Items Tagged: Android Market

One of the best features about the newest operating system of Google’s flagship Android, which is also known as Froyo, is the fact that it’s able to create a mobile hotspot for users to be able to connect their devices, laptop or other, to the 3G data… wait… not for Droid customers.
Just as Froyo is about to be rolled out to the Droid, which is the top selling Android phone to date, Verizon has stepped in and stated that they’ll be systematically stripping the tethering from the Droid’s version of the new Froyo platform. Verizon made the claim that the Droid hardware isn’t able to support this feature. They state that with the tethering there’s no connection on the computer side that’s going to allow you to be able to tether the device. So their answer is that the tethering option simply isn’t a part of this update.
There are currently only two phones that are running Froyo aka Android 2.2:
• Google’s Nexus One
• HTC EVO – HTC’s first 4G phone
Those devices definitely have no difficulty tethering, running that mobile hotspot feature.
Both Verizon and Motorola confirmed that the Droid X is going to be able to pull of the mobile hotspot or tethering feature. Unfortunately that’s not much of a consolation to the millions of people that have purchased the top selling Droid, including the new customers that now have to wait to fulfill their two year agreement before they’re able to make the upgrade to the Droid X.
Obviously the Droid is still going to get the new interface along with all of the other functionality that Froyo is going to bring like that of better power consumption, full flash mobile support and so on.
The update for the Droid is expected to be rolling out within the next week.

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Google has now released a new software tool which now makes it easy for people to be able to create an application for their Android smartphone. What the goal is, is allowing the consumer to be able to be a creator instead of solely a consumer within the mobile world. The only reason that this is able to be done is the fact that the architecture of Android is open.
The company, based out of Mountain View, California, stated that the free software, which is called the Google Application Inventor for Android, allows people that have little to no practical knowledge when it comes to programming to be able to drag and drop create. They do this with “blocks” of code which are shown to them as a graphical image which is representative of various capabilities of smartphones. It then combines them in a way which is similar to putting together something like Lego blocks.
For an example, there was one tester who made an application that told a list of their friends with a short text message where he was every fifteen minutes. He combined three blocks of code to put the program together:
•    The first block showed the phone location
•    The next showed a clock (set for intervals of fifteen minutes)
•    The third then linked a listing of his selected friends
Obviously these applications aren’t going to be the most slick and pristine but they’re the programs that can be made by ordinary people and can often be completed in merely a matter of minutes.
Google stated that they’ve had this system in the works for just about a year and they’ve been doing testing in schools which included students in sixth grade, girls in high school, nursing students and also university undergraduates that aren’t computer science majors.
Through the simplification of the development process, especially when it comes to younger people, the internet giant hopes that they can open the innovation doors for their Android mobile OS. It hopes that they will be able to get the upper hand when it comes to the application arms race. Their arch rival Apple, who manages the iPhone development tightly, has the current lead with over 225,000 applications in their online store.

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It’s very well known that one of the fastest growing markets is mobile internet but the really surprising thing is exactly the rate that it’s growing. A recent report has shown that within just five more years more users are going to be connecting to the internet through mobile devices than through their PC. The YouTube consumption rates on mobile devices are growing at considerable rates as:
•    Playbacks are up 160% for 2009 than they were in 2008
It’s an exciting thing that YouTube Mobile has now received in excess of 100 million video playbacks each and every day. This is just roughly the amount of playbacks that came daily on the YouTube website when they’d joined forces back in 2006 with Google.
The YouTube mobile device launch was back in 2007 and had about 1,000 available videos on the mobile website. This launched swiftly opened the possibilities of being able to access videos while they’re on the go. Their site and mobile browsers along with the hardware had its limitations and it prevented the true mobile experience from being able to keep pace with the desktop version of YouTube.
Predominantly, we know that people want to be able to get access to the most favorite videos while they’re on the go, no matter where that might be. It is for that reason that they released the updated site version for the mobile. 

The New Features
So you’re wondering what’s new about it, here it is:
•    It’s amazingly fast
•    The user interfaced gives much larger as well as elements that are touch-friendly which makes it much easier to access videos while on the go
Additionally, it incorporates the functionality as well as the features that people have come to expect from the main site, like the:
•    Search query suggestions
•    Playlist creation options
•    Ability to assign the likes or dislikes of videos straight from your device
As more and more improvement have been made to YouTube.com you’re now going to see them very soon onto the mobile site unlike native applications that aren’t updated near as frequently.
With the world quickly and continuing to go more and more mobile this is an amazing improvement for those users that want more a more dependable experience no matter where they are. Right now it’s an English only launch, however, in the upcoming months it will be rolled out in many more languages. You’ll be able to access the latest and the greatest mobile site from your Android browser or iPhone.

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Even though you’re finding that the Google Android OS (operating system) is finding itself onto the new smartphone releases at an epic pace the Android platform is definitely still not without its share of problems. Google has been trying to work at a frantic pace in order to get the Android OS up to a completely functional and a status that is very rich in features. With Google doing this it has actually created a large bit of fragmentation.
It’s actually not completely uncommon to see a smartphone that is carrying multiple versions of the Android OS:
•    1.5
•    1.6
•    2.0
•    2.1
With all of these upgrades that are being done actually completely out of the hands of the end user.
What happens is when Google releases a new version it is then the responsibility of both the mobile networks and the handset manufacturers to both test and then deploy the update on the phone. Those updates are something that contributes to massive user frustration as they are waiting months to be able to use a new feature that is already on the phone.
It does seem though that Google is going to be looking into and hopefully finding a solution for this problem through the release of the next couple of Android version releases. The OS is going to be split into two things:
•    Applications
•    Components
What this is going to mean is that both the user and the application development team will both be responsible for determining when a new version of that particular software is going to get rolled onto the phone.
The next update planned for the Android is Froyo and this is the update that is going to begin the splitting process. After Froyo comes Gingerbread and it is by that time that Google expects that they are going to have the process completed and the updates should be not only nicer but quicker as well.
There is another thought as well and that is that the Android development is going to begin to slow over that same period of time. The slow isn’t due to Google removing resources from the Android project but rather due to the fact that Android has begun to reach its maturity in regards to being a mobile OS. This simply means that it isn’t going to need as much time in development from that point forward.
Opinion
It is thought that the split that is going to be performed isn’t actually going to completely solve the update problem though it will most likely mean that as a user we won’t really care any longer when someone, like HTC for example, decides to put out a new update for Android. The reason for that is due to the fact that the components that would be released aren’t actually going to have any impact on the applications that we use on a daily basis.
The components that they are going to be tested are simply only the core OS files that:
•    Offer additional stability
•    Likely improve things in terms of battery drain
•    Simply to close security holes
Thos updates that we care more about, like the standard Android applications that are our favorites, are either going to be automatically updated or the user will have the option to be able to update at their leisure.
The important key with this is that the day that an update happens should be the same day that us as users should be able to make the upgrade.

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It looks like Google is about to get into the broadband industry. Google is making plans to position their own trial fiber-optic network going to a minimum of 50k homes and it could go to as many as a potential 500k.
This fiber-optic set-up is something that would deliver amazingly high speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. This is an unheard of speed when it comes to the residential fiber-optic set-ups as the 1 gigabit per second is over 20xs faster than any of the other services offered in the United States today.
On their blog Google talks about the fact that they’re planning on the building and testing of the mega hi-speed broadband networks within a small area of trial areas throughout the United States. They promise the deliverance of internet speeds of more than 100xs faster than everything that is available to the population today, offering the 1 gigabit fiber-optic in home connection. They also make mention of the fact that they are planning on offering the service at a very viable price to the 50-500k people.
The broadband that is offered by Google is going to be very competitive when it comes to pricing in the broadband service that is offered by the telephone and cable companies of today and it is going to be even faster. Google is talking about how it will be doing this on a trial basis in order to promote new applications that are going to be able to utilize the faster speeds and through experimentation be able to find new and better ways to be able to deploy fiber-optic networks to the homes on a larger scale.
The other hope with this is to be able to create some pressure when it comes to allowing of more open access to the broadband services on the whole. Google sees the effort of what they’re embarking on to be symbiotic with the United States government’s plans for the national broadband deployment. You are able to apply hereif you are a community or municipality and would like to be taken into consideration for the Google service.
Google actually already owns a very large network of what’s called dark fiber around the entire world in order to:
•    Connect their data centers
•    Speed up their search function
•    Lower the costs of the streaming of billions of YouTube videos every month
With this current undertaking Google is taking the very first steps in connecting all of the dark fiber to actual backbone connections in consumers’ homes.
As of right now it’s not completely clear as to how Google’s services will conjoin with the broadband subscription but there is one thing that is clear and that is that Google is going to be both the default search with their Gmail service being the default email. Maybe Google Voice could potentially be thrown into the mix by the time everything comes to fruition. Only time will tell but for those lucky enough to be a part, with speeds that amazing, it should definitely be an interesting ride.

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Since receiving funding in late 2009 the company Foursquare has been using most of its time working on the massive expansion of the cities list it will be available in. They were unfortunately stuck within the reality that no matter how hard they were trying they couldn’t expand at a fast enough rate.
So there really shouldn’t be any surprise that Foursquare is throwing all of that away. The company has just officially made the announcement that you’re now able to use the Foursquare product anywhere in the entire world. That isn’t all they have been working on.
Just one of these new things, but maybe the most notable of them is that the service is now available for a large variety of various platforms. It’s been out for both the Android and the iPhone for quite some time now the Blackberry as well as the Palm Pre now finally has the application.
Another thing that’s notable for mention is that Foursquare is currently in a complete redesign stage for both the iPhone application and of their website. The iPhone application in testing now only looks nicer but it also new foursquare iPhone app to run a lot smoother than the soon to be predecessor. The newer application will be available in the Apple Store very soon. With the changes foursquare is going to remove the city-based restrictions and also improve the quality of the location-finding abilities of the application.
With the move to the global game they are also escalating the badging capability. If you’re not familiar with badges, the badges are a graphical item that the user can earn through doing certain tasks in certain places. As an example, say you check into your gym for a preset period of time and then you’re going to earn a “Gym Rat” badge.
There are also additional gaming elements to Foursquare, like that of the point system, and they do tend to lose some of their appeal over time but the badges have actually seemed to remain something that the users have really longed for. Add to that some of the backend service changes and Foursquare hopes to be able to add some more of those badges very soon in order to add to the dynamic for the current and future user. They are actually letting their users make badge suggestions and you can do so through this link.
Now that they are making the move away from the cities you can actually do various things when you’re checking into a new city and not have to duplicate the badges any longer as everything is going to now be consolidated. Keeping that in mind though, there are still only going to be certain badges that you’ll be able to get in certain cities.
They are actually tweaking the point system too. With the move away from the cities they are now going to enlist a point’s leader board that is going to be based on proximity instead of an entire city. So you’ll be able to see if you’re among the points leaders in say a 25 mile radius. Foursquare is hinting at the fact that they should be overhauling the entire points system sometime in the near future in order to:
•    Make the game more interesting
•    Curb cheating
Another nice change and a big one is that you’ll no longer have to use an address in order to create a new venue. This was by far the biggest barrier when trying to enter a new one and they are making it an option to tag the place that you’re creating by using GPS coordinates.
This move is a little bit of a risk one due to the fact that there is more than likely going to be a massive flood of either fake or incorrect venues but it’s an obviously good move since it is really needed for the global expansion to truly work effectively.
The moves that Foursquare is making are very good ones and it will add massive value to their service. The users that they already have will be very happy and it should do an excellent job of attracting new ones.

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If one thing Apple is staying consistent and it looks like they are at it again. No it’s not another product it’s Apple exercising further editorial judgment in terms of the applications that will get onto their iPhone.
The difference from some of the past application censorship is that this time it isn’t the bare breasts and games of violence.  This time the problem is about a denied application that would allow a user to see the level of radiation that their iPhone is emitting.
When Apple was asked for comment their spokesman declined comment on the issue.
Friedlander, the Tawkon co-founder, talked about how Apple had responded just a few days after the application was submitted by Tawkon to be an application within the iTunes Store. The response was stated that the graphical user interface was a good one but that through supplying information to consumers about radiation levels through the application could cause a significant amount of confusion.
Friedlander additionally talked about the fact that they are very clear about the fact of they will make the content decisions on whether or not they want to post something or not.
Of course any company has a right to censor content for their products but the apparent move from Apple comes as there is mounting research, mostly coming from Europe, that puts an indication of linkage of cell phone usage and cancer. Part of the concern is whether or not this information is actually factual and would the application actually give a false positive of some sort, etc… The United States phone carriers, manufactures as well as groups, with one being the NIH (National Institute of Health) concluded that the research at this point doesn’t make a clear connection from someone using a cell phone and cancer/cancer risk.
There are some public health experts and other consumer advocates that are talking about the exponential growth of cell phone usage, especially among that of teens starting usage at an early age, warrants much more study in regards to whether or not there is an actual link between cell phone use, radiation and cancer.
One of these people is a health expert by the name of David Carpenter. David Carpenter is a physician and professor at the University of Albany. Dr. Carpenter spoke recently at a hearing at the legislature in Maine on whether or not the state should put out a mandate that puts a warning label on cell phones.
The application from Tawkon would give the user a reading on the level of radiation that is emitted by the iPhone which would be dependent on environmental changes as well as the distance they are from cell towers.
Some of the criticism though is that the phone doesn’t actually measure any radiation and that it does nothing more than an estimate calculation based on the phones parameters and that the estimate is by no means exact. With that in mind I really can’t blame Apple for denying this application.

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With Google rolling out Google Buzz in the first quarter of the year Google made the announcement that everyone was anticipating with the smartphone craze of Google incorporating Buzz into a mobile interface. Google Buzz is the social networking equivalent to let people know what the “buzz” is through Google’s popular email giant Gmail.
Everyone was excited on what Google Buzz is able to do with your computer desktop but what’s really going to be exciting is what you’re going to be able to do with Buzz in your pocket with your mobile phone. Read the rest of this entry »

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New figures just released from the company comScore have shown that the Android has made an exceptionally large leap in terms of the United States market share of smartphones through the month of January. Most of this market share gain was for the most part at the expense of Windows Mobile.
The comScore market and media analysis firm’s figures that were just released for the United States mobile phone market were for the months of Oct 2009 to Jan 2010. The released results gave the Android figures that showed that it made huge bounds in the smartphone market share by the 2.8-7.1% jump that it made from the Oct 2009 to Jan 2010 time span. That’s a 4.3% net point change in comparison to the entire market and the share gain is over 150% comparative to the Oct share.
With the comment made earlier about the Androids growth being at the expense of the Windows Mobile platform from Microsoft, let’s put it into perspective. Over that same date range period of Oct 2009 to Jan 2010 the Windows Mobile lost 4% of the total market share. The previous share was 19.7% and that dropped to 15.7%.
The market share leader though, results from comScore, still remains the company from the Canadian RIM (Research in Motion) which saw that its shares of the popular Blackberry platform come from 41.3% to 43% pulling in a 1.7% net gain over its already massive market share. Apple is still the number two in market share with their iPhone. The iPhone took in 25.1% with a small net gain from the 24.8% they had in the previous Oct. The Android and Microsoft were the next two and the Palm was number five having a 2.1% net decline of 5.7% from its previous 7.8% share.
According to the figures from comScore the United States smartphone market came in on average of at right about 42.7 million people from Nov to Jan which was an 18% net increase from the Aug to Oct 2009 figures.
With the declines that came in for both the Palm and Windows Mobile devices their market share declines might come in with as much at fault with product cycles than just the popularity increase of the Android.
The current Windows Mobile 6.5 is long overdue for a refresh. Microsoft is finally bringing this refresh in for 2010 with the Windows Phone 7 Series. It’s important to note though that this series is not backward compatible so for any users that are really seeking out a new device they are likely to start to migrate to another platform.
In regards to the decline in the Palm market share that could possibly be attributed to the Palm users beginning to trade up from their older Palm Treo and Centro devices to newer smartphones.
The one thing to know for sure if the Palm and Windows Mobile users are starting to trade in for new mobile devices the one thing that we know for sure is they aren’t all staying with Palm OS or Windows Mobile smartphone platforms.

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In late 2008, the T-Mobile G-1 with Google was released, and for the first time users were able to get a look at the Android operating system.  Recently, T-Mobile released its second Android OS smartphone, the Google Ion (also known as the HTC Magic).  The Ion improves greatly on the G-1’s design and comes with the updated version of Android which is ready for T-Mobile’s 3G network.

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Android Market is Google’s answer to Apple’s iPhone App Store— it is where owners of phones that support the Android operating system, such as the T-Mobile G-1 with Google or the new Samsung I7500, can purchase applications for their smartphones.  The main difference, besides the manufacturer, is that the Android Market makes available applications made by third party developers without having them cleared first.

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The T-Mobile G-1 has many features that make it appealing to a wide demographic.  To maximize user friendliness, it comes with a full touch-screen in addition to a side slide-out QWERTY keyboard. You can use the screen to type as well, but with the option of a full, 5-Line QWERTY keyboard, you can type either way.  There are also specific End, Send, Home and Back keys, along with a scroll wheel and volume keys on the side.

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