Google Brings Android Apps to the Web

Want to browse and demo Android apps on a bigger, more powerful device? Wish granted. Google announced today that it is launching a Web-based Android Market. The website is market.android.com.

Previously, Android owners could only browse and buy apps through their mobile device, so the Web market will provide one more way of getting apps. And to avoid any headaches brought on by buying apps and then having to physically download them, the new Android market will include wireless functionality for sending apps directly to phones without any hard connection required.


The new app market was presented alongside Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), the latest tablet-centric version of Android, which includes a new interface, improved multitasking and new Google Mobile services. Google also revealed in-app purchasing, which will allow Android app developers to sell virtual goods and service directly in apps. [via Google and TechCrunch]

HTC One X review

HTC has gone for a bit of a rebrand this Mobile World Congress. Gone are the hyperbolic product names and the quiet brilliance: instead it's all about a new One family of phones with the HTC One X the daddy of them all.

That's because it's rocking a quad-core processor – what else? – as well as Ice Cream Sandwich, some Sense upgrades and 32GB of internal memory (as well as some cloud storage thanks to a new partnership with Dropbox).

See what HTC's quad-core monster can do in our first play with the One X at MWC
But with everyone who's anyone whipping out a quad-core behemoth at this year's show, does the One X have the X-factor to set it apart? (Sorry, but we're contractually obliged to use that trope when a product name includes X.)
Hardware

When it comes to first glance looks, the HTC One X isn't a million miles from the HTC Sensation range, sharing most aesthetic mannerisms with the Sensation XL.The company has gone for a mix of materials while keeping the unibody design: the side panels are a high gloss plastic while the back of the handset is a soft-touch affair.It's a pretty big handset – that 4.7-inch Super LCD touchscreen may pale in comparison to the Galaxy Note's 5.3-inch panel but the small-handed will still struggle to use it comfortably.

The updated Sense software takes advantage of the screen tech too, rocking optical lamination to improve the viewing angles – and it's done its job, as you can turn the phone whichever way you like and still get a good quality view of the screen (unless you turn it on its front, obviously).

Considering the size and spec, HTC has done a good job of keeping the weight down – in fact, the weight difference between the HTC One X and an iPhone 4 is negligible to feel, despite the iPhone being much smaller of screen.

Most Popular Free Apps For iPhone, iPad: Apple Reveals Biggest Downloads Of All Time

After a very brief countdown, and with the next iPad just days away from its release, Apple recently passed 25 billion apps downloaded on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, and as part of the celebration, it has released a list of the 25 most downloaded iOS apps for both the iPad and the iPhone of all time.

You can download all of these super popular apps in iTunes here (if you haven't already!), but if you're just looking to browse, we've got the list right here. Here, for example, are the top 25 free iPhone apps (with download links, for your convenience)
1. Facebook
2. Pandora Radio
3. Words With Friends Free
4. Skype
5. The Weather Channel
6. Google Search
7. Google Earth
8. Angry Birds Free
9. Shazam
10. Netflix
11. Paper Toss
12. Twitter
13. Movies by Flixster
14. Bump
15. PAC-MAN Lite
16. Flashlight.
17. Unblock Me FREE
18. Temple Run
19. Instagram
20. Touch Hockey
21. Angry Birds Lite
22. ESPN ScoreCenter
23. Fruit Ninja Lite
24. Groupon
25. Angry Birds Rio Free
A few things to note here:

- Facebook, who has often been called an enemy of Apple's, has the most downloaded app on the iPhone of all time. Apple raised eyebrows in Fall 2011 when it chose to integrate Twitter into its iOS operating system rather than Facebook; the Facebook app, meanwhile, is likely the most downloaded app of all time on any iOS device, in terms of raw numbers.
- Skype, owned by another Apple rival in Microsoft, is the fourth most downloaded free iPhone app of all time, despite Apple having its FaceTime alternative pre-installed on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.
- The Weather Channel is the fifth most downloaded free iPhone app of all time, despite Apple's weather app coming pre-installed on all iPhones.
- Google Search is the sixth most downloaded free iPhone app of all time, despite Google search being standard in the Safari browser on the iPhone
- Google -- which is Apple's most notable and well-established rival in the mobile space -- makes two of the top ten most downloaded free apps on the iPhone of all time. Microsoft owns another.
- The most popular free games for iPhone of all time? Words with Friends, Angry Birds, Paper Toss, PAC-MAN, Unblock Me, Temple Run, Touch Hockey, Angry Birds Lite, and Fruit Ninja Lite.

Also out are the top 25 free iPad apps. Feel free to bookmark this list if you are one of those planning on buying the new iPad that Apple might be, and almost certainly is, unveiling on March 7th:

1. Angry Birds HD Free
2. The Weather Channel for iPad
3. Netflix
4. Skype for iPad
5. Kindle
6. ABC Player
7. Pandora Radio
8. Angry Birds Rio HD Free
9. CNN App for iPad
10. Words With Friends HD Free
11. Google Earth
12. Calculator Pro for iPad Free
13. Fruit Ninja HD Lite
14. Calculator for iPad Free
15. NYTimes for iPad
16. USA TODAY for iPad
17. Facebook
18. MyPad for Facebook & Twitter
19. Flipboard
20. eBay for iPad
21. Angry Birds Seasons HD Free
22. Dictionary.com
23. Twitter
24. Solitaire
25. Friendly for Facebook

Of note here:

- The iPad is an Angry Birds machine: Angry Birds HD Free, Angry Birds Rio HD Free, and Angry Birds Seasons HD Free are all in the top 25 apps of all time.
- Again, apps with Apple-made alternatives proved popular, with Amazon's Kindle (as opposed to iBooks) and Skype for iPad (as opposed to FaceTime) both nabbing top 10 appearances.
- The iPad came with the hope that it might save newspapers, or at least re-engage or re-connect tablet owners with news sites and magazines. Of the top 25 Free iPad Apps of All Time, four are focused on the news: CNN, the New York Times, and USA Today all won big with their apps, while Flipboard -- a snazzy app that aggregates and personalizes news for individual users -- also snuck into a top 25 slot.
- ABC is alone among the major network offering full episodes of new television shows for free (with ads) on the iPad; its tablet-optimized app is also the sixth most downloaded app in the history of the iPad. If ABC demonstrates solid revenue from its iPad app, perhaps other networks will follow ABC's lead sooner than later.
- Two calculator applications made the Top 25. Though Apple provides a Calculator app on the iPhone, it does not on the iPad (Same situation with a Weather app: Comes with iPhone, not with iPad). Perhaps it's time for Apple to develop a Calculator app of its own for iPad.

Apple released this list, again, as part of its "25 Billion Apps Downloaded" celebration, which also included Apple rewarding one lucky winner with a $10,000 gift certificate for iTunes Store downloads (Why not $25 billion dollars in iTunes downloads, Apple?). For those with a little cash, Apple also released the top paid apps for both the iPhone and the iPad, which you can check out in iTunes here.

The Real Reason Why Only The iPhone 4S Has Siri

When you ask most iPhone 4 owners why they didn’t get Siri in a software update for their devices when the almost-identical iPhone 4S came out, the common answer is extremely cynical: Siri is the arbitrary, software-only feature that Apple decided to limit to the iPhone 4S simply to differentiate it from the iPhone 4 in marketing,

The truth? Apple may not be as cynical as all that. In fact, according to a new report from a chips analyst, it all comes down to special noise-reduction circuitry unique to the iPhone 4S’s A5 chip.CNet reports:


Apple’s A5 processor includes noise-reduction circuitry licensed from a start-up called Audience, and a chip analyst believes that fact resolves an iPhone 4S mystery and explains why the iPhone 4 lacks the Siri voice-control system.

Audience revealed details of its Apple partnership in January, when it filed paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO) of stock. Teardown work from iFixit and Chipworks revealed a dedicated Audience chip in the iPhone 4, but the iPhone 4S integrates Audience’s “EarSmart” technology directly into the A5 processor, the company’s S-1 filing said.

While the iPhone 4 does have noise-reduction circuitry, it only works when you place the iPhone to your ear. The EarSmart tech built into the A5 processor can handle what is called “fair-field speech:” in other words, it filters out noise a few feet away.

Obviously, at the end of the day, the iPhone 4 is still technically capable of running Siri. Look no further than the Cydia-only ports of Siri (like Spire) that run just fine on older hardware. The point, however, is that only the iPhone 4S’s noise-reduction technology met Cupertino’s exacting standards, while hackers will take what they can get.