Google Android Apps

Upcoming Android Applications

2008-10-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

This week Google, HTC and T-Mobile officially unwrapped the first Android handset. While it's a smart handset on its own, the real highlight is of course the Android operating system and the many and varied applications that it's going to provide through the integrated Android Marketplace.

To ensure that the store is well stocked with clever software to play with once the first Android phones actually reach the shelves, Google has held a competition for Android developers, offering oodles of cash and early access to more advanced versions of the SDK to help developers on their way. We've had a sift through to find ten of the best, most imaginative apps that'll draining your handset battery faster than a free bar at an office party:

1. TuneWiki - Part handset karaoke game, part social networking tool and part GPS toy; TuneWiki syncs music and music videos with on-screen lyrics and even translates them to other languages. At the same time you can share information (but not tunes themselves) with your friends.

You can also navigate a map to see what other users are listening to. Find out whether that angry looking metal head up the train is secretly bopping to Abba and then incur his wrath by whistling 'Dancing Queen' at him.

The software will also create charts of top songs by individual locations, countries, states or cities.

2. Maverick - There are so many different IM, chat, micro-blogging and small-scale social networking tools around that it's royal pain to keep using individual programs for each, especially so on a mobile device. Maverick is designed to cut though all that, by offering a single platform to chat, email and publish blog content.

You can also share multimedia content including audio clips, photos and drawings directly though IM. It will also notify you when you receive an email in Gmail.

3. PocketJourney - Taking a trip to a new city? Don't want to tap up the local tourist office and lug a map around? No problem. PocketJourney will give you location specific 'geoclips' from tour guides and enthusiastic users to help you on your way. These might involve text, audio or video.

Sounds great for tourists, but we're intrigued to know whether other storytellers could get more creative with the technology, using the same location-specific system to set out elaborate treasure hunts and guided narratives turning the urban sprawl you thought you knew like the back of your hand into mysterious adventures.

4. LifeAware - No one likes the idea of Big Brother being able to track your every move. However, it would be bloody handy to know when your mate has walked into the pub next door. LifeAware will allow fellow Android users to get updates when their contacts come within a certain range. You can also set zones that alert you when a friend enters or leaves.

Okay, it's a little creepy and not something that you EVER let your boss, your co-workers or your wife anywhere near. Still neat though.

5. GolfPlay - One for the golfing fans out there, GolfPlay is a personal tool for managing personal golfing statistics, comparing your skills with others and finding out more information about a course you're playing. GPS mapping will give you an overview of the course too with hole data and statistics.

It sounds a little like a game of Tiger Woods and a lot like cheating. But hey, it'll help fellow golf cheats socially network and by the time everyone has their handsets turned into personal golf caddies, it won't be cheating any more.

The next step logical step would be to get golf balls with their own GPS chips, thus making it possible to find them when they're buried in the rough. Hop to it, golf ball makers.

6. Compare Everywhere - Here's one that doesn't involve the GPS. Oh wait it does, but the camera comes into play too. You can use the camera to scan the barcode on any product you like. The software then works out what you're looking for and hooks up to the net to find you the best deal. Then the GPS finds you a shop that's not a mail order service based in the Outer Hebrides so you can go and buy it.

7. Softrace -Softrace is a little program designed for runners. Using, you guessed it, the GPS, Softrace lets you map out races around a virtual track - for example: round the park, up to the shops, onto the number 29 and back up the stairs - then when that data's uploaded you can challenge yourself or others to beating your time. Maps will show where the course goes so you don't get lost.

Users will presumably be able to download new routes to try out and we look forward to becoming runners finding new training nemeses who keep beating their times by fractions of a second. Little will they realise that it'll be us! Using bikes. Or possibly taxis.

8. SplashPlay - The only tool on the list that actually needs an accessory. SplashPlay will teach how to play guitar chords form your favourite tunes. The (optional - but it's a lot less useful without it) BlueTooth Pod attaches to the kneck of your guitar and instructs you on which strings to hold using a lights and an onscreen display.

An important part of the service is the online store - it won't work with just any MP3 track unfortunately. You will be able to create your own riffs and share them with other users.

9. City Slikkers - assuming all the other GPS tools don't run your battery dry with thirty seconds, then definitely keep an eye on City Slikkers, one of growing tide of pervasive, location-based games. We don't know what the gameplay will be like yet, other than that it will involve doing stuff in real life in specific places, i.e. not sitting around hammering buttons on your sofa. Whole cities are scaled back to individual blocks and territories that teams can take over and compete with other teams for control over.

This concept has the potential for lots of fun and with added twist of maybe turning people who have never physically met before into mortal enemies, frantically scrabbling for their handsets as they suddenly recognise each other as a member of a rival faction.

10. Cooking Capsules - Wndering aorund the super market and can't decent what you want to cook? Or faced with a fridge full of half-finished ingredients and want to make something palatable out of it? This is where Cooking Capsules comes in, instantly providing you with bite sized (hohoho) recipe guides.

The system talks you through each step and users will also be able to upload their own ideas to the database.

T-Mobile G1 Pre-orders sold hit 1.5 million!

2008-10-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

We’re still 9 days out before the first Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Android phone hits the streets and T-Mobile has already sold 1.5 million G1s in pre-orders, The Motley Fool reports. The carrier is also preparing to have another couple million G1s available at retail stores beginning Oct. 22. The G1 has rapidly become a phenomenon, particularly for a device using an unproven operating system and hardware seen by only a few people. Yet the approach taken by T-Mobile and Google has brought in 1.5 million sales before the device is even readily available. Following this feat, pre-sales might become more the norm throughout the industry for these heavily sought after cellphones. It’s a stark difference from how Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) handled its pair of iPhone launch cycles. While Apple revved up consumer interest in the iPhone with mass marketing campaigns leading up to the release, Google and T-Mobile appear to be holding back on TV commercials and the like until people can walk into a T-Mobile shop to buy one. But the hype machine has worked in the pairs’ favor regardless. T-Mobile now has an early sales boost from just its existing customer base—pre-sales aren’t open to new customers yet. And Google’s got 1.5 million votes of confidence for its Android OS before it debuts.

Leaked T-Mobile G1 Specs

2008-09-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 22, 2008!!

What’s known so far:

* In-store, immediate sales only available in stores within 5 miles of a 3G covered area. If a store is beyond that range, representatives will walk customers through a T-mobile.com purchase
* One touch access to: Search, Maps, Gmail, Youtube, Calendar, and Google Talk
* Gmail account and data plan required
* GPS
* 3.1 mp camera, no video recording
* No stereo bluetooth (A2DP)
* Dimensions: 4.6 x 2.16 x 0.63 in
* Weighs 5.6 ounces
* 480×320 65K color screen
* 5 hour talk time, 130 hour standby time
* Expandable up to 8GB

Android: Google's Dream, Apple's Nightmare?

2008-09-22T07:38:00.001-07:00

A new smartphone is debuting on Sept. 23, and, no, it's not just another iPhone clone. The HTC Dream from T-Mobile will be the first handset to run Google's new mobile operating system, Android. And while it won't look as sleek as the iPhone, it promises to give mobile-phone users a lot more freedom and flexibility.
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Many of the Dream's features are under wraps until launch, but based on leaked photos and videos along with screenshots released by Google, we already have a pretty good idea of what to expect. The biggest departure from the iPhone design is the inclusion of a physical keyboard, which apparently slides out from underneath the Dream's touchscreen. The Dream will also allow users to run multiple applications at once and more easily share contacts and data between them. And if reports from developers TIME interviewed prove true, mobile-phone users will finally be able to cut and paste text in emails — a function that's frustratingly absent on the iPhone. The Dream, which is expected to go on sale in late October, will also reportedly cost the same as the 3G: $199.

The sweetest part of the Dream is the add-on applications available from the Android Market — Google's answer to the Apple App Store. Whereas many Apple apps cost money (typically anywhere from $.99 to $9.99), at launch all Android Market apps will be free. That includes BreadCrumbz, a picture-based navigation program that doesn't just give you a drawing of your route, but also includes real-world photos to keep you on track. Another interesting app, TuneWiki, is a tricked-out music player that encourages mobile karaoke, by synchronizing written lyrics onscreen to the song's YouTube video. It also shows you what songs other TuneWiki users near you are listening to in real time. Since Android is better than the iPhone at running multiple programs at once, you won't have to choose between apps: As Breadcrumbz helps you find your way to a party, TuneWiki can play your favorite Rihanna video and get you in a groovy mood. When it's time to make a right turn, Breadcrumbz will cut in and alert you.

Android has several other key advantages over Apple. While Apple takes a top-down approach to app development — the company must approve every app that makes it into its App Store — Google will allow creators to upload any application to the Android Market without its review. Sure that means some duds will make it in, but it will also allow for a much more open and democratic way for favorites to evolve. Perhaps more significantly, users will not be limited to a single phone or carrier for long. While T-Mobile's HTC Dream will be the first phone to run Android, Google is inviting all carriers to develop handsets for the platform. Expect to see other compatible devices early next year.

Most of the Dream's other features are expected to go toe-to-toe with the iPhone, including built-in GPS, a tilt sensor for gaming, and a camera. What's more, T-Mobile recently expanded coverage for its 3G data network to 27 major cities. The faster bandwidth promises to make watching videos and downloading websites go smoothly, but if the spotty 3G coverage offered by AT&T for the iPhone is any indication, buyers should treat this promise with deep skepticism.

On the downside, don't expect the Dream to be anywhere near as slick and shiny as the iPhone. T-Mobile may be much loved among teens for its colorful, flip-screen Sidekick, but the HTC Dream will likely have a more staid look that lacks the iPhone's panache. Plus, no one can turn on the hype machine quite as well as Steve Jobs. But whatever the Dream may lack in flair, it's no less of a breakthrough when it comes to giving mobile-phone buyers more ways to connect on the go.

Google’s $199 phone to compete with the iPhone

2008-09-18T12:20:00.001-07:00

The Google-powered cell phone is coming soon, and it will retail for $199, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The price of the new Google (GOOG) smart phone would put the device head-to-head with Apple’s $199 iPhone (AAPL). The Google phone, which features a touchscreen and is made by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, faces some stiff competition. The iPhone 3G has generated significant interest among consumers for redefining touch-screen technology, popularizing mobile applications and significantly improving Web navigation on cell phones.

T-Mobile (DT), the first carrier that will run Google’s Android mobile software, will show off the new phone to analysts and reporters on Tuesday in Manhattan. It is expected to hit stores later this fall.

Representatives from Google, HTC and T-Mobile would not comment on the Journal’s report.

Google unveiled features of the Android operating system on an unidentified black HTC handset at a developers conference in London on Wednesday.

The HTC phone is just the first of many Google-powered phones, according to the search giant. For Google to reach its ultimate goal - driving mobile Internet use and, in turn, ads - it will need to get multiple devices in the hands of mainstream consumers. The price will also need to be right, given that companies like Palm and Samsung already offer entry-level smartphones for $100.

Android Market: a user-driven content distribution system

2008-08-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

When we talk to developers, a common topic is the challenge of getting applications in the hands of users. That's why today I'm happy to share early details of Android Market—an open content distribution system that will help end users find, purchase, download and install various types of content on their Android-powered devices. The concept is simple: leverage Google's expertise in infrastructure, search and relevance to connect users with content created by developers like you.

Developers will be able to make their content available on an open service hosted by Google that features a feedback and rating system similar to YouTube. We chose the term "market" rather than "store" because we feel that developers should have an open and unobstructed environment to make their content available. Similar to YouTube, content can debut in the marketplace after only three simple steps: register as a merchant, upload and describe your content and publish it. We also intend to provide developers with a useful dashboard and analytics to help drive their business and ultimately improve their offerings.

I also wanted to share some early details to help with planning your efforts so that you can be ready as our partners release the first Android-powered handsets. Developers can expect the first handsets to be enabled with a beta version of Android Market. Some decisions are still being made, but at a minimum you can expect support for free (unpaid) applications. Soon after launch an update will be provided that supports download of paid content and more features such as versioning, multiple device profile support, analytics, etc. Below are some screenshots that illustrate some of the security features and workflow.

With the addition of a marketplace, the Android ecosystem is becoming even more robust. I am incredibly energized by the support and amazing content I've seen so far. We will share more details as they are available and I look forward to working with many of you in the coming months.

Source: Android Blog

Why Android Might Deliver Where iPhone Won’t

2008-07-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

While the industry puzzles over when Android-supported phones will hit shelves, it is unclear what impact, if any, it will have against growing iPhone adoption.

Google-led Android doesn’t quite get the hype that Apple’s iPhone does, but there are plenty of reasons to get excited for it. For one, Android’s OS looks to offer a lot more than iPhone can with its latest release.

Here are five reasons to buy your loved one an Android-operated phone rather than an iPhone for Christmas:

1. It promises to run on most modern smart phones - More cell networks will support Android than iPhone does — the iPhone is bound to just AT&T. Mobile providers NTT DoCoMo, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and more have committed to the project. Also, more handsets will operate on it. You might even get more life out of your old phone if it supports it. Handset manufactures HTC, LG, Motorola and Samsung have already signed on.
2. It’s open-source software - Any programmer can whip up some code to match popular features from any other phone. Under the Apache license, any programmer can take the code and port their own version of the OS.
3. It has support for Google products out of the box - The latest Android demonstration displayed the phone’s compass prominently in Google Maps. You can bet Google will have the latest and greatest features of their software running on Android before it hits other operators.
4. Third-party developers have more access - iPhone prohibits people from using its internet capabilities for things like VoIP or an alternative browser. Android’s API allows you to create an application for anything, even the dialing software. The evidence is in the 50 applications already developed for the Android Developer Challenge last May.
5. Android allows for ‘unlocked’ phones - Most handsets in America, including the iPhone, are locked by software to a cell phone provider’s network. While there are various ways to jailbreak, it’s not easy and might break your terms of service. The availability of downloading and installing your own unlocked OS might just change the game in respect to shopping for mobile phone providers and signing contracts. If this method gets more popular, it is conceivable phone networks may drop the contracts in lieu of (better) European pre-pay pricing.

Apple proved when they launched the OS X powered iPhones, it isn’t just hardware that drives the killer mobile devices that change the industry. From what we can gather from Android, Google gets it too.

Source: WebMonkey

Google Android port turns phones into webservers

2008-03-17T23:37:00.000-07:00

Webtide has announced a port of its open source Jetty webserver to the Android mobile phone platform. The i-Jetty technology allows mobile phone users to set up AJAX- and Comet-enabled websites on their Android phones for access via desktop PCs over the web, says Webtide.

Jetty is a lightweight, open source webserver implemented in Java and released under the Apache 2.0 license. Webtide is the principle maintenance developer for the software, it said.

Jetty is designed to work as a standalone webserver or as a dynamic content server behind a dedicated HTTP server such as Apache. The Android-based i-Jetty version is loaded as a servlet on Android, says Webtide. Once loaded, it enables remote access to phone functions from desktop PCs.

The i-Jetty port to the Android open source software stack for mobile devices is billed primarily as a matter of convenience for cell phone users, who can use it to make calls from their PCs, or to access phone-based content such as address books and calendars using a familiar browser interface. According to Webtide, users will be able to view, create, and save changes to files from remote PCs, including address lists, system settings, call logs, and multimedia files.

Two years ago, Nokia touted similar benefits when it ported Apache to Symbian with its Raccoon project. So far, there has been little evidence of major developer support for Raccoon, yet with mobile phones far outnumbering PCs, the potential for changing the nature and scope of the web is intriguing.

Beyond convenience, Nokia promoted the Raccoon technology as something of a paradigm shifter for the web, especially for mobile webcam-based website projects or for personal web servers. In particular, said Nokia, the amount of personal information stored on mobile phones makes it easy to "semi-automatically generate a personal home page." Other applications touted by Nokia included finding the location of other mobile web sites in the proximity, mobile weblogs, and IM messaging.

i-Jetty users can also build publicly accessible mobile web servers said Adam Lieber, CEO of Webtide, in an interview. In fact, he said, the potential might be greater with i-Jetty compared to Nokia's technology. "I-Jetty is more of a full-featured Java application server as opposed to being just a page server," he said. For example, i-Jetty supports web services technologies such as AJAX (asynchronous Javascript and XML), which speeds up interactive processes on AJAX-enabled applications like Google Maps.

Beyond mobile phones: routers with webservers

Yet, mobile phones are not sufficiently powerful for most web-serving applications, Lieber noted. "Right now, the devices still don't have the processing power and connection speed to handle more than a small population of users," he said, quickly adding, "i-Jetty-enabled Android phones could certainly syndicate to a larger landed service."

A potentially larger new market could emerge, said Lieber, if Android takes hold in larger-format devices such as network routers. "Android-based networking devices such as routers and access points could host web-based services," he said.

A month-old blog from Chief Engineer Jan Bartel reveals some of the project's final struggles in making the port. According to Lieber, however, the porting process was "really fast" compared to typical ports to commercial Java servers. "Android is much more adaptable to projects like this. Instead of, okay, you can add your server to our application, it's like we'll adapt our environment to your server." The biggest challenge, said Lieber, was in "getting used to the Android emulators."

According to Lieber, the code is stable enough for productive use now. "It's posted, it's freely available, and it's good to go now," he said. One potential area for improvement will occur, he added, if Google decides to enable "dynamic adding of Java classes in runtime" in the next Android release. "Right now, there are a couple facilities that are not available in Android, but we're hopeful that they will make the change so more Java components can be added into an application while it's running," he said.

Availability

i-Jetty is now available for free download at Google Code. Webtide is demonstrating the technology this week at Eclipse.con 2008 in Santa Clara, Calif.

[Via LinuxDevices]

Android Will Outsell iPhone

2008-03-14T09:27:00.002-07:00

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has not released sales predictions for devices based on its mobile operating system Android. But that doesn't stop Rich Miner, group manager for mobile platforms at the search giant, from being confident.

After his presentation on Thursday at the Emerging Communications Conference at the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley, Miner said he expects Android-based devices to outpace sales of the popular iPhone.

"Once you have devices out there from Motorola (NYSE: MOT), HTC, Samsung, and so on, there's a much larger potential market on Android than for the iPhone," Miner said. Despite the runaway success of the iPhone, which sold 4 million units in its first seven months of release, "there's a single manufacturer, it's targeted at a particular demographic, and it falls far short of the 1 billion mobile phones sold every year worldwide," added Miner.

Introduced last November, Android is a "complete open-source [software] stack" for mobile devices, not just an operating system," Miner said during his eComm presentation. Trying to stimulate application development for Android devices, Google is offering $10 million in prizes in its "Android Developers Challenge" for innovative and useful apps.

Opening the iPhone platform to third-party apps, Apple earlier this month released the software development kit for the popular consumer device. Apple said this week that the SDK has already been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Miner, however, pointed out that significant restrictions will still limit the creation of rich and useful applications for the iPhone.

"There are things I saw people doing with the first version of the Android SDK that it seems like you can't do with the iPhone at least at the moment," he says.

Google said last month at the 3GSM conference in Barcelona that the Android SDK has been downloaded 750,000 times. "That's for a device that doesn't even exist yet," remarked Miner.

Motorola, Samsung, HTC, and LG all belong to the Open Handset Alliance, which was formed last year by Google to promote open platforms and open networks in the mobile and wireless industry. All four are expected to release devices based on Android in the second half of this year. Miner indicated on Thursday that he expects one of the handset makers (most likely Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, according to industry reports) to reach the market before the other three.

Android and the iPhone, Miner adds, are aimed at different markets.

"It's not a competitive thing -- it's great that people are finally building tools so all of these third-party applications can be built and get out there," Miner said. "[If I were a developer] I'd certainly be looking at the iPhone, and if you believe there will be lots of Android phones out there, as we do, I'd be developing for both platforms."

[Via InformationWeek]

Google Officially Acquires DoubleClick

2008-03-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

Posted by Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO:

I'm pleased to share the news that we completed our acquisition of DoubleClick today. Although it's been nearly a year since we announced our intention to acquire DoubleClick last April, we are no less excited today about the benefits that the combination of our two companies will bring to the online advertising market.

Because we have been waiting for regulatory approval for our acquisition, we've been limited by law in the extent to which we could conduct detailed integration planning to map our way forward. That work will begin in earnest now. Although we don’t have detailed plans to announce today, we will communicate regularly with you about our progress in integrating our two companies.

An immediate task we’ll undertake over the next few weeks is matching and aligning DoubleClick employees with our organizational plan for the business. This will involve determining the right staffing levels for all functions and will ensure that we have the right people assigned to the right responsibilities within Google. We plan to complete this process in the U.S. by early April.

Outside the U.S., the steps we will propose are subject to consultation with employee representatives where applicable, and of course any decisions will be made in accordance with local law. The exact timing of the process outside the U.S. will vary based on the needs and requirements of each region.

As with most mergers, there may be reductions in headcount. We expect these to take place in the U.S. and possibly in other regions as well. We know that DoubleClick is built on the strength of its people. For this reason we’ll strive to minimize the impact of this process on all of our clients and employees.

Advertisers and publishers who work with us have long asked that we complement our search and content-based text advertising with display advertising capabilities. DoubleClick gives Google the leading platform for display advertising, enabling us to rapidly bring advances to the market in technology and infrastructure that will dramatically improve the effectiveness, measurability and performance of digital media for publishers, advertisers and agencies.

As the combination of Google and DoubleClick delivers better, more relevant display ads, we're also looking forward to delivering an improved online experience to users. Because user trust is paramount to the success of our business, users will continue to benefit from our commitment to protecting user privacy following this acquisition. And our scale and infrastructure mean that users will also be spending less time waiting for web pages to load. Ultimately, we believe that by combining our advertising network with DoubleClick's display ad serving products, and by investing resources in the display ad business, we will be able to help publishers and advertisers generate more revenue. That in turn will fuel the creation of even more rich and diverse content for Internet users everywhere.

[Via Google Blog]

Google Announce Apps For Android

2008-03-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

Google have recently launched an open source collection of sample Android Applications under the name ‘Apps For Android’.

The aim for Apps For Android is to share some sample applications that will help to demonstrate the different aspects and possibilities of the Android platform.

The first available application included is called Wikinotes, “a wiki note pad that uses intents to navigate to wiki words and other rich content stored in the notes.”

WikiNotes for Android was written to demonstrate a number of core concepts in Android, including:

* Multiple Activities in an Application (View, Edit, Search, etc.)
* Default intent filters for View/Edit/Search based on MIME types
* Life cycle of Activities
* Message passing via Bundles in Intents
* Use of Linkify to add Intent-firing links to text data
* Using Intents within an application
* Using Intents to use an Activity within another application
* Writing a custom ContentProvider that implements search by note title
* Registration of ReST-like URIs to match titles, and do contents searches
* SQLite implementations for insert, retrieve, update, delete and search
* UI layout and creation for multiple activities
* Menus and keyboard shortcuts

[Via TalkAndroid]

Google Gears Goes Mobile

2008-03-03T23:59:00.000-08:00

Charles Wiles is the product manager for Mobile Gears, and in this video he introduces us to the release, and the big picture on where this is going, and how exciting it will be to develop applications on the phone using Web technology.

T-Mobile: Stabbing Google In The Back?

2008-03-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

Based on expert analysis, the Mobile Advertising industry is expected to reach 250 BILLION dollars by the year 2010… give or take 230 Billion Dollars.

Yup, you read that correctly. The GSM Association predicted that the Mobile Advertising Industry could be worth 250 Billion dollars a year, coming to this optimistic conclusion after learning the details of a Vodafone, T-Mobile and O2 partnership that would make putting ads on mobile devices easier than putting them on television or print mediums.

According to Mobile Entertainment, “Many pundits have viewed the project as a defensive move against Google.” With Android set to debut in upcoming months, this strategic move shouldn’t seem all that shocking - but wait! We could swear that T-Mobile is a member of the Open Handset Alliance?

T-Mobile is indeed a member of the OHA but Vodafone (who owns Verizon) and 02 are not. Is T-Mobile getting bullied into betraying Google and the Open Handset Alliance in order to build a system that competes with Android? We’re not sure… but if this IS the case… things might start to get ugly.

We almost forgot, what happened to that $230 Billion dollar discrepancy? In October 2007, only 6 months ago, The Economist published an article that placed the most optimistic estimates of the same figure at $20 Billion dollars by 2011. Ummm, is George Bush doing somebody’s math? The difference in these forecasts is simply unexplainifiable.

So what in the world is happening?

Google has already entered the “traditional” advertising space by allowing their advertisers to place print and radio ads through what started as an exclusively PPC internet advertising program. Perhaps the mobile executives saw Google’s shift and predicted their entrance into the mobile market, launching a partnership to speed the process of bringing ads to mobile devices BEFORE Google could set precedent.

So is this when Google started planning Android, a master plan to supercede other partnerships by leveraging the “OHA” as a tool to float it’s own Android platform to the top of the mobile idea pool?

Or, after Google planned and announced Android, did the mobile giants get together with other buddies in their industry and decide, “Why should the new kid on the block just come in and steal advertising dollars of an industry that WE built?”

Sure… they humored Google by joining their precious Open Handset Alliance, but all the while, their goal was to force feed their own advertising systems and implementations down Android’s throat upon release.

Neither of these theories are likely “correct”. And lets face it, any idiot could have predicted that mobile would be the next big leap for the advertising industry. But the point here is that the Open Handset Alliance attempts to be the “lets all hold hands and sing Kum Ba Ya” poster boy while each individual member is a company with investors who are scraping and clawing to get every penny of the mobile dollar that they possibly can.

There is no doubt that Android is an amazing concept with unlimited potential. There is no doubt the synergy of unified goals and objectives will help the mobile industry move light years faster than each company could alone. The question is, do the OHA members view the alliance as a transparent institution created by Google to passive-aggressively force them to surrender their mobile advertising leverage to the big G?

There are so many different stakeholders and there is so much at stake. We don’t know the relationships with individual companies and executives. We don’t know the plans and secrets of each business and the direction they will go to achieve competitive advantage. As consumers, we get excited about Android and the opportunities it will bring to us but as businesses, they are still competitors competing for the same piece of the pie.

Hopefully they can realize that right now, they are all fighting for pieces of a $1 Billion Dollar pie. If they work separately with the goal of protecting their knowledge, they’ll be competing for pieces of the $20 Billion Dollar pie. But if they truly work together, embrace the OHA concept and push the potential of Android to its limits… they’ll be competing for pieces of the $250 Billion Dollar pie within 5 years.

Mobile phones have the potential to overtake the vast majority of traditional advertising streams because of their undeniable ability to hone in on who is using it and exactly (within feet) where that person is. Not to mention the fact that mobile phones are becoming small computers with the ability to do basically anything that a Laptop can.

So which would you prefer… Kum Ba Ya or Celebrity CEO Deathmatch? Or maybe a mix… Hey T-Mobile, your shoe is untied…

[Via Phandroid]

New Android Video

2008-03-02T15:46:00.001-08:00

Latest on Google Android From MWC’08

2008-02-27T16:28:00.000-08:00

One of the potentially hottest and most important upcoming technologies posing a challenge to Microsoft’s Windows Mobile is Google’s Android operating system. Google, along with the “Open Handset Alliance,” announced in November the upcoming platform, and that many of the largest handset manufacturers and most important cellular service providers in the world are supporting it.

Although nowhere near as polished as the offerings from Sony Ericsson, Samsung and the rest, a number of Android prototypes and reference designs are on show here at the Mobile World Congress. Android is different from most existing smartphone platforms such as Windows Mobile and Palm OS because it’s “open source,” meaning the code is being made freely available to anyone interested in seeing it in a completely transparent way. As a result, third party software developers and handset manufacturers have tremendous flexibility in writing add-on applications and creating enhancements to it. In some instances, users won’t even be able to distinguish between native and third party programs as a result.

There is good reason to expect the platform to take marketshare. Besides being supported by the multi-hundred billion dollar powerhouse Google, the Open Handset Alliance includes multi-billion dollar powerhouses such as HTC, Motorola, LG and Samsung. In the United States, Sprint and T-Mobile will offer Android devices. An early look at the Android SDK was released in November, and Google announced $10 million in prizes for the best third party software applications developed for it.

[Via Linux and Open Source Blog]

Samsung to release a "high end" Android powered phone in September

2008-02-19T10:04:00.000-08:00

Robert X. Cringely is claiming that he has information on two upcoming Android powered devices. Both of them are made by Samsung, but are actually Google branded. The "high end" model is supposed to come out in September with a sub $100 (with or without contract?) model expected after Christmas. He goes on to say that both have WiFi built in and might actually come with a built in VoIP client.

[Via IntoMobile]

Google releases new Android SDK

2008-02-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

Google released a new version of the software developer kit for its Android mobile open development platform on Wednesday.

The new SDK has a new user interface, a geocoder that lets developers search for businesses as well as translate an address into a coordinate and vice versa, support for new media codecs, and code that lets developers create layout animations.

One thing missing is change to the telephony package, laments one developer on the Android Developer discussion on Google Groups.

"This is very disappointing, especially because we were told in the Android coding day in Israel that the telephony package will be updated soon," the developer wrote. "We still cannot detect the ingoing/outgoing call number or send DTMF tones properly." Prototypes of Android phones were shown at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday. Google launched Android in November along with and the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 34 handset manufacturers, carriers and chipmakers that have said they plan to support Android products and services. Products are due out later this year.

Source: CNet News

Android is Fast

2008-02-12T09:51:00.000-08:00

Quote from InformationWeek:

The one thing I will say is, Android is fast, fast, fast. Like, OMG fast. Faster than any phone UI I've had a chance to play with before.

Android Not Ready for Prime Time

2008-02-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

Parse the onslaught of announcements streaming out of the Mobile World Congress confab in Barcelona and it's clear that Google phones aren't ready for prime time.

Though this year's show had been widely seen as the global launching pad for the Internet giant's mobile developer platform, Android, the few handset prototypes on display from chipmakers ARM, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments lack sophistication.

ARM's model resembles a plain, clunky smart phone. Qualcomm's is an ungainly mélange of circuit boards and screens. TI's boasts a large screen full of square icons for one-click access to messaging, videos, lists and maps. All are somewhat speculative test models, however, as Google hasn't yet released specifications for Android phones. Nevertheless, a Google representative at the show confirmed that Android handsets will hit the market in the second half of the year as planned.

The threat of Google appears to be inspiring some match-ups between Microsoft and other mobile firms. Microsoft announced Monday that it agreed to acquire Danger, the maker of Sidekick phones, which have been a hit with teens. The move could bolster Microsoft's mobile business against Android by broadening its reach and appeal beyond Windows Mobile-powered smart phones. In an interesting twist, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Danger was founded by Andy Rubin, who now heads Android.

Sony Ericsson, which holds a 16% stake in Symbian, the company that produces the mobile operating system of the same name, announced Sunday that its flashy new smart phone, Xperia X1, would run on Windows Mobile, a key Symbian rival. Microsoft has hinted that Nokia, which owns half of Symbian, will also start licensing Windows Mobile.

Other open-source alliances are also battling Google. LiMo, a global consortium of mobile companies, is working overtime to release an open-source mobile platform before Android gets more traction.

Those at the Barcelona conference searching for sleek phones have been rewarded with dozens of new playthings. Beyond its flagship Xperia X1, Sony Ericsson, a joint venture of Sony and Ericsson, demonstrated several touchscreen handsets and some Cyber-shot-branded camera phones. Nokia unveiled four new multimedia mobile phones, including a successor to its best-selling N95 phone, which plays TV shows. LG also debuted four handsets, including an advanced version of its famous Prada phone. Samsung showed a dozen handsets that filled every market niche, from high-end smart phones with 5 megapixel cameras to simple, $200 candy bar-style phones.

The conference itself is undergoing a transformation. Formerly called 3GSM World Congress, in a nod to the mobile technology that's dominant in Europe, it was long viewed as a European-focused trade show. This year, the show, which expects 50,000 attendees, is more globally focused. CEOs from North American tech giants Cisco Systems, Qualcomm and Research in Motion are scheduled to give keynotes alongside executives from China Mobile, Finland's Nokia, Korea's SK Telecom and the U.K.'s Vodafone.

Source: Forbes

Android software debuts in Barcelona

2008-02-11T09:22:00.000-08:00

The first mobile phones fitted with Google's Android software platform made their debut at an industry trade show on Monday, a key advance in the struggle to bring the power of desktop computing to handsets.

Google launched Android last year, hoping to establish its software as the dominant operating system for mobile phones and to improve the quality of web-browsing for handset users.

"What is happening with Android today is that we are seeing a number of technology companies demonstrating how Android will operate on their technology," Google spokesman Barry Schnitt told AFP on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress.

Although the technology on display Monday is in prototype form, experts and journalists were so eager to witness its demonstration that all places for private displays were booked out on Monday within the first hour of the show.

"It's definitely very promising," an analyst for technology research firm Gartner, Carolina Milanesi, told AFP. "This means that we should be on track to see commercial devices in the second half of 2008."

She stressed however that "the road between a prototype and commercial handset is a long one."

Google announced a broad 34-member group called the "Open Handset Alliance" in November last year to develop Android, including China Mobile, HTC, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, T-Mobile, Telefonica, LG and eBay.

The demonstrations Monday were by a handful of chip makers -- ARM, Marvell, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, NEC and ST Microelectronics -- which showed Android working in prototype form, the companies and sources confirmed.

"We're demonstrating a prototype of Android," a spokesman for ARM told AFP.

US chip maker Texas Instruments is to demonstrate another prototype phone later Monday in public.

Android is open-source software, meaning its code is available to other developers for free allowing them to build applications and features that can function on the operating platform.

The idea for Google is that Android will lead to radically improved functionality, notably for web browsing, meaning more people will use their mobile phones for Internet surfing.

Currently, surfing the Internet on a mobile phone can still be a frustrating experience, with clunky software and slow download speeds.

"There are few phones that provide a compelling web experience," explained Google's Schnitt.

"As people use the web more, they'll use Google more, and we'll be able to sell more relevant advertising."

Milanesi said that the ultimate test of Android's success would be how easily applications could be used.

"It should have everything that we see on the PC, not just shrunk down to work on a mobile phone but really being optimised for a mobile phone," she said.

Android faces competition from the world's biggest mobile phone maker, Nokia, and its Symbian system; US software giant Microsoft, the maker of Windows; and a separate consortium working on an open-source Linux solution.

The interest in a new software platform from Google stems from the company's desire to establish its brand in emerging markets.

"If you look at emerging markets, people are more likely to have their first browsing experience on a phone not a PC (personal computer)," said Milanesi.

Google surprised analysts when it unveiled Android last November. They had expected the Internet giant to announce the launch of its own gPhone to compete against Apple's popular iPhone.

"Imagine not just a single Google phone, or G-phone, but thousands of G-phones made by a variety of manufacturers," said Google chief executive Eric Schmidt at the time.

This could be Android's weak spot, however.

Taiwan's HTC and ailing US manufacturer Motorola are the two main handset manufacturers in the Open Handset Alliance.

"For it to become a worldwide platform and drive uptake, they need more manufacturers onboard," said Milanesi.

Source: Yahoo News

Up To A Dozen 'Gphone' Prototypes Expected At GSMA

2008-02-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

As many as one dozen handset makers and chip companies are expected next week to unveil mobile phone prototypes designed to operate with Google Inc.'s (GOOG) new Android software platform, a source familiar with the situation said Friday.

One analyst said the number companies preparing to show off their wares at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona amounts to "a small but symbolic step" forward for the Internet search and advertising giant, which has set it sights on the nascent but potentially lucrative mobile ad market.

"Having prototypes is a signal, but not a promise, that the phones will be out there," said Bill Hughes, analyst at In-Stat consultancy.

Hughes said the success of Google's effort to develop a next-generation mobile phone will largely depend on convincing independent developers - whom Google is counting on to add all the bells and whistles to its mobile phone software - that there will be a broad market for their applications.

Without evidence that the Android project has momentum, developers will be unlikely to spend time designing applications for Google's mobile software.

Google is hoping its mobile phone initiative will one day enable wireless subscribers to easily surf the Internet without restrictions - and allow advertisers to reach consumers through their handsets.

Google declined to comment on a recent report that it planned show off a prototype of its own so-called "Gphone" next week, but a spokesman noted the company has been working with a number of partners to develop handset prototypes.

"We're very excited about the momentum building behind the platform as demonstrated by the number of companies that are supporting it with their technology," the spokesman said.

One prototype will belong to ARM Holdings PLC (ARM), a British company that develops architectural designs for chips and sells them to semiconductor manufacturers such Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), NEC Corp. (6701.TO) and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE).

The company has said it will next week demonstrate a prototype of an ARM- powered handset running the Android platform. An ARM spokesperson declined to provide more details but cautioned that the prototype would not have all the features, or the final look and feel of a production device.

The Internet giant last November announced that month it had cobbled together an alliance of carriers, hardware makers and software companies to develop mobile phone software that it hopes will be the foundation for an industry based on open standards.

The announcement was seen as a disappointment, coming after months of speculation that Google was poised to unveil a handset that would compete with Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) popular but expensive iPhone.

It was not clear which other companies plan to demonstrate prototypes next week. Handset makers High Tech Computer Corp. (2498.TW), LG Electronics Inc. ( 066570.SE), Motorola Inc. (MOT) and Samsung, as well as chip makers such as Intel Corp. (INTC), Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) and Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) are all part of the Open Handset Alliance.

Google said last November that it expected the first Android phones would hit the market in the second half of 2008.

Source: CNNMoney

ARM Google phone platform demo due Monday

2008-02-07T20:21:00.000-08:00

British chip designer ARM will demonstrate a prototype of Google Inc's Android mobile phone platform in action next week at the world's biggest wireless fair, a source close to the company said.

It was not immediately clear on Thursday what the working model that ARM plans to show at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona would look like or who would supply the parts.

Google plans to deploy phones and services using the Android platform commercially in the second half of this year.

Google and ARM declined to comment on the report.

Google established an alliance of more than 30 carriers, handset makers, software firms and chipmakers in November to develop Android, which is based on open-source software and designed to make the Internet work better on mobile phones.

Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile and Taiwan's High Tech Computer Corp (HTC) have said that they plan to offer phones based on the Android platform this year.

Internet search leader Google's entry into the wireless industry will upset established relationships between carriers, cellphone makers and customers and could challenge Nokia, Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc, among others.

Google is also bidding for wireless spectrum in the United States in a move that pits it against entrenched carriers like AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Its operator partners in the Open Handset Alliance include China Mobile, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Telefonica -- all of which have said they are working with handset makers to develop Google-based phones.

Research firm Strategy Analytics has estimated that Android will be in 2 percent of smartphones this year.

Source: Reuters

Android and the Mobile Advertising Market

2008-02-06T08:17:00.001-08:00

Even if the way “how Google will really profit from Android” still a mystery until today, the answer is certainly around advertising. The mobile advertising market is really booming, even if some market predection are confusing, for example according to ABI research Mobile Marketing revenue will hit the $24 Billion in 2013, jumping from just $1.8 Billion in 2007, while consultancy Forrester in the other side predict revenue under $1 billion by 2012. Open Handset Magazine asked the emerging players in the mobile advertising market about Android and mobile marketing. Admob and Millennial Media accepted to answer our questions.

OHM: What do you think about Android Mobile Platform?

Eric EllerEric Eller, SVP Products and Marketing at Millennial Media

With good reason, there is lots of excitement surrounding any open initiative. It provides increased opportunity for developers to be creative and innovative while taking an active role in the future of consumer applications and services. More mobile applications mean more choices and more compelling content for users, which will lead to higher mobile usage - obviously a positive thing for the industry.

Jason SperoJason Spero, VP Marketing at Admob :

The launch of the iPhone and the announcement of the Android project are about users. The potential of the mobile ecosystem has been well documented (and well marketed). Many blame the Operators for the perceived lack of progress toward this potential, but a variety of forces have constrained the user experience on the mobile device. These include: device form factor, text entry and capabilities, network speeds and capabilities, billing mechanisms, discovery mechanisms, non-commerce monetization mechanisms, fragmentation of application platforms, fragmentation of browser platforms and more. Each of these needs to be addressed for mobile to achieve its promise. Apple and Google recognize the opportunity and have grown frustrated with the pace at which the obstacles are being address.

Android is a market development effort. Google understands the opportunity for its business model once the mobile internet takes off. Google is now working actively to accelerate that takeoff. Android addresses some (but not all) of the ecosystem needs. In theory, the availability of a robust underlying software platform will reduce fragmentation for application developers, decrease cost and time to market for device manufacturers and spark a new wave of competition in device form factors that will deliver better user experience for mobile data. This will drive use of the mobile internet. In theory. What remains to be seen is how manufacturers will leverage and extend Android to their needs and whether this will undermine the core goal of decreasing fragmentation. But we remain hopeful that Android will deliver on its promise.

AdMob has had a front row seat for the acceleration of the mobile internet in 2006 and 2007. We see dramatic progress against the constraints to mobile web usage.

* Devices are dramatically improved even before the impact of iPhone and Android
* Increases in network speeds have improved the mobile browsing experience
* Simpler data pricing models have made mobile internet more accessible for all
* Content providers have a viable means to monetize their offerings via advertising
* Discovery is being addressed via search, directories and advertising

The launch of the iPhone gave the market a picture of what a mobile data experience could be. This is an example that has catalyzed investment against all of the requirements for mobile data. The iPhone and Android have accelerated something that was already happening.

AdMob is pro mobile internet for all the same reasons that Google is pro mobile internet. AdMob is device agnostic and can benefit from any and all improvements in the mobile web experience. The launch of Android devices in 2008 and beyond will drive increased usage of the mobile internet. Google has said that it will keep separate its market development efforts via Android from its search and AdSense businesses. AdMob believes this ensures fair competition. So AdMob, awaits the arrival of Android devices in the same way we anticipate innovation from Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and others. Improvements in user experience will drive usage, which is all we can ask.

OHM: How could Google Android change the mobile advertising market?

Eric E.: “Google is obviously a major player in online advertising and anything they do in the mobile space will have an impact. What remains to be seen is the nature of that impact. On the one hand, by enabling developers to quickly create new innovative mobile applications, Android could help increase the availability of mobile content that is available for free using the ad-supported model. On the other hand, if developers are compelled to preferentially utilize Google advertising services versus other opportunities in the market, the perception of openness will disappear.”

Jason S.: “The mobile ad market is already growing rapidly.

If Android delivers an improved user experience this will drive usage of the mobile internet. This will further accelerate the growing interest in reaching users on their mobile devices and will motivate more and more content providers to invest in mobile. User experience improvements will drive both supply of and demand for mobile advertising.”

Source: Open Handset Magazine

Deadline Extension for the Android Developer Challenge

2008-02-04T17:22:00.000-08:00

Google is extending the submission deadline for the first Android Developers Challenge to 14 April 2008. They've made significant updates to the SDK that will be released in several weeks. In order to give you extra time to take advantage of these forthcoming UI and API enhancements, they've decided to extend the submission deadline. In addition, a fair number of developers have also asked for more time to build and polish their apps.

Here is the updated time line:

April 14, 2008: Deadline to submit applications for judging
May 5, 2008: Announcement of the 50 first round winners, who will be eligible for the final round
June 30, 2008: Deadline for the 50 winners of the first round to submit for the final round
July 21, 2008: Announcement of the grand prize winner and runner-up

MIT Offering Class Geared Towards Android

2008-01-31T15:29:00.000-08:00

This semester 25 students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will gather in a classroom with one particular purpose: playing with cell phones.

The students are taking a class geared around Android -- the first fully open mobile operating system developed by Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG). The class will cover the ins and outs of the Android platform and build applications to run on the operating system.

The class, which at least 50 students tried to enroll in, is being offered to students in the computer science major at MIT and is designed to give them an early edge in what could soon become a dominant platform among cell phone operating systems. As smart phones and cell phones with Web functions have grown in popularity, there is growing interest among computer science pupils to learn how to create and launch applications and software for mobile operating systems, said Andrew Yu, mobile devices platform coordinator for MIT.

"It's definitely something that captures students' interest," he said. "Given the fact that they actually have the devices, they want to do something with it."

Source: Boston Business Journal

Deadline extension for the Android developer challenge

2008-01-30T14:28:00.000-08:00

Message from Quang Nguyen, Developer Advocate:

We'd like to let you know that we are extending the submission deadline for the first Android Developers Challenge to 14 April 2008. Based on the great feedback you've given us, we've made significant updates to the SDK that we'll be releasing in several weeks. In order to give you extra time to take advantage of these forthcoming UI and API enhancements, we've decided to extend the submission deadline. In addition, a fair number of developers have also asked for more time to build and polish their applications.

Of course, you can stay the course and submit your applications using any version of the SDK that you'd like. We're looking forward to seeing some great apps, especially after we've had a chance to incorporate some of your feedback into the Android platform.

Here is the updated time line:

April 14, 2008: Deadline to submit applications for judging
May 5, 2008: Announcement of the 50 first round winners, who will be eligible for the final round
June 30, 2008: Deadline for the 50 winners of the first round to submit for the final round
July 21, 2008: Announcement of the grand prize winner and runner-up

For additional details on the Android Developer Challenge, please visit the ADC page.

Good luck and good coding!

Source: Android Developers Blog

Dell to reveal Android-based handset next month?

2008-01-30T14:25:00.000-08:00

Dell has long been rumored to be working on a handset, and the latest speculation is that Google will be part of those plans.

MarketingWeek reported Wednesday that the two companies are teaming up on a handset based on Google's Android mobile platform, and the official announcement will come at next month's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The report cites "senior industry sources," but notes that Google insiders are denying any such announcement is imminent.

Dell isn't talking either. Company spokesman David Frink told CNET News.com that the Marketing Week report is "speculative" and that the company has "no comment at all."

While rumors about a possible Dell handheld have been swirling since the hiring of Ron Garriques from Motorola a year ago, Google's name hadn't yet been thrown into the mix. Dell and Google do have an established relationship through the Google Toolbar that's available on Dell PCs, notes industry analyst Roger Kay. "Google has already done the work on Android. A more formal partnership would certainly be easy enough to establish," he said. Considering that, Kay says he judges the likelihood of a coming Google/Dell announcement to be "fairly high."

Dell hasn't done anything in the red-hot handheld market since it killed its Axim line of PDAs last April, and its recent moves toward a flashy design of its PCs and putting its products in retail outlets show it wants to court consumers. A nicely designed handset with multimedia functionality would do more to achieve that goal and show what kind of technology the company has up its sleeve.

Source: NewsBlog

Why Android will be the next big thing

2008-01-29T15:52:00.001-08:00

Google created a lot of buzz about a month back over the introduction of its Android technology. Android will be the first open and free mobile platform for developing applications. Its going to be big...but why? Well, currently developers for mobile phones face a plethora of issues including:

* Applications for browsers on mobile phones are based on the Javascript based Ajax. This has many limitations for dynamic storage based applications as there is no way to store data on the mobile phone being dynamically updated.
* The browser based applications cannot access the different core functions of a mobile phone (e.g. the camera).
* No customization options for a mobile phone's GUI. Most people have to stick with the look which ships with the mobile phone's operating system. (Honestly a lot of the GUIs in modern phones look horrible and I have always wished to customize them)
* Applications designed for specific mobile phones won't work on low end phones because of different programming architectures as well as features.
* No operating system on mobile phones is open source and the programmers are limited to only what the operating system allows them to do and volunteers cannot modify it according to their needs.

Here is why Android will change all the above issues:

* Andriod is open source, anyone who wants to contribute to interface improvements or core changes can do so.
* Andriod is scalable, it will have its high end features reserved for higher priced mobile phones while lower end mobile phones can benefit from its basic features as well.
* Everything about it will be customizable so you won't be stuck with the GUI which shipped with the mobile phone for the rest of your damned life!
* Database support to dynamically store and retrieve data on a mobile phone.
* Dozens of hardware manufacturers will support Android. Thus HTC based mobile phones will be able to run the same applications as Samsung mobile phones which will all support Andriod in the future.

Andriod opens a whole new set of possibilities for the mobile market. I think Nokia did a major blunder by not supporting the Android platform. Sure, Apple's IPhone is a short term threat to Nokia...but it won't last forever, I think they should have thought harder over it. Android will one day be run on the majority of mobile phones all over the world developed by multiple mobile phone manufacturers. Today, Nokia is in the majority, but once the smaller companies unite and take down the bigger fish by using a unified platform, then Nokia won't have time to look back and correct its mistake. Android is the future ladies and gentlemen!

Source: SkullTrail

Nokia agrees to buy Trolltech

2008-01-28T17:06:00.000-08:00

Nokia has agreed to purchase Trolltech (creators of the QT cross platform GUI Toolkit that KDE is based on, as well as the Qtopia cell phone platform) for $150 million.

This is an interesting move as all the hub-bub surrounding Google’s announcement of the Open Handset Alliance and the new cell platform, Android, was surprisingly devoid of Nokia’s name anywhere on it (along with Apple, AT&T, Microsoft, Palm, RIM, Symbian, and Verizon).

It seems that Nokia has other plans for the cellular device market and those plans are firmly planted around their own proprietary platform based on Qtopia.

How will Nokia compete with the attractiveness of the unified Android platform to software developers? The idea being that an app written for a Motorola Android-based phone will also work just fine on a HTC Android-based phone and again on an LG Android-based phone. While a Qtopia app (a native platform) will only run on other Qtopia devices, which looks like Nokia will be the only major hardware player in? Of course you have Apple out in left field with their own sandbox that is doing quite well also.

I’ll be curious to see if Android takes off, if Nokia will either join the OHA or run the Android platform on top of Qtopia to offer compatability for some of the more popular apps out there? Either way, it doesn’t look like we’ll see Nokia joining the OHA anytime soon as they just spent $150 million to draw their own line in the cell-platform-market sand.

(BTW, Congratulations to Trolltech! That’s a lot of hard years of engineering paying off)

Source: BreakItDownBlog

Android demo on Jade Z228

2008-01-25T10:09:00.000-08:00

Google declares $10M Android competition open

2008-01-18T08:48:00.000-08:00

The race to develop applications for Google's new Android mobile phone platform is officially on after 'cross-platform bugs' in the submission system were fixed.

Google has allocated $10m to the competition which has been split into two parts. Challenge 1 will be accepting entries until March 3rd with a total prize pool of $5m.

The Android competition is designed to generate lots of apps, not just a few good ones, as the total prize available to any one entry is only $275,000.

This is as 'real' as Android gets right now - an emulatorThis is as 'real' as Android gets right now - an emulator

The March 3rd deadline is interesting timing indeed given Apple's recent announcement that they'll be releasing an iPhone/iPod Touch SDK in 'late' February. It also raises questions for coders - commit to a platform that is essentially unproven (remember, Google has really only had major success with search and advertising, and not with most of their other products) or develop for iPhone, Windows Mobile or BlackBerry with proven platforms and substantial installed bases.

If you want to win some of that prize money you'll need to fulfill a few important criteria. Firstly, your application will need to be or do something original. Google is looking to the development community for the killer app -- the one that's going to make people switch to Android. While Android's base features should be good, Google knows that it'll take more to get their new phone into users hands, especially with competition in the smartphone space ramping up significantly against the iPhone.

A sample 'Lunar Lander' game: is this a killer app?A sample 'Lunar Lander' game: is this a killer app?You'll also need to make effective use of the Android Platform. That means your application will need to access core Android functionality like location-based services, accelerometer and always-on networking.

Google is also placing particular emphasis on the UI and usability of the application, not just functionality. Google knows that for Android to succeed, applications need to look as good or better than the iPhone (which is the gold standard in visual UI design and usability at the moment).

Is $10m enough to encourage developers to jump ship and develop for Android? Time will tell, but as other platforms mature and grow their customer base it will be harder and harder to encourage developers to write great apps for Android.

Also, with the imminent arrival of the iPhone SDK where developers will probably get a chance to sell their wares, is the maximum prize of $275,000 enough to get developers to build something great?

Source: APCMag

Startup Shows Software For Android Smartphone

2008-01-15T06:05:00.000-08:00

Google (NSDQ: GOOG)'s Android handset project got its first stack of open source Linux software Monday, according to an announcement from A La Mobile, a startup company that said it has successfully demonstrated its platform on HTC's Qtek 9090 smartphone.

The announcement was made by A La Mobile's president and CEO, Pauline Lo Alker, a West Coast high-tech serial entrepreneur. The software includes a browser, phone dialer, audio player, maps, camera, games, calendar, contacts manager, calculator, tasks manager, and notes.

A La Mobile, which had been developing Linux mobile software for handsets before the founding of the Android Open Handset Alliance last year, is not a member of the 30-member, Google-inspired Android. But HTC is a member.

Alker said that A La Mobile's platform will cut the time to market of Android handsets in half.

"We believe it is our responsibility to take the initiative to allay the 'mystery' and dispel any skepticism surrounding Android by first demonstrating a complete mobile Linux system stack, including drives, middleware, and a suite of Android-based applications," Alker said in a statement.

A La Mobile indicated it will fill gaps in the Android program by providing framework and application programming interfaces that will attract third-party developers to create unified applications. A La Mobile noted that the Android effort's planned release of source code bodes well for the alliance, but that Android has lacked a complete off-the-shelf software stack.

A La Mobile is backed by Venrock Associates, a venture capital firm that has funded several successful high-tech companies. Alker has led a series of successful startups including Counterpoint Computers, which was acquired by Acer. She had several positions at Acer, including president of Acer America's sales and marketing. She is a director of Tektronix.

Source: InformationWeek

Google powered phones to debut in Feb 08?

2008-01-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

First came the fervent and persistent rumours of a Google mobile phone.

Then, just six short weeks ago, the search supremo (and just-about-everything-else-online supremo) announced there would not be a ‘Google phone' per se, but rather dozens of them from a raft of mobile manufacturers, and all built on an open Linux-based mobile phone platform named Android.

Now things are picking up steam, with Gizmodo posting a snap of one of the rumoured score of prototype phones circulating around the Googleplex and in the r&d labs of the mobile makers.

The device looks very much like it's been cobbled together from existing chassis designs by Taiwan's HTC, which is responsible for a estimated 80% of the world's Windows Mobile smartphones (not just under its own brand but through badge-engineering for dozens of carriers and exclusive OEM/ODM contracts with several tech companies).

(HTC is also one of the leading partners in the Open Handset Alliance, which Google created as a hothouse for Android -- the consortium's roster of 34 tech companies also includes handset makers Samsung, Motorola and LG.)

And yes, this big drab-looking device is dog ugly - but this isn't a slick made-for-media concept phone, it's merely a functional prototype on which the developers and engineers can tinker (and we all know that as rule, they're not big on elegant design).

Right now, it's what sits inside the phone that is most important. You can bet that if Google's handset partners lift the covers on their Android phones during the Mobile World Congress expo, which kicks off on February 11th in Barcelona - or if Google itself trots out a flock of phones to impress this annual powerhouse gathering of the global mobile industry (the company has booked two stands on the expo floor) - that these will be shiny snazzy models endowed with a very high ‘cool' factor.

None the less, they'll still be concept models to capture and ignite the attention of the market, the media and the public at large. Android isn't expected to hit 1.0 stage until the second half of 2008, so right now it's still a work in progress.

What we already now about Android is that its foundation is the Linux 2.6 kernel, onto which Google has assembled sufficient components to create a phone-centric OS.

With a small icon selection strip running across the foot of the screen the UI looks somewhat similar to that of prototype mobile internet devices from Intel's ultra-mobile platform, as both are designed with very small screens in mind.

In that regard, Android's interface also takes some cues from the Sidekick and Hiptop family of devices. This is not surprising, considering that the one of the founders of Android (which Google acquired in July 2005) is Andy Rubin, who also founded Danger, the company behind the Sidekick/Hiptop line. Rubin now leads the Android team.

A demo of Android posted on YouTube's Android Developer Channel shows the top level UI menu, in which the user scrolls horizontally through a carousel of icons to launch the relevant application. However, later iterations could spawn limited sub-menus, so that a generic mail icon could contains the selections for email and SMS/MMS messaging, or a ‘chat' icon could include SMS/MMS plus the instant message client.

The inbuilt browser is based on the Apple-developed WebKit open source project which underpins the iPhone's impressive implementation of Safari. As a result, Web pages viewed on Android appear with the same fidelity as if viewed on a full-blown desktop client.

The demo also shows an innovative ‘visual history' that represents recently-visited sites not as a test list but a series of thumbnail images of the actual pages you viewed.

Android also appears capable of some sweet graphics, with Open GL software to provide basic 3D capabilities out of the box plus hardware acceleration if the device is fitted with a graphics processor chip.

The YouTube video showcases smooth rendering and manipulation of a ‘virtual Earth' globe in Android's world time applet, then hammers home the point with a quick demo of Quake running on Android. And with NVIDIA having also signed up to the Open Handset Alliance, you can bet that Android's graphics capabilities will come in for plenty of attention.

Google Maps on the move: as you'd expect, Android plays nicely with all Google services such as Google MapsGoogle Maps on the move: as you'd expect, Android plays nicely with all Google services such as Google Maps

Central to the Android architecture is the SQL Lite database engine, which is made available to all applications - it could also be worth noting that SQL Lite is used for Google Gears, the offline implementation of online-only Web apps.

While open source provides the heart of Android, its brain is a surprisingly modest ARM 9-series processor running at 200MHz. By way of comparison, the BlackBerry Pearl and Curve run a 312MHz processor, Nokia's flagship smartphones hover around 300-350MHz, the Motorola RAZR2 beefs up with a 500MHZ chip while the iPhone packs a 620MHz engine.

The ARM processor is also the x86 of the mobile phone landscape, being used by most mobile makers, so it makes perfect sense for the OHA to set this as the processing platform for Android.

However, given that Intel is a member of the OHA and in June 2006 offloaded its own ARM-based XScale PXA silicon to Marvell (also an OHA signatory), we expect Intel will push to put its forthcoming Menlow 2008 and Moorestown 2010 mobile device platforms on the Android menu.

While designed from the ground up for small low-power devices, both run Intel's IA architecture and thus come with an army of developers primed to churn out software. The OHA would be unlikely to axe ARM, but could easily broaden the Android spec to include Intel's silicon would provide manufacturers with a choice of chips.

But that's all in the future, and right now the job is getting to Android 1.0. Central to that is the Android software development kit, which allows programmers to start coding.

Google has added a small incentive: a cool US$10m in prize-money for the best Android apps!

Source: APCMag

Wifi Army Game application!

2007-12-19T10:40:00.000-08:00

This is awesome...

Giving you a peek at what kind of gaming platform Google's Android will host is the Wi-Fi Army developed by W2Pi Entertainment. The company hopes to win funds from the Android Challenge. This shooter game involves the 3 technologies - GPS, Google Maps, and camera phone. Instead of using video graphics, you can engage real people in a (gun) phone fight. The camera phone functions as your scope to hunt other players. The GPS is used to locate other players within 300 feet radius. Once another player is detected within the range, you will be notified about this new found enemy. Google Maps provides support to find other players. Sounds cool! Presently this game allows only 500 people to play per city. The icing on the cake is that this game is Free!

Source: Newlaunches

Android's Got Game - Dodge Balls

2007-12-13T10:55:00.000-08:00

Check out the vid below of the first game developed for Android that I've seen so far. You can also download the source code HERE.

Japanese cell phone operator gets Android running

2007-12-12T04:03:00.000-08:00

The latest public demo comes from Willcom, with the PHS operator showing a core module based on Android in Tokyo last week. Aside from demo-ing a spot of multi-tasking by receiving a call while browsing Google Maps, everything is pretty much as expected. Check out some pics HERE.

Google Android runs on Sharp Zaurus SL-C760

2007-12-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

Looks like the guys over at eugedge.com have managed to get Google Android running on a Sharp Zaurus SL-C760. This seems to be the first documented success with this device. Check out the article HERE.

Verizon joins Google alliance, isolates AT&T

2007-12-05T11:08:00.000-08:00

Verizon made a surprise move yesterday and joined the recently established Open Handset Alliance, Google's organization for promoting open software development for cellphones and other handhelds. The move will see Verizon use Google's Linux-based, open-source Android operating system on some phones. The software is an "enabler" that will let Verizon move towards an open platform, says company chief Lowell McAdam.

The decision comes just days after Verizon announced its unlocked device strategy, which will create a second tier of service that allows users to use unlocked phones and other devices and run software that has not been explicitly sanctioned by the carrier, including potentially competitive software such as VoIP tools. Previously, Verizon has often been held as an example of the restrictiveness allowed by American telecom regulations, with the company often insisting on its customized software and disabling hardware features such as Bluetooth file transfers to drive customers to paid services.

This change of heart was first triggered by efforts from Google and others to insist that the upcoming FCC auction for the 700MHz frequency band come with an open access rule, according to McAdam. The rule would obligate any winning bidder to allow any compatible device and any software to run on a service using the airspace. Verizon initially resisted the move, trying to sue to protect its business model and engage in suspicious lobbying but quickly dropping these efforts. Android helps as its open nature makes it reasonable to offer a similarly open service, the Verizon chief says.

The sudden switch leaves three out of four major US carriers embracing the Open Handset Alliance, potentially isolating and increasing pressure on AT&T. While Sprint and T-Mobile signed on as Alliance launch partners, AT&T has so far remained on the sidelines and is only considering the move while retaining its existing policy. As a GSM provider, AT&T is more open and allows users to run non-sanctioned, unlocked devices with a valid SIM (subscriber information) card but has not made any plans to carry phones of its own with unrestricted software.

Source: Electronista

Artificial Life

2007-11-26T16:04:00.000-08:00

Artificial Life, a mobile entertainment and game company announced that they will be making Games and Applications for Android. The company looks pretty interesting so hopefully some cool applications will come out of this.

You can check their site out here:
artificial-life.com

Source: Android Apps

Android running in a real device

2007-11-23T09:16:00.000-08:00

Android is running on Armadillo-500, a tiny CPU module providing a high degree of performance and expandability.
After 10 days of Android launching, we can see the platform running in a real device, what is next? I mean, are we in the same situation as when PC opened its door?
Lots of things have to change because even if you were able to run the platform, making calls is another story... unless a company opens the frequency to perform calls...

Source: Mobile Media Consult

Android has been in the works for 2 years

2007-11-20T15:15:00.000-08:00

Who noticed the article in BusinessWeek online 2 years ago on August 17, 2005, titled: "Google buys Android for Its Mobile Arsenal"? I only noticed it when rumours were starting to hit about the coming out of the Gphone (which turned out not to be a Gphone but "Android", an open software platform for mobile devices)

On 5 November 2007 Google announced Android as their open software platform for mobile devices. And it is now clear why they bought the company Android more than 2 years before as described in BusinessWeek in those days. How elegant of Google to name their platform after the company they took over, indicating they leveraged its assets well.

The BusinessWeek article describes the take-over of Android, a 22 month old and quite unknown startup at that time. The company operated under a cloak of secrecy, stating only that it made software for mobile phones.

Source: TelecomTrack

Google Acquires Many Domain Names

2007-11-20T15:11:00.000-08:00

All of these domains were transferred to Google name servers in the past week or so. They are also all registered to Google Inc. You’ll see lots of Android domains as well as plenty of other interesting domain names. We will begin with some of the most interesting (in our view) names. The first one makes us wonder (aka pure blogosphere speculation) (-; if an online tax prep service (look out TurboTax and Intuit?) might be a another new service coming from Google? On the other hand, these domains, like many others, might be part of Google’s domain name inventory to make sure others don’t register them.

+++ gtaxes.com (note: Google also has .net and .org registered)
+++ foogleaddon.com
+++ technicage.com
+++ googlesecret.com
+++ logiquate.com
+++ macroslash.com
+++ nolimitdvd.com

+ gbeam.org
+ gbriefcase.org
+ gcentral.info
+ gmeet.net
+ gnoogle.com

+ google-gmail.com
+ google-labs.com
+ google-labs.net
+ google-search.com

+ googleblog.info
+ googlebux.net
+ googlecalendar.info
+ googlecalendar.net
+ googlefinance.com

+ googlefind.net
+ googlegmail.com
+ googlegroups.info
+ googlehelp.info
+ googlehelp.net
+ googlelabs.org
+ googlelocal.org
+ googlephotos.info

+ googleserchengine.com
+ googleshopping.com
+ googlesms.info
+ googlesms.net
+ googletv.info
+ googleus.com
+ googleus.net

+ googlewebapis.net
+ gsearch.info
+ gsend.org
+ gshopping.info
+ gshopping.net
+ gsites.info
+ gsites.net

+ androidalliance.com
+ androidalliance.net
+ androidalliance.org
+ androiddevice.com
+ androiddevice.net
+ androiddevice.org
+ androiddevices.com
+ androiddevices.net
+ androiddevices.org
+ androidfederation.com
+ androidfederation.net
+ androidfederation.org

+ androidhandset.com
+ androidhandset.net
+ androidhandset.org
+ androidhandsets.com
+ androidhandsets.net
+ androidhandsets.org
+ androidmobile.com
+ androidmobile.net
+ androidmobile.org
+ androidphone.com
+ androidphone.net
+ androidphone.org
+ androidphones.com
+ androidphones.net
+ androidphones.org
+ androidplatform.com
+ androidplatform.net
+ androidplatform.org
+ androidsdk.com
+ androidsdk.net
+ androidsdk.org
+ androidsoftware.com
+ androidsoftware.net
+ androidsoftware.org
+ androidtechnology.com
+ androidtechnology.net
+ androidtechnology.org

Source: ResourceShelf

Android in Action

2007-11-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

It's been a week since Google released their first cut of the Android SDK and despite Scoble's claims to the contrary, thousands of developers spent last week developing their first Android applications.

Doesn't it make sense to launch the SDK well in advance of any actual phones?

Erstwhile video blogger Scoble is disappointment with Android. It seems this is largely because the launch "videos were boring". Robert? Dude? Who gives a shit about the videos? Developers don't want videos, they want CODE. Code, samples, and a well documented API. I still haven't watched the videos, I was too busy using the SDK to spend time looking at the pretty moving pictures. Apparently the shiny lights distracted Scoble as he screeches "[I] DO NOT TRUST THINGS THAT THEY WON’T SHOW ME WORKING". Android works. I've seen it, I've used it. They announced a software stack not hardware, and the software stack is available right now.

True, there are no phones yet, but Android is about development tools for 3rd party developers, so doesn't it make sense to launch the SDK well in advance of any actual phones? Google aren't going to out Apple the iPhone but they may just out Microsoft Windows Mobile.

You can bet that there's more than one Android project to duplicate the iPhone interface in excruciating detail.

There's been some complaints about the Android UI. It's true, the emulator isn't groundbreaking. It doesn't have to. It exists solely to provide the functionality developers need to write apps. How many projects do you think are right now in the process of reskining that bad-boy? The iPhone interface is as inevitable as this MS Messenger skin. The shipping UI is irrelevant, it's the flexibility of the SDK to create a new UI that's important.

Despite Scoble not knowing "...a single developer who has had his/her hands on Android" there are more than 4,500 members on the Android developer forums and more than 4,000 messages. Even if only 1% of them come up with a useful mobile application that's still about 30 more useful mobile applications than I've ever come across for Symbian.

The Android phone won't have the iPhone's consumer appeal. It's very true, but it's also entirely beside the point.

Read enough articles and you'd think that if Google doesn't immediately grab 30% of the mobile market at launch they Fail. That's short term thinking. Developers will write applications for Android phones because they literally can't write them for other platforms. One will get you ten that the iPhone SDK won't have nearly the level of phone access that Android provides.

Eventually people will be buying Android phones because the applications they *need* only run on Android phones. Don't believe me? Do you think people run Windows for the pleasure of it? Worst case scenario? Android forces people like Apple and Symbian to offer the same SDK access in order to keep their market. I'll take that and still call Android a net win.

Google's strategy seems to be 'make it open' -- with 'make it popular' a distant second.

People probably won't be lining up around the block on the release day for the first Android mobile but just like Google search and just like GMail, Android is going to change the way we think of mobile phones.

What made the PC so popular? Why has the web taken off? Because *anyone* with the inclination could bring their vision to life at minimal cost. If you've ever tried programming for a mobile phone you'll know it's expensive and difficult -- that's why there's so few *good* mobile phone applications, and very few for free. The Android platform is going to get thousands of developers playing around with new applications for mobiles, in the same way early IBM compatible PCs got thousands of electronics hobbyists interested in programming computers.

Eventually the availability of popular apps on Android phones is going to encourage more phone makers to release Android versions and networks to release Android phones. It costs them nothing in licensing.

People love iPhones, companies love options.

I don't run Windows because I like it, I run it because 75% of the applications I use every day only run under Windows; plus I can write powerful software for myself really easily.

Corporations will start buying Android phones for the same reason almost every company that's not a graphic design house runs Windows -- it's a more universal development environment with deeper access to the underlying hardware. I work for an investment bank, they'd never dream of writing corporate software for the iPhone; do you think the 300 Java developers here might be able create something useful with Android?

Source: The Radioactive Yak

AT&T eyes teaming up with Google

2007-11-17T21:36:00.001-08:00

AT&T has talked with Google about joining its mobile-phone software alliance. The phone company is "analyzing the situation" and may use Google's software for phones, Ralph de la Vega, chief executive officer of the wireless unit, said in an interview Friday. He refused to give details of discussions and said he hasn't personally met with Mountain View-based Google. The search-engine giant announced Nov. 5 that it would work with 33 companies to develop software for mobile phones. Wireless carriers Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA joined the alliance, looking for features such as local shopping searches that could help them lure new customers.

Source: SilliconValley

Android Forum

2007-11-16T00:38:00.001-08:00

Discuss the OS at our new forum.

First Google Android Apps now available for download!

2007-11-15T22:23:00.000-08:00

Below are the first ever available Android apps from Google. You can download and run these on the Android emulator. Enjoy!

ApiDemos.apk
HelloActivity.apk
Lunar Lander.apk
Notepad.apk
SkeletonApp.apk
Snake.apk

For those unsure how to do this, a tutorial will be posted shortly.

Google Android Emulator Demo

2007-11-14T12:27:00.000-08:00

Below is a screencast of the gPhone emulator.

Android for European Mobile Developers

2007-11-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

Dave Burke, an engineering manager within Google’s mobile team, stood up today at the Future of Mobile conference in London to talk about Android and the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), the new open mobile platform initiative from Google. This is the the first conference presentation in Europe on the subject since Google’s announcement on November 5th, and was live blogged by TechCrunch UK.

But if you were expecting much new information on all this you would probably have been disappointed. Burke introduce the OHA, outlined how it has 30+ industry leaders on board and how there is no gPhone, just a phone built by partners using the Android platform - this we already know. There was a run-down of what the platform will be capable of and a reminder that the SDK is a only a few days old and that we will probably not see handsets until the second half of next year when the full open source platform will be released.

He also did a fairly impressive demonstration of coding an application (in this case a mobile browser).

Burke did say: “We’re really serious. We want to see serious innovation. We want operators and application developers to spend less time on little silos and more time building great stuff.” At the end he added an advert: “we’re hiring in Europe”.

During Q&A he said he hadn’t “heard” if Android will support Flash Lite, but he did say the Webkit would support Netscape style plugins.

How come Google is only releasing the full source code when the handsets hit the market next year? He said Google wanted to wait until it really worked on handsets before releasing the code.

What about the difference with the OpenMoko project, an open source mobile platform? “The difference with Moko is this [Android] is real,” he said “We have a lot of momentum with key partners. We are not talking about specifications, we’re just building it and trying to get support.”

One questioner asked if Google would be subject to anti-trust allegations given that a lot of Google applications will come default with the handsets, but Burke gave the impression that this would be unlikely as handset makers could “swap out applications.” We’ll see I guess.

So what’s the upshot of all this? In terms of content perhaps not a great deal. If one were to be cynical, one would say that this was mainly about a Google guy appearing in London (which has a big mobile community) at a conference aimed at mobile developers, and was in hiring mode…

Source: TechCrunch

Android Emulator

2007-11-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

The Android SDK includes a mobile device emulator — a virtual device that runs on your computer. The emulator lets you prototype, develop, and test Android applications without using a physical device.

The Android emulator mimics all of the typical functions and behaviors of a mobile device, except that it can not receive or place phone calls. As shown at right, the emulator provides a variety of navigation and control keys, which you can "press" using your mouse or keyboard to generate events for your application. It also provides a screen in which your application is displayed, together with any other Android applications running.

To help you model and test your application, the emulator lets your application use the services of the Android platform to invoke other applications, access the network, play audio and video, store and retrieve data, notify the user, and render graphical transitions and themes.

The emulator also includes a variety of debug capabilities, such as a console from which you can log kernel output, simulate application interrupts (such as arriving SMS messages or phone calls), and simulate latency effects and dropouts on the data channel.

Source: Google

Dalvik VM (Virtual Machine)

2007-11-12T23:09:00.000-08:00

The development process is a standard one for Java developers: Java code is compiled into .JAR and .CLASS files. Google built a custom virtual machine to run these programs; it is called DALVIK (after one engineer's favorite location in Iceland.) The DALVIK VM is designed especially for Android to run on embedded systems and work well in low power situations; it's also tuned to the CPU attributes. The DALVIK VM creates a special file format (.DEX) that is created through build time post processing. The DEX files can be downloaded onto the mobile handsets and run.

Every Android application runs in its own process, with its own instance of the Dalvik virtual machine. Dalvik has been written so that a device can run multiple VMs efficiently. The Dalvik VM executes files in the Dalvik Executable (.dex) format which is optimized for minimal memory footprint. The VM is register-based, and runs classes compiled by a Java language compiler that have been transformed into the .dex format by the included "dx" tool.

The Dalvik VM relies on the Linux kernel for underlying functionality such as threading and low-level memory management.

Source: Open Handset Alliance, OnLamp

Android Applications

2007-11-12T16:03:00.000-08:00

With Google's $10 million mobile application contest, there could be thousands of Android applications on the market before the first Android-powered phone ships next year. I wouldn't even be surprised if some industrious hackers start releasing existing cell phones hacked with Android, and not the factory installed OS. Perhaps some hackers will even try to install Android on an iPhone. The possibilities are nearly limitless.

Source: InformationWeek

$10 million on the table for Android apps

2007-11-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

Understanding that developers need to be bribed to create applications for a new mobile platform, Google has put up $10m in prizes for the best Android apps.

The Android Developer Challenge comes in two parts: the first runs until March 2008 and awards $25K apiece to the best 50 applications. The second leg kicks off only when some Android handsets available - which should be some time in the second half of 2008. This will see ten winners walking away with $257,000 with ten runners-up getting $100,000.

Putting up prizes to drive mobile development is nothing new, and while the Android Developer Challenge might offer more money, it comes without the promise of marketing and licensing assistance that normally accompanies such promotions (though the value of that varies widely).

Android is, in theory, the child of the newly-formed Open Handset Alliance, but Google is hosting the SDK (software developer's kit) and Google is putting up the money.

The competition comes as the Android SDK is also launched, so developers can download and start coding (using an emulated device) immediately.

Source: TheRegister

Android Software Development Kit is now available.

2007-11-12T08:38:00.000-08:00

Download it HERE.

Features

* Application framework enabling reuse and replacement of components
* Dalvik virtual machine optimized for mobile devices
* Integrated browser based on the open source WebKit engine
* Optimized graphics powered by a custom 2D graphics library; 3D graphics based on the OpenGL ES 1.0 specification (hardware acceleration optional)
* SQLite for structured data storage
* Media support for common audio, video, and still image formats (MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG, GIF)
* GSM Telephony (hardware dependent)
* Bluetooth, EDGE, 3G, and WiFi (hardware dependent)
* Camera, GPS, compass, and accelerometer (hardware dependent)
* Rich development environment including a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling, and a plugin for the Eclipse IDE

Android Architecture

The following diagram shows the major components of the Android operating system. Each section is described in more detail below.

Android System Architecture

Applications

Android will ship with a set of core applications including an email client, SMS program, calendar, maps, browser, contacts, and others. All applications are written using the Java programming language.

Application Framework

Developers have full access to the same framework APIs used by the core applications. The application architecture is designed to simplify the reuse of components; any application can publish its capabilities and any other application may then make use of those capabilities (subject to security constraints enforced by the framework). This same mechanism allows components to be replaced by the user.

Underlying all applications is a set of services and systems, including:

* A rich and extensible set of Views that can be used to build an application, including lists, grids, text boxes, buttons, and even an embeddable web browser
* Content Providers that enable applications to access data from other applications (such as Contacts), or to share their own data
* A Resource Manager, providing access to non-code resources such as localized strings, graphics, and layout files
* A Notification Manager that enables all applications to display custom alerts in the status bar
* An Activity Manager that manages the lifecycle of applications and provides a common navigation backstack

For more details and a walkthrough of an application, see Writing an Android Application.

Libraries

Android includes a set of C/C++ libraries used by various components of the Android system. These capabilities are exposed to developers through the Android application framework. Some of the core libraries are listed below:

* System C library - a BSD-derived implementation of the standard C system library (libc), tuned for embedded Linux-based devices
* Media Libraries - based on PacketVideo's OpenCORE; the libraries support playback and recording of many popular audio and video formats, as well as static image files, including MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, and PNG
* Surface Manager - manages access to the display subsystem and seamlessly composites 2D and 3D graphic layers from multiple applications
* LibWebCore - a modern web browser engine which powers both the Android browser and an embeddable web view
* SGL - the underlying 2D graphics engine
* 3D libraries - an implementation based on OpenGL ES 1.0 APIs; the libraries use either hardware 3D acceleration (where available) or the included, highly optimized 3D software rasterizer
* FreeType - bitmap and vector font rendering
* SQLite - a powerful and lightweight relational database engine available to all applications

Android Runtime

Android includes a set of core libraries that provides most of the functionality available in the core libraries of the Java programming language.

Every Android application runs in its own process, with its own instance of the Dalvik virtual machine. Dalvik has been written so that a device can run multiple VMs efficiently. The Dalvik VM executes files in the Dalvik Executable (.dex) format which is optimized for minimal memory footprint. The VM is register-based, and runs classes compiled by a Java language compiler that have been transformed into the .dex format by the included "dx" tool.

The Dalvik VM relies on the Linux kernel for underlying functionality such as threading and low-level memory management.

Linux Kernel

Android relies on Linux version 2.6 for core system services such as security, memory management, process management, network stack, and driver model. The kernel also acts as an abstraction layer between the hardware and the rest of the software stack.

Source: Open Handset Alliance

Checking in with the pundits on Android

2007-11-10T09:07:00.000-08:00

It already seems like an eternity ago, but Google's big Open Handset Alliance / Android announcement was arguably the biggest news of the week, and it inspired a number of tech pundits and bloggers to weigh in -- and Steve Ballmer to talk some major smack. Since no one really knows how any of this is going to play out, we thought we'd round up some of the more interesting viewpoints for easy reference -- and maybe some easy laughs -- when we get our hands on the first "GPhone" in late 2008.

We gotta start with John Dvorak, who cut straight to the point and said "The Google phone is doomed." Additional money quotes include "Google is actually not a charismatic company that can make this new platform happen in a big way," and "When I see a bunch of joiners jumping on some unknown, unreleased unfinished pipe dream, I actually laugh." He even roped in the iPhone, calling it more of a "photo album than a phone." Actually, Dvorak's whole column is a great read even if just to experience the man's naked anger towards every phone ever made.

Not to be outdone at the contrarian game, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer came out swinging as well, saying "Their efforts are just some words on paper right now." Actually, he does have a point there -- although Google and HTC may have been developing that "Dream" prototype, the real news will come in late 2008 when Android devices start shipping. How does that compare to WinMo, Steve? "They have a press release, we have many, many millions of customers, great software, many hardware devices and they're welcome in our world."

Other media members seemed just as skeptical, if not as openly hostile: Robert Scoble was pumped about the open source angle, but wanted to know how Android was going to integrate with his car, saying that Microsoft's Sync was way ahead in that department. Om Malik started out calling Android "a massive PR move" and started asking why all the OHA partners seemed to be hedging their bets -- specifically HTC, which is a huge WinMo shop but also a big part of OHA.

Way on the other side of things is the always-controversial Rob Enderle, who called the smartphone market a "horserace" with Google in possession of the fastest horse: "Unless someone else figures out how to do this as well or better, Google ends up as one of the most powerful companies ever." That's a lot of assumptions, but Enderle doesn't really do it any other way.

Of course, it's lonely at the top, and apart from Enderle and Google and the OHA partners themselves, there's doesn't seem to be a lot of faith that Android will deliver. The going consensus seems to be optimistic hope tempered by a long history with committee-based projects that seem to die on the vine -- as Steven Frank put it, "A 34-company committee couldn't create a successful ham sandwich, much less a mobile application suite." Ouch.

We'd be remiss if we didn't include our own take, which, as usual, took the form of an open plea to Palm to save itself anyway it can -- which it gently ignored. Apart from that, we definitely got the press release vibe from the whole thing -- and we really, really want to see a device soon, even if just in prototype form. It seems like it'll be a long year of speculation until then.

Source: Engadget

Rumor: WhatsOpen.com to release first Android App

2007-11-08T15:31:00.000-08:00

Google's Android SDK, the company’s new mobile platform, isn't due for release until later this month, but Valleywag has some leaked screenshots of a site that could end up offering the first Android app. The rumor is that these shots are from WhatsOpen.com, a startup that mashes geodata with store operating hours to tell you, as the name implies, what's open near you.

There is of course no guarantee that these are real, but Valleywag’s source claims that, along with the screens of the soon-to-launch site, there’s an Android-ready app to go along with it.

At first glance the results are a bit underwhelming, but having wasted half an hour yesterday waiting for the local DMV office to re-open after its lunch break, I can personally attest to the potential usefulness of a service like WhatsOpen.com (assuming of course that Valleywag’s source is correct about what it is).

Hopefully, since a fully-functional Android-based phone is still a considerable way off, WhatsOpen will at least unveil the site sometime soon.

Source: Wired

Android SDK

2007-11-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

An early preview of Google's Android SDK will be available to download on Monday, November 12, 2007. Google has been very secretive about the details of Android so it will be interesting to see if this is something that could really make a serious impact on the mobile market.

Google 'Dream' Phone by HTC

2007-11-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

Google likes software, particularly the kind that puts ads on Web pages, making Google rich. The realities of a phone business--running a supply chain, keeping inventory and managing distribution--were never something Google wanted from its phone initiative. But it has built about five prototype phones based on the Open Handset Alliance software kit that it has used to demonstrate what an open-source phone could do--and to woo companies to join its team.

The phone, code-named "Dream" inside Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ), looks somewhat like Apple's (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) iPhone: It is thin, about 3 inches wide and 5 inches long, and features a touch-sensitive, rectangular screen. Unlike the iPhone, the screen is also time-sensitive: Hold down your finger longer, and the area you're controlling expands. The bottom end of the handset, near the navigational controls, is slightly beveled so it nestles in the palm. The screen also swivels to one side, revealing a full keyboard beneath. (The screen display changes from a vertical portrait mode to a horizontal display when someone uses the keyboard.)

The Dream design makes the core functions--e-mail, text documents and YouTube--readily available by putting icons that open those applications along the top of the screen. In its guts, the phone runs a virtual machine so that applications, like the browser, can launch once during a session, then reside in the background. That way, if someone sends you, say, a YouTube video link, you can run it immediately, without restarting the browser. The browser also downloads large files in stages to cut the time it seems to take to bring them onto the phone.

Taiwan's HTC is already considering manufacturing a commercial version of Dream, which Chief Executive Peter Chou says could be available as early as the second half of 2008. "We've been working on [Open Handset Alliance] designs for almost two years," he says. "This is the best one we've seen." ( See list of the alliance members.)

He would not comment on price or which service provider would offer the phone. T-Mobile, however, is scheduled to play a large role at Monday's announcement.

Other phone designs, said Chou, might include "sizes from small to large, personal models and phones for business productivity. This is about extending the portfolio to make it a better consumer experience--one size does not fit all."

"There are twice as many phones as there are Internet users in the world," says Google's Andy Rubin, who led the Open Handset Alliance initiative. "This platform is a means of correcting this." An added benefit, he suggests, is that the software can be used in any other type of mobile device, such as wireless-enabled cars.

Google "wants to deliver the best platform they can to get click-throughs" on the Internet, says Sanjay Jha, Qualcomm's (nasdaq: QCOM - news - people ) chief operating officer and head of its chip-set division. For its part, Qualcomm is turning over to the open-source community "some low-level device drivers" that will allow Google's Linux platform to work with Qualcomm's air interface chips.

Once the Open Handset Alliance software kit is made openly available--probably sometime in the second half of 2008 when the first OHA-based handset ships--Google will become a hub for future OHA phone developments, including changes to the operating system or browser, or even the applications people are building for the phone.

"Google is committed to keeping it updated--they will continue to invest resources," Jha says. "The problem with open source for phones has been who is behind it. Microsoft backs development of Windows Mobile. Nokia backs their phone. Suddenly, someone is backing open-source mobile Linux with a big checkbook."

That hardly means the end for service providers, however, says Qualcomm's Jha. "We'll work with carriers and developers too, write code for our chips. Every carrier will still have their own needs."

Source: Forbes

What is Google's Android Mobile OS?

2007-11-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

Android™ will deliver a complete set of software for mobile devices: an operating system, middleware and key mobile applications. On November 12, we will release an early look at the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) to allow developers to build rich mobile applications.

Open
Android was built from the ground-up to enable developers to create compelling mobile applications that take full advantage of all a handset has to offer. It is built to be truly open. For example, an application could call upon any of the phone's core functionality such as making calls, sending text messages, or using the camera, allowing developers to create richer and more cohesive experiences for users. Android is built on the open Linux Kernel. Furthermore, it utilizes a custom virtual machine that has been designed to optimize memory and hardware resources in a mobile environment. Android will be open source; it can be liberally extended to incorporate new cutting edge technologies as they emerge. The platform will continue to evolve as the developer community works together to build innovative mobile applications.

All applications are created equal
Android does not differentiate between the phone's core applications and third-party applications. They can all be built to have equal access to a phone's capabilities providing users with a broad spectrum of applications and services. With devices built on the Android Platform, users will be able to fully tailor the phone to their interests. They can swap out the phone's homescreen, the style of the dialer, or any of the applications. They can even instruct their phones to use their favorite photo viewing application to handle the viewing of all photos.

Breaking down application boundaries
Android breaks down the barriers to building new and innovative applications. For example, a developer can combine information from the web with data on an individual's mobile phone -- such as the user's contacts, calendar, or geographic location -- to provide a more relevant user experience. With Android, a developer could build an application that enables users to view the location of their friends and be alerted when they are in the vicinity giving them a chance to connect.

Fast & easy application development
Android provides access to a wide range of useful libraries and tools that can be used to build rich applications. For example, Android enables developers to obtain the location of the device, and allow devices to communicate with one another enabling rich peer-to-peer social applications. In addition, Android includes a full set of tools that have been built from the ground up alongside the platform providing developers with high productivity and deep insight into their applications.

Source: Android

Wrap up of today's Android and OHA news

2007-11-05T14:19:00.000-08:00

The details on Google's gPhone Open Handset Alliance are coming to light. Here's what we know:
•They're hoping to make a better phone, ultimately. (And sell a ton of ads and services, of course, along the way.)
•Android, an open system for handset dev, is the first joint project and core product of the alliance.
•There are 34 members of the group, including NVIDIA, Intel, Texas Instruments, Synaptics (haptics!), Marvell, Qualcomm (chips), Motorola, Samsung, TMO, Sprint, LG, HTC, KDDI and DOCOMO from Japan and China Mobile Comm. Corp.. Basically, a lot of companies sick of Windows Mobile Slop and other closed up phone systems like the iPhone.
•Who's missing is interesting: Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Blackberry/RIM, Apple, Verizon, and AT&T. Oh, did I forget to mention Microsoft?
•Handsets coming in 2008, second half.
•Nov 12th, the Android early look SDK drops.
•Android built on Linux, made avail as open source via the Apache v2 License.
•Companies can dev custom functionality to Android without contributing the source code back to the community.
• HTC's first prototype is the dream. It's the first set of hardware details we've heard of.
•Chen's rounded up Gphone details from a couple of mainstream publications. There's nothing you haven't read above, but a few more quotes.
•Couple of Videos on the Android. One by devs, one by kids.

I'll update this post as more comes. Just got off a conference call, actually. No new details. This is the basic outline of what we have for now.

Source: Gizmodo

Google announces Android, but not G Phone

2007-11-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

Google just officially announced the Open Handset Alliance to create an open platform (to be called Android) for a Linux phone that can run mobile Google apps and others. The 34 partners include T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel, NTT Docomo, China Mobile, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, Motorola, Samsung, HTC, Qualcomm, Intel, and Google itself. No mention of Verizon, AT&T, Vodafone, or Nokia (which is pushing its own Ovi development platform). Here is the press release. Writes Andy Rubin, the man behind the Google Phone. :

Despite all of the very interesting speculation over the last few months, we’re not announcing a Gphone. However, we think what we are announcing — the Open Handset Alliance and Android — is more significant and ambitious than a single phone. In fact, through the joint efforts of the members of the Open Handset Alliance, we hope Android will be the foundation for many new phones and will create an entirely new mobile experience for users, with new applications and new capabilities we can’t imagine today

Android is the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. It includes an operating system, user-interface and applications — all of the software to run a mobile phone, but without the proprietary obstacles that have hindered mobile innovation.

Reports started trickling out last week that Google is ready to announce its Gphone, or rather Gphones. It is more a reference design, than a single phone. Android-based phones will start to come out on the market in the latter half of 2008 (from HTC at minimum). One mobile startup CEO I know says he was contacted on Friday by Google and given the final go-ahead to port his app onto Android, which his company has not even started to work on yet. The software development kit will be available on November 12. Today’s announcement is just that. There is nothing concrete here in terms of products or services, but going mobile represents a major growth opportunity for Google, which wants to bring the Internet (along with search and contextual ads) to your phone.

John Biggs at CrunchGear is liveblogging the conference call, and he is also streaming the audio

Here are my notes from the call:

Google CEO Eric Schmidt notes there are 3 billion mobile users. He says:

“We want to create a whole new experience for mobile users.”

“This will be the first fully-integrated software stack, including an operating system and middleware, being made available under the most liberal open-source license ever given to mobile operators [and handset makers].”

“This is not an announcement of a Gphone. We hope thousands of different phones will be powered by Android. This will make possible all sorts of applications that have never been made available on a mobile device.”

He think s a”lack of a collaborative effort” is what has been keeping back the mobile Web. Android will help developers reduce complexities and costs across different mobile devices.

“Mobile software complexity and cost is increasing, but mobile users want the same apps as they have on the Internet. Android will be able to deliver on this.”

Sergey Brin: “As I look at it I reflect, ten years ago I was sitting at a graduate student cubicle. We were able to build incredible things,. There was a set of tools that allowed us to do that. It was all open technologies. It was based on Linux, GNU, Apache. All those pieces and many more allowed us to do great things and distribute it to the world. That is what we are doing today, to allow people to innovate on today’s mobile devices. Today’s mobile devices are more powerful than those computers I was working on just ten years ago. I cannot wait to see what today’s innovators will build.”

No ad-supported phones, says Andy Rubin in Q&A: “Part of this Android solution is a very robust HTML Web browser, so there is really no difference between browsing on a phone [and on a PC]. Contrary to speculation, you won’t see a completely ad-driven phone on this platform for some time.” But he confirms that this plays into Google’s overall advertising strategy by bringing a more fully functioning Web browser to the handset. Notes that Android will require at minimum the equivalent of a 200 MHz ARM 9 processor. The platform is open source, and that will be its competitive advantage over other mobile platforms.

Schmidt: “The best model is to be open. that is what the Internet has taught us. The test of course is whether the applications and developers emerge. The reason we are announcing now is to make sure developers have time to make available applications that have never been available before but are common on Macs and PCs.”

And not that he is announcing anything, but: “If you were to build Gphone, you would build it on this platform.”

Qs about ability of carriers to lock down devices. Rubin: “When you free something into the open it is up to the industry to do something with it.” (i.e., it is not Google’s problem).

Q: “So if the industry wanted to create completely locked down devices, that would be possible?”

And Rubin: “Yes.”

Schmidt: “While that is possible, it is highly unlikely.” Uh-huh, what planet does he live on?

Q: Any overlap with OpenSocial?

Schmidt: “Google announces products whenever they are ready, and the teams are different. OpenSocial will be a framework that will run extremely well on Android for all the obvious reasons. Developers building interesting social apps will have the benefit of mobility as Android becomes widespread.”

Source: TechCrunch

Android Apps

2007-11-05T10:20:00.000-08:00

Here, at AndroidApps.org, you will find all the latest Android apps & info on Google's newly released mobile OS.