1/10/2012 Gingerbread Dominates 50.51% of Android Phones, Five Others Coexist.

 

The Android platform moves quickly. While Google does its best to keep the OS fresh and secure, OEMs and carriers don’t always act quickly in pushing out the latest code to already existing devices. Complicating matters are new devices, often pushed to market with code that’s not always the latest.


The result? Now, six versions of Android coexist on devices (Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich) with Gingerbread being the dominant one. Android 2.3.x represents 50.51% of all Android installs while the rest of the versions still account for a total of 47% (the difference is Honeycomb on tablets). In layman’s terms, for every Gingerbread phone in use, there’s a phone running older code.





While Ice Cream Sandwich is too fresh to be part of the pie chart, Froyo still has a 35.3% share with Eclair running on 9.6% of Android handsets. There are also 1.3% of devices running Donut and believe it or not, there are 0.8% phones powered by Cupcake.





While it is fair to write off Cupcake and Donut phones, the future should see a shift from Froyo to Gingerbread and from Gingerbread to Ice Cream Sandwich (in some exceptional cases, directly from Froyo to Ice Cream Sandwich). We have to also accept the fact that some devices out there are doomed to run the current version of Android until they’re trashed. The only question is how quickly will OEMs and carriers act on this.

[via Android Developers, DroidDog]
 
This article originally published at Pocketnow here.

@atulplayer

6/22/2011 Secret Codes of Android Phones/Samsung Wave

Secret Codes of Android Phones/Samsung Wave

ou'll get several hidden secret codes which can be used in any Google Android mobile phone to access things which are not accessible by default.

FYI These codes have been obtained by decoding various .apk files present in the phone firmware.

*#*#4636#*#*

This code can be used to get some interesting information about your phone and battery. It shows following 4 menus on screen:

* Phone information
* Battery information
* Battery history
* Usage statistics

*#*#7780#*#*

This code can be used for a factory data reset. It'll remove following things:

* Google account settings stored in your phone
* System and application data and settings
* Downloaded applications

It'll NOT remove:

* Current system software and bundled applications
* SD card files e.g. photos, music files, etc.


PS: Once you give this code, you get a prompt screen asking you to click on "Reset phone" button. So you get a chance to cancel your operation.

*2767*3855#

Think before you give this code. This code is used for factory format. It'll remove all files and settings including the internal memory storage. It'll also reinstall the phone firmware.

PS: Once you give this code, there is no way to cancel the operation unless you remove the battery from the phone. So think twice before giving this code.

*#*#34971539#*#*

This code is used to get information about phone camera. It shows following 4 menus:

* Update camera firmware in image (Don't try this option)
* Update camera firmware in SD card
* Get camera firmware version
* Get firmware update count

WARNING: Never use the first option otherwise your phone camera will stop working and you'll need to take your phone to service center to reinstall camera firmware.

*#*#7594#*#*

This one is my favorite one. This code can be used to change the "End Call / Power" button action in your phone. Be default, if you long press the button, it shows a screen asking you to select any option from Silent mode, Airplane mode and Power off.

You can change this action using this code. You can enable direct power off on this button so you don't need to waste your time in selecting the option.

*#*#273283*255*663282*#*#*

This code opens a File copy screen where you can backup your media files e.g. Images, Sound, Video and Voice memo.

*#*#197328640#*#*

This code can be used to enter into Service mode. You can run various tests and change settings in the service mode.

WLAN, GPS and Bluetooth Test Codes:

*#*#232339#*#* OR *#*#526#*#* OR *#*#528#*#* - WLAN test (Use "Menu" button to start various tests)

*#*#232338#*#* - Shows WiFi MAC address

*#*#1472365#*#* - GPS test

*#*#1575#*#* - Another GPS test

*#*#232331#*#* - Bluetooth test

*#*#232337#*# - Shows Bluetooth device address

*#*#8255#*#*

This code can be used to launch GTalk Service Monitor.

Codes to get Firmware version information:

*#*#4986*2650468#*#* - PDA, Phone, H/W, RFCallDate

*#*#1234#*#* - PDA and Phone

*#*#1111#*#* - FTA SW Version

*#*#2222#*#* - FTA HW Version

*#*#44336#*#* - PDA, Phone, CSC, Build Time, Changelist number

Codes to launch various Factory Tests:

*#*#0283#*#* - Packet Loopback

*#*#0*#*#* - LCD test

*#*#0673#*#* OR *#*#0289#*#* - Melody test

*#*#0842#*#* - Device test (Vibration test and BackLight test)

*#*#2663#*#* - Touch screen version

*#*#2664#*#* - Touch screen test

*#*#0588#*#* - Proximity sensor test

*#*#3264#*#* - RAM version

NOTE: All above codes have been checked on Google Android phone Samsung Galaxy I7500 only but they should also work in other Google Android phones.



@Atul Purohit

5/24/2011 Android 2.3 Security Flaw Reported.

Android 2.3 Security Flaw Reported

                 



Thanks to the efforts of computer security researcher Xuxian Jiang of the North Carolina State University, a security flaw tied up with the Android 2.3 Gingerbread has been revealed. It seems that the flaw allows unauthorized access to the microSD card and apps directory on the Android 2.3 by simply clicking a link.
Once clicked, a malicious code on websites can access data on the microSD card. This includes voicemail, photos and other saved items found on the handset. Also, the vulnerability also lets attackers scan and upload the installed and built-in applications on a handset.
A temporary solution to this security flaw is to avoid using microSD cards or at least disable them for now. Disabling the JavaScript may also help but do take note that there are limitations on your end if you do so. This includes storage limits when saving photos and/or select browsing on websites that don’t make use of JavaScript.
At the moment, Google is said to be attending to the issue and hopefully an update may come out soon. 


@Atul Purohit