Posts Tagged: science

News — No Comments
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…

Originally posted here:
Android’s ascent in China might not elevate Google

News — No Comments
8
Jul 10

Motorola Charm with Android 2.1 | TheTechJournal.com

2.8 inch QVGA, A-GPS, Android, android 2.1, Android Market, Android2.1, breaking news, BreakingNews, charm, eCompass, FM radio, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Search, Google services, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA/HSUPA 1700/2100, Kodak Perfect Touch technology, Moto, MOTOBLUR, Motorola, Motorola Charm, Motorola Charm with Android 2.1, Motorola Inc.

…ARCHITECTDESIGN: WHY DID SONY BOTHERED TO MAK…Brian Aliwarga: Excellent guide but the link…Mr Horton: Link seems to be down…Fox: My iPod cannot restore using…Jadakiss: I have 3.1.2 Firmware and a …J Kid 13: i followed every step and ge…Panku: thanx……….its so simple…Nutmeg-5: This would be a lot more con…joe: with this mess with my phone…Persianhawkes: I updated iPod 3G to 4.0 but…Asif2BD: You need to have admin acces…Femi: i cant save it when i put 74…Tamara Askew: Black Box for cars, is this …1080p Projector: Nice writeup. I am going to…Hansonc8: DON’T PAY FOR YOUR JAILB……

Go here to read the rest:
Motorola Charm with Android 2.1 | TheTechJournal.com

News — No Comments
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….

See original here:
Ars reviews Android 2.2 on the Nexus One (screens)

News — No Comments
23
Jun 10

Google Announces Droid X Release Date and Price

Google announced today all the latest bells and whistles of their newest Android-powered phone, a Verizon Wireless exclusive, the Droid X. The company announced the release date and the price. With all the features of the prior Droid, plus a whole lot more, the Droid X will no doubt be the center of the Android world for several months to come.

…The Droid X will be one of the most powerful mobile phones on the market once it is released. The specs of the phone are as follows:

8MP camera
Texas Instruments 1Ghz processor
8GB of built-in memory
16GB Micro SD card included, with compatibility up to 32GB
4.3 inch display with 854×480 display of 400,000 pixels
SWYPE preloaded
Multi-touch keyboard
WiFi hotspot for up to 5 devices
Manufactured with no PVC, bromine, mercury or arsenic
Improvements in security protocols, such as corporate directories and remote wipe

After Schmidt gave the scoop on the Droid X, Andy Ruben took the stage and talked about Froyo, or Android operating system version 2.2. Froyo source codes are now available, so app developers will be able to get their hands dirty and play with all the new features it offers.
The president of Adobe Systems then spoke on the integration of its products with the Droid X. He also reiterated that Flash 10.1 became available yesterday and is anxious to see how developers will put their latest to…

See more here:
Google Announces Droid X Release Date and Price

News — No Comments
21
Jun 10

Rogers Acer Liquid e | TheTechJournal.com

Even though it was the first carrier to bring Android to Canada, Rogers has always had a bit of a tough time convincing Canadians to ditch their beloved BlackBerrys and iPhones in order to get their Google on. Recently it released the Acer Liquid e, a curious little device that many people know nothing about.

…m curious to see what they do for the platform as relatively unknown player in the smartphone space.
The Liquid E offers the ability to synchronize and back up files, contacts, the calendar, and Web bookmarks. Quick Contacts not only makes it easier to find friends and family, but also it allows for users to locate them on a map. Acer has taken steps to tweak the Android user experience by updating the updated lock screen, creating custom widgets, and preloading apps like Spinlets and UrFooz.

Unlike most Android phones, the Liquid E features three XT9 keyboards, including QWERTY, half-QWERTY Qwerty, and 12-Digit Numeric. All three offer predictive text, autocorrection, and multilingual dictionaries.
On the whole, the device performs very well. This is despite the fact its Snapdragon processor has been underclocked from 1GHz to 768MHz. Acer did this to help preserve battery life, but it appears to have made little difference. It really only took one work day to drain the battery, and even then we only…

See the rest here:
Rogers Acer Liquid e | TheTechJournal.com

News — No Comments
17
Jun 10

Google works on Gingerbread UI | TheTechJournal.com

Google’s Android team will focus on user interface issues in the upcoming Gingerbread release of Android in an attempt to dissuade handset vendors from adding

…t evolved much, writes Arrington. Yet, with Gingerbread, which could be available as early as the fourth quarter, according to some reports, UI improvements will lead the way, with a goal to get the Android experience closer to the iPhone.
UI layers such as Motorola’s MotoBlur, HTC’s Sense, Samsung’s TouchWiz, and Vodafone’s 360, which debuted on Samsung’s LiMo-compatible Vodafone 360 H1, but is now heading for Android, tend to slow down performance, argues Arrington. What’s more, the UI stacks, which are often linked to push social networking aggregation websites, are not always much of an improvement over Android itself.
Not only do the UI layers cause fragmentation and difficulty as users move between phones, but they’re even getting fragmented within themselves.
For example, when Motorola is expected to announce its new Droid X and/or Droid 2 phones on June 23, as reports now suggest, the company is rumored to offer a new version of MotoBlur called ShadowBlur or NinjaBlur. With HTC’s latest phones, such…

See original here:
Google works on Gingerbread UI | TheTechJournal.com

News — No Comments
4
Jun 10

Google Goggles Coming Soon to iPhone

Back in December of 2009, Google launched Goggles - a mobile image recognition beta application for the Android Operating System. In a presentation Thursday

…recently released Latitude API that provides location-based services, access to the Goggles technology would allow developers to build visual search and image recognition applications without reinventing the wheel. The downside, however, is being locked into Google’s ecosystem and technology a fate some developers would rather avoid. The benefit of using Google APIs, especially for apps requiring server work like Goggles, is the back-end cloud infrastructure that Google provides for the developers.
The back-end is where Nalawadi says Google can provide the best service. As he pointed out to me when I caught up with him following his presentation, the Goggles project is not so much a venture into the field of augmented reality as it is an extension of Google’s search engine capabilities and personalization technologies. Nalawadi used a famous Wayne Gretzky quote to explain that Google isn’t skating to where the puck is, but where the puck is going to be.
Google knows its strength is in managing large amounts…

Read this article:
Google Goggles Coming Soon to iPhone

News — No Comments
20
May 10

Mobile market up, smartphones up, Android and iPhone way up

The overall mobile market posted double digit growth for the first quarter of 2010 after a disappointing 2009. Apple’s iPhone OS and especially Google’s Android platform continue to grow leaps and bounds as smartphones slowly break into the top of the mobile phone sales charts.

…The big winners are, as is becoming commonplace, iPhone OS and Android. iPhone OS market share improved considerably year-over-year, with its 112 percent unit growth enough to move it up to 15.4 percent among smartphones globally. However, a staggering 806 percent unit growth pushed Android well ahead of Windows Mobile into fourth place. Both iPhone OS and Android are poised to catch up to the BlackBerry platform in short order. Apple will have its work cut out for it to stay ahead of Android globally, even as the open source mobile platform has by some accounts surpassed iPhone OS-based smartphones domestically.

“To compete in such a crowded market, manufacturers need to tightly integrate hardware, user interface, and cloud and social networking services if their solutions are to appeal to users,” Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner, said in a statement. “Just adding a QWERTY keyboard will not make a device fit the communication habits of today’s various consumer segments.”

However, Cozza…

Continued here:
Mobile market up, smartphones up, Android and iPhone way up

News — No Comments
13
May 10

Verizon Hedging Tablet Bet with Google Partnership

Verizon is partnering with Google to create an iPad competitor, according to the company’s CEO. Such a tablet would be part of a strategy to bring Android-based tablets to Verizon’s network to compete with the Apple-AT&T partnership on the iPhone and iPad.

…T partnership on the iPhone and iPad.

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam was discussing future opportunities with Android-based devices, given the company’s recent success with the Motorola Droid. “What do we think the next big wave of opportunities are?” McAdam said to

News — No Comments
13
May 10

Google sets sights on the dashboard - GM in Android pitch

Google is reportedly in talks with General Motors about putting Android into cars, allowing remote unlocking and startup while rendering GM’s OnStar product redundant. The additional functionality enabled by integrating Android could provide a response to the Microsoft/Ford offering, MyFord, which has proved surprisingly popular.

…GMT
Free whitepaper – Taking control of your data demons: Dealing with unstructured content

Google is reportedly in talks with General Motors about putting Android into cars, allowing remote unlocking and startup while rendering GM’s OnStar product redundant.

Motor Trend, reporting the talks, reckons that last part might prove a sticking point for the companies, as OnStar has been quite a success for GM. But the additional functionality enabled by integrating Android could provide a response to the Microsoft/Ford offering, MyFord, which has proved surprisingly popular.

MyFord uses Microsoft’s SYNC technology - basically a Windows Embedded desktop behind the steering wheel. In January the companies added touch controls and announced that MyLincoln would come as standard from next year.

The MyFord electronic dashboard

In addition to the usual information one might want while driving a car, MyFord (MyLincoln, MyMercury etc) can show cover-flow-style music listings and satellite navigation, all with…

See the original post:
Google sets sights on the dashboard - GM in Android pitch

← Older Entries