Nexus 7 Trade-Ins Suggest Lots Of Upgraders To New Model, Little To No Interest From The iPad Crowd

The new Google Nexus 7 is a big improvement over the original with a bunch of additions like LTE and a super high-resolution display – the best in tablets, in fact. And that’s driving a lot of first generation device owners to trade in their old Nexus 7, according to gadget buy-back site Gazelle. There was a 333 percent spike in the number of Nexus 7 tablets traded in compared to the same day last week, for example.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday, that spike was even higher – a 442 percent jump in Nexus 7 tablets happened between the day before Google’s official unveiling of the new model, and the day of. The Nexus 7 trade-in activity spiked so high that it made up nearly a quarter of all trade-ins for non-iPad tablets since the site began accepting them earlier this year.

Wednesday, the day Google made its announcement, was also the biggest Nexus 7 trade-in day at Gazelle to date, beating the next biggest day by 380 percent. That previous record was set when the new Nexus 7 leaked on July 17, which clearly prompted early adopters to take advantage of a small head start ahead of the big reveal.

The news means that Google Nexus 7 owners are probably happy with their devices and eager to grab new ones, by trading in their last-gen devices to fund their purchases, but there’s another stat that tells another side of the story: Gazelle saw no appreciable increase in iPad trade-ins on the new Nexus 7 launch day. That means Google probably isn’t luring iPad owners away from the iOS fold.

It’s probably not surprising to longtime tablet space watchers that the new Nexus 7, with all its apparent merit, isn’t an iPad killer. The Apple camp seems happy where they are, but the tablet market has plenty of room to grow; we’ll see if Google can expand outward, or if it’s mostly eating its own Nexus tail with this new model.

How to Make Your New Android Phone the Best It Can Be

I don’t know how many people found an Android smartphone among their holiday gifts although I suspect it was more than a few. There’s no lack of good options available from Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola and others. No matter what Android phone you might have unwrapped, however, there are a few easy things you can do to make the experience a great one. Find a keyboard that works the way you do. I actually like the stock Google keyboard that comes with Android, but everyone is different. Luckily, Android lets you install and use the keyboard – or keyboards, for that matter – you prefer. A quick search in the Google Play store will get you started but most people can’t go wrong with SwiftKey. This app uses smart word prediction combined with a way to intelligently learn your personal typing styles by analyzing messages from Facebook, Twitter (twtr), Gmail and more.

Read the full story at Giga OM.

Dawn of the Kickstarter Daily Round Up of CES Day 4

Gaming, mobile and audio peripherals are some of the biggest attractions at CES this year even more so than the TV’s and PC’s. However one presence that seemed to rise up and dominate at CES 2013 was the Kickstarter projects. I doubt you’ll get any objection the Pebble Smartwatch stole the show. With over $10 million dollars in funding its release has been long-awaited. The Pebble uses an E-Paper display that allows for an amazing watch display with prolonged battery life. Hit the break for more.

The Pebble is much more than just an E-Paper display watch though. It’s a smartwatch that can sink up to your iPhone or Android device delivering via Bluetooth 4.0 Facebook notifications, Email alerts, TXT messages and weather alerts. Different apps are available for it now that allow you to customize the watch face from a binary watch to controlling the music on your iPod. The Pebble uses a magnetic charger which gives it a seven-day charge and in turn allows it be fully submersible and waterproof. The Pebble will be retailing for $149 and with the new magnetometer installed they hope to include many future updates to it.

The Pebble wasn’t the lone Kickstarter wolf though, the Zooka which appeared on Kickstarter as a wireless Bluetooth speaker for the iPad now introduced a wired version of the speaker. My least favorite is the HAPIfork, which syncs up to your iDevice and alerts you if you’re eating too much or too fast. The last thing I need is my iPhone calling me a chubby bunny! Lastly TidyTilt was back at CES with a booth this year. TidyTilt launched a Kickstarter campaign last year shortly after CES 2012 and quickly exceeded their $10,000 goal. In short TidyTilt gives you a SmartCover-esque back attached via a minimal magnetic strip to your iPhone. The back can then be folded into a stand for your iPhone or wrap your ear buds around it and you have a nice clean way to keep your chords from getting tangled. You can grab the original version for the iPhone 4/4s for $22.50 here. That’s all folks for Day 4 of CES 2013!

Google’s ‘Back Up My Data’ Gives the NSA and FBI Easy Access to Your Passwords

If you’re using Google’s “back up my data” feature for Android, the passwords to the Wi-Fi networks you access from your smartphone or tablet are available in plaintext to anyone with access to the data. And as a bug report submitted by an employee of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on July 12 suggests, that leaves them wide open to harvesting by agencies like the NSA or the FBI. “The ‘Back up my data’ option in Android is very convenient,” wrote Micah Lee, staff technologist at the EFF. “However, it means sending a lot of private information, including passwords, in plaintext to Google. This information is vulnerable to government requests for data.” The Backup Manager app stores Android device settings in Google’s cloud, associated with the user account paired with the device; the Backup Manager interface is part of the core Android application API as well, so it can be used by other Android apps.

Read the full story at Ars Technica.

New Nexus 7 Leaked Again, Will Be Available for Sale from 31 July

Its literally raining rumors when it comes to the new Nexus 7. We have seen the leaked photos, specifications and what not. A new rumor suggest that the much awaited second generation Nexus 7 tablet will hit the shelves on 31^st July with the price tag of $269, for the 32GB model. On the other hand, the 16GB model is expected to be priced at $229.

Galaxy Note II To Skip Android 4.2.2 Update, Will Get Android 4.3 Instead

A few days back, a rumor suggested that a number of Samsung devices will skip the Android 4.2.2 Update and will be updated directly Android 4.3. It looks like the rumor turned out to be correct, at least for Galaxy Note II. Australian carrier Telstra has announced that the Galaxy Note II 4G will indeed skip Android 4.2.2 and will be updated to the “newer version” of Android, which is expected to be Android 4.3. Rumors have it that the search engine giant will unveil Android 4.3 very soon along with the second generation Nexus tablet.

Motorola Send Invites for Moto X Press Event on August 1

Finally, we have some sort of confirmation about the upcoming Moto X. Motorola has started sending out invites for its press event that is scheduled on 1^st August in New York. The not-so-secret Moto X has been the center of attraction from past few weeks. We have seen all sorts of things – images, teasers, videos and what not-related to Moto X. We have even seen Eric Schmidt using the infamous Moto X a few days back.

Rumor: Samsung to Launch Snapdragon 800 Powered Galaxy S4 Globally

Many Galaxy S4 users were disappointed with the fact that the Snapdragon 800 powered beast was later released for South Korean audience. If you dont know, Galaxy S4 is announced in different versions: GT-I9500 that is powered by Exynos along with GT-I9505 that features Snapdragon 600 SoC. A new leak suggests that Samsung will unveil Galaxy Galaxy S4 (GT-I9506) with LTE powered by Snapdragon 800 with a clock speed of 2.3GHz, similar to the one that was released in Korea.

Leaked Moto X Press Shots And Specifications

Few hours ago, Motorola sent out invites for the Moto X press event that is scheduled for 1^st August. It is pretty obvious that the Google-owned company will launch Moto X. If all the leaked images didn’t satisfy you, there is another leak that shows us the first press shots of the infamous Moto X. The press shots of Moto X emerged from none other than @evLeaks and The Unlockr.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra hits Hong Kong for $800, Will Launch By The End of July

Sony’s flagship device, and probably one of the best Android devices available right now, Sony Xperia Z Ultra (unlocked) will be available for sale in Hong Kong for a whopping HK$6,198 (almost $800). According to Sony Mobile Hong Kong, the device will hit the shelves by the end of this month, followed by Taiwan in August. LTE version of the device is expected to go on sale in September for almost $824, the same time when the device will debut in UK at a few retailers with an expected price tag of 599.