android
Android app developers losing interest
App developers have begun to lose interest in Android as iOS successes go on and popularity of HTML5 hit Google’s Android platform. From Q3 to Q4 of 2011, the interest in Android fell 4% while from Q4 2011 to Q1 2012, a further drop from 83% to 78.6% was seen. Appcelerator and analyst firm IDC which conducted the survey also said that Apple’s iOS remains the number one platform for developers with 89% of them saying that they were very interested in producing Apps for the iPhone and 88% percent, who are keen to produce for the iPad.
TechWeekEurope claims that the most plausible reason for the waning interest in the Android OS for app developing is because of the fragmentation Android is continually facing. iOS app developers are encouraged to design an application based on the latest version of iOS at the time and are also allowed to tweak it according to the newer versions of the OS as they come out. On the other hand, Android app developers are made to design applications for as many OS’ as are used by consumers. Given the fact that not all Android devices can be upgraded to the newest OS, the need for versatility from the app developers is necessary and to add on to that headache, they also need to tailor their app to fit and run perfectly over a hundred different devices as opposed to iOS which has one. This, according to our friends over at TechWeekEurope is why the interest in Android from app developers is on the decline.
The Fairphone 2 was first unveiled in June earlier this year, where this particular handset carried a modular design while featuring majority of its components that have been sourced from conflict-free mines. It seems that this particular handset that you can purchase with a clear conscience has begun to ship to those who happen to live across Europe.
Fairphone announced in a blog post, “It’s been almost two years in the making, and some of the earliest buyers have been patiently waiting since July to receive their new phones. As community manager, I want to personally welcome the new batch of Fairphone owners to our community.” The initial 1,000 units are tipped to ship this month, before the other pre-orders follow in January 2016.
In terms of hardware specifications, the Fairphone 2 will run on a Snapdragon 801 chipset, has a 5″ 1080p screen with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP camera, with Android 5.1 Lollipop in tow. It will be a dual SIM capable handset with a microSD memory card slot and plays nice with 4G LTE networks, retailing for approximately €525 a pop.
It looks like the upcoming flagship model from Xiaomi will feature NFC support, at least based on a document that was released by China UnionPay. Just in case you are scratching your head and wondering who China UnionPay is, they happen to be the only domestic payment gateway supplier and card organization, and hence, to see them offer detailed support concerning the newly released NFC-based payment system points to the very real possibility of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 5 featuring NFC capability.
After all, the Xiaomi Mi 3 was also mentioned on the list, which so happens to feature NFC, and there is no mention of the Xiaomi Mi 4 which does not come with NFC. Still, such a new payment system would be the ideal tool to see the reintroduction of NFC to the flagship model.
OnePlus did make an announcement in the previous month that the Ceramic variant of the OnePlus X will be released on November 24. True to their word, they did exactly that – although only a pitiful number of units were made available, and not only that, this was through a charity auction. Thankfully for the rest of the masses who are on the lookout for this device, it has gone on sale officially already.
Needless to say, this particular variant is available only by an invitation, although do bear in mind that standard OnePlus X invites are not good here – you will still need to snag yourself a specific Ceramic variant invite before you make a purchase. OnePlus is also on the lookout to offer additional methods of picking up this smartphone, although no further details were revealed.
The OnePlus X Ceramic will be available only in select markets, where among them include Europe, India, and Hong Kong. To date, we do know that OnePlus had made only 10,000 units of the handset available. A case of the early bird getting the proverbial worm here?