Android

You've probably often thought "I could use an Android-running TV in my life." Well, Lenovo has totally read your mind and announced its K91 at CES. A 55-inch 3D HDTV running Android Ice Cream Sandwich, the K91 offers full 1080p, holds a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB storage, and WiFi, along with Ethernet, HDMI, SD card, USB 2.0 ports. It even has a 5MP webcam to boot.

Interesting features include facial recognition, 100 pre-loaded apps, and video on-demand. The TV can even be controlled through speech or a compatible Android mobile device.

Expect pricing and availability details soon!

Good news, Android lovers: the überpopular (and one of the best iPhone photography apps of 2011), Instagram is coming to the Android platform! Speaking at the Paris LeWeb conference today, Instagram chief executive Kevin Systrom says that there is a team working on the app now, but has no word on when it will become available.

Instagram has risen to fame among mobile photographers and currently has 50 million users after launching just last year.

One of the more awesome features of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is facial recognition. This new feature allows you to unlock your cell phone just by sticking your face in front of the camera sensor. This sounds like something straight out of the future, but one Android developer found that it may be a quick way for your phone to be hacked. In the video below, this reviewer shows that your phone can actually be opened with just a picture of your face. Maybe it's best to stick with a good old-fashioned passcode from here on out?

We've known for a while that Martha Stewart is a two tablet-toting tech geek, but we've often wondered which one she prefers. I think we've finally gotten our answer. In a new interview with Refinery 29, Martha waxes poetic about the screen resolution on her new Galaxy Tab (which she uses primarily to watch movies) and says that it "might be a little more comfortable to hold than the iPad."

Though she uses her iPad to flip through her digital magazines, the crafting love will soon spread to other platforms. Martha and her team are working on bringing the Martha Stewart Magazine app to the Android Marketplace soon. Once that happens, will Martha ever use the iPad again?

Google and Samsung announced the new Galaxy Nexus this evening in Hong Kong, which will be running the latest Android operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich. New features coming with the OS are extensive and pretty amazing: facial recognition lets you unlock the phone with your face, NFC technology that has been partnered up with an app called Android Beam, which lets you share information and content with other Android users, lots of Google + integration and upgrades, along with a Movie Studio app so you can edit and perfect your mobile vids on the go.

As far as the Galaxy Nexus goes, it's a beautiful monster coming with a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, 1.2Ghz dual-core processor, a teardrop-shaped bod (that's only 8.9mm at its thinnest), and soft Home, Recent Apps, and Back buttons (instead of physical buttons on the casing). Swipe gestures are emphasized on Ice Cream Sandwich, allowing you to swipe away messages, recent apps, and even swipe up during an incoming phone call to send predrafted text messages if you don't want to be bothered. The on-board camera comes in at 5MP, which is surprisingly low compared to other top-notch camera phones on the market, with a 1.3MP front-facing camera for video calls.

Stay tuned for more, including pricing and release date info!

Feel like something's missing from the selection of smartphones currently on the market? Perhaps it's that crucial dash of Disney magic. Disney Japan announced the debut of two Android-based smartphones for release in the country later this year.

The DM010SH touchscreen smartphone features 3D capability, an 8MP flash camera, and 1GHz processor within its tiny 4-inch frame; it should hit store shelves this October. The second phone, the DM011SH has a 3.4-inch slider touchscreen, waterproof exterior, 8MP flash camera, and the same fast 1GHz processor; look for this in Japanese stores in December. Both phones run Android 2.3, are available in pink and white, and boast trademark mouse ears. Pricing detail is still to come. Now, can we talk about importing these to America?

We never need an excuse to save a few bucks, and if your cell phone bill has been spiraling out of control recently, it's likely that you're going over your data allotments and sending too many texts. Keep it all in check by following these simple tips every day in order to save some cash each month.

• Use WiFi where you can — Instead of downloading apps, making Google Voice calls, or browsing the web over your cellular or 3G connection, find a WiFi hotspot or use your home's WiFi network instead. This will keep your data charges down.
• Turn your iPhone's "Fetch" and "Push" off — I have my iPhone set to "fetch" my data every 30 minutes, and a ton of apps set to push new messages and alerts as they happen. This is great for keeping up with news and messages when I'm at home, but very bad if I'm out and about (or worse — traveling abroad) since it uses 3G data instead of my known WiFi networks. Turn your "fetch" functions off on your iPhone, just go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, and Calendars > Fetch New Data > Manually. You can also turn off your email and calendar "push" from this screen. To turn off app "push" notifications, head to Settings > Notifications, then switch to off.

See more tips when you read more

Google announced earlier this year that the next Android mobile update, dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich, would be released at some time in late 2011. Eric Schmidt, who spoke at the Dreamforce conference yesterday, confirmed that Android Ice Cream Sandwich will be released in October or November.

Ice Cream Sandwich promises to bring the best of both mobile and tablet devices — including increased multitasking, holographic user interfaces, and richer widgets — to Android devices from multiple carriers and manufacturers. This means, no more fragmentation (different devices running different versions of OS), which will make usability and adoption much easier for everyone.

Other expected features include:

• Facial recognition
• Overhauled user interface that includes a new app launcher, tabbed browsing, multitasking panel, and improved widget functionality
• Faster OS updates thanks to Google's partnership with manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and wireless providers T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon, that will allow all Android customers to use the same OS at the same time (even older models), and get one unified push for new updates.
• USB support