News: android

No Flash support for Windows Phone 7? No cut-copy-paste?! Say it isn't true!

2010-03-23T08:02:00.000+02:00

Various news outlets are reporting on the surprising information coming out of the Microsoft camp; Windows Phone 7 will not support Flash or cut-copy-paste. Yes, you heard that right, Windows Phone will not support cut-copy-paste. The hell Microsoft, did you not learn from Apple? Having the ability to cut and paste bits of text and applications is an essential part of an operating system, especially on mobile platforms where shortcuts make the world go round. No one likes typing the same phrase over and over Microsoft. On a less surprising note, Flash support seems to be more of an Adobe issue than anything else.

Microsoft’s lack of Flash support seems to be the general theme of things in the mobile world. Apple has expressed absolutely no interest in Flash support on the iPhone and the iPad, Flash for Android has been in development for God know how long, and now word from the Adobe camp sings a similar tune for Windows Phone 7. Adobe developer Mike Chambers said in a recent blog post:

“One thing I wanted to clarify as it may have been lost in some of the other news is that Adobe and Microsoft are working together to bring Flash Player 10.1 to Internet Explorer Mobile on Windows Phone 7 Series,”

The inclusion of Flash player support could very well make or break Windows Phone 7, but the impact of Adobe’s plug-in support is yet to be seen. Here’s to hoping that Android leap into flash land spells good tidings for the rest of the mobile world.

[Via http://fonefrenzy.com]

#oneaday, Day 64: Act Your Age, Fanboys

2010-03-23T00:42:00.000+02:00

Why does the phenomenon of fanboyism still exist? And more to the point, why does it exist amongst men (and it pretty much is always men) who are old enough to know better?

The simple and easy answer is, of course, that it’s always been around. I remember growing up as an Atari-based family and all of the Atari magazines at the time belittling the competition with stupid names like Spectrash (Spectrum) and Crappydore (Commodore 64). Then came the schoolyard arguments – SEGA vs Nintendo. Sonic vs Mario. “We’ve got Street Fighter II! Hah! …Oh wait, now you have, too.” It got pretty silly.

Once the Dreamcast came out, it was hard to justify fanboyism because, certainly once SEGA’s wondermachine came out, it was so far ahead of its competition – the 64-bit Nintendo 64 and the 32-bit PlayStation – that half-hearted attempts to call it things like “Dreampants” always came across as more than a little desperate.

Things then kicked off again with Sony vs Microsoft, with Nintendo kind of relegated to “background observer” by this point. The PS2 and the original Xbox both had fiercely loyal supporters when, in fact, you’d have a far better experience if you bought both systems, played the relevant exclusives on their respective platforms and played multiplatform titles on the Xbox. That’s what I did, and I never felt the need to slag off any of the systems.

And it still goes on today, despite each of the consoles arguably offering a more distinct and unique experience from each other than ever before. The Xbox 360 offers its legendary ease of online play, the PS3 is home to a variety of unusual and interesting games (like Flower, flOw, Linger in Shadows, the Pixeljunk games) and the Wii is the family-friendly bundle of fun.

Still the hating goes on, though.

But nowhere is it more apparent than in the world of smartphones, particularly between the owners of iPhones, BlackBerries (let’s pluralise it properly, please) and Android-based phones. iPhone owners are either Apple fanboys who bang on about how great Apple is all the time or jailbreakers who bang on about which ludicrously-named hack they’re installing this week – and, of course, which apps they could get for free rather than paying for them on the App Store. BlackBerry owners seem to be updating their OS every night. And Android owners seem to be particularly sore about the iPhone for some inexplicable reason.

The question is: why? When it came to the early console wars, slagging off the systems your friends had was just schoolyard banter. You didn’t really think that the systems were inferior, otherwise you wouldn’t have gone around to their houses and played those games with them. The fact that this juvenile banter has grown up with people who have been using gaming and other consumer electronics for years is utterly baffling. Even people who started gaming at the same time as me – or before – are still bitching and moaning about how much better their handset is that [x]’s handset, and blahblahblah open source, blahblahblah build quality, blahblahblah BlackBerry Messenger, blahblahblah… You get the picture.

Am I alone in thinking that all of this stuff, without exception, is seven degrees of awesome and we should appreciate the brilliant things we have? Yes, some of them have more features. Yes, some of them are objectively “better” in terms of capabilities, power and technical specifications. But is that really any reason to act like 5-year olds telling each other that their respective Mums smell of wee?

No, it’s not. So why does it still go on?

[Via http://angryjedi.wordpress.com]

Something for the weekend: 8 minute HTC Desire Video

2010-03-20T16:15:00.000+02:00

Just found a great little 8 minute video on YouTube showing off the HTC Desire and Legend – but mostly the Desire.

It’s not the usual MWC video where the rep just reads his script out; there’s actually a few diferent things he shows you and he certainly seems to know what he’s talking about. Makes a change at least!

Enjoy

[Via http://desirefanatics.wordpress.com]

My own contradictions

2010-03-20T08:37:00.000+02:00

As a a matter of fact, I don’t like companies running a monopoly or having a dominant position that let them being arrogant. As I try to be consistent with my convictions in my electronic day to day life, I find my self using strange pieces and bits of softwares and services.

Currently, I’m using

OS: Linux (Ubuntu flavour) on a vintage laptop
Search Engine: Bing
Mobile phone: Toshiba with Windows Mobile (OK I didn’t pay for it) and a very nice Android powered device, the Motorola Milestone

Here are my own contradictions: using Microsoft for the Search and having Google to power my Mobile … anyway positions are shifting quite quickly these days. That’s the reason why this market is so exciting!!!

[Via http://issard.wordpress.com]

HTC to Apple -- We Were First

2010-03-18T16:30:00.000+02:00

Smartphone maker HTC has been largely silent since hit by Apple’s (s aapl) suit claiming patent infringement. The company is not satisfied with being silent any longer and sent over a statement addressing its position. Basically they want to remind everyone that when it comes to smartphones with color touchscreens, HTC was first. The statement doesn’t address the Apple suit specifically, but it is seems HTC is preparing to embark on a course calling into question the validity of Apple’s patents. That would be the logical assumption of the “we were first” path.

“HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer, HTC Corporation. “From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone. In 1999 we started designing the XDA.

The O2 XDA by HTC was the first 3.5-inch color touch screen smartphone in the world in 2002, and the T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition by HTC was the first 3.5-inch color touch screen smartphone in the United States in 2002. [sic] Our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then.”

HTC has a point about having an “iPhone-like” smartphone long before the iPhone shipped, but it may very well come down to proving the Windows Mobile (s msft) phones of yesteryear are similar to Apple’s phone. Most folks familiar with the HTC/Apple situation believe that Apple is really going after Android (s goog), as HTC is the largest maker of Android phones in addition to Windows Mobile. This whole situation is not clear, and lots of eyes will be watching it unfold.

Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

Google’s Mobile Strategy: Understanding the Nexus One

[Via http://jkontherun.com]

Android iPhone Coolness

2010-03-16T08:41:00.000+02:00

Most of you when encountering my Make Android Apps look Like iPhone Apps posts understood that it was not literal in that I did not mean make an Android App look like iPhone but meant in polishing the UI of the Android Application look and feel to implement a greater user experience. There is a large difference between iPhone and Android and even the now Open Symbian OS.

In the Steve Jobs world the iPhone Application Developer only gets to access UI APIs that Steve Jobs wants them to access and use and only give users the UI Application experience that Steve Jobs believes the user should have.

You will never see an iPhone Application Developer deliver a better Application UI experience to the user because Steve Jobs prevents that action. Not only has Android moved away form straight-jacketing Application Developers in such a manner even Open Symbian OS has moved towards giving Application Developers full reign in coming up with a new Application UI experience.

Thus, if I am spending too much comparing Android Application UIs to iPhone Application UIs this week there are those reasons above and the fact that the last time a Mobile OS market share increased by 5% in one quarter was when iPhone OS was first released in 2007. My point is that Google and OHA gave us, the Mobile Application Developers, the freedom to come up with new Mobile Application UI user experiences beyond what they came up with.

But to get that new Android Application UI user experience w2e have to polish our Android Applications UI user experience first.

[Via http://mobilebytes.wordpress.com]

New Android Thriller On The Fast Track

2010-03-16T00:55:00.000+02:00

Last fall, DreamWorks optioned the still-unfinished novel Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson, a Ph.D. robotics expert. The story is based on the human race’s attempt to avoid extinction following a robot uprising. Yes, we’ve experienced this angry robot plot before in Terminator, Terminator Salvation, I, Robot, War Of The Worlds, Transformers and Transformers Revenge Of The Fallen. But, Wilson, the author of How To Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion, Where’s My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future That Never Arrived and soon-to-be released Bro-Jitsu: The Martial Art of Sibling Smackdown, says this story has a twist and it will make robots proud of humans. Drew Goddard has been hired by DreamWorks to write the script for Robopocalypse. That’s the same Goddard who wrote Cloverfield, a thriller with a hardly-visible villain. Even more intriguing is the rumor that Steven Spielberg, who partnered with Tom DeSanto to bring Transformers to the big screen, may direct Robopocalypse.

[Via http://mojosimon.wordpress.com]

Rooting and Modding my Droid

2010-03-14T00:26:00.000+02:00

On Super Bowl Sunday while waiting for the big game to start I was bored out of my mind. Who gives a crap about all the pregame crap? I decided to take the plunge and root my phone. After a month of reading posts on forums like Alldroid, and Howards Forum I decided to go with SholesMod (now DroidMod). Thinking back, Rooting my Droid after drinking a few beers wasn’t the brightest idea but what the fuck. I followed all the instructions and watched as my phone scrolled through all the command prompts. I have to say, the process was painless and pretty fool proof. Now I’m not saying go ahead root your phone, nothing wrong can happen but it worked flawlessly. In a matter of minutes I was rooted and overclocked. Since that time I have unrooted and rerooted my device. Added Theme Rom overlays from Krazykrivda at Alldroid and used Metamorph as well. I have found the DroidMod theme to be stable but I am now getting ready to try out Cyanogen Sholes Mod. I’ll let you know how that goes in a few weeks. Until then, I highly recommend checking out DroidMod, at your own risk.

[Via http://awlon.wordpress.com]

Happy Birthday Google Voice- One Year Old

2010-03-13T07:39:00.000+02:00

Google Voice turns one today. Happy Birthday Google Voice! I never knew that Google Voice was around for almost a year or should I say more than a year. It seems as like if Google Voice just came out few months ago. Before Google Voice there was GrandCentral. Yup you heard it right Google Voice use to be GrandCentral. Back in 2007 Google acquired GrandCentral Communications, a Fremont, Calif.-based company whose beta product provided a “universal phone number” to make your phone life easier. Since then Google Voice has grown significantly. More and more people are becoming aware of Google Voice service. I thought it was lame at first until I started using Google Voice. Boy, was I wrong! This is the best thing that has happened for those of us thats been waiting for something that can bring all of our phone numbers into one number. Those of you who’s using this service you know what I’m talking about. If you’re thinking of getting your hands on Google Voice then you can Request a Invite by Google.

Google Voice Features:

Voicemail Transcription
Personalized Greeting
Low Rate International Calling
SMS or Email
Share Voicemails
Block Callers
Screen Calling
Mobile App
Conference Call

Watch these awesome videos on how to use Google Voice features- Learn more about Google Voice.

Helpful articles that can help you in getting to understand Google Voice bit better:

Helped you decide if Google Voice is a good fit for you
Eased your transition to Voice
Showed you how to make free VoIP calls from Voice
Detailed how to make unlimited free calls from your cellphone using Voice

VIA | Google Voice Blog, LifeHacker

[Via http://fiercetechnology.com]

Nexus One Lite For India?

2010-03-13T00:18:00.000+02:00

There has been rumors that scaled down version of Nexus One might be launched in India in the near future. Lately theres been a lot of rumors on Nexus One Lite being considered for developing markets. This is the same version as Nexus One but with less features. The reduction of features can also mean price might be cut in half, or less cheaper. Thanks to TechTree with this rumor. Time will tell if the rumors are true or not. But remember in todays 21st century nothing is impossible.

VIA | TechTree

[Via http://fiercetechnology.com]

Staying Connected: Droid Style

2010-03-11T16:47:00.000+02:00

This post has zero, zilch, nada to do with healing. I mentioned my droid over Twitter yesterday and had a request to blog about it. I decided, what the heck, I can make a cell phone post that is sorta WoW related. Maybe. We’ll see. This one is for you, Kestrel!

I love cell phones. Scratch that. I love the mobile web. I have this overwhelming need to feel connected to the things I enjoy; to feel like I’m not missing something. Maybe it has to do with working second shift while the rest of the world is at home, doing far more interesting things than I am. I have a feeling it has more to do with my mom.

You see, my mom has this need to be able to get in touch with her family at any time, any place. In fact, if she can’t get me on one of my cells, she will call the other. (Yes, I have two cell phones: my personal cell and my work cell. Heck, even work has to be able to get to me ASAP! Moving on…) If that doesn’t work, she might call my husband’s cell. We don’t own a home phone, so that’s out of the question. I think I inherited that need to get in touch with who I want when I want to. Enter the mobile web. With current cell phone technology, the ability to stay connected to what’s going on around me is absolutely fantastic!

I used to have a Blackberry Pearl. I loved that phone, until my then 4 month old puppy got a hold of it and chewed two of the buttons off. Missing two buttons made typing on it rather hard, so as soon as my annual upgrade came around, I was phone shopping! Initially I had planned to get another Blackberry, since I’d enjoyed the other so much. Fate, it would seem, had something else in mind.

While at the store, I noticed the HTC Droid Eris. It was love at first sight. It was sleek. It was smexy. It was web worthy. Above all else though, it had the andoid operating system! At that point in time, the thought of getting a Blackberry went out the window. Here before me was a droid. Android. Google. I love Google. Seriously. I’m the girl who had gmail back when it started and who snatched up a Google Voice number as soon as she heard about it. (If anyone wants a Google Voice invite, by the way, just send me an e-mail.) Sometimes, I feel guilty I don’t use Blogger. At any rate, before too long, I had myself a brand new droid phone. I have to say, I have been very pleased with my choice. I’m not going to write-up a tech review on how awesome this phone is, but if you are interested, you can find some here.

I said I was going to make this WoW related, didn’t I? Well, here’s a list of some droid apps I use to stay connected to WoW (and WoW friends, of course).

Elena’s Apps for Staying Connected

HTC Peep – Twitter app that comes with the phone
Facebook app
Droid Armory – nice little free armory app
NewsRob – syncs with Google Reader so I can read my blogs on the run (or during lunch break at work)
WpToGo – A nifty little WordPress app
Mobile Web – not really an app, but most of my mobile web use is devoted to WoW activities
You Tube app – nice for watching boss videos on the fly. Kinda buggy right now though.

Have a Droid, iphone, Blackberry, or other web capable phone? How do you use it to stay connected?

[Via http://healershaven.wordpress.com]

GTD Agenda, Android App

2010-03-11T00:42:00.000+02:00

Using Android? Have a new Nexus? Making me jealous? Okay, the first two, but not the last one. I am very excited to announce that GTD Agenda, the previously reviewed competitor to Basecamp (sort of) has released its very first Android Application. Based on the screen’s from the website, it looks pretty slick.

Great job guys!

For complete details check out the GTD Agenda Android page.

[Via http://basecampreview.wordpress.com]

Can Google Save DISH?

2010-03-09T16:34:00.000+02:00

The blogosphere has been in a bit of a frenzy ever since The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Google (s GOOG) has started to test a new service on selected DISH (s DISH) set-top boxes. The Journal’s Jessica Vascellaro told her readers that the application makes it possible to search for content carried by DISH as well as YouTube videos and that it is “using elements of Google’s Android operating system.” It’s supposedly being tested by Google employees and their families as we speak.

Many blogs have concluded this to be Android coming to set-top boxes, an idea that’s not entirely unheard of but that hasn’t officially been pursued by Google itself. Dave Zatz is a little more skeptical, pointing out that DISH’s upcoming app store featured a Google app many moons ago. Personally, I think the timing is very curious: Why would news about a partnership between Google and DISH leak just days after the pay TV provider loses in court against TiVo (s TIVO)?

Just a quick reminder: A federal appeals court ordered DISH and Echostar to pay $200 million to TiVo last week, upholding a patent infringement ruling from last September. At the core of the dispute are TiVo’s time-warping patents, which essentially describe DVR-like functionality. Some analysts have concluded that the ruling could force DISH to stop distributing DVRs altogether, but the satellite TV company has already declared that it won’t impact existing DVR users.

Last week’s ruling set TiVo’s stock prices soaring, and DISH’s shares tumbled. However, they’ve almost recovered by now, thanks in part to yesterday’s news that the company is now in bed with Google. So what’s causing this confidence?

One option could be that traders hope Google could help DISH with its ongoing legal issues. That’s unlikely, but not entirely impossible. If Google weer to enter the set-top box market, it would have a vested interest in fighting overreaching patents, and it could assist others in doing so — think HTC vs. Apple, only for TV boxes.

The second option: DISH wants to replace DVR functionality with over the top video, giving its users access to free and paid online programming as well as its own VOD in order to forgo altogether any future per-subscriber payments to TiVo. The Wall Street Journal noted yesterday that Google’s app lets users “personalize a lineup of shows,” which sounds like DVR functionality to me, albeit possibly without any local storage if fed by the cloud. Again, somewhat unlikely. DISH may embrace over the top, but it’s still first and foremost a satellite TV provider, and as such needs to offer some kind of time-shifting functionality for TV programming.

The third option? A bargaining chip. DISH has announced that it’s going to keep fighting against TiVo, but most observers assume that the company is eventually going to have to settle. Having Google as a strong partner on your side could help during these negotiations, and the mere possibility that DISH could eventually replace a local DVR with cloud and over the top services should also help to keep the price down.

DISH may be testing some really interesting Google technology, or it may just have a neat search app in store that offers access to EPG data as well as YouTube videos. However, the fact that it opened up the kimono this week is nothing else than corporate politics.

Related content on GigaOm Pro: How Microsoft Can Save Media Center (subscription required)

[Via http://newteevee.com]

Google Earth on Android 2.1

2010-03-09T08:51:00.000+02:00

So Google earth hit the Android Market a few days ago. It is available for free in the Android 2.1 market only. The app is pretty straight forward and similar its iPhone counter part. Performance wise it seems to actually struggle a bit compared to the iPhone version in my experience, though both are very close. The feature set is just about identical to that of the iPhone so if you are an Android lover you finally have your Google Earth. Though with the newest version of Google’s Maps, Google Earth feels a lot less appealing to me. Anyway we have some video for you to enjoy, a simple walk through of Google Earth in the Android Market. It is available only for Android 2.1 devices (Nexus One). Hopefully the Droid and others will receive their juicy Android 2.1 update soon so they can join in on the party.

[Via http://fonefrenzy.com]

Working with ical time zones

2010-03-07T12:00:00.000+02:00

This is a continuation of my saga to build an ical synchronisation service for Android.

The ical specification allows event date and times to be stored in one of three possible ways; UTC, time zone specific (eg GMT, EST, PST etc) and local. The standard Android calendar stores its event information in UTC. This means that events from an ical file need to be converted from one of the three possible representations into UTC.

I initially used the Joda Time java library to help manage time zone conversions but have now ditched it in favour of my own simpler algorithm. Joda Time is a feature rich and excellent library, but I think it’s overkill for the task that I needed it for.

The three possible representations of time in an ical file:

UTC – stands for Universal Coordinated Time is similar to GMT except that no daylight savings are ever applied. GMT varies from UTC + 0 in winter to UTC + 1 hour between Spring and Summer.
Time zone specific – date and time expressed for a particular time zone means the time as shown on a wallclock in that time zone. For example, the GMT time zone stands for Greenwich Mean Time whose standard time offset is zero except in Summer when it is +1 hour.
Local – events expressed in local time have the hour (and minutes) preserved as you move across time zones. What does that mean, I hear you ask? You might create a repeating event (and alarm reminder) in local time that wakes you up at 7am no matter which timezone you are currently in. As you move across time zones (in the US for example), your alarms should go off at 7am independently of the time zone you’re in.

In order to convert an event’s date and time into UTC, you need to “know” which time zone the event occurs in. This is a function of the TZID identifier which prefixes the date and time in an ical VEVENT (long lines “folded” over to the next line):

DTSTART;TZID="(GMT) Greenwich Mean Time - Dublin / Edinburgh / Lisbon / Lond

on":20100117T130000

DTEND;TZID="(GMT) Greenwich Mean Time - Dublin / Edinburgh / Lisbon / London

":20100117T140000

The time zone in this example is called “(GMT) Greenwich Mean Time – Dublin / Edinburgh / Lisbon / London”, and its standard offset from UTC is 0. This is given by the VTIMEZONE rule below:

BEGIN:VTIMEZONE

TZID:(GMT) Greenwich Mean Time - Dublin / Edinburgh / Lisbon / London

BEGIN:STANDARD

DTSTART:16010101T020000

TZOFFSETTO:-0000

TZOFFSETFROM:+0100

RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;WKST=MO;INTERVAL=1;BYMONTH=10;BYDAY=-1SU

END:STANDARD

BEGIN:DAYLIGHT

DTSTART:16010101T010000

TZOFFSETTO:+0100

TZOFFSETFROM:-0000

RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;WKST=MO;INTERVAL=1;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=-1SU

END:DAYLIGHT

END:VTIMEZONE

The RRULE entries indicate the periods for standard and daylight savings. In the VTIMEZONE entry, standard time runs from the last Sunday in October to the last Sunday in March. And daylight savings run from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. The actual change over occurs at 2am in the morning (denoted by “DTSTART:16010101T020000″) in standard time and 1am in daylight time (denoted by “DTSTART:16010101T010000″).

As each VEVENT (event) entry in the ical file is encountered it needs to be converted into UTC in order to see whether it exists within the Android calendar If it does not exist it is added. If it exists then it is updated.

The conversion is an expensive calculation. However I have two optimisations that I apply:

all events outside an unconverted date range are discarded
UTC conversions can be optimised by the month of the event

The first optimisation uses the fact that ical dates are in fact strings. Dates are represented in ISO-8601 format. 10am March 7, 2010 is represented as “20100307T100000″. If we ignore any time zone prefix, then the ical parser can discard events that are LESS THAN “20100306″ without even having to perform any kind of calculation. Similarly if I only want to look ahead 14 days, I can similarly discard events whose date is GREATER THAN “20100321″. (The observant among you will have noticed that I have allowed an extra one day window either side of the start and end date filters to avoid missing dates because of time zone differences).

The second optimisation is based on the fact that for 10 out of 12 months of the year, the offset for a time zone is really easy to calculate. Using our example above, the GMT time zone offset (in hours) for Nov, Dec, Jan and Feb is 0. The daylight savings offset for Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep is +1 hour. Offset calculations to convert to UTC for any date among those 10 months is simple – the month is given by extracting characters 5 and 6 from the ISO date string.

Date times that occur in Oct or Mar require a more complex calculation to identify exactly which period of the time zone they sit in. This means that on average only 1/6 of all events require an expensive time zone calculation to convert the date/time to UTC.

You can see how these two simple optimisations can significantly reduce the amount of calculations that you need to make to process an ical file. And how a complex library like Joda Time isn’t really necessary to be able to process an ical file PROVIDED the file includes all the VTIMEZONE entries referenced by the VEVENT entries.

[Via http://airinformation.wordpress.com]

Devour - SMS Emulator

2010-03-07T08:27:00.000+02:00

I know that these posts have absolutely nothing to do with the Mac but I found it entertaining that there are emulators in the Android Market. I bought my phone for the keyboard, the solid design, and the social networking integration that MotoBlur provides. However, the thought of Gaming or Emulation never crossed my mind. It is a nice feature of the Android Market and a good distraction while I wait for my Pandora.

[Via http://macemulators.wordpress.com]

HTC Desire now available to pre-order from Amazon UK

2010-03-06T15:58:00.000+02:00

Amazon have finally got in on the HTC Desire pre-ordering game. The phone has appeared for pre-order with a price of £528.68 and a release date of 1st April 2010.

April Fools joke? Let’s hope not.

Obviously the price is way more on what I reported on earlier in the week (£378.81) but it’s a sure to get even more competition going.

Will keep you updated with the best prices around.

HTC Desire - Now available to pre-order from Amazon UK

[Via http://desirefanatics.wordpress.com]

MOTO Backflip Unboxing Video

2010-03-06T00:13:00.000+02:00

The Gurus managed to snag a MOTO Backflip a couple days before its launch. We will be doing a full review here pretty soon, but to hold you over, take a look at the video and a couple pics below.

[Via http://thegadgetgurus.net]

Apple vs. HTC: It's About Chrome

2010-03-04T16:30:00.000+02:00

You have likely heard about the lawsuit Apple (s aapl) has filed against HTC claiming patent infringement. Kevin offered a good analysis of the suit and what it claims HTC is doing that uses Apple technology from the iPhone. Basically Apple doesn’t like what HTC is doing with Android (s goog) on the phones it is selling in the U.S., as they claim it uses various technology developed in Cupertino for the iPhone. Much has been said that the real target of Apple’s suit is Google Android, as the smartphone OS is growing at a fast clip. I suspect that is true, but I think Apple’s fears go even deeper. I think the scheduled appearance of the Chrome OS later this year has Apple tied up in knots.

Chrome OS is the operating system based on the Chrome browser that has generated a lot of interest from both enthusiasts and companies producing hardware since the announcement. It is intended to be an alternative OS for cheap netbook-like devices, and is aimed squarely at the mainstream consumer. Google expects to capitalize on its familiar brand, and use the Chrome OS to push its online services into the device category.

The Chrome browser is already available on Macs, and getting good reviews from enthusiasts. Apple’s core customer base is already exposed to Chrome, and liking it. Since the Chrome OS is the Chrome browser on steroids, it may appeal to loyal Mac customers, too. That’s a direct threat to Apple.

The impending launch of Chrome OS probably has Apple a bit concerned, but I suspect Google’s desire to see a Chrome OS Tablet hit the market ratchets that concern up to a decent level. A Chrome OS Tablet will compete directly with the Apple iPad, and Apple has a lot riding on the iPad. A Google Tablet would compare feature-wise with the iPad, and possibly surpass it given the full OS nature of Chrome OS. It’s not just the iPhone OS grown up, it will be a full OS built on a real desktop browser. That’s got to cause Apple some discomfort.

So what does Chrome OS have to do with the HTC lawsuit? It is logical that Apple is suing HTC because they are the biggest maker of Android smartphones. HTC is the maker of Google’s own Nexus One. But the real target of the suit is the Android platform, as that is what is the basis of HTC’s features that are “infringing” on Apple’s patents. Google has already stated that Android and Chrome OS would likely merge in the future to form one platform, one that can run full computers and smartphones. That’s got to tie Apple’s undies in a knot.

Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

With the iPad, Apple Takes Google to the Mat

[Via http://jkontherun.com]

Android coders earn $13,000 each month

2010-03-04T08:21:00.000+02:00

Whenever i read stories like this, it’s very inspiring to know independent developers out there can still make a good living with their ideas.

It took Eddie Kim, a 26 year old Stanford graduate 3 weeks to code the apps. And like most innovation, it started out as a hobby. Now he is making more money than is full-time job. But he says he is not quitting his day job just yet, cause it’s just a lucky break. You can read more about it at Wired.

All i can say is, the money is not only with iPhone apps. With so many new and shiny Android phone due to release in the next few months, even Apple is worried (hence the lawsuit?). That’s my take

[ Wired ]

[Via http://edtake.wordpress.com]

Six Android Phones from Indosat

2010-03-02T08:55:00.000+02:00

Specifications :

Sony Ericsson Timescape™: The Timescape™ application manages all your communication with one person in one place. Browse through your conversations the bright way to check out your Facebook™, Twitter™, photos, email, and texts. Now they’re all kept together so you don’t have to open loads of different applications to see what’s going on

Sony Ericsson Mediascape™: Mediascape is the smart way to get all the music, photos, and videos for you want from your favorite friends and artist. It accesses content from everywhere – your phone, YouTube™ and presents everything for you

Infinite Button: Find out all about your friends in a flash. Press the infinite button in the Timescape™ application and smart filter everything that’s going on with each person. In Mediascape the infinite button presents all the information you want about your favorite celebrities and artist.

High processor powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 1 Ghz : faster operation speed

4” full touch screen : the widest view you will ever experience

8GB MicroSD external memory & 1 GB internal memory : High capacity to store all media

8.1 MP camera: with Auto Focus, photolight, face recognition, geo-tagging, and smile detection

1500mAh battery power : Longer life battery power to support you throughout the day

———————————————————-

Specifications :

Network: GSM & HSDPA

Dimensions: 109 x 54.5 x 15.9 mm

Display 3” LCD Touchscreen

320 x 480 (262K TFT)

Memory: Slot MicroSD up to 32Gb

Camera: 5 MP

Key Features:

- Android OS versi 1.5

- Camera 5 MP, AF and LED Flash

- Motion sensor games

- Push e-mail

- Document viewer

- Geo tagging

- 150 Mb Internal memory

- A-GPS

- Instant Messaging

- S-class UI

- Auto Rotate

- Bluetooth, Wi-fi

———————————————————-

Specifications :

The world’s thinnest QWERTY Slider:

Slide out the full QWERTY keyboard to text, IM and e-mail

Huge Display:

3.7” display with more than 400,000 total pixels, which is twice that of the leading competitor.

Multi Touch, Pinch & Zoom, Double Tap Zoom:

Work faster on the Web with multi-touch pinch & zoom, and double tap to zoom in and out

High Speed Web Access:

See the Web at break-neck speed on the largest high resolution display with a Flash 10 ready HTML browser

5 Megapixel Camera:

5 megapixel camera, dual-LED flash, AutoFocus and image stabilization, DVD quality video recorder

CrystalTalkTM:

Superior talk quality

MOTONAV:

Turn by turn NavigationMute ringtone after facing down

———————————————————-

Specifications :

Larger Capacitive touch screen

Qwerty/half-qwerty inputtin

Auto adaptive landscape and portrait switch function

Internet experience :

- Chrome Lite

- HTML

- enjoy 8 web pages at the same time

- Flas

1500mAh battery, long browsing time

Handle your Email by Microsoft® Exchange.

ActiveSync® with push email as well as calendar and contact synchronization.

High-speed 3.5G network connection and Wi-Fi technology with seamless transition to open networks.

———————————————————–

Specifications :

3.2” HVGA touch screen

3.5G up to 7.2 Mbps and Wi-Fi® connectivity

5 megapixel camera with auto focus

Integrated GPS, Digital Compass and G-sensor

Built-in 3.5mm audio jack

HTC Sense™, HTC Scenes, HTC Footprints™, Facebook updates and Twitter

Google Mobile Services on the go – Android Market (1st time for indonesia with indosat)

Web Browser with Adobe Flash support

Pinch the screen to zoom in or out web pages and images

Mute ringtone after facing down

———————————————————–

Specifications :

More Speed 800MHz CPU

Longer usability with 1500mAh Battery

Communities : Facebook, Flickr, Myspace

Widespread connectivity : Bluetooth, Wifi, USB, Switches

Multimedia : 200MB + MicroSD (up to 32GB), 3MP AF Camera, Media Player – MP3, DivX, WMV

Android Market

Compass & Google Maps

Internet Experience

Email Messaging

[Via http://pagebenefit.wordpress.com]

Chinaphone G2? Magic? Touch?

2010-02-28T08:20:00.000+02:00

02282010(001), originally uploaded by phoney.

lookie hiar, a KIRFy htc macgic complete with mouse!

[Via http://flashdrive.wordpress.com]

The Case of Dragon Ball Room - (Part 1)

2010-02-28T00:34:00.000+02:00

There was once a Japanese Dragon Ball cel gallery on the internet that was truly stunning. The man who ran it had some of the most rare and incredible cels from the most pivotal and memorable scenes from throughout the entire series. Including the original Dragon Ball and GT. In a case of misunderstanding, he translated an american forum who were in awe of his cels and thought that they were talking poorly of him. He became offended and made a single post on the forum saying how he felt. Of course, none of the collectors actually meant any harm, but these pages don’t translate perfectly when using an online translator like Babel Fish. I am not sure if this led to the shutting down of his gallery or not, but a few months after the incident it disappeared off the internet. It could have been a mixture of that and him getting offers for the cels even though he had no intention of selling them. Well, luckily I happened to save a lot of the images from the site before it disappeared. I don’t know of anyone else having them so I thought I’d share. I’ll post some more of them in the coming days. But by no means is this all of them. Unfortunately, I don’t have even a fraction of what was on that site. The man literally had some of the best I have ever seen. Including SSJ2 Gohan doing the One-Handed KameHameHa with his father against Perfect Cell. Yeah. Really. So, below are a few of the amazing cels that were in what was, in my opinion, the best Dragon Ball Cel Gallery on the internet. But do not worry. As Yoda might say, “There is another.”

I don’t have all of the images, so if anyone out there has some more from this gallery they’d like to share please contact me! Go to the About section for information on how to do that. I’d love to see some of the other ones again! There’s more to come so stay tuned! Click the images below to see them larger!

Goku stopping Vegeta as he sense Buu's power!

Letting Babidi transform him into Majin Vegeta.

Cyborg 17 swipes the controller from Dr. Gero

Probably the best SSJ Gohan cel ever from Movie 10.

SSJ2 Gohan is coming for Cell!

This was the site's title card.

[Via http://dragonballcels.wordpress.com]

Nexus One to hit Verizon March 23

2010-02-27T16:52:00.000+02:00

According to a post over at neowin, the Nexus one will make be released on March 25th. It is believed that Verizon will officially announce the Nexus at CTIA in Las Vegas next month. Pricing should be within range of the current T-Mobile pricing for the Nexus, but it is unclear whether Google will handle the sales or would Verizon stock the phone directly.

via Nexus One Blog

source Neowin

[Via http://fonefrenzy.com]

Platform Demographics: Android out-machos the rest, iPod Touch scores with Youth

2010-02-26T23:59:00.000+02:00

via Engadget:

Apparently, men not only like robots, they they prefer Android (the OS) as well:

Considering how skewed toward men technology was just half a generation ago, it’s fairly startling how evenly the mobile device user base is split between men and women…with the notable exception of Android, where 3 out of 4 users are men.

No explanation was given for the discrepancy, but my money would be on the hacker ethos surrounding the marquee Android phone–the Motorola Droid playing a big role in the split–combined with the hard lines and aggressively male styling that’s become endemic on the Motorola offerings:

Engadget also notes the interesting age breakdown mobile devices, with particular emphasis of the youthfulness of iPod Touch users:

As a dad, this one’s easy to explain: I’d give an iPod Touch to my music-obsessed kid whom I don’t want chatting away and racking up a crazy expensive phone bill every month. Once they can pay their own AT&T bill, I’d have no problem recommending the iPhone in its place

Read the whole thing here:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/26/survey-says-android-users-mostly-male-webos-not-just-for-women/

[Via http://uxtalk.wordpress.com]

Programming Android: non-documented problems with AsyncTask

2010-02-25T08:12:00.000+02:00

AsyncTask class is very handy to execute one-time operations in the threads separate from main UI thread and communicate results back to it. However I figured out that AsyncTask must be used with caution as it’s behavior may unexpectedly change after invocation of some of its methods.

Scenario #1: Methods onProgressUpdate() and onPostExecute() are not called as expected

Expected behavior: AsyncTask class methods onPostExecute() and onProgressUpdate() are called during and after task execution. E.g. method onProgressUpdate() is invoked in the main UI thread whenever publishProgress() is called inside doInBackground() worker method; Method onProgressUpdate() is invoked in the main UI thread upon doInBackground() method completion;

Problem synopsis: Neither onPostExecute() nor onProgressUpdate() are not called at all or called all at once after completion of the task

Solution: This is happened when after starting AsyncTask execution one of the following methods was called: AsyncTask.get() or AsyncTask.getStatus(). Similar situation occurs when AsyncTask is executed by JUnit test cases based on Android Testing Framework.

Currently I don’t have explanation why its happens and how to solve this, but I’m still researching it. At least I know what to do for preventing the issue.

[Via http://vkroz.wordpress.com]

Simple s15

2010-02-25T00:51:00.000+02:00

I love this car, so clean and simple.

It’s too bad North America never got these because they always look amazing.

[Via http://fulllock.wordpress.com]

Smartphone Sales Up 24 Percent, iPhone's Share Nearly Doubled Last Year (Gartner)

2010-02-23T16:19:00.000+02:00

Last year, Apple’s iPhone nearly doubled its worldwide market share of smartphone sales to 14.4 percent, up 6.2 points from the year before, according to the latest market share figures put out by Gartner. The iPhone still trails behind Nokia’s Symbian-powered smartphones (No. 1), which saw their share decline 5.5 points to 46.9 percent, and RIM Blackberries (No. 2), which gained 3.3 points to end the year with a 19.9 percent share.

Remember, these are worldwide estimates. In the U.S., both Blackberry and Apple are much larger than Symbian. And when it comes to mobile Web traffic, Apple and Android dominate with 81 percent share. According to Gartner, Android phone sales jumped 3.4 points (to 3.9 percent), but Android is still smaller than WIndows Mobile or Linux. Those mobile OSes, however, saw their market share drop 3.1 and 2.9 percent, respectively. Palm’s WebOS barely made a mark with 0.7 percent share.

So when you tally everything up, Symbian lost the most share (5.5 percent), followed by Windows Mobile and Linux. The iPhone saw the biggest gain (6.2 percent), compared to smaller but roughly equal jumps by Blackberry and Android (up 3.3 and 3.4 percent, respectively).

All together, Gartner estimates 172 million smartphones were sold last year, up 24 percent. In contrast, total mobile phone sales were flat at 1.2 billion. Smartphones represented 14 percent of total mobile handset sales last year, up from 11 percent in 2008. The iPhone, for all of its growth, made up only 2 percent of all mobile phone sales last year. Below are the marjet share tables from Gartner:

Table 2

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 2009 (Thousands of Units)

Company 2009 Units 2009

Market

Share (%) 2008 Units 2008

Market

Share (%) Symbian 80,878.6 46.9 72,933.5 52.4 Research In Motion 34,346.6 19.9 23,149.0 16.6 iPhone OS 24,889.8 14.4 11,417.5 8.2 Microsoft Windows Mobile 15,027.6 8.7 16,498.1 11.8 Linux 8,126.5 4.7 10,622.4 7.6 Android 6,798.4 3.9 640.5 0.5 WebOS 1,193.2 0.7 NA NA Other OSs 1,112.4 0.6 4,026.9 2.9 Total 172,373.1 100.0 139,287.9 100.0

Source: Gartner (February 2010)

Table 1

Worldwide Mobile Terminal Sales to End Users in 2009 (Thousands of Units)

Company 2009 Sales 2009

Market

Share (%) 2008 Sales 2008

Market

Share (%) Nokia 440,881.6 36.4 472,314.9 38.6 Samsung 235,772.0 19.5 199,324.3 16.3 LG 122,055.3 10.1 102,789.1 8.4 Motorola 58,475.2 4.8 106,522.4 8.7 Sony Ericsson 54,873.4 4.5 93,106.1 7.6 Others 299,179.2 24.7 248,196.1 20.3 Total 1,211,236.6 100.0 1,222,252.9 100.0

Note* This table includes iDEN shipments, but excludes ODM to OEM shipments.

Source: Gartner (February 2010)

CrunchBase InformationiPhone 3GAndroidResearch In MotionInformation provided by CrunchBase

[Via http://techcrunch.com]

Indosat Luncurkan Layanan Berbasis Android

2010-02-23T08:43:00.000+02:00

Terus Berinovasi Berikan Solusi Telekomunikasi:

Indosat Luncurkan Layanan Berbasis Android Pertama di Indonesia

ANDROID dari INDOSAT – Indosat menjadi operator pertama di Indonesia yang meluncurkan layanan berbasis Android melalui berbagai paket layanan dengan menggandeng 6 Agen Tunggal Pemegang Merek (ATPM) terkemuka. Selain itu Indosat juga meluncurkan aplikasi – aplikasi berbasis Android melalui Android Aplication Store. Indosat memiliki komitmen kuat untuk kembangkan layanan berbasis Android di Indonesia. Tampak dalam gambar Guntur S. Siboro, Chief Marketing Officer Indosat (tengah), bersama dengan perwakilan 6 ATPM saat peluncuran layanan ini di depan media di Jakarta.

Jakarta, 22 Februari 2010 – Layanan berbasis Android saat ini tengah ditunggu-tunggu kehadirannya di Indonesia, menyusul telah diperkenalkannya handphone atau handset Android oleh beberapa produsen. Indosat sebagai operator telekomunikasi yang selalu berupaya mengedepankan inovasi memenuhi harapan masyarakat tersebut dengan meluncurkan layanan berbasis Android yang menyediakan berbagai paket layanan dengan menggandeng 6 Agen Tunggal Pemegang Merek (ATPM) terkemuka. Selain itu Indosat juga meluncurkan aplikasi – aplikasi berbasis Android melalui Android Aplication Store.

“Indosat memiliki komitmen yang kuat untuk mengembangkan layanan berbasis Android di Indonesia, dengan inisiatif pertama berupa paket layanan bersama dengan 6 ATPM serta menghadirkan Android Aplication Store. Tidak hanya itu, ke depan kami juga telah mempersiapkan program-program untuk mengembangkan layanan berbasis Android ini sehingga benar-benar dapat memberikan manfaat lebih bagi pelanggan dan masyarakat Indonesia pada umumnya,” demikian disampaikan Guntur S. Siboro, Chief Marketing Officer Indosat.

Android sendiri merupakan sistem operasi bergerak (mobile) yang menggunakan versi modifikasi dari kernel Linux. Android memiliki berbagai keunggulan sebagai software berbasis kode komputer yang bisa didistribusikan secara terbuka (open source) sehingga programmer bisa membuat aplikasi baru di dalamnya.

Selain itu Android memiliki aplikasi native Google yang terintegrasi, seperti push email GMail, Google Maps, dan Google Calendar. Pada awalnya, Android dikembangkan oleh Android Inc, sebuah perusahaan yang kemudian dibeli oleh Google dan akhir-akhir ini dikembangkan oleh Open Handset Alliance.

Untuk menunjang layanan aplikasi Android, Indosat menggandeng beberapa ATPM yang menyediakan handset Android sehingga pelanggan memiliki berbagai alternatif pilihan. ATPM itu di antaranya HTC dengan HTC Hero, Motorola dengan Motorola Milestone, Samsung dengan Samsung Galaxy Spica, LG dengan LG GW 620, Huawei dengan U8230 serta Sony Ericsson dengan Xperia X10.

Adapun Android Application Store adalah “toko virtual” yang menyediakan ribuan aplikasi baik yang gratis maupun berbayar. Indosat menghadirkan Android Application Store sebagai bentuk keseriusan dalam memberikan layanan yang terintegrasi di satu tempat yang dapat menampung kebutuhan pelanggan terkait aplikasi dan layanan Android dari Indosat.

Semua paket layanan tersebut akan dihadirkan di Indosat Android Expo pada Pameran Mega Bazaar di JCC 3-7 Maret 2010 Dapatkan harga Handset Android dengan diskon yang sangat menarik dari enam ATPM yang bekerja sama dengan Indosat dan pre-order sudah bisa dilakukan mulai tgl. 22 feb – 28 feb 2010 di www.Indosat.com/android.

Paket lainnya adalah program khusus antara lain 2000 Nomor Postpaid Matrix Broadband Unlimited secara gratis dengan kode akses 0814-xxx-xxxx (hanya tersedia selama expo). Paket Prepaid Broadband yaitu akses Broadband dengan menggunakan kartu IM3/Mentari dengan cara dial ke *777*1*5# serta Paket Prepaid Broadband IM2 (mulai tanggal 25 Februari 2010) dimana Pelanggan IM3/Mentari juga bisa menggunakan paket Broadband IM2 serta tentunya handset Android dengan harga spesial.

”Indosat akan terus memberikan inovasi-inovasi lainnya sebagai komitmen kami untuk terus memberikan alternatif solusi dalam mendukung aktivitas berkomunikasi mobile pelanggan kapanpun dan dimanapun, yang antara lain dibuktikan melalui peluncuran layanan berbasis Android ini”, ujar Guntur S. Siboro mengakhiri penjelasannya.

Tentang Indosat

Indosat adalah penyelenggara telekomunikasi dan informasi terkemuka di Indonesia yang memberikan layanan jasa selular (Mentari, Matrix dan IM3), jasa telekomunikasi tetap atau jasa suara tetap (seperti jasa SLI yaitu SLI 001, SLI 008 dan FlatCall 01016, jasa fixed wireless yaitu StarOne dan Indosat Phone). Indosat juga penyelenggara jasa data tetap (MIDI) bersama-sama dengan anak perusahaannya yaitu, Indosat Mega Media (IM2) dan Lintasarta. Indosat juga menyediakan layanan seluler 3.5 G dengan teknologi HSPA. Saham Indosat tercatat di Bursa Efek Indonesia (IDX:ISAT) dan saham dalam bentuk American Depositary Shares tercatat di Bursa Efek New York (NYSE:IIT).

Untuk keterangan lebih lanjut hubungi :

Corporate Communications

Telp : 62-21-3869614

Fax : 62-21-30003754

E-mail : publicrelations@indosat.com

Website : www.indosat.com

[Via http://sikuat.wordpress.com]

"Hello World"-bits and Pieces

2010-02-21T08:28:00.000+02:00

It’s always it-the all famous “Hello World” to demonstrate and assure one of the thought that things can be achieved with this programming language or platform as in this case-Android.

So, let’s just get on with it:

Create a project based on what you are using-IDE or console. IDE is considered as the preferred mode for the development process as it saves you a lot of time. So,here it will be explained considering you are using IDE-preferrebly ECLIPSE.

for ECLIPSE: click ‘File’ -> ‘New’ -> android project.

fill in the details of the project as:

This will create new project in your project directory.

Whenever a project is created in android, weather through an IDE or console, what android does is to create “Hello World” project and then we have to rebuild on it, which is very easy as you will see in the long run. Things that are created inside a new project are:-

1. Layout-main.xml

2. Activity- a Java class with name of the activity provide when making a project. In this case-HelloWorld.java

3. AndroidManifest.xml file for describing the project.

4. Resources-in this case a strings.xml file

5. Other necessary things.

Now, lets take it one by one:

main.xml:

It’s the main layout file describing the things that should be seen on the screen. There are two things are described there:

A Layout: LinearLayout to describe how the things should be arranged on the screen.

and a TextView for the displaying the text-”Hello World, Hello World”.

This is the basic layout of the file but it can be changed, which will likely be always as one advances further.

Acivity-HelloWorld.java:

This is where all the action happens. Whenever this application is launched this is the class that will be called first.

As you can see there are not much happening in there right now but hey, it just getting started isn’t it.

First line is the package name. And then there are a few imports. After that there is the class declaration.Here there is one thing to note that it extends Activity class, which is predefined in android.

Activity represents the screen which we see when we are interacting with the application.Here it just sets the screen according to the content of the main.xml layout which we have already discussed above.

And wallah!! Here is the end result to you as seen in the emulator:

[Via http://127bytes.wordpress.com]

Túnel do Tempo: DevMag, Ano 2, No. 23, Julho de 1998

2010-02-20T23:59:00.000+02:00

Cezar Taurion acertou ao dizer que “Não estamos falando de escrever o mesmo tipo de programas, em uma linguagem diferente” sobre Java.
Pablo Cella mencionou problemas de “estabilidade e desempenho” com o Java, que duraram pouco tempo. Ele trabalhava na Fuego, que foi comprada pela BEA em 2006.
Andrea Karam Gama falou sobre o uso de Java em dispositivos de consumidor, que talvez não tenha chegado ao mainstream até o Android.
Falava-se de VRML, que foi substituída pelo X3D, e de SMIL, que nunca decolaram.

[Via http://fernandoribeiro.eti.br]

Why Is Sprint Rushing a WiMAX Phone to Market?

2010-02-20T16:24:00.000+02:00

By Gigacom.com

Sprint will launch its fist WiMAX-enabled handset in the first half of this year, several months earlier than expected, according to a Forbes story this morning — an HTC Supersonic, a dual-mode, Android-enabled device that boasts a 4.3-inch LCD display and Wi-Fi connectivity. But does Sprint really need a WiMAX phone yet?

The phone will reportedly switch automatically switch between Sprint’s 3G EV-DO network and the 4G infrastructure it’s building with Clearwire, enabling it to take advantage of average download speeds of 3-6 Mbps. But that’s only when it can find a WiMAX network, which covers some 10 percent of the U.S. population and doesn’t yet include cities such as New York, San Francisco and Washington.

Just as importantly, the industry has yet to agree on a handover for voice between 3G and WiMAX which — like LTE — is all-IP. Depending on how Sprint decides to handle voice on its WiMAX network, folks making a call on its WiMAX phone could find themselves unable to use the 4G data services while on a call. Sprint will obviously need to produce phones that leverage WiMAX as it builds out its new footprint and as the industry addresses the technical problems involved in moving to 4G from 3G. But rushing a WiMAX phone to market in the next few months doesn’t seem to make much sense.

[Via http://newsofthemedia.wordpress.com]

New at&t Android coming to your hands soon!

2010-02-18T16:27:00.000+02:00

Key Features:

* Android OS

* Mobile email and IM

* Access to Android Market, which features thousands of available applications

* Pre-loaded applications include AT&T Maps, AT&T Music, Gmail, GoogleTalk, Google Maps and more

* MOTOBLUR™ synchronized contacts

* Customized news and social networking feeds

Specifications:

* Chipset: Qualcomm MSM 7200A

* Bands/Modes: WCDMA 850/1900/2100, GSM

850/900/1800/1900

* HSDPA 7.2 Mbps (Category 7/8), EDGE Class 12, aGPS

* Display: 3.1″ HVGA 256k TFT

* Battery: 1400mAH

* Messaging: MMS, SMS, IM, POP3/IMAP4, Consumer/

Corporate Email

* Audio: AAC, AAC+, Enhanced AAC+, MIDI, MP3, WAV

* Video: Capture/Streaming, H.263, H.264, MPEG4

* Camera: 5 MP, Auto Focus, LED

* Memory: 512 NAND, 256 MB RAM, 2 GB inbox,

microSD™ (supports up to 32 GB)

* Connectivity: 3.5mm, USB 2.0 HS, BT Class 2 Version 2.0

* Browser: Android Webkit/HTML

* Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g

* Accelerometer, E-Compass

AT&T Announces Availability of First Device on Android Platform with Motorola

HSPA 7.2 – Capable Motorola BACKFLIP Coming Soon to AT&T Stores Nationwide

Reserve Yours Today!

MOTOBLUR offers AT&T customers a new way to connect to their favorite people, content and applications, whether it’s work or personal email, messaging or social networking. Motorola’s exclusive Android™ experience syncs contacts, posts, messages, photos and much more — from sources such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Gmail, Picasa, work and personal e-mail, and Last.fm — and automatically delivers them to live widgets for immediate reply, right from the home screen. And, for customers who prefer multi-tasking, AT&T’s 3G network offers the added advantage of talking and surfing the Web and accessing applications at the same time.

BACKFLIP features a unique form-factor with an original reverse flip design, spacious keyboard and BACKTRACK™ touch panel, allowing the display to be hands-free while one’s fingers work behind the screen. BACKFLIP runs on the nation’s fastest 3G network and is powered by MOTOBLUR™, Motorola’s Android-powered content delivery service created to make phones more personal and socially smart. Customers can see photos and learn more at www.att.com/backflip.

“Motorola BACKFLIP brings together the best of social networking with the nation’s fastest 3G network,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “With the ability to ride on our newest and fastest 3G network, access to more than 20,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots, and the ability to talk and surf at the same time, BACKFLIP boasts a better Android experience.”

MOTOBLUR™

MOTOBLUR keeps track of contacts so it’s easy to keep up. Users can flip through messages and updates on the BACKFLIP and respond in a flash, without having to log in and out of applications. MOTOBLUR helps consumers keep a pulse on what’s happening on their social and news networks. Only MOTOBLUR can sync Facebook, MySpace and Twitter with phone book and email contacts, while threading status updates and profile pics through calls, messages and address book. From the home screen, consumers can update their status to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter at once.

Finally, MOTOBLUR provides users with simplicity and peace of mind, as lost devices can be located from a secure personal information portal and GPS can be used to locate them. One user name and password brings back a user’s contacts, messages and connectivity to previously configured networks and email providers.

”Motorola is proud to bring the first Android-powered device to AT&T’s 3G network,” said Mark Shockley, senior vice president, Motorola Mobile Devices. “AT&T customers will love the social media advantages MOTOBLUR offers as well as the innovative hardware design.”

BACKFLIP is the first Motorola device to feature the new and unique BACKTRACK™ feature which gives AT&T customers the ability to navigate quickly and easily through Web sites, menus and more with a touch panel located behind the screen when the device is folded open. BACKTRACK offers a new way to scroll through the Web, texts, e-mails and news feeds without obscuring the home screen. Flip the keyboard backwards into table-top mode to listen to music, watch videos, view pictures with the digital picture frame or to turn BACKFLIP into a digital, bedside alarm clock.

BACKFLIP comes with a full HTML browser that can be viewed on the 3.1” high-res, touch screen display and makes use of 7.2 HSPA 3G technology on the nation’s fastest 3G network. Android Market™ has access to more than 20,000 apps and widgets, in order to customize the device to fit each consumer’s personal style. Customers can easily shoot photos and video with the BACKFLIP’s 5 MP camera and flash, and upload them to their favorite photo sharing or social media site.

The Motorola BACKFLIP features Wi-Fi connectivity and AT&T customers receive AT&T Wi-Fi access at U.S. hotspots included as part of their unlimited data plan. AT&T’s has the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network with more than 20,000 U.S. hotspots.

Pricing and Availability

The Motorola BACKFLIP will be available March 7 at Cartronix for $99.99 after $100 mail-in rebate. (Pay $199.99 and after mail-in rebate receive $100 AT&T Promotion Card. Two-year agreement and smartphone data plan required.)

Give us a call today or stop by to reserve your new Backflip !

[Via http://cartronix.wordpress.com]

HTC Sense on Nexus One for Those That Desire It

2010-02-18T00:30:00.000+02:00

I’ve been waiting to see how much “hackery” would ensue on the Google Nexus One (s goog) and today I got an eyeful. Yup, efforts are underway to get the HTC Sense UI on the Nexus One. Paul O’Brien, the mastermind at Modaco, is making good headway using a ROM built for the HTC Desire. That makes “sense”, since the Desire is a slightly evolved Nexus One. While I never expected to put a non-carrier ROM on my handset, I may just make an exception for this one. Aside from HTC Sense, there’s some other desirable goodies in the build:

800 x 480 video recording, which is a slight boost over the native 720 x 480
Face recognition and touch focus for the camera
Adobe (s adbe) Flash 10.1

To be honest, I can live without Flash — I have for years, so obviously, I can continue to do so. But I’ve found that it’s a nice to have feature on the evaluation Nokia N900 every now and again for watching video. YouTube vids are generally a non-issue these days, but other players require Flash support. Our own site videos fall into that category — although we were just chatting internally about future video and support for handhelds today: stay tuned.

The Sense UI itself is really what I’m interested in, and that’s mainly because I’ve never used it for more than a few minutes. I’d like to run with it for a week or so, just to see if it’s a “must have” for the way I use my handset. For now, I’m in a wait-and-see mode while Paul continues to work his magic.

However, I did grab a little bit of sense today: I added the HTC Sense keyboard to my Nexus One. It was actually a pretty simple process as outlined at XDA-Developers. I downloaded two .APK files, unzipped them to the SD card on my Nexus One and installed them. As far as installation goes, you can always use the ADB utility in the Android SDK, but I found what might be a faster, easier way. Just search the Android Market for AppsInstaller, which is a free utility and install it. AppsInstaller scans your SD card and allows you to install any applications on the card. The process took me under five minutes and I’m now typing far faster. The keyboard comes with a touch calibration utility, which I ran through one time and the keyboard experience is much more like the iPhone (s aapl), which worked well for me.I’m already finding it faster than the native Android keyboard and even faster than Swype. And there’s still a dedicated key for voice-to-text input, so it’s a win all around.

Images courtesy of DroidDog

Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

Google’s Mobile Strategy: Understanding the Nexus One

[Via http://jkontherun.com]

Gives Me Hope ver 0.8

2010-02-16T16:29:00.000+02:00

Third app to publish is another widget and client for one of my favorites sites: givesmehope.com.

Be inspired from the kind and heartwarming stories from GMH users. Share the hope through SMS and email.

I’m having problem with the api so posting comment and submitting your own GMH is disabled as of the moment.

[Via http://android18.wordpress.com]

Windows Phone 7 Series analysis: What does it mean for iPhone, Android & Blackberry?

2010-02-16T00:30:00.000+02:00

Windows Phone has been struggling in recent years. In the face of an onslaught Apple, Google and RIM, many would say that the OS formerly known as Windows Mobile has not even been competing in the current marketplace. Rumors have been flying around about Microsoft starting from scratch with Windows Phone 7 and that’s exactly what they’ve done. And they’ve done it well.

Microsoft launched Windows Phone 7 Series today at Mobile World Congress to an audience hoping for Redmond to finally bring it in the mobile market. Ballmer’s troops didn’t disappoint, incorporating the Zune HD’s spectacular modernist interface, Xbox Live gaming and of course Office functionality into one platform. The reaction has been hugely positive so far, which is great for consumer choice, but what does the launch mean for the major players in the firing line such as iPhone, Android and BlackBerry?

New interface or same old Windows?

The Windows Phone 7 Series (WP7 from now on) interface we’ve seen today looks fresh and modern but I’ve been watching it develop in my living for the last few years. It’s actually called Metro and we saw it first in Windows Media Center, followed more recently by the more widely covered Zune HD. I’m glad that Microsoft chose to follow-up these releases with Metro’s integration into WP7 as it’s a beautiful user experience and as we know from the iPhone, the experience is critical.

So how does the interface shape up to its competitors? Frankly it crushes all of them. As we saw with the Zune HD which looked good compared to the iPod’s interface, WP7 raises the bar in the smartphone space. This is not a failing of Apple, as the iPhone OS was designed a few years ago and was groundbreaking itself in 2007. However, I expect Apple might now revisit the iPhone to bring a smarter look & feel as almost three years have passed since its release.

If WP7 trumps the iPhone’s interface then it kind of goes without saying that Android and in particular BlackBerry are made to look further behind the pinnacle than they perhaps were yesterday. Android of course is still emerging and has a good energetic foundation upon which to bring its game to a peak. I feel RIM however is most at risk, specifically because it has gained so much corporate market share from Windows Phone which might now return back to Microsoft.

Full disclosure: I use a BlackBerry Bold every day and it’s great, I also write for BerryReporter. However RIM’s OS is a swish home screen covering solid but antiquated looking internal text driven menus, with a sub-standard internet browser. RIM needs to do work urgently to improve its user experience to thwart an loss of the market share it has been winning from Windows Phone.

Social networking

Facebook and Windows Live are integrated directly into WP7, unlike its competitors which tend to use separate apps to present this information. The benefit of direct integration is that status updates are pushed straight into WP7’s People hub, so when you look up a contact you see their latest photos and news…without actually having to do anything. That’s super-cool convergence, after all why should a contacts screen be limited to displaying static information about your contacts?

On the downside, if you’re a MySpace, Bebo, Friendster etc user then we’ll have to wait and see if those get integrated in the same way. This is where the app model of the other players comes in handy. That’s not to say WP7 won’t have similar functionality available through apps, after all Windows Phone has historically had a colossal app selection. I guess the point is that once you’ve seen the Facebook and Windows Live WP7 integration into People, having social networking in a ringfenced app seems limiting. Microsoft has completely changed the game here.

Zune

We were all hoping for Zune integration in WP7 and it came in a big way. WP7 basically has the Zune HD’s operating system inside and syncs music, videos and photos via Zune’s desktop application. Integration of the Zune Marketplace was also shown, so it looks like there will be a way to buy media directly from the phone.

The main challenge here is of course the iPhone and iTunes. As iTunes approaches it’s ten billionth song download it is clearly a formidable market leader. Many argue that the Zune experience is superior but iTunes owns the all-important consumer mindshare in this market.

Xbox Live on your phone

Apple showed the world that mobile gaming is not just the preserve of Sony and Nintendo and there have been some impressive releases for the iPhone. Gaming exists on Android and BlackBerry as well, but no other platform can compete with Xbox Live.

Xbox Live will be integrated directly into WP7; trust me, this is a huge development for mobile platforms. That means your Xbox Live avatar, history and potentially offshoots of popular games such as Halo will be on WP7. That is massively compelling for Xbox owners, especially since games could be designed to interact with titles you already play on Xbox Live to unlock new content for example. All WP7 phones will have buttons too, so gaming is likely to be a better experience than the iPhone which relies solely upon touch and accelerometer interactions.

Email and corporate

RIM has gained market share from Windows Phone to become the premier corporate messaging device for good reason; BlackBerry is a secure and generally reliable platform. We’ll have to see if much of the critical BlackBerry functionality such as encryption and remote wiping has been implemented in WP7. If it has been then I’d have to say it spells bad news for RIM. While corporate investment in a smartphone platform is often a medium to long-term investment decision, WP7 is likely to answer the work-life smartphone questions which iPhone and BlackBerry have failed to answer so far.

Enterprises tend to be wary of the iPhone because of security and concerns around a lack of a transparent roadmap for the platform. Meanwhile consumers so far have not been convinced by the touchscreen BlackBerry Storm or Storm 2, which brought a tweaked BlackBerry OS instead of a fresh iPhone-challenging interface. WP7 could be the answer to the work-life phone question, with Exchange/Outlook integration, Zune, Xbox, social networking and of course Office.

Since WP7 has been a fresh start, all applications have to be written from scratch. So I haven’t seen Office yet but I would expect it to bring Word, Excel and Powerpoint functionality. More importantly I expect to see Office Live integration to allow documents to be pushed and pulled from the Cloud. I can understand Microsoft not making a huge show of this right now as they surely want to present the platform as a great example convergence, where Windows Phone had previously been associated with corporate productivity. We’ll have to wait to see what Office for WP7 looks like before making comparisons to the likes of Documents To Go and other suites available for the BlackBerry and other platforms.

A Tablet in the 7 Series range?

Here’s a parting thought…We’ve now seen this interface in small devices and large touch screen PCs on Media Center. What’s the betting a tablet is next? In military speak I believe the phrase is “confidence is high, I repeat, confidence is high”.

Neil Berman

www.theonbutton.com

[Via http://theonbutton.com]

Developing Android Applications: Week 1 - Homework

2010-02-14T15:58:00.000+02:00

People from O’Reilly and CreativeTechs are doing a great. Now, they have created a Forum where students of Android Course can post their stuff. Futhermore, a tiny application’s been assigned as homework so we can practice our Android programming skills. So here’s mine:

You can also check out the source code in my GitHub repository. Feedback will be appreciated

[Via http://victorcaveda.com]

Meet the New Windows Mobile, Same as the Old Windows Mobile?

2010-02-14T00:13:00.000+02:00

On Monday Microsoft is expected to announce the availability of Windows Mobile 7. The debate among the pundits is whether it will be too little, too late or, alternatively, represent the re-emergence of Microsoft as a significant player in the mobile arena. And, in its war with Google, the success of Windows Mobile 7 takes on added significance for Microsoft. But let’s take a step back to better understand why Monday is significant in the world of mobile technology.

Let’s start with the premise that the goal of mobile technology is to deliver connectivity and access to information anywhere, anytime. And let’s layer on top of this the need to make it as convenient, seamless, and user-friendly as possible. For instance, most of us are not interested in carrying around multiple devices - especially a bulky laptop - to realize this goal. Yet today most of us still do.

Now let’s look at it from the vendor perspective. Microsoft still wants (needs?) everyone to buy laptops as well as smart phones. Google is pushing handhelds because it started with Android. And Apple is agnostic. (I’m not sure how the margins compare between an iPhone and a MacBook but, for the most part, the former isn’t cannibalizing the latter.) And everyone else – most notably RIM, Palm, and Nokia – are really niche players in the looming mobile operating systems war.

So is it any surprise that Microsoft puts more emphasis on laptops and netbooks (really just a scaled down laptop)? And it logically follows that Microsoft has - to date – looked at the mobile world from the top down. Looking at the mobile world from the top down suffers from a number of shortcomings including an inability to step out of the (Windows) box and a predispostion to reuse instead of create from scratch. Google didn’t start with these handicaps and Apple was smart and disciplined enough to build from the bottom up (iPod to iPhone to iPad).

I suspect Microsoft finally gets it. But there’s a difference between understanding its shortcomings and executing a strategy to address them. Microsoft is running out of time. If Windows Mobile 7 fails to represent a change in how Microsoft approaches mobile technology – bottom up vs. top down – then those in the too little, too late camp will be right. To paraphrase a refrain from The Who song Won’t Get Fooled Again: “Meet the new Windows Mobile, same as the old Windows Mobile.”

[Via http://industryinsights.wordpress.com]

Another Nexus One OTA 3G fix on the way?

2010-02-13T08:26:00.000+02:00

Word has it that some of the folks over at xda have managed to get their hands on a newer version of the official Nexus One android 2.1 ROM, and it appears as though Google’s made a step in the right direction. Google has caught considerable amounts of negative PR due to some inherent flaws with the Nexus One’s official build, resulting in fluctuations and/or complete loss of 3G data connectivity intermittently, and has attempted to patch the issue once before with little success. No word from any concrete sources as to whether this ROM will be released into the wild, but as it stands now, it appears as though SOMEONE is trying.

(lul, no 3g for u)

[Via http://fonefrenzy.com]

Will a Cloud-Based Android Interface Fragment the Platform?

2010-02-13T00:04:00.000+02:00

HipLogic today launched an Android (s goog) platform that makes it easy for handset OEMs and carriers to produce custom interfaces for their phones. Fremont, Calif.-based HipLogic’s interface is always connected to the cloud, meaning operators can change the Android home screen interface whenever desired. Updates are delivered to the customer’s phone over the air, courtesy of the “always connected” nature of the HipLogic interface.

Companies are always happy to differentiate their products when using an open platform such as Android, but there is a risk such a move can further fragment the Android user experience. We already see this happening on HTC phones with its Sense interface, and the MOTOBLUR interface by Motorola (s mot) dilutes the Android experience in a way, too. It’s not necessarily a bad thing that many Android phones have different interface features, but it makes it harder for consumers to determine which interface components are standard and which are special to a given handset.

Related research from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

Google’s Mobile Strategy: Understanding the Nexus One

[Via http://jkontherun.com]

Android - Modify Screen Orientation

2010-02-11T16:01:00.000+02:00

The screen orientation is determined in the Activity class.

public class Test extends Activity { /** Called when the activity is first created. */ @Override public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.main); //set screen orientation to landscape this.setRequestedOrientation(ActivityInfo.SCREEN_ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE); ...code...

Done =)

[Via http://ykyuen.wordpress.com]

Google Buzz-The success inertia在作怪？

2010-02-11T08:05:00.000+02:00

用Google的同学想必已经被Google 最新的gadget “Google Buzz” 搞得焦头烂额。最近又爆料出Facebook要推出Facebook邮件。搜索引擎开始逐渐把它的触角伸向社区类网站。社区类网站开始盘算着如何变成更多元化的网络服务商。

可能这些成功的网络大户们正犯了success inertia ，认为自己无比强大，可以在任何一个网络分支里大获全胜。

有人称Buzz 其实是个烟雾弹，为了推广Google Map, 而Google Map则可以增加Android 的使用粘度。大家都瞄向了手机商务这块PIE。不过笔者有几个问题：

1. 貌似Buzz只是一个status update 的小工具，不过目前为止 status updateD的工具已经有,facebook, twitter 还有林林总总各类的手机社区。在Gmail的里面就有gtalk的status update了。的确，Buzz 可以leverage Gmail。不过在有大量替代品的情况下，有多少人愿意再多一个Status update的工具？这个小工具的附加价值真的值得怀疑。

2. 第二个是个大方向问题了，明显GOOGLE已经在向社区类网站进军。笔者所怀疑的是：究竟我们是不是还再需要一个这样的服务商？感觉GOOGLE越来越是当年的MICROSOFT。搜索引擎的大亨开始垂涎社区小弟的地盘。不过GOOGLE的商业头脑还是值得称赞的。在当年大家都无法找到搜索引擎合适的商业模式下，GOOGLE是第一个找到可行模式的赢家。不知道这一次GOOGLE是不是可以在社交网站内再次一鸣惊人？

[Via http://techrolling.wordpress.com]

Who needs snapdragon processor?

2010-02-09T08:46:00.000+02:00

Who needs snapdragon processor?

Recently in the Android community Eugene373(to my knowledge) was first to reach new speeds in HTC Dream(Qualcomm MSM 7201A 528 MHz processor) without the Dream melting your hands. Now many are trying to implement the new speeds into there Roms, a few are reaching the 1GHz speeds! Can’t wait to see what is the new current stable roms are going to be set at! Do I want a Nexus One anymore?

Hells Yeah I want one!

Link to Eugene373 “128MHz to 728MHz” on XDA

[Via http://hfortysixit.wordpress.com]

Apple or Google...

2010-02-09T00:48:00.000+02:00

As a continuation to my earlier post – I wanted to add a few more thoughts on the subject.

As someone who has been using apple for about 5 years now (I have had 5 apple computers thus far – and currently use 3 of them) – and someone who has been using Google – and Android for a while now as well, I think i know a bit about their usability and importance….

Both Google and Apple produces excellent products. I have always enjoyed using both and they both have provided the results they intended to achieve very well.
To me – Google’s products are very functional and usable – and minimalistic in design.
Apple’s products on the other hand – are also very functional and usable – but are sophisticated and luxurious – gives a sense of owning a prized object – often a artistic design.
Having tried an Android phone for about a month now – I can confidently say that the device is perfectly functional and a joy to use. There is very little learning curve associated with it – just like the apple products.
A thought that comes to mind is that Apple was not the first player in the market when it came out with the iPod. However – their ease of use, a huge library of music available for purchase at your fingertips helped created a new market for the product. In a sense – Apple re-invented the portal music player. Google is in a way, trying to follow the same footsteps. The Android to me – a huge successful project, which took a lot of its lessons learned from the iPhone, which is why – it has become a very successful product one version ahead of its predecessor (iPhone became a real phone in Version 3.0, while Android’s Nexus has achieved similar status in Version 2.1).
Google has had a project on books for a long time – but has not capitalized it yet. I think a future with Amazon or an iPad equivalent may be in the works – coming soon in the near future (with ChromeOS as a possible operating system).

[Via http://ubgeek.wordpress.com]

Google Nexus One 3G Issues Still Lurking

2010-02-07T00:45:00.000+02:00

I’m writing from Phoenix, Arizona, where a trip home met an abrupt end today. After one cancelled flight from San Francisco to Philadelphia, I hopped over to the Valley of the Sun in hopes of a different flight home, but Mother Nature had other ideas. Since so many travelers are in a similar bind, all flights home are booked through Monday. I’ll be attempting a trip to JFK tomorrow and will mostly likely miss the first Super Bowl of my adult life. What the heck does that all that have to do with Google’s Nexus One (s goog)? Well, this travel challenge has offered me a great way to test the recent 3G fix in a number of T-Mobile coverage areas. As bad as my travel woes are, the radio in my Nexus One just might be worse off than me.

Not long after the Nexus One first arrived in early January, users reported 3G issues here in the U.S. Since the phone only supports T-Mobile’s frequencies here, AT&T’s network was a non-factor in the situation. I had my phone shipped to me in Las Vegas since I was there for the Consumer Electronics Show and really didn’t notice any issues. And when I returned home to Philadelphia, all was well at first. In fact, I was testing the 3G immediately after we landed — as we were taxing to the gate, I saw 2.1 Mbps down and 1.2 Mbps up. But once I recovered from the CES and started looking closer at the Nexus One, I saw issues. In the same location, an evaluation Nokia N900 handset with my T-Mobile SIM card offered speeds similar to my first test. But after a quick SIM swap to the Nexus One, the best my Android handset could do was lowly EDGE speeds. Clearly, something appeared to be wrong.

Sure enough, reports of the same 3G issues flooded the official Google Nexus One support forums. There were a few different configuration workarounds offered, but they didn’t work for everyone. Finally, Google indicated that it was working with T-Mobile and HTC, the handset maker, to address the problems. After a few weeks of waiting, a software solution arrived in the form of an over-the-air update for all Nexus One handsets. In addition to the 3G fix, Google added other welcome features — the most prominent being pinch-to-zoom functionality in the native Gallery, Browser and Maps software. But did the firmware actually fix the 3G problem?

I upgraded my handset firmware just prior to my current travel excursion. I was more enamored by the multitouch features and didn’t pay too much attention to my 3G signal, even though I live in a T-Mobile data coverage area. So while waiting for my flight to San Francisco, I refocused my attention on the radio issue. What a perfect time and place to do just that, I thought. After all, Philadelphia International Airport is where I first saw fast bandwidth speeds on the phone. Too bad, I never saw them again in that very location. I ran various speed tests over the course of three hours, but never even saw half of the throughput I had seen a few weeks prior in the same place.

While there are a number of factors that affect 3G performance — location, other users, backhaul — the results weren’t sitting right with me. On Twitter, I asked if anyone else was still having problems. A few minutes later Michael Gartenberg, a Technology Analyst at Insight and columnist at Engdget, replied via Twitter: “yep. 3g actually worse. I used to get 3g at home. No more. But I do have multi touch.” Again, data throughput testing isn’t an exact science, but I can’t think of a single reason why Michael couldn’t get 3G at home using the same phone — especially after the software update.

So over the span of the last three days, I’ve been testing my handset using the SpeedTest application from Xtreme Labs — available for free in the Android Market — and also watching the data indicator on the phone. Aside from testing in Philadelphia, I’ve also tested in various San Francisco neighborhoods and in Phoenix. Every single testing location used was squarely in a solid T-Mobile 3G coverage area — no fringe areas, for example. And in every location, I saw either miserable 3G speeds, signals bouncing between 3G and EDGE, or — even worse –both. I’m calling the last situation “worse” for a specific reason — signal bouncing like that can hit your handset battery hard. In fact, I barely used my Nexus One this morning in San Francisco and in the three hours I waited for my flight, the Nexus One battery dropped from 100% to 65%. I’d expect that kind of drain in three hours when actually using the phone, but not when it was basically dormant. The bouncing back-and-forth is really maddening. Sitting with the GigaOm team yesterday, for example, the phone was stationary but showed every possible combination of bars and signals. I saw GPRS, EDGE and 3G plus everything from no bars of service to four full bars, and everything in between. This was over the course of two hours in the exact same location.

Since my travel woes have stranded me in a Phoenix hotel, I now have some time to check in on the very same Google Nexus One support forum that I originally used to track the issue. As of now, there are 977 posts in the thread, spanning 25 pages. While I don’t know the location and coverage specifics for each individual user, there’s a fair number of posts indicating that handset owners are still seeing the same issues I am, even after the firmware update. There are some that say the issue is fixed for them, which is great. But either my testing is bad in three different cities, or there’s still an issue for quite a few people.

Is it hardware or software? Perhaps it’s both, or maybe there are some coverage issues that are affecting results. It’s to the point that I don’t really know. It could be any and all of the above. But what I do know is that something is still wrong with the 3G signal on my Nexus One — and I’m not alone.

If you have a Nexus One and use a T-Mobile SIM, I invite you to chime in on the comments, but more importantly, to participate in a poll. I’d like to see how isolated or widespread this is, for starters. And it just might help bring more attention to whatever the issue is. When I return home, I’ll do some additional testing. If I still see the issue, I’ll be testing the support channels for my Google Nexus One.

View This Poll

answers

[Via http://jkontherun.com]

Open or Closed OTT?

2010-02-04T08:49:00.000+02:00

Recently, I have found myself debating with the industries great and good how ‘open’ OTT should be. The is both a practical and philosophical issue and boils down to whether OTT TV is really just more television or the internet on a TV screen. So let me first define the parameters of the debate:

Closed OTT is where the internet video experience is managed by the service provider and open web content is chosen and integrated into a walled garden of the best bits (or most lucrative bits depending on how generous we are being)

Open OTT is where the consumer gets to move away from the confines of the service providers editorialised experience and ‘surfs’ the open web unheeded (normally using a browser that handles all the different display and encoding formats)

The ‘closed’ lobby have some compelling arguments:

1) People expect TV to be easy and mass adoption of new technologies is predicated on easy. If you allow the uninitiated to go anywhere then chaos ensues and the proposition becomes a support nightmare

2) Service Providers invest a great deal in creating, marketing and supporting a new service and must control all money-making opportunities within that solution

3) Our customers could access content which is not compatible with our brand and therefore could be a PR disaster

The ‘open’ lobby point to the internet for inspiration:

1) The success of the internet has come from the unbridled growth of eclectic content so, no matter how good a walled garden is, a closed system will never be as compelling

2) True exponential growth of media technology is fuelled by significant content availability

3) Mobile phones tried to restrict open internet access but had to give in eventually to consumer pressure

4) The current lack of OTT regulation will drive faster innovation in content and business models

So what are the degrees of ‘openness’?

1) The ground floor version of OTT is to persuade a number of heavyweight internet video partners to allow you to integrate their content into your tightly controlled, EPG centred, walled garden. Even this has degrees of openness as the content can be stored locally in the service providers infrastructure and delivered in a managed way (more like IPTV) or the device (TV or STB) can do an open call to the internet and pull it in directly. This is the comfortable and low risk approach. The consumer experience is harmonised with a consistent look and feel and traditional television types sleep soundly in their beds happy that nothing has really changed. Advertising and sponsorship is centrally sold and the opportunity for subscriptions is there but almost certainly never realised. Comcast and Dish Networks are both looking to OTT to deliver VoD libraries to the viewers mobile, PC and TV in a closed system and that looks to be a compelling early consumer proposition.

2) The next step to the road to OTT enlightenment is the Application Store. Here the consumer launches a new environment – much like that offered by the iPhone, Moblin and Android solutions – and the look and feel can be unique to that application because it is like stepping briefly into another world where the rules are different but returning to the familiar is only an exit button away. This is the anti-chamber route for OTT, it is still not the open internet but allows more varied content to be made available without significant integration costs. For the service provider it opens up the opportunity for tenancy fees and revenue shares in exchange for a test and validation overhead. This is a great ‘survival of the fittest’ approach where the cream rises to the top with viral efficiency. Expect this to be the main route for Flickr, Twitter, Picassa, Facebook, Skype and the like to hit our TV screens sometime soon. A slight difference on the TV is that we are seeing applications which share screen real estate with televisual content (Yahoo Widgets etc) instead of the iPhone approach of hijacking all the screen. This does present TV UI designers with the greater challenge of keeping viewers in touch with their chosen video whilst enjoying an alternative application experience. I thought Intel’s demo at CES where the graphics screens was ‘peeled back’ to reveal application beneath was a nice visual metaphor to tackle this.

3) The fully open approach adds a door to the open internet. This uncontrolled, Wild West of television allows the consumer to visit anywhere, anytime and liberates the best (and worst) of the internet. Monetising is hard and it takes a real leap of faith to invest in a solution where you lose control of your customer. Not all is lost for the service provider however as good consumption monitoring gives a great indication of which sites should be integrated into their App Stores and ultimately into their main walled garden down the road. Sony’s PS3 in the UK offers browser based access to BBC’s Big Screen version of iPlayer and now has included a purpose built link on the standard menu bar to launch the application more easily. The consumer can be helped here to find compelling content by offering a good TV-centric search and recommendation engine but remember most sites will need a pointer device to be navigated effectively on a TV screen and formatting issues will be plentiful.

So will we get to step 3 and, if so, how quickly? Personally I believe we will but it will be not be immediate. Paradoxically, the early adopters of OTT solutions will be more able to grasp step 3) but mass market will need the ‘easy’. My guess is that competitive pressures over the next 24 months will push service providers to be more and more open helped by the internet generation taking more control of the remote control. Then internet video sites will market both to the TV and PC and true TV innovation will drive exponential adoption. We have seen it with the App Stores on mobile phones and I really look forward to next-generation TV benefiting from the same effect. However, the question of brand integrity and controlling associations will have to be tackled. Today, if unsavoury content in viewed through a PC and browser it does not reflect badly on Microsoft however in the TV environment that separation between provider and content is less clear.

But on the whole I’m voting for open – what about you?

[Via http://andrewpburke.wordpress.com]

Motorola Devour with Motoblur finally official

2010-02-04T00:26:00.000+02:00

Verizon announced today, the arrival of the first Motoblur device on their CDMA network. The Motorola Devour. The phone has a really futuristic design similar to that of the Droid but in a smaller, lighter colored, and to some, a sleeker design. The Devour is set to launch sometime next month with no mentioned price. With the Eris being $99.99 and the Droid being $199.99, my guess would be somewhere between $79.99 and $149.99. The devour looks nice but doesn’t pack quite the same punch as the Motorola Droid. The Devour is rumored to come with the Qualcomm MSM 7627 processor. This is the same processor found in the Palm Pixi and Palm Pixi Plus. The Droid has the OMAP 3 which is also found in the Pre. We have seen a significant difference in performance between Pre and Pixi, so it won’t be surprising to see the same thing here. Here are the specs and features coming on the Motorola Devour:

OS: Android 1.6 with Motoblur (Yes this may mean that the Cliq will get 1.6 soon)

A 3.1″ capacitive touch screen at 320×480 resolution. (Identical to the Pre and iPhone resolutions) No mention of multi-touch yet

Qualcomm MSM 7627 processor clocked at 600Mhz, 256MB of RAM, and a MicroSD slot with an 8GB MicroSD card

3MP camera with digital zoom (most likely 2x)

Side sliding 4 row qwerty keyboard

Optical track pad on the front left corner for navigation

2 microphones, 1 for talk and the other for noise cancellation

So there you have it. If you are a fan of Motoblur and you are on Verizon than the device you’ve been looking for seems to have arrived. This phone looks very nice and we are eager to get our hands on it to check out performance. When we do, you will be the first to know.

[Via Verizon]

[Via http://fonefrenzy.com]

Behind the Smartphone Craze: redrawing the map of mobile platforms

2010-02-02T08:42:00.000+02:00

Thought Android and iPhone are taking over the world? Think again. The device platforms map is more fragmented than ever, while the media hype distorts the commercial reality. [...]

The Smartphone Craze

The other day I was reading some of the usual hype-induced reports on the Smartphone revolution. Wanting to put things into perspective I pulled out some old Smartphone forecasts from 2004-2005 by the likes of IDC, Informa and Ovum.

In those pre-historic days the main Smartphone contenders were Symbian and Windows. Blackberry was still an insignificant niche, and touch screen devices were still clunky stylus based UIQ phones and iPAQs. Yet surprisingly, the average Smartphone share of shipments that was forecast for 2010 was …about 30%. So even without the Apple & Google revolution fanning the flames, many analysts believed in the mass migration to Smartphones.

Reality check: by looking at the numbers for the first three quarters of 2009, it appears that last year there have shipped no more than 170-180 million devices considered to be Open OS Smartphones. Indeed Symbian, Windows, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, WebOS, LiMO and Maemo taken all together still only constitute about 15-17% of shipments. This percentage is in fact much lower than the 2009 Smartphone share predicted a few years ago by many research companies. [...]

The bets are spreading

As of late 2009, the only companies who are shipping true Open OS Smartphones in mass volumes are Nokia (Symbian), RIM (Blackberry), Apple (iPhone) and HTC (Windows Mobile, now Android). This will no doubt start to change over the course of time as Android shipments start to ramp up and the rest of the platforms realize their growth potential, but it is still not an overnight revolution.

Looking forward, this thesis shows that the market will be much more diverse than the simplistic notion that everyone either wants an App Store capable iPhone or Droid, or alternatively, an ultra-low cost phone to make phone calls. There is many more commercial dynamics at play, making up a complex platform map which is driven by customer ownership.

In 2009 the number of available device software platforms effectively grew, creating more fragmentation in the industry, not less. There are clearly mid-range segments and geographical markets with varying needs, which can be addressed with various software platforms, not necessarily in the traditional view of Smartphones vs. RTOS “dumb phones”. Simply betting on one or two platforms to rule the industry is not a sensible plan.

_______________________________

Read the full article at VisionMobile.com – Behind the Smartphone Craze: redrawing the map of mobile platforms | VisionMobile :: blog

[Via http://liquidtv.wordpress.com]

Model Search

2010-02-02T00:05:00.000+02:00

This could be you!

Looking for a break in your modeling career? Get exposure and direct hits to your site by partnering with BustedAppZ!. We are a successful application development company that builds “apps” for iPhone and Android platforms, and we need photos of girls in bikinis for our newest application. In exchange for your image release we will provide information about you as part of the app: your name, website, myspace…whatever you prefer. This app may be used by casting agents, modeling agents and hollywood producers – don’t miss out on your chance to have your picture in their hands.

Please send bikini shots only, no nudity or pornography of any kind to:

info@BustedAppZ.com

**If we decide to use your image in our app, we will email you a model release and request any information you want published. No images will be published without written consent.

[Via http://bustedappz.com]

Motorola CLIQ in pictures

2010-01-30T08:01:00.000+02:00

The Motorola CLIQ was a prophet, hinting at the future… It told us Schaumburg was coming back to life. It told us that Android was the new lifeblood pulsing through Motorola’s veins. The Motorola Droid was the messiah, securing its title as Motorola’s comeback device!

So what of the CLIQ now? Eclipsed by the Droid a mere 2 months after being born, is it completely irrelevant or is it a worthy phone in its own right? After weeks of requesting a CLIQ review unit (since Mobilize), the people at T-Mobile finally obliged. Better late than never, I guess

Android 1.5, a slower processor, and a smaller screen put the CLIQ square into the “first generation” device category. It features the same form factor as the T-Mobile G1, but with a 5 megapixel camera and a standard audio connector.

Instead of serving standard Android, Motorola decided to use BLUR, a custom user interface, which is unfortunate. I recently wrote:

Frankly, this user interface fragmentation is a shame. Standard Android is fine – just ask the phenomenal Motorola Droid! Why bother with a custom look and feel?

I’ll be using the CLIQ on and off for a few days, so I’ll keep you posted… For now take a look at my pictures and video:

[Via http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com]

AT&T to get Nexus One love? You betchum!

2010-01-30T00:27:00.000+02:00

Today a label bearing FCC information was unveiled in a new FCC filing for a phone with FCC ID NM899110 while the N-One has an FCC ID of NM899100. That is only one digit off of the phone in the new filing which could lead a suspicious mind to think that the new filing is a variant of the Nexus One. And the suspicions could be fed by noting that the new filing covers a device that includes 3G coverage on WCDMA bands I, II and V. Those bands cover AT&T in the U.S. and Bell, Rogers and Telus in Canada. Now what would a suspicious mind think?

[PhoneArena]

[Via http://fonefrenzy.com]

Google's Android will surge in mobile OS wars, IDC says

2010-01-28T08:03:00.000+02:00

Computerworld – Google Inc.’s Android software will be the fastest growing operating system betwee\en now and 2013, when it will become the second most popular mobile OS, according to IDC.

The IDC projection nearly mirrors recent findings by Gartner Inc., which predicted that the Android OS will hit the second spot behind Nokia’s Symbian in 2012.

IDC based its projection on research of market trends along with interviews of vendor executives.

IDC said that Symbian and Android will be the two most popular operating systems on the 391 million smartphones it projects will ship in 2013. Blackberry will be the third most popular mobile OS, followed by Windows Mobile and the iPhone version of Mac OS X, IDC said. Gartner predicted almost the same mix of OSs in 2012 as IDC did for 2013, but put the iPhone Mac OS X in fourth position, ahead of Windows Mobile. While Android will have the fastest growth of any OS through 2013, IDC noted that it will be running on the devices of a variety of manufacturers, which could “generate confusion among end users comparing their experiences with different Android devices.”

IDC also noted that to date, independent application developers have struggled with Android, having to install multiple fixes and patches to apps in order to adhere to different specifications for multiple Android handsets. “Device fragmentation will most likely continue to plague [Android] developers. Those with deep pockets will most likely thrive while smaller ones struggle,” IDC said in its report.

IDC analyst Will Stofega said in an interview that early last year, industry followers weren’t sure what to make of Android. However, most analysts had concluded by the end of the year that “this OS is going to be a big deal.”

IDC’s projections come despite the addition of proprietary interfaces and other touches by individual manufacturters of Android devices. “We’re already seeing splintering of the user interface with Android,” Stofega said, noting the MotoBlur service in some Motorola Android handsets.

Some observers have said Google was looking for such diversity in Android devices, citing its role in creating the Open Handset Alliance. “Whether Google intended this diversity depend on how one sees Google’s role. Is Google trying to be the overseer of Android? If so, they need to impose an iron fist because every manufacturer seems to do what they want. On the other hand, a lot of manufacturers are interested in Android,” Stofega said.

Symbian, from Espoo, Finland-based Nokia, is not as well known in the U.S. as some other mobile operating systems, but to date has shipped on 250 million smartphones worldwide, IDC noted.

Symbian will maintain its top position over the next few years in part because it allows developers to use a wide variety of programming languages, IDC noted. The researcher added that Symbian apps are available in at least nine online application stores, while most applications for OSs are available in only one store.

IDC predicted that WebOS from Palm Inc. will be the sixth most popular mobile OS in 2013, followed by all Linux OS flavors in and Maemo. By contrast, Gartner had Maemo as the sixth most popular in 2012, followed by Linux and WebOS.

In 2009, 6 million Android devices were shipped, far less than most of the other OSs. The numbers improved consistently through 2009, and by year’s end nearly a dozen Android-based models had been launched, IDC noted. The researcher projects that 68 million Android-based units will ship in 2013.

IDC said it expects 132 million Symbian devices to ship in 2013, up from 75.8 million in 2009.

IDC found that 18.3 million Windows Mobile-based devices shipped in 2009, about 7% less than in 2008. Nonetheless, IDC expects 51.7 million Windows Mobile systems to ship in 2013.

IDC said the Windows 7 version of Windows Mobile will boost its “consumer appeal” by being easier to use and supporting more multimedia applications and games.

Nearly 25 million iPhone units shipped in 2009, and IDC projects that nearly 49 million units will ship in 2013. While many analysts have called the iPhone today’s iconic smartphone, IDC contends that it is “still not well-suited for the enterprise environment, but the company is making steady progress in this segment.”

IDC also cited the need to provision the iPhone through iTunes, and the Apple smartphone’s inability to support battery replacements and its lack of a physical Qwerty keyboard.

About 34 million BlackBerry OS devices shipped in 2009, a number that IDC says will grow to 66 million in 2013. BlackBerry, an enterprise stalwart, is currently making a strong marketing appeal to consumers via TV advertising,

[Via http://supportinfo.wordpress.com]

Phone Smart: For Gamers, the iPhone Is a Player

2010-01-27T23:49:00.000+02:00

Quick, name the fastest-growing video game platform. Wii? PlayStation? DS?

Skip to next paragraph

Try the iPhone.

Like everyone else with software to sell, top-tier game developers are flocking to the iPhone, and gamers are reaping big rewards. Blockbuster titles like The Sims 3 or Grand Theft Auto, which might cost $30 or $40 on other gaming platforms, are selling for $7 and $10, respectively, on iTunes.

And the iPhone’s processing power makes it a formidable challenger to hand-helds like Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. And then some.

“The iPhone 3GS actually blows both of them out of the water,” said Dave Castelnuovo, founder of Bolt Creative, the developer of PocketGod ($1), the top-selling iPhone game.

Things will get even better this year, said executives from Sega, Electronic Arts, GameLoft, Ngmoco and others. Gamers can expect more social-networking elements similar to the Mafia Wars and FarmVille titles on Facebook, as well as the chance to sample many more premium titles free.

What about Android, BlackBerry and Palm devices? It’s a mixed bag. Electronic Arts released a spate of titles for the BlackBerry, but some developers, like Ngmoco, have so far ignored the platform.

Android phones and Palm’s WebOS phones have far fewer games than BlackBerry, partly because they are not yet popular enough to earn the attention of most game developers.

Meanwhile, the latest big-name game to reach the iPhone may not thrill parents who have lost control of their children’s media consumption. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars made its debut last week on the iTunes store, featuring a main character with a seedy circle of friends, a deep well of expletives and a penchant for homicide.

Even though Chinatown Wars is $20 cheaper on the iPhone than on the DS or the PSP, the game can do more tricks on the iPhone. With a few button pushes, for instance, users can listen to their iTunes library, rather than the game’s music.

Some users will quibble that the iPhone’s touch-screen controls are not as good as the actual buttons on other game platforms. They’re right, but the gaming experience is still quite good.

With Grand Theft Auto, unlike many other premium games, users can move the controls around the screen to suit their preferences. Look for other developers to follow suit.

While we’re making predictions, look this year for an enterprising hardware maker to create a Bluetooth game controller that snaps onto the iPhone. It is an accessory that is begging to be built.

The Grand Theft Auto release also is noteworthy for something it lacks — in-app charges. Developers last year began giving away their games, or charging low up-front fees, then charging for new food, weapons, game levels, skins and the like.

Case in point: If you want to blow through a few hours of Ngmoco’s Eliminate Pro — a slick, futuristic first-person shooter title released in November — without stopping to recharge, you will have to pay for the privilege.

Expect more of that, executives said. Because software advances are making it even easier for game developers to bring new titles to the iPhone, there’s just too much competition for companies that charge high prices on anything other than franchise games like Grand Theft Auto.

Both Eliminate Pro and the highly popular TouchPets, a simulation game for dog aficionados, follow the so-called freemium approach. But they add another dimension, in letting players interact with people globally, via Ngmoco’s Plus+ social network.

Multiplayer, socially connected games on the iPhone and iPod Touch will grow more common, gaming executives said, as more technologists adopt the wisdom that people buy gadgets to connect with other people, not to the devices themselves.

The fullest iteration of the trend can best be shown with a throwback game. I used the iPhone this week to play a Scrabble game hosted on Facebook. I competed against two friends who played on their PCs. The Scrabble iPhone app ($5) sent me messages whenever it was my turn, and it also displayed smack-talk, in real time, from the game’s instant messaging feature.

And yes, my productivity suffered. Immensely.

When fellow iPhone or iPod Touch owners are nearby, most new games will let you challenge them, through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connections. I dashed through a few rounds of Super Monkey Ball 2 ($5) with my children this way. I used a first-generation iPhone, one child used an iPod and the other used an iPhone 3GS.

They thrashed me, so I switched devices, suspecting that the older iPhone was probably slower or harder to control. They thrashed me again.

Which raises an important point for owners of first-generation iPhones and iPod Touches. Namely, game developers will not completely leave you in the dust. On games with the richest 3-D graphics, like James Cameron’s Avatar ($7), you will wait longer to load the game, but the graphics are just as impressive.

Sometimes the devices will show subtle differences. Need for Speed Shift ($7), a new racing game, was built to capitalize on the iPhone 3GS’s processing speed, so it renders shadows and motion with more precision and elegance than Need for Speed: Undercover ($5), which had its debut last May. But they were both great.

One caveat about these graphically rich games: they are power vampires, sucking your battery dry as they flood your brain with endorphins.

Of course, sometimes a drained battery is a good thing — when you’re too obsessed, for instance. Or just lame.

For instance, while recently playing N.O.V.A. ($7), a first-person shooter that supports multiplayer action over a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection, an assassin cornered me and began firing. I pushed every button on the screen, then inexplicably began sprinting toward the bullets.

I somehow made it to the shooter, who sidestepped me and blasted a hole in my cranium. We repeated this dance five times in five minutes, with roughly the same result, when I noticed my battery, which was low when I started, was nearly dead.

Lucky for you, DumbBlond3818. Next time you won’t get off so easy.

Quick Calls

T-Mobile’s new MyTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition ($180 with a two year contract, on T-Mobile.com) boasts a sunburst finish, a music player preloaded with tunes from artists like Eric Clapton and Avril Lavigne, and something earlier MyTouch devices strangely lacked: a built-in 3.5mm headphone jack. A pair of guitar-related apps are included, as is a 16-gigabyte SD card. …Aliph, the maker of the Jawbone Bluetooth headset, has released a new version, the Jawbone Icon ($100 at www.jawbone.com). Sound quality is very good, and the device sheds a few aggravating design flaws from earlier versions…. Want to write music but you can’t play an instrument? Download Voice Band ($3, for iPhones), sing the melodies and rhythms for different instruments, and the app creates the bass, guitar and drum tracks to your specs. Then just add the voice track and send it off to the record company.

[Via http://mohawkmem.com]

Android hurts me!

2010-01-26T08:27:00.000+02:00

I have been using Anroid OS for nearly a month. I really enjoy it, especially the smart searching function. However, this is the fist time it disappoints me. Way back on this weekend, I picked up the phone, connected to the Internet via EDGE to search for something but the device suddenly turned itself off due to the low battery. I thought the connection was totally cut off thereafter.

At home, I re-charged the battery, turned the phone on, and left it on the table. I found many scores of messages sent from the mobile network provider warning the balance was insufficient! (I’m using pre-paid.) I was so shocked, and I later noticed the GPRD/EDGE connection remained active. I turned it off thinking the phone must be too smart. It automatically retrieved the previous setting just before it was electrical-free.

Fortunately, it was only about 50 Baht. I must be more careful next time. I heard a multitude of smart phone users have to pay for such a thing. The new generation of smart phone is generally designed for the Internet connection.

[Via http://bizard.wordpress.com]

Quick Hits: Naming and Branding News

2010-01-23T00:38:00.000+02:00

A little late to the party: The Beaver changes its name.

Google has taken a sweet approach to crafting names for Android updates…Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo: they’re all named after desserts.

Hostess invented their signature cup cake in 1919, surely with the hopes that their treat would be inimitable. Now, the company is suing Little Debbie for infringing on their brand’s white loop de loop.

In 1920 The Beaver was the perfect name for a Canadian magazine that celebrated the early culture of the region’s fur traders. Now, Canada’s second oldest magazine is changing its name to avoid being a target for browser censorship and spam filters. After March it will be known as Canada’s History.

We’ve talked about the potential names for Apple’s tablet before, but the latest rumors circulating insist that Jobs will be naming the anticipated product the iPad or the iSlate.

[Via http://onthebutton.wordpress.com]

App Usage To Soar In 2010

2010-01-21T16:10:00.000+02:00

Mobile app investment should grow significantly this year, according to a report from DM2PRO and Quattro Wireless. Spending on social apps, however, will stagnate even though more marketers have already developed the applications.

Fewer than one-half of marketers created either a mobile or social app in 2009, but most plan to invest in a mobile app this year. The iPhone is the platform of choice, followed by Android.

Among those marketers who already had an app in 2009, however, Facebook was the leading platform.

Engagement was the top reason to choose either mobile or social as an app platform, but social sites were perceived as better for many top goals, including engagement, audience targeting, sharing and branding potential, and reach. Mobile scored higher on creative control and persistence.

The top one-third of advertisers and agencies using mobile apps planned to up their investments by 75% or more. Marketers who used apps reported a growing market, client demand and increased standardization in the app world as reasons to spend more in the coming months.

Those same reasons would spur publishers and marketers to develop mobile applications. They were also interested in better tools, distribution and discoverability.

Those factors will only increase in importance as apps continue to proliferate and marketers and other developers attempt to stand out from the competition. According to DM2PRO and Quattro, 15% of advertisers and agencies spent more than 60% of their app budgets on promotion in 2009, but more than one-third spent less than 5%. Promotional budgets will need to increase along with overall investment for apps to find their way to users.

[Via http://igroupadvisor.com]

I want a hardware refresh of the G1 (original google android phone)

2010-01-21T00:04:00.000+02:00

I see all those new android phones come out with faster hardware and better camera, but no real keyboard and other deficiencies…

After having lived with the shortcomings of the G1 and comparing to that for a while, I feel that I really just want a hardware-refresh of the existing G1 phone and not the new droid nor the N1.

I want to have the faster cpu, more RAM, better camera (led flash, light sensitivity) and faster USB read speed (12MB/s instead of 5MB/s) of the N1 but I do not want to give up the hardware keyboard of the G1, the hardware buttons of the G1 (accept call/home/back/hangup). I actually love the slide-out keyboard design, it allows me to switch to real typing mode real fast.

The droid hardware keyboard is a joke, it is worse than the on-screen keyboard in terms of accuracy.

I love htc’s special usb cable that allows me to connect any headphone as well as my car stereo to it, with a microphone on the connector plus a button that allows me to skip mp3 songs and accept calls mostly hands-free while driving.

The G1 is a pretty good smartphone, just the cpu and ram deficiency makes it painfully slow.

I even like the form-factor, fits well in my pocket.

Can I just get a hardware refresh instead of a new broken design please?

Michael

[Via http://mrmichaelwill.wordpress.com]

The Blind Buzz on Accessibility

2010-01-19T16:31:00.000+02:00

Accessible Android Smartphone: Free Webinar on Jan. 20th at 2 PM Eastern | DAISY Consortium

Accessibility in Windows 7 – Microsoft article.

Apple Event Scheduled for 27/January/2010– The Mac-cessibility Network – News [Lioncourt.com] – the event, in San Francisco, wouldn’t be something to do with the Apple Tablet, by any chance?

Free T-Mobile Calls to Haiti – Ziggytek Blog

SeroTalk Podcast 33 – Skype for Windows and iPhone and Dr. Robert Carter

Listen to the mp3 audio

Skype for iPhone Now Features Accessibility for VoiceOver Users– The Mac-cessibility Network – News [Lioncourt.com]

[Via http://nystagmite.wordpress.com]

My iPhone Enterprise Wish List

2010-01-19T00:27:00.000+02:00

At Slalom we don’t dictate what mobile devices our consultants use. Given the choice, about 40% of our consultants have chosen the iPhone, making it the most popular handset at Slalom. We have developed a few internal applications for the iPhone using the enterprise deployment model, including an app called Cards. Cards is a global address book that allows us to get in touch with any other consultant and understand more about them, such as the market they work in and their current client.

Distributing a consumer application through the AppStore is great. Once your app is submitted and approved, it is there for anyone to install, either from their computer or over the air directly onto your phone. Alternatively, the enterprise distribution method (similar to the ad-hoc method) makes it challenging for our IT organization to manage application deployments and upgrades across a growing user base.

Here is my wish list to improve enterprise distribution, and interestingly enough, a few of these requests are already in place on other platforms.

Over-the-Air Distribution

At a minimum it would be a great improvement if enterprise applications could be installed over-the-air directly to the device. The current process of instructing users to download the application and provisioning profile from our internal portal, copy them into iTunes, and sync their phone ends up being a fairly cumbersome process for many users.

Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Android all support some version of this and from an enterprise perspective, this is crucial.

No Annual Provisioning Profile Expiration

Currently, when an app is signed for deployment the provisioning profile for deployment will expire in a year. So even if your app does not have any updates in that time, you must still deploy a new profile to your users for them to continue to using the application. This proves to be even more confusing for users than the standard application install.

Android takes a different approach with application signing; they actually recommend you sign for an extended period of time (more than 25 years).

Enterprise AppStore

In addition to over-the-air distribution, a custom enterprise app store on the the device would be the best solution of all. Everyone is familiar with downloading consumer apps to their phone. If Apple could replicate that experience for enterprise applications, it would make for a lot of happy enterprise customers.

- Greg

[Via http://blog.slalomworks.com]

AutoLinQ - allways connected vehicle and allways distracted driver

2010-01-16T08:39:00.000+02:00

From the web spanish version of autoblog/technology, I have known about a product that is being developed by Continental for the vehicles, named AutoLinQ and which I have been waiting for a long time, to tell you the truth. It is an entertainment and communication application that, based on the Google Android system, will get the car applications to a new upper level of possibilities.

Since the vehicles, each day more, move forward to a more automated manner of transport and with more presence of leisure time, it seems to me that this type of systems will win market share at a more than interesting rate. Moreover, Android base, will make Continental to get a quick implementation on cars, it could be not as an propper and integrated system on vehicles, but it is so probable that it will start fittable touch-screens with the system to be on market so everyone can have one of it.

About the AutoLinQ system, it is propper to analyze two points:

First, the possibilities offered, that seems to be infinite. To connect the vehicle with home, the mobile phone and internet gives us a wonderfull potential and applications like this will be more present on vehicles gradually for sure. As it is written on the Autoblog/technology blog, “For example, if you let the car parked and latter you start to doubt if it is closed or not, you will can send a sms like “Have I closed the doors?”. If the answer is negative you will only have to send another with the order to close it and AutoLinQ will close it for you”. Impressive.

What´s more, if we could connect the system to the vehicle electronics, or maybe get it to a higher level (I am convinced if you let Android programmers enter to the car electronics you will get a lot of applications), the car will be the funniest “gadget” of the driving passionated added to the ones that enjoy the “entertained trip”.

And second, driver on driving use with security. As a car interiors designer and as everyone that drives or work in the automotive world, it is known that driving is not the same as surfing the net with a laptop or using apps with the mobile phone. This one itself implicates a series of risk factors and demands concentration not at a minimum rate, but at one with a decent quality; let´s remember we are moving 1200 kg at more than 50 km/h, in the majority of cases, and 2 seconds of distraction can drive us to the disaster.

The fact of interacting with the vehicle dashboard, or any other button or element that has been placed for the use and pleasure of the user, implicates one action that happens for a determinated time and in what influence several factors. We have to remember that the driver, driving in a public road, has to think on what has to think: driving, moving a vehicle with a load or some passengers from A to B, in a secure manner, being quick, efficient or relaxed, but secure after all.

Having more or less buttons on a dashboard is something that the public appreciates as brand personality and user likes, being correct in a manner. BMW has the iDrive and a center display of buttons that implicates infotainment, confort and so little more; Audi and Opel have a lot of buttons, even having systems like the MMI. Ones need more steps to do an action, but with less buttons or controls; in others, the action is more direct, but with more scattered and diverse buttons. Even so, everything is where has to be, or at leastas is corroborated by the studies and hours of intense work with proffesionals in the development phase of the vehicle.

In a lot of concept cars have been shown dashboards with big tactile screens that promised an usability and level of personalization out of common, a great break; so did I, jeje. It could be feasible, but there´s a missing detail: tactile sensation of irregularities and the localization of buttons without having to look at them. Unconsciouslessly we learn where the buttons are so to on driving not to have to look at them, but on a tactile screen it is not possible; what´s more, we lose the haptical feeling of having touched it. This last one has been solved on mobiles with the vibration, but on car they are not well perceived (but it will be analized, for sure).

The AutoLinQ system is integrated on a tactile screen and drag all of these problems. Applications with an on-driving use should have an easy and common use logic, so to make feasible the comprehension and quick of use of the driver. It is not going to be an easy task, but Contintental has said applications will have to pass a quality and security control to make them available on driving.

In conclusion, the possibilities of this “free” system gives us a lot of joy and way to go and it is something people has been waiting for a long time, avoiding brand systems. However, on an on-driving use, security will have to have its weight well measured.

[Via http://marcosferreiroeng.wordpress.com]

SweeterHome2 Public Beta Now Available

2010-01-15T23:49:00.000+02:00

Its the most anticipated app we have been waiting for on Android. SweeterHome2 public beta is now available for download. The only sad part about it is that its for Android 1.6+. It sucks for those of us that are stuck with Android OS 1.5, like me.

The latest version works with Android 1.6 and Android 2.x, while Android 1.5 is unsupported.

Highlighted new feature since Sweeter Home Preview 1:

Integrated Server-Based Theme Sharing makes finding and sharing themes easy
Android Widget Support
Tag Trays is a collaborative tagging system that helps keep your apps organized.
Search Widget Support
Editing improvements, including previews during editing
Major performance and stability improvements

This release contains bugs and quirks that will be resolved before a release on the market. Use this version at your own risk.

For Android 1.6
- http://www.sweeterhome.com/attachments/download/148/sweeterhome_preview2_nomap_b589.apk

For Android 2 and later (do not use with android 1.6!)
- http://www.sweeterhome.com/attachments/download/146/sweeterhome_preview2_b588.apk

To install one of these APKs:
- Enable install of non-Market apps. Go to System Settings, Applications, enable “Unknown sources”.
- Navigate to the APK using your phone web browser
- Click the link to install the APK
Press the Home button to launch Sweeter Home 2
It is strongly suggested to log in from within the app. The market version may require users to log in with an account. If you have an account here on sweeterhome.com, you can use that to log in. Otherwise you can create an account from within the app.

[Via http://fiercetechnology.com]

Quick Tip: Swipe The Keyboard To Launch Voice Input in Android 2.1

2010-01-14T16:38:00.000+02:00

One of the coolest features of Android 2.1 (and the Nexus One) has to be the new voice input feature–it uses an awesome, always-learning speech-to-text engine that displays whatever you say on any text input screen. All via voice. You just tap the microphone button and say what you want, it’ll process and then display those words on the screen. Really amazing stuff that works pretty darn well.

But one slight problem? That microphone button used to launch voice input is frustratingly small, it’s just too hard to find and press. Luckily, if you just simply swipe your finger across the entire keyboard, you’ll bring up the voice input and it’ll work like usual. Swipe across the keyboard, say what you say, works like magic. Voila.

Note: this only works in Android 2.1

Hit the jump to see a video of it in action! Starts around the 25 second mark.

[lifehacker]

Quick Tip: Swipe The Keyboard To Launch Voice Input in Android 2.1

Casey Chan

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:41:38 GMT

Technorati Tags: Android 2.1,Lifehacker,Tech

[Via http://bryan646.wordpress.com]

Motorola Droid Has A Security Breech..

2010-01-12T16:39:00.000+02:00

So the Motorola Droid has had a security breach. It seems that if you use the unlock pattern to secure your new Droid, you may not be safe. how you might ask. Well it seems that through a call, the person is able to back out of the call and, they can unlock it through the settings and then are able to use your apps to get your info. The only bad news for someone wanting to do this to your Droid is that they actually have to have your device’s phone number and physically have it in their possession.

So as a warning keep your new Motorola Droid close to you, and hope that there will soon be an update sooner then latter.

[Via http://androidfeens.com]

Sony Ericsson Robyn Further Pictures Leaked!

2010-01-10T08:22:00.000+02:00

We showed you some leaked photos of the Sony Ericsson Robyn earilier.

Now here are some more live pictures of the Sony Ericsson Robyn next to the Apple iPhone.

We will bring to you more news about the phone as it arises. Till then, enjoy the pictures.

Source

[Via http://erazer007.wordpress.com]

Android Widget

2010-01-09T08:44:00.000+02:00

The android widget package contains user interface elements to use on your application screen.

We can design our own widget by extend view or a subclass.

The classes under android widget package are:-

AbsListView
AbsListView.LayoutParams
AbsoluteLayout
AbsoluteLayout.LayoutParams
AbsSeekBar
AbsSpinner
AdapterView
AdapterView.AdapterContextMenuInfo
AlphabetIndexer
AnalogClock
ArrayAdapter
AutoCompleteTextView
BaseAdapter
BaseExpandableListAdapter
Button
CheckBox
CheckedTextView
Chronometer
CompoundButton
CursorAdapter
CursorTreeAdapter
DatePicker
DialerFilter
DigitalClock
EditText
ExpandableListView
ExpandableListView.ExpandableListContextMenuInfo
Filter
Filter.FilterResults
FrameLayout
FrameLayout.LayoutParams
Gallery
Gallery.LayoutParams
GridView
HeaderViewListAdapter
HorizontalScrollView
ImageButton
ImageSwitcher
ImageView
LinearLayout
LinearLayout.LayoutParams
ListView
ListView.FixedViewInfo
MediaController
MultiAutoCompleteTextView
MultiAutoCompleteTextView.CommaTokenizer
PopupWindow
ProgressBar
QuickContactBadge
RadioButton
RadioGroup
RadioGroup.LayoutParams
RatingBar
RelativeLayout
RelativeLayout.LayoutParams
RemoteViews
ResourceCursorAdapter
ResourceCursorTreeAdapter
Scroller
ScrollView
SeekBar
SimpleAdapter
SimpleCursorAdapter
SimpleCursorTreeAdapter
SimpleExpandableListAdapter
SlidingDrawer
Spinner
TabHost
TabHost.TabSpec
TableLayout
TableLayout.LayoutParams
TableRow
TableRow.LayoutParams
TabWidget
TextSwitcher
TextView
TextView.SavedState
TimePicker
Toast
ToggleButton
TwoLineListItem
VideoView
ViewAnimator
ViewFlipper
ViewSwitcher
ZoomButton
ZoomButtonsController
ZoomControls

[Via http://androidpeople.wordpress.com]

Nexus One For Verizon Wireless

2010-01-09T00:24:00.000+02:00

As you all know Nexus One is out and a lot of people are trying to get their hands on it. Unfortunately I cannot do that until Verizon Wireless gets it this coming Spring. By then I guess Nexus One would be old news and would be no point of getting my hands on it. This is the one and only true problem we have as being Verizon Wireless customers. We get the high-tech phones later when everyones done playing with them. Later when it becomes available in Spring, its like whats the point in getting one now since its few months old already, you know what I mean. Because by then there would be another better, yet smarter phone out. I believe smart phones should be Dual system GSM and CDMA like some of them Blackberrys’ are. See no one really looks into these sorts of issues. Its the small things that matters. Currently everyones chasing after cell phone market because thats where the $$$$ bug bucks are at. All thanks to Google’s Android OS.

[Via http://fiercetechnology.com]

Logic Shrinker - Digital Logic Simplifier for Android

2010-01-07T08:45:00.000+02:00

I just published my first application on Android Market. “Logic Shrinker” is a little utility that takes a digital logic function and simplifies it using the Quine-McCluskey algorithm. This application comes actually out of my Amiga emulator project – in particular it is part of the logic function generator for the Blitter component.

In the last couple of weeks I digged a little bit deeper into digital logic and having a portable simplifier has been very useful to me at times. It also helped me quite a bit in confirming what I knew about the Android application life cycle.

[Via http://codingnaked.wordpress.com]

Preview of CES 2010

2010-01-07T00:46:00.000+02:00

NEWS

Preview of CES 2010

TV of the future: Sensio previews the latest in 3D technology ahead of the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show.

3D TV’s, shows are coming soon: Popular TV channels will soon be rolling out programs for viewers in 3D. CNN’s Errol Barnett explains.

Preview of CES 2010: CNN’s Errol Barnett highlights the standout advancements expected to debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

[Via http://dominicstoughton.wordpress.com]

Some links about Java memory leak and memory usage analysis

2010-01-05T08:21:00.000+02:00

http://kohlerm.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-to-really-measure-memory-usage-of.html

http://kohlerm.blogspot.com/2009/02/memory-leaks-are-easy-to-find.html

http://kohlerm.blogspot.com/2009/04/analyzing-memory-usage-off-your-android.html

http://kohlerm.blogspot.com/search/label/memory

http://dev.eclipse.org/blogs/memoryanalyzer/2008/05/27/automated-heap-dump-analysis-finding-memory-leaks-with-one-click/

[Via http://haojiesong.wordpress.com]

Android - Enable small screen resolution of your Android Application

2010-01-03T16:34:00.000+02:00

For all Android mobiles, there exists 3 screen sizes:

Small: devices with a screen size smaller than the T-Mobile G1 or Samsung I7500, for example the recently announced HTC Tattoo.
Normal: devices with a screen size roughly the same as the G1 or I7500.
Large: devices with a screen size larger than the G1 or I7500 (such as a tablet-style device.)

After the WatchFootballApp v1.1 was published, my HTC tattoo cannot search it in Android Market and i have to install it by running the .apk in my phone directly. The reason is you have to enable the small screen support in the AndroidManifest.xml before publishing your application and it is only applicable to Android SDK 1.6. Otherwise, your application can only be searched in those Android Market of Normal and Large screen phones.

So in order to enable the small screen resolution, you have to upgrade the Android SDK to 1.6 and add the following code in the AndroidManifest.xml.

By the way, the WatchFootballApp v1.1.3 (記得睇波 v1.1.3) has been published with better performance and small screen support. Now, you can download it thought the Android Market even you are using small screen Android phone.

Done =)

Reference: Support for additional screen resolutions and densities in Android

[Via http://ykyuen.wordpress.com]

Smartphone impressions: HTC Hero

2010-01-03T08:12:00.000+02:00

Sprint’s HTC Hero is where things began to get interesting. The Hero is the first phone I tried that lacks a hard keyboard, making it physically more similar to the iPhone that I’m used to. I’m fond of hard keyboards, but I’m also comfortable relying exclusively on a soft keyboard, so that issue didn’t bother me. And as I’ve said in my impressions of other phones, I don’t like moving parts, so the lack of a sliding mechanism pleases me. The build quality was fine: while the bottom button assembly felt a bit plastic-y, it didn’t feel cheap to the point of concern.

The arrangement of buttons at the bottom was a little odd, with the menu, search, home and back buttons forming a square around the trackball, then with the start and end call buttons hanging off either side. It’s a lot of buttons, and I feel like the four grouped in a square would serve better as a horizontal row above the trackball and call buttons. Also, the center area of the button cluster is strangely raised. I’d prefer a simpler design where it’s just flat with the trackball in the middle. The buttons aren’t delineated at all by the gradual raising of the surface, so I couldn’t discern any benefit from the raising. I’m sure I’d get used to both the button placement and elevation quickly enough, but the layout was still a bit odd off the bat.

Where things start to heat up, however, is in the software. This is the first HTC phone to bear their “HTC Sense” user interface, and the changes to Android that come with it are really nice. There are a lot of little visual tweaks about the place, most visibly being the tabs at the bottom of the home screen for accessing the phone and apps are redesigned as a single crescent and now features an “add” button for more easily adding widgets and shortcuts to the home screens. While I find most of these visual changes appealing, they don’t affect function significantly. What does are Sense’s “scenes” concept and a new soft keyboard.

“Scenes” is a new feature that HTC has brought to Android. One of the great features of Android is how heavily customizable the home screens are. You can add shortcuts to as many or few apps as you want, wherever you want, and you can add widgets, contacts and so on in addition to that. This is already one of Android’s greatest advantages over the iPhone in my book, but HTC takes it even further. Once you’ve set up your home screens the way you like, you can save that setup as a “scene”, and then start all over and create another. Once you’ve got multiple scenes (and the phone comes preloaded with several), you can switch between them on the fly. The most immediate use for this would seem to be having a work-oriented scene (with the e-mail widget, business contacts and so on) that you use during work and then a play-oriented scene (with Facebook, friend contacts and so on) that you switch to when you leave the office.

They keyboard has also gotten some significant reworking at HTC’s hands. The rows of keys are spaced apart a little more, making things a little less cramped. The list of auto-corrections now floats semi-transparently over the text field you’re typing into (rather than in an opaque bar above the keyboard), allowing the Sense keyboard to consume less space than the standard Android keyboard. The Sense keyboard also indicates what alternate character you can get if you hold down on the key (for example, holding down on the “A” key will give you an explanation point). Between the roominess, smaller footprint and increased functionality, the Hero’s new keyboard struck me as a big step up from the simpler soft keyboards I’d used on the Motorola CLIQ and Samsung Moment.

Speed was reasonable. It wasn’t lightning-quick, but even with a few apps running and a couple of windows open in the browser, things remained responsive. I didn’t get any notable delays when switching apps, tapping buttons, scrolling, etc. Also welcome was the inclusion of iPhone-style pinch-to-zoom multitouch in the browser, something missing from the CLIQ and Moment.

Overall, I was pleased with the Hero. After the lackluster (or outright disappointing) performances of the other phones, this was a nice discovery. It’s not perfect, but it’s the first phone I’ve played with that I’d consider taking home. We’ll see how the next few fare in the shadow of the Hero.

[Via http://geekfoibles.wordpress.com]

complications with ListView and headers/footers

2010-01-02T16:12:00.000+02:00

Well, of course it’s always the obvious thing you don’t try. There really was only one field in R.drawables – what I wanted was android.R.drawables! *facepalm* GridView is much more useful here than Gallery – not sure where Gallery would actually be preferable now that I look at it.

I ran into a little quirk. I set up a listview’s data by calling getListView().setAdapter(adapter), and later when I tried to retrieve the adapter with getListAdapter(), I got null. I dug into the platform source a little bit. It seems that ListActivity#setListAdapter sets the adapter both on the ListView and its own member mAdapter. ListActivity#getListAdapter is not simply a convenience method replacement for getListView().getAdapter() but actually gets the stored mAdapter in the ListActivity. Apparently the intention is that ListActivity#setListAdapter be called so that both places are set. But the storage in two places isn’t necessarily redundant – when ListView#setAdapter is called, if headers have been added to the ListView, the adapter is wrapped as new HeaderViewListAdapter(mHeaderViewInfos, mFooterViewInfos, adapter) and stored. I saw some reference to this before but didn’t understand it until I saw it for myself.

Here’s another interesting bit I found in the code for ListView. If you add a header with addHeaderView(v), it is assumed you want that view to receive focus / be selectable, because that’s how it’s implemented (though docs say nothing):

    public void addHeaderView(View v) {

        addHeaderView(v, null, true); // where “true” is for “isSelectable”

    }

I’m not sure why this would be the default, but it is what I’ve observed – headers act like list items (and footers work the same way). I think it’s out of consideration for those who are using buttons or trackballs to navigate and so need to be able to “get to” something to see it. This isn’t so great if your header/footer has views in it that need to receive focus/clicks, like form fields. The entire header/footer gets focus, not the views.

But actually that’s true even if the header/footer isn’t selectable – then the focus doesn’t go beyond the list items. Either way there doesn’t seem to be a way to navigate to the subviews, unless of course you have a touchscreen and can just touch them. That’s fine with me but I’m not sure it’s great for everyone else. Maybe there’s a way to work with the attributes to manually set up where focus goes.

And it gets better – if the list has no items in it and an empty view defined, the empty view is shown, and NO header or footer! This seems dumb to me. Maybe I’m just dense but I think the most useful thing to do with a header or footer is implement a button or input form to create a new list item, right? So you want to see “list has no items, create a new one here” but the way it works now, you would have to re-implement your header/footer in the empty view – even if you can the relevant layout, you would need to wire up observers and data for it separately.

So to recap what I’ve found so far: if you want a list with headers/footers that scroll with the list and include focusable elements themselves, ListView has significant problems because there’s no way to navigate from the list items to the header/footer items. And if you specify an empty view, the header/footer won’t display.

This is the 1.5 API – I wonder if any of this works differently in later APIs? This seems like a common problem, and it seems easily fixable in the platform – just have headers and footers display with the empty view, and have the ends of the list continue focus to the header or footer views if the header/footer isn’t selectable. But this must be harder than it sounds or surely the main Android developers would have done it already.

Maybe I can create a custom ListView subclass that can accept XML attributes specifying header/footer elements and also automatically wires up where the focus goes for them.

[Via http://sosiouxme.wordpress.com]

Decisions, Decisions – Nexus One

2010-01-02T08:51:00.000+02:00

I’m torn. $530 is a lot of money. And yes, I realize that the $530 is a rumor, but I believe it’s accurate. I just got my G1 working better…applied a RAM hack after re-flashing Cyanogen’s and going into spare parts and disabling lock home screen to memory – this was killing my phone (IMO). It’s actually pretty usable (the past few weeks it’s been horribly slow). So my dilemma is whether the Nexus One is worth $530. I would have to pay $530 because I’m on Cincinnati Bell, (but only pay $35 a month for unlimited data/text/plenty of voice)!

The Nexus One does not have a physical keyboard. I’m not sure how much this will affect me. I find the predict/replace feature on Android’s touch screen keyboard to be better than the iPhone’s. Typing accuracy is worse, but actually having the right word come out is better. This could also be because the iPhone’s screen is bigger. That brings me to another point. Side by side of Nexus One and iPhone, the iPhone’s screen is wider. The Nexus One’s is just taller and a little skinnier, I think. This is bad because that means the keys are smashed together. Besides the whole onscreen keyboard debate, I can’t think of another downside to this phone, besides money.

What do I gain? The fastest mobile processor and tons of RAM. This phone should still be one of the top 5 fastest phones on the market by the end of 2010. Nothing should “surpass it” except for maybe phones that have HDMI-out or something, but I don’t want or need that. So speed is a HUGE plus. It’s also beautiful and sleek. I would ruin this by being paranoid and getting a case, but it’s beautiful none the less. Screen is brighter, bigger, better. The camera has a flash. 3.5mm headphone jack! That’s great! Not to mention someone on XDA saying it has 3 times the battery life of the G1, which would be amazing.

Is speed and looks worth it? It can’t really do anything that my phone can’t, except for play music out of a headphone jack and take pictures in the dark. Can I justify $530 on a phone that really isn’t that much better than my G1? I’m thinking of iPhone owners. How many 3G users upgraded to the 3GS? That’s basically what I would compare this to. Kind of. I think I can justify this. For a couple of reasons.

I would have the best phone on the market for a while. It’s made by Google so it will always be up-to-date (where-as the G1 is probably at the end of its updating life). Better battery life is almost a must at this point. Also, a skinnier phone would be nice. But the real reason is so that I can leave my G1 in my car and have not only a usable “standalone” GPS (using CoPilot from market), but a BACKUP phone. One to take that I wouldn’t cry if it got destroyed. I’m thinking of when I go to Kings Island or other places where a phone could get destroyed. Right now whenever I go to Kings Island I use my Razr V3i = PAIN. It’s hard not having a smart phone while standing in long lines. It’s also hard having a phone with a WORSE battery life than the G1. So having the convenience of a backup phone? Worth it.

So I guess I’m going to make this purchase as soon as possible (January 5th!). It’s a great phone, “perfect” in every way (minus the keyboard). I’ve also made a lot of money over break. So look forward to my first impressions post when I get it.

[Via http://chrisbellman.wordpress.com]

信報研究部: 流動互聯網發展趨勢

2009-12-31T08:27:00.000+02:00

2009年12月31日

信報研究部

應用程式主導下的流動互聯網發展趨勢

iPhone自2007年面世至今，其快速增長的銷售額與其他競爭者如Google的Android手機在市場上迅速冒起的情況，已明顯反映出近年智能手機（Smartphone）矚目的發展趨勢，而研究部於9月曾撰文分析智能手機有關企業的投資機遇。

事實上，一如個人電腦一樣，功能的多少取決於電腦內的軟件；同樣，一部智能手機的功能亦取決於流動應用程式（Application）的多少與實用性。蘋果的iPhone首創應用程式商店App Store後，兩年間有關應用程式已超越十萬個，而Google、Samsung、Nokia及Microsoft等亦相繼設立應用程式商店，而各類移動程式所創造的收益自2005年大幅提升【圖一】。本文將分析移動應用程式的最新發展，同時剖析有關發展將如何影響各大智能手機企業之間的競爭形勢，從而帶出有關的投資機遇。

在科技層面，產品若擁有最多或功能最強的應用程式往往能脫穎而出（Microsoft的Windows平台能被廣泛應用，除了因程式圖像化使用家更方便外，亦主要因為其一系列如Microsoft Office等的應用程式令當時的Windows功能更廣泛，更被大眾受落，而大部分硬體製造商傾向使用Windows作為作業平台，造成一定的正向循環，令Microsoft在個人電腦有多年的領導地位）。

現今的智能手機內，不同的企業有不同的平台作為其地盤，如iPhone自身的Apple Mobile Platform；Nokia的 Symbian；Google的Android平台；Palm 的Linux；Microsoft的Windows Mobile等。目前智能手機面世至今只有數年，市場仍屬起步階段，在競爭激烈的環境下，將有一段市場淘汰及整固過程，而主導各公司智能手機功能的重要因素──流動應用程式的數量及功能，將在這過程中扮演關鍵的角色。

App Store暫最強

若以各智能手機企業最新的應用程式發展形勢來看，現今蘋果以App Store超過十萬個Application，成為應用程式市場最大分額的企業；加上超過二十億個Application的下載量，目前iPhone的 Application從數量與使用量都超越其他競爭對手一段距離【表】。從2008年年中開始，App Store的Application持續增長，而根據科技市場研究公司IDC指出，到2010年年尾有關App Store的Application數量將因為Apple加強吸引企業內外的應用程式研發商為其提供Application，將大升至約三十萬個【圖二】。

由於蘋果的Application種類最多，用戶在iPhone裝上的Application數目亦比其他公司的的智能手機為多【圖三】。雖然蘋果的 iPhone靠着iPhone App Store的先驅者優勢（First Mover Advantage），以及iTunes多年已普及的平台增強有關應用程式的普及性，令目前iPhone Application使用量有明顯的優勢。

事實上，作為應用程式的開發者，其收入建基於使用量的多寡，而iPhone用戶的高應用程式使用量其實又相應吸引更多開發商向蘋果提供更多新應用程式；然而，Google開發的Android App Market近年應用程式的數量與下載量亦有明顯的提升，目前十二款智能手機已使用Android平台，預料未來數年有關Android手機將上升超過二十款，而Google本身打算透過HTC銷售Google品牌下的Android Phone；加上Android屬於開放平台，開發商的應用程式可同時應用在幾個不同的平台，以及對開發商較低的成本要求，不同硬體製造商製造的不同 Android手機，均對只有單一型號的iPhone在未來帶來一定的壓力。

從iPhone 這個最大Application平台，可看出一定應用程式的發展方向；現今各類程式的功能已包括多個不同方面，而遊戲類程式則佔整體程式數量最大的比率，其他如網上閱讀、教育及旅遊等亦佔不少份額【圖四】。事實上，智慧定位有關的應用程式（Location-based services，LBS），由於能在多個以上提及的範疇上，如娛樂、社交及購物等都有其角色，預料有關程式仍有甚大的發展空間，亦有可能出現極普及的應用程式令特定移動平台有一定優勢，故長線發展值得讀者留意。

應用程式開發企業受惠

除了蘋果iPhone與Google的Android在移動應用程式上的優勢，令有關企業將能受惠智能手機市場的快速增長外【圖五】，其實應用程式需求的增長亦令不少其他程式開發企業受惠，例如Adobe（Nasdaq：ADBE）在移動應用程式內容開發與程式開發工具的供應上都有一定的優勢，現今超過八成的網上遊戲及影片均以Adobe Flash的環境運行，故此大部分在智能手機使用的應用程式，當牽涉影片及遊戲時，亦往往需要Adobe相關配套，而Adobe亦另設Flash 10.1程式來滿足大部分智能手機影片及遊戲有關的應用程式平台和發展商需求。

事實上，智能手機主要資料傳輸其實用在影片的上下載【圖六】，加上遊戲類應用程式為最普及應用程式，故此Adobe的定位預料大幅受惠流動應用程式的增長趨勢【圖七】，在移動網絡需求持續提高下，將佔企業盈利更高的分額，投資者可留意有關企業及以上提及的主要應用程式的發展趨勢，捕捉特定的投資時機。

分析員：鄧文耀

[Via http://hoball.wordpress.com]

Cyborg in Science Fiction and Cyborg in Social Realm

2009-12-31T00:00:00.000+02:00

Cyborg Femme, copyright litmuse from Flickr

Accidentally I stumbled upon an old research project which I prepared for a course titled Gender, Photography and New Technologies while studying for my Masters at Goldsmiths College, Univ. of London in 1999. It was published by the then uber e-magazine called ZAYAC in Macedonia of which I was a contributor. 11 years on and still highly relevant. “While the science fiction cyborgs are described as strong, powerful, supernatural and artificial human-machines, the phenomenon called online communication has produced new form of disembodied cyborgs. But, this can lead to loosing control over the actual ’self’ and the line between imagination and reality is blurred” says the research.

From Cyber Femme and androids, to Military / Medicine Cyborgs and self-run computers, read my debate on Cyborg in Science Fiction and Cyborg in Social Realm.

* Perhaps I should continue the debate with Cyborg in Nature (after seeing AVATAR last week), so watch this space…

[Via http://anabakalinova.wordpress.com]

Camangi WebStation Reviewed: Sluggish and Video Stutters

2009-12-29T16:01:00.000+02:00

When I first saw the Camangi WebStation appear in folk’s hands I was excited as it looks like a very nicely constructed tablet. It almost looks like a giant iPhone, with solid lines all around. The verdict is still out if it is the sweet tablet it appears to be, but the first review of the WebStation shatters the illusion. Laptop Magazine has one of the tablets in hand, and their review is one of mixed emotions.

By itself, this device is actually pretty cool. It’s got a 7-inch screen, weighs 0.8 pounds, doesn’t tire out the hand or wrist, and is great for surfing the web..

As we mentioned, the device is sluggish, taking a few seconds longer to load apps and Web pages or respond to button presses than we like.

When we watched the included WebStation promo video it didn’t play smoothly, stuttering and hitching noticeably in many places. We weren’t able to test any other videos as only MP4 and 3GP formats are supported and the YouTube app wasn’t included.

It seems that the Camangi is almost there, but that’s often the case with mobile gadgets. Great, if only it did [insert your preference] better. I do think the inability to hit the Android Market for apps is a problem for these web tablets.

[Via http://jkontherun.com]

Google Goggles boggles my mind!

2009-12-27T08:28:00.000+02:00

Google has introduced many a great application that has withstood the test of time thanks to its easy-to-use interface or profound utilitarian value. Google search is just one among them. There are many others – Maps, Translate, Earth and Docs (an online productivity suite, wow!); the list goes on….

There are many tech terms that have become common parlance as verbs these days. Suppose you want to send a message to your friend. What would you prefer, to ‘SMS’ him or ‘e-mail’ her? If you don’t know what Sixth Sense technology is all about, getting to know more is just an online search away. Just ‘google’ it!

And now, with the kind of research that’s been going on in the Google world, you can now do what’s called ‘visual search’ using your mobile phone. Sci-Fi??? Not really! With Google Goggles, you can ‘just do it’! This article focuses on what could be one of the coolest Google apps we’ve seen….. yet!

Created for the Google’s ingenious Android Operating system, the Goggles application allows cell-phone users to point and click at various objects in the real-world using their phone’s camera and then use the mobile web to instantly search for information on the image. How thoughtful of the folks at Google!

Landmarks:

How often have the tourists among us found ourselves scratching our heads trying to figure out what the name of the magnificent building is that we find yourselves standing in front of. With the Goggles app, scratch no more! Just point your camera phone at the building, click an image and voila, you have relevant information from the web displayed right away, maybe even details of when it was constructed and who the architect was. This could be a blessing for tourists/ travellers.No more typing in words or addresses to map the location and thereby the places of interest around.

Businesses:

Standing on a street on some part of the world, and being able to use live GPS facilities to identify places of interest and businesses nearby is a phenomenal improvement to the tried and trusted GPS tracking many of us are used to. What really amazes me is that this feature does not even require photos to be taken. Just point in the general direction of the street and if the google search/ GPS database already has information on the location, you could see the establishments nearby appear on the scroll-bar at the bottom of the phone’s display window. Just click on any of the text that appears to get more information on the business/ location.

Logos:

Just taking a picture of a logo could give you instant information about the brand associated with it and details of the company as well. How cool is that?

Books:

Shouldn’t judge a book by its cover? Yes, of course. But now you can definitely find out more information about the book, so that you can make a… ahem… more informed judgment. Just click on the cover of the book, and the Goggles app immediately starts a google search and gives you more details on the book you’re looking at.

Wine:

Click on the label of a wine-bottle and there’s a good possibility you’ll find information on the wine at your finger-tips, including the type of wine, how it was made, the year in which it was made and where. As a wine-lover myself, I am biased toward this great feature.

Artwork:

Picture this (no pun intended). you’re looking at an enchanting painting and are drawn in by it’s attention to detail… and you’re wondering – Manet? Monet? Vernet? Start the Goggles app on your phone; point the camera at the image… and ‘click’!

The tool is still in development, and does have limitations as to what can be ‘goggled‘. For example, the application cannot recognise faces, flora, fauna, food, clothes and cars currently. The application only runs on Android devices running OS v1.6 and above.

Here’s an interesting video on how Google developed this tool and where it stands currently, in terms of usage and effectiveness:

MSNBC Video

On a closing note, I think that the future is very bright for this tool, and the application of this …well, application knows no bounds. I read on one of the online reviews that a Goggles-user used the app to identify the character displayed on a Pokemon card that was lying on the floor. Imagine what a great impression you could make on your children if you could demonstrate your knowledge on something so important to them. Want to impress friends, relatives or even a potential mate? It’s now easier than ever by appearing more knowledgeable… what does it matter if the knowledge was acquired only a few minutes earlier by simple point-and-click operations?

Google deserves praise for attempting to bridge the divide between the physical and the digital worlds.

Google goggles boggles my mind!

[Via http://navinrajendran.wordpress.com]

Motorola to Marry Google’s Android

2009-12-26T07:59:00.000+02:00

After a whirlwind of rumors that Motorola is prepared to give details on how it intends to sell the war in a good headset, not Motorola smartphones like the iPhone 3G pre-S and Palm changer promises to play its own plate.

Thats when Motorola will be more than what would be revealed, according to analysts and reports, information on two new smartphones from Google’s Android operating system.

The open source operating system, Google Android has been marketed for the first time in October of 2008 on T-Mobile G1 phone and then again in August 2009 on the T-Mobile 3G myTouch.

Although details of the new Android phones still speculative power, a spate of reports about the Motorola web have largely supported the integration of social networking with Facebook and Twitter, a new phone her.

Many of the code names have scoffed at the same time with this release. If you’re digging deep, we should all know, are interested schools (QWERTY phone also sometimes written Shuler), Morrison .

site:www.ebay-cellphone.com

[Via http://wholesalemp4.wordpress.com]

Passing Information Between Activities

2009-12-26T00:40:00.000+02:00

Hey everyone,

Here’s a little short blurb on how to pass information between Activities (I know this is probably documented, but at least for me it always helpful to see small examples in action):

public class A extends Activity { @Override public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { // code here Intent i = new Intent( this, B.class ); i.putExtra( "int", 5); i.putExtra( "string", "hello" ); startActivity( i ); } }

And here’s the code for Class B:

public class B extends Activity { @Override public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { // code here Intent i = getIntent(); int number = i.getIntExtra("int", -1); String str = i.getStringExtra("string"); // number = 5 // str = "hello" } }

So basically the idea is you pass the intent to Class B and the intent acts like a standard Map object. For getIntExtra, if the app can’t find the value with key “integer”, then -1 is returned as the default, and for getStringExtra, if the app can’t find the key then null is returned.

Happy Coding.

- jwei

[Via http://thinkandroid.wordpress.com]

Mint App to Account for Android Coming

2009-12-24T16:30:00.000+02:00

The folks at Mint are working on an Android (s goog) version of their software, and I can’t wait. I’ve been using their service to help manage our home finances and investments for nearly two years, and the iPhone app is stellar. Since it’s all but certain that an Android device is in my future, Mint’s efforts (Intuit’s really) are timely. The company estimate for a software launch is by the end of the first quarter, says ZDNet, but the software won’t sacrifice quality for a schedule. That’s important when dealing with something as crucial as people’s financial information. Also in the works is a method for manual transaction entry at the point of purchase, making Mint more like a checkbook register.

The latest version of Mint for iPhone got a big boost when it hit a few months back. Alert notifications arrived, which give me a heads up when a bill is due or when I’m approaching my budget limit in a particular category. Clearly, I’m not doing too well from a budgetary standpoint this month — I’m over on three categories! And aside from basic tracking and reporting on all expense activities, the latest version allows for modification of transactions on the iPhone.

While that might not sound like much, it comes in handy for check transactions in particular. I often see transactions listed as “Check 123″ for example — that doesn’t tell me who the check was made out to, nor does it specify what expense category the amount is associated to. With support for manual modification, I can make the appropriate changes right on my phone and have them sync back up to my Mint account on the web. Not everyone wants to trust their data to Mint, but for me, it’s a must-have app on my handset.

[Via http://jkontherun.com]

thanks for the support, misc stuff

2009-12-24T00:23:00.000+02:00

Android developers are having office hours on IRC now. I’m very thankful that they’re willing to provide help, and I hope they use the questions and answers to improve documentation so they’ll have fewer questions to answer in the long run (and fewer frustrated developers wondering what’s going on), but – I wasn’t impressed just yet. I was on channel for the time yesterday, and asked three questions via the moderation tool they’re using, which other users seemed to like. They did answer one question on channel – to say that what I want to do isn’t really possible yet. Didn’t address the others or many questions at all. Looks like the questions to the earlier session didn’t get answers yet – but there were answers to the questions from a week ago. So maybe they’ll get to it, but if you have to wait a week for answers, what’s the point of office hours? Well, maybe the holidays aren’t the best time – I’ll reserve judgment. And frankly, any kind of responsiveness is appreciated. And if I can get answers eventually, I have answers for my problems and new material for the android blog

Know what I figured out today? Resource IDs don’t need to be globally unique. You just can’t inflate the same resource ID from different places in the same context. The R generator doesn’t seem to care that two things generate the same ID. Phew! I was naming my IDs with little prefixes based on the filename so as to keep them all unique globally; it’s not pretty. That was an assumption on my part, but I never saw anything to contradict it… maybe it’s time to read those dev docs more thoroughly!

Outstanding questions/problems:

Can I arrange my layout resources into subdirectories? I’m getting to have quite a few. Will have to try this and see if it causes problems – might mess up internationalization, orientation-specific layouts, etc?
I know I’m mismanaging my DB handles and cursors somehow – need to look into proper practices there.
I haven’t really dealt with lifecycle stuff properly. This shouldn’t be too hard, just need to actually do it. This is one of those areas where formal tests would be most helpful, as it’s hard to manually test the transitions properly.

[Via http://sosiouxme.wordpress.com]

stumble, stumble - make my listview work dammit!!!

2009-12-22T15:56:00.000+02:00

I have a spinner that I need to use and fill from several different components – at least two Activity classes and one Dialog. Looking for a way to reuse the same code and layouts; not clear just yet. But along the way I came across this forum post which I’ll have to look at next time I’m trying to build a custom view.

Also I have a custom dialog that only enables the “OK” button if a text editor has text in it, and wanted to generalize that. The problem is with how much stuff you have to specify to wire it all together. I think what I really want is an AlertDialog with a text field and some extra magic to enable/disable the positive button, but to get all that working I’d pretty much need to subclass AlertDialog.Builder too, and not sure if that’s worth the pain. But perhaps worth a try. You’d think this would be a standard feature, though… a dialog that validates input before enabling the buttons to be pushed.

Next problem: I have a ListView and I want to have a spinner at the top and a text entry box at the bottom. Putting this inside a ScrollView does not work, I get this:

How do I get the ListView to stay fully expanded? I found several forum posts warning against using a ListView within a ScrollView, so that’s out. The main commentator on this seems to be Romain Guy, who’s obviously very knowledgeable, but he’s also really lousy at adequately answering questions. His blog entries on Android are pretty sparse. I still wanna read them but man is it frustrating reading his half-answers in forums.

Looking for ListView attrs… Well, the ListView reference docs say that you can add header and footer elements; any way to do that in XML? Does not look that way. I’ll try it in code first. When I first used ListView, I naively thought that you should place the “empty” item inside the ListView element in the XML. Certainly makes more sense than putting it after, don’t you think? I mean, at least conceptually it’s part of the view; but the designers thought otherwise. Actually, at this point it looks like anything you place after the ListView element is used for the empty view. Anyway, I put a header element before and footer element after in the file, and added them to the ListView in code like so:

getListView().addHeaderView(findViewById(R.id.il_list_spinner));

getListView().addFooterView(findViewById(R.id.il_new_item));

This causes a lovely runtime exception, which basically tells you nothing about what went wrong:

java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to start activity ComponentInfo{net.sosiouxme.WhenDidI/net.sosiouxme.WhenDidI.activity.ItemList}: java.lang.ClassCastException: android.widget.LinearLayout$LayoutParams

     at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2401)

     at android.app.ActivityThread.handleLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2417)

[...]

Caused by: java.lang.ClassCastException: android.widget.LinearLayout$LayoutParams

     at android.widget.ListView.clearRecycledState(ListView.java:489)

     at android.widget.ListView.resetList(ListView.java:475)

     at android.widget.ListView.setAdapter(ListView.java:417)

[...]

Pretty helpful eh? Yeah. Might as well just say “dude… something’s wrong with your layout.” I’m guessing it doesn’t like me reusing view elements of the current context as elements of the ListView. Or maybe it’s related to the “poorly documented” bit mentioned in this thread (this would be more helpful with a pointer to the back story). And now I can’t figure out how to debug down into platform code – is there some way to attach source code so the debugger can look at it? Can’t seem to find anything on that in a search either. Good grief, this stuff makes me feel like an idiot!

Here’s some articles on customizing ListView to read later. Not germaine to my current purpose AFAICS, unfortunately.

As an aside – the Eclipse tool for building XML layout resources, while helpful, is really annoying. Chief among the annoyances is when you’re trying to scroll through the list of properties for a tag – each attribute has a little blurb about what it’s for, which conveniently pops up to cover what you’re trying to look at every time you pause! And if you’re really lucky, it pops up right under the mouse, keeping you from scrolling. You know, what I need is not automatic popups – I’d rather have a mouse button specifically to give me info about what I’m looking at. The middle mouse button would probably be perfect since I don’t think Eclipse does anything else with it. Looking for preferences I can set to disable or control the hover, but even with all hovers disabled this still pops up. Wonder if it would do me any good to try to fix ADT?

And why is it that adb keeps losing track of its emulators? Kill the server and restart it, and it finds the emulator again… only to lose it again quickly. Bah!

[Via http://sosiouxme.wordpress.com]

Android 2.x, Who’s Getting The Update?

2009-12-22T00:00:00.000+02:00

Last month we asked all the carriers and handset makers, What is the Android 2.0 release date for first generation phones? We didn’t get a lot of clear cut answers at the time, but several carriers have now come forward and stated their plans for Android 2.x updates.

There are currently seven Android phones in the United States running Android 1.x, so we are going to break the list down by carrier and see which are getting upgraded.

Sprint

Last time we checked with Sprint, they told us they were currently working through their options with their manufacturing partners. It appears they got everything sorted out because Sprint tweeted that both of their Android phones will be getting Android 2.1. They provided a release date of first half 2010 (my guess is Q2 2010), but at least they confirmed their intentions.

HTC Hero – Yes, 1H 2010
Samsung Moment – Yes, 1H 2010

We are still waiting to find out how these major updates will be rolled out. Sprint initially indicated there would be wired updates, but that is subject to change.

T-Mobile

For most of 2009, we have known T-Mobile to provide regular updates to their Android handsets. After the last Android 1.6 rollout, we have been left wondering if we would receive anymore. T-Mobile has told us they were coordinating with Google to deliver Android 2.0, but they have not specified which devices may receive it.

We recently saw HTC go on record and tell us no updates were planned for their Rogers Wireless Dream and Magic phones, so it would not be surprising to see a similar announcement for T-Mobile. However, both the Dream (G1) and Magic (MT3G) also serve as official Android Developer Phones, so we hope Google will continue to support them.

Things are not looking too good for the Motorola CLIQ. It recently received an update, but it focused on bug fixes and left the firmware at Android 1.5. The last time we asked Motorola about Android 2.0 coming to the CLIQ, they basically said to get a Droid to experience the latest version of Android. We also reported on a rumor that the CLIQ could be stuck on Android 1.x and have seen nothing to dispute that yet.

Samsung Behold II owners are the only T-Mobile customers who have something to look forward to right now. Their device shipped with Android 1.5, but Samsung said Android 2.0 would be made available “when it arrives”. The announcement came from a YouTube video, but it is better than nothing. Since Samsung is also updating their Sprint Moment, I would say things look good for the Behold II.

HTC G1 – Unknown
HTC myTouch 3G – Unknown
Motorola CLIQ – Unknown
Samsung Behold II – Yes, “when it arrives”

Hopefully, T-Mobile will give us an answer on their other phones soon (even if the answer is no).

Verizon Wireless

Verizon was the carrier that launched the first Android 2.0 phone (Droid), but they also have the Android 1.5 powered HTC Droid Eris. Last time we asked Verizon about updates, they could not provide any additional information.

HTC told us Verizon had to request an update and it looks like that is what happened after customers spoke out. Information Week reported that a Verizon rep confirmed an Android 2.0 update for the HTC Droid Eris sometime in Q1 2010.

HTC Droid Eris – Yes, Q1 2010

It was not exactly an official press release, but we will take it.

((( VIA AndroidAndMe )))

[Via http://fiercetechnology.com]

HTC Incredible, Google Phone Nexus, Android 2.1

2009-12-20T08:31:00.000+02:00

So I was reading around and found something to write about. Yay. My buddy asked me if there were any new Android phones coming out for Verizon Wireless. I said I didn’t know of any coming out but just today I found out that there will be a new handset coming out: HTC Incredible. What does this baby include? No one knows as the code name was the only thing leaked. The only thing I can hope for is a bigger screen than the Hero/Eris and hopefully more manly lookin’- eh? Eh?. QWERTY keyboard would sound hawt and kicking up the camera up to 8MP wouldn’t be bad either. No matter wut you may want the phone to be, it may most likely run Android 2.1. That’s all I really have for this. More to come as info becomes available.

In other Android news, the interwebz have EXPLODED with the new Google Phone Nexus pics. There are a few lucky bastards out there playing around with these phones but only 1 with the balls to leak out some visuals. The phone looks pretty cool with its cool touchscreen and cool 4 buttons n stuff and it looks like it’s running android 2.1 as the OS looks identical to the recent leaked one as shown in this vid .

2.1 seems to be the latest and greatest and now that it’s out, we’ll see how the early go-getters react. 2 extra homescreens is a plus but a-GPS isn’t. I’ll probably update sometime this weekend and post a full review. Wut about you? If you already did, then what are your thoughts? Super fast, eh?

via Engadget

[Via http://bwireless.wordpress.com]

Open Letter to HTC; the HTC Hero and Android 1.6 / Android 2.0 firmware upgrades

2009-12-20T00:22:00.000+02:00

Dear HTP-People,

I recently bought (for the first time, I used to use used ones) my first mobile phone, the HTC Hero.

My purchase was made with the decision, to buy the best Android phone out there. And thus far I am quite satisfied with it.

Unfortunately, the phone’s software hasn’t been updated for three month. Two major upgrades for the Android operating system have been made by the Android community and Google Inc. in that time, and HTC has skipped the first one and didn’t even bother to acknowledge the second one.

I’d be happy to buy another HTC phone in the nearer future, but for that to happen I have to be convinced by HTC’s product commitment. That includes regular updates for hardware, also for older hardware. The responsibility for a product does not end at its sale.

I would eagerly buy another Android based HTC phone. But until I see a more committed product support by HTC, I cannot consider HTC Phones as an option.

Sincerely,

Raphael Bosshard

[Via http://federkiel.wordpress.com]

Why I really love android

2009-12-17T16:26:00.000+02:00

Last year for Christmas I was given a brand new g1. It was my first smartphone and I wasn’t sure the ins and outs of a smartphone so I started researching. I started joining forums and reading blogs and slowly but surely I started to see. Not only was this new, sort of clunky looking phone nothing short of a pocket computer, but it was also a key. It was the key into the world of android and boy what a world it has become.

I remember early on just browsing the forums trying to see what folks are talking about. They would say “my phone can do this” or “my phone can do that” or “the battery sucks” or “it’s gonna be an iphone killa!”. All of those things intrigued me but I was still learning about apps and open source and all of the other caveats of this little green robot. I started to look into what google had to offer and realized it could do more than just search and it was all hyper-connected to my phone. I slowly and more confidently started to see the potential this little giant had. So I start posting in forums and asking questions and finding out the little intricacies of my g1 and I was on my way.

A few months later, completely comfortable with what I have, I start reading about rooting. I say to myself “Self. What’s that all about? Who really needs to do that?” The more I read the more it pulls me in and then one night around 11pm with my palms sweating and heart racing my phone gets rooted and another part of the android world opens up to me. Not only is the phone a key to another world, but it is your pass to meet new people and be a part of a wonderful communtiy that is built on building new relationships, pushing the platform forward and helping out a fellow droid. This is what really sold me on android. I think the phones are great, the OS is coming along beautifully, but it’s the people that make android what it is today. I would like to say “thanks” to those that have driven the development, started the websites, moderated the forums, answered questions, lent a hand when needed and have helped people see that you don’t have to be scared to blaze your own trail. Like field of dreams, if you build it they will come and google built it and we were there for the flocking.

I truly am impressed with how far android has come in a year and look forward to being a part of it’s continued growth and success. Thanks google for everything, thank you to all the people who have helped me out so far and I appreciate the communtiy as a whole. Y’all are great! Have a wonderful holiday season and bring on the nexus one!

[Via http://ogreen32.wordpress.com]

Myxer Launches MobileStage, A Comprehensive Mobile Marketing Suite Available To The Music Industry

2009-12-17T00:47:00.000+02:00

Url: http://www.myxer.com/

Launch Partners Include ReverbNation, Kedar Entertainment, Amie Street, SonicBids, OurStage, INgrooves,The Orchard, Audiolife and SellaBand

Deerfield Beach, FL (December 15, 2009) – Myxer, committed to connecting artists and fans through mobile, today announced broad expansion into the artist services realm with significant new offerings designed for enhanced mobile engagement and promotional opportunities, as well as several key strategic partnerships with music industry notables.

To complement the company’s music marketing offerings, Myxer is today launching MobileStage, the most comprehensive mobile marketing suite available to the music industry– featuring a music application distribution service for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android applications.

Myxer’s MobileStage offers the following tools to all artists:

- Free, enhanced mobile websites

- Mobile fanlist management and messaging

- Advanced data analytics

- Promotional initiatives for artists based on location and touring routes

- And, for independent artists, A&R opportunities with some of the industry’s top music management professionals

As part of Myxer’s application distribution service, the company will promote artist apps to its user base of nearly 30 million customers. On behalf of INgrooves, a MobileStage launch partner, Myxer will feature iPhone apps from electronic music heavyweights, The Crystal Method and revered rock “Mockumentary” subjects, Spinal Tap.

Myxer’s MobileStage is an evolution of the company’s core offerings, providing a one-stop shop for artists to use mobile music technology and tools to connect with fans in more personalized and engaging ways.

Brandon Hance, CEO of Audiolife, added: “Myxer’s size, features, and scalable platform made them the only logical choice as we looked for a mobile partner to power our artist services. They are the clear leaders in mobile content delivery.”

“Myxer currently works with more than 100,000 artists, from the fiercely independent to some of the industry’s biggest names, delivering customizable and feature-rich mobile content to help these artists connect with their fans in powerful new ways. For content providers and consumers, Myxer’s mobile platform enables radically simple and rapid delivery of content. Named a Top Wireless Company in 2009 by FierceWireless, Best Music Service at the 2008 Mobile Entertainment Forum, and Best Consumer Messaging Application at the Global Messaging Awards 2008–Myxer’s unique solutions continue to capture attention, both domestically and abroad. To learn more as well as see a sampling of brands that have used Myxer to power their campaigns, please go todemo.myxer.com.

Myxer, MobileStage, and the Myxer logo are trademarks of Myxer Inc.

[Via http://bluesinthedigitalage.wordpress.com]

With a New Phone, Google May Challenge Apple

2009-12-15T08:41:00.000+02:00

SAN FRANCISCO — Two titans of the tech world, Google and Apple, may soon be engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Or, more precisely, handset-to-handset combat.

Google plans to begin selling its own smartphone early next year, company employees say, a move that could challenge Apple’s leadership in one of the fastest-growing and most important technologies in decades.

Google’s new touch-screen Android phone, which it began giving to many employees to test last week, could also shake up the fundamentals of the cellphone market in the United States, where most phones work only on the networks of the wireless carriers that sold them.

The company, using

the power of its brand, plans to market and sell the new phone directly to consumers over the Internet, and buyers would be able to sign up for service from any compatible provider, the employees say.

The introduction of a Google phone — manufactured to its hardware and software specifications by an Asian maker of handsets — would be an important and risky departure for Google. Until now, it has made software to power cellphones that are built and marketed by partners, and it has largely avoided selling hardware.

The apparent shift underscores the fact that mobile phones are quickly becoming the biggest technology battleground of the future, as consumers increasingly rely on their phones to browse the Internet and perform other computing tasks.

It also indicates Google’s determination to make its mark on yet another industry, as it has done previously in advertising, books and online videos.

But analysts say it is not clear that Google’s success on the Internet will carry over into the design, marketing and distribution of hardware. Many companies have tried to make similar shifts and stumbled. Microsoft turned the Xbox into a hit, but when it pushed aside its partners in the music-player business in favor of its own Zune, it failed to gain traction against Apple and its iPods.

The phone’s success could also depend on how Google chooses to price it. Most Americans buy phones that are subsidized by wireless carriers, which recoup that cost by locking customers into contracts. IPhones that cost consumers $199 actually cost AT&T about $550, analysts say.

Katie Watson, a Google spokeswoman, declined to comment on the company’s plans. She referred reporters to a blog post published Saturday in which Google said that the new device was a “mobile lab” that would let employees test out new technologies.

Google employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity because plans for the phone were supposed to be confidential said that the device, manufactured by the Taiwanese company HTC, was thinner than Apple’s iPhone, with a slightly larger touch screen. It could be available as early as January, they said.

Employees say the phone will be sold unlocked, meaning that buyers will be able to choose a service provider, and will be based on G.S.M. technology, which is used by AT&T and T-Mobile in the United States and by most other carriers around the world. It is named Nexus One, according to various reports and to digital traces that the phones have been leaving on Web sites.

Google had long insisted that it was not interested in building and selling phones, saying it preferred to rely on hardware partners and wireless carriers to market a wide variety of phones powered by Android, the operating system that it offers free.

In October, Andy Rubin, vice president of engineering for Android at Google, scoffed at the idea that the company would “compete with its customers” by releasing its own phone, according to the technology news service CNet.

Analysts say that the apparent shift signals a recognition by the company’s executives that Google needs to take more control of its destiny in the wireless world.

“They perceive mobile as the next major opportunity,” said Jeffrey Lindsay, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. “It is too big a risk to drive the strategy through their partners. They want more say and more control.”

In addition, analysts say that the iPhone, despite prominently featuring some Google services, makes the company nervous.

“They don’t want to have access to Google being controlled or influenced by one player like Apple,” said Ben Schachter, an analyst with Broadpoint AmTech, a research firm.

Google wants to get more people using Web-friendly phones in part because it depends on the growth of search advertising, which is slowing on PCs. On cellphones, however, use of Google’s mobile search engine grew 30 percent in six months this year, Mr. Schachter said. “That’s huge, and a majority of that growth is coming from the iPhone,” he said. “When that happens, Apple has a lot of power over influencing users’ behavior.”

Until recently, Google and Apple were considered close allies with a common enemy: Microsoft. They shared two board members, Eric E. Schmidt, the chairman and chief executive of Google, and Arthur Levinson, the former chief executive of Genentech.

[Via http://reyman.wordpress.com]

Moar Nexus One!

2009-12-14T23:58:00.000+02:00

Nexus One Rumors:

- Supposedly it will be available through Google for a mere $199.

- This may or may not be the subsidized price after a contract with T-mobile.

- A $100 rebate will be available for users with old but active Google accounts.

- Sales begin Jan 5.

Nexus One Confirmed Facts:

- It is beautiful.

- I want one.

[Via http://steffycl.wordpress.com]

The Google Phone Cometh? [Gadgets]

2009-12-13T08:38:00.000+02:00

Image via Wikipedia

For those of you who saw my hasty little tweet, this will be annoying and repetitive.

But I’m posting it anyway because it’s potentially exciting. Google is supposedly partnering with hardware gods HTC to bring their own in-house handset design to market with a fresh batch of Android OS.

Make the jump for details.

As they reported on their Mobile Blog yesterday, they recently handed out a large amount of testing units to employees, essentially initiating internal beta testing:

We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it. – Official Google Mobile Blog

The Engadget story linked at the end of this post rocks a photo of the GSM handset, rumored to sport an OLED screen and a trackball. The word seems to be an early 2010 release. There has been talk that a Google-branded handset would tightly integrate Google Voice, which has been restricted by carriers fearful that its features will outshine their own.

The carriers (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile are the big players State-side) are right to fear, too. I use Google Voice as my primary voicemail client and to route calls to personal and work phones, as well as read voicemail transcriptions via email and have SMS conversations on the web. Since Google Voice is web-based, even when I’m out of Sprint coverage, I can get full SMS messages and notifications of missed calls and entire new voicemails over wifi.

For now, we’ll just have to wait and see. But I hope Google does this right. Hardware control is their new thing, with Chrome OS also expected to be limited to Google-approved hardware, including a requirement that all devices sold with it run only SSD, or solid-state, hard drives. They’re getting their feet wet in waters Apple has been ruling for a long time. Complete control from hardware design to OS is the ultimate mode of expression for any tech company, and Google can’t afford to screw that up.

Here’s to hoping for a kickass handset from them. And soon.

“Google Phone / Nexus One makes first Twitter appearance?” – Via Engadget

[Via http://therottenword.com]

Importing git checkout project into eclipse workspace

2009-12-13T00:23:00.000+02:00

Trying to figure out how best to import Android projects into eclipse, particularly from a version control checkout. I’ve had the same trouble with trying to use samples downloaded from book/tutorial sites. What I’m trying to do:

I want to locate the project in my eclipse workspace.
I don’t want eclipse-specific files in version control – those seem to cause problems when moving between different eclipse installations. Or, in the case of downloaded examples, these files aren’t provided.
Use git; other VCSs have Eclipse plugins to simplify this – git does too, but it seemed half-baked and I shouldn’t have to use a plugin to do this.

Problems:

If I check out the project outside my workspace, and then try to create a project in eclipse using that as source, eclipse does not move or copy it into the workspace; it uses the original location (which makes sense)
If I check out the project within my workspace, and then try to create a project using it as source, eclipse refuses because of the location.
If I use File -> Import -> General -> Existing projects into workspace, eclipse expects to see its project descriptors (that I deliberately excluded with .gitignore) and refuses the import.
No other options seem appropriate to doing this

Here’s one way to do it:

Check out the project somewhere.
Use the “create project” dialog to create an Android project using this location as source. This adds the requisite eclipse project descriptor files.
Close the project and delete it (leaving the files in place of course).
Move the project directory into the eclipse workspace.
Use File -> Import -> General -> Existing projects to import the project directory – since the project files are there now, this works fine.

I wonder if I’m just nutty leaving the eclipse project files out of the checked-in version. But they just don’t seem to belong there, neh?

[Via http://sosiouxme.wordpress.com]

HTC official: Hero to get Android Eclair "early next year"

2009-12-12T16:11:00.000+02:00

If, like me, you’re waiting for Android 2.0 or 2.1 to hit your HTC Hero, you may be interested in this tweet from HTC, posted yesterday, 11 December:

I’m not with Sprint. In fact I’m in the UK with T-Mobile, but I’m hoping the rollout will be pretty much at the same time, across all networks.

Earlier reports (like this one from Phandroid) had said the rollout would be sometime in the first half of 2010, which could be a longer wait. Let’s hope they’re wrong.

Whatever the date, at least it looks like it will happen. Some commentators had suggested that the retro-update of Android 1.6 with Google Mapping updates like those of 2.0 may leave some devices at 1.5 and 1.6 indefinitely. There was also talk of rollout before Christmas but, on the positive side, the delay into 2010 must be good for the feature list of the update. Looking forward to seeing HTC Sense running on Eclair.

Have you heard any more news on this? Leave a comment.

[Via http://blog.3dbloke.com]

NovelGrid Android Application - 記得睇波

2009-12-12T00:41:00.000+02:00

記得睇波係 NovelGrid 的第一個 Android Application，暫時只有繁體中文版本。讓你隨時隨地查看英超、德甲、意甲、西甲與日本J1聯賽賽程和比賽結果。

請按右鍵另存新檔

下載記得睇波version1.1

Screenshots

[Via http://ykyuen.wordpress.com]

HTC Eris OTA Update

2009-12-10T16:21:00.000+02:00

According to Verizon and BGR, random HTC ERIS users should have received an update right around midnight last night (or is that this morning?).

The new ROM version is 1.16.605.1 and the radio version is 2.32.40.11.09. Like all OTA updates it will be distributed to some first and then the majority.

I happen to be one of them who still haven’t received OTA update yet. But don’t worry if you haven’t you soon will receive the update. Like all OTA updates it will be distributed to some first and then the majority of us later. No one is left behind. I know this is a great news for HTC Droid Eris users.

Here’s a brief list of some of the fixes:

While on a call and the device is in screensaver mode, pressing the
End key now takes the device out of screensaver mode, and a second press will end the call.
On-call mute and speakerphone icon functionality is enhanced.
Upgraded functionality after activation eliminates the delay users were experiencing in receiving their first call.
Device now switches effectively from 1x mode to 3G.
Device no longer requires users to reselect a default email after power-cycling.
SMS and MMS messaging delivery is improved.
Eighty-character MMS/SMS message subject lines are now allowed
Improved picture messaging functionality allows messages from LG phones to be opened.

More info can be found here Verizon Wireless on how to check for the OTA update.

[Via http://techn0l0gical.wordpress.com]

Samsung T939 (Behold II) in pictures

2009-12-10T06:23:00.000+02:00

A little over a year after releasing the HTC Dream/T-Mobile G1, T-Mobile recently introduced its fourth Android device, the Samsung T939 (Behold II), and provided me with a review unit

The Behold II follows in the footsteps of the T929 (Memoir) and the T919 (Behold). Like its predecessors, it’s a nice touchscreen phone with a good camera. Unlike its predecessors, it’s a smartphone running Android, with an OLED display, WiFi, and standard audio & USB connectors!

It features the same form factor as the the HTC Magic/T-Mobile myTouch3G (no physical keyboard), but deviates from standard Android with TouchWiz, yet another custom user interface similar to BLUR on the Motorola CLIQ, and Sense on the HTC Hero…

Frankly, this user interface fragmentation is a shame. Standard Android is fine – just ask the phenomenal Motorola Droid. Why bother with a custom look and feel?

I’ll be testing the Behold II on my primary line for a few days, so stay tuned for more thoughts and experiences. In the meantime, check out my pictures and video:

[Via http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com]

3G and Internet Penetration in India

2009-12-08T08:34:00.000+02:00

Broadband to the masses !!

2Mbps on a 3G phone.. , on a device much more portable than a personal computer. India is in for a spew of Internet Services, from VOIP applications to web applications based on different web services. The browser is going to be on a handheld device for a market of 1 billion people (The worlds population is 6 billion, i.e. 1 in 6 people in the world is Indian). Today our internet penetration is only 81 million users (7% of Total Population).. I’m anxious to see the numbers climb after the 3G Auction.

It will be interesting to see the types of applications which will be delivered once these services are available. All these applications are going to built on a range of mobile platforms which will be available – Android, Iphone, Windows Mobile and others (mostly based on linux, including Maemo).

Q1 2010 will start a new revolution for Mobile Value Added Services. Most of the phone manufacturers have already started integrating social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter on their phones. Since these sites have a large user base, their Open API (Facebook Connect etc) will enable an individual to integrate these platforms into their daily lives. From event invitations to service requests (like looking for a local electrician, carpenter etc), everyone will have access to a market which was previously untapped due to physical boundaries. It will be awesome to see how many new ideas come out of micro communities which will get formed with an explosion of social media.

However, going by the speed of execution of our government, I think they are still delaying the auction to enable BSNL in grabbing the initial 3G subscribers.

Here’s an interview with Atul Chitnis on NDTV, about the future of Mobile Phones.

[Via http://abyshakes.wordpress.com]

Yelping Goggles

2009-12-08T00:23:00.000+02:00

two big announcements came out of the android world today:

1) Google Goggles: This takes web search to the next level with the ability to search with the use of images! in other words: snapping your picture = getting the information. There is a lot of techno-dazzle that goes into explaining how it works, but from what I read, it breaks down the image into signatures that google can recognize. VERY cool. Here is a link to “A Hands-On Tour: Google Goggles”. It looks as if this will be an amazing tool and a great mobile app.

2) Yelp comes to Android: This is pretty self explanatory, but Yelp (one of the largest restaurant, shop,…everything guide) has come to the Android phone. I wont go into the deets, but for more information click here.

I still haven’t found a convincing reason to switch from my Iphone to Android…especially when it has been announced that Google Goggles will soon be available on multiple platforms including the Iphone.

What do you think?

[Via http://bexwithanx.wordpress.com]

2009 Technology in Review

2009-12-05T16:04:00.000+02:00

Looking back at my 08 review and predictions for 09, with the exception of social media talk and promise everywhere, not much has changed this year, same players are still in the game and still leading the charge, but with some new products. There are of course new trends popping up daily, but until I can distinguish them based on value, I won’t spend much time on them. So – some of the names making the news last year:

Twitter is still growing strong, to my surprise – I thought it would have flattened by now as the new cool thing would show up for new media gurus to jump on. Also, the mainstream always lags behind pioneers by couple of years. That explains why Facebook is seeing biggest growth this year (2 years after it exploded in Toronto and about a year after I stopped using it on a daily basis), despite lack of any new groundbreaking features except for Facebook Connect. And while Facebook will continue to grow and be part of every household, like email, my jury on Twitter is still out , despite the fact that you cannot engage into conversation about Internet or media without the mention of it. I am still not convinced – I may be wrong but sometimes taking bold predictions and being dead wrong is also fun.

Social Media Everything… I’ll dedicate one line to it, because there are some good things and lot of crap and it’s a separate topic anyways.

Cloud computing continued to grow this year, although the mainstream penetration and adoption is slower than expected. Azure, Amazon and Rackspace have added features (Google Apps has been quiet this year), and cloud based productivity apps were growing as expected but it will be years before businesses start relying on cloud for their core business infrastructure.

Apple – continued to deliver stylish products, but no revolutionary things this year, iPhone is a hard act to follow, unless next year they finally release device I’ve been waiting for over a year now (see last year’s post) – iPad

Microsoft – finally has a decent OS – Win7, active cloud development Azure and new versions of Office, SharePoint and .NET 4 in the works, slated for next year. None of these should be reason for celebration as they are existing MS revenue sources and won’t take MS into the next decade as a leader. But MS did manage to make big splash in the news with its new promising search engine:

Bing made a little scare in the Google world this year as it was, to everyone’s surprise, actually decent product. This immediately started talks about challenge to Google etc. I think they are still light years behind in terms of mind share and the know how (not so technologically, but in the knowledge you constantly acquire and evolve by serving 70% of worlds searches). But with acquisition of Yahoo search, Bing will gain more of the market share and the insight into the large volume search data, that will potentially help them improve the engine further. All of this is good, since it will force Google to innovate again (last year I compared them to IE6 – not having any serious competition, their search innovation almost stopped). This is particularly useful, since last year’s promising search technologies, like semantic search, failed to make any mayor impact.

Google – almost always warrants a post of its own, but I’ll squeeze couple of thoughts in a paragraph:

Active and innovating, as usual, providing mix of good service improvements (Google Docs and Google Sites have improved greatly and will become significant player in corporate arena soon) and a couple of not so great starts, that nevertheless received raves from tech trend followers and guru wannabes, just because they came out of Google:

Chrome OS – I love Chrome Browser and use it all the time. And I use cloud service for everything good enough for my needs, not by comparing them feature by feature with desktop products. But I will move to the cloud when the services are ready, not when the browser/os limits my other choices. Linux is free and has a free browser that can access all features that Chrome OS can, yet consumers didnt flock to it, because they still need the polish/responsiveness offered by commercial OS-es – Win7 and Mac OSX. When web apps catch up, people will move to the cloud and the browser, with or without Chrome OS. Stripped down Linux limited with single browser will certainly not be the driver.

Google Wave – something is wrong when many people desperately ask questions like “Tell me why this awesome new Google product is so awesome. I am obviously stupid, since I don’t get it’s usefulness and greatness and how it is making my life better”. Emperor’s new clothes, someone?

This is all I can think of in terms of technology in 09 – maybe I was too focused and immersed in my current job – (building organization and the product around our hosted CMS product for large media companies – http://www.topscms.com), and maybe I missed some things. But based on the above, I’d have to say that Twitter was the clear winner in terms of mind share and activity around it as well as based on the influence it’s making not only to other technologies but media in general. Contrary to my predictions (for now), but I have to acknowledge the facts

L8r

[Via http://dannygalic.wordpress.com]

One Bad Apple.

2009-12-03T15:55:00.000+02:00

My mobile phone problems persist. I want an iPhone but I don’t want AT&T. Fortunately there appears to be a light at the end of this tunnel. Unfortunaetly my faith in Apple has been rocked and my eyes are turning to a new champion of the consumer experience…the big, bad, Google.

Despite the latest Droid advertisement belittling the iPhone to a “pretty porcelain princess” figurine, calling its own device a robot that “does”, the truth is that the iPhone does too. AT&T doesn’t. Which begs the question: for a company so hell bent on creating the best user experience possible why now has it chosen to forgo these principles for the sake of control? AT&T is truly the worst.

The Droid is a good phone. The iPhone is a great phone and it’s possible the Google Phone – reportedly being released by Gizmodo and every other tech blog online – will be great too.

Apple has created an incredible ecosystem with Mobile Me. I am able to keep my address book, calendar and files on my computer synced together with my non existant iPhone.

But alas I do not have an iPhone. I have a Blackberry Tour, which by all accounts is a decent phone. Sure, Blackberry Messenger satisfies my inner stalker with “R’s” and “D’s” for read/delivered messages. But decent doesn’t cut it. And the Tour is really my stalemate phone because I have no moves. Google Sync has since come out replicating all the wonderful features of Mobile Me, sans the $99 fee. Which has me taking a notice.

But lets get back to the iPhone and the expectations that Apple has created for itself. They pride themselves on the user’s experience. Microsoft writes its operating system (haphazardly) for dozens of different computer manufactures and it shows. Apple creates its own operating system for its own computers- this too shows. The experience between a Mac and PC do not compare.

Apple revolutionized the way we interact with music with the iconic iPod + iTunes. As a company Apple has moved methodically with great regard to the user experience in every instance except the iPhone. The quality of the service provider (in this case AT&T) has a massive impact on the user experience and the carrier partnership should be scrutinized just as heavily as the number of clicks it takes to get from one menu to the next.

A chain truly is as strong as its weakest link and for whatever reason AT&T is the rotting link on this chain that Apple has bound to the iPhone. So while I appreciate what Apple has done for me, it seems to have side stepped with respect to the iPhone.

I’m now looking for Google to innovate. I have hopes for the Google Phone. The sad thing is the phone my heart..err thumbs yearn for (iPhone) is right in front of me. So while the iPhone is screwing around with that crap carrier I’ve got my eyes open for something better. Maybe Apple will get it’s act together before I lose interest. Maybe not.

[Via http://gorode.wordpress.com]

I, Hasselhoff - Ask The Hoff hits the Android Market

2009-12-03T08:00:00.000+02:00

Ask The Hoff is now available in the Android Market! It’s our first application for Android handsets (and our second app release in as many days, following on from Instant Turin), and is available to buy from today.

While we’ve been intending to begin Android development for some time, the success we’ve had with Ask The Hoff spurred us into action. We worked with North East developer Alex Reid to port the application from iPhone to Android; the process was entirely quick and painless – we only decided to go ahead last Friday – and Alex has done a first class job. He comes highly recommended and we certainly hope to work with Alex in the future on new Android projects.

That’s not the end of our Hoff-related news; a stripped down version of the app – Ask The Hoff Lite – will be available for free next week in the iTunes App Store. P

[Via http://neverodd.wordpress.com]