Google Allo Rockets Past 5 Million Downloads

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When Google Allo went live, it saw a flurry of downloads as users rushed to make the search giant’s new messaging platform their go-to communication app. Indeed, just four days ago it surpassed 1 million downloads. It seems the fervor isn’t dying down, because as of today, Allo is sitting pretty at over 5 million installs.

Indeed, Allo rode the number 1 slot in the Google Play Store’s rankings over the weekend. Although it’s slipped to number 8 by now, adoption still appears strong. However, if the buzz quickly dies, it wouldn’t be an outcome without recent precedent.

Google Duo, the company’s recent Facetime competitor, saw a similar burst in popularity upon release, but the shine quickly faded – in spite of a strong advertising push on the part of Google. Indeed, Duo is now lying all the way down at number 85 on the free charts, but it’s worth mentioning that it has over 10 million downloads.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Allo follow a similar trajectory. Although the much-anticipated app handles the basics with aplomb, users were irritated with what they felt was a very beta experience. The platform just doesn’t feel polished, and even though the developers are promising that more updates are on the way that will bring them the features and services they desire, it might be too little too late for Allo.

Allo rode the number 1 slot in the Google Play Store’s rankings over the weekend. 

The app does have two things going well for it right now. First off is Google Assistant, which has proven to be both a blast to play with and fascinatingly useful. Second, the app is adept at spreading itself by pushing notifications to non-Allo recipients encouraging them to download the app. Who knows? If this app gets the features users want in time, it may survive with a viral-like explosion of adoption.

What do you think of Google Allo’s early proliferation in spite of lackluster first impressions? Will it take off as a go-to messenger? Let us know your prediction in the comments below!

Originally Posted on http://www.androidauthority.com/

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Google will give you up to $200K if you can hack the newest version of Android

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Think you’ve got the hacking chops to breach a flagship Android phone? Google’s willing to pay you to prove it. On Wednesday, the Cupertino, California-based company announced Project Zero, a contest that asks enterprising hackers to demonstrate flaws in the company’s smartphone operating system in exchange for cold, hard cash.

“Despite the existence of vulnerability rewards programs at Google and other companies, many unique, high-quality security bugs have been discovered as a result of hacking contests,” Google’s Natalie Silvanovich wrote in a blog post. “The goal of this contest is to find a vulnerability or bug chain that achieves remote code execution on multiple Android devices knowing only the devices’ phone number and email address.”

Here’s how it works: Hackers who uncover a serious security bug, exploit, or flaw in Android are encouraged to publish them on the Android issue tracker, a public forum devoted to documenting Android issues from visual glitches to wonky Wi-Fi. Posts will have to be detailed — contest participants must share a “full description” of how the exploit works with the expectation that, if verified independently, they’ll be published on a public Google blog. They’ll have to work on Google’s branded Nexus devices, the Huawei-made Nexus 6P and LG’s Nexus 5X, plus any devices running an up-to-date build of Android 7.0 Nougat. And the more, the better — reported bugs can contribute to a larger Project Zero submission at any time during the contest’s six-month period, Google said.

The prizes ain’t half bad. The winner of the contest takes home $200,000, while the runner-up will net $100,000. And an undisclosed number of entries will be receive a consolatory prize of $50,000. And there’s no way to lose: Google said that bugs that aren’t submitted during the entry period may be considered for other contests like Android Security Rewards, as well as future, as-yet-unannounced promotions.

Project Zero’s impetus, Google said, was discovering bugs that would otherwise go unreported. Another motivation? Developing fixes quickly, and in some cases pre-emptively. “Our main motivation is to gain information about how these bugs and exploits work,” Silvanovich wrote.” There are often rumors of remote Android exploits, but it’s fairly rare to see one in action. We’re hoping this contest will improve the public body of knowledge on these types of exploits.”

More broadly, Google is hoping to dissuade unscrupulous types who otherwise might be inclined to sell exploits to the highest bidder. McAfee’s Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that the cost of cybercrime is somewhere around $160 billion a year. And as use of mobile devices has climbed to unprecedented levels, the price of so-called zero-day bugs — exploits deriving from a previously unknown vulnerability — on internet black markets has mirrored that growth. A zero-day flaw in the latest version of iOS, for example, can sell for as much as $250,000, according toWired, and some foreign governments have reportedly paid nearly half a million dollars for comparable bugs.

“We’re hoping to get dangerous bugs fixed so they don’t impact users,” Silvanovich said. “We’re [hoping] that this contest will give us another data point on the availability of these types of exploits.”

Project Zero began Wednesday.

Originally Posted on http://www.digitaltrends.com/

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Android Pay is coming to the mobile web ‘soon,' available first on Chrome

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Android Pay will be up and running on the mobile web "soon," says Google, letting users pay for their online shopping with their stored credit cards. Taking the payment system beyond something you use on your phone in stores has been on the cards for a while now (with new API support added in the most recent version of Chrome), but according to new a blog post from the Android team, we shouldn’t have much longer to wait.

"We’re moving beyond mobile apps and bringing the simplicity and security of Android Pay onto the mobile web," writes Pali Bhat, Google’s global head of payment products. "Users will soon be able to speed through mobile checkout on Chrome using Android Pay on sites like Groupon.com, 1-800-Flowers.com and many more to come."

Alongside this non-specific timeline of mobile web support, Google also announced new banks signing up to the scheme. From this week, Chase customers in the US will be able to use Android Pay, with support for Santander and TSB customers in the UK arriving "over the coming weeks." Google also announced it’s taking part in Uber’s Payment Rewards program — meaning from September 7th to October 15th, Android Pay users in the US get 50 percent off ten Uber rides.

Originally Posted on http://www.theverge.com/

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Android App Development Best Practices

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Android open source platform, since its release by Google, has tempted entrepreneurs and businesses like Outsourcing Android App Development Firms with bright and promising prospects. Hence, android apps have outnumbered the apps developed for iOS very fast. To leave a mark in an ever changing market scenario, your app must be developed by following certain practices mentioned below:

See Also: 20 Mistakes To Avoid While Building A Mobile App

App optimization

It is essential to optimize your app based on the targets you have set for your app. For example, to achieve high loading speed you need to optimize size of the app and other loading attributes. For enhanced user experience, there are a lot of things you need to focus on. So, depending on the goals you have set you need to optimize the attributes associated with them.

Pay attention to UI

Remember that intuitive and interactive user interface is the key to cohesive user experience. Therefore, keep your interface simple and easy to handle. Also leverage available tools to get assistance for certain aspects of the UI.

Get support from android communities

Get connected with android communities and solve your issues effortlessly. By staying in touch with like-minded and experienced developers you can improve your skills and also remain motivated.

Make feedbacks your guidelines

Paying attention to user feedbacks is of utmost importance to make a user-centric app. You can use their reviews as guidelines in introducing changes in your app to fulfill their requirement. Ultimately, you will end up with an app that will ensure enhanced user experience. If users like your app then it is more likely that your app will occupy space in their devices. As Google aptly says “Focus on the user and all else will follow.”

Follow Google’s guidelines thoroughly

Google has provided some must-know guidelines for android developers and it is advisable to keep those guidelines handy. The purpose of these guidelines is to maintain consistency among apps.

Hope you are ready to get started with your app development process! Otherwise contact Outsourcing Android Application Development Company from India renowned for high-quality and cost effective solution.

Look for more expert information on Outsourcing Mobile Applikation Entwicklung Germany, Android Applikation Spezialist and Android Apps Entwicklung from the renowned author.

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Android And Chill: Samsung's Nightmare Moment

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How you handle a product safety issue is important. Samsung handled it right.

Samsung just faced the worst nightmare any type of product design team could have on Friday. They realized that the Note 7 had some sort of flaw, and one that could hurt people, so they're pulling it off the shelves.

I'm not going to try and hash out all the different theories about why or how many or anything like that. We can either accept what Samsung's PR tells us and move along or realize that we'll never know the whole story and move along anyway. Instead, I'm going to talk about reactions.

We'll start with Samsung. I like to point fingers at Samsung for the stupid things they sometimes do because they are capable of so much better. That can't be said about the way they handled the Note 7 recall. When numerous reports of Note 7 explosions started creeping in, they could have pointed the finger at someone else or the user, or just ignored them as if they weren't happening. Instead, it's obvious that they started looking into the issue right away. And when faced with the horrifying idea that they just sold a couple million products that could hurt people or their property, they acted swiftly and did exactly the right thing — they recalled every single one of them and told everyone they were doing it. I don't think there's any better way something like this could be handled.

Of course, part of the reason they acted so quickly is a liability thing. If you or I buy a Note 7 and it goes boom then burns our house down or we lose a finger or something, Samsung will be shelling out the cash to compensate us. If that happens to 10 or 20 or 100 people, it moves from a matter of liability to something that can ruin a company's image. Remember when we all laughed at Toyota? That's what can happen when you don't do the right thing. Samsung did the right thing. GoodGuySamsung,

The flipside is the way the internet of turds tries to turn this into a dick-measuring contest. Thumping your chest and showing everyone that tattoo of your favorite brand of electronics manufacturer because their phones don't blow up really only makes you look like a jackass. You know who you are. And if this would happen to your favorite smartphone team you should hope they handle it as well as Samsung did. And not just the "other" team is guilty. Stop trying to blame cables or users or Bin Laden's ghost for the problem and appreciate the way it's being addressed. Saying it's the user's fault is like saying "You're holding it wrong" and means you're just as much of an asshole. Just stop, all of you.

Other stuff happened this week, too, because Android stuff happens every week.

• A whole lot of bloggers were in Berlin to look at stuff. IFA is always a crapshoot and you never know how good the stuff is going to look until you see it. This year was no different. We'll take a closer look at the real jewels, and probably miss one we should have looked it. We're human. You'll tell us when we miss one.
• NotNexus happened. Goodbye coolest name for a phone ever. Handling rumors can be hard. We sat on this for ages until we were as sure as we could be, and we are still sitting on a pile of other rumors. In the end, this particular one is fun to talk about, but a name change doesn't mean much. Especially from Google who isn't afraid to let go of anything. The other things that could be changing will mean more.
• Acer's new Chromebook has me interested. The R13 convertible hits a lot of things on my list — touch screen, big enough but not too big, and USB-C 3.1. It has the things it needs to be a good Chromebook that runs Android apps. I'm also interested how the Chrome team deals with Mediatek's less than stellar track record for security.
• The new Galaxy Gear looks pretty nice. This is going to be one of the best Gear watchesthat nobody buys. The people who do get one all seem to love them, but nobody has found that one killer feature that makes them necessary. That goes for smartwatches in general. I do hope Samsung keeps trying and finds that feature I didn't know I couldn't live without. That's how the best stuff happens.
• Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 is official. We wrote this off earlier in the year as just an 820 improvement. People are still doing it. Now that we know the details, we're all wrong. Forget 10% faster and know that the 821 supports the very latest advanced graphics APIs, and we know what happens when a chip doesn't support them. Because one chip maker essentially controls the smartphone market, we just suck it up and buy new things.
• I found out Dan is a coffee lover. Next get-together calls for a Death Wish dark and RedBull cup of freedom.

More cool stuff will happen next week, too. And we'll be here to talk about it. Adios amigos!

Originally Posted on http://www.androidcentral.com/

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Google Play Early Access is now open to even more developers

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Google rolled out the Early Access program on Google Play earlier this year, giving users the ability to try out beta apps before they made their debut. Google hand-picked the apps that were allowed into Early Access during the initial rollout, but the company is now letting developers nominate apps and games for inclusion in the category.

Google also shared statistics on Early Access since its debut, stating that over 1 million beta apps have been installed in just over a month. The goal with the program is to boost discoverability of apps and games, while providing developers a platform for feedback and suggestions from a global community of users.

If you're a developer, you can get your app or game nominated to be included in Early Access by filling out this form. Interested in trying out beta apps? Head to the Early Access tab in the Play Store to explore upcoming apps.

Originally Posted on http://www.androidcentral.com/

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