The GOOGLE | ANDROID Thread

[Swisha]

That Full-Color Multitouch Kindle Is Probably an Android Tablet

Amazon has been working on a multitouch color Kindle for a while. The question then was, "What would it be like?" Well, now the New York Times has noticed Amazon's hiring Android developers like crazy.

Which could be for something else—maybe Amazon Android apps—but Amazon's Lab126 subsidiary primarily works on the Kindle (at least, that we know of). I suspect an Android-based Kindle wouldn't stray terribly far from the Nook Color's vision of a "reading tablet" in order to keep costs down and not have to play in the same game as full-blown Android tablets. But could Amazon do it better?


Gizmodo

[Swisha]

Android Market catching up to Apple App Store in app numbers

The number of apps is some sort of pride for app stores so here it goes - the Android Market is quickly catching up to the current leader, the Apple App Store. What's more is that the growth the Market seems to be speeding up, while that of the App Store is slowing down.

The current numbers are 350,000 apps in the Apple App Store and 250,000 in the Android Market. The App Store still has a sizable lead but when you look at the numbers from six months ago, it seems that this lead may not last very long.

In October last year, Apple's store was a cool 185 thousand apps ahead at a time when the Market had a mere 100 thousand apps in total. Over the last six months however, the Android Market has added about 150 thousand apps to its virtual shelves while the Apple App Store managed just 65 thousand new items.

The bar chart makes it easy to grasp how much faster the Android Market grew than the Apple App Store. BlackBerry's App World and Windows Phone 7's Marketplace are barely on the map.




GSM Arena

[achillies]

Nokia E7 vs LG Optimus 2X vs Apple iPhone 4

[shaq090]

does anyone know if digicel bis can work on a android? and could it work directly from the android or do i need to activate it on a berry then put the sim in the android

[Swisha]

Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1 get some competitive price tags, starts at $469



Now we're talking, Samsung! In a surprise move, the company decided to come clean with the pricing of its new Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1 this morning, and it's incredibly competitive. The WiFi version of the 10.1 will be up for grabs on June 8th in the US, and as you can see from that lovely chart above, the 16GB version is set at $499 and the 32GB at $599. Did you really have any doubt that Samsung was going after Apple here? The company is being a bit more vague on the Galaxy Tab 8.9 availability, only promising an early summer arrival at this point, but the WiFi version of that one comes in at a bit less. The 16GB option is $469 and the 32GB $569. You'll want to check out our hands-on with the two new tablets, but with this pricing now in our bag, we're certainly getting excited for the summer.


Engadget

[Swisha]

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and new Galaxy Tab 10.1 hands-on: thinner than the iPad 2, dual-core power, TouchWiz 4.0



You know who took the iPad 2 launch pretty seriously? Samsung, that's who. Just as we had heard, the company's executives were impressed by Apple's ability to slim down its tablet and, well, it turns out that it took it as a challenge to come up with some thinner tablets of its own. That's right, in addition to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 that we have seen repeatedly teased over the last few weeks the company's announcing a totally revamped Galaxy Tab 10.1, and both slates are incredibly thin yet very well spec'd. On top of that, both will be the first Honeycomb tablets to stray from the pure Android 3.0 experience and add what Samsung's taken to calling its TouchWiz UX or TouchWiz 4.0. We've got all the details and some hands-on impressions waiting below, so hit the break!





As you can see from the gallery, both the 10.1 and the 8.9 look extremely similar, and boy are they thin. They measure just .33-inches thick, and as you can glean from this picture, they absolutely give the .34-inch iPad some real competition in terms of dimensions. The models we saw weren't final -- in fact, they didn't even power on -- but Samsung says the 10.1 will weigh 1.31 pounds and the 8.9 just 1.03 pounds. Both tablets have microSD slots, 3.5mm headphone jacks, and SIM slots, although there will be WiFi versions of both of them. The two tablets have the same array of cameras, which includes a 3 megapixel shooter with an LED flash on the back and a 2 megapixel lens on the front.

Internally, the Tabs will pack 1GHz dual-core processors. We're assuming it will be Tegra 2 since all the Honeycomb tablets thus far have used NVIDIA's silicon, but that's unconfirmed at this point. The 8.9 will be available with 16GB of storage and a 6000mAH battery, and the 10.1 will come in both 16GB and 32GB varieties and with a 6860mAH cell. Both are said to provide 10 hours of video playback. There are full specs of both of these in the press release below.

As we said, the two 10.1 and 8.9 models we saw prior to the launch weren't working units, but the hardware certainly seemed solid and way more polished than the original 10.1 that Samsung introduced back at MWC. Speaking of which, Samsung says it has no plans to bring that original version out in the US, but it will still hit Vodafone overseas.

[r3iXmann]

got an email from amazon saying they got an app store

might get a nexus s relatively cheap so i might be back in the android game soon

[Swisha]

^yep Amazon Android Appstore launched today. right now u can get the new Angry Birds Rio game for free!

[achillies]

does anyone know if digicel bis can work on a android? and could it work directly from the android or do i need to activate it on a berry then put the sim in the android

This is looking for trouble, they can measure exactly how much data u use and they are expensive, unless u are going with an unlimited data plan of course.

I've seen it work on a Samsung android phone they offer, the girl did run up a 500 dollars in data charges though, she left syncing on. LOL.

[shaq090]

oh shittttttt well daz why i on prepaid.....but digi does take $$$ as soon as u go on the internet but if u say that once i set it up it should work then i hoping it does

[achillies]

oh shittttttt well daz why i on prepaid.....but digi does take $$$ as soon as u go on the internet but if u say that once i set it up it should work then i hoping it does

it will work once u have all the correct settings, its gonna be very expensive though.

$50 for 50MB

[M_2NR]

if you on digicel... and you using data a lot... get an unlimited service one time!
on my iPhone i use around 100MB a month though because in mostly home anyway...
u can see the data packages here:
http://www.digiceltt.com/en/postpaid/data-plans

If you plan to get unlimited, get a BB and activate it on that first. (the only way to get unlimited on Digicel normally)

Currently where i'm normally around, the data is slowwww like today a 4sq check-in worked after like 4 tries. But when i was in Mayaro (much less users on the network most likely) it was very fast. (like 80-150kbps)

[Lucian-2nr]

Apple sues Amazon over 'Appstore' name

Apple is suing Amazon in a bid to stop the online retail giant from using the name Appstore.

The California-based firm, which makes iPhones and iPads, claims that the name is deliberately similar to its own App Store.

"It will confuse and mislead customers," said Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet.

Amazon's Appstore will offer downloadable applications for Google's Android operating system.

The lawsuit states: "Amazon has begun improperly using Apple's App Store mark in connection with Amazon's mobile software developer program.

"Consumers of mobile software downloads are likely to be confused as to whether Amazon's mobile software download service is sponsored or approved by Apple."

The company said that it had contacted Amazon three times to demand it stop using the name. Amazon has so far declined to comment.

Apple is seeking to trademark the App Store name in the United States, a decision which, according to court papers, is still being considered by a trademark trial and appeals board.

Microsoft, which is also looking to move into the app marketplace with its new line of Windows mobiles, has asked officials to block the trademark attempt.
Shoe store

"An app store is an app store," Russell Pangborn, Microsoft's associate general counsel said in January.

"Like shoe store or toy store, it is a generic term that is commonly used by companies, governments and individuals that offer apps," he continued.

Amazon's Appstore has been accepting submissions since the beginning of the year, launching a dedicated blog to help developers.

Like Apple, Amazon will curate the apps on offer and will hope that its trusted brand will give it an edge as the market for mobile applications widens.

For developers, access to Amazon's tens of millions of customers worldwide offers the potential for huge revenues.

Google already offers its own store - Android Market - with over 200,000 applications available to download, but submissions to Amazon's store will be standards-checked prior to being added.

The store, which launches in the US today, will offer exclusive applications such as Angry Birds Rio, the follow-up to the multi-million selling Angry Birds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12817083

@ Apple

[2NR Smurf]

Hope the appstore goes global soon. Marketenabler in the mean time for it yes...

[Swisha]

need to re-root my N1 yes

[achillies]

T-Mobile G2X gives stock Android dual-core love [Video Hands-on]

AT&T-Mobile be damned, T-Mobile USA is still releasing great Android phones as it continues to operate as an independent company. Today at CTIA 2011, T-Mobile announced that it would begin offering the LG Optimus 2X as the G2X.

Confirming previous suggestions that the T-Mobile G2X would be announced at CTIA, a G2X logo was spotted on the showroom floor before T-Mobile officially said that the device would be offered on its network. And though many may wonder if they are willing to sign-up for T-Mobile in light of AT&T’s plans to purchase the company, remember that the deal has yet to be approved and could take as long as 18 months before it affects your relationship with T-Mo.

With that said, LG has built the G2X to be rather convincing for people willing to stick with T-Mobile USA for the foreseeable future. The phone sports a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and GPU that is one of the best tandems seen in an Android device. There’s also a 1.3 megapixel front camera, 8 megapixel rear camera, 8 GB of memory, and a 4-inch touchscreen running a stock version of Android 2.2. Take a look at a quick hands-on video here:

[achillies]

Its gonna be between the above and the HTC Pyramid for me, WOW!!!

[achillies]

HTC EVO 3D Hands-on

[Swisha]

T-Mobile G2X gives stock Android dual-core love [Video Hands-on]

AT&T-Mobile be damned, T-Mobile USA is still releasing great Android phones as it continues to operate as an independent company. Today at CTIA 2011, T-Mobile announced that it would begin offering the LG Optimus 2X as the G2X.

Confirming previous suggestions that the T-Mobile G2X would be announced at CTIA, a G2X logo was spotted on the showroom floor before T-Mobile officially said that the device would be offered on its network. And though many may wonder if they are willing to sign-up for T-Mobile in light of AT&T’s plans to purchase the company, remember that the deal has yet to be approved and could take as long as 18 months before it affects your relationship with T-Mo.

With that said, LG has built the G2X to be rather convincing for people willing to stick with T-Mobile USA for the foreseeable future. The phone sports a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and GPU that is one of the best tandems seen in an Android device. There’s also a 1.3 megapixel front camera, 8 megapixel rear camera, 8 GB of memory, and a 4-inch touchscreen running a stock version of Android 2.2. Take a look at a quick hands-on video here:

bravo LG! lets hope HTC, Samsung, Motorola et al takes notice

[2NR Smurf]

anyone running ANDROID on a HTC Touch Diamond P3700?

[Parvin]

wanted to know if the HTC Aria would be capable of running games like Hero of Sparta and those other high graphics games available for android?

[zcarz]

^it should

[BassMekanik]

not sure if this was posted

[SUPERMAN1325]

anyone know how to get mobile data on bmobile???

[Wolfie]

Get third world edge.

It's the only choice we have.

See your bmobile con artist for more.

anyone know how to get mobile data on bmobile???

[SUPERMAN1325]

Get third world edge.

It's the only choice we have.

See your bmobile con artist for more.

anyone know how to get mobile data on bmobile???

where i seein this bmobile con artist??
ah hav 2 check this person..lol

[shaq090]

lol do like me and take the bb bis plan....i gonna try this next week.....if u going post paid then go bmobile...but i on digi nd the speeds kinda faster so thats the only option i have

[Swisha]

Xperia X10 to get Android 2.3 this summer, makes us rub our eyes in disbelief



Who's in charge of Sony Ericsson today and what did they do with the old crew? Reversing a previous statement saying there'll be no Android updates for its Xperia X10 family beyond Eclair, SE has just announced that it'll bring Gingerbread to the X10 at the end of Q2 / start of Q3 this year. That's right around this summer, when we should expect a user experience roughly equivalent to that on the new Xperia Arc, Neo and Play devices, whose Gingerbread implementation looks to have served as the basis for the elder X10's upcoming update. Seriously, Gingerbread on the X10, we still can't believe it.

P.S. - If you're wondering about the X10 Mini, X10 Mini Pro or X8, those are all stuck on Android 2.1.


Engadget

[Swisha]

GSM EVO 3D!

GSM-capable HTC EVO 3D goes official with specs and all

The global version of the next HTC's flagship - the EVO 3D - is now official along with its full specs. The 3D fever seems to be taken over HTC too and the EVO 3D packs a huge 3D S-LCD screen and it's capable of shooting both 3D stills and videos.

We were waiting for this since we met the CDMA EVO 3D headed for Sprint.

The global GSM version of HTC EVO 3D makes no compromises specs-wise - a 4.3-inch 3D S-LCD screen with qHD (540x960 pixels) resolution, Snapdragon MSM8660 chipset with a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, Andreno 220 graphics and 1GB RAM.





The camera department has also jumped on the 3D train featuring two rear 5 megapixel snappers capable of taking 2 megapixel 3D pictures and 720p 3D videos. As for the standard photos and videos - you get 5 megapixel stills and 1080p videos. There is also a dual-LED flash and a 1.3 megapixel video-call camera.

The connectivity is as premium as it gets - high HSPA speeds, Wireless N with DLNA support, GPS with A-GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, FM radio, HDMI port and 3.5mm audio jack. The GSM EVO 3D supports microSD cards up to 32GB and the only difference to the CDMA Sprint version is that its internal storage has shrunk from 4GB down to 1GB.

HTC EVO 3G runs on the latest Android v2.3 Gingerbread masked with the HTC Sense UI.
The Sprint's EVO 3D is scheduled for a summer launch, so we guess its GSM sibling will hit the shelves about the same time. There is no info on the price or 3G bands yet.


GSM Arena

[zcarz]

^Holy sheet, that is some serious harware there