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22
Jul 10

Android’s ascent in China might not elevate Google



Android’s growing popularity in China may not be a victory for Google, because Chinese mobile industry has created its own fork of the platform that cuts out Google as the middle man.

…Like most Linux-based mobile platforms, Android is not entirely open source. The core operating system consists of the GPL-licensed Linux kernel and an Apache-licensed middleware and userspace stack. Several key components at the higher levels of the platform particularly the Android market and several other pieces of Google-branded software are proprietary. Device makers that want to use include those components on their products have to commercially license the software from Google.

In our recent in-depth coverage of the Android fragmentation issue, we explained that Google uses its ownership of the Android Market as leverage to ensure interoperability between Android devices and to encourage a certain degree of consistency. In addition to paying licensing fees, Android Market licensees must also demonstrate that their products meet the strict requirements of Google’s compatibility specification.

As the sole arbiter of Android’s dominant application delivery channel, Google has enormous control over the…

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Android’s ascent in China might not elevate Google

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22
Jul 10

Did Google Have An Ulterior Motive With The Nexus One?

When Google launched the Nexus One in January, the “super phone” was destined to be a game changer in the mobile industry world. Not only was it to be one of the premier Android phones on the market, but even its distribution was revolutionary. Google was poised to sell the game changer directly to the consumer, bypassing the usual mobile sales …

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In our blog you can find new reviews and articles everyday or say hello to our Editors. Be sure to check out the main site were we have analyzed over 4 million reviews from over 60 countries.
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12
Jul 10

Google demos codeless Android development tool for students

Google has created a browser-based visual development tool that allows users to build Android applications without having to write a single line of code.

…Google has announced a new browser-based visual development tool called App Inventor that allows users to create Android applications without having to write any code. It appears to be aimed primarily at students.

App Inventor enables user interface design with a simple drag-and-drop layout system. The behavior of the user interface elements can be programmed via a visual development system that the user manipulates by organizing blocks with specific programming characteristics into various structures. The blocks can be dragged around and snapped into each other to form relatively sophisticated programs. This aspect of App Inventor is based on Scratch, an MIT visual programming language.

The compiler that translates the blocks into Android bytecode is built on top of the GNU Kawa framework, which provides a Scheme-based intermediate language. It’s worth noting that Kawa can also be used standalone to build entire Android applications with Scheme.

We were not able to test App Inventor ourselves because it…

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Google demos codeless Android development tool for students

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6
Jul 10

LG plans Google Android tablet device

Like virtually every other hardware vendor, LG has announced plans to join the tablet PC revolution. It seems that LG might be following in HP’s footsteps, though, by abandoning the Windows 7 tablet prototype it has been promoting in favor of a tablet built on a mobile OS platform.

…The trend seems to be to develop tablet devices on the same mobile OS platforms used in smartphones. The Apple iPad uses iOS. The upcoming HP tablet will run on the WebOS platform it recently acquired with the purchase of Palm. The new LG tablet will run on Android, as does the Dell Streak, and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tape.
The Apple iPad has a significant headstart in the tablet market, leaving the vast array of competing tablets in the dust and with a steep climb to compete. However, for businesses and business professionals, alternate tablets may prove to be more compelling if they can deliver an equivalent experience to the Apple iPad while delivering things the iPad is missing like Flash compatibility or USB ports.
I have reached out to LG to confirm or deny whether the announced Android tablet will replace the previously revealed UX10 prototype, or if LG plans to launch both a Windows 7 tablet and an Android tablet. LG has not yet responded to my inquiries.
LG did not announce pricing or any…

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LG plans Google Android tablet device

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6
Jul 10

Ars reviews Android 2.2 on the Nexus One (screens)

The new version of Google’s Android mobile operating system brings some significant new features and performance enhancements. Ars takes a close hands-on look at Android 2.2 in this in-depth review…

…When the feature was announced at Google I/O, I stopped updating applications on my Nexus One and decided to wait for Froyo’s batch update feature. By the time I got Froyo this week, I had 22 applications in need of updates. This gave me a good opportunity to exercise the feature. It downloads and installs the updates in parallel, displaying progress bars in the notification slider that allow the user to monitor the progress of individual applications.

Left: A batch update displayed in the Android notification slider, Right: Multiple apps downloading simultaneously during a batch update

Two of the applications failed to download (22 at once was a bit too much for my 3G connection) and two of them had to be updated manually due to permission changes. To update the two that failed, I just had to hit the “Update all” button again after the first batch update was finished. For the two that required manual updates, I had to go through the normal application update process….

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28
Jun 10

Another Sprint 4G (Android) phone is already on the way

The battle ensues between iphone and Android. On the iphone side, steve jobs, one carrier, a ridiculously restrictive developer agreement, and 1.7 million units sold on day 1 (many said upgrades). On the Android side, Google, EVERY major carrier, just about EVERY major handset maker (and others), and the “Universal” Linux operating system.

…Just one month after Sprint’s launch of the Evo 4G, the wireless carrier has announced its second 4G phone, the Epic, which will likely come out later this year.
The Epic 4G, like the Evo, will use Android OS and pack in a 1 GHz Hummingbird processor. The 4-inch screen will also be pretty massive for a phone, though not quite as large as the Evo’s 4.3-inch display.
The Epic also differentiates itself from the Evo by having a full slide-out Qwerty keyboard. In addition, it has front (VGA) and rear (5 MP) cameras, 720p HD video recording, and Swype’s touch-screen text input pre-installed.
Made by Samsung, it is essentially a retooled version of the Galaxy S phone with the addition of 4G. It’ll come packed with a 16 GB microSD card, a GPS receiver, and motion-tilting recognition.
Sprint is the first carrier in the US to offer a 4G (also known as “WiMax” or “LTE”) network, bursting mobile data connections by up to 10 times the speed of current 3G network capacity.
The Epic 4G will be released “in the coming…

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Another Sprint 4G (Android) phone is already on the way

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9
Jun 10

Could Android and Chrome OS sideline other Linux distros?

Ask someone to name a Linux distro, and if you don’t get a blank look, chances are good that they’ll say Ubuntu. After all, Canonical’s distro is regarded by many as the “default” Linux distro. But could Google’s two-prong offensive with both Android and Chrome OS sideline other distros and push them into obscurity?

…a PC and give Windows the shove, then neither of these operating systems would suit your needs unless you radically changed the way you work.
Problem is, many people are radically changing the way they work. People are increasingly happy with cut-down PCs that come in the form of netbooks, and cut-down operating systems such as the iPhone OS on the iPhone and iPad, and Android and Symbian on smartphones. Folks are ditching expensive, resource-hungry desktop applications for smaller, lighter, cheaper, more focussed apps on devices such as iPads.
The problems facing Linux is that increasingly, people are turning away from monolithic operating systems (unfortunately, at the same time, we’re turning to walled gardens/prisons, but that’s another story). And Google is set to make its own Linux flavors a lot more available.
First, we’re starting to see Android on installed on netbooks alongside Windows. Sure, small moves, but could be quite useful and appealing to those with Android handsets. Then there’s Google’s…

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Could Android and Chrome OS sideline other Linux distros?

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8
Jun 10

Android fragmentation: something to fear?

The growing popularity of the Android operating system has raised questions about whether Google’s mobile platform will fall victim to fragmentation. In this article, Ars takes a close look at what fragmentation means and how Android defends itself.

…What is fragmentation?

When used to describe software platforms, the term fragmentation generally refers to the proliferation of diverging variants a situation in which many custom versions of the software platform emerge and coexist with the original. Platform fragmentation can weaken interoperability because applications that are built for one variant might not work on others.

The Linux platform is particularly susceptible to fragmentation because its modularity and open license make it highly conducive to customization and derivation. Although mainstream Linux distributions are all functionally similar, there are a number of major areas where they diverge. Some examples include package management, preferred desktop environment, default application selection, file system layout, and software version choices.

The lack of consistency makes it difficult to build an application that will integrate properly across the broad spectrum of Linux distributions. This is why packaging, compatibility testing, and…

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Android fragmentation: something to fear?

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7
Jun 10

Maemo vs Android

There is no doubt that Linux will be the dominant player in the mobile market by the end of 2010. This is largely thanks to Google’s Android OS, which has been appearing on more handsets than I can count the past few months. Android is not the only mobile Linux operating system (however, it is easily the most popular) that exists.

…Speaking of widgets - I highly suggest you find one for toggling your
device’s WiFi on and off. If you do not have one of these you have to dig
through three layers of settings menus to toggle it. Want to connect to a
new access point? Three layers of menus again. I think something used as
often as a WiFi connection should be more readily available for usage.
Toggling your data connection on Android is just as annoying and you cannot
even disable your data fully with a single switch. When you uncheck the
“data connection” in the settings manager, you are informed that some
applications might still use background data.To fully disable your 2g/3g -
e.g., to save some battery juice - you need to crawl through each of your
individual applications that might use background data and be sure they are
off. Inconvenient to say the least. I am sure there is an application out
there to fully toggle it off it with one button - but it is not included by
default, and it should be….

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Maemo vs Android

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7
Jun 10

How does Google make money on the Android?

Google’s child Android is dominating the smartphone space. So we now question Google, on how they benefit from the Android phones- financially? Paid Content reports that Google has signed revenue-sharing deals with the major wireless carriers who support Android phones.

….
The revenue sharing deals appear to be advertising revenue shared with carriers that support Android. For handset makers, the revenue comes in when they include Google applications like search, maps, Gmail etc which is not a requirement for Android phones. Well, the details are sketchy since Google is not as open as Android. Google declined to comment on their agreements stating they are private and confidential.
By being nosy, we found that the deal is applicable only to handsets that are Google branded like the Droid, Nexus One and G1. It excludes any phone that uses it own User Interface like HTC Evo or Samsung Behold II. Since, all Google applications will generate advertising revenue, Google can still afford to share their revenue. In fact, Google has nothing to loose. At present, direct revenue generation is only from the search application.

So, does this make Google look cheap? This is a common technique employed by Microsoft, HP and other giants to generate revenue. AOL, MacAffe or even less…

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How does Google make money on the Android?

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