Open Handset Alliance -- Engadget

open handset alliance posts

Android 1.6 makes Market refresh official, apps get screenshots at last

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 3rd 2009 at 8:11PM

Evidence suggests that the Android Market has a long way to go to be a profitable enterprise for would-be developers, but the good news is that Google seems to understand -- and they're doing something about it. Those in-the-wild shots of a totally rethought interface have turned out to be legit, being made official today by Android's official dev site; the beautified UI itself isn't really anything to write home about, but what makes it all worthwhile is the addition of screenshots and improvements to descriptions that should do a much better job of letting users know what they're getting for their hard-earned cash. Otherwise, there are a few new app categories and Italian support, all of which should bow with the release of Android 1.6 Donut. Sholes, Morrison, you fellas can't come soon enough. Follow the break for official video of the new Market in action.

[Via Phandroid]

Continue reading Android 1.6 makes Market refresh official, apps get screenshots at last

Google and dozens of Android purveyors slapped with trademark lawsuit

by Tim Stevens posted May 1st 2009 at 8:57AM

Hold on to your positronic caps, readers. It seems our little green robo-friend may be in for a little bit of legal trouble. Erich Specht has sued Google and seemingly every company that has ever thought about using its mobile OS (like T-Mobile, Vodafone, Intel, Motorola, Samsung, and lots more) for infringing use of the name "Android." He's the owner of the trademark for Android Data Corporation, granted way back in October of 2002. Google came around and filed a trademark application for Android five years later and, wait for it, had that trademark application denied due to confusion with Mr. Specht's. In other words, it looks like Google and its Open Handset Alliance cronies are on the defensive and, seemingly, not on particularly firm ground. Specht wants damages and a name-change for Google's OS, and as of now we wouldn't be surprised if he got at least one of his wishes.

ASUS looking into Android for Eee Phone and Eee PC

by Paul Miller posted Jan 7th 2009 at 11:52AM

There's not a lot of meat here, but we like where it's headed: ASUS CEO Johnny Shih talked up the company's "two-pronged" approach to mobile devices last night, which apparently includes a unit that can be "put in the pocket, play MP3s, offer GPS services, works like a PDA and offers Mobile TV altogether" -- with the other prong being the Eee PC, we would guess. When asked about plans to use Android, now that the company is a minted member of the Open Handset Alliance, Shih said that they're looking into using the OS on the already-hacked Eee PC or the Eee Phone (hopefully both!), and that they're big iPhone fans -- we'll just let our imaginations run with that one.

[Thanks, Neerhaj]

Garmin planning Android-powered handsets for late 2009

by Tim Stevens posted Dec 22nd 2008 at 9:51AM

Some interesting news is coming out of the Garmin camp this fine morning, including word that the company somehow managed to buck all manner of economic trends and boost its holiday sales by 50 percent over 2007. (Apparently peoples' 401(k) valuations weren't the only things getting lost this year.) The company also confirmed that its Nuvifone, which is getting a bit long in the tooth despite being unavailable, is indeed still coming -- but won't be hitting Taiwan at least until Q2 of next year, and there's no indication of whether we'll be seeing it a little earlier 'round these parts. Finally, and most intriguingly, is confirmation of what the company plans to do first with that freshly laminated Open Handset Alliance membership card: multiple new Android phones are said to be in the works, due for release sometime in the second half of 2009. No further information is available, and while the smart thing might be for Garmin to focus on getting its first handset out the door before drafting a successor, we think any excuse for a new costume on our favorite green Android is a good one.

[Via GPS Tracklog]

Engadget Podcast 121 - 12.12.2008

by Trent Wolbe posted Dec 12th 2008 at 5:24PM

Ah yes -- another refreshing installment of the Engadget Podcast! This week the boys get in touch with their deep feelings on Palm's potential New-ness, Nokia's mystery touchscreen phone, fresh additions to the Open Handset Alliance, and news on the forthcoming reader meetup. You also get to hear Josh, Paul, and Nilay mix it up about their hopes for the future, next jewelry purchases, and Gmail contact syncing nightmares. Sounds badical, right?

01:20 - Palm's New-ness, coming to CES
13:38 - Mysterious T-swivel handset appears on Korean site, keeps us guessing
15:43 - Mysterious new Nokia touchscreen interface and handset unveiled (sort of)
26:39 - Open Handset Alliance signs up 14 more Android-lovers, including Sony Ericsson, ASUS and Garmin
51:00 - Reader meetup update: 'Fallout 3' bundles, Nokia N-Gage / Ovi, Make, and more!

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, and Nilay Patel
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Doctor Octoroc - Carol of the Belmonts

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Sony Ericsson, HTC say new Android-powered handsets due next year

by Joshua Topolsky posted Dec 10th 2008 at 9:41AM

According to two reports, Sony Ericsson and HTC are both semi-confirming Android handsets for 2009. An SE spokesman by the name of Garfield Brusewitz was quoted as saying that the company would introduce higher-end models of the Google-powered devices to start with, then supplement those handsets with cheaper versions aimed at a broader market. In another article, HTC says that it will launch one "or more" Android phones in the new year, aiming to have them on shelves by Summer. This hardly comes as a surprise from either of these companies, as HTC has been on-board since day one of the OHA and, you know, already has an Android handset out, and Sony Ericsson's announcement of participation was naturally going to lead to some actual hardware. Now it's just a matter of getting these out the door, and... sneak peaks at CES, anyone?

[Via Phandroid]

Read - Sony Ericsson chooses Android
Read - Google phone to Denmark this Summer

Google's Rich Miner to deliver keynote at Sprint's mobile developer's conference

by Laura June posted Dec 9th 2008 at 3:23PM

Remember not so long ago when Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said that Android was "not yet good enough" for the Sprint brand, and how weird and awkward that was, all things considered? Well, it turns out that Google's VP of mobile technology, Rich Miner, is set to deliver the keynote at Sprint's mobile developer's conference on December 12th. We assume he'll be there to talk about how much he loves hot dogs, or... an Android and Sprint teamup. So, does this mean that the platform is now approaching Sprint Speed, or what?

Open Handset Alliance signs up 14 more Android-lovers, including Sony Ericsson, ASUS and Garmin

by Paul Miller posted Dec 9th 2008 at 11:10AM

The Open Handset Alliance just made a major score with 14 more members: AKM Semiconductor Inc., ARM, ASUSTek Computer Inc. (previously rumored), Atheros Communications, Borqs, Ericsson, Garmin International Inc., Huawei Technologies, Omron Software Co. Ltd, Softbank Mobile Corporation, Sony Ericsson, Teleca AB, Toshiba Corporation and Vodafone. That's not quite everyone that matters, but pretty darn close. Were we to climb not-very-far onto the limb of conjecture, we might posit that Garmin might be looking at Andoid for its much-delayed nuviföne, or some sort of followup, while the emergence of an ASUS "Eee Phone" or a XPERIA X1 running Android (Sony Ericsson may very well be the biggest win here, consumer-wise) would be welcome moves from those manufacturers. We'd say at this point the holdouts are starting to stick out more than the actually OHA members, which spells good things for the industry no matter what specific hardware is the fruit of this relationship... but seriously guys, build us some more Android phones.

ASUS said to be launching Android handset in first half of '09

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 29th 2008 at 12:04PM

We'd already heard that ASUS had been invited to join the Open Handset Alliance, and DigiTimes is now reporting that the company is, in fact, planning to launch an Android-based handset -- go figure. That phone, some unnamed company sources say, will roll out sometime in the first half of 2009 (we're guessing late first half), and could possibly be released in Taiwan first under ASUS' own brand before making its way overseas in the form of different "customized models" for various clients. Of course, any other details are non-existent at this point, but those same sources did also note that ASUS will be phasing out its use of the Ericsson Mobile Platform (or EMP) in its phones in favor of handset platforms from Qualcomm and Marvell, which is interesting insofar as that both Qualcomm and Marvell are members of the OHA, while Ericsson is not.

Motorola getting friendly with Android

by Tim Stevens posted Sep 29th 2008 at 12:28PM

When a major player like Google comes up with a new mobile operating system that's better than the competition and is totally free, you would certainly expect handset manufacturers to be interested. But there's interested, and then there's interested. After lingering for nearly a year in the former category Motorola is now firmly moving to the latter, hiring and headhunting in an effort to build up a 350-person group entirely focused on development of Android phones. The company was one of the original members of the Open Handset Alliance, but seems to have waited for the release buzz from HTC's G1 before diving in head-first. There's talk that Nokia (and its "real phones") may be feeling the vibrations too, allegedly forming an internal team to do the same -- on the down low.

Google invites ASUS to join Open Handset Alliance

by Donald Melanson posted Sep 17th 2008 at 2:41PM

We're not sure if its recent spate of handset announcements had anything to do with it or not, but it looks like Google has now asked ASUS to join the Open Handset Alliance, an invitation that we're assuming ASUS expected to accept (or else we probably wouldn't be hearing about it). Apparently, Google is interested in working with ASUS due to its "brand recognition worldwide," although neither party seems to be making any sort of official comments just yet. Knowing ASUS, however, we're sure it'll find some way to work its Eee brand into the picture before all is said and done. Eee Phone, anyone?

[Via VentureBeat, thanks Michael Y]

Android gets handled, now with Street View

by Paul Miller posted Feb 28th 2008 at 8:44AM

While Apple might have your attention at the moment with that impending SDK, the Android OS seems to be coming along quite nicely over at Google and the Open Handset Alliance. BBC's Darren Waters got to peek "under the bonnet" with Andy Rubin himself, and has video to prove it. The OS was running on an unknown 3G touchscreen prototype, which also had a track ball at the bottom. The interface has come a long way since we saw it first, and browsing the web looks snappy and intuitive. Andy also showed off a version of Street View -- complete with smooth panning and zooming, of course -- and the fan-favorite Quake demo. Not bad at all for a 300MHz-ish processor, and while Android is still in "Alpha" stage, it's already got a lot of good things going for it. Video is after the break.

[Thanks, Omar A.]

Continue reading Android gets handled, now with Street View

Firm shows off functional Android build on ancient HTC hardware

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 13th 2008 at 3:05PM

California-based a la Mobile has crafted a somewhat complete set of phone apps in prototype form -- you know, the most basic kinds of things you'd need on a smartphone to make it usable -- on top of Android, claiming it's the first group to show off a fully functional prototype. The firm installed its goodies on a Qtek 9090, a rather ancient, janky HTC device from days gone by, proving that a wide swath of devices already in the marketplace will be ripe targets for Android transplants once solid, fully functional code is widely available. Though no one in the 34 member strong Open Handset Alliance has publicly committed to a particular Android software stack -- let alone a particular hardware design -- a la Mobile says that it's making a play among OHA member manufacturers to take a good, hard look at its wares as they navigate the process. The head of the LiMo Foundation, a sorta-competitor to the Open Handset Alliance, naturally downplayed a la Mobile's efforts, calling Android "just like a big lab experiment" -- though he did manage to call the prototype "interesting." How about we keep the verbal volleys to a minimum and get some friggin' Linux in the mainstream, ladies and gentlemen?

SiRF toots its own horn, readies location-enabling features for Android

by Darren Murph posted Dec 17th 2007 at 8:59PM

It's not like we weren't already aware of SiRF's participation in the Open Handset Alliance, but nevertheless, the company is sounding pretty ecstatic about the software developer kit it "just received." Reportedly, the outfit is already hard at work on "end-to-end location-enabling features" for Android, and in case you couldn't guess, it's also providing Android platform support for a plethora of products based on its famed SiRFstarIII architecture. Essentially, the firm is hoping to take advantage of having location as a "native feature" within Android, and it makes the obvious sound a whole lot more intriguing by teasing us with visions of "out-of-the-box locative experiences" involving geo-tagging, geo-searching and social networking. Still, we'll tip our hat to any form of tight integration, but this here's probably nothing to get riled up over.

Verizon gets behind Android, still iffy on Open Handset Alliance

by Donald Melanson posted Dec 4th 2007 at 2:23PM

While it's still not clear if it's actually going to go so far as to join the Open Handset Alliance (as previously rumored), it looks like Verizon Wireless is at least getting behind the Android platform, marking a fairly significant shift from its previous position on the matter. According to Business Week, Verizon Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam now says that the company is "planning on using Android," adding that, "Android is an enabler of what we do." It seems that Verizon's embrace of open access won't include the same level of support that it offers to its current handset lineup, however, with the company only promising to "to ensure the wireless connection is working for customers who buy those devices" (although it will test all phones developed to run on its network). According to McAdam, customers will have to "talk to their handset provider or their application provider if they have particular issues." That, Verizon says, will allow it to offer far more devices than it's previously been able to, which should, in turn, attract customers it's previously been unable to lure in -- or so it hopes.

[Via Phone Scoop]