4.0

Android's Gingerbread operating system has sticking power, but it's finally starting to loosen its hold.

New numbers from Google show that nearly half of all Android devices are running versions of 4.0 and above -- surpassing Gingerbread's individual installed base.

Ice Cream Sandwich, 4.0, and Jelly Bean, 4.1 and 4.2, combined run on 45.1 percent of Android devices, according to numbers from the two week period ending on March 4. This is a 2.5 percent increase over last month.

However, individually, Gingerbread 2.3 still holds the majority of the market. … Read more

Looking for a word processor, spreadsheet and slideshow maker, basic vector drawing creator, and database manager? Open-source LibreOffice for Mac is all that and more. Compatible with most known file types such as MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint, this software offers functionality, an intuitive interface, and overall good results.

LibreOffice for Mac is about 175MB, which is rather large, but this can be expected of this type of software. The program features a quite intuitive and user-friendly interface, very similar to Office but a lot simpler. When it comes to its looks, this program seems rather outdated and could use … Read more

The days of hand-writing letters on beautiful printed paper may be gone, but this doesn't mean you can't create appealing, personal and professional text-based correspondence in the age of electronic mailing. Easy to install and simple to use, Emailnery for Mac provides you with a medium gray, grained paper template that will find its way into your formal or business-related correspondences.

Emailnery for Mac comes free to try. You are able to customize it during the checkout process, though. This means that you can remove the Emailnery logo from their Classic style for $9.99 and also include … Read more

The iPad has already made millions of things easy to do from the comfort of your home, or anywhere on the go: chatting with friends, playing board games, and now, the classic game of bingo. While Bingo by GameDesire is far from the only Bingo game in the App Store for the iPad, it is one of the most extensive, offering a number of options and styles of play for veteran and new players alike. Like most iOS apps, we found installation simple and setup intuitive. The interface, however, once the game started, is far from simple. Whether because bingo … Read more

Long-suffering HTC Thunderbolt owners will finally get Android 4.0, Verizon said today.

The wireless carrier confirmed that it would begin rolling out Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich, and that it would start pushing out the software in phases today.

The Thunderbolt was a highly coveted device when it came out, the first smartphone to run on Verizon's superfast 4G LTE network. But as with the early run of LTE phones, the Thunderbolt was plagued with bugs, and battery life was a serious problem.

In addition, the HTC Sense skin on top of the stock … Read more

As Android tablet shipments surge, probably the best thing that can be said about Microsoft is that it's not going away.

Android tablet shipments totaled about 30 million in the fourth quarter, IDC reported today. And that number (total market) jumps to 50 million if you throw in Apple's iPad.

"There is no question that Microsoft is in this tablet race to compete for the long haul," an IDC analyst said today in a statement, trying to put Microsoft's tablet debut into perspective.

In fact, that's probably about as positive a statement that can … Read more

It seems as though everyone is using a different social platform to keep in touch. Each platform has its own chat feature, which makes it a pain to sign into and out of each account. Thankfully, there's eBuddy Messenger, which brings all of your chat accounts under one roof.

To start, eBuddy Messenger asks that you log in using your network account information. It supports MSN Messenger, Facebook, Yahoo, and Google Talk, as well as AIM, Myspace, Hyves, and ICQ. We started by entering our Google Talk username and password, and all of our Google Talk "buddies" … Read more

ShiningMorning's Virtual Audio Streaming software creates a virtual sound card in your Windows system. It acts as a wrapper on your existing sound card, enhancing its capabilities and making it easy to record and stream whatever audio your system is playing, no matter what the source: microphone, media player, or external device. It also improves sound recording in Windows, even automatically fixing the "no Stereo Mix" problem in Windows 7 and Vista. It's free to try for 30 days, but the trial version places an audio "watermark" on the output.

Virtual Audio Streaming's … Read more

For many smartphone users, the "phone" part matters less than the "smart" part; it's more important to be able to text message friends than make phone calls. The good news is, your Android device almost certainly came with a chat app. The better news is, you don't have to use it; you can download and use your favorite chat app, or try them all until you find one that's best for you. We tried WeChat on a new Android smartphone. Like similar apps, WeChat's mobile app enables text and voice messaging, and … Read more