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Google changes Android dashboard numbers to count active users, not just pings
The Android device dashboard has been providing a picture of OS version distribution since before Froyo pushed aside Eclair, but now it's seeing some changes. A post on the Android Developers Google+ page indicates that starting this month, numbers are based on devices whose users actively checked Google Play during the reporting period. Previously, it counted all devices that pinged Google servers. The latest stats, updated today, show a jump in the amount of actives (previously devices, now users) on Jelly Bean (Android 4.1 or higher), up to 25 percent from 16.5 percent last month when it counted the old way. The number of devices recorded running Froyo and Gingerbread have taken the biggest hit, down 3.6 and 4 percentage points, respectively. There are a few ways to react to this, particularly remembering that these numbers are meant to help developers figure out how many users are available to target on the various versions of Android and types of hardware. It may help give a clearer picture of what setups the active users that developers hope to reach are using, without being muddied by little-used zombie hardware. On the other hand, it could be seen as a way to juke stats which have been used against Google's mobile OS by its competitors like Apple. Whichever side of the line one finds themselves on, more data is available by clicking on the source link below.
Android Dashboard update shows Jelly Bean on 10 percent of active hardware
The last time we checked out Google's Android Device Dashboard, penetration of the latest version had reached 1.8 percent of active hardware. A couple of months later and Android 4.1 / 4.2 Jelly Bean is accounting for more than 10 percent of devices that accessed Google Play in the last 14 days. The share of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich devices also grew to represent 29.1 percent of active hardware, and while 2.3 Gingerbread still has the largest slice, it slid below half to 47.6 percent. That means developers can more confidently taking advantage of the latest APIs, but while the environment is much improved over when the dashboard launched in 2009, those fragments still mean some hard choices on exactly what to target with apps. Hit the source link for a larger look at the current numbers.
iPad mini mounted in car dashboard
It was inevitable. The iPad mini has just started hitting stores, and already some enterprising young men at Soundwaves of Tampa have come up with a way to install the cutest iPad into the dashboard of a 2012 Toyota Corolla. Using an Audison bit One controller and sound system in the car, the Soundwaves staff have come up with a unique way to blast music from Pandora, the Music app and iHeartRadio, surf the Web and eventually view movies on the little screen. Check it out below.
Xbox unfollows Twitter and unfriends Facebook, apps 'retired' from dash
The Fall 2012 Update currently rolling out removes Twitter and Facebook from the Xbox dashboard, and Microsoft have confirmed the apps are officially being 'retired.' Speaking to IGN, Microsoft said it's "retiring the Facebook and Twitter apps," although the company didn't comment regards whether or not they may ever return. Microsoft is recommending Xbox users instead access Twitter and Facebook via Internet Explorer 9, which is included in the Fall Update.It was three Fall Updates ago when Twitter and Facebook arrived on Xbox 360. Yes, nearly three years ago when everyone logged in on that first day to tweet or post a status update from their consoles, then immediately reverted to however they tweeted or updated their statuses before. Ah, memories.
Video walkthrough: Xbox 360 Fall 2012 dashboard update
Microsoft is preparing to update your Xbox 360's UI, but we thought it'd be good to give you a look-see at the Xbox 360 Fall 2012 dashboard update ahead of time – you know, let you get used to all the changes. And granted you're a Gold subscriber, when the update drops to the public you'll finally be able to read Joystiq on your Xbox 360 using Internet Explorer, which we're well aware has been something you've wanted for a long time. For, like, maybe six years. Enjoy!
ICS and Jellybean now on a quarter of all Android devices, but over half still stuck on Gingerbread
It seems like only yesterday that Google bundled Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 in its little biscuit layers and sent it off into the world (it was December, 2011, actually). That Android flavor has since climbed the charts rapidly, around four percent each month for the last while, and now occupies the ROM on 23.7 percent of robot-based devices -- up from 20.8 percent last month. That's in part due to new devices (like many in China) still coming out of the box with it, on top of older warhorses like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 finally grabbing some ICS. Meanwhile, its smooth-running younger sibling, Jelly Bean, made a slight gain to 1.8 percent of all Google-run slates and phones -- though that will likely change when the Galaxy Note II hits the market en masse and the Galaxy S III OTA 4.1.1 disseminates to all its owners. Meanwhile, Gingerbread still dominates Google OS installed devices at 55.8 percent, probably thanks to delays or denials of newer flavors to legacy devices.
PSA: XBox 360 Dashboard Beta re-opens, offers 500,000 more slots
Microsoft is working on another update for the Xbox 360 dashboard, which means some lucky individuals will be able to get a sneaky peek thanks to the company's closed beta. Our tipsters have told us it's adding a further 500,000 slots for users on a first come, first served basis for this year's annual refresh -- expected to include Internet Explorer, Pins, and Smartglass amongst others. If you're interested in getting involved, we suggest sprinting on down to the source link to try and beat the rush. [Thanks, Anonymous!]
Microsoft patent applications take Kinect into mobile cameras, movie-making
Microsoft has never been shy about its ambitions for Kinect's depth sensing abilities. A pair of patent applications, however, show that its hopes and dreams are taking a more Hollywood turn. One patent has the depth camera going portable: a "mobile environment sensor" determines its trajectory through a room and generates a depth map as it goes, whether it's using a Kinect-style infrared sensor or stereoscopic cameras. If the visual mapping isn't enough, the would-be camera relies on a motion sensor like an accelerometer to better judge its position as it's jostled around. Microsoft doesn't want to suggest what kind of device (if any) might use the patent for its camera, but it's not ruling out anything from smartphones through to traditional PCs. The second patent filing uses the Kinect already in the house for that directorial debut you've always been putting off. Hand gestures control the movie editing, but the depth camera both generates a model of the environment and creates 3D props out of real objects. Motion capture, naturally, lets the humans in the scene pursue their own short-lived acting careers. We haven't seen any immediate signs that Microsoft is planning to use this or the mobile sensor patent filing in the real world, although both are closer to reality than some of the flights of fancy that pass by the USPTO -- the movie editor has all the hallmarks of a potential Dashboard update or Kinect Fun Labs project.
Mountain Lion 101: Dashboard changes
Apple introduced the Dashboard and Widgets with OS X 10.4 Tiger. Mountain Lion introduces the first big update it's seen in a long time. Here's what's new. Apple has changed the process of adding a widget to your Dashboard. To begin, click the "+" in the lower left-hand corner, as usual. Now, a grid of available widgets appears instead of the widget bar that used to slide in from the bottom of the screen. Click any widget to install it and return to the Dashboard screen. Removing widgets is also new. To remove a third-party widget from widget selection screen, either click the "-" in the lower left-hand corner or click and hold on any widget icon in the grid. They'll start to "jiggle" and those available for deletion will present a small "x" in the upper right-hand corner. Sound familiar? To remove an active widget from your Dashboard and send it back to the selection screen, either hover over that widget and press Option or hit the "-" while viewing the running widgets.
Xbox's 'Kinect PlayFit' dashboard keeps track of cross-game calorie burning
"Kinect PlayFit," first seen in leaks, is now officially announced – and officially released today! That means we can finally understand what Kinect PlayFit is: a special "fitness dashboard" that tracks your calories lost across multiple Kinect games, "from Dance Central 2 to Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 to Kinect Star Wars," according to Microsoft.The dashboard also features leaderboards and social "activity challenges," two ideas that probably either motivate you to keep up your fitness routine or make you feel very uncomfortable, depending on how fit you already are. It even has its own Achievements.
Google: Ice Cream Sandwich now accounts for 7.1 percent of Android user base
Well, it's about time that Ice Cream Sandwich made some headway -- even if the process is much slower than consumers deserve. According to the Android developer hub, Android 4.0 now accounts for 7.1 percent of all Android smartphone and tablet installations, which is a sharp and welcome increase over the 2.9 percent figure that we reported just two months ago. Naturally, Gingerbread users still account for the lion's share of the Android ecosystem with 65 percent, but it's worth pointing out that this segment also grew during the last month -- no doubt at the expense of Froyo and Eclair. Don't know about you, but we like our desserts fresh, thank you very much. Go ahead and hop the break to see the full breakdown.
Report: Microsoft readying 'Woodstock' music service for Xbox 360, to debut at E3
When you think modern, digital music, your mind probably immediately jumps to 30-plus-year-old music festivals. Microsoft clearly understands this, as the company is allegedly preparing a relaunch/rebranding of its Xbox 360 Zune music service to be debuted at E3 2012, dubbed "Woodstock." The Verge's report comes from "sources familiar with the company's plans;" said report paints Woodstock as functional across a variety of platforms beyond the 360: Windows 8, iOS, and Android. Despite an E3 introduction, the service isn't planned for launch until this fall when Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 arrive.iTunes Match-esque functionality is also said to be part of Woodstock which will upload your library and match it with anything you've snagged from Woodstock. The report calls the service, "Spotify-like," with Facebook integration intended to allow collaboration on playlists and let users share tracks between libraries. We've asked Microsoft for a response to the report, but aren't expecting much beyond a wordy "no comment." We'll update this post if we hear anything else.Update: Shock! Microsoft reps tell Joystiq, "Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation." Back to listening to our Woodstock live album for now.
ICS reaches 2.9 percent of active Android devices, 63.7 percent still on Gingerbread
As we check back in on Android's Platform Versions dashboard for the first time since January, we can finally see notable growth in the percentage of devices running some flavor of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, up for 0.6 percent then to 2.9 percent. That's likely fueled by the release of updates for the Samsung Galaxy S II and HTC Sensation family of devices, and is a sharp uptick from last month when it registered on 1.6 percent. Gingerbread (2.3) still reigns supreme, running 63.7 percent of the Android hardware that accessed the Play market in the last two weeks, but its growth seems to finally be slowing. Last year at this time that position was filled by Android 2.2, with 2.3 on just one percent of the hardware and Android 3.0 barely registering at all, a point which highlights the long cycle of upgrades. Call it fragmentation or flexibility, app developers can use these stats to plan their releases going forward, although it may be a little while still before the majority of the crowd can access any Ice Cream Sandwich-specific features.
Xbox 360 apps now live for Comcast Xfinity TV, HBO Go and MLB.tv
Anxiously awaiting the arrival of those brand spanking new apps for your Xbox 360 console? Well, the wait is over. Video apps for Comcast Xfinity TV, HBO Go and MLB.tv have arrived on a number of consoles here at Engadget HQ. Major Nelson dropped the official word a little while ago, leaving you mere moments away from live and on demand television and baseball just in time for the start of the season. Keep in mind all three of these high profile applications feature Kinect integration -- but don't worry, you won't be forced to swing any bats in your living room. If you're looking for more info, details on the HBO Go and MLB.tv offerings await in the PR below.
Xbox 360 Comcast, HBO and MLB.tv apps arrive today on consoles used more for video than games
Microsoft has confirmed via multiple mainstream media outlets that today is the day for several more high-profile video apps to appear on its Xbox 360, namely Comcast Xfinity TV, HBO Go and MLB.tv. There's not a lot of detail on the apps themselves, although the HBO Go and MLB.tv services are familiar due to their availability on other platforms, while we've already heard the Xfinity TV app will mirror the experience and content already seen on the PC. All three naturally include significant Kinect integration, and bring the total number of video apps (already including recent additions like Verizon FiOS and YouTube) available to 36. Interestingly, another stat Microsoft is focusing on is that the time spent using its consoles to watch online video is now over half, outpacing the time users are spending playing its games for the first time. Head of marketing and strategy for Xbox Yusuf Mehdi is quoted by the LA Times as saying usage is up 30 percent from a year ago. We're not sure if that just reflects gamers powering through to (and possibly being disappointed by) the ending of Mass Effect 3, but we'll be keeping an eye on our dashboards for the new apps all the same.
Ford sends out OpenXC beta, vehicle-aware apps should be just around the corner
It's six months since Ford partnered with Bug Labs to build OpenXC and now the system is ready for third-party developers to get involved. Rather than following Renault and others down the Android route, OpenXC is a dedicated platform designed to bring together third-party apps and hardware. It comes with an Arduino-based interface module that hooks up to the car's own systems, allowing the software to work with sensors, audio interfaces, safety devices and whatever other add-ons an owner might want to rig up. One app, developed by India's HCL Technologies, is already complete: it sends location updates to selected contacts to warn them if a driver is running late for a meeting. (Finally, Arduino gets to do something useful.)
Xbox 360 system update gets its colors in order, makes it mandatory
Remember those color problems experienced by some Xbox 360 users after last year's dashboard update? Microsoft appears to have fixed the issue in its latest system update, although it will take time for the fix to roll out across the associated apps -- we've been told this will happen over the next few months. Its Sony rival also rolled out its own (optional) update for the PS3 yesterday, improving "certain aspects" of the UI. The Xbox team promise that their update will also increase performance, but don't take their word for it; the update is rolling out now -- let us know how it goes.
Microsoft acknowledges Xbox 360 color space problem in last update, is working on a fix
While we found a lot of things to like in the last Xbox 360 dashboard upgrade, not everyone was happy after it finally rolled out in early December. We've received word from multiple owners who saw and reported color output problems since the beta began, and today Director of Programming Larry Hryb aka Major Nelson tweeted that the company is "aware of the color space issue w/ some Xbox video apps & are working on a fix". While that should take care of some issues, more recent reports also indicate problems with the HDMI output having HDCP authentication problems with certain TVs or receivers that blocks video output, as well as reports confirmed by Eurogamer that 1080p output appears to be downscaled to 720p internally. We're waiting for a response from Microsoft about these or any other issues and will let you know when we hear more. Let us know if you've noticed anything else in the new Xbox 360 update that needs tweaking in the comments below.[Thanks, Vinny P, Brad R. and everyone else who sent this in]
Kno adds new smart textbook capabilities: Kno Me, gets to know you (video)
Remember those iPad textbooks from Kno? Well, conveniently in advance of that other education announcement this week, the company has added two new features to the edu-party: Kno Me and Kno Flashcards. The former is an interactive graphical dashboard that details your learning habits, such as time spent in a book, understanding of key terms and test grades -- perfect for nosey moms. Kno Flashcards, on the other hand, puts a new spin on the classic analog memory-jogger. Key points are automagically drawn from the book and compiled into cards, the software then uses metacognition, spaced repetition and episodic memory -- three terms that need flashcards right there -- to help you learn. Both are detailed in the video and PR after the break. Yes, there will be a quiz later.
PSA: UFC, VUDU, other video apps now available on Xbox 360
A slew of new video apps have debuted through Microsoft's updated Xbox 360 dashboard, including the UFC app and VUDU. Here's the full list: 4 on Demand (C4) -- United Kingdom ABC iView (Australian Broadcasting Corp.) -- Australia Dailymotion -- Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, India, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland , Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, South Africa Demand 5 (Five) -- United Kingdom M6 -- France MSN Video -- France UFC on Xbox LIVE (UFC) -- Canada, United States VUDU (Wal-Mart) -- United States You can download each app through the video tab on your Xbox 360, assuming you're in a region that supports it.
