Summary: Important new developments that show the rapid growth of the Linux-based Android operating system

ANDROID hardly needs to prove itself anymore. It has become somewhat of a de facto standard and its domination is assured for the time being. Suffice to say, Android has been a thing for the Linux Foundation to brag about. Android is a myth buster. It helps bust the myth that Linux somehow "failed". Android smartphones shipment is said to have just crossed 800 million [1].

Android is now going after Windows' turf, expanding more and more to x86 [2] and even running Windows applications natively [3] (Android is already being put on some desktops). Remember Microsoft's "Surface" (the one before the failure which was a portable device)? Well, a 46-inch touchscreen coffee table now runs Android [4], not Windows (prior Microsoft's "Surface" there were numerous that ran GNU/Linux). Linux is clearly ahead of the game and for robotics Foxconn is now turning to Android [5]. It's not just about tablets [6] and smartphones anymore [7,8] (Android clearly dominates these areas). With Chromebox out [9] from large OEMs such as Acer [10] it sure seems like the future is very Android-centric, and by extension Linux-powered.

Android is one of the greatest things that ever happened to Linux, but it's not to be confused with freedom. A lot of advocacy work remains to be done. High morale is highly justified. ⬆

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. Android Smartphone shipment crosses 800 million

   The year 2013 has seen smartphones cross an important milestone. The global smartphone shipment hit the billion mark for the first time, with 800 million contributed by Android. It is clear that Android dominated the smartphone market with Apple’s iPhone shipments maxing out at 153.4 million. These stats are according to data published by IDC on Wednesday.





2. Android-x86 4.4 review – first Release Candidate

   Android-x86 4.4 RC1 review is a review of the latest development release of Android-x86, a port of Android designed to run on computers powered by Intel and AMD x86 processors, including netbooks and laptops and all-in-ones.





3. Wine On Android Is Making Progress, Running Solitaire

   Last year was the last time we had a chance to talk about Wine on Android for running Windows programs on Google's mobile operating system. While it's not quite mainline yet, Wine on Android has been making much progress and can now run Windows' Solitaire game on your Android device.
   
   Wine leader Alexandre Julliard provided a status update at FOSDEM last weekend for Wine on Google Android. The Wine on Android project is still focused upon supporting Windows binaries on Android for both Intel x86 and ARM devices.
   
   Julliard shared that they now have working support for Android's Bionic C library, cross-compilation is supported for Wine on Android with both i686 and ARM architectures, and there's a basic graphics driver using the desktop mode.





4. 46-inch touchscreen coffee table runs Android

   Ideum is prepping an Android 4.1 version of its 46-inch, Intel Core i7-based Platform 46 Coffee Table, featuring 3M’s 60-touch, capacitive HD touchscreen.





5. Google and Foxconn partner on robotics, report says

   The Taiwanese manufacturer is reportedly helping to carry out Google's "vision for robotics," and in return, Google will help the manufacturer deploy robotics in its factories.





6. Google Nexus 8 rumored for April-end launch

   A recent report by DigiTimes said: “Google has been developing an 8-inch tablet to avoid price competition in the 7-inch segment for launch at the end of April with initial shipments of two million units, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.”





7. Moto G on sale for $99 from US Cellular without contract





8. Moto G goes on sale on Flipkart starting Rs. 12,499

   Motorola’s Moto G is trying to prove that budget Android Phones do not need to compromise on quality. Moto G takes design cues from it’s premium (costlier) sibling, the Moto X. It has good looks and reviews also state a very good build quality. It runs an almost clean version of Android 4.3 KitKat (Upgradeable to Android 4.4), with no bloatware, or fancy custom skin.





9. Beep: a Chromecast like streamer for your speakers

   Beep is a new startup by Googlers, which has unveiled ‘Beep’, a device which takes audio streams from your Android device and plays them on the speakers it is attached to. Most latest high-end speakers have inbuilt streaming functionality, but many previous generation but decent music systems lack that feature and ‘Beep’ aims to solve that problem.





10. Asus’ sleek new Chromebox adds industry and functionality for only $179