Sunday, March 2, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Latest on Google Android From MWC’08
One of the potentially hottest and most important upcoming technologies posing a challenge to Microsoft’s Windows Mobile is Google’s Android operating system. Google, along with the “Open Handset Alliance,” announced in November the upcoming platform, and that many of the largest handset manufacturers and most important cellular service providers in the world are supporting it.
Although nowhere near as polished as the offerings from Sony Ericsson, Samsung and the rest, a number of Android prototypes and reference designs are on show here at the Mobile World Congress. Android is different from most existing smartphone platforms such as Windows Mobile and Palm OS because it’s “open source,” meaning the code is being made freely available to anyone interested in seeing it in a completely transparent way. As a result, third party software developers and handset manufacturers have tremendous flexibility in writing add-on applications and creating enhancements to it. In some instances, users won’t even be able to distinguish between native and third party programs as a result.
There is good reason to expect the platform to take marketshare. Besides being supported by the multi-hundred billion dollar powerhouse Google, the Open Handset Alliance includes multi-billion dollar powerhouses such as HTC, Motorola, LG and Samsung. In the United States, Sprint and T-Mobile will offer Android devices. An early look at the Android SDK was released in November, and Google announced $10 million in prizes for the best third party software applications developed for it.
[Via Linux and Open Source Blog]
Although nowhere near as polished as the offerings from Sony Ericsson, Samsung and the rest, a number of Android prototypes and reference designs are on show here at the Mobile World Congress. Android is different from most existing smartphone platforms such as Windows Mobile and Palm OS because it’s “open source,” meaning the code is being made freely available to anyone interested in seeing it in a completely transparent way. As a result, third party software developers and handset manufacturers have tremendous flexibility in writing add-on applications and creating enhancements to it. In some instances, users won’t even be able to distinguish between native and third party programs as a result.
There is good reason to expect the platform to take marketshare. Besides being supported by the multi-hundred billion dollar powerhouse Google, the Open Handset Alliance includes multi-billion dollar powerhouses such as HTC, Motorola, LG and Samsung. In the United States, Sprint and T-Mobile will offer Android devices. An early look at the Android SDK was released in November, and Google announced $10 million in prizes for the best third party software applications developed for it.
[Via Linux and Open Source Blog]
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Samsung to release a "high end" Android powered phone in September
Robert X. Cringely is claiming that he has information on two upcoming Android powered devices. Both of them are made by Samsung, but are actually Google branded. The "high end" model is supposed to come out in September with a sub $100 (with or without contract?) model expected after Christmas. He goes on to say that both have WiFi built in and might actually come with a built in VoIP client.
[Via IntoMobile]
[Via IntoMobile]
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Google releases new Android SDK
Android SDK m5-rc14 now available today.
There are a couple of changes in m5-rc14 I'd like to highlight:
- New user interface - As I mentioned when we introduced the m3 version
of the Android SDK, we're continuing to refine the UI that's available
for Android. m5-rc14 replaces the previous placeholder with a new UI,
but as before, work on it is still in-progress. - Layout animations - Developers can now create layout animations for their applications using the capabilities introduced in the android.view.animation package. Check out the LayoutAnimation*.java files in the APIDemos sample code for examples of how this works.
- Geo-coding - android.location.Geocoder
enables developers to forward and reverse geo-code (i.e. translate an
address into a coordinate and vice-versa), and also search for
businesses. - New media codecs - The MediaPlayer class has added support for the OGG Vorbis, MIDI, XMF, iMelody, RTTL/RTX, and OTA audio file formats.
- Updated Eclipse plug-in
- A new version of ADT is available and provides improvements to the
Android developer experience. In particular, check out the new Android
Manifest editor.
http://code.google.com/android/download.html
Upgrading?
If you have already downloaded an earlier version of the SDK and developed applications on it, please read the Upgrading the SDK document instead. The Upgrading document explains
how to migrate your existing development environment and applications to the new SDK release. The document also provides
information that you will find useful during the upgrade, such as lists of framework and API changes.
To develop Android applications using the code and tools in the
Android SDK, you need a suitable development computer and development
environment, as described below.
Supported Operating Systems
- Windows XP or Vista
- Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later (x86 only)
- Linux (tested on Linux Ubuntu Dapper Drake)
Supported Development Environments
- Eclipse IDE
- Eclipse 3.2, 3.3 (Europa)
- Eclipse JDT plugin (included in most Eclipse IDE packages)
- WST (optional, but needed for the Android Editors feature; included in most Eclipse IDE packages)
- JDK 5 or JDK 6 (JRE alone is not sufficient)
- Not compatible with Gnu Compiler for Java (gcj)
- Android Development Tools plugin (optional)
- Other development environments or IDEs
- JDK 5 or JDK 6 (JRE alone is not sufficient)
- Not compatible with Gnu Compiler for Java (gcj)
- Apache Ant 1.6.5 or later for Linux and Mac, 1.7 or later for Windows
Note: If JDK is already installed on your development computer,
please take a moment to make sure that it meets the version
requirements listed above. In
particular, note that some Linux distributions may include JDK 1.4 or
Gnu Compiler for Java, both of which are not supported for Android
development.
Take a look at our extensive gallery of pics right here.
Technorati Tags: android sdk, android applications, google phone, gphone
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Google releases new Android SDK
Google released a new version of the software developer kit for its Android mobile open development platform on Wednesday.
The new SDK has a new user interface, a geocoder that lets developers search for businesses as well as translate an address into a coordinate and vice versa, support for new media codecs, and code that lets developers create layout animations.
One thing missing is change to the telephony package, laments one developer on the Android Developer discussion on Google Groups.
"This is very disappointing, especially because we were told in the Android coding day in Israel that the telephony package will be updated soon," the developer wrote. "We still cannot detect the ingoing/outgoing call number or send DTMF tones properly." Prototypes of Android phones were shown at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday. Google launched Android in November along with and the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 34 handset manufacturers, carriers and chipmakers that have said they plan to support Android products and services. Products are due out later this year.
Source: CNet News
The new SDK has a new user interface, a geocoder that lets developers search for businesses as well as translate an address into a coordinate and vice versa, support for new media codecs, and code that lets developers create layout animations.
One thing missing is change to the telephony package, laments one developer on the Android Developer discussion on Google Groups.
"This is very disappointing, especially because we were told in the Android coding day in Israel that the telephony package will be updated soon," the developer wrote. "We still cannot detect the ingoing/outgoing call number or send DTMF tones properly." Prototypes of Android phones were shown at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday. Google launched Android in November along with and the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 34 handset manufacturers, carriers and chipmakers that have said they plan to support Android products and services. Products are due out later this year.
Source: CNet News
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Android is Fast
Quote from InformationWeek:
The one thing I will say is, Android is fast, fast, fast. Like, OMG fast. Faster than any phone UI I've had a chance to play with before.
Android Not Ready for Prime Time
Parse the onslaught of announcements streaming out of the Mobile World Congress confab in Barcelona and it's clear that Google phones aren't ready for prime time.
Though this year's show had been widely seen as the global launching pad for the Internet giant's mobile developer platform, Android, the few handset prototypes on display from chipmakers ARM, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments lack sophistication.
ARM's model resembles a plain, clunky smart phone. Qualcomm's is an ungainly mélange of circuit boards and screens. TI's boasts a large screen full of square icons for one-click access to messaging, videos, lists and maps. All are somewhat speculative test models, however, as Google hasn't yet released specifications for Android phones. Nevertheless, a Google representative at the show confirmed that Android handsets will hit the market in the second half of the year as planned.
The threat of Google appears to be inspiring some match-ups between Microsoft and other mobile firms. Microsoft announced Monday that it agreed to acquire Danger, the maker of Sidekick phones, which have been a hit with teens. The move could bolster Microsoft's mobile business against Android by broadening its reach and appeal beyond Windows Mobile-powered smart phones. In an interesting twist, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Danger was founded by Andy Rubin, who now heads Android.
Sony Ericsson, which holds a 16% stake in Symbian, the company that produces the mobile operating system of the same name, announced Sunday that its flashy new smart phone, Xperia X1, would run on Windows Mobile, a key Symbian rival. Microsoft has hinted that Nokia, which owns half of Symbian, will also start licensing Windows Mobile.
Other open-source alliances are also battling Google. LiMo, a global consortium of mobile companies, is working overtime to release an open-source mobile platform before Android gets more traction.
Those at the Barcelona conference searching for sleek phones have been rewarded with dozens of new playthings. Beyond its flagship Xperia X1, Sony Ericsson, a joint venture of Sony and Ericsson, demonstrated several touchscreen handsets and some Cyber-shot-branded camera phones. Nokia unveiled four new multimedia mobile phones, including a successor to its best-selling N95 phone, which plays TV shows. LG also debuted four handsets, including an advanced version of its famous Prada phone. Samsung showed a dozen handsets that filled every market niche, from high-end smart phones with 5 megapixel cameras to simple, $200 candy bar-style phones.
The conference itself is undergoing a transformation. Formerly called 3GSM World Congress, in a nod to the mobile technology that's dominant in Europe, it was long viewed as a European-focused trade show. This year, the show, which expects 50,000 attendees, is more globally focused. CEOs from North American tech giants Cisco Systems, Qualcomm and Research in Motion are scheduled to give keynotes alongside executives from China Mobile, Finland's Nokia, Korea's SK Telecom and the U.K.'s Vodafone.
Source: Forbes
Though this year's show had been widely seen as the global launching pad for the Internet giant's mobile developer platform, Android, the few handset prototypes on display from chipmakers ARM, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments lack sophistication.
ARM's model resembles a plain, clunky smart phone. Qualcomm's is an ungainly mélange of circuit boards and screens. TI's boasts a large screen full of square icons for one-click access to messaging, videos, lists and maps. All are somewhat speculative test models, however, as Google hasn't yet released specifications for Android phones. Nevertheless, a Google representative at the show confirmed that Android handsets will hit the market in the second half of the year as planned.
The threat of Google appears to be inspiring some match-ups between Microsoft and other mobile firms. Microsoft announced Monday that it agreed to acquire Danger, the maker of Sidekick phones, which have been a hit with teens. The move could bolster Microsoft's mobile business against Android by broadening its reach and appeal beyond Windows Mobile-powered smart phones. In an interesting twist, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Danger was founded by Andy Rubin, who now heads Android.
Sony Ericsson, which holds a 16% stake in Symbian, the company that produces the mobile operating system of the same name, announced Sunday that its flashy new smart phone, Xperia X1, would run on Windows Mobile, a key Symbian rival. Microsoft has hinted that Nokia, which owns half of Symbian, will also start licensing Windows Mobile.
Other open-source alliances are also battling Google. LiMo, a global consortium of mobile companies, is working overtime to release an open-source mobile platform before Android gets more traction.
Those at the Barcelona conference searching for sleek phones have been rewarded with dozens of new playthings. Beyond its flagship Xperia X1, Sony Ericsson, a joint venture of Sony and Ericsson, demonstrated several touchscreen handsets and some Cyber-shot-branded camera phones. Nokia unveiled four new multimedia mobile phones, including a successor to its best-selling N95 phone, which plays TV shows. LG also debuted four handsets, including an advanced version of its famous Prada phone. Samsung showed a dozen handsets that filled every market niche, from high-end smart phones with 5 megapixel cameras to simple, $200 candy bar-style phones.
The conference itself is undergoing a transformation. Formerly called 3GSM World Congress, in a nod to the mobile technology that's dominant in Europe, it was long viewed as a European-focused trade show. This year, the show, which expects 50,000 attendees, is more globally focused. CEOs from North American tech giants Cisco Systems, Qualcomm and Research in Motion are scheduled to give keynotes alongside executives from China Mobile, Finland's Nokia, Korea's SK Telecom and the U.K.'s Vodafone.
Source: Forbes
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