Thread: All Things Android

This is a nice little add-on to allow you to push browser content straight to your Android phone, although it needs 2.2.

Google has introduced a new extension for their Chrome browser. Called Chrome to Phone, it allows users of Android smartphones to sync up with Chrome using it and the Chrome to Phone Android app. With the touch of a button that’s added to the browser’s menu bar, they can send a webpage, YouTube video, maps, phone numbers and more to their phones where they will be ready to use. Web pages are automatically opened by the phone’s web browser and maps are sent seamlessly to Google Maps. It works on all Android phones running Android 2.2 or later. I’d like to see the iPhone do that!

Another political or financial lawsuit, either way it's ridiculous and will probably last for years or be settled out of court. Ellison is like Jobs, a serious megalomaniac:

Oracle files Java suit against Google

Oracle has filed a lawsuit against Google, charging its Android phone software infringes on Oracle patents and copyrights related to Java, Cnet has reported. Oracle has said that Java is a mobile operating system competitor against Android, and that Google is using Java-derived technologies without a proper license. A Google representative said the company had not yet been served with the lawsuit, and therefore couldn't comment until it had a chance to review it.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Oracle has said that Java is a mobile operating system competitor against Android

Java is not an operating system. It's a programming language.

^ some will argue it has now become an "operating system" of its own, there were plans to have a full JavaOS eventually

Originally Posted by TizMe

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Oracle has said that Java is a mobile operating system competitor against Android

Java is not an operating system. It's a programming language.

You've obviously not installed the JavaVM then.

The JavaVM sits between the OS and the Java language, so not actually an OS although it does have some features of an OS

Originally Posted by mc2

The JavaVM sits between the OS and the Java language, so not actually an OS although it does have some features of an OS

The JavaVM is a version of Java's OS designed to run on other operating systems.

It also comes as a native OS that runs in embedded mobile devices. I think that's the reason for the lawsuit, no?

Of course, I don't know anyone who's actually bought a Java mobile, so the lawsuit is merely a moneymaker for that cocksmoker Ellison.

ahh yes, didn't realise there was an actual OS.

not sure JavaOS was more than an internal Sun project

Java is very slow and has a number of flaws,

amazing so many dev tards went along and followed blindly that new technology

It probably dates back to this:

SavaJe Unveils Most Sophisticated Java Powered Mobile Phone Allowing Developers to Create Advanced User Interfaces

And the next year Sun bought them out:

Sun to buy SavaJe Technologies -- Engadget Mobile

So Oracle acquired Sun.... had the lawyers pore over the patents.... and then filed the suit.

Personally I think it's frivolous, but they are the ones arguing that they have a "competing" OS, so presumably it will sit in court for many years and then get settled.

Oracle has been on a buying spree for the last 10 years to "up" their sales figures and "profit"

they must have acquired about 100 companies and spent 10b and more on those acquisitions,

they were cash rich but poor on new ideas,

they acquired almost everybody in the database business and database related business, again with the approval of the regulators

I'm in the UK for the weekend, and the hotel wants 15 quid a day for Wifi, so I thought I'd try out tethering.

Steps:

(1) Get a 10 quid Vodafone SIM card with 3G, gives you 50Mb for a pound (more than ample for PDA-ready sites.
(2) Download and install the free PDANET app from the Market.
(3) Download the Windows PDANET app and install it from the the SD card over USB.
(4) Turn on Debugging mode from the Settings, Apps menu.
(5) Turn on USB Tethering
(6) Connect the Windows App.

A piece of the proverbial and it works really well. Also has an SMS interface I found out!

Who needs iOS4 (and your extra $20 a month for "permission" to use tethering LOL?

$35 tablet PC has more features than the iPad | News.com.au
IT'S not as pretty and it's not as powerful, but a new $35 tablet computer from India comes with some basic features that the iPad doesn't.

Apple's trendy touchscreen device, starting at about $630, requires users to fork out for extra accessories if they want to connect a digital camera or output video.

But a low-cost educational tablet from India that costs a fraction of the price comes with USB and Mini USB ports and an SD card slot as standard.

It also has Wi-Fi, a video-out port, runs Google's Android OS and will sell for just 1500 rupees ($36 or $US35).

Lots of shiny new Android products going to be announced at IFA in Berlin during the first week of September.

Huawei, the Chinese electronics manufacturer, are planning a Froyo handset:

the::unwired - CONFIRMED: Huawei to announce the Ideos U8150 Android Smartphone at IFA

I'm expecting that to be cheap, but then again so is their build quality.

Samsung will announce their "Tab" Android 7" tablet.

Samsung: Galaxy Tab Android tablet launching on September 2nd at IFA

And Viewsonic (remember them?) will be announcing a tablet too, along with a load of 3D products.

ViewSonic doing 3D like crazy at IFA, plans to debut 3D camera, camcorder, photo frame, and portable TV -- Engadget

And some new company is entering the ApplePad market:
Interpad's 10-inch Tegra 2-toting Android tablet may make Germans merry later this year -- Engadget

Seems IFA is going to be a busy exhibition.

IFA - Home

Taiwanese Hannspree, known for its cute TVs, is now entering the Tablet business at the IFA 2010. The Hannspree 10-inch Android Tablet runs Android 2.2 on a Tegra 2 platform with AMR Dual Core CPU.


Other features of the Hannspree Tablet include HDMI, W-Fi, 16GB Storage and Bluetooth. Interestingly the Hanspree Tablet is lighter than the iPad by 100g. The MSRP is set at 399 Euro in Germany.

(Note no mention of 3G).

Another boost for Android with the news that Sony Ericsson don't see a Symbian future....

Sony's mobile phone unit is now almost exclusively focused on Android and has no more plans to use Nokia's now-outdated Symbian operating system.
This is a further blow to Nokia as it is now pretty much the only mobile phone manufacturer with a large US operation that still uses Symbian. And that, of course, is because that's its own operating system. It has become completely irrelevant in the US market.

"Android is definitely our focus, but we have not given up on Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system, although it [was] a bit slow to take off. But Windows 7 Phone is on the map. However, we have at present no plans for new products with Symbian," said Sony Ericsson CTO Jan Uddenfeldt in an interview with NyTeknik (translation from Google Translate).

Every other major manufacturer in the US has abandoned the Nokia platform as well. Android is becoming the extremely overwhelming platform of choice for everyone except for Nokia and Apple, which of course have their own platforms, so among those that actually have to choose, they're choosing Android.

Although, as noted in Sony Ericsson's comments, Windows Phone 7 still has a fighting chance. Microsoft has huge relationships with all of the major manufacturers so it has the motivation required to attract their attention.

Nevertheless, it's quite obviously a huge runaway for Android right now.

And this can't really help Nokia either...

Analyst: Android to pass Nokia in 2012, half billion handsets by 2015
Posted by Seth Weintraub
September 26, 2010 12:25 AM

Informa is bullish on Android expansion.

In March of last year, business information specialist, Informa predicted that Android would outsell iPhone by 2012. Depending who you ask, that may have happened already, two years early.

With that in mind, Informa this week predicts that Android will pass Nokia to become the biggest smartphone platform on earth in 2012. And Android won't stop growing there. Informa expects the Android platform to top half a billion handsets in use by 2015.

Nokia will lose out most from the trend, according to principal analyst Malik Kamal-Saadi. "Informa expects that the market share of Symbian, from total smartphone users, to drop significantly from 53 per cent in 2009 to 32 per cent in 2015. In terms of sales, smartphones powered by Android are expected to surpass these of Symbian as early as 2012," he said.

Google says they are activating 200,000 Android phones/day currently. At that run rate, over a given average two year life expectancy of a phone, Google is currently on pace to have 147 million Android devices in circulation -- if sales are flat.

That means that Google hast to grow by just over 3x in the next four years if they want to meet the half billion milestone.

Now you can get a side by side comparison of the Android phones out there; Google has set up the Google Phone Gallery:

Google Phone Gallery

No pricing information, and I see a few vendors missing, but it's a start.

This looks useful, but not sure how well it will work, so I'm downloading the beta now to try out.

IDG News Service — A free Android application to be unveiled on Thursday at the Mobilize conference in San Francisco will let mobile phone users send and receive text messages without touching or looking at the phone.

AdelaVoice, a Boston startup, developed the StartTalking app primarily to solve the problem of distracted driving, according to Chairman and CEO Chris Hassett. Texting while driving has been linked to driver distraction and accidents and is illegal in some places.

To use SMS (Short Message System) with StartTalking, the user wakes up the phone by calling it by a pre-assigned name, then speaks the message and commands the phone to send it. StartTalking guides the user through the process with computerized voice commands and reads back the message as the software has understood it so the user can confirm it is correct.

AdelaVoice, founded just this year, claims StartTalking is the only text-messaging application that can be used completely without the user's hands or eyes. It can operate with the phone's screen off and can work with a headset or in speakerphone mode. It doesn't require an in-car hands-free system to use. The idea is that a driver can send and receive messages without even looking away from the road.

There have been other attempts to convert text-messaging to voice. Earlier this year, Google introduced a texting function as part of its Voice Actions for Android lineup, but that tool requires the user to tap a screen button to start Voice Actions and view the message to edit it.

Another feature of StartTalking, called SVS (Short Voice Service), can record and send spoken messages. The voice message comes to the recipient as an attachment to a standard text message. In the future, AdelaVoice will allow voice messages to be sent using MMS (Multimedia Message System), Hassett said. AdelaVoice plans to expand StartTalking so it can be used to compose e-mail, calendar entries and social networking updates.

StartTalking is based on AdelaVoice Conversation Services, a software platform the includes components both on the phone and in a computing cloud. Using open APIs (application programming interfaces), third parties such as social networking services could extend their applications to use the StartTalking voice interface.

AdelaVoice uses Google's (GOOG) speech recognition engine through a partnership. Any third-party application that works with Voice Actions for Android will also work with the StartTalking interface.

The free version of StartTalking includes texting, voice dialing and navigation system commands. Other features will work on a premium version, which AdelaVoice expects to introduce in the first quarter of next year for a one-time cost of less than US$20, Hassett said.

The app runs on Android 2.0 and higher versions and is available immediately in an open beta test, which AdelaVoice expects to conclude by year's end.

Does anyone else run non-standard ROMs?

I've been flipping back and forth between CyanogenMod6 and a slightly modified version of the vendor ROM (pain in the arse apps removed, but otherwise standard)

Well I installed a hookey 2.1 on my Samsung Spica, but I'm waiting for a comprehensive cyanogenmod with the 2.2. features (they aren't far off).

But in fairness, I'll probably end up giving it to my lad and upgrading, although I don't think I'll buy Samsung again.

I fancy a Droid X or a new HTC, I'm still waiting to see what appears on the market.

Motorola announced a load of new phones today, and they're all 2.1. The knuckle shufflers.

Android Market to enable PayPal by the end of October (according to The Street)

It's hard to believe that someone at Google hasn't pulled their finger out and made this happen sooner, with Checkout seemingly being the sticking point for opening up access to the Android Market (especially for developers).

What essential/useful apps would you like to see for Android? Either apps that are missing completely or have poor/unusable implementations.

Mine: FogBugz & Tactile CRM

Still a work in progress, but I'm downloading it anyway....

Just as promised, Mozilla came out with a beta version of its mobile browser designed for Google's Android operating system, codenamed Fennec 2.0, but launched as Firefox 4. The new beta release is aimed both at Android and Maemo-based devices, and comes with a wide range of features similar with those present on the desktop flavor of the browser.

Firefox 4 Beta 1 for Android and Maemo was developed based on the same technology platform as the Firefox 4 browser for desktop computers, but it comes with a great deal of enhancements for use on mobile devices.

Firefox is compatible with Android 2.0 and above devices, including HTC Desire, HTC EVO 4G, Nexus One, Motorola Droid 2, and more. It can be downloaded and installed on the Maemo-based Nokia N900 too.

Some of the features Firefox 4 beta 1 packs inside include:

- Pinch-to-zoom (Android), double-tap, or use the volume rocker (Nokia N900) to zoom in and out
- Tabbed browsing in thumbnail view lets you easily see and open the site you want
- Location-Aware Browsing gives you content and info relevant to your location
- Find in Page in the Site Menu lets you quickly find text on the webpage
- Share Page in the Site Menu lets you send content to email, Facebook, Twitter and Google Reader
- Forget Password in the Site Menu tells a website you no longer trust to forget your private data
- Add Search Engine in the Site Menu lets you quickly add a new search engine to your Awesome Screen
- Context Menu lets you Open in New Tab and Share by long tapping and holding a link
- Smart Tapping lets you tap on links, widgets and other Web content with accuracy
- Password Manager lets you choose to remember site password to avoid typing

But this is not all, since many other functionalities have been also packed inside the solution, such as Firefox Sync, Add-ons, the Awesome Bar, or others more.

The mobile application can easily sync Firefox history, bookmarks, open tabs, passwords and form data between your desktop and mobile, while offering support for add-ons, so that one would be able to expand the functionality of the browser even more.

On Firefox 4 beta 1, users can set their own homepage, not to mention that they would enjoy the app's Awesome Screen, as well as its touch friendly UI, aimed at offering the best possible experience on handsets.

On top of that, the new mobile browser comes with a series of improvements in the speed and responsiveness area, achieved through the implementation of two technologies, “Electrolysis” and “Layers.”

According to Mozilla, “Electrolysis allows the browser interface to run in a separate process from the one rendering Web content, reacting much faster to user input while pages are loading or CPU intensive JavaScript is running.”

As for Layers, the technology is aimed at improving the performance of the mobile browser when graphic intensive actions like scrolling, zooming and animations are involved.

“The foundation of this release is based on enhanced performance and responsiveness, specifically around a technology called “Layers” that greatly improves performance in graphic intensive actions like scrolling, zooming and animations,” Mozilla states.

“Enhanced responsiveness, in conjunction with new and improved features that help customize your Firefox, make this release a user friendly and personalized experience,” the company adds.

On the downside, Firefox 4 beta 1 needs 40 MB of internal storage, though the development team aims at reducing it to 20 MB or less.

Other known issues include lack of support for Adobe Flash and other plugins, broken add-ons, or the fact that text does not wrap to fit the screen after zooming in.

Download here