While not available for ordering till the 17th, Google decided to announce its new Nexus 9 tablet prior to Apple’s big event tomorrow. At first glace, the device looks to be very similar to what Apple launched last year with its iPad Air but of course their are some differences between the two that give the Nexus the edge but that could change dramatically once Apple announces their new version of the iPad. So what exactly does hits new 9-inch tablet offer? Continue reading
NVIDIA Shield Tablet – Third Time a Charm?
Anyone remember NVIDIA’s SHIELD device? It was basically a game controller with a small tablet grafted onto it. How about the Tegra 7 Note? That was a 7-inch tablet that was designed for gaming. Both were attempts by NVIDIA to jump start their efforts into the mobile arena by trying to entice dedicated PC gamers to also use a mobile device. Neither was very successful in the market. Part of this may have been due to the pricing of the devices and also because they have limitations when compared to other tablets on the market.
Well, NVIDIA is at it again this time taking what they learned from the first two and hoping that their third try will be a success with the NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet. But is it really doing anything different from the other two? Continue reading
Your Data Can Be Recovered Off Used Android Devices
Lots of people either donate or sell their used smartphones or tablets as an alternative to just throwing them out. It is always important to wipe the data from the device before you do get rid of it. The problem is that you may think that you erased your data but it is still there and with the right tools can be recovered. Yesterday, security software maker AVAST put out a detailing how they purchased 20 used Android phones and used some data recovery software to obtain photos, web searches, emails, texts and contact information from the phones. The thing is that the people selling the phones probably thought they removed the data by performing a factory reset or using the delete all functions in their phone.
Now the purpose of the press release was to try and get people to purchase into their avast! Anti-Theft app but there is another solution to this problem. The issue actually has to do with how the data is stored and wiped from the memory of the phone. You see, with current Apple iPhones and iOS, all the data is hardware encrypted on the device with a decoder key stored on the phone. When you use the Erase All Content and Settings on the iPhone, the decryption key is erased effectively making the data unreadable. With Android, the data is not encoded by default and the wipe data does not physically remove the files just some of the index entries for them.
Now the Factory Reset feature on Android phones may erase the data enough but since each manufacturer can implement a different method, one cannot be certain that it does. To ensure that the data is as unreadable as it can be, it is best to first use the security settings in the phone to setup Encryption. This will require an additional password and time to then encrypt all the data. Once that is done, using the Factory Reset should leave the data in a reasonable unreadable state. Most often Encryption will be enabled under the Security portion of the device settings but it can vary with the version of Android and the device. If you cannot find the settings, check with the manufacturer of the phone on how to enable it.
Google Announces They Want To Do Everything
Today kicks off the Google I/O conference where they announce to developers upcoming software and products. This year’s conference was a major event because they announced a huge number of items. Based upon what they announced, Google wants to basically get into every aspect of your digital life. In essence, they are trying to tie just about anything into their Android operating system which is used by the majority of smartphones on the market.
New Version Of Android Coming
The main purpose of the Google I/O conference is to highlight the next version of Android, dubbed Android L at this point. This looks to be a major redesign of the interface that also introduces a whole ton of new features that tie into other announcements at the conference. In terms of appearance, it is going to have a more flat design to try and bring together smartphones and tablets into a more unified experience. Graphics support and performance are both being improved which is pretty much expected in just about any update. In addition to these, Google is introducing better ways for developers to try and improve battery life and also introducing a new battery saver mode to help extend running times.
There are no official products announced at this time that will be using the new Android L operating system but the first products should reach market sometime this fall. It should also be noted that this OS is going to be used for a wider variety of applications than just smartphones and tablets. Continue reading
HP and Toshiba Race To the Bottom With $100 Android Tablets
Toshiba (left) and HP (right) Low Cost Android Tablets
No Windows and Android In A Single Device
ASUS Duet Hybrid Laptop
Do We Need Android on the Desktop?
HP Slate 21 Pro
Non-Next Gen Gaming: Android Gaming Consoles
Game Menu from the OUYA Console
As more and more people move to smartphones and tablets, there has been an explosion in gaming on these devices. This has put both Sony and Nintendo in some trouble for their dedicated mobile gaming devices. Android is the primary operating system and now a number of companies have put together mini-consoles that are based around the operating system to provide inexpensive and accessible gaming. This article takes a look at a few of the devices available now or coming soon. Continue reading