Google has allowed Android users to pay for apps through their carriers for some time now, but not until today were they able to do the same for media services. Google has confirmed that it is extending direct carrier billing to enable users to charge Google Play Books, Movies, and Music purchases directly to their monthly bill.

The first carriers to sign-on are T-Mobile in the United States and Docomo, KDDI, and Softbank in Japan. However, the Google+ post announcing this development states that Sprint is coming soon. It then links to a list of carriers that offer direct billing for apps; presumably, those same names will soon enable support for purchasing the multimedia options available in Google Play.

Just as it did with apps, direct carrier billing is seen as a way to simplify the purchase process and have one less hurdle for visitors to Google Play to acquire content. Credit cards and debit card set-ups aren’t readily accessible or trusted by everyone, so allowing customers to tack on their purchases to the same bill that they are guaranteed to pay at the end of the month makes it solves that problem. It helps simplify the issue of payment processing for some users.

I’ve yet to see any public comment from Google regarding carrier billing’s positive effects on app purchases in Google Play, but one has to assume they’ve been positive if Google went through the trouble of extending that support to other media. Here are the carriers that currently support carrier billing for apps; other media forms are likely to follow.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich hasn’t caught on with many devices. Unless you have a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Asus Transformer Prime, or taken matters into your own hands and uploaded a ICS-based custom ROM, there’s a good chance you’ve yet to see how much better is the latest version of Android. However, more people are joining that elite club based on the latest Android Developer Platform Chart.

In the two weeks ending May 1, 2012, 4.9 percent of devices accessing the Android Market were running Android 4.0 or higher. That’s a bump from the 2.9 percent reported in April. Progress is painfully slow, but movement is better than standing still. With recent developments like Google selling the Galaxy Nexus directly, and HTC, Samsung, and Sony starting to fulfill their promise to roll-out Ice Cream Sandwich, dare I say we could go as high as 6 percent next month?

The platform version continuing to dominate the Android bakery is Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The number of 2.3-based devices climbed from 63.7 percent last month to 64.4 percent in May. Believe it or not, companies are still selling Gingerbread phones, and most consumers don’t seem to know or care that their phone is running outdated software. That should put things in perspective for Android enthusiasts.

Another interesting note is that Honeycomb has a 3.3 percent share of devices, which is exactly how much it had last month. Some tablets were upgraded to Android 4.0, but the number of 3.0-based devices held strong for some reason. We expect that to change next month.

If there’s one surprising aspect of consumer electronics Google has still not interjected its own product, it is tablets.  The market share is clearly dominated by Apple’s iPad and iPad 2 with the Amazon Kindle Fire chipping away and creating its own niche as a seven inch tablet.  Google has been successful with its Nexus line — as long as it leaves the distribution to carriers and other retailers.  For a while now, Google has often been rumored to launch its own tablet to compete with Apple, since other manufacturers– aside from Asus and Amazon — seem to be having difficulty.

An analyst at DisplaySearch believes Google will enter the tablet department by April 2012 with its own seven inch device.  In a conversation with CNET, analyst Richard Shim believes the Google tablet will feature a 1280 x 800 display, Android 4.0, and a low price tag at $199.  With Google in the process of acquiring Motorola, it would not be a surprise to see Google and Motorola work closely together in order to create an enticing seven inch Android tablet.

Whether or not the Google tablet will feature industry leading hardware such as a quad-core processor, LTE, and high-resolution camera(s) remains to be seen.  There are also reports of Apple testing its own seven inch tablet device, which would likely give Google a sense of urgency to get its own product to the market.  If Google is able to launch its own tablet by April, it would beat Apple to the market and hopefully it can deliver a product to help bring tablet market share to Android.

[CNET]

Just days after the Asus Transformer Prime becoming the first ever tablet to officially run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, another previously Honeycomb-powered slate has started running the new Google OS’s version a few hours ago.

We are talking about the Motorola Xoom, which, as of last night, runs Android 4.0 for a group of a few thousand lucky owners. These have been selected from the ‘’Google Experience Device’’ Testing subscribers and will have the honor of exclusively ‘’tasting’’ the pleasures of Android Ice Cream Sandwich through the weekend.

It’s still unclear if, at the beginning of next week, the lucky Xoom owners who will have the chance of testing Android 4.0 during these following couple of days, will keep the update running on their tablets. However, if everything goes well and according to Motorola plans and if no major issues will be noticed after the weekend, the ICS update should be released for the masses in the near future as well.

I wouldn’t go on a limb and say that all you Xoom adopters will be able to taste Ice Cream Sandwich starting next week, but right now everything and anything seems possible.

Also, according to sources, the update has only been made available for the WiFi only version of the tablet, which might mean that for the 3G and 4G models, it will take the Motorola developers an additional couple of weeks to straighten up all the issues and possible glitches.

You can check out the email sent by the ‘’Motorola Feedback Network’’ to select Xoom owners below. Also, if you are one of these lucky early Android 4.0 ‘’tasters’’, we would appreciate a comment telling us how the tablet feels after the update. Thanks in advance!

Hi.

Via TalkAndroid.com

One of the first Android-based devices, if not the first, to be officially released in 2012, is the Meizu MX smartphone, a very good-looking piece of equipment that packs some pretty snappy hardware too.

The MX has only been made available in China and Hong Kong for the moment, where hundreds of people have been eager to get their hands on the smartphone as soon as the New Year had come.

Powered by a snappy Exynos dual-core processor and featuring 1 GB of RAM, the Meizu MX looks pretty elegant and stylish, being roughly as sleek as the iPhone 4 or the Samsung Galaxy S. As a matter of fact, in terms of design, the MX looks like a winner to me, being the kind of device that you wouldn’t be ashamed to pull out of your pocket on the streets or anywhere in public.

The smartphone sports a 4.3-inch touchscreen with 960 x 640-pixels resolution, which once again is pretty on-par with most of the high-end devices today, and features 16 GB of internal storage, as well as an 8 MPx camera with autofocus and LED flash, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, GPS and accelerometer.

As far as software goes, the Meizu MX runs Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, which is not exactly ideal, but the producers have promised an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich in the near future, so fingers crossed for those of you who have purchased or are planning to purchase the smartphone.

In terms of pricing, the MX is available for 2,999 yuan in China, which would ”translate” into around 475 dollars, according to today’s currency rate. On the other hand, if the smartphone will ever be released in the United States or in Europe, I would expect it to go for well under 400 bucks to stand a chance in a competition with the established and well-known devices from Samsung, LG or Apple.

Let’s not forget to mention something about the impact this smartphone has already made in China and Hong Kong, where hundreds of eager technology enthusiasts have pre-ordered the device a few weeks back only to stand in line at the store yesterday for hours… Now that’s what I call passion for gadgets!

Source: [Meizume.com]

If there was still anyone who thought that the battle for supremacy in the United States mobile OS market was close (or close-ish), the recent news we got from ComScore should make things clear once and for all.

Android increased its lead over Apple’s iOS during this fall and is getting closer and closer of controlling half the smartphone market. More exactly, according to the three-month report from ComScore ending in November, Google’s operating system now holds a cool 46.9 percent share of the total number of smartphone subscribers in the United States. That’s a 3.1 percent gain from August, which means that if this increase rate continues, by next Spring we might see Android powering half of the mobile phones in the US.

Apple’s iOS, while boosting its subscribers’ number with just over a percent between August and November, only has 28.7% of the total smartphone users in the US. RIM remains the third mobile platform today, but has gone down from holding a 19.7 percent share to a more modest 16.6 percent.

That’s still enough for a podium finish and should be enough in the near future as well, because Microsoft and Symbian are far, far away with just 5.2 and 1.5 percent shares in the smartphone market.

As for the mobile manufacturers, Samsung leads unsurprisingly with a 25.6 percent share and a slight 0.3 percent increase during the fall, while LG is second, close, but not close enough. The South Korean conglomerate holds a 20.5 percent share in the US and is followed by Motorola, with just under 14 percent of the total number of mobile devices today.

Apple has enjoyed a pretty important progress and is now very close of overtaking Motorola, with an 11.2 percent share, while RIM completes the top five, with just 6.5 percent.

If I were to look at these numbers as a whole and draw a couple of conclusions, I’d say that pretty much nothing has changed in the US smartphone market (at least not in a spectacular way), and that Google’s Android OS is set to remain ‘’king of the jungle’’ for a loooooong, long time… On the other hand, I must admit that Apple’s business is doing pretty well too and that Steve Jobs’ legacy seems to be in pretty capable hands after all.

Comscore.com

One of the bigger tech stories in recent weeks — besides the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus on Verizon — has been the Carrier IQ debacle.  Carrier IQ is a software that has full access to data on your phone but is used only by carriers to log issues with their respective network.  Essentially, carriers are using Carrier IQ to help troubleshoot problems with their network and improve service in the future.  However, Carrier IQ was discovered in a way that raised significant concerns on how the software was being used since carriers were not informing smartphone owners such a software existed on their phone.

In any event, several carriers including Sprint and AT&T were under fire for using the software without allegedly informing customers.  Moreover, specific OEMs such as Apple and HTC were accused of installing Carrier IQ without also informing the public.  According to a rumor by Geek.com, Sprint is actively requiring OEMs to remove Carrier IQ on “high-volume and high-profile devices.”  Sprint hopes their partner OEMs will be able to push out an OTA software update in the near future that rids the device of Carrier IQ.  Unfortunately, Sprint has not confirmed these claims, but the carrier did report to MobileBurn that it “disabled use of the tool so that diagnostic information and data is no longer being collected.”

With this in mind, we’re still not positive if Sprint plans to never implement Carrier IQ on any of its devices in the future and whether or not Sprint is actually requiring its OEM partners to remove the network diagnostics software on their current devices.  I’m sure we will have more information direct from Sprint soon enough as Carrier IQ is taken to court within the month.

[Geek.com] [MobileBurn]

If you’ve been following technology stories in recent weeks, then you may be aware of the investigation of Carrier IQ and its presence on many Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry devices.  In addition, it is said to be found on Sprint and HTC smartphones.  Apparently, nearly 140 million smartphones are equipped with this software that is nearly impossible to detect.

Carrier IQ was recently discovered by Trevor Eckhart who reported his findings to the online community.  Essentially, the software has the capability of transmitting your data to its own servers or the carrier’s servers for further analysis.  The reason for this, as reported by Carrier IQ, is to help carriers solve network and device stability issues by sifting through data that occurs during a service outage, for example.

However, many people are worried – for good reason – that Carrier IQ is transmitting data such as texts, voice calls, pictures, and other information insecurely and unlawfully. That is not yet definitive, but  concerns were raised following Carrier IQ saying it doesn’t log personal data.

Before things started to get worse, Verizon issued a tweet earlier today explaining that Carrier IQ is not any Verizon Wireless smartphone.  Engadget does a nice job of explaining the Carrier IQ situation if you want to learn more.

Overall, the situation does not look promising for Carrier IQ and the manufacturers and carriers currently employing this technology.  It will be interesting to see companies come forward with statements on whether they use the technology or not, and how they use it.

[Verizon Wireless Tweet]

Today, we have some good news for those who own one of the four high-end Android smartphones mentioned in the title above.  The Optimus 2X, Optimus Black, Optimus 3D, and the Optimus LTE represent the four flagship devices currently offered by LG internationally.  According to a recent Facebook page update, all four smartphones will receive the coveted Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update.

In December 2011, LG will reveal the schedule of updates for each of the four phones. If you don’t own one of the four devices, then you’ll be pleased to know that LG is still evaluating whether Ice Cream Sandwich can be updated on other, mid-range smartphones.  Even if LG fails to deliver ICS, remember that there is always the option to find support from other developers through rooting.

Unfortunately, TmoNews points out that LG has not officially mentioned whether the American versions of these smartphones will receive the update to Ice Cream Sandwich. T-Mobile has the LG G2X (the American version of the Optimus 2X), which is currently running Android 2.3. Since the international version is being upgraded to ICS, I see no reason why the G2X won’t be updated.

The feedback on the Facebook post is generally positive, but it is clear that LG owners are anxiously awaiting the upgrade to Android 4.0. If LG announces any other further information regarding the status of American LG smartphones or other international smartphones being upgraded to Android 4.0, we will keep you updated.

[LG Facebook]

Just a few days ago, we reported the fact that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus wasn’t going to launch until December.  Many rumors previously indicated that it would launch sometime during November, but it looks like that is not going to be the case anymore.  Fortunately, we do have some good news for you folks on this Black Friday as there is a good chance the Galaxy Nexus will launch for $199 on a two year contract with Verizon.

Since neither Google, Samsung, nor Verizon ever announced pricing information for the Galaxy Nexus, it was up to the public’s speculation as to how much it would cost on contract.  Given the fact that previous 4G LTE phones on Verizon easily cost $249-299 on a two year contract, many naturally assumed the Galaxy Nexus would cost the same (at the very least).  Now, however, a premature Verizon ad for the Holidays has been discovered which points to a $199 price tag for the Galaxy Nexus.

We’re still not sure whether the $199 price refers to a special Holiday promotion Verizon could run for the holidays, or if this is going to be the permanent price tag for the Galaxy Nexus when it finally launches.  Either way, it sure looks like a good bet that this will be the price since the ad was discovered to be created by NetShelter who usually runs Verizon’s advertising promotions.

At this point in time, we’re just waiting for Verizon’s official announcement for availability and pricing on the first Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone.

[SmartKeitei] [AndroidPolice]