Motorola developing Android phones with stock software, ‘just right’ size

The Verge

PC Mag spoke with Jim Wicks, Motorola’s chief of design, who said that these new phones are the result of collaboration and influence from Google, as opposed to the other devices that Motorola has released in the time since Google acquired the company. “It will be the unadulterated version of Android, and I feel really good about our embracing Android and being the best Android experience,” said Wicks when speaking about the new devices, adding “there’s a sweet spot for consumers that we’re currently exceeding in the market. There are some people that like a big display, but there’s also a lot of people that want something that’s just about right. I think ‘just right’ is important, and we’re designing so we don’t disappoint those people.”

This is the right move, both for Motorola and Google. Motorola will have an edge by having a pure Android experience, and Google has a platform which they control and which will cary their services unaltered. With the moves being made by Samsung, which is the only one making money on the Android side, they have to do this.

Also, I find it curious that they talk about the size of the phone and not wanting to make a gigantophone. Isn’t Apple doomed because their phone is too small?

Google updates Chrome for iOS with full screen option

What’s New in Version 26.0.1410.50

Fullscreen for iPhone and iPod touch
• Scroll the toolbar off the screen to enjoy the full page of content.
• Quickly re-access the omnibox by scrolling back down.

More stuff I would like Apple to do with Safari on iOS.

Smartphones are so emasculating.

 

TNW

The image comes courtesy of Google [x] team member Corey Tabaka on Google+. Corey was part of the team at Google who pulled this April Fools prank on Brin.

Yes, there is nothing more emasculating than a smartphone.

Google to Fork Webkit

Google:

Chromium uses a different multi-process architecture than other WebKit-based browsers, and supporting multiple architectures over the years has led to increasing complexity for both the WebKit and Chromium projects. This has slowed down the collective pace of innovation – so today, we are introducing Blink, a new open source rendering engine based on WebKit.

You know what Google? Fork You.

Google’s Director Of Privacy Alma Whitten Steps Down

Techcrunch

As Forbes first reported this afternoon, Alma Whitten, Google’s director of privacy for product and engineering, has decided to step down from her current position. Google has now confirmed this.

They had a Director of Privacy? Google? Was she on permanent vacation?

Sorry Google; you can Keep it to yourself

GigaOm on the new app Keep by Google:

It might actually be good, or even better than Evernote. But I still won’t use Keep. You know why? Google Reader.

How about a pledge? If you build it, we use it, and you use our personal data to make your other products better or your ad sales executives richer, then you will keep it around.

You make a service available for free, you dominate the market, then yank it. Will they stop developing Android? It’s not like they are making a shitload of money with it. Will they kill Chrome? It’s free, they don’t make money on it. This is an advertising company everyone mistakes for a software and technology one.

I thought I would never say this, but Google was better off with Eric Schmidt at the helm. Larry Page is a Bozo.

Google Spring Cleaning

Joy of Tech

Google and Samsung: With partners like these, who needs enemies?

Venturebeat

That’s one reason, according to Google’s just-former Android head Andy Rubin, Google acquired Motorola: a hedge against any one Android partner getting too big, too powerful.

The big question now as we come off a year in which Samsung sold 400 million phones globally is this: Is that hedge big enough?

This is something that looks inevitable, my guess is that in a year or so Samsung will fork Android so they can tie their own services to their devices, or come out with their own OS (maybe they can make Tizen run Android apps). Google made a bet with Android in order to ensure that they wouldn’t be left out of mobile, but they can’t rely on others to do it for them. The best thing Google can do is to use Motorola to produce their Nexus line of devices and ensure a pure Google experience along with updates. Otherwise, they will be at the mercy of Samsung and the others because Android is open (at least to a point) and manufacturers can do what they want with it. Today they are partners, tomorrow fierce rivals. This is a dog eat dog world.

Nearly 35% Of Android Apps In China Secretly Steal User Data

TechCrunch

Earlier this week, the Data Center of China Internet (DCCI) released a report (h/t Tech In Asia) that showed nearly 35 percent of the Android apps it surveyed were secretly stealing user data unrelated to the app’s functionality. The DCCI, a research institute, looked at 1,400 apps downloaded from different app markets and found that 66.9 percent were tracking users’ private data, with 34.5 percent collecting information that had no connection to the app’s usage.

Really secure.

Hitler finds out Google Reader is shutting down