Report: Google’s wireless service will require a Nexus 6 to start

This past week at Mobile World Congress, Google executive Sundar Pichai confirmed that the company was working on a wireless service that would look to leverage WiFi and new technology that could seamlessly transfer you between different carriers’ networks to ensure quality service. There aren’t many early official details at this time, though rumors have suggested Sprint and T-Mobile will be on board in the early going.

The Wall Street Journal says they’ve heard word that there will be one big caveat for wanting to try this service out, though: you’ll need to own a Nexus 6 if you want to play ball. That may seem like a foul stipulation at first, but it makes total sense.

Google isn’t simply becoming an MVNO ala the likes of Republic Wireless or Straight Talk. They’re creating and testing an entirely new cellular technology that simultaneously leverages WiFi and any number of network signals between any number of carriers to help deliver the best call and data experiences.

It’s an ambitious project, but the only way they’re going to be able to accurately judge results is by keeping variables at an absolute minimum. It’ll be important for Google to be able to control the usage environment as tightly as they can in order to ensure everything works as it should. If that means they can only approve one phone for this experiment then that’s what we’ll have to accept. We’re almost 100% certain we’ll hear more about this venture at Google IO, with the Wall Street Journal suggesting it’ll be ready to go “in the coming weeks.”

Report: Google in talks with LG to build this year’s Nexus smartphone, not Huawei

Details about how the Nexus 6 was conceived is still shrouded in mystery. With rumors last year that Google would effectively be killing off the Nexus line in favor of multiple high-end devices — all running stock Android — sold in carrier stores, Google seemingly made a U-turn. This was after the Android Silver project head made his sudden departure from the company altogether.

Now, as we look ahead to the next Nexus, early rumors began swirling that Chinese smartphone maker Huawei would take up the mantle, something we’ll admit we never saw coming. But before you got your hopes up (or down), a new report has emerged, suggesting that it could be none other than LG.

Apparently, Google engineers were spotted visiting LG headquarters in South Korea, where they took a tour of a few LG facilities responsible for building LG’s displays, OIS cameras, wireless charging parts, as well as LG’s own R&D facilities. Carrying the codename “N000,” (those are zeroes, by the way, not the letter “o”) the device — said to be a smartphone — could launch as the “ Nexus 7.” Um… what?

Going by Google’s current naming convention, the number following a Nexus name has always denoted screen size — not generation. It’d be odd if Google suddenly switched gears confusing consumers in the process. So, that either means Google is looking to LG for a 7-inch tablet followup, or they’re launching a 7-inch smartphone (or not using the 7 name at all). If LG is making another tablet (and not a smartphone), then it’s still entirely possible for Huawei could be working on the actual smartphone. Confused yet? So are we.

As you can already tell, we’re getting a little bit ahead of ourselves here. In any case, LG is a major Android partner and has released quite a few Nexus devices to date, even more if you count their Google Play tablet. If rumors of an LG-made Nexus 2015 smartphone are true, would you guys be disappointed or overjoyed?

[eToday]

Report: the Samsung Galaxy S6 reached 10 million units shipped within a month

It seems Samsung sells their flagship phones faster and faster each year, and 2015’s lineup seems to be no different. The Korea Herald reports that Samsung shipped (which is as good as sold, really) over 10 million Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphones within a month of its April 10th launch.

The report says the Galaxy S6 “models” sold enough to surpass the milestone, so we imagine it includes both the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. For what it’s worth, Samsung’s Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5 also reached 10 million with a month, so they’re quite used to these results by now.

What’s interesting to note is that Samsung admitted to having supply issues after misjudging the market, particularly in the UK. The company didn’t anticipate that the popularity and demand for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge would come close to that of the base model. Had their estimations been accurate they might have been able to produce a sufficient amount and sell even more.

The success of the phone comes at an important time where Samsung has been challenged to start thinking differently about mobile. They’re still by and large one of the biggest single manufacturers in the space, though they’ve had their mettle tested in many different regions, particularly in China where up and coming domestic manufacturers are creating better devices and commanding a lot more market share than years past. A sudden early launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 might do even more to help them regain the strong footing they once had.

Report: Android M will allow users to block app permissions upon installation

A new report out of Bloomberg claims Google is finally about to give Android users the one feature they’ve been asking for years now: the ability to hand-pick specific permissions to grant an app upon installation. It’s supposed to be just one of the many features coming in Android M, Google’s next major Android release said to debut at this year’s Google I/O.

Privacy is a growing concern amongst mobile users, with some even forgoing installing certain apps because of their lengthy permission requests (Facebook being the first that comes to mind). It’s not entirely clear which permissions you’ll be able to block (all or just some of them?) but basic permissions like photos, location, and contacts were the ones that were named.

Because often times an app needs many of these permissions to function properly, giving users the ability to block each and every permissions but not be the best move. Not everyone understands that. We’re guessing it’ll be something similar to how iOS asks the user to grant apps permission to access their gallery, or camera app in order to function. In either case, giving users more control of their OS is never a bad thing.

Report: HTC could reduce One M9 component orders by 30% in the wake of poor sales

While it’s hard to say how well, exactly, the HTC One M9 is doing in terms of sales, it’s still rather easy to get a rough idea. For the HTC One M9, the idea couldn’t get any rougher — the company is reportedly cutting back on component orders by a whopping 30% thanks to less-than-expected sales. That’s the word coming out of DigiTimes, a reputable Taiwanese tech publication whose ear is kept close to the component industry.

It hasn’t been easy going for HTC in the early parts of 2015, with the general public perception being that the HTC One M9 gives no compelling reason to upgrade from an HTC One M8, or from any 2014 flagship for that matter. They also have to deal with stiff competition from Samsung and LG who have successfully created 2015 flagships with enough innovation and advancement to capture the public interest.

And none of that is to mention the rise of Chinese manufacturers who are steadily producing better and better phones at more affordable price points. We’re not sure what all this will translate to in an HTC financial report in a couple of monts, but we’re betting it won’t look great. In fact, the company’s stock on the Taiwan Stock Exchange is now at the lowest it’s been in over 10 years at roughly .40 per share.

HTC will have to hope their dual-pronged strategy of releasing an upgraded version of the main flagship can help turn things around, though considering the HTC One M9+’s availability is limited to China we can’t say there’s much hope there.

Report: Samsung working on a big camera update for Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge

We touched on how good Samsung’s latest camera goods are in our Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge review, but the company apparently feels they could do more. SamMobile has it on good authority that Samsung is prepping a swath of new camera features that will come as part of the widespread Android 5.1.1 update that accidentally reached some T-Mobile handsets.

While we’re not exactly sure what to expect from the update at this moment, it’s not at all out of the ordinary to suggest Samsung will look to introduce advanced options such as the ability to shoot photos in RAW, adjust shutter speed and other changes that are possible thanks to the latest camera APIs by Google.

We’ve seen those types of features in the HTC One M9 (after an update) and will be part of the LG G4 at launch, so Samsung surely won’t allow their flagship phones to be left out of the fun. There could be more on tap, such as new shooting modes and plugins, but we’ll have to wait until the upgrade is ready before we figure out what, exactly, the company has in store.

Report: Nintendo NX gaming console will be based on Android

Nintendo is finally embracing mobile after years of dodging the platform in all regards. They’ve already committed to mobile apps surrounding their games, and they even have plans to bring a healthy amount of games over the course of the next couple of years.

Their next move could help them tap into the mobile market even more. Nikkei, a reputable Japanese firm, is reporting that the Nintendo NX — their next home gaming console — will use Android for the software platform.

We imagine the Nintendo NX won’t have your typical Android TV experience, but rather a custom fork that Nintendo can build on top of, not unlike what Amazon does in the realm of phones, tablets and the Amazon Fire TV.

So where do the mobile implications come in? Building a platform based on Android could allow Nintendo to create a development environment that thousands of developers are already familiar with. It won’t be as simple as copying and pasting code, obviously, but porting a game to or from the Nintendo NX could be light work. Such a platform would benefit both independent developers and Nintendo themselves, so it’s a win-win situation.

Of course, any good move to get more developers on board will be good because Nintendo has had a tremendous struggle with the Wii U. The console hasn’t been selling nearly as well as the original Wii, largely thanks in part to its lack of third party titles (which in turn is due to the fact that the Nintendo Wii U is simply not powerful enough for game developers to build the types of games they want to these days). Nintendo’s network infrastructure can also accept partial blame as developers find it a lot less pleasing to work with than that of the Xbox One’s and PS4’s.

Nintendo is sure to go all in with the Nintendo NX, and if it’s running Android by the time it’s out you can be sure we’ll be paying attention.

[via Wii U Daily]

Report: NSA found a way to “hijack” Google Play to install spyware on phones

Well, if you had any doubt that the NSA and national security agencies everywhere didn’t have the capability to treat themselves to your information, perhaps Edward Snowden’s latest leak will change your mind. The rogue ex-intelligence agent leaked another document to the press today detailing a program by the 5-Eyes Alliance (the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada) called “Irritant Horn.”

The idea — which was discussed at conferences and workshops in Australia and Canada between November 2011 and February 2012 — is that they could intercept the connection that happens between a smartphone and an app store when a user downloads an app, during which time they could drop a “payload,” of sorts, that would likely sneakily install some sort of spyware.

It was more than just an idea, too — the document suggests the agency did find a way to consistently and reliably intercept that connection for both Google Play and the Samsung Apps Store.. Whether they were successful in executing the other half of the strategy (dropping the “payload” and getting it installed without the user’s knowledge) remains to be known, as it’s not clear if any progress has been made on this project since these documents were drafted.

More than just receiving information, the alliance also explored the possibility of altering the information being sent to a device, potentially using misinformation to manipulate criminals, terrorists or anyone else they’d have a reason to spy on.

For what it’s worth, it’s long been revealed that the NSA and other intelligence agencies have developed software that could pull basically any bit of data they want from a phone, but this couldn’t happen unless they could guarantee a way to get the goods onto the phones in question. “Irritant Horn” may just be the last piece they need to complete the puzzle and help themselves to information whether a user likes it (or knows about it) or not.

The report also makes mention of a browser by Chinese search giant Alibaba called UCBrowser. Their studies found that the browser had a security hole that allowed those with the technical know-how to pull an alarming amount of device information from its users.

The 5-Eyes alliance reportedly used the exploit to find out about the possibility of covert operations being carried out by foreign military. It ultimately turns out to be an unrelated tidbit, though the leak and the ease of gaining access to the information supposedly sent good vibes around the offices of the intelligence agencies working on this project.

The Intercept and the CBC have a lot more information to dive into if you’re curious, so be sure to check them out when you can spare a minute. Let us know how you feel about all this straight ahead.

Report: the Huawei Nexus phone is real

We’ve heard rumors that Huawei had been tapped to create the next Nexus phone, but there was very little to go on. There still is very little, but IBT claims to have spoken with a knowledgeable source within the company who confirmed the device’s existence.

A Huawei-made Nexus might sound a bit unattractive at first, but the company has been doing a lot of work to step up the quality of their products, and it’s shown in their latest flagship Huawei P8.

The problem for Huawei is that they don’t have very much international fame. They’ve sold devices abroad for quite some time, but in the Americas, for instance, their business mostly came from providing ODM devices for others to rebrand. That has changed in recent years, with the company even launching a US-focused store to buy the latest Huawei phones and tablets.

A Nexus phone would be a very important step for the company, as it would show the masses that they have enough respect to partner up with Google to make a premium device.

Huawei’s challenge will be to potentially outshine the competition, with LG said to be making another Nexus phone that will launch in the same calendar year. That’s a tall order for them, but even if they’re lapped over multiple times it will have been better than nothing at all.

Report: Blackberry will use Android on a future smartphone

A couple of years ago it might have been a bit taboo to hear of companies like Nokia and Blackberry using Android after years of doing their own thing, but it seems to be commonplace by now. A Reuters report suggests Blackberry will be taking a crack at making an Android device of their own at some point down the line.

Blackberry’s big heavy-hitting move was to regain the large pool of market share they lost with the launch of Blackberry 10 devices. Those devices and the overhauled OS were quite good by Blackberry’s standards, but tech moves too fast and Android’s explosion in popularity seems to have been too much for the Waterloo company to overcome.

Reuters reports that the device would house a slide-out keyboard, a detail we’re sure many past Blackberry fans are pleased to hear considering keyboards are a huge selling point of Blackberry hardware.

Using Android on a new smartphone would seem to confirm that Blackberry is looking to be more of a software and services company rather than take on Apple’s strategy of us against the world (but even they are starting to come around these days). We’ve already seen great evidence of that with the launch of Blackberry Messenger on iOS and Android, as well as Blackberry’s enterprise-focused BES suite that helps businesses maintain ultimate device security and management.

We honestly would love to see a Blackberry phone, but our only hope is that it doesn’t succumb to the same strategies that failed the Amazon Fire Phone and Nokia’s X lineup — that is, completely disregard the Google-fueled Android ecosystem in hopes to make Android their absolute own. Make us proud, Blackberry.