In the wake of surpassing 10 billion Android Market downloads, Google has released a detailed, visual look at the sales metrics of its store. Google’s infographic reveals a number of interesting downloading stats, such as the specifics of peak downloading times, the most popular types of apps downloaded, and the most app-hungry nations worldwide. Apparently, the most popular time to download apps is when you’re getting ready for the week ahead on Sunday evenings. But it looks like there aren’t too many early birds downloading as it gets closer to dawn, as 4 a.m. on Monday is the least popular time for acquiring new apps from the Android Market. The top three countries for app downloads are South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, in that order. The U.S. comes in next at number 4. American exceptionalism? Apparently not when it comes to Android apps. As for app specifics, Google Translate is used to translate 100 million words each week (which kind of makes you wonder if some human translators are finding themselves with less work than before). And how’s this for a daunting metric: 12 billion miles are navigated by Google Maps each year. Google Maps recently added indoor navigation to its list of mapping and direction-giving capabilities. The 10 billionth app purchased from the Android Market was (drum roll, please) Photobucket. For the full infographic in all its glory, see below. Christina is a Wired.com staff writer covering Apple, robotics, and everything in between. She's also written for Gizmodo and Wired magazine. Check out her Google+ profile here. Follow @redgirlsays and @gadgetlab on Twitter. Read More
The HTC Evo’s 1-GHz processor is one of the fastest in smartphones today, but there’s always room for improvement. An Android developer at the xda-developers forum has overclocked his Evo 4G phone to run at 1.267 GHz, nearly 30 percent faster than the standard issue. The developer Michael Huang, who posted the hack under the nickname ‘coolbho3000′, says he’ll try and push the processor to do even more. “Right now, it’s a proof of concept,” Huang told Wired.com. “I built a version of the kernel that’s running on the phone to overclock it and found it worked fine.” The hack is pretty technical but the idea is to let advanced Android users and programmers see the potential of the device. HTC introduced the Evo earlier this month as the first 4G Android phone. The Evo, available exclusively on Sprint, has a huge 4.3-inch touchscreen, a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video conferencing and a 8-megapixel camera for shooting photos and videos. It costs $200 with a two-year contract. The phone has become the bestselling device on the Sprint network and at Best Buy Mobile. Overclocking the HTC Evo is not the first such attempt developers have made with an Android device. Earlier, Huang says he has tried to overclock the Google Nexus One, which has the same 1-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor as the HTC. But that hack pushed the speed of the processor to only about 1.1 GHz. The HTC Evo overclocking has resulted in speeds of a little more than 1.2 GHz for most users on the forum who have tried it. But, a few words of warning for those who might attempt this at home: It isn’t a DIY project for just anyone. The files necessary to overclock the HTC Evo are posted online but you Read More
DoubleTwist, the iTunes-replacing app that will sync your music to your media player, has gotten its own Android app. DoubleTwist for Android pairs up with the desktop client and lets you easily synchronize apps, playlists, podcasts and videos. DoubleTwist is the iTunes for everyone else. Slicker, prettier and less bloated than iTunes, the Windows and OS X software will work with pretty much every media-playing device out there, including the Kindle and, if you’re on Windows, the iPhone and iPod Touch. It will read in your existing iTunes library and even lets you shop in the Android Marketplace, just like shopping in the iTunes Store for apps. I don’t have an Android machine for testing, but from the screenshots this looks more than a match for Apple’s iPod player on the iPhone. Early reviews say its worth using, especially as the stock Android music player is widely regarded as junk. One problem: there’s no widget for controlling from the home screen, although it is promised “soon”. The app is “free for a limited time”. Available in the Android Marketplace now. See Also: Read More
Ever wonder what you would look like as a neanderthal? Wonder no more – the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has released an iPhone and Android app that allows you to morph your image into a Homo floresiensis, neanderthalenis or heidelbergensis male or female. It’s easy to use (choose or take a picture, pick your species, then the app does the rest), fun to see the results and best of all, it’s free. So go check it out. While you’re waiting for your download (or if you have a Blackberry), learn more about the latest in human origins news here. Dave Banks is employed by Cyberdyne Systems and is building a global digital defense network. When not on the job, he enjoys playing games and watching cars go really, really fast. Follow @davebanks and @wiredgeekdad on Twitter. Read More
MEanderthal - A Phone App So Easy, A … Um … An Eight-Year-Old Could Do It | GeekDad | Wired.com - Wired News 
