Google announces Android Device Manager, a service to find lost phones

Google has just announced the Android Device Manger, a service that would let you keep your device and the data you store inside safe and secure. This service would let you make your device ring to find it if it’s misplaced and also lets you locate it on a map in real time if you have lost it. This would also let you quickly and securely erase all of the data on your device.

Earlier this year Sony Mobile announced a similar service called my Xperia that has similar features and also uses a Google account. The service started rolling out for Xperia users globally last month.

Features of Android Device Manager

• Quickly ring your phone at maximum volume so you can find it, even it’s been silenced.
• Map location of the device on a map in real time.
• Quickly and securely erase all of the data on your device remotely

Still features like remote monitoring and remote locking have not been announced yet. Hope Google would roll out the features gradually. The service would work on Android 2.2 or above and requires a Google Account.

Google would also release an Android app that would let you easily find and manage your devices. This service will be available later this month.

Android 4.3 update starts rolling out for the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One Google Play editions

Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) update for the Google Play editions of the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 has finally started rolling out. This comes soon after both the HTC and Samsung releases the Kernel source code online. The Android 4.3 update for the Google Nexus devices started rolling out last week, soon after the announcement. Both these devices were running on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) when itreleased.

Even though the Android 4.3 update doesn’t bring major UI changse. It brings new features including Restricted Profiles , Bluetooth 4.0 low energy support , OpenGL ES 3.0 support and more. In addition the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play edition gets Bluetooth tethering. The icon sizes has been increased on both the devices. IR feature now works on the HTC One.

The build number is JWR66V and the build date is August 1st, 2013 for both the devices. The OTA update is just 150 MB for the Galaxy S4 and 180 MB for the HTC One. The update would roll out gradually.

Lava E-Tab XTRON+ Benchmarks

Lava launched the XTRON+, the successor of XTRON recently. We brought you the unboxing of the device recently. Here we have the benchmarks of the tablet. In terms of display and processor it is similar to the XTRON that includes a 7-inch (1024 x 600 pixels) capacitive multi-touch IPS display and 1.5 GHz dual-core RockChip RK3066 Cortex A9 processor and Mali-400 MP GPU. However the tablet runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). Most of the benchmarks scores are almost similar to the first XTRON tablet that we reviewed earlier this year.

Quadrant Benchmark

The XTRON+ tops the Quadrant Benchmark with 3980 points.

AnTuTu Benchmark 3.3

In the AnTuTu Benchmark 3.3 the tablet scores around 11000 points, which is less than the XTRON tablet. This might be due to the change in Android version.

Vellamo 2 (HTML5)

In the Vellamo 2 HTML browser benchmark it scores 1433, few points less than the first XTRON tablet.

Vellamo 2.0 (Metal)

The XTRON+ tops the Vellamo 2.0 Metal CPU subsystem performance test.

Linpack (Single Thread)

The XTRON+ scores are almost similar to the first tablet.

Linpack (Multi-Thread)

In the Linpack multi-thread test the scores are a bit less, but it is better than most of the tablets.

NenaMark 2

It clocks 63.9 fps, better than first XTRON tablet and most of the other tablets.

GFXBenchmark 2.7 T-Rex HD (On Screen)

It manges to clock 5.7 in GFXBench 2.7 T-Rex benchmark.

GFXBenchmark 2.5 Egypt HD (On Screen)

The XTRON+ tops the GFXBench 2.7 Egypt benchmark with 18 fps.

Basemark X (On-screen)

Since the tablet has a smaller display it manages to clock 6.3 fps in the Basemark X On-Screen benchmark.

Basemark X (Off-screen)

However it holds the last place in the Basemark X Offscreen benchmark.

These are just the benchmarks and the everyday performance of the tablet might vary. Lava has added a HDMI port and a rear camera to the tablet and has kept the price at Rs. 6990. We will bring you the complete review of the tablet soon.