February 2nd, 2012 | by Alex | published in Google Mobile
By Hiroshi Lockheimer, VP of Engineering, Android
The last year has been a phenomenal one for the Android ecosystem. Device activations grew 250% year-on-year, and the total number of app downloads from Android Market topped 11 billion. As the platform continues to grow, we’re focused on bringing you the best new features and innovations – including in security.
Adding a new layer to Android security
Today we’re revealing a service we’ve developed, codenamed Bouncer, which provides automated scanning of Android Market for potentially malicious software without disrupting the user experience of Android Market or requiring developers to go through an application approval process.
The service performs a set of analyses on new applications, applications already in Android Market, and developer accounts. Here’s how it works: once an application is uploaded, the service immediately starts analyzing it for known malware, spyware and trojans. It also looks for behaviors that indicate an application might be misbehaving, and compares it against previously analyzed apps to detect possible red flags. We actually run every application on Google’s cloud infrastructure and simulate how it will run on an Android device to look for hidden, malicious behavior. We also analyze new developer accounts to help prevent malicious and repeat-offending developers from coming back.
Android malware downloads are decreasing
The service has been looking for malicious apps in Market for a while now, and between the first and second halves of 2011, we saw a 40% decrease in the number of potentially-malicious downloads from Android Market. This drop occurred at the same time that companies who market and sell anti-malware and security software have been reporting that malicious applications are on the rise. While it’s not possible to prevent bad people from building malware, the most important measurement is whether those bad applications are being installed from Android Market – and we know the rate is declining significantly.
Android makes malware less potent
In addition to using new services to help prevent malware, we designed Android from the beginning to make mobile malware less disruptive. In the PC model, malware has more potential to misuse your information. We learned from this approach, designing Android for Internet-connected devices. Some of Android’s core security features are:
- Sandboxing: The Android platform uses a technique called “sandboxing” to put virtual walls between applications and other software on the device. So, if you download a malicious application, it can’t access data on other parts of your phone and its potential harm is drastically limited.
- Permissions: Android provides a permission system to help you understand the capabilities of the apps you install, and manage your own preferences. That way, if you see a game unnecessarily requests permission to send SMS, for example, you don’t need to install it.
- Malware removal: Android is designed to prevent malware from modifying the platform or hiding from you, so it can be easily removed if your device is affected. Android Market also has the capability of remotely removing malware from your phone or tablet, if required.
No security approach is foolproof, and added scrutiny can often lead to important improvements. Our systems are getting better at detecting and eliminating malware every day, and we continue to invite the community to work with us to keep Android safe.
February 1st, 2012 | by Alex | published in Google Mobile
(Cross posted on the Google Docs Blog & Google Enterprise Blog)
There may be times when you don’t have an Internet connection on your Android device, but you still want access to a file you’ve saved in Google Docs. Now you can select any file in Google Docs to make it available offline. So regardless of whether you’re connected to the internet, you’re always connected to those files.
Even better, Google Docs automatically updates your offline files when you’re on Wi-Fi. You can also manually update files anytime you have a data connection by opening the file or tapping ‘Update’ from the Offline section of the app.
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| Make file available offline |
Update online file |
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| Make file available offline |
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| Update offline file
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For those of you with Android tablets, we’ve also improved the Google Docs reading experience. Now, when you open a Google document on your tablet while online, you’ll get a high-resolution version of the document. Swipe left and right to flip between pages, or use the slider at the bottom to page ahead quickly.
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| New reading layout on Android tablet |
You can learn more about offline capabilities and the new reading layout in our Help Center.
Whether you’re offline or online, these improvements will make it easier to be productive from anywhere.
Posted by: Freeman Liu, Software Engineer
January 11th, 2012 | by Jessica Tsai | published in Google Mobile
Hot on the heels of Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, we’ve updated Google Search for previous versions of Android: it’s all around faster, to get what you need quickly. In this version, you’ll notice:
- Faster, smoother performance, with an updated and simplified user interface.
- Suggestions for your search grouped by type, with web suggestions at the top.
- Country-specific suggestions and search results for all countries with Google domains.
- Long press to remove history items.
Search history, search suggestions and on-device results
Here are some additional tips we’d like to share:
- Tap the arrow to the right of a search suggestion or history item to add it to your search term before searching.
- Get suggestions from other apps on your phone – check out searchable items in Search settings.
- Long press on home screen to add the Google Search widget, if you don’t have it already, to access search faster.
If you have Android 2.2, 2.3 or 3.x, you can download the app from Android Market or scan the QR code below.
Posted by Mathew Inwood, Software Engineer
December 15th, 2011 | by Unknown | published in Google Mobile
Starting today, Galaxy Nexus by Samsung will be available in the U.S. on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Network. Visit google.com/nexus to buy it online, or go to your nearest Verizon Wireless, Best Buy, Costco or Radio Shack store. Galaxy Nexus is also available through our carrier partners in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Korea and Japan. Soon, it will be available in Australia, France, Russia, India, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and elsewhere!
Galaxy Nexus is the first phone with Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich and combines the latest Google software with cutting-edge Samsung hardware. With a super slim profile, Galaxy Nexus features a 4.65” Contour Display with a true high definition (720p) resolution HD Super AMOLED screen. Galaxy Nexus also features a lightning-fast dual-core 1.2GHz processor combined with 4G LTE or HSPA+ technology. To see Galaxy Nexus in action, check out this video:
Paired with Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest Android software, Galaxy Nexus is simple and beautiful. WIth innovations like Android Beam, a camera with fun Live Effects and zero-shutter lag for instant photo capturing, a deeply integrated Google+ experience, and a new People app, Galaxy Nexus is beyond smart. Galaxy Nexus is also the first device to feature Face Unlock, which uses state-of-the-art facial recognition technology to unlock your phone. For a look at how powerful your smile can be, check out the video below.
Posted by Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile
December 9th, 2011 | by Unknown | published in Google Mobile
Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year and Androidify yourself with a bunch of new winter gear. Dress up your Android with candy canes, mittens, skis, antlers, sweaters and more! (Did someone say 2012 party glasses?) Head over to Android Market …
December 9th, 2011 | by dly | published in Google Mobile, Uncategorized
(Cross-posted on the Inside Search blog)With the December movie season in full swing, we’ve just made it even faster and easier to discover movies, showtimes and theaters, all from your smartphone. Now when you search for [movies] or your favorite th…
Google Currents is hot off the press
December 8th, 2011 | by Alex | published in Google Mobile, Uncategorized
We strive to give you beautiful and simple ways to experience all the content the web has to offer, such as sharing photos on Google+, watching YouTube videos and discovering books, movies and music from Android Market. Today we’re expanding our cont…
December 8th, 2011 | by dly | published in Google Mobile
(Cross-posted on the Inside Search blog)In July, we started to evolve the Google design and experience on Android and iOS tablets by updating features like larger touch targets and enhanced image viewing to make searching faster and easier. Today, we
Continuous improvements with Google Goggles 1.7
December 7th, 2011 | by Jessica Tsai | published in Google Mobile
With Google Goggles, you can quickly add someone to your contacts, learn about paintings, translate foreign text, and even solve Sudoku. Starting today, with Goggles 1.7 for Android, we’re making your visual search experience much faster and providin…
December 6th, 2011 | by dly | published in Google Mobile
(Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog and Android Developer’s Blog)One billion is a pretty big number by any measurement. However, when it’s describing the speed at which something is growing, it’s simply amazing. This past weekend, thanks to A…
Voice Search arrives in the Middle East
December 5th, 2011 | by Jessica Tsai | published in Google Mobile
Today, we are very pleased to announce the launch of Voice Search in Arabic and Hebrew for Android and iPhone users.Users in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, UAE, and Israel can now speak Arabic and Hebrew into their phones to get search results …
November 29th, 2011 | by Brian Hendricks | published in Google Mobile, Uncategorized
Google Maps for mobile had its sixth birthday earlier this month and we’re celebrating by releasing the next generation of Google Maps for Android, which is first to get indoor Google Maps—announced moments ago on the Official Google Blog. We also …
November 28th, 2011 | by Alex | published in Google Mobile
For many of us, the arrival of piles of catalogs marks the start of the holiday shopping season. But what if you could have all your favorite catalogs in one place, with the latest issues always available at your fingertips? Starting today, Google Cata…
November 22nd, 2011 | by dly | published in Google Mobile
Earlier this year, we introduced interactive weather information in mobile search results and now this feature is available in 33 more languages. Now when you search for ‘météo’, ‘tempo’, ‘날씨’, or ‘weather’ in your language, you
The new Google Search app for iPad
November 21st, 2011 | by Jessica Tsai | published in Google Mobile, Uncategorized
(Cross posted on the Inside Search Blog)Today, we’re very pleased to be launching a significant redesign for the Google Search app for iPad. As you can see in our video, whether you’re doing research and comparing results, or exploring beautiful im…
