Android L Calculator On Google Play: Avoid It Like The Plague!

Much has been said about Android L, where the Developer Preview has already been rooted, in addition to having an emulator roll out so that you need not own a Nexus handset in the first place. Having said that, there is a new Android L app that is made available on the Google Play Store which is called the Android L calculator, although based on the user comments alone, you would do well to avoid this like the plague.
It does seem to be nothing more than a fake app, and as at time of publishing, it still remains on the Google Play Store. The Android L calculator does claim to transform one’s basic functions calculator into a scientific calculator, where you slide the advanced menu on to the screen in either portrait or landscape mode. Or so that is what it is supposed to do, but users who have given it a go already claim that there are terrible app permissions required, as it asks for permission to modify and delete your storage contents, where these will include both photos and media. Any idea as to the reason behind a calculator app requiring such permission levels?
You know what they say – fortune favors the bold – the thing is, if you’re still curious to find out what kind of capability this app has, go ahead and give it a try despite the fact that some commenters are not too happy with it.

Google Nexus 5 'official' Play Store listing reveals price tag

Google's much awaited next-generation
Nexus phone, the Nexus 5 has already
made an online appearance.
Interestingly, the leak comes from not
any other source but Google, as the
phone was accidentally listed on the
Play Store, the company's content,
services and device marketplace.

The
listing appeared for select users and
was pulled by Google after it realised
it's made a faux pas.

The listing even revealed the pricing of
the Nexus 5's 16GB model, which was
listed at $349. The listing showcases
the phone in its full glory offering a
nice look at the phone's rear, front
and left edge.

The pictured device's
form factor is in line with previous
leaks with the back sporting the Nexus
and LG branding and the display
running a version of Android that
matches the leaked Android 4.4 KitKat
screenshots complete with the
transparent navigation key bar and
new icons.

Confirming some more rumours, the
Home screen of the phone doesn't
feature an icon for Messaging, which
appears to have been replaced by the
Hangouts app, as suggested by the
presence of its icon.

The link that should have fetched
details related to the features and
specifications of the device was not
working, so we'll probably have to wait
for these details till Google announces
the phone.

A recent report had suggested that
the Nexus 5 might be priced at $399
for the 16GB model, while the 32GB
model would come at $499, but that
looks to have been proven wrong with
this accidental listing.

Last week, another report claimed that
Google might release Android 4.4
, the latest iteration of its mobile and
tablet operating system, on October 28.
So it's likely that the company will also
announce the Nexus 5 at the same
event.

Earlier this week, t he Nexus 5 was
pictured in new leaked images
that revealed rear and side panels.
Rumoured specifications of the Nexus 5
include a 4.95-inch full-HD (1080p) IPS
LCD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz,
2GB of RAM, 8-megapixel rear camera
with OIS and a 1.3-megapixel front-
facing camera. The alleged Nexus 4
successor has also been expected to
include a host of sensors like ambient
light, proximity, pressure as well as
accelerometer, compass, notification
LED and gyroscope.

Has any phone in 2013 made you switch platforms?

We're in that final stretch of months
before 2013 officially comes to an end,
and it's been a pretty wild year for
mobile all year long.

In the beginning, we saw BlackBerry's
plans and release of BlackBerry 10. In
the following months we saw the
release of two of the most anticipated
Android flagships of the year, the HTC
One and the Samsung Galaxy S4. We
finally found out the dark and
mysterious details of Google's "X"
phone, which turned out to be none
other than the Moto X, which featured
just about none of the things leaks,
rumors and hopes predicted that it
would. Nokia pushed the envelope even
further with their Nokia Lumia line,
famous for its notably good cameras
for a smartphone, by releasing the
Nokia Lumia 1020 with its 41-megapixel
camera. We also have phones like the
iPhone 5s, the Nexus 5, the Galaxy
Note 3 and the LG G2 . Yep, it's been a
pretty good year for mobile.

New phones are released all the time.
But regardless of how many phones
can be produced, each smartphone is
more than likely using one of four of
the most popular mobile platforms that
we have available to us today: iOS,
Android, Windows Phone or BlackBerry.

These platforms are constantly
changing and tweaking in order to
become the best, and I have to say
that this year has had one of the
most interesting combinations of new
hardware and new software I have
seen in a while. If you guys have had
any thoughts like I have, you've
probably considered jumping from
whatever phone it is that you have to
something new - perhaps you even
made the switch.

Did any new phones tickle your fancy
enough to make you switch this year?
One did for me (get it? One ? Ha!)
Actually, I should say two . Initially, I
was more intrigued by the Galaxy S4.
However, just as I had suspected in
previous thoughts mentioned across my
articles, there is such a thing as a
phone that's too big for some people.

It seems that a 5" screen is just too
much for me to be able to hold without
dropping onto the floor, my face, or
whatever else I happen to be holding
my phone over. Aside from that and
some apparent issue with overheating
(as in the phone felt hot - really hot
- but didn't show much adverse
effects from it) the phone would have
been dandy. I really did like the
camera and all of the features. But
the fact that I couldn't even hold the
phone comfortably bothered me more
than anything, and I ended up
switching out for the HTC One.
Switching from iOS back to Android
was a lot easier than I thought it
would be, mostly because I still
remembered Android as being the slow,
buggy OS that it was back in 2010. But
once I decided to make the jump back
to Android from iOS after being mostly
happy with iOS for the better part of
two years, I was honestly surprised at
how well Android had adapted.
Whether
it was the advances that Android made
over the past couple of years, or
perhaps just the fact that I had
lowered my expectations when I
switched to the One and my
expectations were surpassed, I am still
to this day pretty darn happy with my
One. Although I will once again stress
that the purple tint on my camera is
still an issue that wasn't fixed since
updating to the official Android 4.3
build. Aside from that, the phone is
fantastic. Great build, great feel,
great battery life, and runs smooth
like butter.

I even entertained the thought of
switching to BlackBerry or Windows
Phone as well, considering the only
hands-on experience I've had with the
devices are limited to retail store
displays. BlackBerry was intriguing; I
was interested in seeing how
BlackBerry 10 worked on the
traditional BlackBerry form factor of
having a small screen and a full
physical QWERTY keyboard. I was also
intrigued by the Z10, BlackBerry's
first attempt at what might be
considered a more "normal" look for a
modern smartphone. However, the lack
of applications made specifically for
BlackBerry wasn't exactly inviting. I
will admit, it is nice that several what
I would consider "important"
applications that were initially made
for Android can be "sideloaded" onto
BlackBerry 10, but in the end I wasn't
exactly thrilled with the idea. The same
"lack of application" problem stopped
me from Windows Phone, but definitely
to a lesser degree.
I was mostly
interested in the fact that the Lumia,
at the time, had some of the best
cameras that a smartphone could have.
I also dig the minimalistic interface of
Windows Phone.
Overall, I'm happy I switched to the
One. It's not the first time I've
switched, nor will it be the last, but I
am happy that I was able to switch to
a phone that I thought I would like,
and ended up actually liking it, because
I'm not always that lucky.
Readers, did you find a phone this
year that made you switch platforms?
Which platform did you come from, and
which one did you go to? Are you
happy with the decision? Let us know
your thoughts in the comments below!

Huawei wants to make a Google PlayEdition Ascend P6

Google Play Edition handsets are definitely the hop topic right now, and it appears that Huawei is the next company looking to join the ranks of Samsung and HTC in the GPE handset club. 

Speaking with Pocket-Lint earlier today, Kevin Ho, president of the handset product division at Huawei, stated that the company is collaborating with Google to produce a new edition of the Ascend P6 which will run stock Android. We are working with Google to analyse the possibility of bringing out a Huawei Ascend P6 with Google Edition, 
Ok, so nothing’s set in stone quite yet, but at least we officially know that talks are on-going. Interestingly though, this is directly counter to the company’s statements issued when it initially launched the Ascend P6 in London earlier this month. 

The company’s chairman, Richard Yu, insisted that Huawei’s Emotion UI was better was far better than stock Android, and that it offered “hundreds of improvements” over the default Android experience. So the real question is what is Huawei’s motive; a simple u-turn to capitalise on all the coverage that’s being given to these Google Play Edition handsets? Perhaps Richard Yu was overselling the benefits of Huawei’s Emotion UI when he said it would be better in touch with a user’s “emotions”. 

Needless to say, the PR on this one looks to be a little bit of a mess. But Huawei isn’t the only company which might be interested in joining the GPE club, both Sony and LG are considered likely candidates for another stock Android device. It will be interesting to see how many other manufacturers will announce Google Edition handsets in the near future.