Archive for June, 2010

Details about the up-and-coming version of Android have been released. Android 3.0, nicknamed Gingerbread, has been revealed by a developer at Google. Not only will Android 3.0 set the bar even higher than it currently is, but it will also have minimum hardware requirements.

Android 3.0 Gingerbread will be compatible only with handsets equipped with at least a 1 GHz Processor, 512 MB RAM, and a display of at least 3.5″. The OS will support a 1280 x 760 resolution is displays of 4-inches and above. This looks to be Google’s way of evening out the user-experience of Android users across the band, and perhaps even better the video and gaming on their OS as well.

Google has recently acquired Palms former webOS interface designer, so we can expect a new experience as well as a new interface with Android 3.0 Gingerbread. Although none of this information has been confirmed by Google itself, Google did state at it’s I/O Conference this year that exciting things were in store for Android. Gingerbread will likely be the last major update for Android in the next 6 to 9 months, as Google is planning on slowing down releases to just 1 major release per year. [informationweek]

If you’re on the T-Mobile network, and growing increasingly envious of your AT&T friends who will have access to the Captivate - AT&T’s rendition of the Galaxy S - fret not. T-Mobile will be receiving a Galaxy S based device as well, and it will be called the Samsung Vibrant. The Vibrant is a Android 2.1 device which will feature a 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display, a 5-Megapixel camera with the ability to shoot 720p HD video, as well as a zippy 1 GHz Samsung Hummingbird Processor.

The Samsung Vibrant is a HSPA capable 3G device which will be shipping with a 2 GB microSD card. The device will be available on the T-Mobile network for $199.99 with a 2-year contract starting on July 21st, 2010. [mobileburn]

Unexpected by most, at least not on the radar - Cisco has unveiled the Cius, an Android-powered tablet that they are planning on releasing next year. They are joining in with the tablet racers right now - being both Apple, with the iPad, and Asus with their Eee Pad. The Cisco Cius will come aptly equipped with a 7-inch high-res touchscreen display, and Android with business-aimed applications selectively placed on the device will be featured as well.

With Cisco Telepresence, 720p HD Video has been enabled in order to achieve lifelike communication. A 5-Megapixel rear-facing camera has also been included onboard the Cius. Also supported with this device are Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, 3G, 4G, Bluetooth 3.0, and USB Peripheral compatibility. The Cisco Cius will be available in the first quarter of 2011. [techtree]

If you’re an owner of an Android smartphone, and you’ve been waiting for Amazon to release a Kindle Application for your device, then rest assured that you can finally stop waiting and start reading! The new application features the WhisperSync technology which allows the syncing of books and bookmarks across devices so you never have to worry about repaying for a book that you already downloaded, or losing your bookmarks as you change devices. Just like other Kindle Apps, the Android version allows users to search over 620,000 ebooks, the majority of which are priced at $9.99 or less. Sample chapters even allows curious readers to try a book before they buy it, just as you would a real book in a bookstore.

It is said that future updates on the Kindle App for Android will include additional features. Plans out currently allow users to purchase books directly from the application as well as provide full text searches within each book. The Settings for the app enable users to change background color, font color, and font size to allow maximum comfort and minimal eye-strain. You can download the Amazon Kindle app for Android on the Android Market. [pcmag]

So Adobe has FINALLY launched Flash 10.1 for Android after so much speculation had surrounded the topic for months. All Andid users who are running 2.2 Froyo will be able to download Flash 10.1 from the Android Market. Unfortunately, for everybody else, you’re going to have to wait, although Adobe has stated that they will be expecting more to come for other Android headsets, including Flash player 10.1 even for decidedly lower-grade Android headsets.

In Adobe’s announcement, they mentioned Palm’s WebOS, Symbian, MeeGo, BlackBerry, LiMo, an even a Windows Mobile phone. This is an exciting break in cellphone technology, as many mobile users such as you and I have waited long enough to have the ability to use Flash - watch flash videos, play interactive games, and use flash applications to help us throgh  everyday and business tasks. I’d give Flash a definite 2 thumbs up, and I’m confident that you enjoy this new technology everyday after you receive the update. We’ll keep you up to daye with all of the latest and greatest cell phone news here at AndroidTrek.com. [theregister]

In case you aren’t familiar with the Interface, MotoBlur is Motorola’s custom Android UI which helps to integrate your social networks with your contacts’ information. It does, indeed, have some good features, such as adding the numbers of all my facebook friends to my address book on my phone. The problem that I see, and what thousands of other ‘Blur users see, is that when a new version of Android is released, it is never released for our phones. You would expect that after 8 months of the device being on the market, the Motorola CLIQ would have at least upgraded to a slightly improved version of Android.

This however, is not the case. The Motorola CLIQ is still stuck with Android 1.5. This brings me to my main point - why is Motorola integrating ANY version of MotoBlur on the Droid X? They’re advertising the heck out of this phone, and everyone is anticipating it to be a leader in the pack of top-rated devices. Why would Motorola risk having such a great phone being stuck in the current, albeit new, version of Android, for the rest of it’s existence. The Droid X is supposedly going to feature a ‘revamped’ version of MotoBlur - something that I find irrelevant regarding whether or not it will be updated more often than the current version - which has NEVER been updated. I just hope that eventually the MotoBlur programmers figure out a way to quickly update the UI in order to allow the newest version of Android to be used on the Droid X, and other Blur devices. I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see how this all works out when Android Gingerbread is released.

With the recent release of IBM’s flagship enterprise collaboration software for devices running Android OS, the company has made a statement saying that it sees Android smart phones as being suitable business tools. A beta release of Lotus Notes Traveler, released by Big Blue for Android, was built specifically for the Google Nexus One and Motorola Droid, according to IBM’s John Beck. The free software can be downloaded by Lotus Notes users, who are able to sync Lotus Domino mail, calendar, and contacts and view data on devices running Android 2.0+.

IBM has said that with 100,000 Android-based devices now being sold weekly, the company has been receiving an overwhelming amount of requests for suitable business software to run on Android. It is obvious that IBM’s plan is to expand further into the mobile computing industry when you consider that Lotus Notes Traveler is also available on Nokia Symbian, Windows Mobile, and the Apple iPhone and iPad. IBM has stated that they have no intentions to entering the smartphone market, but instead will continue to develop business oriented software for all devices so people can realize the convenience of using it on their smartphones. [theInquirer]

I may not be seeing the difference that Android Eclair is making on the population of people that have it, but I wouldn’t expect the high percentage of people who have already gotten the upgrade to Eclair. According to the Android Developers site, half of all running Android devices are running Android Eclair 2.1. This isn’t about the number of phone models running Android either, it means that 50% of the total number of Android handsets in use right now are running Eclair. So who was saying that fragmentation is a big problem?

Granted, this is only half of the population of Android users. Still, 25% of handsets are running Android 1.6 Donut, with 24.6% running Android 1.5 Cupcake, and the other minimal .4% running versions caught in between and outside of those numbers. It is also something to note that these numbers are based upon the devices that have accessed the Android market for the 2 weeks prior to June 16, 2010. [AndroidDeveloper]

Next week on Wednesday, the day before the iPhone 4 is being shipped out, Verizon Wireless is holding an event in New York City which they are labeling “Unleash the Next Generation of Droid”. The event starts at noon, and reviewers and press are being invited to check out the new Motorola Droid X. This is a truly exciting hint as to how soon we might be expecting the new Android devices to arrive.

Although Verizon officials wouldn’t give the name of any devices that may or may not be surfacing, we can be expecting something like the Droid X or Droid Xtreme, as well as the Droid 2. The Droid 2 is expected to have a physical keyboard and less storage - aiming more at the heavy texters like other providers have been focusing on. The Droid X will sport a 4.3-inch touch screen, 720p resolution, an HDMI out port, as well as a number of other impressive specifications. We’ll keep you updated on any Android Cell Phone News that surfaces here at AndroidTrek.com. [cnet]

Today AT&T revealed that they will be offering the Samsung Captivate, a name change from the Samsung Galaxy S device. This is announced earlier than expected, and shows that the Galaxy S will not be limited to just one design. The picture clearly illustrates a harder-edged design than the i9000, but still bears most of the impressive features such as the 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen.

Some additional specifications of the device are Samsung’s 1GHz Hummingbird application processor, a 5-Megapixel Camera with HD Video, 16 GB of on-board storage, 3D Surround Sound, and Samsung’s Media Hub, which allows access to video and e-book content from big names in entertainment. The Captivate will ship with Android 2.1 Eclair, and it will feature an improved version of TouchWiz. No words have been said regarding Pricing and Release dates, but we’ll keep you posted on any updates that we receive. [cnet]