Is Android About to Get Crushed?

This fall, smartphones are going to be better than they've ever been. That's true every year, but iOS 5 and Windows Phone 7.5 are looking pretty fantastic. What about Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, though?

We know a little bit about Ice Cream Sandwich, which seems focused on fixing a lot of the nagging issues in the Android world, like unifying its phone and tablet software, reducing fragmentation, and adding support for some neat integrations with other hardware in the real world. But that may not be enough to keep it from getting outclassed by the Cupertino Crusher and the scrappy Seattle upstart. It needs to be awesome.

Make it Pretty

Truth: Android's user interface is not particularly intuitive. That's okay to a point, since Android swaps some of that for greater customization. But consistency's a huge problem. (I have way too many friends who've had an Android phone for months and still barely have a handle on the basics.) For example, within an app, the back button doesn't always do the same thing. Sometimes it takes you up a level within an app, sometimes it switches you to another app you were previously in, and sometimes it just quits to the homescreen. Constantly, accidentally closing out of an app while you're in the middle of doing something is maddening (and it happens all the time, even to advanced users).

WP7 is gorgeous. It's sleek, smooth, modern-looking, and consistent. iOS is beautiful in the same sparse way that Christian Bale's apartment was in American Psycho. Android is neither. It's function over form, and it frequently looks cluttered and disjointed, with parts of the OS completely incongruous with rest of it (although you can install some snazzy home replacements like SPB Shell 3D). Honeycomb's aggro-Tron interface might appeal to nerds, but it's not going to go very far with normal people.

Bottom line, Android needs to look lickable and it needs to be totally consistent.

More Powerful Notifications

Android may have done them first, but iOS 5 is about to do them better. iOS 5's notification system is almost a direct rip of Android's, but it offers more control over how notifications are displayed/removed/opened/sorted. The webOS notifications for the TouchPad offer that same kind of granular control, so Android needs to do better, too.

Let my Android Be Free

If hardware manufacturers are going to insist on foisting their (mostly terrible) overlays on top of Android in an attempt to differentiate their devices, give customers the ability to turn them off and use Android the way Google intended it. At the very least, manufacturers shouldn't be able to replace a stock app with their own. For example, Samsung's music player on the Droid Charge is God-awful. It doesn't even have a widget. Yet, you can't just use the stock Android player (which does have a widget) because Samsung removed it. Ridiculous.

Full size

Build More Stuff In

Android, stop making your users rely on third-party apps for features that should be built-in. We're talking basic stuff here, like voice recording or a half-decent calendar widget. There is a reason that third-party launchers (like LauncherPro) are so popular: they are orders of magnitude better than the stock launcher. Same goes for Handcent SMS vs. the stock messaging app. Why not just buy some of these developers so you can include the functionality your phones should have straight out of the box?

Improve Email

Surprisingly, Google's own Gmail app lacks some of the basic functionality that Android's generic Email app has. You can't save attachments (other than JPEGs)! You can open PDFs, but you can't save them. That's insane. Nobody wants to re-download the same document every time they move out of Gmail. Android is one of the few mobile operating systems that has an open file structure, so why not take advantage of it? Let the people save their attachments. (Correction: As of the Gmail app's most recent update you can save other file types, such as PDF and MP3.)

We Need More Media

The third-party program DoubleTwist gives you kind of an iTunes-like interface for transferring media to and from your Android device via USB or Wi-Fi. Trouble is, it's far from perfect. In fact, it's buggy as hell (especially over Wi-Fi). The sad thing is that it's still the best media-syncing option Android has. On the audio side of things, Google Music Beta has potential, but development has been excruciatingly slow. Google needs a desktop app with powerful, intuitive syncing capabilities. It could even be browser-based, just as long as it works.

Do we even want to talk about video? The video experience on Android is very clunky. It's basic without being intuitive or easy. Make it not suck, or at least on par with the iPad.

More Social Yo

The Google+ app on Android is good. The way it can auto-sync every photo you take to aprivate folder in the cloud is genius. They should take it further. WP7 Mango will have social networking deeply integrated into Contacts. Not only should Google do the same with Facebook and Twitter—taking what it already does a step further—but it should be the first to really get Google+ deeply integrated. In fact, if it really wants to give Google+ a boost, they should give every Android user an option to open an account with the press of a button.

Lock it Down

Slowing up Android's adoption in the corporate world is the lack of true enterprise-level security. While that's not a big deal for me personally, what Android does need for regular users—not Google Apps accounts or admins—is easy-to-use remote wipe and location tracking powers for lost phones, a la Find My iPhone and Windows Phone's phone tracking feature. Seems like a massive no-brainer for Google, out of anybody. Oh, and Android needs software and hardware data encryption, including SD cards (for devices that have them), and a better system for protecting against malware.

Wrap It Up, B

Android is a fantastic platform in a lot of ways, but it also has weeeeird holes all over the place. Yeah, power features have pushed Android closer and closer to par with iOS, especially for nerds—but with the latest iOS and Windows Phone, Ice Cream Sandwich needs to deliver some major awesomeness. With sprinkles on top.

Via: http://gizmodo.com/5826915/is-android-about-to-get-crushed

Viber's free, no-registration 3G VoIP app officially launches on Android

Hey there, friends. Do you have the voice-calling blues, wishing for a better way to talk to your friends -- without using your minutes? Consider Viber, a free VoIP app that launched for the iPhone last year. Usable over 3G or WiFi, with built-in SMS, it requires no registration, using your existing phone number and contact list. Our only quibble? A disheartening lack of Android support. But our spirits are lifted today, with the app making its way to the everyone's favorite olive-green market. It has all the compelling features of the iOS version, plus a few extras we saw in the limited beta, like pop-up text message notification, in-app call logs, and the option to use Viber as your default dialer. The company must be doing something right, as it claims 12 million active users just seven months after launch. Interested in being one of them? Check the full PR -- with video! -- after the break.

The Android Apps Everyone Should Have June 2011

Casey Chan — It's that time of the month again, which is to say it's time to clean up our list of the absolute best Android apps. What new apps will show up? Which apps get cut?

Note: These are the apps that have been added or removed to ">our massive list of best Android apps during the month of June.

Added:

Google+: It's Google's big soiree into social "sharing". The app has it all: a stream that shows what your friends are talking about (like Facebook), Huddle which is an easy to set up group chats (like GroupMe) and will even automatically upload the pictures you take on your phone to the cloud (like iCloud). Once you get a Google+ invite, one of those features will pull you in.

Lightbox: Lightbox is a stylish camera app that's good enough to replace the stock camera app. Though it doesn't have basic features like zoom or autofocus, it does give you the ability to add 10 trendy filters after your shot. Your artsy photos can be shared via Twitter and Facebook and is automagically beamed down to your Honeycomb tablets and Lightbox's web interface. Like Instagram and iCloud but for Android. Free

Cut the Rope: An iOS game mainstay, it's finally available on Android. And it's Free at GetJar! The premise of the game, if you've been living under a rock, is to feed Om Nom his candy by cutting ropes in strategic fashion and also gathering as many stars as you can. Trust me, it's not as boring as it sounds. You'll be addicted in no time. Free.

Connection Checker: A simple but incredibly useful app that disconnects you from terrible Wi-Fi and 3G signals. Basically, if you have a crappy Wi-Fi connection it'll flip you over to 3G and turn off Wi-Fi. If you have a bad 3G connection, it'll put you on Airplane Mode until it gets better.

Prox: A genuinely clever app, Prox can control your Android phone without ever touching the touchscreen. The way it works is that the accelerometer determines how you hold the phone (left, right, toward, away) and can associate an action for the grip. You trigger that action by waving your hand over the proximity sensor. So you can load apps, change ringer mode, open notifications, turn off the screen, etc with a simple wave of the hand. It could prove useful in cold weather situations or if you want to pretend you have wizard powers.

BBC News: It's the inimitable news network, available on your phone. Which is great because you can still catch up on the latest breaking news, personalize the homescreen to your interests, share a story via email, SMS or social networks has been included also, and watch the news too. Free.

Crackle: Sony has released Crackle, an app that streams full-feature movies and popular TV shows to Android for free. For free. For free! We're talking popular TV shows like Seinfeld or big times movies like The Da Vinci Code and all completely free! The app is the same ad-supported streaming service as the Crackle.com website (and iOS apps) and has a decent catalog from Columbia Pictures, Tri-Star, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics and other studios. It's obviously not as comprehensive as Netflix or Hulu but you're not paying a damn thing.

Removed:

Nothing!

Visit our updated list of the Best Android Apps right here

Verizon Droid 3 specs revealed, show a 4-inch Gingerbread world

Hey, look at that. It's the Verizon Droid 3 specs -- and lined up next to the Droid 2 and Droid X2 for good measure. Let's just give 'em the full rundown.

The Droid 3 looks like it'll launch with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The screen resolution has already been all but confirmed at qHD resolution (that's 540x960), and it's repeated here as well, with a 4-inch diagonal screen size.

The Droid 3's looking at that dual-core TI OMAP 4430 1GHz processor, and is a world phone as well, meaning you can use it on GSM networks overseas.

It's got dual cameras, of course, with the rear shooter (really, the only one we care about) running 8 megapixels, capable of recording 1080p video. And it's got an LED flash, of course.

Memory's a mixed bag, it appears. The Droid 3 will have 16GB of internal storage, which is mighty generous. But in return for that generosity, someone's skimped on the microSD card, leaving it out completely.

Working our way down the list: Other items of note are the slide-out five-row keyboard, which will be supplemented by Swype. Adobe Flash and DLNA support are there as well, as is the usual VCAST service, and Blockbuster video (downloadable over Wifi only).

So that's it. All in all, nothing we weren't expecting, especially since the Milestone 3 (aka the non-U.S. verison) is already out there. Along with some hardware refinements, not a very big departure from the Droid 2, at least as the overall look and feel go. But why mess with a good thing, right?

Full breakdown is after the break.

Thanks, anon!

http://www.androidcentral.com/droid-3-specs-revealed-show-4-inch-gingerbread-world-phone

Discover more than 3 million Google eBooks from your choice of booksellers and devices

Today is the first page in a new chapter of our mission to improve access to the cultural and educational treasures we know as books. Google eBooks will be available in the U.S. from a new Google eBookstore. You can browse and search through the largest ebooks collection in the world with more than three million titles including hundreds of thousands for sale. Find the latest bestsellers like James Patterson’s Cross Fire and Jonathon Franzen’s Freedom, dig into popular reads like Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken and catch up on the classics like Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and Gulliver’s Travels.



We designed Google eBooks to be open. Many devices are compatible with Google eBooks—everything from laptops to netbooks to tablets to smartphones to e-readers. With the newGoogle eBooks Web Reader, you can buy, store and read Google eBooks in the cloud. That means you can access your ebooks like you would messages in Gmail or photos in Picasa—using a free, password-protected Google account with unlimited ebooks storage.

In addition to a full-featured web reader, free apps for Android and Apple devices will make it possible to shop and read on the go. For many books you can select which font, font size, day/night reading mode and line spacing suits you—and pick up on the page where you left off when switching devices.

You can discover and buy new ebooks from the Google eBookstore or get them from one of our independent bookseller partners: Powell’s, Alibris and participating members of theAmerican Booksellers Association. You can choose where to buy your ebooks like you choose where to buy your print books, and keep them all on the same bookshelf regardless of where you got them.

When Google Books first launched in 2004, we set out to make the information stored in the world’s books accessible and useful online. Since then, we’ve digitized more than 15 million books from more than 35,000 publishers, more than 40 libraries, and more than 100 countries in more than 400 languages. This deep repository of knowledge and culture will continue to be searchable through Google Books search in the research section alongside the ebookstore.


Launching Google eBooks is an initial step toward giving you greater access to the vast variety of information and entertainment found in books. Our journey has just begun. We welcomeyour feedback as we read on to the next chapter.

Blackberry Torch 9800 coming soon

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Research In Motion unveiled the much-hyped BlackBerry Torch 9800 on Tuesday, a new touch-screen BlackBerry smartphone with a pull-out keyboard and a significantly updated operating system that is designed to compete with the likes of the iPhone and Android smartphones.

The new phone will hit U.S. stores August 12 and will be priced at $199.99 for customers who purchase a two-year service agreement. RIM said the Torch will be available to international customers "in the months ahead."AT&T (T, Fortune 500) will be the exclusive carrier of the Torch 9800, the first BlackBerry to run RIM's modernized operating system, BlackBerry OS 6. The new operating system gives BlackBerry its first full Web browser, as well as other features that are common on most of today's smartphones like social networking integration, universal search and multiple home screens.

The new phone also includes a 5 megapixel camera, built-in GPS, and video recording at up to 640x480 resolution. RIM estimates that the phone's battery charge will last for 5.8 hours of talk time on 3G networks. (Follow Fortune.com's live blog of the BlackBerry launch.)

Like the iPhone, the BlackBerry Torch will be covered by AT&T's metered data plans. The less-expensive DataPlus plan allows 200 MB of data each month for $15, with the pricier DataPro offering 2 GB of data for $25.

The Torch is RIM's (RIMM) first attempt at a combination touch-screen/physical keyboard hybrid, and looks somewhat like the Palm Pre. Verizon Wireless' (VZ, Fortune 500) BlackBerry Storm and subsequent Storm 2 were RIM's preliminary tries at a touch-screen, but without a physical keyboard, they never appealed to RIM's core customers and failed to live up to the "iPhone killer" hype.

With the Torch 9800, RIM hopes it has a phone that will appeal to both its dedicated corporate customers as well as fickle consumers that are constantly in search of the new best thing.

The Torch allows users to preview e-mails, appointments, texts and social network updates in one location. The phone has a much-improved media experience with Wi-Fi music synchronization, a new podcast app and an easy-to-manage photo gallery with a pretty neat two-finger tap function for selecting multiple images. Social media is easier too, with a feed that integrates Twitter, Facebook and other sources.

The phone's 624 Mhz processor is fast compared to previous BlackBerry devices, but not compared to the 1 Ghz speeds available in other $200 smartphones like the iPhone 4, HTC Evo and Motorola Droid X. No new third-party apps for the Torch stood out at RIM's unveiling of the device, but the company said it has made the app development process much easier, which should help it compete with bolder and richer app selections on the iPhone and Android app stores.

In all, the Torch is certainly the best BlackBerry available and a marked improvement over previous versions, but it's more of a catch-up device than a leap forward compared to its smartphone competitors.

"If you like BlackBerry, you'll look at this design and think it's a nice upgrade, but it's not going to convince anyone that's looking for an iPhone to change their minds," said Ken Dulaney, analyst at Gartner. "The Torch is a market-holder rather than a market-expander."

BlackBerry has been able to make significant inroads with consumers in past years with low-priced models like the Pearl and Curve. For users who text a lot -- especially teens -- the BlackBerry keyboard is a hit, as is the BlackBerry Messaging service.

Still, the momentum has shifted in the mobile world towards Apple and Google. Despite BlackBerry's commanding lead in the smartphone market, with double the market share of the nearest competitor, Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), BlackBerry's growth has stalled in recent quarters.

Apple and Google had bested RIM's devices in terms of ease of use, availability of third-party applications, touch-screen technology and Web browsing capabilities -- to name just a few critical smartphone components. Plus, newer iPhones and Android phones offer secure Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail and calendar support -- the hallmark of RIM's devices.

The good news for RIM is that more than half of its business comes from the slow-to-change enterprise space. Though some are starting to dabble in iPhones and Android phones, BlackBerry remains the corporate smartphone brand.

Google Nexus One Available Today

http://www.google.com/phone
http://www.google.com/googlephone/tour/
http://www.google.com/phone/static/en_US-nexusone_tech_specs.html

The Nexus One, the Google Phone, is really here. And everything you need to know about it? Right here.

What Is It?

It's the latest, maybe greatest, Android phone. Google calls it a "superphone" that's an "exemplar" of what you can do with Android. It was designed by Google and HTC, who designed the G1 and the Ion.

How Much Does It Cost and Where/When Can I Buy It?

At Google's new web store, where you can shop for Android phones and do live demos of them over the internets to see if you like it. You need a regular Google account and a Google Checkout one to actually buy the phone.

You can buy it today on T-Mobile for $180 with a 2-year contract. Or you can buy it unlocked, without any service, for $530. Shipping's free.

The standard plan T-Mobile is offering for $80 a month includes 500 voice minutes, unlimited messaging (SMS and MMS) and unlimited internet.

Oh, and you can get it custom engraved.

It's Coming to Verizon in a Few Months

Verizon's getting it in 2010, though we don't know for how much yet. (Probably $200.)

The web store is launching today in the US, and will be shipping to test markets: UK, Singapore and Hong Kong. The Nexus One is just the first phone Google's selling with this new model, with more phones, operators and countries coming in the future.

Will It Work on AT&T?

Yes, but you won't get 3G, because it only supports the bands for T-Mobile's 3G in the US: UMTS Band 1/4/8 (2100/AWS/900) and GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz).

What's Inside?

A really fast 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, with a 3.7-inch, 480x800 AMOLED screen. The camera's 5 megapixels with an LED flash—it also shoots MPEG-4 video with one-click YouTube upload, which should be quick over its wireless N Wi-Fi. The trackball's got a multicolor LED for different notifications, and of course it's got a compass, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, two mics for "active noise suppression," light and proximity sensors, and an accelerometer onboard. It's got a 1400mAH battery, from which they promise 5 hours of 3G browsing and 7 hours of 3G talk time. Oh, it's skinnier than a #2 pencil.

And did we mention Android 2.1?

What's Android 2.1?

It's basically a much sexier, more polished Android 2.0, which is on the Droid. We've got a visual guide to Android 2.1, but some highlights: You have things like five screens for homescreen panels and Live Wallpapers, which are basically backgrounds you can interact with. There's a revamped 3D photogallery, which pulls visual tricks like having photos zoom out when you tap an album, and load on a 3D plane when you move the phone around. And, galleries are now background-synced to Picasa.

Voice is even huger: Every text field is voice enabled, so you basically never have to type anything. Voice might turn out to be the biggest thing in Android 2.1, actually. Well, besides the fact you'll soon be able to install apps to the SD card, at last freeing Android of the internal ROM app limit.

There's also a new 3D framework that lets it do those fancy things like those interactive backgrounds, a new whizbang 3D photogallery app, and a refreshed, zoomier app launcher. And, we'd guess, better graphics in games. Explains a lot of the zippier, lag-free performance we noticed in our hands on, too.

Is There Multitouch in Google Apps, Since There's No Keyboard?

No.

What's It Like?

Like this: "If you want Android phones, this is the one to get."

T-Mobile G1 - The Engadget Review

It's hard to believe, but rumors of a "Googlephone" have been floating around since 2006. To put it in perspective, the first Gphone post on Engadget was written by Peter Rojas. Needless to say, it's been a long, slow ride to get to Android, the Open Handset Alliance, and ultimately the T-Mobile G1. If we said expectations were high for the introduction of this device, it would be an understatement. It's not every day that a company with the stature of Google announces it's getting into the phone game, and it's certainly not every day that an honest-to-goodness innovator comes along. That last time the team at Engadget got this stoked for a device, it was a little something called the iPhone -- and you know how that turned out. Will Android and the G1 live up to the hype? Is this the first coming of a serious new contender in the mobile space, or has the triple threat of Google, HTC, and T-Mobile not delivered on their promises? We've put both the device and the software through its paces to bring you the definitive review of the T-Mobile G1 and Android, so read on to get your answers.

Hardware Review
Software Review

read more | digg story

First Android Phone Available September 23rd?

How many days are you willing to wait in front of a T-Mobile store to be the first to own a gPhone? You might have to decide soon. According to the Reuters news agency, T-Mobile is set to announce availability of its mobile phone based on Google's Android operating system as soon as September 23.

According to sources the T-Mobile phone, called "Dream," will be available "within weeks." Those same sources say T-Mobile plans to hold a press event in New York City on September 23. Reuters, however, is not clear in its report as to whether the actual T-Mobile Dream phones will go on sale that date. If the sources are correct in estimating actual phones being available in "a couple weeks," then September 23 could be the date the Dream becomes a reality.