Google: Ice Cream Sandwich now accounts for 7.1 percent of Android user base

Well, it's about time that Ice Cream Sandwich made some headway -- even if the process is much slower than consumers deserve. According to the Android developer hub, Android 4.0 now accounts for 7.1 percent of all Android smartphone and tablet installations, which is a sharp and welcome increase over the 2.9 percent figure that we reported just two months ago. Naturally, Gingerbread users still account for the lion's share of the Android ecosystem with 65 percent, but it's worth pointing out that this segment also grew during the last month -- no doubt at the expense of Froyo and Eclair. Don't know about you, but we like our desserts fresh, thank you very much. Go ahead and hop the break to see the full breakdown.

Google brings in-app subscriptions to Android

Developers can never have too many options when it comes to ways to take your money. Google has opened the doors to In-app purchases, carrier billing and now, in-app subscriptions. Perhaps it wasn't enough that game creators be able to lure you in with perks and content you could purchase for a one-time fee, now devs can choose to hit you with a monthly charge for the privilege of using their wares. Of course, it's not all that bad. Subscription-based games aren't the only potential uses here. Customers can now buy monthly or annual subscriptions to services or publications as well. There's even a publisher API for extending the subscription beyond the walls of Google Play and your Android device. Glu Mobile will be first out the gate, turning on subscriptions in properties like Frontline Commando, but we're sure plenty of others will follow. Soon enough you might be able to get your New York Times subscription or Spotify Premium account without ever leaving the comfort of the Android app. Any handset with Google Play 3.5 or higher installed should have access to subscriptions starting today.

Samsung Unpacked 2012 app lands in Google Play store

After teasing us a little more with the video yesterday, Samsung has released the official UNPACKED event app in Google Play store. This app is your guide for the launch of next Galaxy smartphone from Samsung on May 3.
Dubbed as SAMSUNG mobile UNPACKED 2012, it comes with the usual goodies like What’s UNPACKED?, Event Schedule, Event Location, Teaser video, UNPACKED Live, Press Release, and New Product. The last three will only be available once the press event starts on May 3.
You can grab the download from here. It is said to be giving some problems with ICS devices, so you might want to wait for a fix.