Android devices recently. Hopefully, we can learn a bit more about the hardware in the coming weeks and see how well the smartphone performance against the other high end Android devices like the Razr and Galaxy Nexus that Verizon has in its line.
[via Pocketnow]

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Upcoming Kindle Fire update to include performance and UI improvements

Amazon is working on an update for the Kindle Fire and plans on releasing it in roughly two weeks. This new update will come almost 4 weeks after the recently released 6.2 update. The news of the upcoming update was made by Drew Herdener, an Amazon Spokesman, while speaking to the New York Times.
The update will include improvements in performance, multi-touch navigation, Amazon’s Silk browser, and allow users to edit the list of recently used items on the Kindle Fire. Many users have been complaining the lack of privacy on the Kindle Fire. Every last app you open, book you read, music you list to, and website you visit is clearly visible in the list of items that appear on the home screen.
Source: New York Times

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HTC Sense 3.0 update to hit older phones

The HTC Sense user interface experience is something that is better for you to experience for yourself, than to rely on wordsmiths conjuring up adjectives while singing its praises and merits. After all, with Android being an open platform, it makes perfect sense for phone manufacturers to tweak the operating system with their own take in terms of interactivity – Samsung has their TouchWiz UI, so why not HTC with their vaunted Sense? It seems that HTC’s Sense 3.0 update is being prepared for a port over to older HTC handsets, the HTC Desire S and HTC Desire HD in particular, letting you enjoy an enhanced unlock display, newer widgets, and the ability to access settings control directly from the notification bar among others.
At the moment, only unlocked HTC handsets in the UK will be on the receiving end of this update, although we would not be too far off the mark to say that HTC is working to deliver HTC Sense 3.0 to branded handsets across the rest of Europe and in the US in due time.

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10 Billion Apps promo, day 6: BackStab HD, Captain America, and SimCity Deluxe for 10¢

Google’s 10 Bilion Apps celebration rolls on to its sixth day, with another crop of 10¢ apps dominated by popular gaming titles. As the Android Market passed an astonishing 10 billion total app downloads, Google has partnered with the top developers in the Android world to price their apps at an impulse-buying 10 cents/pence, with ten featured apps every day until this coming Wednesday. Today’s highlights include BackStab HD, Captain America, and SimCity Deluxe.

Here’s the full list of new discounted apps: NFL 3D Live Wallpaper, SimCity Deluxe, Just Me and My Mom (an interactive kids’ book based on the popular “Little Critter” series), BackStab HD, Jenga, Raging Thunder, Backbreaker Football, and Captain America. Endomondo and Great Little War Game were both featured on previous days. Check them all out by going to the Android Market home page on your device, or click here for the web version. Yesterday’s discounted apps are still available, but not for long – hurry up if you want them!
As Google demonstrated, games make up the largest portion of Android Market’s downloaded apps, so it’s understandable why they’re focusing on the segment for these discounts. If you try to download today’s apps right away you may run into problems due to a massive demand on Google’s servers, but they’ll likely help you out… perhaps even giving you the apps for free. If you’d rather not deal with the hassle, just wait until this evening (tomorrow morning for Europe) and you can probably get them with no trouble.

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ASUS confirms Transformer Prime will be available on launch day

Yesterday some rumors started floating around that the ASUS Transformer Prime had been delayed after weeks of pre-orders selling out. Apparently someone from Phandroid received word that an online retailer was canceling orders due to hardware and WiFi problems and the Prime would be delayed until next year and after the holiday season. We are happy to report this is not the case.

Today we’ve reached out to ASUS for an official statement and are happy to report they will be on sale come launch day, December 19th nationwide.
Here’s what ASUS had to say:

We are trying to confirm who released this statement and for what purpose right now. At this point, we still show to be on schedule to start shipments the week of 12/19. I will provide an update once I have additional information.”

From what we are hearing and from the statement provided by ASUS everything is on track and still scheduled for a full launch as expected. Obviously they are still tracking down where and why NCIX reported such a problem. If there were indeed an issue I’m sure we’d have heard of it especially with more online retailers expecting availability on the 12th and a full launch on December 19th.
As it stands right now all systems are a go and the Prime will be here just in time for everyone to finish their holiday shopping. We will be sure to update with any additional information.

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Old Android Market missing out on 10 cent deals, get the new market here

In case you haven’t noticed, Google is running a promotion giving out some of the most popular apps from the Android Market up for just $0.10¢ each to celebrate hitting 10 billion downloads from the Market. This has been a huge hit with Android fans but yesterday I realized if you have an older Android Market on your device, you could be missing out on all these deals.

Looking at the photo above the new market (right) front and center it shows the 10¢ apps and once you tap you see all 10 of today’s premium apps. If you’re running the old Android Market (left) like many from T-Mobile including my very own myTouch 4G Slide or other phones that for some reason still have yet to receive the latest Android Market you are missing out on all these deals. There are probably hundreds of thousands of users with old markets spread across all the Android devices.
My completely stock myTouch 4G Slide will NOT update to the new Android Market on its own and a quick Google search shows I’m not alone. If you happen to know what apps are being offered today for 10¢ you can find them, but you have no notification up top or any way of seeing them all in one neat place like the new Market. My friend kept asking what promotion I was talking about til I realized he wasn’t seeing them on his outdated Samsung Vibrant.
If you have the old Android Market the only way to see exactly what apps are on sale is the web market by clicking here. Don’t you worry though because we have you covered. Download the latest Android Market below and enjoy everything it has to offer (including Google Music) as well as these amazingly awesome 10 billion app deals.
Android Market v3.3.11 (new) — Download
Download that on your phone and install right over the old market and you’re good to go — Enjoy!

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