Linkedin For Android

Download Application

LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) is a professional social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. As of 9 February 2012, LinkedIn reports more than 150 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Romanian, Russian, Turkish, Japanese, Czech and Polish. Quantcast reports LinkedIn has 21.4 million monthly unique U.S. visitors and 47.6 million globally. In June 2011, LinkedIn had 33.9 million unique visitors, up 63 percent from a year earlier and surpassing MySpace. LinkedIn filed for an initial public offering in January 2011 and traded its first shares on May 19, 2011, under the NYSE symbol "LNKD".
LinkedIn's CEO is Jeff Weiner, previously a Yahoo! Inc. executive. The company was founded by Reid Hoffman and founding team members from PayPal and Socialnet.com (Allen Blue, Eric Ly, Jean-Luc Vaillant, Lee Hower, Konstantin Guericke, Stephen Beitzel, David Eves, Ian McNish, Yan Pujante, and Chris Saccheri).
Founder Reid Hoffman, previously CEO of LinkedIn, is now Chairman of the Board. Bhushan Kasvekar is Vice President of Products. LinkedIn is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in Omaha, Chicago, New York, London and Dublin. It is funded by Sequoia Capital, Greylock, Bain Capital Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and the European Founders Fund. LinkedIn reached profitability in March 2006. Through January 2011, the company had received a total of $103 million of investment.
In 2003, Sequoia Capital led the Series A investment in the company. In June 2008, Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, and other venture capital firms purchased a 5% stake in the company for $53 million, giving the company a post-money valuation of approximately $1 billion.
In 2010, LinkedIn opened a European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, received a $20 million investment from Tiger Global Management LLC at a valuation of approximately $2 billion, and announced its first acquisition, Mspoke, and improved its 1% premium subscription ratio.
In October 2010 Silicon Valley Insider ranked the company No. 10 on its Top 100 List of most valuable start ups. As of December 2010, the company was valued at $1.575 billion in private markets.
It was reported that LinkedIn earned $154.6 million dollars in advertising revenue alone in 2011. This number was actually higher than that of Twitter who earned $139.5 million dollars respectively.
In early January 2012, LinkedIn announced it would be expanding their offices into the Financial District of San Francisco. LinkedIn expects to move into their 57,120 square foot office space sometime in the Spring of 2012.
LinkedIn’s fourth-quarter earnings have recently soared. LinkedIn’s shares rose 9.5% to $83.68 in premarket trading. The increase in value is due to its increase in success in the social media world.
On February 24, 2012, LinkedIn announced it's acquisition of the start-up Rapportive, which created a browser plug-in that takes contact information from social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, and places them into Google's Gmail. LinkedIn has not stated yet how they will use the Rapportive's technology and talent.
In early May, LinkedIn announced it's 2012 Q1 numbers were up 101% to $188.5 million compared to $93.9 million in Q1 of 2011. Revenue for Q2 has been estimated to be between $210 to $215 million.
On May 3, 2012, LinkedIn announced it had acquired SlideShare, deemed "the YouTube of slide shows" for $119 million. It was stated that the purchase was done to give LinkedIn members a way to discover people through content. Slideshare attracts 29 million monthly visitors.
One purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people with whom they have some level of relationship, called Connections. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection. However, if the invitee selects "I don't know" or "Spam", this counts against the inviter. If the inviter gets too many of such responses, the account may be restricted or closed.
This list of connections can then be used in a number of ways:
A contact network is built up consisting of their direct connections, the connections of each of their connections (termed second-degree connections) and also the connections of second-degree connections (termed third-degree connections). This can be used to gain an introduction to someone a person wishes to know through a mutual contact.
Users can upload their resume or design their own profile in order to showcase work and community experiences.
It can then be used to find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in one's contact network.
Employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates.
Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers and discover which of their existing contacts can introduce them.
Users can post their own photos and view photos of others to aid in identification.
Users can now follow different companies and can get notification about the new joining and offers available.
Users can save (i.e. bookmark) jobs which they would like to apply for.
The "gated-access approach" (where contact with any professional requires either a preexisting relationship, or the intervention of a contact of theirs) is intended to build trust among the service's users. LinkedIn participates in the EU's International Safe Harbor Privacy Principles.
The feature LinkedIn Answers, similar to Yahoo! Answers, allows users to ask questions for the community to answer. This feature is free and the main difference from the latter is that questions are potentially more business-oriented, and the identity of the people asking and answering questions is known.
Another LinkedIn feature is LinkedIn Polls. In December 2011, LinkedIn announced that they are rolling out polls to their one million groups.
In mid-2008, LinkedIn launched LinkedIn DirectAds as a form of sponsored advertising.
In October 2008, LinkedIn revealed plans to opening its social network of 30 million professionals globally as a potential sample for business-to-business research. It is testing a potential social-network revenue model-research that to some appears more promising than advertising.
Applications
In October 2008, LinkedIn enabled an "applications platform" that allows other online services to be embedded within a member's profile page. Among the initial applications were an Amazon Reading List that allows LinkedIn members to display books they are reading, a connection to Tripit, and a Six Apart, WordPress and TypePad application that allows members to display their latest blog postings within their LinkedIn profile.
In November 2010, LinkedIn allowed businesses to list products and services on company profile pages; it also permitted LinkedIn members to "recommend" products and services and write reviews.
Mobile
A mobile version of the site was launched in February 2008, which gives access to a reduced feature set over a mobile phone. The mobile service is available in six languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.
In January 2011, LinkedIn acquired CardMunch, a mobile app maker that scans business cards and converts into contacts. LinkedIn plans to integrate this functionality into their services in the near future. In August 2011, LinkedIn revamped its mobile applications on the iPhone, Android and HTML5. Mobile page views of the application have increased roughly 400% year over year according to CEO Jeff Weiner.

---

You are reading this article and you can find this article on http://androids-zone.blogspot.com/2012/05/linkedin-for-android.html, You may spread Expand or copy-paste it if this article is very beneficial to your friends, but do not forget to put a Link as the Source.

Winamp for Android

Download Application

Winamp is a media player for Windows-based PCs and Android devices, written by Nullsoft, now a subsidiary of AOL. It is proprietary freeware/shareware, multi-format, extensible with plug-ins and skins, and is noted for its graphical sound visualization, playlist, and media library features. Winamp was developed by American programmer Justin Frankel and Russian programmer Dmitry Boldyrev, and its popularity grew quickly, along with the developing trend of MP3 file sharing.
Playback formats
Winamp supports music playback using MP3, MIDI, MOD, MPEG-1 audio layers 1 and 2, AAC, M4A, FLAC, WAV and WMA. Winamp was one of the first common music players on Windows to support playback of Ogg Vorbis by default. It supports gapless playback for MP3 and AAC, and ReplayGain for volume leveling across tracks. CD support includes playing and import music from audio CDs, optionally with CD-Text, and burning music to CDs. The standard version limits maximum burn speed and datarate; the "Pro" version removes these limitations.
Winamp supports playback of Windows Media Video and Nullsoft Streaming Video. For MPEG Video, AVI and other unsupported video types, Winamp uses Microsoft's DirectShow API for playback, allowing playback of most of the video formats supported by Windows Media Player. 5.1 Surround sound is supported where formats and decoders allow.
Media Library
At installation, Winamp scans the user's system for media files to add to the Media Library database. It supports full Unicode filenames and Unicode metadata for media files. In the Media Library user interface pane, under Local Media, several selectors (Audio, Video, date and frequency) permit display of subsets of media files with greater detail.
Adding album art and track tags
Get Album Art permits retrieval of cover art, and confirmation before adding the image to the database. Autotagging analyzes a track's audio using the Gracenote service and retrieves the song's ID2 and ID3 metadata.
Podcatcher
Winamp can also be used as an RSS media feeds aggregator capable of displaying articles, downloading or playing that same content as streaming media. SHOUTcast Wire provides a directory and RSS subscription system for podcasts.
Media player device support
Winamp has extendable support for portable media players and Mass Storage Compliant devices, Microsoft PlaysForSure and ActiveSync, and syncs unprotected music to the iPod.
Media Monitor
Winamp Media Monitor allows web-based browsing and bookmarking music blog websites and automatically offering for streaming or downloading all MP3 files there. The Media Monitor is preloaded with music blog URLs.
Winamp Remote
Winamp Remote allows remote playback (streaming) of unprotected media files on the user's PC via the Internet. Remote adjusts bitrate based on available bandwidth, and can be controlled by web interface, Wii, PS3, Xbox and mobile phones.
Plug-ins
See also: Plug-in (computing)
In February 1998, Winamp was rewritten as a "general purpose audio player" with a plug-in architecture. This feature was received well by reviewers. Development was early, diverse, and rapid: 66 plugins were published by November 1998. The Winamp software development kit (SDK) allows software developers to create seven different types of plug-ins.
Input: decodes specific file formats.
Output: sends data to specific devices or files.
Visualization: provides sound activated graphics.
DSP/Effect: manipulates audio for special effects.
General Purpose plug-ins add convenience or UI features(Media Library, alarm clock, or pause when logged out).
Media Library plug-ins add functions to the Media Library plug-in.
Portables plug-ins support portable media players.
Plug-in development support increased Winamp's flexibility for, for example, a plethora of specialized plug-ins for game console music files such as NSF, USF, GBS, GSF, SID, VGM, SPC, PSF and PSF2.
Skins
Winamp running on S7Reflex skin.
Skins are bitmap files which alter the aesthetic design of the Winamp graphical user interface (GUI) and can add functionality, with scripting. Winamp published documentation on skin creation in 1998 with the release of Winamp 2, and invited Winamp users to publish skins on Winamp.com. As of 2000 there were nearly 3000 Winamp skins available. The ability to use skins contributed to Winamp's popularity early in MP3 development. With the increasing number of available skins, genres or categories of skins developed, such as "Stereo", "Anime", and "Ugly". Online communities of skin designers such as 1001Skins.com and Skinz.org have contributed thousands of designs; also at GnomeArt. Designers see skins as an opportunity to be creative: nontraditional examples have included Klingon, iPod, and Etch-a-sketch designs.
The Winamp skin format is the most popular, the most commonly adopted by other media player software, and is usable across platforms. One example is the XMMS player for Linux and Unix systems, which can use unmodified Winamp 2 skin files.
Winamp 5 supports two types of skins — "classic" skins designed to Winamp 2 specifications (static collections of bitmap images), and more flexible, freeform "modern" skins per the Winamp 3 specification. Modern skins support true alpha channel transparency, scripting control, a docked toolbar, and other innovations to the user interface.
Initial releases
Winamp was first released in 1997, when Justin Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev, formerly students at the University of Utah, integrated their Windows user interface with the Advanced Multimedia Products "AMP (MP3 Technology)" MP3 file playback engine. The minimalist WinAMP 0.20a was released as freeware on 21 April 1997. Its windowless menubar-only interface showed only play (open), stop, pause, and unpause functions. A file specified on the command line or dropped onto its icon would be played. MP3 decoding was performed by the AMP decoding engine developed by Advanced Multimedia Products co-founder Tomislav Uzelac, which was free for non-commercial use.
WinAMP 0.92 was released as a freeware in May 1997. Within the standard Windows frame and menubar, it had the beginnings of the "classic" Winamp GUI: dark gray rectangle with silver 3D-effect transport buttons, a red/green volume slider, time displayed in a green LED font, with trackname, MP3 bitrate and "mixrate" in green. There was no position bar, and a blank space where the spectrum analyzer and waveform analyzer would later appear. Multiple files on the command line or dropped onto its icon were enqueued in the playlist.

---

You are reading this article and you can find this article on http://androids-zone.blogspot.com/2012/05/winamp-for-android.html, You may spread Expand or copy-paste it if this article is very beneficial to your friends, but do not forget to put a Link as the Source.

Fruit Ninja

Download Game

Fruit Ninja (known as Fruit Ninja HD on the iPad and Fruit Ninja THD for Nvidia Tegra 2-based Android devices) is a video game developed by Halfbrick Studios in Brisbane, Australia. It was released April 21, 2010 for iPod Touch and iPhone devices, July 12, 2010 for the iPad, September 17, 2010 for Android OS devices. It was released for Windows Phone on December 22, 2010. Also, in March 2011, versions for Samsung's Bada and Nokia's Symbian began to be distributed on their respective official application channels. Just prior to E3 2011 Fruit Ninja Kinect was released for the Xbox 360 on August 10, 2011 and utilizes the Kinect peripheral. In the game the player must slice fruit that is thrown into the air by swiping the device's touch screen with their finger or in the case of the Xbox 360 version, the player's arms and hands. It features multiple gameplay modes, leaderboards and multiplayer. An arcade version called Fruit Ninja FX also exists.
The game was well received by critics and consumers alike; as of September 2010 sales have exceeded three million downloads, with the total reaching four million in December 2010. Total sales across all platforms totaled over 20 million in March 2011. Reviewers felt that the low cost of the game combined with addictive gameplay yielded an excellent value. They further lauded the support and updates provided by Halfbrick, who brought online multiplayer, achievements and leaderboards to the game. Some critics felt the game's difficulty curve was uneven.
In Fruit Ninja, the player slices fruit with a blade controlled via a touch pad. As the fruit is thrown onto the screen, the player swipes their finger across the screen to create a slicing motion, attempting to slice the fruit in half. Extra points are awarded for slicing multiple fruits with one swipe, and players can use additional fingers to make multiple slices simultaneously. Players must slice all fruit; if three fruits are missed, the game ends, but upon reaching scores that are multiples of one hundred (i.e. 100, 200, 300, etc), the player will gain an extra life (unless they have not missed a piece of fruit already). Bombs are occasionally thrown onto the screen, and will also end the game should the player slice them.
A mode known as Zen mode allows players to seek high scores without the hindrance of bombs appearing on the screen. Also available is an Arcade mode in which players have only sixty seconds to achieve a high score. Special bananas are added to the standard fruit which have unique bonuses such as doubling points scored for a limited time, increasing the amount of fruit on the screen, or slowing down the movement of all fruit for a short period of time. In Classic and Arcade mode, special pomegranates are occasionally thrown on screen. In Arcade Mode, it is guaranteed that at the end of each game that a pomegranate will appear. Players can slice these multiple times to get extra points. Similarly, an ultra rare pitaya sometimes appears in Classic and Arcade modes which, if sliced, awards players fifty points.
Multiplayer gameplay is supported on iOS devices through Apple's Game Center application. It allows for competitive gameplay and features leaderboards and achievements. During multiplayer matches the player's blade and fruit are highlighted in blue, while the opponent's are highlighted in red. White outlined fruit are considered neutral and may be claimed by either player. White outlined fruit are worth three points. Players must slice their own fruit while avoiding their opponent's fruit. The iPad version of the game features enhanced graphics and also supports local multiplayer, with the screen being divided in half and each player controlling half of the screen. Players can also share high scores via Open Feint, Twitter and Facebook.
n an interview with GameSpot, Phil Larsen, Chief Marketing Officer at Halfbrick discussed the development of Fruit Ninja. He stated, "we tried a lot of different channels [...] indie games, PSN, XBLA, [...] and we basically did a lot of research about what was happening on iPhone and made a game that worked out pretty well." He then spoke of the company's brainstorming process for new games and said "Fruit Ninja came as part of [that] process, but we identified it as something special [and] decided to fast-track it through." Luke Muscat, Lead Designer for Fruit Ninja stated that he felt the uniqueness of the touch screen platforms and the short development cycle further motivated the Halfbrick to develop the game.
The game was first released on April 21, 2010 for iPod Touch and iPhone devices. It was later released as Fruit Ninja HD on July 12, 2010 for the iPad. On September 17, 2010 Fruit Ninja was ported to Android OS devices. On November 2, 2010 an Arcade mode was announced for Fruit Ninja which adjusted gameplay dynamics. It was released two days later on November 4, 2010. In December 2010 Lite versions of Fruit Ninja and Fruit Ninja HD were released for iOS devices and serve as a demo versions of the game. The game was also released for Windows Phone 7 on December 22, 2010.[4] Phil Larsen stated that due to the quick-release nature of iOS applications that a different marketing strategy is required. "You could have a game rise to the top and fall off in three days. You want to get it up there at the right time and have the right backup plan to sustain it with updates and further press" he said. On January 21, 2011 an update was released for the Android version of the game which added Arcade mode, leaderboards, and an ice blade to the game. There was also launched a Windows port by June 2011. A spin-off edition of the game themed to the Dreamworks animated movie, Puss in Boots was released on various devices.
In March 2011 Halfbrick announced a Facebook port of the game, entitled Fruit Ninja Frenzy. While no release date has been announced, Halfbrick has confirmed the game will be free to play. They described the Facebook port as "60 second gameplay with many powerups, unlockables and achievements". In addition to being a downloadable game on the Xbox Live Marketplace, a token for the game will also be included in the retail box of The Gunstringer, a Kinect title developed by Twisted Pixel Games. On August 24, 2011 downloadable content was released for Fruit Ninja Kinect. Entitled Storm Season the content brings three new Xbox Live achievements and a new visual theme to the game. In mid-2011, an amusement arcade version appeared titled Fruit Ninja FX. In March 2012 HalfBrick announced a partnership with BlueStacks to make Fruit Ninja's Android App available for Microsoft Windows worldwide. The program received over a million downloads in its first 10 days.
Fruit Ninja was well received by critics and consumers. The iOS version sold over 200,000 copies in its first month. In its third month over one million units had been sold. It passed two million units sold in September 2010, with the total reaching four million in December 2010. By March 2011 total downloads across all platforms exceeded 20 million. The Windows Phone 7 version was the top application downloaded the week of December 28, 2010. It was also named one of Time magazine's 50 Best iPhone Apps of 2011. The Xbox Live Arcade version moved over 739,000 units in is first calendar year.
Reviewers were mostly unified in the overall fun factor in the game. Levi Buchanan of IGN stated that the game was "fun, fun, fun" and "an instant pleasure". Slide to Play's Chris Reed agreed and felt that the game was perfect for when a consumer has short moments of boredom. He likened this to playing the game while waiting in line for something and stated "it'll slice the time in half." Jim Squires of GameZebo felt the gameplay was simple and addictive. Geoff Gibson of DIYGamer stated that he could see Fruit Ninja "becoming the next “big thing” on the App Store." Several reviewers praised price and Halfbrick's commitment to continual updates to the game. GameZone's James Pikover stated "perhaps the best part is that this game isn’t even complete." He then spoke of the future game modes to be made available and lauded the value-to-price ratio. App Spy's Andrew Nesvadba agreed that Halfbrick's commitment and updates were "nothing short of spectacular." He also praised the game's graphics and said they were "luscious". The reviewer from BuzzFocus praised the game's inexpensive price and said consumers "should really be downloading this app right now."
The game's scoring system and difficulty were received to mixed commentary. Chris Reed of Slide to Play felt that there should have been an option to increase the game's difficulty curve. Andrew Nesvadba of App Spy felt that since the bonus items were random the ability to beat a high score was made more difficult. DIYGamer's Geoff Gibson also shared this sentiment. James Pikover of GameZone, Geoff Gibson of DIYGamer and Levi Buchanan of IGN all praised the game's ability to boast scores to friends and family via Facebook and Twitter.

---

You are reading this article and you can find this article on http://androids-zone.blogspot.com/2012/05/fruit-ninja.html, You may spread Expand or copy-paste it if this article is very beneficial to your friends, but do not forget to put a Link as the Source.

Angry Bird Season

Download Game

Angry Birds is a strategy puzzle video game developed by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Mobile. Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for Apple's iOS in December 2009. Since that time, over 12 million copies of the game have been purchased from Apple's App Store, which has prompted the company to design versions for other touchscreen-based smartphones, such as those using the Android operating system, among others. The game is also available on HP App Catalog.
In the game, players use a slingshot to launch birds at pigs stationed on or within various structures, with the intent of destroying all the pigs on the playing field. As players advance through the game, new birds appear, some with special abilities that can be activated by the player. Rovio Mobile has supported Angry Birds with numerous free updates that add additional game content, and the company has also released stand-alone holiday and promotional versions of the game.
Angry Birds has been praised for its successful combination of addictive gameplay, comical style, and low price. Its popularity led to versions of Angry Birds being created for personal computers and gaming consoles, a market for merchandise featuring its characters and even long-term plans for a feature film or television series. With a combined 1 billion downloads across all platforms and including both regular and special editions, the game has been called "one of the most mainstream games out right now", "one of the great runaway hits of 2010", and "the largest mobile app success the world has seen so far"
In Angry Birds, the player controls a menagerie of multi-colored birds that are attempting to retrieve eggs that have been taken by a group of green pigs. On each level, the pigs are sheltered by structures made of various materials such as wood, ice and stone, and the objective of the game is to eliminate all the pigs on the level. Using a slingshot, players launch the birds with the intent of either hitting the pigs directly or damaging the structures, causing them to collapse and eliminate the pigs. In various stages of the game, additional objects such as explosive crates and rocks are found in the structures, and may be used in conjunction with the birds to destroy hard-to-reach pigs.
There are several different types of birds used in the game. In the earliest levels, the basic red bird is the only one available. As the player advances through the game, additional types of birds become available. Some birds are effective against particular materials, and some have special abilities that may be activated by the player while the bird is airborne. For example, a yellow bird can increase its speed, a blue bird can separate into three small birds, a black bird explodes, and a white bird can drop explosive eggs. The pigs themselves also appear in different sizes. While small pigs are relatively weak and are easily destroyed either by direct hits or by debris from the damaged structures, larger pigs are able to sustain more damage. In addition, some pigs wear helmets as armor, making them even more resistant to damage; pigs with crowns or moustaches can take the most damage.
Each level starts with the number, types, and order of birds pre-determined. If all of the pigs are defeated by the time the last bird is used, the level is completed and the next level is unlocked. Points are scored for each pig defeated as well as for damage to, or destruction of, structures, and bonus points are awarded for any unused birds. Upon completing each level, players receive one, two, or three stars, depending on the score received. Players may re-attempt unlocked levels as many times as they wish in order to complete them successfully or to earn additional points or stars.
The initial iOS version of the game included a single episode entitled "Poached Eggs", which contained three themed chapters, each with 21 levels. From time to time, Rovio has released free upgrades that include additional content, such as new levels, new in-game objects and even new birds. As updates have been released, they have been incorporated into the game's full version offered for download from each platform's application store.
The first update, released in February 2010, added a new episode called "Mighty Hoax", containing two new chapters with 21 levels each. Updates released in April 2010 added the "Golden Eggs" feature, which placed hidden golden eggs throughout the game that would unlock bonus content when found, and a new episode called "Danger Above", which initially contained a single chapter of 15 levels. Two later updates added two more chapters to "Danger Above", each with 15 levels. "The Big Setup" episode, released in June 2010, added a new chapter with 15 levels and additional Golden Egg levels. "The Big Setup" was later given two more chapters of 15 levels each.
A fifth episode, called "Ham 'Em High", launched in December 2010, in celebration of the game's first year in the iOS App Store. "Ham 'Em High" contained 15 Wild West-themed levels in a single chapter; updates in February 2011 and March 2011 each added one new 15-level chapter. "Ham 'Em High" also introduced the Mighty Eagle, a new bird that may be used once per hour to clear any uncompleted levels. The Mighty Eagle can also be used in previously completed levels, without the once-per-hour limit, to play a mini-game called "Total Destruction" in which the player attempts to destroy as much of the scenery as possible, both with the standard birds and the Mighty Eagle; achieving 100% destruction earns the player a Mighty Eagle feather for the level.
The Mighty Eagle is offered as a one-time, in-game purchase, and was initially only available for iOS, as its App Store customers have iTunes accounts with pre-linked credit cards. In late 2011, Rovio also added the Mighty Eagle to the Chrome App version of the game. Rovio has begun testing an Android update called the "Bad Piggy Bank" with the Elisa wireless service in Finland and T-Mobile, which allows users to charge in-app purchases, such as the Mighty Eagle, to their mobile phone bills; the service is expected to become available to other Android users in the second quarter of 2011.
The sixth episode, "Mine and Dine", was released on June 16, 2011 with 15 new mining-themed levels and a new Golden Egg. An August 2011 update expanded "Mine and Dine" with two more 15-level chapters.
The seventh update, "Birdday Party", was released on December 11, 2011 to commemorate the second anniversary of the first release of the iOS version into the iTunes App Store. It included 15 new birthday cake-theme levels, as well as updated graphics and the addition of elements from the spin-off games, such as the scoring graphic seen in Angry Birds Rio and the introduction of the orange bird that first appeared in Angry Bird Seasons. The update was later released for Android and Microsoft Windows. The eighth update (as well as another update for Angry Birds Rio) was released initially to the iOS on March 20, 2012 in a lead-up to the release of Angry Birds Space. The new update included an animated tutorial, enhanced gameplay, all new UI graphics, and the first 15 levels of "Surf and Turf," the Angry Birds Facebook-exclusive episode (see below), with another 30 coming soon.

---

You are reading this article and you can find this article on http://androids-zone.blogspot.com/2012/05/angry-bird-season.html, You may spread Expand or copy-paste it if this article is very beneficial to your friends, but do not forget to put a Link as the Source.

The Earth and Legend (Android's 3D RPG Game)

Download Game

Well, this review has been a long time coming, as it was last year that we ran a preview of the Dvide Arts title. The game has finally arrived and we have been furiously questing through it to give you our verdict on the eagerly anticipated RPG title.
Has it been worth the wait? The answer depends on your point of view. If you loved the previous game, Crusade of Destiny then you will find this to be a stellar experience, as it is essentially a fleshed out take on that game. If you are looking for a good looking, high quality grinding RPG then you will also like this. However, you may well want to steer clear if grinding the same few enemies for hours to increase your experience level sounds like your idea of hell, because you do a lot of grinding in this game.Earth and Legend Android screenshot 1 Earth and Legend Android Review screenshot
There is the usual RPG back-story of a kingdom at war, and you have to choose and customise your character to join the fight. Once done, you enter the first village and the graphics will immediately strike you, as they are very impressive. Incredible detail is lavished on the town sections, with gorgeous textures and smooth gameplay married with some great effects, such as snow and rain which has to be one of the games highlights, even if it essentially an overlay.
You have some basic weapons and armour(more if you get the free gold for ‘liking’ the game on Facebook), and you set off into the wild. Only to be wiped out within seconds of meeting an enemy. All the creatures around the village have a higher level than you, apart from Young Wild Boars. Pick these out without alerting any bigger enemies and your grinding journey begins. Repeatedly killing enemies of the same type until you level up, then killing slightly more dangerous foes, and so on. This is the basic structure of the entire game, and it really is a chore, especially when the combat options are really not much better than they were in the first game.
You have attacks, earned by using skill points from levelling up and these range from a basic sword strike to bows and magic. The problem isn’t the magic or the bows, but rather the fact that you assign your sword strike to a button just as you do a magic spell and that’s it. No dodging, no different swipes or parrying. No rolling to avoid an attack or using different attack heights or anything. You simply keep pressing the attack button while the enemy does the same, with the victor purely decided by stats. You can equip a shield and try to block some attacks but this is clumsily implemented. I really wish the developer had tried a more complex combat system, as it really does feel that, while the graphics and presentation of the new game haved moved on several steps, the combat is still stuck on repeat.
You can use different attacks, but you literally have to change weapon to use each different attack option.
The spells and the bow still work the same as they did in Crusade of Destiny, so you tap an enemy to target and then the ranged weapon is charged and fired, at which point the enemy will charge in and its back to the slashing standoff.
I was really disappointed in the fact that there is no overworld, but just areas joined together. With these graphics, having a big map to explore and dungeons to plunder would have been excellent, but it was not to be.
When you die you are returned to the last place you decided to bind yourself to, with little health, mana and your hunger severly depleted. This can be extremely annoying, as there is no way to increase your health without using expensive potions, as all food does is reduce your hunger. The only way to realistically recharge your health is to wait several long minutes, which isn’t too bad when you respawn in a town but pointless when you reappear in an enemy infested area, and as the main reason you would bind in the wild is to attempt a boss battle the problem is baffling. Standing still for five minutes waiting for a little red bar to recharge is even worse than it sounds.
The hunger mechanic is such a bad idea that I am amazed it made it into the finished game.You have to constantly buy food to survive, making any long trips into the wild even more limiting.
Nevertheless, despite all of these big problems, I enjoyed my time with Earth and Legend. Once you are well equipped and know to plan ahead and stock up, the irritations are reduced somewhat, and there is a great addition in the form of a pet that will follow you around and help out when fighting. Exploring the world and meeting the admittedly limited characters is fun, and the graphics are beautiful enough to help you forgive some sins.
There is an excellent multiplayer co-op mode over Bluetooth, where you and a buddy can explore and fight together. This is great and one of the games saviours. You can go fishing to add some variety, and even explore underwater with a very good swimming mechanic.
The bosses are great, with some clever designs and fiendish attack patterns, and it is always nice to level up and beat previously invincible enemies. If the developer added a proper overworld and some decent combat options with enemies that did more than just charge at you, then this could have been something special. As it is, you have a standard RPG grinder hidden underneath some pretty graphics and great presentation.
Sometimes compelling and sometimes frustrating, Earth and Legend is a game that you will either love or hate.

---

You are reading this article and you can find this article on http://androids-zone.blogspot.com/2012/05/earth-and-legend-androids-3d-rpg-game.html, You may spread Expand or copy-paste it if this article is very beneficial to your friends, but do not forget to put a Link as the Source.

Real Racing II

Download Game

Real Racing 2 is 2010 racing game game developed by Firemint for the iOS. 30 licensed vehicles from manufacturers like BMW and Chevrolet are included in the game, which is powered by Firemint's own Mint3D engine. was released for the iPhone and iPod Touch on December 20, 2010. A separate iPad version was released on March 11, 2011. On January 11, 2012, Real Racing 2 was confirmed as one of the 27 titles being released on Windows Phone, as part of a partnership between Electronic Arts and Nokia.
When starting the game for the first time, the player is given $25,000 to spend on a Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk6 or a Volvo C30 R-Design. After purchasing their first car, the player moves on to the "Club Division" race class. Most races involve competing against 15 AI opponents, but some races are two car head-to-head style, and others are 4 car elimination style races. After completing a certain number of goals, the player moves on to the other championships until ultimately reaching the Grand Finale, which is the final race class in the game. Throughout the game, players will be given bonus cash by in-game sponsors upon reaching a goal, although some championships have vehicle restrictions. Career mode encompasses five tiers with 50 events and a total of 89 races.
Upon completing career mode, the 1995 McLaren F1 GTR is made available.
There are a total of 30 different cars to choose from and 15 tracks on which to race. As well as career mode, other modes include a quick race, open time trials (which are connected to online leaderboards using Firemint's Cloudcell technology), local multiplayer and 16 player online multiplayer.
Real Racing 2 HD was released specifically for the iPad and iPad 2 on March 11, 2011. In April, 2011, it was updated to take advantage of the iPad 2's mirroring function to utilize dual-screen gaming on a HD TV in 1080p. It requires the Apple Digital AV Adaptor or an Apple TV as part of AirPlay Mirroring, which is included in iOS 5.
There are a total of 15 (fictional) tracks in Real Racing 2: McKinley Circuit, Forino Valley, King's Speedway, Montclair, Richmond Plains, Sonoma Canyon, Krugerfontein, Notting Forest, Alkeishas Island, Aarlburg Forest, Mayapan Beach, Chengnan, Castellona Bay, San Arcana and Balladonia Raceway.
Real Racing 2 was met with very favourable reviews.
IGN gave Real Racing 2 a score of 9/10 and an Editors Choice award, concluding that "Real Racing 2 lays down a new marker for iPhone sim racers."
Slide to Play awarded the game 4 out of 4, saying "Real Racing 2 is the showcase racing game on the iOS platform. Not only is it a more attractive package over its outstanding prequel, but the sharp focus on being a legitimate simulation racing game takes it to a new plateau. This Must Have title is a serious contender for Game of the Year; it’s that damn good!"
The Appera scored the game 10 out of 10, statinng "Real Racing was the king of racing games on the App Store when it was released, and kept that title until now. The only thing to replace that is the sequel which makes the original seem like child's play. Real Racing 2 is fantastic, and I can't recommend it enough.
Pocketgamer called it a "sophisticated, fun racer."
AppSpy scored it 5 out of 5, stating "Much like the original the visuals are simply stunning and getting the opportunity to race some of the world's best vehicles (with reckless abandon) around these beautiful tracks is an opportunity not to be missed all on its own. Real Racing 2 is the perfect pocket companion for fans of racing titles and a definite must grab if only for the massive online gameplay."
Real Racing involves players taking control of either a hatch, sedan, muscle car or exotic car. There are 48 different cars to choose from and 12 tracks on which to race. Game modes include a career mode in which players race 5 AI cars around a set of circuits, with points rewarded for finishing position. The game includes C, B, and A class difficulties and a time trial lap with a set goal. Other options include a quick race, open time trials (which are connected to online leaderboards using Firemint's Cloudcell technology), local multiplayer and online time trial leagues. A 6 player online multiplayer mode is also available.
There are 5 different control modes to choose from: Method A features accelerometer steering, auto accelerate and manual brake; Method B features accelerometer steering, manual accelerate and manual brake; Method C features touch to steer, auto accelerate and manual brake; and Method D features touch to steer, auto accelerate and manual brake. Players can also adjust brake assist and accelerometer sensitivity.
Cars
The game features 30 officially licensed cars from various manufactuerers;
BMW
BMW M6 Competition Edition (2010)
BMW M3 GTS (2010)
BMW M3 GT2 (2009)
BMW Z4 sDrive35is (2010)
BMW Z4 M Coupe Race Car (2006)
Chevrolet
Chevrolet Cobalt SS (2010)
Chevrolet Camaro SS (2010)
Chevrolet Camaro GS Race Car (2010)
Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (2010)
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R (2010)
Ford
Ford Focus RS (2010)
Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 (2010)
Ford GT (2005)
Jaguar
Jaguar XKR (2010)
Jaguar RSR XKR GT (2010)

Lotus
Lotus Exige (2010)
Lotus Evora (2010)
Lotus Evora Cup (2010)
McLaren
McLaren MP4-12C (2012)
McLaren F1 GTR Race Car (1995)
Nissan
Nissan GT-R (R35) (2010)
AUTECH GT-R (car #23 – NISMO, GT500) (2010)
Nissan 370Z (2010)
MOLA 350Z (car #46 – MOLA, GT300) (2010)
Volkswagen
VW Golf GTI (A6) (2010)
Volkswagen Golf R (A6) (2010)
Volkswagen Scirocco (2008)
Volkswagen Scirocco R (A6) (2010)
Volvo
Volvo C30 R (2010)
Volvo C30 STCC Race Car (2010)

---

You are reading this article and you can find this article on http://androids-zone.blogspot.com/2012/05/real-racing-ii.html, You may spread Expand or copy-paste it if this article is very beneficial to your friends, but do not forget to put a Link as the Source.

Temple Run (Android's Game)

Download Game

Temple Run is an endless action video game developed by the Washington, D.C.-based Imangi Studios. The game revolves around several curious explorers attempting to steal an idol from a temple and being chased by "demonic monkeys". The player controls the explorers with a few simple touchscreen gestures and device tilting and aims to run as far as possible without being "eaten", therefore the namesake of the game, "Temple Run." It is currently available for iOS systems, including the iPhone and the iPad, and the Android platform. Originally the game was only released for iOS, but in March 2012 an Android version was released after a month of delayed release.
In the iTunes Store, it was included in the top 50 most-downloaded apps in December 2011, and eventually became the number one free iOS app. It has also reached the position of the top grossing iOS app. When Temple Run was released to Android, it was downloaded more than 1 million times in under 3 days, a stunning record. The game itself was formerly 99 cents, but now it is a freemium application, and instead relies on players purchasing in-game coins with real life money. For the Android version, it was always freemium.
Gameplay
Temple Run centers around a group of wandering explorers, where one of the characters, whom the player controls, steals an idol from an ancient temple. The players control the characters moments after they have stolen the idol. Immediately upon acquiring the idol, the player is pursued by a group of malignant demonic monkeys who chase the player out of the temple, thus initiating a "temple run." The characters controllable by the player are
• Guy Dangerous (default explorer)
• Scarlett Fox, a female explorer
• Barry Bones, a cop
• Karma Lee, a Far East explorer
• Montana Smith, a cowboy
• Francisco Montoya, a conquistador
• Zack Wonder, a football player

The different characters have no differences in their "abilities" except of their cosmetic appearance, except most of the men, the women, and Montoya have their own grunts and sounds.

There is no finish line nor are there levels; the object of the game is to run as far as possible by avoiding obstacles that require the player to either jump (slide finger forward), duck (slide finger backwards), or turn (slide finger to the right or left) in a precise manner. While all of this is happening, the player will continue to be pursued by the monkeys. While playing, the player can tilt their device either to the left or the right to collect coins. These coins are primarily in the shape of yellow diamonds, but according to their point value, they can also be red or blue (a 2-point coin and a 3-point coin, respectively). As well as the coins, players also encounter sporadic bonus items during their run.

Powerups
The coins the player collects in the game can be spent in the game's "store." At the store, the player is able to purchase upgrades to the various bonuses found throughout the run, as well as perks, unlockable characters, and wallpapers. The bonuses, when fully upgraded, are
• Mega Coin (worth 150 coins)
• Coin Magnet (multiplies coin value by 3)
• Invisibility (lasts 30 seconds)
• Boost (for 750 meters)
• Some 2-point coins begin at 1000 meters
• Some 3-point coins begin at 2000 meters

Objectives
The object is to survive, while also getting the most points and coins possible. The longer a player survives, the more points their acquire. However, a player's score can only be used to unlock objectives. Their score is determined by their distance, plus five times the number of coins collected, plus 600 times the ordinal number of the total number of coins divisible by 100. These three values are then added and multiplied. The value of the multiplier is 10 more than the number of objectives unlocked. The formula is s = (m)(d+5c+t); "S" being number of points; "m" number of objectives unlocked + 10; "d" being distance; "c" being number of coins; "t" being the coin multiplier of 600 times the whole number remaining of c/100.

Development
Husband-and-wife team Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova, along with artist Kiril Tchangov, created Temple Run. Originally, the game cost 99 cents, but was soon released as a freemium app, which quintupled revenue with in game coin purchasing. Both Shepherd and Luckyanova developed the gameplay, while Tchangov created the graphics.
Originally, the game was only available for the App Store, but it was later released on Google Play, the successor to Android Market. On January 12, 2012, Imangi Studios announced on the Temple Run Facebook page that the game would be released to the Android platform in February 2012, saying "We're so excited to announce this and appreciate all of our fans' support across both platforms!". The game was released for the Android platform on March 27, 2012.

Popularity
The game has been available on the App Store from August 2011 on, and since then, its popularity has soared. Many imitators have made fake games such as "Temple Guns" and "Temple Jump". to the point that it has made Imangi Studios more popular than Zynga Games. The popularity of Temple Run prompted Imangi Studios to create an initially unplanned Android version. After Temple Run was released on Android, it was downloaded 1 million times in under 3 days.

Source : Temple Run

---

You are reading this article and you can find this article on http://androids-zone.blogspot.com/2010/04/temple-run-androids-game.html, You may spread Expand or copy-paste it if this article is very beneficial to your friends, but do not forget to put a Link as the Source.

Applications

Applications are usually developed in the Java language using the Android Software Development Kit, but other development tools are available, including a Native Development Kit for applications or extensions in C or C++, Google App Inventor, a visual environment for novice programmers and various cross platform mobile web applications frameworks.
Applications can be acquired by end-users either through a store such as Google Play or the Amazon Appstore, or by downloading and installing the application's APK file from a third-party site.


Google Play
Google Play is an online software store developed by Google for Android devices. An application program ("app") called "Play Store" is preinstalled on most Android devices and allows users to browse and download apps published by third-party developers, hosted on Google Play. As of October 2011, there were more than 500,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from the Play Store as of December 2011 exceeded 10 billion. The operating system itself is installed on 130 million total devices.
Only devices that comply with Google's compatibility requirements are allowed to preinstall and access the Play Store. The app filters the list of available applications to those that are compatible with the user's device, and developers may restrict their applications to particular carriers or countries for business reasons.
Google has participated in the Play Store by offering many free applications themselves, including Google Voice, Google Goggles, Gesture Search, Google Translate, Google Shopper, Listen and My Tracks. In August 2010, Google launched "Voice Actions for Android", which allows users to search, write messages, and initiate calls by voice.

Security
Android applications run in a sandbox, an isolated area of the operating system that does not have access to the rest of the system's resources, unless access permissions are granted by the user when the application is installed. Before installing an application, the Play Store displays all required permissions. A game may need to enable vibration, for example, but should not need to read messages or access the phonebook. After reviewing these permissions, the user can decide whether to install the application. The sandboxing and permissions system weakens the impact of vulnerabilities and bugs in applications, but developer confusion and limited documentation has resulted in applications routinely requesting unnecessary permissions, reducing its effectiveness. The complexity of inter-application communication implies Android has a large attack surface.
Several security firms have released antivirus software for Android devices, in particular, AVG Technologies, Avast!, F-Secure, Kaspersky, McAfee and Symantec. This software is ineffective as sandboxing also applies to such applications, limiting their ability to scan the deeper system for threats.

Privacy
Android smartphones have the ability to report the location of Wi-Fi access points, encountered as phone users move around, to build databases containing the physical locations of hundreds of millions of such access points. These databases form electronic maps to locate smartphones, allowing them to run apps like Foursquare, Latitude, Places, and to deliver location-based ads.
Third party monitoring software such as TaintDroid, an academic research-funded project, can, in some cases, detect when personal information is being sent from applications to remote servers.
In March 2012 it was revealed that Android Apps can copy photos without explicit user permission, Google responded they "originally designed the Android photos file system similar to those of other computing platforms like Windows and Mac OS.  we're taking another look at this and considering adding a permission for apps to access images. We've always had policies in place to remove any apps [on Google Play] that improperly access your data."

Android software development is the process by which new applications are created for the Android operating system. Applications are usually developed in the Java programming language using the Android Software Development Kit, but other development tools are available. As of April 2011 more than 200,000 applications have been developed for Android, with over 3 billion downloads. The Android platform has also grown to become a favorite among mobile developers. A June 2011 research indicated that over 67% of mobile developers used the platform, at the time of publication.
The Android Developer Challenge was a competition for the most innovative application for Android. Google offered prizes totaling 10 million US dollars, distributed between ADC I and ADC II. ADC I accepted submissions from 2 January to 14 April 2008. The 50 most promising entries, announced on 12 May 2008, each received a $25,000 award to further development.  It ended in early September with the announcement of ten teams that received $275,000 each, and ten teams that received $100,000 each. ADC II was announced on 27 May 2009. The first round of the ADC II closed on 6 October 2009. The first-round winners of ADC II comprising the top 200 applications were announced on 5 November 2009. Voting for the second round also opened on the same day and ended on November 25. Google announced the top winners of ADC II on November 30, with SweetDreams, What the Doodle!? and WaveSecure being nominated the overall winners of the challenge.


Source : Android's Applications

---

You are reading this article and you can find this article on http://androids-zone.blogspot.com/2012/05/applications.html, You may spread Expand or copy-paste it if this article is very beneficial to your friends, but do not forget to put a Link as the Source.

Android's Version

The version history of the Android operating system began with the release of the Android beta in November 2007. The first commercial version, Android 1.0, was released in September 2008. Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance, and has seen a number of updates to its base operating system since its original release. These updates typically fix bugs and add new features. Since April 2009, each Android version has been developed under a codename based on a dessert or sweet treat. These versions have been released in alphabetical order: Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo (frozen yogurt), Gingerbread, Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich. The pre-release versions of Android were dubbed Astro and Bender, but these names could not ultimately be used for trademark reasons. The most recent update to the Android OS was Ice Cream Sandwich v4.0.4, which was released in March 2012.

Cupcake Review
Whilst we aren’t any closer to knowing an exact update time frame, IntoMobile.com have managed to uncover some information on the kind of new functionality we can expect to see from future ‘over the air’ Android updates.
Here’s a rundown of what is currently being worked on:

• New Local Setting Page – Gives you option to pick different locales and pick different text inputs.
• New Option to view running and third party applications – An option to view running and third party applications from the normal application list. Does not provide a way to terminate them.
• New windows opening/closing animation effect – a new popping effect when windows are opened/closed.
• New default notepad – a very simple and ugly default notepad.
• New Global Time application – not sure if it will be provided by T-Mobile but it’s just a rotating Earth and I couldn’t get it to do anything else.
• New Spare Parts Application – Once again not sure if the official version will have this, but it provides a number of extra settings such as setting windows animation and transition animation speed, font size, end button behavior and etc. It also has a “display rotation” option which supposedly should allow auto-rotate base on orientation across the entire os, but it is not currently working.
• New Virtual Keyboard (as seen on video -ed.)- The virtual keyboard will pop up on every edit box. I didn’t feel any haptic feedback but I am thinking that it’s just not there on the example keyboard. Because the phone does not auto-rotate (an option exists but it doesn’t work), it’s very hard to type on it. The sample keyboard also does not provide auto-corrections.
• Slightly better looking buttons with more shadow.

Donut Review
In addition to a raft of minor fixes, Donut offers a new speech synthesis tool, new GPS-enabled features, an enhanced search routine, a rebuilt Android Market and many other adjustments. The 57MB update that arrived on a myTouch 3G took just a few minutes to download with a fast data connection and just a few minutes to install, including a restart of the phone.
Android's location-based features have been enhanced and the GPS settings now include a "Share with Google" option which lets you enable location-based enhancements with Google searches, maps and other applications. Touching and holding your finger on a location in Google Maps, for example, enables Street View, which provides an interactive ground level image of the location.
As you enter a search phrase into the Google search window on the home screen, location-based suggestions appear even before you hit the search button. For example, while entering the word "staples" a listing for a nearby Staples office supply store across the street appeared. From there I could have mapped the location, asked for more details or added it to my contacts.
The home screen search function has also been expanded to look into more places. Within the settings menus, you can control whether Google searches your browser's bookmarks and search history, your contacts, the installed apps and your music collection.
Google Maps on Android 1.6 also offers mass transit directions for many major cities. For example, if you're standing at Madison Square Garden at 8^th Avenue and West 33^rd Street in Manhattan, and need to get to the Empire State Building on West 34^th Street and 5^th Avenue, Google Maps will not only tell you that you can use the M34 bus for the trip, but will also list the scheduled times of the next few buses. It also worked when tested with a late night bus trip from downtown Milwaukee to Miller Field, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, even going as far to note that there was a detour in effect at the time.
If you've enabled GPS, the Android web browser shows you your location at the main page and can use this data to return local results when performing a Google search. For example, searching for "library" resulted in a listing of the closest libraries to my location in addition to the other results that would normally be generated in a search for that word.
Android apps can now talk back thanks to a new Pico speech synthesis engine. You'll need to install the Speech Synthesis Data Installer, a free download from Android Market which includes support for English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Once installed, speech-enabled apps will be able to talk back in choice of accents.
Android Market itself has been revamped with a brighter look and now lacks the sometimes hard to maneuver scrolling icons on the top. Instead using the icons, featured Android applications now appear in a list as you start Android Market. From there you can browse or search for what you need. While most Android applications will work with the Donut revision, some software publishers have already pushed out Donut compatible updates for their applications.
The camera and video camera applications have been merged into a single screen with a toggle switch at the bottom even though separate icons for each utility remain on the home screen. The camera's shutter button has been relocated from the upper right corner of the screen (landscape mode) to a more comfortable position at the lower right.
New to Android is CDMA support, as well as support for four types of VPN connections. Also, a new battery screen lists which apps and hardware components are using what percentage of your phone's power.
The update doesn't seem to have an effect on the phone's response time. Android's developers claim that the camera application launches 39% faster and responds 28% faster in completing consecutive shots.

Eclair Review
Android phone at a more rapid development, and which version you have also further developed. :)
Until in the end on the date December 3, 2009, launched the Android phones with version 2.0 / 2.1. Who then called the version of Eclair.
The definition of Android Eclair is a version of Android, which is version 2.0 / 2.1, which experienced a change from previous versions feature, among other hardware optimizations, improved Google Maps 3.1.2, change the UI with a new browser and support for HTML5, a list of new contacts, flash support for 3.2 MP camera, digital zoom, and Bluetooth 2.1.
To move quickly in the competition next generation devices, Google held a competition to invest with the best mobile applications (killer apps-winning application.)
With the growing and increasingly growing number of Android handsets, the more interested third parties to distribute their applications to the Android OS.
Well-known applications have been transformed into the Android operating system is Shazam, Backgrounds, and WeatherBug.
Android operating system in the Internet site was also considered important to create native Android applications, for example by Facebook and MySpace.

Froyo Review
Android 2.2 is the first version of Android that feels totally complete—it performs like it should and it has most of the features it should. It's not quite at the point my mother could use it without a precarious learning curve, but you can see how it's going to get better. It's safe to say that with Froyo, Android has become something that most people really can use—and love.
Considering again where Android was 6, 12 and 18 months ago, I can believe the promises Google has made: that Android will blow your mind in another 6 months. The future of Android really has never looked brighter.
Android 2.2 'Froyo' Review: It's SweetFastest version of Android yet, in an actually noticeable way
Interface improved in small ways all around
Flash!
Built-in portable hotspot powers (though subject to your carrier's evil whims)
Android 2.2 'Froyo' Review: It's SweetAndroid Market is better in key ways, but needs more work
Android 2.2 'Froyo' Review: It's SweetFlash!
The keyboard still blows
The music and videos situation is pretty sad
The overall complexity of Android remains

Gingerbread Review
Android has evolved more aggressively, more rapidly than any other mobile platform. But now it's reached a point of maturity, and you can see that in Gingerbread: The newness in Android 2.3 is all about refinement. Not new features or functions or just stuff. It's Android where Google's slowed down and taken the time to think about how it looks and feels and responds.
The irony, of course, is that most of the careful design work that's gone into Android 2.3 won't ever be seen by a large portion of Android users. The definitive Android design won't be experienced by people who own phones covered in custom software. There's only a handful of Android phones in the US where you'll be able to get the real Android experience—Nexus One, T-Mobile G2 and the Nexus S—even though it's unquestionably better than anything phone makers are conjuring up themselves these days.

Honeycomb Review
Android 3.0 Honeycomb — the latest release — is special, being used only for tablets and is therefore optimized with even more features and benefits than you would normally find on a regular smartphone running on Froyo or Gingerbread. The Honeycomb project has seen a larger number of changes and revamps to the whole OS than any of its predecessors, with a whole new User Interface never seen before.
But does that mean it’s better? We’re going to take you through a guided tour and review of Android 3.0, more popularly known as Honeycomb.
I spent a considerable amount of time playing with Honeycomb while using the Motorola Xoom (review forthcoming), and I wanted to write separate reviews for each because Honeycomb is so different from 1.x or 2.x that it would be very difficult to cram all of this information into one convenient review. So let’s get started by going over the new layout of Honeycomb. This is, after all, the most visible part of the OS, and the most important as well.

Ice Cream Sandwich Review
"People need Android ... but people didn't love Android," said Matias Duarte, director of the Android OS user experience, explaining why the world's most popular smartphone OS needed a full redesign. Ice Cream Sandwich, now officially labeled Android 4.0, is that overhaul. And people, it's awesome.
Android developers put their heads together to figure out how to improve the operating system, and came up with three directives. "Enchant me. Simplify my life. Make me awesome."
To put it another way, by observing what really works on the iPhone and Windows Phone operating systems, and what wasn't working on Android, Google's mobile development team made massive improvements across the board, and focused on making the experience consistent no matter where you might be in the environment. It's no longer a hodgepodge of unclear commands and clumsy screens.

Source : Android's Version

Cupcake
Donut
Éclair
Froyo (frozen yogurt)
Gingerbread
Honeycomb
Ice Cream Sandwich

NEXT : Coming Soon "Android Jellybean" on quarter of 2012

---

You are reading this article and you can find this article on http://androids-zone.blogspot.com/2012/05/android-version.html, You may spread Expand or copy-paste it if this article is very beneficial to your friends, but do not forget to put a Link as the Source.

History of Android

 Foundation
Android, Inc. was founded in Palo Alto, California, United States in October, 2003 by Andy Rubin (co-founder of Danger), Rich Miner (co-founder of Wildfire Communications, Inc.), Nick Sears (once VP at T-Mobile), and Chris White (headed design and interface development at WebTV) to develop, in Rubin's words "...smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner's location and preferences". Despite the obvious past accomplishments of the founders and early employees, Android Inc. operated secretly, revealing only that it was working on software for mobile phones. That same year, Rubin ran out of money. Steve Perlman, a close friend of Rubin, brought him $10,000 in cash in an envelope and refused a stake in the company.

Acquisition by Google
Google acquired Android Inc. on August 17, 2005, making Android Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Google Inc. Key employees of Android Inc., including Andy Rubin, Rich Miner and Chris White, stayed at the company after the acquisition. Not much was known about Android Inc. at the time of the acquisition, but many assumed that Google was planning to enter the mobile phone market with this move.

Post-acquisition development
At Google, the team led by Rubin developed a mobile device platform powered by the Linux kernel. Google marketed the platform to handset makers and carriers on the promise of providing a flexible, upgradable system. Google had lined up a series of hardware component and software partners and signaled to carriers that it was open to various degrees of cooperation on their part.
Speculation about Google's intention to enter the mobile communications market continued to build through December 2006. Reports from the BBC and The Wall Street Journal noted that Google wanted its search and applications on mobile phones and it was working hard to deliver that. Print and online media outlets soon reported rumors that Google was developing a Google-branded handset. Some speculated that as Google was defining technical specifications, it was showing prototypes to cell phone manufacturers and network operators.
In September 2007, InformationWeek covered an Evalueserve study reporting that Google had filed several patent applications in the area of mobile telephony.

Open Handset Alliance
On November 5, 2007, the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of several companies which include Broadcom Corporation, Google, HTC, Intel, LG, Marvell Technology Group, Motorola, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and Texas Instruments unveiled itself. The goal of the Open Handset Alliance is to develop open standards for mobile devices. On the same day, the Open Handset Alliance also unveiled their first product, Android, a mobile device platform built on the Linux kernel version 2.6.
On December 9, 2008, 14 new members joined, including ARM Holdings, Atheros Communications, Asustek Computer Inc, Garmin Ltd, Huawei Technologies, PacketVideo, Softbank, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba Corp, and Vodafone Group Plc.

Android Open Source Project
The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is led by Google, and is tasked with the maintenance and development of Android. According to the project "The goal of the Android Open Source Project is to create a successful real-world product that improves the mobile experience for end users."AOSP also maintains the Android Compatibility Program, defining an "Android compatible" device "as one that can run any application written by third-party developers using the Android SDK and NDK", to prevent incompatible Android implementations. The compatibility program is also optional and free of charge, with the Compatibility Test Suite also free and open-source.

Version history

From left to right: HTC Dream (G1), Nexus One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus
Android has been updated frequently since the original release of "Astro", with each fixing bugs and adding new features. Each version is named in alphabetical order, with 1.5 "Cupcake" being the first named after a dessert and every update since following this naming convention.

Recent releases
    2.3 Gingerbread refined the user interface, improved the soft keyboard and copy/paste features, better native code support (which improves gaming performance), added SIP support (VoIP calls), and added support for Near Field Communication.

    3.0 Honeycomb was a tablet-oriented release which supports larger screen devices and introduces many new user interface features, support for multi-core processors, hardware acceleration for graphics and full system encryption. The first device featuring this version, the Motorola Xoom tablet, went on sale in February 2011.

        3.1 Honeycomb, released in May 2011, added support for extra input devices, USB host mode for transferring information directly from cameras and other devices, and the Google Movies and Books apps.

        3.2 Honeycomb, released in July 2011, added optimization for a broader range of screen sizes, new "zoom-to-fill" screen compatibility mode, loading media files directly from SD card, and an extended screen support API. Huawei MediaPad is the first 7 inch tablet to use this version

    4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, announced on October 19, 2011, brought Honeycomb features to smartphones and added new features including facial recognition unlock, network data usage monitoring and control, unified social networking contacts, photography enhancements, offline email searching, app folders, and information sharing using NFC. Android 4.0.4 is the latest Android version that is available to phones. The source code of Android 4.0.1 was released on November 14, 2011.

Source : History of Android

---

You are reading this article and you can find this article on http://androids-zone.blogspot.com/2012/05/history-of-android.html, You may spread Expand or copy-paste it if this article is very beneficial to your friends, but do not forget to put a Link as the Source.

What is "Android" ?

Android is a Linux-based operating system for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. It is developed by the Open Handset Alliance, led by Google, and other companies.
Google purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc., in 2005. The unveiling of the Android distribution in 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 86 hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. Google releases the Android code as open-source, under the Apache License. The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the maintenance and further development of Android.
Android has a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that extend the functionality of the devices. Developers write primarily in a customized version of Java. Apps can be downloaded from third-party sites or through online stores such as Google Play (formerly Android Market), the app store run by Google. In October 2011, there were more than 500,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from the Android Market as of December 2011 exceeded 10 billion.
Android was listed as the best-selling smartphone platform worldwide in Q4 2010 by Canalys with over 300 million Android devices in use by February 2012. According to Google's Andy Rubin, as of December 2011, there were over 700,000 Android devices activated every day.
Android consists of a kernel based on the Linux kernel, with middleware, libraries and APIs written in C and application software running on an application framework which includes Java-compatible libraries based on Apache Harmony. Android uses the Dalvik virtual machine with just-in-time compilation to run Dalvik dex-code (Dalvik Executable), which is usually translated from Java bytecode.
The main hardware platform for Android is the ARM architecture. There is support for x86 from the Android x86 project, and Google TV uses a special x86 version of Android.

Linux
Android's kernel is based on the Linux kernel and has further architecture changes by Google outside the typical Linux kernel development cycle. Android does not have a native X Window System nor does it support the full set of standard GNU libraries, and this makes it difficult to port existing Linux applications or libraries to Android.
Certain features that Google contributed back to the Linux kernel, notably a power management feature called wakelocks, were rejected by mainline kernel developers, partly because kernel maintainers felt that Google did not show any intent to maintain their own code. Even though Google announced in April 2010 that they would hire two employees to work with the Linux kernel community, Greg Kroah-Hartman, the current Linux kernel maintainer for the -stable branch, said in December 2010 that he was concerned that Google was no longer trying to get their code changes included in mainstream Linux. Some Google Android developers hinted that "the Android team was getting fed up with the process", because they were a small team and had more urgent work to do on Android.
However, in September 2010, Linux kernel developer Rafael J. Wysocki added a patch that improved the mainline Linux wakeup events framework. He said that Android device drivers that use wakelocks can now be easily merged into mainline Linux, but that Android's opportunistic suspend features should not be included in the mainline kernel. In August 2011, Linus Torvalds said that "eventually Android and Linux would come back to a common kernel, but it will probably not be for four to five years".
In December 2011, Greg Kroah-Hartman announced the start of the Android Mainlining Project, which aims to put some Android drivers, patches and features back into the Linux kernel, starting in Linux 3.3.  further integration being expected for Linux Kernel 3.4.

Features
The Android Emulator default home screen (v1.5, also known as "Cupcake")

Current features and specifications:
Handset layouts
The platform is adaptable to larger, VGA, 2D graphics library, 3D graphics library based on OpenGL ES 2.0 specifications, and traditional smartphone layouts.

Storage
        SQLite, a lightweight relational database, is used for data storage purposes.

Connectivity
        Android supports connectivity technologies including GSM/EDGE, IDEN, CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE, NFC and WiMAX.

Messaging
        SMS and MMS are available forms of messaging, including threaded text messaging and now Android Cloud To Device Messaging (C2DM) is also a part of Android Push Messaging service.

Multiple language support
        Android supports multiple languages.

Web browser
        The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source WebKit layout engine, coupled with Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. The browser scores 100/100 on the Acid3 test on Android 4.0.

Java support
        While most Android applications are written in Java, there is no Java Virtual Machine in the platform and Java byte code is not executed. Java classes are compiled into Dalvik executables and run on Dalvik, a specialized virtual machine designed specifically for Android and optimized for battery-powered mobile devices with limited memory and CPU. J2ME support can be provided via third-party applications.

Media support
        Android supports the following audio/video/still media formats: WebM, H.263, H.264 (in 3GP or MP4 container), MPEG-4 SP, AMR, AMR-WB (in 3GP container), AAC, HE-AAC (in MP4 or 3GP container), MP3, MIDI, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WAV, JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, WebP.

Streaming media support
        RTP/RTSP streaming (3GPP PSS, ISMA), HTML progressive download (HTML5 <video> tag). Adobe Flash Streaming (RTMP) and HTTP Dynamic Streaming are supported by the Flash plugin. Apple HTTP Live Streaming is supported by RealPlayer for Android, and by the operating system in Android 3.0 (Honeycomb).

Additional hardware support
        Android can use video/still cameras, touchscreens, GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes, barometers, magnetometers, dedicated gaming controls, proximity and pressure sensors, thermometers, accelerated 2D bit blits (with hardware orientation, scaling, pixel format conversion) and accelerated 3D graphics.

Multi-touch
        Android has native support for multi-touch which was initially made available in handsets such as the HTC Hero. The feature was originally disabled at the kernel level (possibly to avoid infringing Apple's patents on touch-screen technology at the time).[64] Google has since released an update for the Nexus One and the Motorola Droid which enables multi-touch natively.

Bluetooth
        Supports A2DP, AVRCP, sending files (OPP), accessing the phone book (PBAP), voice dialing and sending contacts between phones. Keyboard, mouse and joystick (HID) support is available in Android 3.1+, and in earlier versions through manufacturer customizations and third-party applications.

Video calling
        Android does not support native video calling, but some handsets have a customized version of the operating system that supports it, either via the UMTS network (like the Samsung Galaxy S) or over IP. Video calling through Google Talk is available in Android 2.3.4 and later. Gingerbread allows Nexus S to place Internet calls with a SIP account. This allows for enhanced VoIP dialing to other SIP accounts and even phone numbers. Skype 2.1 offers video calling in Android 2.3, including front camera support.

Multitasking
        Multitasking of applications, with unique handling of memory allocation, is available.

Voice based features
        Google search through voice has been available since initial release. Voice actions for calling, texting, navigation, etc. are supported on Android 2.2 onwards.

Tethering
        Android supports tethering, which allows a phone to be used as a wireless/wired Wi-Fi hotspot. Before Android 2.2 this was supported by third-party applications or manufacturer customizations.

Screen capture
        Android supports capturing a screenshot by pressing the power and volume-down buttons at the same time. Prior to Android 4.0, the only methods of capturing a screenshot were through manufacturer and third-party customizations or otherwise by using a PC connection (DDMS developer's tool). These alternative methods are still available with the latest Android.

External storage
        Most Android devices include microSD slot and can read microSD cards formatted with FAT32, Ext3 or Ext4 file system. To allow use of high-capacity storage media such as USB flash drives and USB HDDs, many Android tablets also include USB 'A' receptacle. Storage formatted with FAT32 is handled by Linux Kernel VFAT driver, while 3rd party solutions are required to handle other popular file systems such as NTFS, HFS Plus and exFAT.



Source : Android (Operating Systems)

---

You are reading this article and you can find this article on http://androids-zone.blogspot.com/2012/05/what-is.html, You may spread Expand or copy-paste it if this article is very beneficial to your friends, but do not forget to put a Link as the Source.