Motorola is pushing their Android efforts into Korea after making something of a splash in North America with the droid. The motoroi is a touchscreen slate with 3.6” WVGA display, 8 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, HDMI-out, TMB mobile TV, pinch-zooming, and Android 2.1. It doesn’t look like blur is on there, or any other real significant custom work on the user interface, but the motoroi does include an OCR app to translate business cards to address book entries and a docking station.

Android is widely recognized as the most exciting mobile platform in part because of its unequaled openness. Anyone can develop Android applications and make them available through Android Market, and you can download them on MOTOROI™.

There are still rumblings that a little something codenamed Shadow or Mirage will be coming to Asia, boasting an even bigger screen, but until (if) that pans out, the motoroi will remain the king of the Android hill, so to speak. For those interested and in the area, SK Telecom will begin offering the motoroi starting early February. Now, who do have to talk to at Motorola to get them to fix their damned caps lock key?

Source:http://www.intomobile.com/

Labels: Android, Android 2.1, Android devices, Motorola Motoroi

Android was developed with one simple idea: Open up mobile devices to enable greater innovation that will benefit users everywhere.

We first executed on this vision a little over a year ago, when we launched Android on one device with one operator in one country. Today, we have 20 devices with 59 operators in 48 countries and 19 languages. And because Android is free and open source, it continues to flourish. Android allows devices to be built faster, and at lower cost. And anyone can build anything on top of the platform. This ultimately benefits users.

To help adapt Android to the needs of consumers, we apply our engineering resources to selected projects with handset makers and operators. Together we have improved the rate and pace of innovation in mobile phones. The volume and variety of Android devices today has exceeded even our most optimistic expectations. And we believe we can accelerate the pace of innovation further. So we thought: What if we work even more closely with our partners to create devices which showcase some of the great software technology we've been working on? And what if we make those devices available for purchase through a new, simple online web store from Google?

Well, today we're pleased to announce a new way for consumers to purchase a mobile phone through a Google hosted web store. The goal of this new consumer channel is to provide an efficient way to connect Google's online users with selected Android devices. We also want to make the overall user experience simple: a simple purchasing process, simple service plans from operators, simple and worry-free delivery and start-up.

The first phone we'll be selling through this new web store is the Nexus One — a convergence point for mobile technology, apps and the Internet. Nexus One is an exemplar of what's possible on mobile devices through Android — when cool apps meet a fast, bright and connected computer that fits in your pocket. The Nexus One belongs in the emerging class of devices which we call "superphones." It's the first in what we expect to be a series of products which we will bring to market with our operator and hardware partners and sell through our online store.


Official Google Blog: Our new approach to buying a mobile phone

Labels: Android, Android News, Google Web Store, Google Nexus One

Apple’s iPhone has monopolized the smart-phone market since the past couple of years. The existing scenario could soon be reversed with the introduction of the new Droid. The 3.7-inch touch screen Droid consists of two principal parts. The upper part is the large glass display, and the lower portion is a slightly longer keyboard.

Motorola’s new-age design is bit thicker than the iPhone 3GS making it more impressive. Coupled with Google’s open-source software, it sports a full keyboard, a bigger screen than the iPhone and a flash-based camera.

The Droid’s built-in keyboard with click keys, provide its users with an easy experience. Its buttons are relatively large so you wont be hitting the delete button every now and then.

The Droid comes with a 600 MHz Arm Cortex A8 CPU 600MHz, with 256MB of RAM. This much of RAM is enough to browse the Internet, take a call on the speaker phone, while chatting it up on G-chat.

Motorola has decked up the Droid with a 5 megapixel camera with the LED flash. The camera features the Android software that controls auto focus, flash settings, white balance and effects. This is considered to be the sweetest phone cameras able to handle shooting in bright sunlight, at night and even on a rainy day.

Also it is introduced in the market with 25,000; free and paid applications available, ranging from Facebook and Twitter to hundred of games.

Google has launched an excellent and competitive smart-phone with many of the features that a modern user would think of. Moreover, for Verizon customers, there isn't a more action packed device on the network.

Droid makes for a powerful tool, along-with Google’s smooth software, Verizon's killer network, and Motorola’s new-aged design.

Labels: Android

It is starting to look like just two smartphone platforms "matter" where it comes to use of the mobile Web: the Apple iPhone and the Android devices, a new analysis by AdMob suggests.

AdMob’s October, 2009 measurements show that the iPhone/iPod Touch and Android phones account for 75 percent of mobile Web traffic in the United States.



Apple devices continue to dominate, with 55 percent share, but Android users in October represented 20 percent of all activity, up from 17 percent in September, 2009.

The iPhone and iPod Touch grew their share from 48 percent to 55 percent share over the same period.

The Blackberry ’s mobile Web traffic share went down from 14 percent to 12 percent, and Palm’s webOS shrank from 10 percent to five percent.

On a global basis, the iPhone operating system now accounts for 50 percent of all mobile traffic, up from 43 percent the month before.

Android has an 11 percent global share, which makes it third globally after Nokia/Symbian’s 25 percent share.

Since Verizon launched the Droid about two weeks ago, Droids now make up 24 percent of all Android mobile Web traffic. The HTC Dream, which is the oldest Android device on the market, is the only Android device with more share, at 36 percent of Android traffic. Give it a few more weeks. The Droid is shaping up to be the most-popular Android device so far.

The data suggests that the BlackBerry, though a worthy enterprise device, continues to lag as a smartphone choice for users whose key applications lean to the Web.

Source:http://ipcarrier.blogspot.com/2009/11/apple-and-android-dominate-us.html

Labels: Android, Android Phone, Apple News, iPhone News

Mobile games publisher Gameloft might have thrown in the towel on Android, but that is a mistake. I certainly understand why they gave up on Android. Since launching in February of this year, our own Whitepages Caller ID app has become a top ten grossing Android application, and yet we’ve seen less than $54,000 in revenue. While our iPhone app download counts are in the millions, our Android app downloads are a mere 17 percent of this volume.

Despite our meager return on investment this year, I believe that the real potential for Android app developers lies in the New Year. Here’s why:

End-To-End Goodness

In addition to being an open platform that facilitates device innovation, Android offers choice and progress when it comes to the marketplace where consumers discover and download applications. While iTunes and The Official App Store are the only places consumers can download apps for their iPhone, Android’s open platform allows merchants like MobiHand and HanDango to set up storefronts, ultimately providing more purchasing options for consumers. Google’s focus on improving its the user experience in its own Android market will also continue to boost revenues for app developers. For example, when the recent 1.6 OS (Cupcake) upgrade provided a much needed facelift for the market, we saw an immediate 18 percent lift in sales for our paid Caller ID application.

Billing Options Get Greener

While Google still has a long way to go in terms of reaching as many consumers as iTunes does, with the power of “what’s hot” and capabilities like in-app purchases, they have begun to enlist an armada of players—including carriers with deep experience in integrated billing—to create better markets for the merchandising and sale of applications. In early November, T-Mobile announced that they will launch their own Android market with integrated carrier billing, giving consumers the ability to charge applications to their phone bill. Also on the Google market roadmap is the ability for publishers to offer subscription purchases.

Read full story:http://www.techcrunch.com

Labels: Android, Android applications, Android Market, Mobile games

Estimates are in, and according to Broadpoint AmTech Inc representative Mark McKechnie, Motorola and Verizon Wireless probably sold 100,000 Droid phones in the opening weekend of the device’s launch. Stores were initially stocked with 200,000 and about half of each store’s inventory was depleted, with the 100,000 figure being a logical and unscientific extension.

Check out what Citigroup’s Jim Suva had to say on the matter:

“It wasn’t as good as the iPhone, but anybody that was expecting that had their expectations too high,” said Suva, who recommends buying Motorola shares. Traffic in Verizon stores through the first three days was “continually good,” he said.

Motorola may sell 1.3 million Android phones in the fourth quarter and 9 million next year, Suva said. Apple will sell 8 million iPhones this quarter and 28.5 million next year, he predicts.

Are you doing the same math as me? Motorola themselves will sell about 1/3 the number of Android Phones as Apple will sell iPhones next year. And then you’ve got Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony Ericsson and all of the other phone makers driving Android Phone sales.

Read full story here: http://phandroid.com/2009/11/10/100000-droids-and-counting/

Labels: Android, Android Market, Google's Droid, Verizon Motorola Droid

I am excited to announce that the Android SDK now supports Android 2.0 (also known as Eclair).

Android 2.0 brings new developer APIs for sync, Bluetooth, and a few other areas. Using the new sync, account manager and contacts APIs, you can write applications to enable users to sync their devices to various contact sources. You can also give users a faster way to communicate with others by embedding Quick Contact within your application. With the new Bluetooth API, you can now easily add peer-to-peer connectivity or gaming to your applications. To get a more complete list of the new capabilities you can add to your applications, please go to the Android 2.0 highlights page.

Current developers can use the SDK Manager to add Android 2.0 support to their SDK as well as update their SDK Tools to revision 3. New developers can download the Android SDK from the download site. After the download, Android platforms must be added using the SDK Manager.

Android SDK Tools, revision 3 is required to develop for Android 2.0. It includes support for code coverage through the Ant build system, as well as Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) support for the SDK and related tools. For those of you who develop using Eclipse, we are releasing ADT version 0.9.4 through the usual Eclipse update mechanism.

Over the next few months, we expect to see more and more Android devices being released. These devices will be running Android 1.5, 1.6, or 2.0. We are also planning a minor version update of Android 2.0 towards the end of the year, and that will be the last update for 2009. Below are some of the things you can do to be better prepared:




* Download the Android 2.0 platform and make sure your existing apps continue to work on new devices running Android 2.0.

* Make sure that your apps work when using the WVGA (800x480) & FWVGA (854x480) emulator skins. We expect devices with these types of screen, running Android 2.0 to be launched soon.

Source:http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/10/announcing-android-20-support-in-sdk.html

Labels: Android, Android 2.0 Support, Android SDK

Over the past 6 months, the iPhone has been dominating - but a plethora of news that has been coming out appears to indicate that Android is gaining dominance. Some highlights from toda-y Nytimes article:

- Twelve Android handsets have been announced this year, with dozens more expected next year. Motorola has dropped Windows Mobile from its line entirely in a switch to Android. HTC, a major cellphone maker, expects half its phones sold this year to run Android. Dell is using Android for its entry into the cellphone market.

- All four of the largest carriers in the United States have now agreed to offer Android phones. When the first Android handset, the G1 from HTC, was introduced last fall, only T-Mobile offered it. Now, Verizon, the largest carrier, is putting a huge promotional push behind the Droid from Motorola, set to be introduced this week. Even AT&T, the home of the iPhone, recently said it would join the Android party next year.

And at whose expense is this happening:
- Android is on only 1.8 percent of smartphones worldwide, according to Gartner, and Windows Mobile software still dwarfs Android. But Microsoft is slipping. The percentage of smartphones using the Windows Mobile system has plummeted to 9.3 percent, from 12 percent in the second quarter of 2008. Microsoft fell behind Apple, which shot up to 13.3 percent, from 2.8 percent. (Nokia’s Symbian operating system is the world leader, followed by Research In Motion’s OS for its BlackBerrys.)

Why?
- Nevertheless, Android is free, while Windows Mobile costs manufacturers $15 to $25 a phone.

For the full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/technology/26android.html?hpw

Labels: Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile

The new droid phone is coming out. What is it going to be like. Looking at this early version picture from BoyGenius - it look like the 1st real alternative to the iPhone.

Whats not to like:
- Good sound.
- Verizon network
- outstanding battery life - it is good enough to last the whole day.
- generous specs
- Outstanding look and feel factor


http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/10/23/motorola-droid-preview/#more-37012

Labels: Android, Verizon

The slew of enhancements coming our way from Google in the past week or so have been rather staggering. First, we found the Maps application for webOS was quietly enhanced to include transit and walking directions.Then AdSense was upgraded.

Now,we have more search refinement options while searching on Google's mobile site. The Google Mobile Blog has announced enhancements in this area by allowing for filtering by Web, Forums, Reviews and time posted, reflecting the options that are available on desktop browsers.

This update is reflected on the Android, iPhone, and webOS operating systems. Blackberry, S60, Windows Mobile and everyone else are left, once more, out in the cold. Webkit win!

http://www.precentral.net/googe-introduces-search-options-mobile-webos

Labels: Android, iPhone, Palm Phone, Palm WebOS, Windows Mobile

We wrote about Google’s Quick Search Box (QSB) a few months ago when the product was officially launched. We found the Twitter plug-in particularly interesting because QSB was able to turn into a Twitter app that let you post Tweets from the search box itself. Now, Google is launching a version of QSB for the Android Phone which provides similar functionality from the phone’s home screen.

QSB on the Android aims to cut down on keystrokes by providing suggestions as you type and provides a single search box to let you search a variety pf content on your phone, including apps, contacts, and browser history, as well as content from the web, like personalized search suggestions, local business listings, stock quotes, weather, and flight status. And QSB is intuitive; the search box will pull up items that you search for and use most often.

On of the most compelling features of QSB for the Andoid is that third-party developers can include suggestions in search, letting outside information from any apps make into searchable content. So if the app is built with QSB support, QSB will index the content in the app and it will show up in the box. For example, you could search a Twitter app for Tweets.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that QSB for the Android has the ability to Tweet from the search box itself, but perhaps that plug-in will be added in the near future.

VIA: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/09/android-gets-its-own-everything-search-box/

Labels: Android, Android 1.6, Android applications, Android Development Tools

Google’s Android operating system is set for iPhone-trajectory sales over the next few years, Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney said in a report yesterday from Computerworld, and will be the second-ranking smartphone OS globally by 2012. Gartner predicts Android’s     share of the smartphone market will grow to 14 percent from less than 2 percent in the next three years as Symbian’s slide from dominance continues.

That kind of performance would mirror Apple’s staggering success over the last two years. Apple launched its first-generation iPhone in the U.S. in 2007 and quickly took the worldwide market by storm; the iPhone OS enjoyed a global market share of 11 percent in the first quarter of 2009 and has watched its footprint continue to expand. But while there’s no denying Android’s momentum, overtaking Apple in just a few years seems like a monumental task.

Dulaney makes a compelling case: A slew of handset vendors are jumping aboard the Android bandwagon (largely at the expense of Windows Mobile), the platform has effectively grown its developer community, and it now has the backing of America’s largest mobile network operator. And Android is built on open-source technology, Dulaney noted, giving it a decided edge over Apple’s proprietary platform.

However, the iPhone remains the overwhelming device of choice for smartphone users, and is increasingly being offered by carriers around the world. And while Apple pretty much had the benefit of being a first mover in offering a consumer-friendly, Internet-capable smartphone, Android is battling it out not just with Apple but also with Research In Motion’s BlackBerry, Palm’s webOS and others. Android may appear to be an irresistible force, but the field is wide open in these early days of the superphone.

More:http://gigaom.com/2009/10/07/android-to-be-no-2-mobile-os-by-2012/

Labels: Android, Android Market, Android Phone

First came the rumors. Then came the leaked images. And now, 3 all-knowing (conveniently unnamed) analysts have predicted that Verizon’s long awaited foray into Android will happen some time next week with the announcement of Motorola’s Sholes/Tao smartphone. The timing seems feasible, especially considering that Motorola is holding a MOTODEV Android-related press event next Tuesday, October 6 (WinMo 6.5 who?).

But, this is far from certain, folks. In fact, we have it on good word that Verizon retail employees have yet to train on Android, making a near term launch that much less likely. However, that does not rule out an announcement only like the recent Motorola CLIQ event.

Either way, the speculation is definitely heating up. Just this morning the friendly folks over at AndroidGuys have posted information suggesting the Tao (or whatever it will end up being called) will be released on December 1, just in time for the all-mighty holiday shopping bonanza. But the fun doesn’t stop there.

According to the super secret document that found its way to AndroidAndMe, the Tao will purportedly be the “world’s thinnest” slider QWERTY phone at 13.7mm thick. Yes, please! Other juicy tidbits include: a 3.7″ 16:9 touch screen display, 16GB built-in storage, 5MP camera with dual LED flash, full HTML browser with Flash support, and supposedly the next generation of Android, the big 2.0.

Here are the rest of the leaked specs:


• OMAP3430 – 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 + PowerVR SGX 530 GPU + 430MHz C64x+ DSP + ISP (Image Signal Processor)


• Dimensions 60.00 x 115.80 x 13.70 mm


• Weight 169 g


• Battery Li-ion 1400 mAh.


• Standby 450 hours, talk time 420 minutes


• 3.7-inch touch-sensitive display with a resolution of 854×480 pixels, 16 million color depth. Physical screen size is 45.72 mm by 81.34 mm.


• 512MB/256MB ROM/RAM


• microSD / microSDHC expansion slot


• Camera: 5.0 megapixel with autofocus and video recorder


• Connectivity: USB2.0, 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, Wi-Fi


• Operating System: Android 2.0 (with Eclair, no Motoblur)


• Package Contents: Phone Motorola Sholes, battery, charger, USB cable, 8GB MicroSD memory card and other literature

[ VIA: http://www.mobilecrunch.com ]

Labels: Android, Motorola CLIQ, Motorola handsets, Motorola Tao

The ARCHOS 5 Android Tablet has finally launched. We at Android Central have been expecting the ARCHOS 5 to release for months now and true to their word, September 15th was their date. The ARCHOS 5 Android Tablet specs are the same as we've previously reported and to quickly refresh your memory, that's a 800x480 4.8-inch screen, 800MHz OMAP3440 processor, 720p video and output over HDMI, capacity up to 500GB, 802.11n WiFi, etc. internet tablet for your liking.

Early reports on the ARCHOS 5 Android Tablet have been pretty positive, it's definitely a better offering than your run-of-the-mill media tablet. Who's interested in getting one of these for themselves?

Source:http://www.androidcentral.com/

Labels: Android, Android Market, Android Phone, Android Tablet, Android Tablet ARCHOS 5

I am happy to let you know that Android 1.6 SDK is available for download. Android 1.6, which is based on the donut branch from the Android Open Source Project, introduces a number of new features and technologies. With support for CDMA and additional screen sizes, your apps can be deployed on even more mobile networks and devices. You will have access to new technologies, including framework-level support for additional screen resolutions, like QVGA and WVGA, new telephony APIs to support CDMA, gesture APIs, a text-to-speech engine, and the ability to integrate with Quick Search Box. What's new in Android 1.6 provides a more complete overview of this platform update.

The Android 1.6 SDK requires a new version of Android Development Tools (ADT). The SDK also includes a new tool that enables you to download updates and additional components, such as new add-ons or platforms.

You can expect to see devices running Android 1.6 as early as October. As with previous platform updates, applications written for older versions of Android will continue to run on devices with Android 1.6. Please test your existing apps on the Android 1.6 SDK to make sure they run as expected.

Over the next several weeks, we will publish a series of blog posts to help you get ready for the new developer technologies in Android 1.6. The following topics, and more, will be covered: how to adapt your applications to support different screen sizes, integrating with Quick Search Box, building gestures into your apps, and using the text-to-speech engine.

VIA::http://android-developers.blogspot.com/

Labels: Android, Android 1.6 SDK, Android Development Tools, Android Software Programming

At an event on Thursday, Motorola announced its very first Android based device - the Motorola CLIQ. The phone, which would be made for T-Mobile, marks Motorola's entry into the Android platform. Will this be enough to boost the company's sagging fortunes? We will find that out soon.

The CLIQ is a decent Android device complete with a HVGA touchscreen, QWERTY keyboard and all the other "standard" fare that includes WiFi, GPS and even a 3.5mm jack. The 5 megapixel, autofocus camera takes care of the imaging part. Specs wise, the phone matches the features offered by its competitors - namely the Samsung Galaxy i7500, HTC Hero and the HTC Magic. The recently announced HTC Tattoo might pose some competition to the CLIQ as well. However, that would only happen if the CLIQ ever makes it out of T-Mobile and is offered SIM free.

The CLIQ happens to be the first Motorola device to feature its new MOTOBLUR solution. MOTOBLUR manages and streams together updates to contacts, posts, messages, photos and more from sources including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Gmail, and work and personal e-mail. The feature then delivers these updates to the home screen in easy-to-view streams so there is no need to open and close different mobile applications to keep up with the latest content.

The phone will be released in the fourth quarter of 2009 and while its pricing hasn't been officially revealed, it is expected to hover around the $399 (Rs.20,000 approx.) mark.



Source : http://www.techtree.com

Labels: Android, Android device, Android Phone, Motorola, Motorola handsets

Following a tip from a Tweet by AndroLib.com, an Android App Market website (non-Google Website yet far better), reporting real-time stats that Google’s Android Market has more than 10,000 Android Apps.

At the time of this post, there were 10,072 to be exact; 64% of the apps are Free while 36% are Paid apps. According to that,the best resources for Android App Reviews, only reviewed about 2% of the Android Market apps… but I always say it’s about Quality and NOT Quantity. We’ve seen some really good and really crappy apps… even those that tried to pull the get-rich-on-an-idiot scheme by uploading $200 apps.

Recent outcry or better yet outrage on poor sales in the Android Market can make developers weary of the OS. Not to mention the numerous things wrong with the current state of the Android Market itself; but with a little time, Market corrections, more cellular carriers, improved SDK… Android can soon surpass other platforms as demonstrated in recent mobile operating system growth statistics.

Though nowhere near Apple’s one billionth iPhone app download by a teenager a few months ago… The Android Market shows strong potential as a mobile operating system and 3rd party software eco-system.

Source for story:http://www.androidtapp.com/android-market-now-more-than-10000-android-apps/

Image source:androlib.com

Labels: Android, Android applications, Android Market, Android SDK, Android Software Programming

I'm pleased to let you know about several updates to Android Market. First, we will soon introduce new features in Android Market for Android 1.6 that will improve the overall experience for users. As part of this change, developers will be able to provide screenshots, promotional icons and descriptions that will better show off applications and games.

We have also added four new sub-categories for applications: sports, health, themes, and comics. Developers can now choose these sub-categories for both new and existing applications via the publisher website. Finally, we have added seller support for developers in Italy. Italian developers can go to the publisher website to upload applications and target any of the countries where paid applications are currently available to users.

To take advantage of the upcoming Android Market refresh, we encourage you to visit the Android Market publisher website and upload additional marketing assets. Check out the video below for some of the highlights.

Android Developers Blog: Some News from Android Market: "Eric Chu"

Labels: Android, Android applications, Android Market

Motorola a smart phone handset maker,it looks like ready to spotlight its Android phones to the world.Motorola is organizing an Android event in next month on September 10 in San Francisco.

While its is not confirmed yet,and there are no details from Motorola,what moto will showcase.As we see invitation sent to several websites and publications with Android logo,potentially we guess it will debut the Morrison, Verizon’s Sholes Android-based Motorola handsets.

Definatly this event will help Motorola to yield better prospects and results for their handsets .

Labels: Android, Android Phone, Motorola, Motorola handsets

Archos has announced that a 5-inch Internet media tablet loaded with Android will be unveiled on September 15th, According to The Inquirer. The tablet will have an HDMI out and comes with natively embedded OpenGL libraries. Archos has also announced its AppsLib application store for advanced Android devices targeted at super high-end non-smartphone devices. Archos has clearly framed its objectives by stating that :

By High-End devices, we mean devices that are not only smartphones, but all kind of tablets, PDA, PNDs or picture-frames. Devices that will tomorrow provide the same kind of experience than a PC, mobility added.

AppsLib is a co-venture with ARCHOS. Our target is to be available on a large variety of device, from a lot of manufacturer. But we believe ARCHOS has got what it takes to become the future of Android devices.

However, the development guidelines describe just a single, 5-inch 800x480 pixel device with accelerometer, OpenGL 3D graphics support, and HDMI output pushing an oddball 1160x652 pixel resolution to your TV. Still there is room for other speculations like ; 500GB storage, 10-mm thickness, 7-hours of battery when playing video, voice and HSUPA data radio, and OMAP3440 processor -- unexpectedly announced (by TI!) for the tablet way back in February to be in place. The device has all the makings of a successful piece of hardware.

With this challenging endeavor, it would be worth watching whether or not the ARCHOS Android Internet Tablet and AppsLib will be successful in the already hot smartphone market. It will be interesting to watch the developing part with completely different implications.

Labels: Android, Android applications, Android Tablet, Smartphonesmarket

Today we're pleased to announce a new Google Labs application for Android-powered devices in the US called, Listen. Listen quickly finds podcasts and web audio relevant to your searches, lets you stream over-the-air or download for later, and subscribe to fresh content from your favorite feeds and searches. In short, Listen helps organize the world of audio information and makes it easily accessible anytime, anywhere. And if you agree with the Jimi Hendrix quote that is the title of this post, then Listen may actually make you wiser, too.

Listen lets you stay informed even while engaged in other activities. Our colleagues use Listen as a personal audio-magazine while exercising, commuting, gardening, cleaning, dressing, cooking, and more*.



Source Images:googlemobile.blogspot.com

Official Google Mobile Blog: "Knowledge speaks but wisdom listens."

Labels: Android, Android applications, Google, Google Apps Engine, Google News

Android seem to be doing much better than Palm Pre.  Crossing the million dollar mark so far seems like an important indicator of the traction that Android has.



And according to HTC CEO Peter Chou, the number of HTC magic handsets sold has topped the one million-mark.

Android This Week - Over 1 Million Served - NYTimes.com

Labels: Android, HTCMagic

These numbers look so big that I thought I need to publish them.

Smartphones using the Google-backed Android operating system are expected to move up the market fast with 900 percent growth this year, Strategy Analytics predicts. While Android is starting from a low base, Apple, Inc.'s iPhone is expected to grow 70 percent from a 40 million base. Strategy Analytics cited Android's low cost and Google support.

Source: http://www.mobile-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=66544&full_skip=1

Labels: Android

I was checking the list of top smartphone in Q2 2009 and there was only 1 android phone and over 4 blackberry. The list is as follows

1. BlackBerry Curve (83xx series and 8900)
2. Apple iPhone 3GS (both 16GB and 32GB versions)
3. BlackBerry Pearl (81xx series not including the Pearl Flip)
4. Apple iPhone 3G (8GB and 16GB versions)
5. BlackBerry Bold
6. BlackBerry Storm
7. T-Mobile G1
8. Palm Pre
9. HTC Touch Pro
10. HTC Touch Diamond

From what we can gather this is going to change a lot as a ton of Androids are expected to come out in the 2nd half of the year. From some quarters we have heard that there are over 18 Android phones in the pipeline. And the Mytouch which came out last week has had stellar reviews. My analysis is that in 2010 it will be a face off between Android and iPhone for the Consumer market and Blackberry of course has a lock on the Business market. And I am sure that Microsoft is going to come back competitive. They simply cant afford to ignore this market. The Palm Pre is a great OS, it simply needs some decent carrier and nice application and it should give the other smartphones a run for their money.

Let the competition begin!

Source: jkontherun

Labels: Android, Apple iPhone, Palm Pre, Smartphones, Windows Mobile

Amazon.com announced the release of its latest mobile shopping application, “Amazon App for Android”, which is available as a free download to a user’s device in Android Market.

The application includes the experimental Amazon Remembers feature that gives Android users two different ways to use their device camera to find and remember items available for sale on Amazon.com: they can either snap a photo of an item or scan a barcode, and then receive a product match.

Amazon Remembers is available on Amazon’s family of shopping applications, including the Amazon App for iPhone and iPod Touch, the Amazon App for BlackBerry, and now on the Amazon App for Android.

Using the Amazon App for Android, customers can snap a photo of a product or scan a barcode for a fun and easy way to build a list of photographs showing products they want to remember for later, make price comparisons across multiple merchants, and purchase products from Amazon.com and thousands of other retailers on the Amazon.com site.

Source For This: http://www.slashphone.com

Labels: Amazon, Android, Android applications

You thought Exchange support was as a big deal for Android? Well, enterprise-grade applications are also in the pipes for a future release of Android, according to GoogleVP Andy Rubin.
Of course, Google’s attitude remains somewhat laissez-faire, riding primarily on the hope that manufacturers will do what they will to the Android source code for their handsets.

If Android wants a reasonable chunk of the enterprise market, manufacturers will have to make exceptionally good use of tose tools, especially if RIM keeps getting special treatment from Google with things like with the BlackBerry Apps Connector. Rubin says we could start seeing enterprise Android apps as soon as this year, although it depends largely on what manufacturers do.

[via : http://www.intomobile.com]

Labels: Android, Android applications, Android Phone, Android SDK, Android Software Programming

You can feel the presence of a new kid on the block...!!! Code-named Rachael, Sony Ericsson's Android based Device, currently in development phase, will hit the market later this year, according to information obtained by the Danish Mobil Magazine.

Everyone is aware for some time now that Sony Ericsson (SE) is working on a Google Android-based smartphone, but the company has placed the details under the sheets. However, pictures leaked by a Danish site appears to reveal snaps of what it looks like.

Now, we can review the details regarding the first Sony Ericsson Android device. The Android based device will be part of SE's XPERIA series, which so far includes the Windows Mobile-based X1 model.

The leaked information also reveals that the SE's upcoming Android phone featuring an 8.1-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash. At the top of the phone a 3.5mm headphone jack and a miniUSB port are also present. No specific details on the phone's display size or resolution were released, but the Danish magazine says it has a pressure-sensitive touchscreen.

The Sony Ericsson Rachael, as the rumors go, will get powered by an extra-speedy 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 chip. It supports high definition video decoding and the phone is likely to sport a broadcast T Android based, Wi Fi, and GPS.

Labels: Android, Android Phone, Android Software Programming

Taiwanese handset manufacturer HTC launched India's first smartphone on Tuesday that will run on Google's open-source Android operating system.Sources tell ET NOW that Bharti Airtel will be the exclusive carrier for the device that is priced at around Rs 30,000.

The device is likely to provide stiff competition to existing smartphone handset cum application offerings such as Apple's iPhone and iTunes App Store as well as Nokia's N97 and Ovi Store. While both companies declined to comment, a spokesperson for Google told ET NOW that "Android is a freely available open-source platform that anybody is free to develop and use without Google's formal involvement".

The Android phone provides free 100 MB monthly download for Airtel customers.

The phone thus is clearly not going to be branded a 'Google Phone' like the HTC Dream was when it launched late last year in the US as the T-Mobile G1. Since that first commerially available model, HTC has also launched the "Magic" which is identical to the Dream except for a touch-screen keyboard instead of a sliding one.

The phone did not receive the same manic reception in the US as did the Apple iPhone but is expected to emerge as Apple's stiffest competition going forward. The G1's key feature was its ability to wirelessly sync with popular Google web applications such as Gmail, contacts, calender and Google Talk. Apple on the other hand has had little success in getting iPhone users to sync with its propreitary "Mobile Me" web services which are nowhere on the radar when compared to Google's web presence.

Android is a software platform for mobile devices, including netbooks, based on the Linux operating system and although it is officially administered by a consortium of companies called the Open Handset Alliance, Google is the original creator and the unofficial 'anchor company'. Developers can write code for the platform using a flavour of the Java programming language developed by Google. Some open source evengelists have criticized Android for not being "100% open source" accusing Google of keeping some components of the code propreitary in order to control it.


Read on for more about launching of Android Phone at: Economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Labels: Android, Android Software Programming

It seems that Android mobile phone users can now enjoy an upgraded version of Google Maps for their handsets. According to the Mountain View-based company, the new version comes with improvements for Latitude, as well as with a series of new features, among which we can mention the fact that users can now perform voice searches in Google Maps.

In addition, Google Maps now enables users to find locations without entering the exact address, as the new version allows them to enter only simple items, like “windsurfing,” for example. The voice recognition software seems to be the great thing here, as Google states that it supports English in a number of different accents, including American, British and Australian.

While this sounds rather great, it will be interesting to see how it will handle regional accents. According to the guys at Android Authority, some British regional accents might cause problems, as they are “more pronounced in their dissimilarities with other English accents when compared to cross national accents differences.”

Other new additions to the Google Maps include improvements to the transit walking directions, which is stated to be able to offer directions for walking or using public transport in up to 250 cities. According to the search giant, the walking directions in Google Maps include pedestrian-only pathways and similar shortcuts.

One of the greatest improvements that the new Google Maps brings forth consists of a series of enhancements for Latitude for Android. It seems that Latitude can now flawlessly update while running in the background. In addition, Latitude includes a new feature, called “Updates,” which enables users to chat with their contacts in a way similar to Twitter.

Another thing that should be added is that those who would like to enjoy the new Google Maps on their Android-powered mobile phone will have to download it manually directly from the Android Market, as it won't be automatically pushed to the handsets.

Source for this news : http://news.softpedia.com/news

Labels: Android, Android applications, Google News

Google's Android smartphone after rapid launching, has begun to fall behind the iPhone in a discerning measure of smartphone success. After keeping the iPhone's pace in the early five months on the market, Google’s Android has fallen behind the race set by Apple’s smartphone iphone in terms of its occurrence on the Web

Android was catching up the iphone idustry in the initial five months, with the launch of its first Android phone - the T-Mobile G1 but it soon fell off the pace in the sixth month, with the the iPhone set upon its launch. Meanwhile, the iPhone’s expanding Web presence shows no signs of slowing down. According to a report by Net Applications, page requests by the iPhone operating system continue to rise while requests from the Android operating system have flattened out.

Another data provided by AdMob which specifically measures advertising requests coming in from the Web confirms that requests from the Apple operating system have outpaced requests from any other smartphone sources, RIM and Android included.

The smartphone market is still in its early growth stage, however, and things may yet pick up for Android. Certainly, the initial buzz around new entry of T-Mobile with Android into the smartphone race is likely to give it strong initial sales. But as Google and T-Mobile have learned, sustaining the buzz may not be so easy, especially with Apple expected to introduce a new iphone, perhaps as early as next week.

Although the smartphone market is relatively young, the iPhone appears to be the smartphone that is actually being used by its purchasers, regardless of purchase stats. The iPhone’s position is not indomitable, but it continues to be very strong.

Labels: Android, iPhone, Smartphones

Do you have a G1 and are waiting for an OS Update. Here is the schedule for the update:

* 5 percent of Android Devices will receive the Android 1.5 Cupcake Update on Monday, May 18th
* 15 percent on Tuesday, May 19th
* 30 percent on Wednesday, May 20th
* 45 percent on Thursday, May 21st
* 60 percent on Friday, May 22nd
* 75 percent on Saturday, May 23rd
* 90 percent on Sunday, May 24th
* 100 percent on Monday, May 25th


Source: http://jkontherun.com/2009/05/15/android-cupcake-release-schedule-leaked/

Labels: Android

If you were considering developing for the Android, some fact belows about usage pattern of consumers may assist you in making the decision.

1. 80 percent of G1 owners browse the web daily.
2. Four out of five G1 owners download apps at least once a week from the Android. On average, T-Mobile G1 customers have each downloaded more than 40 applications from the Android Market.
3. An average G1 owner consumes 50 times the data of the average voice-centric phone user.
4. Among T-Mobile customers who have purchased the G1, roughly half have traded up from a basic handset.
5. The majority of T-Mobile G1 owners use Facebook and YouTube at least once a week.
6. Half of G1 customers also access Wi-Fi on a daily basis.

Source: Gigaom

Labels: Android

Google’s Android mobile OS is expected see a growth rate of 900 percent in 2009, Strategy Analytics is predicting in a new report. The Apple iPhone OS will follow behind it, as the second fastest-growing smartphone OS, and the RIM BlackBerry is also in good shape, as the second-largest overall smartphone OS in the U.S. in 2008.

Google’s Android operating system is expected to grow by 900 percent in 2009, encouraged by vendors, developers and operators, a May 11 report from research firm Strategy Analytics is predicting.

The report, “Global Smartphone Vendor Market Share by Region: 2008,” breaks down smartphone market growth by region and operating system.

“The Android mobile operating system from Google gained early traction in the United States in the second half of 2008 and it is gradually spreading its presence into Europe and Asia during 2009,” wrote Tom Kang, the author of the report, in a statement.

Kang additionally expects the iPhone OS to grow 79 percent in 2009—outpaced only by Android, which is expanding from a lower user base.

Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics, also remarked in the statement that Android’s “relatively low-cost licensing model, its semi-open-source structure and Google’s support for cloud services have encouraged companies such as HTC, Motorola, Samsung, T-Mobile, Vodafone and others to support the Android operating system. Android is now in a good position to become a top-tier player in smartphones over the next two to three years.”

Despite the global economic climate, global smartphone shipments reached 152 million units in 2008, and Kang’s report states Asia Pacific is still the biggest market for smartphones, followed by North America and then Western Europe.

Core markets for Symbian have been sluggish Kang additionally writes, but the RIM BlackBerry has also seen success, pulling ahead of Microsoft Windows Mobile to become the second largest smartphone OS in 2008.

Source:http://www.eweek.com

Labels: Android, Android applications, Google’s Android operating system

Google has released Android 1.5 SDK on schedule. The new development kit offers developers to write programs for the Android update soon in the first quarter of May in some locations. It brings in the ability to run Android Virtual Devices inside an emulator for better modeling of real devices and other improvements for performance issues to make development easier.

New Android 1.5 is the first version of the SDK that will support add-ons, which let the Android SDK to give you access to the external Android libraries. Among the actual changes to Android in 1.5 that end users will see later are an on-screen soft keyboard, widgets in the home screen for a music player, search and other features, stereo Bluetooth support; and video recording and playback.

Some of the features of new released SDK are:-

i)Multiple versions of the Android platform are included (Android 1.1, Android 1.5). The tools are updated to let you deploy your application on any platform in the SDK, which helps you ensure forward-compatibility and, if applicable, backward-compatibility.

ii) Introduces Android Virtual Devices — (AVD) configurations of options that you run in the emulator to better model actual devices. Each AVD gets its own dedicated storage area, making it much easier to work with multiple emulators that are running concurrently.

iii) Support for SDK add-ons, which extend the Android SDK to give you access to one or more external Android libraries and/or a customized (but compliant) system image that can run in the emulator.

iv) The new Eclipse ADT plugin (version 0.9.0) offers new Wizards to let you create projects targeted for specific Android configurations, generate XML resources (such as layouts, animations, and menus), generate alternate layouts, and export and sign your application for publishing.

v) Improved JUnit support in ADT .

vi) Easier profiling of performance .

vii) Easier management of localized applications. You can now include or exclude locale resources when building your APK from a single Android project.

viii) A new tool called "android" replaces the activity creator script.

ix) For details about the Android platforms included in the SDK — including bug fixes, features, and API changes — please read the Version Notes documents available at left. For a list of Android platforms included in this release, see the Download page.

Points to be noted
1. The Android 1.5 library and system image do not include the Maps external library (com.google.android.maps). However, the Maps external library is available as part of the Google APIs add-on for the Android SDK

2. USB Drivers for Windows the Windows version of the Android SDK includes these USB drivers that you can install, to let you develop on the device:

a) USB driver for 32-bit XP and Vista .
b) USB driver for 64-bit Vista only .

Installation and Upgrade Notes

To migrate to the new SDK from an older version, tools and documentation are provided to assist you in that. No changes to the source code of an existing application should be needed, provided that your application is not using Android internal structures or APIs. Once the migration is over compile it using the platform matching the application's original API Level, and run it against the most current platform.

The SDK now gives you the capability to compile an application against any one of several system targets. There are two types of targets:

i) Targets that represent core Android platform versions.
ii) Targets that are SDK add-ons, which typically provide application access to one or more external libraries and/or a customized (but compliant) system image that can run in the emulator.
iii) Android lets you discover what targets and AVDs are available to use.

Resolved Issues and other Changes

i) Updated documentation for android.media.SoundPool.

ii) WebView objects no longer automatically save thumbnails. The capturePicture() method will need to be called manually.

iii) If your application uses the Sensor API and you are running it in the emulator on the Android 1.5 system image, you may experience problems. Your application may generate ANR messages or crash when using the sensors. The problem is being investigated.

iv) Android 1.5 will not include support for the Zilog Z80 processor architecture.

The 1.5 update will be available to users of the G1 from T-Mobile USA shortly after the SDK release. So to conclude, while very little of this is important to the end user, it's great news for the Android platform as a whole

Labels: Android, Android applications, Android SDK

Android is perceptive and user friendly on mobile hardware such as the HTC Dream. There is no doubt that Android in comparison to full blown operating systems like Windows and Mac OSX.

Though Android is gaining more popularity these days but a very big benefit of Windows mobile is its stiff incorporation with Exchange, and through that to Outlook on the Desktop. If android gets together with Google Apps, then it is the first real competitor to MS Exchange but for it is necessary that we can get our Desktops to Integrate with Google Apps.

Presently we're at the native Linux desktop and drifting towards the Android desktop. The question that comes into mind is that what would then bridge those two environments? It’s damn sure that whatever be the bridge, it will offer a second Linux sandbox which runs along with Android.

Whenever we make comparison between Android and Windows it is like making comparison between Google Apps to Microsoft Office. Starting from the mobile phones environment and running uphill, Android, backed by Google, is likely to be successful where other Linux distributions have failed. It is likely to harvest support from both device manufacturers and applications vendors.

It is well known that Android has a very particular architecture. It has its own libraries and non-X based GUI, which are not favorable to running standard Linux/X applications. Also its libc version (bionic) neglects certain POSIX features and due to which it is not fully compatible. For permitting native Linux apps to run, a second sandbox atmosphere is required that can co-operate with Android. Then Android would be the master environment so as to provide all the kernel, hardware drivers, and complete software stack that it already does. A separate set of non-kernel components would be provided by the co- Linux environment. The components would be like libraries, configuration and administrative files, applications, etc.

The main reason behind this trend is that, consumers and business users equally want something they can take on the road with them. In the era of hotspots and fast speed Internet, people are opting mobile computing instead of desktop computing is- low-power consumption mobile devices which favors lightweight operating systems.

Co-Linux would be a advantage for coming netbook platforms, where some users may want to chose from the accessible native Linux apps, including educational, gaming, just plain familiar, or otherwise. It would be really unruffled if the co-Linux environment itself could be bundled as an Android app. At A1 technology our developers are working hard on this so as to overcome the limitations faced till day.

Labels: Android, Android applications, Android Software Programming

Just noticed a very neat app on my G1 called My Tracks. This app can record your GPS Tracks and visualize various activities. And of course you can share that via Google Maps and Google Docs w/ other users. Stuff such as this may make Mobile phone indispensable. On a seperate note, my firm has just developed a very similar app for the Iphone called GPS Story Teller. As soon as it out on the App Store feel free to give me your feedback on that and any comparison vis a vis My Tracks.

You can check out the youtube video at http://www.youtube.com/v/IBmjJrgUGdE

You can check it at: http://mytracks.appspot.com/

Labels: Android, My Tracks

For those of us who really REALLY enjoy Googles TaskList built into gmail (as of this past december), they just released a version for both the Android and the iPhone!




Want to check it out? On your iPhone or G1 point your browser to:
gmail.com/tasks
If you’ve already installed Tasks on Gmail, they will show up automatically.

Here are some details from a blog:
As you add or cross out tasks, they are automatically synced with your task list on Gmail. In addition to a stand-alone to-do list, you can also now convert e-mails into tasks. Unfortunately, you cannot yet share task lists with others or make lists if your mobile phone is not connected to the Internet. When the mobile version of Google Gears supports Android and the iPhone, offline capabilities will also be possible.

But this is going to be great for using your mobile phone as your to-do list. It is also significant in that Google is taking what was an added feature of Gmail and turning it into its own app. Pretty soon Tasks is going to need its own full-fledged destination site.

Full article here:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/02/googles-task-list-turns-up-on-your-android-or-iphone

Have any mobile development projects on the table? Give me a call for a free consultation!

Richard Sarno
Project Manager
A-1 Technology, Inc.
115 Broadway, 13th Floor
New York, NY 10006
P: (212) 397-7481

Labels: Android, g1, iPhone, Software Development

Android has a new update coming called Cupcake. Are you looking to jump on the Android bandwagon and have an application you want developed. If so, contact us.

Reported via http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/01/23/android-cupcake-spied-tasted/

Labels: Android