Andy Rubin has only five tweets, of which the last one stated that there are now over 500.000 Android activations each and every day. That’s good news, of course, but what exactly is an activation? That’s what I’m here to explain.

First, you need to know the definition of an “activation”. A device gets activated when you sign in with your Google account on a device. That means that an activation count excludes devices without Google Apps, like certain Archos devices and most of those Chinese iPad knock-offs running on Android 1.6.

Crystal clear, right? No, not really. An often heard question is the following one: “Does everytime I flash a ROM count as an activation?”. No, and I’ve got proof. Take a look at the picture below. I’ve had a lot of devices — most of them are review samples — and I’ve flashed dozens of ROMs on them.

If a ROM flash would count as an activation, I would now have over 70 devices listed here, but I don’t. Except for a few errors, they all appear only once in the list. That leaves us with a few explanations:

• Google stores your IMEI to identify your device
• Android phones have a different identification option we don’t know about
• When you log in with your Google account on a previously used IMEI or IMSI, it doesn’t count as an activation.
• Google uses your IMSI, which is something similar to an IMEI, but based on your SIM
• Google is watching you.

Let’s run through these options, shall we?

1. Google stores your IMEI to identify your device

That’s very plausible, but it doesn’t explain why WiFi-only tablets and PMPs are registered in the the Market. An IMEI number relies on a GSM radio, so devices without a cellular radio don’t have a true IMEI. It is possible to fake one, although that is an unlikely thing for Google to do, however possible.

2. Android phones have a different identification option we don’t know about

Possible, but unlikely. It’s possible to flash Android on a non-Android device, like the HTC HD2 for example, which means those devices can’t have a special identification option.

3. When you log in with your Google account on a previously used IMEI or IMSI, it doesn’t count as an activation

This is my favorite explanation, but in order to accept it, we must also accept explanations one and four. This one basically means a ROM flash doesn’t count as an activation as long as you keep the same Google account running on it. If you sell, give or lend it to someone else who uses a different Google account, it does count as an activation.

4. Google uses your IMSI, which is something similar to an IMEI, but based on your SIM

This has roughly the same issue as the IMEI thing: it doesn’t include WiFi-only devices. I don’t expect it to be this one. It’s possible, but unlikely.

5. Google is watching you.

Yeah, and those pancakes you eat for breakfast? Those are tiny GPS tracking devices. And Russia is about to invade the U.S. This one is a bit far-fetched, but I’ll leave it up to you what to believe.

In conclusion, it’s not completely clear how Google counts the activations, but I personally think number three is the most probable option. I’d love to see a statement from Google regarding this. So, what do you think? Is the high activation count due to constant ROM flashes by rooted users, or is Google keeping an eye on us? Be sure to leave a comment below, or on our Facebook Wall!

CLARIFICATION: There seems to have been some confusion that needs addressing. BioLock is NOT becoming a part of the CyanogenMod source code. CM is 100% open source, and BioLock is not. Koush will merely be using the CM7 source code to build his own BioLock equipped ROM for the Nexus S. You may now proceed…

If you recall back in early December, AG gave the Interwebs its first detailed insight into what the world will soon come to know as BioLock. Developed by Blue Planet Apps, the program brings true biometric authentication to the mobile platform for the first time in history. CEO Jason Braverman was featured as a guest on our Monday night podcast back on December 13th. If you missed out, you can still hit up our archives at BlogTalkRadio.

This time around, AG has been fortunate to receive an exclusive look an actual test APK of BioLock. This version allows us to see facial and voice recognition first-hand. No one besides developers working on the project have been granted such access to the app, and we are grateful to be Blue Planet Apps’ go-to guys. Before I begin, I will note that iris scanning is still a work in progress, and is not available in the APK we tested. Braverman explains:

“Iris is in development and needs infrared technology in the camera to be 100% accurate, but we made a breakthrough and will be able to get nearly 98% accurate with current tech.”

Braverman also had some other interesting tidbits of news to share with us. We all know that the best way to iron out new software is through a group of dedicated, bug reporting beta testers. So, who make up the best lab rats in the universe? CyanogenMod addicts–that’s who. Blue Planet Apps has therefore come to a deal with the infamous Koush, who is the maker of ROM Manager, ClockworkMod Recovery, a contributor to CyanogenMod, and said to be one of the most brilliant Android devs out there. Koush will be helping with BioLock development. Here are the details of the partnership:

“Koush is going to spend the time to get BioLock put into CM7 on the Nexus S as the lockscreen. This will be the first time we release it to the public and will be our beta. It will give us a chance to learn about how users use face/voice recognition what they like, what they don’t, what improvements we can make, etc.. From this group, we will expand and adapt BioLock, to hopefully spread onto more CM versions and other devices (with Front facing cameras of course). This will constitute the BioLock Beta test group.”

It’s important to note that BioLock is not open-source code and will therefore, most likely, never be a standard part of the actual CyanogenMod code base. Koush will be doing this as a separate project. It will be an unofficial build based off the CM7 source code. Either way, it’s still pretty sweet.

Braverman also noted two other partnerships that are in the works. His team will soon have a free version of the K9 mail client with BioLock embedded. This will allow people (both running this version of K9) to encrypt emails that they send to each other. No release date was given, but development is already underway. VoiceVault is also joining the fray and will allow BioLock’s voice authentication to be expanded beyond numbers.

“We have partnered with VoiceVault for the voice part, and they informed us that we will likely get early access to their next version very shortly, that will allow us to expand voice authentication beyond numbers, into phrases, and that accuracy and speed are ‘greatly improved.’  Blue Plant Apps will integrate this as soon as we get our hands on it.  It is likely that users will need to choose from a specific type of phrase, something like ‘This is my voice, recognize me’ or something to that effect.”

That having been said, let’s get on with it, shall we?

When first launching BioLock, you are greeted with a futuristic looking screen with a message saying that the app is preparing for its first launch. Once that part is done, you are greeted by a British women’s voice, asking you to choose your method of authentication. Below is a video of what we were able to test out. Keep in mind that this is still an early build and only works to give access to the contents of your SD card. It serves as a basic template and proof of concept. Braverman plans to get the facial recognition down to 1 or 2 seconds by the time BioLock is released.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As BioLock development progresses, you can be sure AG will be the first to let you know. Until our next update, grab a cup of coffee (in an Android mug), read something on your Android running Nook, and cuddle up in an green Snuggie. It’s freakin’ cold outside.

I have to admit, I don’t use my phone’s video camera that often. Sure, I take lots of pictures, but not too many videos. But I’ve faced a problem in the past: taking still images from videos. Sure, you can do that with PhotoShop or another online tool, but there’s never really been a good way to do it from your Android device. Until now! FrameGrabber does exactly as the title suggests: it “grabs” frames from a video. It loads videos from the SD card and then breaks them up frame-by-frame for the user. This way, said user can pick exactly the right frame they want and save it as an image. Pretty simple, right? I shot a short, 25 second video of my keys and flash drive, just to test out the app. I stress the word amateur when referring to the video.

What I like: It’s got a lovely UI, full of blacks and dark blues, as well as a nice scrolling “Wheel of Fortune” type implementation, for viewing frames. The folks at Sony Digital Network Applications, Inc. did a very nice job in designing the app. The colors and overall feel of it really stand out to me. Bravo. As far as settings go, the user can enable vibration when saving files, the number of recent grabs that is shown, and even how the videos are indexed, such as by time or frame number.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What I don’t like: It was tough to find fault with this app, but I did notice that there’s not much in the way of settings, specifically the customization of the app itself. Sure, the blues and blacks appealed to me, but someone else may not find the same comfort with the app. Just some color options would spruce up the user experience greatly.

The verdict: FrameGrabber is a great app, especially for those who shoot a lot of video. Maybe you want to get a still shot of your friend catching a football in mid-air, or maybe that perfect shot of your newborn sporting that cute face of his. In any event, if you take a lot of videos with your Android device, I highly recommend you download this app. It’s a great time-saver for those who don’t want to fool around with PhotoShop or some online editor that doesn’t work half the time. It’s only $4.27, which honestly isn’t that much, especially when you consider that it’s going to fund some great Android devs. Give FrameGrabber a shot by searching the Android Market for “FrameGrabber” or by scanning the QR code below. Let us know what you think in the comments below! You can also check out some more screenshots below.

The Nexus One was cool. The Nexus S was hot. What’s an 42″ Nexus S like? Simply awesome. To promote the Nexus S, Google has made a huge working model for one Best Buy store to promote their new flagship device. And we’d be lying if we said it wasn’t pretty looking. The magic behind it reveals it actually is just a Nexus S with video-out powering a 42″ touchscreen. No worries, it stays cool. If it is a hit, and it is, Google will make more of them.

Jason Kincaid scored a hands-on with this huge baby and says it’s beautiful. Check out how “unresponsive” the phone is as he demonstrates it below!

Source: TechCrunch

It’s time for the AndroidGuys Weekly RoundUp! Let’s get to it, shall we? There was a good handful of device news last week. Continued after the break!

• The Galaxy Tab had a “What?” moment, as Samsung was selling $1000 versions of the Tab. The only extra thing a buyer gets is a Bluetooth headset and a leather case. Not really worth the extra $500
• The Huawei Ascend made its way to MetroPCS at $179
• Another Huawei device, the S7 Android tablet popped up in a video
• More low-end devices rolled in, as gigabyte announced the GSmart Rola
• A Fossil Android watch made an appearance
• The Dell Streak dropped to $100 at Best Buy, and it might be discontinued soon
• The Honeycomb tablet we saw Andy Rubin playing with a few weeks back showed up in some more photos
• The Acer BeTouch E140 was announced
• A Barnes & Noble rep told us that the NookColor won’t be getting the Android Market. But there are other ways to get it..
• The AT&T Pantech P8000 was confirmed by the FCC
• We learned about the LG B, with an extremely bright screen and thin body
• The Creative 7-inch ZiiO became available for purchase
• The Htc Evo 4G got an update and some bloatware
• Our own Sam Herren reviewed the Verizon Droid Pro
• LG announced the Optimus 2X, a dual-core handset. We later saw an awesome video sample from this device
• We heard a rumor that Motorola is working on some more ruggedized Android phones, like the Defy
• The Nexus S went on sale at Best Buy stores and at BestBuy.com
• And finally, the Samsung Galaxy S got some Gingerbread love in an unofficial ROM

In app news, Google opened up the App Inventor to all, so now you can make your own Android application. Also, HipLogic’s *Spark application was released as a full version, Thijs Koot gave us a How-To on the Android Emulator, the Facebook app added chat and push notifications, Google Voice recognition became more personalized for a few Froyo users, and we discovered that GameLoft is cooking up some more awesome Android games. The ESRB released an Android app, Words With Friends was kinda announced, Dungeon Defenders: First Wave ushered in a new gaming era for Android, Loopt 4.0 arrived, a Doodle scheduling app was released, as well as an E*Trade app and Trillian 1.0. We end the app segment with 2 things: Sony announced that their PlayStation app is coming to Android devices that sport 1.6 or above, and we got a good look at the new Android Market in action.

There’s not much else to tell about last week, so that’s your AndroidGuys Weekly RoundUp. Be sure to give us your thoughts below on anything mentioned above. We look forward to your feedback!

It’s time for the AndroidGuys Weekly RoundUp! Let’s get to it, shall we? There was a good handful of device news last week. Continued after the break!

• The Galaxy Tab had a “What?” moment, as Samsung was selling $1000 versions of the Tab. The only extra thing a buyer gets is a Bluetooth headset and a leather case. Not really worth the extra $500
• The Huawei Ascend made its way to MetroPCS at $179
• Another Huawei device, the S7 Android tablet popped up in a video
• More low-end devices rolled in, as gigabyte announced the GSmart Rola
• A Fossil Android watch made an appearance
• The Dell Streak dropped to $100 at Best Buy, and it might be discontinued soon
• The Honeycomb tablet we saw Andy Rubin playing with a few weeks back showed up in some more photos
• The Acer BeTouch E140 was announced
• A Barnes & Noble rep told us that the NookColor won’t be getting the Android Market. But there are other ways to get it..
• The AT&T Pantech P8000 was confirmed by the FCC
• We learned about the LG B, with an extremely bright screen and thin body
• The Creative 7-inch ZiiO became available for purchase
• The Htc Evo 4G got an update and some bloatware
• Our own Sam Herren reviewed the Verizon Droid Pro
• LG announced the Optimus 2X, a dual-core handset. We later saw an awesome video sample from this device
• We heard a rumor that Motorola is working on some more ruggedized Android phones, like the Defy
• The Nexus S went on sale at Best Buy stores and at BestBuy.com
• And finally, the Samsung Galaxy S got some Gingerbread love in an unofficial ROM

In app news, Google opened up the App Inventor to all, so now you can make your own Android application. Also, HipLogic’s *Spark application was released as a full version, Thijs Koot gave us a How-To on the Android Emulator, the Facebook app added chat and push notifications, Google Voice recognition became more personalized for a few Froyo users, and we discovered that GameLoft is cooking up some more awesome Android games. The ESRB released an Android app, Words With Friends was kinda announced, Dungeon Defenders: First Wave ushered in a new gaming era for Android, Loopt 4.0 arrived, a Doodle scheduling app was released, as well as an E*Trade app and Trillian 1.0. We end the app segment with 2 things: Sony announced that their PlayStation app is coming to Android devices that sport 1.6 or above, and we got a good look at the new Android Market in action.

There’s not much else to tell about last week, so that’s your AndroidGuys Weekly RoundUp. Be sure to give us your thoughts below on anything mentioned above. We look forward to your feedback!

It’s time for the Android Guys Weekly Roundup! Last week was pretty big in the world of Android. This was due in part to the announcement of Gingerbread, but we’ll get to that in a bit. First, it’s customary to start off with the devices that made the news last week. Such devices include:

• The long-awaited Nexus S, which was announced Monday, along with the official site
• An unnamed Motorola tablet running Honeycomb that was shown off by Andy Rubin, and the specs leaked later in the week
• The Moto Droid X and original Droid, which both received maintenance updates
• Our own Russell Holly went hands-on with the Archos 101
• The Optimus U, announced for US Cellular, and the Optimus Mach for Korea
• The LG Star, which leaked in some more photos (because we don’t have enough already), and later in some hands-on pictures
• Samsung’s insanely large Android flip phone that no one wants
• The Huawei IDEOS X5 and X6, announced for Australia
• The Htc Legend, which got some Froyo love in Europe
• And finally, the HTC Knight, which leaked in production-ready pictures, and was later seen with a sweet keyboard

Let’s move on to apps. A lot of apps made the news last week, so I’m going to do my best to cover them all. Starting off with an Android Guys exclusive, BioLock is said to be bringing biometric authentication to Android. Next, MessageEase 2.0 went global, Ekahu released a pretty pricey network troubleshooting app, Rovio announced in-game purchases, available next year, 2 classic Dr. Seuss books hit the Market, and Seesmic’s Android app got a UI upgrade. Other apps include a 7-Eleven Slurpee app, a Fring update, Kelley Blue Book app, Mafia Wars for Android, and the Sirius XM Radio app added Howard Stern to its channels.

Now, on to what everyone was talking about last week: Gingerbread. As mentioned above, the Nexus S was unveiled along with Gingerbread on Monday, and Google didn’t disappoint. You can check out Gingerbread features here and here. Along with 2.3, several Google Apps got updates, including Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, and even the Android Keyboard.

Well, that’s about it for the week. That’s your Android Guys Weekly Roundup. Thanks for reading, and feel free to let us know what you think about Gingerbread, the LG Star, or anything mentioned above. We look forward to reading your comments!

What a busy week we had! Let’s check out what went on last week in the world of Android, shall we? First, devices! There were several devices released, or at least leaked last week. Such as:

• The LG Star, leaked in some pictures as well as a 7-minute video
• The Motorola Olympus, which AT&T accidentally announced on their Facebook page, and was later spotted in a flea market, of all places
• The Creative ZiiO Android tablet that was leaked by the FCC (who else?)
• The LG LU-3000, a mid-range Android device that’s pretty dang fast
• And of course, the Playstation Phone was seen running Gingerbread in a video as well as some details

Now, on to some stats! We learned that Android is outselling Windows Phone 7 devices 15 to 1, 50% of the smartphones sold in China are Android phones, Android’s market share acceleration slowed down, and Samsung has sold over 1 million Galaxy Tabs. Samsung seems to be doing very well this time of year, as their Galaxy S line has propelled them to #1 in handset manufacturers. Who said Android was fragmented? The latest report shows that 83% of Android handsets are running 2.1 or 2.2.

The 4G wars are definitely on, as Sprint expanded their 4G network to 68 markets, and Verizon launched its 4G LTE campaign. We heard that Big Red’s network is insanely fast, but we have to keep in mind that there’s little to no traffic at the moment. We’ll just have to wait and see how fast it really is, when there’s 50 million people using it at once.

There were several app releases, as well as updates. The list begins with Mobicartel’s 2 Christmas live wallpapers, Flash Player 10.1, GameLoft’s Dungeon Hunter, AirSync from DoubleTwist, Angry Birds Seasons, and finally, WinAmp, which brings WiFi sync to Android.

Other miscellaneous news includes a $1000 bounty for that lucky Android pro that roots Google TV, an Android Snowman collectible, RIM’s acquisition of TAT, and a Blackberry Torch that runs Android.

Well, that’s your AndroidGuys Weekly Roundup for last week! Thanks for your time, and feel free to leave a comment below on any of these topics. Have a nice day!