Google playstore authorizations transaction from your credit card/debit card

Google play store actually does a authorization transaction of around 1$ immediately after you pay for some apps or in-app products. This is done to check the validity of the card. The transaction is usually reversed in few hours.

One star and a very bad review: it hurts badly 
 
One user of my app classify gave me a one star rating stating that he has paid for the pro feature and not getting the promised features.
The transaction was not actually complete from his side and only the authorization transaction message was delivered to him.
I had to explain step by step that it was google's normal system. Finally he agreed and upgraded to pro from different card and then removed one star and added five stars.
That made me to share this useful info to both app users and developers. This is crucial as such reviews can have a negative impact on other buyers. And also developers has to understand this process to better explain the customers that the amount will be reversed.


Useful info that I collected about this transaction 

Even iTunes and App store does such transactions  

Authorizations are transaction requests that occur between Google’s billing system and your bank's billing system in order to ensure that the card is valid and that the necessary funds are available in your account before the order can be successfully charged. Authorizations take place every time you update your credit/debit card or you place an order with Google Wallet.

Please note that these authorizations might remain visible in your account between 1-14 business days, depending on your card-issuing bank. However, keep in mind they are authorization requests only, not actual charges. We recommend that you contact your bank to check on when the authorization request will be removed.

Finally, you may notice a $1.00 transaction from Google on your bank statement. This also is only an authorization request and be sure you will not actually be charged.

Inkscape: Free open source alternative to adobe photoshop

Inkscape is probably the most appropriate alternative for abode photoshop for vector related content creations. I used this open source app fro designing my app icons.
The app is a bit difficult to grasp, but you can use it after some learning. There are plenty of videos available in YouTube to guide you around.
These were the icons that I created for my app classify.
Classify - android, iOS

The android fragmentation problem

The recent WWDC conference highlighted the edge the iOS has over its rival in the OS conversion rate. The android is lagging behind in ensuring its users to shift to the latest OS. These disparities affect both users and developers.

Developers : A wider target
Developing the softwares for android means a lot more resources, as they have to cover more than one version at the same time for a wider reach. Though developers still support earlier versions of iOS, the new applications might target the newer versions as they can cover almost 90% of the users through this approach.
Users : Left behind and sometimes confused 
Users at the other end might have to wait for some flagship applications for a launch on Android platform. This might not be the case now as many applications are also Android first. But the real confusion among the users will be the upgrading to the latest OS. The carriers and device manufacturers usually delay the upgrades as they take time to come up with their version of new android version. The users are left to fend themselves until the official release occurs(sometimes there is a delay of more than a month for the official version of OS to release). Though this might not be the case with devices having Vanilla android version.
Read about Vanilla android here

S4 is finally here!!!

Samsung has finally unveiled much awaited new smartphone Galaxy S4, and has taken the war of smartphones to another level. The rival competitors might have started feeling tremors. Galaxy S4 has  2,600 mah battery, octo core processor & with out of the box Android jellybean 4.2.2 OS, it offers the most unique features.

• 5 inch full HD super AMOLED display has adapt display feature, where display of screen adjusts itself depending on what you are viewing. Playing game, checking mail or viewing video- adjustment of the screen provides greater comfort for user.
• Supports Global LTE roaming
• Smart scroll- senses your wrist movement along with where your eyes are looking on the screen and scrolls the webpage up or down depending on the movement.
• Air Gesture –Without touching the phone, just by waving your hand above the screen, its possible to flip between pages, photos, songs.
• Smart pause- Playing video will pause when you take your eyes away from the screen and resume playing when you look back to the screen.
• Air view- Just by hovering your finger, without touching the phone, now it’s possible to see glimpses of photo album or mail.
• It adds business cards or contacts directly from picture and automatically save the information to contacts.
• IR Blaster enables to control your television by acting as remote.
• Dual Camera- Galaxy S4 has 13 megapixel rear and 2 megapixel front camera. And both cameras can work simultaneously.
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Knox – allows you to keep your professional stuff separated from personal one.
• Eraser shot – scans the image and removes unnecessary content in the image. Its possible to remove blurry people from photo.
• S Translator - translates any text on the phone , that may be SMS, email, or webpage. It can translate from voice into text and vice versa.
• S health software tracks your fitness, eating, heart rate etc. It has in-built pedometer.
• Group play - enables s4 handsets to join private network and share music, photos, documents when they are close to one another.
  But it lacks few features as expected by many, like flexible/bending display Samsung youm, high speed wireless connections(802.11). Technology analyst Jeff Kagan stated “The Samsung Galaxy S4 is very good, but looks like an evolution to the S3, not a revolution," And yes.. thirst for the new continues as always and will be never ending.

Sony Experia Z : Video and specifications

The promo video promises of a great design and looks like Sony finally has something to compete with Apple now. The 13MP camera, heat and dust resistant feature and the smooth jelly bean experience. Just one word to describe : WOW!!!

Sony Experia J specifications 

•  5-inch full-HD display 
• 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor 
• 2GB RAM 
• 13-megapixel rear camera 
• 16GB internal storage (expandable by 32GB) 
• Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Wi-Fi 
• Android 4.1

3 reasons to prefer Nexus 10 over iPad

Higher pixel density
The amazing retinal display of iPad has 264 PPI(pixel per inch), where as the Nexus 10 boasts of 300PPI
Translates into more clarity especially for high resolution pictures and more details in the display.

Thinner and lighter than iPad
Nexus 10 is 8.9mm thick and weighs 603g against iPad's 9.4mm and 652g. Seems like Nexus 10 is more easy to carry around.

High end processor
Latest dual core ARM A15 processor which can easily match up with the latest iPad's performance. Nexus 10 might win the time race with iPad.

Google finally fires at iPad...

Google has finally came up with a product which seems to take the competition with the iPad heads on.
Yes, it is the Nexus 10, the new tablet which Google is offering in partnership with Samsung.

3 reasons it can beat the existing iPad

Higher pixel density
The amazing retinal display of iPad has 264 PPI(pixel per inch), where as the Nexus 10 boasts of 300PPI

Thinner and lighter than iPad
Nexus 10 is 8.9mm thick and weighs 603g against iPad's 9.4mm and 652g

High end processor
Latest dual core ARM A15 processor which can easily match up with the latest iPad's performance

And finally the downside
Ecosystem 
The robust and tightly integrated ecosystem of iOS is way ahead of android.

Stability 
The high level of integration and strict developer terms ensures higher stability for iOS.

Android : Jelly Bean And Icecream sandwitch comparision video

Android Persistent Download Notification form Gmail Attachments : Troubleshoot

The download notification seems to be persistently present in the notification bar sometimes. This happens when user tries to download the file from Gmail attachments from a mobile data plan and gets stuck in the middles of the it because of some network problem.
Simple Solution : Shift from mobile data to WiFi
Solution is as simple as that. Just log in to any of the WiFi networks for just a minute or so and it's gone forever.