techcrunch: Google’s next version of Android is called...

techcrunch:

Google’s next version of Android is called “Marshmallow.” Google has made it a thing to name its Android OS versions after food, letter by letter in the alphabet ;) The new “marshmallow” statue was unveiled today on Google’s campus in Mountain View.

Check out video of how the statue was made and how they got it into place with nobody seeing.

It’s a cute statue, but I’m not the biggest fan of the name. Definitely not the biggest fan of the feature set.

via Tumblr http://bit.ly/1NDeqkm

iOS 8 is what sold Android to me

iOS 8 is what really sold me on Android. And I'm not talking about the bugginess of iOS 8, or some of the debacles with the software launches (iOS 8.0.1). Hear me out:

iOS 8 turned me on to Android because it helped me realize what I've been missing.

Now, Apple fans, hold onto your hats, because I'm not saying that iOS is bad, nor that Android is perfect. For me, Android 5.0 is doing a lot of things right, and is the better ecosystem for me. But that doesn't take away from the Android ecosystem and what it has to offer.

The Apple ecosystem is great. I really appreciate how much the operating system thinks for me, and makes my usage seamlessly good. I originially jumped into the Apple ecosystem because I didn't *want* to think about my phone.

Over my two years of using my iPhone, though, I came to realize that it is something that I would think about no matter what. And as I did think about it, the lack of customization started to bother me. Some of Apple's decisions bothered me - they worked, but I felt like something else might be better (swype typing, for example). I also wanted to change my default apps.

The thing was, though, that I could still justify Apple's decisions being that I couldn't make customizations and experience them all day every day (I tested Android devices every time I could, but that was for short periods of non-real-world use).

iOS 8 changed this for me. I have widgets in my notifications center. I have SwiftKey enabled as my default keyboard. I can (more so than before) use my own apps instead of Apple's apps through extensibility. And it actually works, and improves the experience.

And I want more.

Android does all of this customization, but it does it smoother and better. Additionally, I haven't seen the developers on iOS support widgets the way that they do on Android, which is unfortunate.

I haven't had major problems with iOS 8, so again, don't read this as one of those "iOS sucks now, so I'm switching" kind of posts. The third party keyboard support isn't perfect (it's pretty laggy to load) but other than that, I haven't had major issues. It's been as Apple-y (smooth and thought free) as ever.

But even more than the customization is just the reality that I will think about my phone, and that's not going to change. I manage my RAM on my iPhone, even though iOS can and will do that for me. I manage the storage on my device, even though iOS can do that for me. I manage battery life, even though Apple does a lot to make me not have to.

iOS 8 wasn't the only factor in my desire to switch, as I will detail soon in a future post, but it was a factor.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Is the Google Now Launcher Actually Android Silver in Disguise?

In case you hadn't already heard, the Google Now Launcher is now available to all Android devices running 4.1 and newer. Details are included in Google's official video below.



My question is: could this be the Android Silver program that everyone was talking about?

For those of you that don't know, for a couple of months before Google I/O, there were lots of rumors surfacing about the end of the Nexus program, and the start of launching flagship devices from OEM's with stock Android.

I haven't been putting much stock in the rumors, because I don't feel that's an approach that Google would take. The Nexus program has been growing and shows strong sense of life, and I think it would be stupid for Google to kill that. Likewise, OEM's would not be happy with Google, I would think, releasing Google versions of their devices sold mainstream, not just through Google Play. Android skins are how OEM's feel like they differentiate themselves from the competition. Not to mention the fact that they would sell a lot fewer devices that weren't running stock software.

My thought is, though, that the release of this launcher to the Play Store is actually what Google was doing, and that this is the rumored "Android Silver." It fits with Google's assertion that they aren't killing the Nexus program any time soon. It also gives non-stock devices a more Googley feel.

I think this is one of the best things to happen to Android since project butter, by the way. But I'm interested to know what you think. Do you think this is "Android Silver?" Do you believe the Nexus line is dying? Let me know in the comments.