Google today announced Google Keep, a new note-taking app for Android smartphones and tablets.

Google Keep allows users to take down notes and make lists, with the added abilities to include checklists, photos, voice memo transcriptions and a search functionality. The app features a drag-and-drop interface, so users can move around notes, for example, by priority. Notes can also be colored directly as well. All notes are saved and synced across all devices in the cloud via Google Drive. Access to notes aren’t limited to only the app, a user can access, edit and create new notes on the web here. In the next few weeks, Google will add the same capabilities to Google Drive.

Android Police first spotted the app’s existance, but it was quickly taken down by Google shortly after.

Google Keep is available now on google Play for devices running the Ice Cream Sandwich OS (version 4.0) and higher. Users running the latest Jelly Bean OS (version 4.2) can create quick notes in the lock screen via a widget. Surprisingly, no iOS support was mention in Google’s blog post.

Mobile ad platform Pontiflex today announced that leading coupon apps on Google Play are seeing CPMs in excess of $10.

Pontiflex allows mobile ad networks and developers to serve sign up ads to their customers. The sign up ads are for deals and newsletters from brands and other business. Advertisers using Pontiflex’s sign up ads platform include brands like Hasbro, Fisher Price and Kimberly-Clark, as well as small businesses such as Paper Hat Press and Dunhill Vacations.

Although Pontiflex didn’t break down which coupon apps were seeing CPMs above $10, Android apps that were performing well with Pontiflex’s sign up ads include The Coupons App, GeoQpons and Coupon Sherpa.

Xymob CEO and developer of GeoQpons Sunit Lohtia tells Inside Mobile Apps that the reason the company is seeing higher CPMs is that the ads from Pontiflex are relevant ads to the users of GeoQpons.

“The sign up offers are related to shopping, so people end up signing up for those offers because it’s in their interest to sign up,” he says.

Developers interested in using Pontiflex’s sign up ads to monetize their mobile apps can go here to download the native Pontiflex AppLeads SDK or by using its HTML5 API.

Facebook is testing a new way for Android users to receive app updates without going through the Google Play store.

Some Android users are now receiving “silent updates,” which download in the background while a user is connected over Wi-Fi. Instead of users receiving a notification about a new app version through Google Play, the Facebook app downloads its update automatically and then prompts users to install it. A number of users report that the prompts are persistent and a user’s phone will beep or buzz until the update is installed.

Facebook says the silent updates are a way to “make sure everyone is using the best version of our app.”

Read the rest on our sister site, Inside Facebook.

Google today announced that Andy Rubin, the creator of Android, is stepping down from his position as head of Android to pursue another role at the company. His role will be filled by Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome and Apps. It wasn’t specified what role Rubin will pursue next at Google.

“Going forward, Sundar Pichai will lead Android, in addition to his existing work with Chrome and Apps,” says CEO Larry Page, in the blog post written by him. “Sundar has a talent for creating products that are technically excellent yet easy to use — and he loves a big bet.”

Also, Page revealed that Google has now seen more than 750 million Android devices activated worldwide, up from the last reported figure of 500 million activations in September 2012.

The Wall Street Journal, after the news broke today of Rubin’s departure, published a farewell email from Rubin to the company’s Android partners.

Dear friends,

 

In November of 2007 we announced the Open Handset Alliance with 34 founding members. Today, I’m grateful to the over 85 OHA members who have helped us build Android and drive innovation at such an incredible pace. The Android ecosystem has seen tremendous growth since the launch of the very first Android device in October 2008. The volume and variety of Android devices exceeds even my most optimistic expectations – over 750 million compatible devices and counting!

 

At its core, Android has always been about openness – the idea that a thousand brains are better than one. Just as the ecosystem has grown, so has our team at Google. I am incredibly proud of the phenomenal group of people that spend their days (and nights) building the Android platform and services. Just look at last year…a lean yet incredibly ambitious team released Jellybean with Google Now, launched Google Play in many languages and countries and collaborated with several partners to build three new Nexus devices to help drive innovation in the ecosystem.

 

Today, the success of Android combined with the strength of our management team, gives me the confidence to step away from Android and hand over the reins. Going forward, Sundar Pichai will lead Android, in addition to his existing work with Chrome and Apps. Hiroshi Lockheimer – who many of you already know well – plus the rest of the Android leadership team will work closely with all of our partners to advance Android and prepare the platform for new products and services yet to be imagined.

 

As for me, I am an entrepreneur at heart and now is the right time for me to start a new chapter within Google. I am amazed by what we have accomplished from those early days (not so long ago!), and remain passionate about the power of a simple idea and a shared goal – an open source platform freely available to everyone – to transform computing for people everywhere.

 

Thank you for your support,

 

- andy

We’ve reached out to Google for additional information.

Mobile game developer and publisher Animoca today revealed more data from its massive Android portfolio, focusing specifically on Japan. The company saw no dominant smartphone in the country and little usage from Android’s most recent OS version, Jelly Bean.

Since October. 2012, Japan is the leading country worldwide in revenue on Google Play, ahead of both the U.S. and South Korea, coming in at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. The market is especially important for mobile game developers, where 88 percent of total revenues across all categories for Google Play came from the games category.

South Korean-headquartered Samsung had two of its handsets in the top three on Animoca’s chart of the top 10 Android smartphones in Japan. The Galaxy S3 ranked No. 1, with a 6.2 percent market share of smartphones, and the Galaxy S2 ranked No. 3, with a 4.45 percent. Animoca’s data showed the fragmentation of the Japanese market, with a wide-variety of brands in the top 10, including the likes of Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Sharp and more. Also, Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S3 handset only nabbed the top spot by 0.1 percent over the Sony Xperia Acro HD, which had a 6.1 percent market share.

Moving on to the top Android OS versions in Japan, Ice Cream Sandwich (version 4.0.3 and 4.0.4 combined) was running on 48.3 percent of smartphones in the country. Interestingly, Google’s most recent Android OS version, Jelly Bean, didn’t event make the top five in Japan.

On Tuesday, the Hong Kong-based company released similar data for the U.S. Samsung’s Galaxy S3 handset was the No. 1 Android smartphone in the states as well, based on usage of Animoca’s games between Jan. 15 and Feb. 15, with an 8.8 percent market share. Ice Cream Sandwich was also the top version of the Android platform in both the U.S. and Japan, grabbing a 33.5 percent market share among the top Android OS versions in the U.S. Although, Jelly Bean did rank in the top five in the U.S. at theNo. 3 spot, grabbing a 15.4 percent of devices running the Android OS.

Animoca collected data for today’s report between Feb. 4 and March 6 from Japanese users of Animoca’s Android smartphone games downloaded through Google Play — tablets excluded.

Google today updated its developer dashboard, which showed Android Jelly Bean (version 4.1 and 4.2 combined) increasing its market share of the Android platform usage on devices by 2.9 percent month-over-month from 13.6 percent last month to 16.5 percent this month. Gingerbread, the hands-down leading version of Android running on active devices, dropped in market share by 1.4 percent to 44.2 percent of devices.

Android Ice Cream Sandwich, the second newest Android version behind Jelly Bean, saw its market share fall slightly from 29.0 percent to 28.6 percent. As for the remaining versions of Android, Froyo dropped again to 7.6 percent of devices, Eclair fell to 1.9 percent and Donut remained the same at 0.2 percent.

Samsung plans to reveal the Galaxy S4 on March 14, and it will most likely be running on Jelly Bean, and later updated to Android’s upcoming version 5.0, Key Lime Pie, whenever it launches. So, since Samsung is the top Android manufacturer, the South Korean company will likely continue to be a key driver in raising Jelly Bean’s market share, and eventually, Key Lime Pie’s.

All the data from Google’s developer dashboard was collected from android devices that had accessed Google Play within a 14-period, which ended on March 4.

Android-focused mobile game developer and publisher Animoca released data showing the Samsung Galaxy S3 as the top Android handset in the U.S. and Ice Cream Sandwich as the top version of the Android platform.

Samsung’s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, grabbed an 8.8 share among the top Android smartphones in the U.S. The Galaxy S2 landed at the No. 2 spot, with a 6.1 percent share. In total, five of the top 10 Android phones in the U.S. were manufactured by Samsung. It should come as no surprise that the South Korean conglomerate is the top Android smartphone manufacturer in the U.S., with data from both mobile ad network Millennial Media and analytics firm ComScore showing the same result. Korean manufacturers, in general, dominated the top three spots, with the Galaxy S3, Galaxy S2 and the LG Motion 4G MS770 accounting for 19.7 percent of U.S. Android phones.

What’s interesting about Animoca’s data is how much different its Android platform data varies when compared to Google’s developer dashboard, which breaks down the Android platform usage on devices by version. Animoca showed Ice Cream Sandwich (version 4.0.4) as the top Android version, with a 33.5 percent share of devices running Android. Comparatively, Google showed Ice Cream Sandwich taking a 29.0 percent share (version 4.0.3 and 4.0.4 combined). According to Animoca’s data, Gingerbread (both version 2.3.4 and 2.3.6) only grabbed a 22.9 percent share at the No. 2 and No. 5 spots, while Google’s data showed Gingerbread (versions 2.3 to 2.3.2 and 2.3.3 to 2.3.7) leading all versions with a 45.6 percent share.

Animoca released a similar report that showed its findings on the top U.S. Android handsets and platforms back in Nov. 2012. Android devices running Jelly Bean or higher accounted for a 46.1 percent of the overall share back in Nov. 2012, but it’s now up to 61.5 percent in its most recent report.

The Hong Kong-based game company collected data for this report between Jan. 15 and Feb. 15 from users of Animoca’s Android smartphone games downloaded through Google Play — tablets excluded — in the U.S.

UPDATE: Shortly after publishing, Google updated its developer dashboard. Below are Google’s updated market share figures of the Android platform usage on devices for Ice Cream Sandwich, Gingerbread and Jelly Bean:

• Ice Cream Sandwich (version 4.0.3 and 4.0.4 combined): 28.6 percent
• Gingerbread (versions 2.3 to 2.3.2 and 2.3.3 to 2.3.7): 44.2 percent
• Jelly Bean (Both versions 4.1 and 4.2): 16.5

Waze wins ‘Best Overall Mobile App’ award – The GSM Association (GSMA) announced at this week’s Mobile World Conference, which it organizes, in Barcelona that social navigation app Waze took home the Global Mobile Awards “Best Overall Mobile App” award.

Device manufactures pledge support for Firefox operating system – Device manufactures LG, ZTE, Huawei and TCL (aka Alcatel) all pledged its support to build devices that will run the upcoming open-source Firefox mobile OS, which supports web-based programming languages like HTML5 and JavaScript.

Intel lifts the lid off Atom processor for mobile – Intel lifted the lid off its dual-core Atom processor, which it has developed for mainstream smartphones and Android tablets. The world’s largest chip maker will be throwing its hat in the mobile processor ring, which is already filled with the likes of Qualcomm, Nvidia, Samsung, Marvell and more.

Samsung sets Galaxy S IV unveiling for March 14 – Although the announcement was made just before the Mobile World Congress event, Samsung announced that it will hold an event in New York City on March 14 to unveil the Galaxy S IV smartphone.

Nokia and Samsung reveal budget phones – Finnish-based Nokia and Samsung both revealed new budget phones. First, Samsung’s Galaxy Fame budget phone packs a single-core 1GHz processor and runs the latest version of Android Jelly Bean, while the Nokia 520 is a Windows Phone 8 that features a 4-inch screen and five megapixel camera.

Samsung reveals Galaxy Not 8.0 – Samsung revealed the Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet at the MWC this week. The tablet, which features an 8-inch screen, a 1.6GHz quad-core process and 2GB of RAM, looks to compete with Apple’s iPad Mini tablet for the mid-sized tablet market crown.

Google today announced Google+ Sign-In, a new feature that allows web and app developers the ability to add an application sign-in for users via Google+. Similar to Facebook Connect, Google+ Sign-In provides a single login for websites and mobile apps that lets users bring along their social graph.

The same login users have signed into for Gmail, YouTube or any other service can now be used to sign into non-Google apps. Users have the ability to control what data they share with the app and the people who can see their activity. For extra security purposes, users can enable Google’s optional 2-step verification when signing in.

Google+ Sign-In works for web apps, iOS apps and Android apps, but Android apps get an added bonus. If a product has both a website and Android app that uses Google+ Sign-In, a user can sign into the web app and then install the mobile app on their Android device with one click.

Google+ Sign-In also allows users to choose what they share and who they share it with, including which circles. There’s two types of sharing when signed into an app via Google+ Sign In. First, users can passively share app activity such as posting a new high score in a game, which are posts that won’t show up in the news feed for the people in a user’s circles. Second, posts that do show up in the news feed include what Google calls “interactive” posts, which feature a call to action button and are designed to stand out in the news feed. For example, a user can share a product they purchased, a radio station they listen to or invite people to see a movie via Flixster. If a user clicks on any call to action, they are taken to the website or app for the given interactive post.

Developers who are already on board with Google+ Sign-In include Fitbit, Flixster, OpenTable, Shazam and more. Developers interested in implementing Google+ Sign-In can find out more here.

Fireproof Games today announced a sequel to its 3D puzzle game The Room, according to a post on the developer’s Facebook page. Since its launch in September 2012, The Room has consistently ranked highly on the top paid iPad apps chart on multiple occasions, even as recently as last week. The puzzler also nabbed Apple’s award for the best iPad game of the year in 2012.

The sequel, which is slated to release this fall, will take players “into an altogether more spectacular place,” according to the developers.

On top of the announcement of a sequel to The Room, the Guildford, U.K.-based studio revealed that it will release a new, free chapter for The Room in early summer, which will act as prologue to the seuqel. Lastly, the iOS game will make its way to Android before the end of the summer.

According to our traffic tracking service AppData, The Room is currently ranked No. 40 on the top paid iPad apps chart.