Archive for June, 2009

Today in Android Cell Phone News, Amazon UK is currently offering a pre-order of an unlocked HTC Hero for £429.99. This is roughly equivalent to about $710 here in the good ol’ U S of A. Seems a bit pricey considering the large lineup of Android Phones that are due to be released within the next year. The question is, will the HTC Hero be the ultimate Android Phone, and really worth dropping 7 bills for? It’s not exactly what I would consider to be a deal, although if you desire to purchase an unlocked phone without a contract, it’s not quite as bad. Amazon UK has the release date for the phone to be July 15th, 2009, so who’s ready to pre-order the $710 dollar phone?! Anyone excited? Anyone?… [AndroidCentral]

In Android Cell Phone News today – T-Mobile’s second device is officially announced to be the T0Monile myTouch, with pre-orders starting on the 8th of July with an expected release date of sometime in the month of August. The myTouch features a 3.2″ HVGA touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera, T-Mobile 3G, quadband Edge, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, and to top it all off – Android 1.5 Cupcake and the everyday lineup of Google Applications for the Android Suite.The device is custom built by HTC for the T-Mobile network, and is made to run on the Android OS. myTouch will come in three different color options: White, Black, and Merlot (deep red). We’ll bring you more information as it develops only at AndroidTrek.com. [AndroidCentral]

In Android Cell Phone News today, we’ve heard about Android and LG Teaming up to create some great phones already, but an interview with DOW Jones Newswires, Chang Ma, the Vice President of marketing Strategy for mobile communications, has stated that LG is now planning to release up to three (3) Android-Based Phones later this year. At this point, we’re basically halfway through 2009, so hopefully LG’s Android product line should be announced fairly soon. Details are vague, and we’ll bring you the latest in Android Cell Phone news as it develops on AndroidTrek.com. [AndroidTrek]

The official Google Mobile Blog has just announced a few very great new features to the Gmail Web App for Android. We’re going to be getting faster auto-completion for for e-mail addressed which definitely adds a bit of convenience, and also support for keyboard shortcuts which really is just awesome. Personally, I’d still use the default Gmail application for Android on any day, but it’s a nice and comforting fact to know that there is a solid alternative in case we all change our minds. Just access gmail.com in the Android Browser and marvel in the changed goodness. [AndroidCentral]

We have news of reports developing that Google is now beginning  to develop an ‘eyes free’ interface for the Android Platform which will allow the visually impaired to efficiently use the Android Operating System on their Smartphone. Not only would the new technology enable the visually impaired to use an Android phone, but imagine being able to use your phone without even looking at it? According to T.V. Ramen, a Google researcher:

“We are building a user interface that goes over and beyond the screen,” says Raman. Often, eyes-free interfaces are employed for blind users, but Raman, who himself is blind, assures that these interfaces have much broader implications. “This is not just about the blind user,” he says. “This is about how to use these devices if you’re not in a position to look at the machine.”

We’ll bring you more information as it develops, only at AndroidTrek.com. [AndroidCentral]

Adobe… thankyou for finally setting up some sort of solid time table for when Android will officially get Flash. The company says that it is likely to happen before the end of the year. Adobe has intelligently recognized that mobile devices are sort of becoming the new PCs, and with the newer Mobile Devices being used more and more, Android phones are nearly in NEED of Flash. Adobe has said to be, “reengineering its software so that Flash-based games and videos can run on different handsets without being modified.” They have even struck alliances with chip designers and phone makers and have offered millions to developers willing. [AndroidCentral]

Up until this point, we have heard a lot of talk about OpenMoko Freerunner running Android. The new news now is that Koolu, a Canadian company, is merely less than 2 weeks away from shipping their new device with what they call a ‘Full Consumer’ Edition being ready by the summer. It has definitely been quiet since we had first heard about Android and OpenMoko, but it always seemed like it would work out well. Then again, with all of the top-edge Android devices coming out, it may be a bit late for the device to do any damage on the market. There will definitely be better options than a device that only runs the EDGE network that is made by a fairly unknown company. [AndroidCentral]