Jelly Bean now on over half of all Android devices

Mobile Phones

Android Jelly Bean is now on more than half of all active Android devices, according to stats from Google.

The last-but-one version of Google's mobile operating system made up 52.1 per cent of all Android devices, the company said on its Android Developers blog. That's only up very slightly on last month. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean accounts for 37.3 per cent of all devices, 4.2 is 12.5 per cent, and 4.3 is 2.3 per cent.

The data was collected during a seven-day period ending on 1 November. It counts all Android devices connecting to the Google Play Store. So it's not 100 per cent accurate, but it's the best we've got.

Android Gingerbread is still clinging on in second place, on 26.3 per cent of all devices, which is down a couple of per cent on last month. Ice Cream Sandwich -- the version that came directly before Jelly Bean -- is third, notching up 19.8 per cent of all devices. That's only a teensy bit less than last month.

Google unveiled Android KitKat this week on the brand spanking new Nexus 5. It's too new to register in the stats, as the Nexus 5 only went on sale on Thursday evening. And it promptly sold out. The black version did, anyway.

The fact Gingerbread -- released way back in 2010 -- is still used on so many devices shows that fragmentation is still a big problem for Android. It's great making apps for the newest software, and making use of all its new tricks, but it's a shame if most people are still stuck running a three-year-old version of the OS.

KitKat should help combat this fragmentation, as it's designed to run on low-end devices as well as the powerhouses. It'll come to other handsets besides the Nexus 5 in the coming weeks.

Are you looking forward to KitKat? Which version of Android are you running? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.

Nexus 5 in white faces 10-day delivery delay

Mobile Phones

In the latest round of stock headaches for the Google Nexus 5, orders of the white version threaten to be delayed by as much as ten days.

Up until now the white model hasn't been troubled by the stock woes of the black version, with dispatch promised in one or two days. But both the 16GB and 32GB white versions of Google's flagship KitKat phone now promise only to be dispatched from the warehouse by 22 November.

Since going on sale less than two weeks ago, delivery times for the black Nexus 5 have continually slipped until it sold out just six days later, and although both 16GB and 32GB models are back in the Google Play Store, your order won't be sent out for at least a month.

There are other places to buy a Nexus 5, but none are as good value as buying from Google Play.

Let's hope the white Nexus 5 isn't headed for the same stock problems as its darker-hued counterpart -- and fingers crossed the new phone isn't about to relive the disaster of the Nexus 4. The Nexus 4 was out of stock for months after Google and the manufacturer LGunderestimated demand by a factor of 10.

Still, if you have the patience the Nexus 5 is one heck of a phone. Apart from the disappointing camera, we're impressed with the 5's gaming power and smooth interface -- you can read our full Nexus 5 review here -- and of course, you can't argue with that price.

• Android 4.4 KitKat: Everything you need to know

Is the Nexus 5 worth the wait? Let me know what you think in the comments below, or dispatch yourself over to our fully-stocked Facebook page

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Vodafone Cinema Pass takes on Orange with £10pm credit

Mobile Phones

Vodafone is gunning for Orange Wednesdays with a new offer for pay as you go customers that gives you £10 to spend at the cinema every month.

The big red network's Freebee Rewardz -- poorly spelled sweeteners to liven up your off-contract custom -- now include a Cinema Pass. This is a prepaid Visa credit card that you can only use at UK cinemas that accept Visa (ie, virtually all of them). You have to register, then log in to the website every month to claim your £10, which is then sent to the card.

You have to buy a phone before the end of the year, worth at least £50, and a £20 'Freedom Freebee' pack that includes 500 minutes, 1GB of data and unlimited texts. You don't need to pay £20 every month to keep using the Cinema Pass though.

Eligible blowers include the iPhone 5C, the Nokia Lumia 520, the Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini andVodafone's own-brand Smart phones, but only with pay as you go -- contract customers aren't eligible.

You must be over 18 to buy the phone, but you can give it and the Cinema Pass to someone who's under 18. The offer's limited to three passes per household. You'll find Vodafone's FAQ here and terms and conditions here. Good luck with that -- it's complicated.

Orange Wednesdays is still going strong, despite Orange effectively no longer existing as a consumer brand here in the UK -- the shops are all EE now, and even Orange contract customers are getting their bills from EE these days. The scheme gives you two midweek movie tickets (or pizzas at Pizza Express) at participating fleapits, and is open to anyone with an Orange or EE SIM card.

On the surface of it, the Vodafone deal is much better -- £10 will usually buy you a ticket and part of a snack or drink, you can use it on any day, and you can go on your own. (Don't tell me you've never been to the cinema on your own, it's brilliant.) But claiming the credit is really complicated, certainly much more hassle than texting 'film' to 241.

Is this the freebee Vodafone's been missing? Does it sound like more hassle than it's worth? Grab some popcorn and watch the comments below, or head over to the second screen that is our Facebook wall.

iPad mini with retina display on sale in UK, ships in 1-3 days

Laptops

Apple just plonked its new iPad mini -- the one with the fancy retina display --on sale here in the UK, and if you hurry it'll be in your hot little hand by the middle of next week. It's only available online for now, with Apple's Regent Street store unable to tell me when they'd have stock.

The new mini starts at £319 for the 16GB version, which Apple promises will be dispatched in 1-3 business days, with delivery estimates today placed at 20-22 November. It's the same wait for the £399 32GB version, but you'll have to hang on a few more days for the more expensive models, or if you want an engraving on the back.

The £479 64GB mini takes 5-10 business days to dispatch, as does the top of the line £559 128GB one. All models with 4G (add £100 to all those previous prices) take the same 5-10 days.

It had been rumoured that the Californian company was struggling to find enough of those pin-sharp 7.9-inch screens, and even suggestions it was turning to Samsung for help in the face of lengthening delays. When the product was launched last month, Apple unusually didn't give an on-sale date, which heightened speculation.

Happily that doesn't seem to have come to pass and here the thing is. We'll certainly keep an eye on stock levels and let you know if it sells out. Last year's iPad mini is still on sale, by the way, starting at £249.

The 326 pixel-per-inch display isn't the only part of the iPad mini Apple has upgraded -- it's also packing the new 64-bit A7 chip and the mysterious M7 motion coprocessor. The A7 chip achieved mighty scores in our tests on the iPhone 5S, so I'll be surprised if it isn't just as impressive in the tablet.

Have you ordered the new mini yet? Should the old one have had this screen? Or are you plumping for the new Nexus 7 instead? Table your motion in the comments below, or on the clean slate of our Facebook page.

Elop would bring Office to iOS and Android, insiders say

Mobile Phones

Nokia's former head honcho Stephen Elop is one of the frontrunners to replace Steve Ballmer as CEO of Microsoft. And if he does, he'll bring Microsoft's Office suite of programs to rival smart phones and tablets, insiders say.

Usually, Microsoft keeps its programs exclusive to its own mobile and desktop operating systems in order to drive demand. So this would be quite a change. (There's an Office Mobile app on Android, but you need a subscription to Office 365 to use it.) 

Bloomberg reports that "three people with knowledge of his thinking" say Elop would open up Office programs like Word and Excel to iOS and Android. Obviously this is all speculative, as Elop hasn't been appointed head of Microsoft yet, and he hasn't discussed his plans in public. But it'd be an interesting shift if it did come to pass.

Microsoft's stock has been falling of late. Steve Ballmer himself admitted the company was too slow to acknowledge how important the smart phone was. With Apple and Google innovating with their respective operating systems, Microsoft has been left lagging.

The Redmond-based company's Windows Phone software has had good reviews, and theNokia Lumia 1020 has set the bar for cameras in mobiles. But the OS has suffered from a lack of apps. Favourites like Instagram, Vine and Flipboard are only just coming to Windows Phone, a long time after debuting on rivals platforms.

Elop is a former Microsoft man, so it's highly likely he'll take over the company when Steve Ballmer steps down. He was head of the Office division within Microsoft, so he obviously knows the programs inside out. As head of Nokia, Elop canned the company's own Symbian software, so he's obviously not one to stick with something for the sake of tradition.

Back in September, Microsoft announced it was buying Nokia. Elop resigned as Nokia CEO when the deal was announced, and said he would become head of devices at Microsoft, overseeing the company's mobiles and tablets, as well as Xbox.

"Microsoft does not comment on rumour or speculation," a Microsoft spokesperson told me.

Would you like to see Office on Android and iOS? Would it make sense for Microsoft? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.

Advent Vega Note 7 with Tegra 4 is 'world's fastest' for £180

Mobile Phones

Ready for some fightin' words? The new Advent Vega Note 7, powered by the might of a Tegra 4 processor, claims to be "the world's fastest 7-inch Android tablet" -- and it costs just £180.

The Vega Note 7 claims dizzying speed thanks to the Nvidia Tegra 4 processor contained within. Inside the tablet is a 72-core Geforce GPU and quad-core Cortex A15 CPU, with a fifth core thrown in to take care of basic tasks without bothering the rest of the cores, saving on battery life.

The 7-inch screen has a 1,280x800 resolution touchscreen, which sadly falls short of high definition. It also has a 5-megapixel camera, and boasts a battery life of 10 hours of HD video playback.

Like the Samsung Galaxy Note with which the Vega Tegra steals shares its name, the Advent tablet comes with a stylus. The Directstylus pen works with one of the Tegra chip's cores, which Advent reckons makes it faster and more responsive.

The Advent tablet is based on the Nvidia Tegra Note, a tablet made by Nvidia itself to show off the power of the Tegra 4 processor. The chip is so fast it has its own app store for apps and games that take advantage of the power on offer to run super-fast with great graphics.  

The Advent Vega Note 7 goes on sale on 15 November from Currys and PC World, and you can order it from tomorrow. Or for an extra £20 you could opt for the Google Nexus 7, which does have an HD screen.

Samsung 12.2-inch mega-tablet coming soon, says report

Laptops

Samsung's expanding its expansionism by creating a super-sized tablet, according to a rumour out of Taiwan. The Korean company is taking its successful screen-increasing phone strategy and applying it to slates, according to Digitimes, by making a 12.2-inch tablet.

The mega-tab will go into production towards the end of the year, sources in the Taiwanese supply chain reckon, with a new film-based capacitive touch layer from China's Shenzhen O-film Tech.

Samsung's been at the forefront of screen inflation with its ever-expanding Galaxy S series and gigantic Galaxy Notes -- phones so big people started calling them 'phablets'.

Its current tablets include the 8- and 10-inch Galaxy Tabs and the Galaxy Note 10.1, a stylus-focused high-end slate that slammed down in the UK recently for £480. That considerable sum bags you some top-end componentry, however, with a 2,560x1,600-pixel screen, an eight-core chip and 3GB of RAM -- not to mention a snazzy leather-effect back.

The company also debuted the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 3 Kids last week, a colourful £199 gadget with a child-friendly interface and a chunky C Pen for doodling and colouring in.

If I was a betting man I'd wager the new 12.2-inch tablet -- if indeed it's a real gadget and not just someone pulling our legs -- will sit at the top of its Tab range, with highfalutin specs, Android 4.4 KitKat and a price tag to match.

Are you reading this on your measly 10-inch tablet and thinking, "I wish I had 2.2 more inches of screen real estate"? Is Samsung's super-sizing strategy getting silly? Expand your mind in our comments section below, or over on our ever-expanding Facebook page.