“Android M” to support use as a car infotainment OS

Sources at Reuters claim that the next major version of Android, which it calls "Android M," will support being used as an in-car infotainment OS. The outlet says the OS would be built right into the car's hardware and would have the full suite of standard infotainment features.

The move also sounds similar to Android Auto, Google's currently announced car interface, but Android Auto isn't an operating system. Like Apple's CarPlay, it requires a smartphone plugged into a compatible vehicle, and then it takes over the car infotainment screen. Both projects require an underlying OS to function and can't access car functions like the radio, cameras, or air conditioning. So for your in-car Android options you have Android Auto, this new Android M-based OS, and the Harman project, which may or may not be based on Google's official Android M infotainment system.The project sounds a lot like the Android-based infotainment system Harman was building along with Google's help. Harman is one of the world's largest infotainment system suppliers and was building the system for General Motors. The Reuters report never mentioned the Harman product, so it's unclear if the two projects are related. Harman's CEO indicated that GM would have exclusive rights to the newest version of their OS, so it may be a separate project or something based on this Google-developed OS.

Google's infotainment OS will probably look similar to Android Auto, thanks both to Google's Material Design guidelines and the need to have the interface approved by various safety groups around the world. The interface would have to be a lot more comprehensive than Android Auto, though, which only supports calls, navigation, music, voice queries, and texting by voice.

A Google-built in-car OS would have a good shot at beating the current low bar set by infotainment systems. It would also give the company a big leg up over Apple's CarPlay. Android is purpose-built to be integrated into something like car infotainment hardware. Android's hardware support allows it to run on nearly all computing hardware, while Apple's tight integration of hardware and software means iOS just isn't built to run across a big swath of hardware. So Google would have an in-car OS able to access all the car's features and sensors (and data!), and Apple would still just have a "projected" interface running on someone else's operating system.Today the platforms for in-car OSes are usually Blackberry's QNX, Windows CE, or a custom-built Linux-based OS. Android—which is also Linux-based—has a ton of affordances for touch, notifications, and app support, so it seems like a natural fit for an infotainment OS. Just like in the smartphone industry, though, car manufacturers want to control the OS their products run and see it as a differentiating feature. Nearly everyone we've spoken to in the industry has confirmed this—car makers are reluctant to cede control of their connectivity options to Apple and Google. The problem for consumers is that, also like the smartphone OEMs, software is not the expertise of a car manufacturer, so the results are often not very good.

Just like Harman's CEO, the Reuters report said that Android's startup time will need to be greatly improved in order for it to be a viable car infotainment OS. The report also gave a time frame for release: Android M, along with infotainment support, is expected out "in a year or so."

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To avoid Android pitfalls, Mozilla shoulders Firefox OS update burden

BARCELONA, Spain -- Mozilla will take over some responsibility for issuing Firefox OS updates that carriers today have, a move that could help users avoid the fate of Android phone owners saddled with older operating system versions.

"We are pushing that envelope," Chief Technology Officer Brendan Eich told CNET. "We think we can get people on Wi-Fi upgrading through Mozilla."

That would mean a person could step into an Internet cafe then update the software as soon as Mozilla releases a new version or security fix, rather than waiting for a handset maker to build, test, and release the update through a network operator partner.But, Eich cautioned, "We are not there yet." OS updates are a risky proposition for carriers, which don't want to risk bricked phones and the attendant customer support difficulties.Part of the change is driven by the fact that carriers aren't necessarily going to be in the loop with Mozilla's $25 Firefox OS smartphone, announced this week at Mobile World Congress here. For that phone, people often will buy the phone from a bin at a retail store, Eich said, picking a carrier later.Operating system updates can be a sore point for smartphones. Most Apple customers upgrade operating systems relatively swiftly, but even mid-range Android phones often don't see new versions of the operating system. That leaves customers without new features, makes lives difficult for app developers struggling to support older models, and exposes people to security risks.Firefox  OS risks this problem, too. Although Mozilla issues Firefox OS updates at half the rate it does with Firefox -- every three months instead of every six weeks -- that's still too fast for some. Alcatel skipped the Firefox 1.2 update  because of some problems with the 1.1 update.Firefox OS is still a young challenger in the marketplace, with the first phones going on sale in July 2013 in Spain, but now it's available in 15 markets, chiefly Eastern Europe and Latin America.

"In the next several months, we'll add 12 new markets," said Jay Sullivan, Mozilla's acting chief executive officer, at a press conference at the show Sunday. "Later in the year, we'll have a large focus on Africa and Asia."

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Lots of Innovations Beyond iOS and Android

The "1 percent" is often used to disparage the American elites at the very top of the wealth scale. When it comes to smartphones, however, the "1 percent" is the bottom of the heap.

Research firm Gartner says 94 percent of smartphones sales last year were either iPhones or Android devices. Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices made up another 5 percent combined.

What about the remaining 1 percent? They are the wannabes such as Firefox and Sailfish.

I had a chance to try out some of these little-known systems at the Mobile World Congress wireless show in Barcelona, Spain, this week. Many of them aren't even available in the U.S., where I live. Although I don't see myself replacing my Samsung Android phone even if I could, some of these alternative phones have features I envy.

— Firefox OS, from Mozilla

Firefox is better known for its Web browser. Now, the people behind it are trying to adapt it to run smartphones targeted at emerging markets.

Firefox OS was launched last summer with three phones, priced around $50 to $70. They are available in 15 countries, but not in the U.S.

At the Barcelona show, Mozilla unveiled plans to expand to additional markets in Latin America and eastern Europe, while ZTE announced two new models. Chipmaker Spreadtrum Communications Inc. also announced a blueprint for any phone maker to make $25 smartphones using Firefox OS.

The home screen and icons resemble what's found on iPhones and Android.

Where Firefox OS starts to differ is in apps. With iPhones and Android, you go to an app store to get new apps. With Firefox OS, you typically have instant access to all apps, the same way you can visit a website for the first time without installing anything.

The catch is you need an Internet connection to use apps that aren't on your phone, but many apps need that access anyway to refresh news, social networks or restaurant guides.

Firefox OS also has a universal search for all content on the phone and online.

There's another neat feature coming to Firefox OS. Swipe from the left side of the screen to flip through recent apps one by one, just like hitting the back button on a Web browser.

— Sailfish OS, from Jolla

Sailfish is based on the Linux operating system and comes from the Finnish company Jolla (pronounced "yolla"). Former Nokia employees created Jolla after that struggling cellphone maker abandoned an in-house operating system in favor of Microsoft's Windows Phone.

There's only one phone out so far, and it's sold only in Europe for 399 euros ($546). But Jolla has ambitions to reach Russia and Asia and to partner with other phone makers.

Jolla Ltd. also announced last week that it will release a free app that Android users can install to replace the regular Android interface with Sailfish's.

I can see getting the hang of Sailfish over time. It emphasizes gestures over tapping. You can access many functions by swiping from an edge on the screen.

The home screen has nine large rectangles, similar to an elongated tic-tac-toe board. These are filled with up to nine of your open apps, so you can instantly get to any one

You can tap to open an app, but what's neat is you can reach a task directly by pressing gently on the rectangle and dragging your finger. For the mail app, drag from the left to create a message, or drag from the right to refresh messages. For the phone app, drag from the left to get the dialer, or drag from the right to get your list of contacts.

This saves time once you get used to the gestures.

To close an app, you can swipe down from the top edge like a window shade. If you're already on the home screen, swipe down to lock the phone.

Apple introduced similar gesture controls with its iOS 7 update last fall, but Sailfish goes much further.

There aren't many apps written for Sailfish yet, but Sailfish phones have a special tool for running most Android apps. You won't get some of the gesture functions, though.

— Ubuntu, from Canonical

Like Sailfish, Ubuntu is based on Linux. Unlike Sailfish, there aren't any Ubuntu phones yet. But the company behind it announced partnerships with two phone makers last week. Phones are due to come out this year, likely to European and Asian markets first.

Ubuntu's home page has a series of so-called scopes, arranged by category. One video scope might consist of icons for movies on your phone. Another might have items in your Netflix queue. You can refine what's presented through a universal search. The idea is to let you access content easily, without having to open an app first.

Swipe from the left edge to get a launcher. The top has all your open apps, while your favorite apps are underneath those. There's also a home screen scope to search for installed apps and those in the app store.

Swipe from the right edge to get your most recently used app. Swipe further for a carousel of all open apps. Just pick one to go straight to it.

These systems all have good innovations to help users, but people will find the phone and app selections quite limiting. Sailfish has potential if it can run well on existing Android phones, while Android apps can run on it. I look forward to trying that out when it's released in the first half of the year.

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The Geeksphone Revolution Goes On Sale, Letting You Dual-Boot To Android And Firefox OS

The mobile market may still essentially be a two horse race, with Android and iOS enjoying a significant lead, but there are lots of upstarts trying to make inroads, too. One of those is Firefox OS, Mozilla’s attempt to bring a web-first focus to smartphones. Geeksphone has been an early Firefox OS hardware supporter, and now it has put the Revolution up for sale, a higher-end device than its earlier efforts, complete with the ability to dual-boot to both Android and Firefox OS out of the box.

If you’re used to working in a corporate environment but also being cool during evenings and weekends, then you might be familiar with dual-booting: I’ve been known to have my Macs run Windows on a Boot Camp partition for when I need to pierce the veil and travel to the Microsoft realm. It’s actually a pretty common scenario in desktop computing, and there are a number of products including virtualization software designed to facilitate it. But is there the same kind of utility in the mobile world?

Firefox OS is definitely still an outlier when it comes to the mobile platform landscape, and as such, there’s very little in terms of pressing reasons to have it as an option. That said, the eternally curious and those who sympathize with Mozilla’s approach to software, open source and the web will probably find plenty to love about Firefox OS on a device with decent mid-range specs (it appears mostly on lower-end hardware, in keeping with Mozilla’s target market for the OS).

Specs for the phone include a dual-core Intel Atom processor at 1.6GHz, as well as HSDPA cellular support, and an 8 megapixel rear camera with a 1.3 megapixel front shooter. The Revolution retails for €222, and is sold direct from the Geeksphone website. Shipments start going out March 4, so eager shoppers won’t have to wait long before they start acting like mobile chameleons.

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Android 4.4 KitKat upgrade for LG G2 happening in mid-March

LG has announced that the anticipated Android 4.4 KitKat OS upgrade for the LG G2 smartphone is expected to roll out in Singapore from mid-March.

Here is the official press release from LG:

LG's Acclaimed Flagship Smartphone and Latest Android OS Offer Exceptional User Experience

SINGAPORE, FEBRUARY 21, 2014 - LG Electronics (LG) announced today that the anticipated Android 4.4 KitKat OS upgrade for the G2 smartphone is expected to roll out in Singapore starting in Mid March.

"The provision of timely software updates is one of the many ways in which LG is constantly improving the user experience," said Mr. Scott Jung, Managing Director of LG Electronics Singapore. "In addition to introducing useable new features, the OS upgrade for the G2 delivers a number of optimizations that enhance the entire mobile user experience. We trust that our customers in Singapore will enjoy the differentiated value offered by our latest upgrade package."

With the upgrade, the G2 plays music more efficiently and supports the battery-saving location mode, extending battery life and user enjoyment. The latest Android OS also provides a noticeable speed boost, allowing the G2 to run applications up to 17 per cent faster than before and thanks to the Chromium engine, web browsing is quicker as well, based on internal testing. What's more, a handy new feature called Google Cloud Printer makes it easy to print documents via Wi-Fi or a Bluetooth connection.

The upgrade package for G Pro, G Tablet, G Flex, is expected to be released in late second quarter of 2014. However, as requirements differ per market and operators, the exact date of availability may vary. More detailed information will be announced in the near future.

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Sailfish hits 1.0, to be released for Android devices

A major milestone for the young company. The fourth big update to Sailfish OS will be released early March, at which point the operating system leaves beta and hits 1.0. This fourth update will further improve landscape supports, include visual changes, new camera functionality, and more.On top of that, Sailfish will be made available for popular Android devices as well, so that you no longer need to buy a Jolla phone in order to use the operating system. Furthermore - and I did not see this one coming - they will release a Sailfish launcher for Android that brings some of the operating system's unique features to Android.

These men and women are on a roll.

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Jolla readies Sailfish OS for Android in a bid for Chinese firmware flashers

Finnish smartphone maker Jolla says its Sailfish OS has exited beta and will soon be available to install on Android devices.Jolla has been selling its devices in Europe for a few months now, but today the young company outlined how it will get its operating system to more remote markets without the help of carriers and OEMs.So far, there have been three main parts to Jolla's plan: the device, the Sailfish operating system, and the Sailfish alliance. Last November it started selling its Jolla smartphone, which carried its beta OS, and was available for purchase in Europe.Not so much appears to have happened yet on the alliance front — other than in Finland with carrier DNA — since it signed up Chinese retailer D.Phone as a partner in 2012. Jolla hoped the alliance would attract OEMs, carriers and others to extend the OS to the giant Chinese market.However, today Jolla said it will soon open online sales in Russia, India and Hong Kong. It's negotiating new channels in main European markets, the company said, presumably referring to retail or carrier partners.Jolla also has a fourth and fifth component to its plan, announcing that from March version 1.0 of its OS will be available to install on Android devices. Jolla says the Sailfish community has already ported the OS to some Samsung Galaxy, Google Nexus, and Sony Xperia devices, while a port for popular Xiaomi handset is in the works.The move is similar to Ubuntu making the developer preview of its OS available for Nexus devices, except Jolla's will be a full commerical release. Jolla's move has parallels to how Android users can install custom ROMs, such as CyanogenMod, on to their devices, although the ROMs are actually based on Android Open Source Project builds.Still, Jolla is hoping the popularity of re-flashing Android devices with custom ROMs will benefit it, particularly in China.

"Last year in China alone, about 100 million devices were re-flashed after the purchase with a new operating system. This approach allows Sailfish OS to scale into volume fast without limitations. This is a scaling opportunity in a similar way as we have seen in the mobile gaming industry recently," Antti Saarnio, chairman of Jolla's board said.

The fifth leg in its plan is a new Sailfish app launcher for Android devices, which will "simulate the Sailfish OS experience on Android devices", according to Jolla. That puts it on par with the dozens of app launchers available on Google Play, which offer different ways of presenting and organising apps on the home screen.While Jolla device owners can't install Android apps from Google Play, there's no reason why Jolla couldn’t put its own app launcher there, though Jolla only says that it will be available in the near future from jolla.com and "common Android market places". 

"We see this as a huge volume opportunity for Sailfish OS as there are close to a billion Android users globally. Many of them are looking for new user experiences to freshen up their existing devices," said Saarnio.In any case, the app launcher carrying the Sailfish UI will be made available ahead of Sailfish OS ports for different hardware, which will be released in phases during the first half of 2014. Good news may be on the way for current owners of the Jolla device, especially if they've noticed stability issues with some of the apps.

Its fourth software update to released at the beginning of March will included "improved performance, extended landscape support, lots of visual improvements, lots of new camera functionalities, enhancements to the Jolla store, new general settings" and other fixes. 

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Android users will get to install Jolla’s rival Sailfish OS, bit by bit

The operating system will run on some devices in the Nexus, Samsung Galaxy and Sony Xperia lines, and before that comes out a Sailfish launcher will be made available so users can get used to the UI. Jolla’s Sailfish OS isn’t Android – not even an Amazon-style fork – but it can run Android apps and manufacturers can put it on the same hardware they use for Android devices. So after a pretty small-scale start, what would be the smart way for the plucky Finnish mobile upstart to make sure as many people as possible play with its software?Yup. On Friday, Jolla announced the first complete version of Sailfish OS and said users themselves would later this year be able to install it on many Android devices – according to the post-Nokia outfit, this will include “major versions of popular Samsung Galaxy, Google Nexus, and Sony Xperia .” In the meantime, Jolla will soon put a Sailfish launcher into “common Android marketplaces”, so people can get their heads around the operating system’s gesture-based user interface.All this will take place during the first half of this year, Jolla said, noting that the full Sailfish OS should be “commercially ready for global distribution” after the beginning of March, when Sailfish OS receives its fourth significant update.The company also revealed partnerships with other big hitters from Finland: Rovio, for an Angry Birds-themed “The Other Half” smart cover, and security firm F-Secure, for free cloud storage. Jolla will also work with Finnish IT consultancy Tieto to offer integration services to manufacturers that want to make Sailfish OS phones.

According to Jolla COO and co-founder Marc Dillon:

“We’ve been working hard together with our user community to make the user experience of the Jolla smartphone and Sailfish OS effortless and distinct. We believe that Jolla now offers a truly viable option for all smartphone users. Naturally we are not stopping here, as we continue to provide monthly software updates to Jolla devices and Sailfish OS.”

Sailfish OS users will be able to install “their preferred Android app store”, Dillon added – I’m guessing the official Google Play Store isn’t an option, but Jolla has previously announced a partnership with Yandex to see the Russian web giant’s Android app store preinstalled on Jolla devices. Sailfish OS is open source, and the community has already made native apps for Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Foursquare.How likely is it that Android users will go Sailfish? Jolla is hopeful: chairman Antti Saarnio said in Friday’s statement that there are about a billion Android users out there. “Last year in China alone, about 100 million devices were re-flashed after the purchase with a new operating system. This approach allows Sailfish OS to scale into volume fast without limitations,” he noted.

“Just in a few months [since launch, presumably] we have shown how fast an open operating system can develop compared to closed ecosystems,” Saarnio continued. “It’s time for free choice instead of closed walled gardens.”

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