Android KitKat aims to expand Google marketshare - Times of India ~ Electronic Gadgets

SAN FRANCISCO: Google on Thursday unveiled the newest version of its Android smartphone software, aiming to allow more smartphone users access to its evolving menu of online services such as driving directions voice-activated search.

The new "KitKat" version of Android will be able to run on inexpensive, low-end smartphones as well as the most advanced devices, Sundar Pichai, Google senior vice president of Android, Chrome and Apps said at a press event in San Francisco.

"Now you have one version of the operating syst em which will run across all versions of Android smartphones," Pichai said, noting that smartphones sold in "emerging markets" often come loaded with older versions of Android, that lack many key features and capabilities.

The move could help Google ensure that more users have access to the growing selection of profitable online services. It also could make the Android software more attractive to third-party app developers, who have been frustrated by what they call the "fragmented" nature of Android devices.

Google's Android software runs on 80% of the world's smartphones, according to industry analysts. But many of the Android devices sold use older versions of the software, which are not compatible with many new features.

Many developers still build apps intended for Apple's iPhone and iPad first, said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis.

"You want your users to be using your services, and KitKat will help foster that," said Gillis.

Roughly 29% of the Android smartphones in operation as of Oct. 2 feature the "

The new KitKat version of Android integrates Google search technology directly into the phone in various ways. The phone's contact list allows users to find phone numbers of their personal acquaintances as well as of local businesses, such as restaurants and dry cleaners.

Google also showed off a new feature that will allow smartphone users to find information by searching pages on the Web as well as information within the apps they have loaded on their phones. A search for a particular chocolate cookie recipe, for example, could yield results from a cooking app.

Google also showed off the new Nexus 5 smartphone which will be the first device to feature the KitKat software. The phone, built by LG, will be available in 10 countries starting Thursday without a contract for $349.

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