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Samsung Galaxy S receives Gingerbread port right from the Nexus S source (video)
Hold on to your hats, people, there's a wind of awesomeness coming through. The Nexus S is no longer the only Gingerbread game in town, courtesy of supercurio over on the xda-developers forum, who has ported the hot new phone's Android 2.3 install over to its Samsung forefather, the Galaxy S. The port is described as being unmodified from the Nexus S original, although quite a few basic functions like voice, WiFi, and GPS (insert joke about Galaxy S GPS woes) aren't yet operational. All the same, we agree with supercurio that it's looking "super smooth" and look forward to seeing him and the rest of the xda crew polish this stock Android baby off in short order. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Hannspree's HSG1164 10.1-inch Froyo tablet drops by the FCC
You know what they say about a trip to the FCC's database, right? Why, it's much like the step just prior to achieving manhood -- one more leap from here, and you'll be ripe for the pickin'. Just a few months after Hannspree teased us with a formal introduction of its (then unnamed) 10.1-inch multitouch Froyo tablet, it looks as if that very device has now found a moniker. The 1.6-pound HSG1164 will eventually bring a fairly impressive build of materials to light, offering a 1GHz Tegra 2 chip, 16GB of internal storage, 512MB of NAND Flash, a microSD slot, Android 2.2, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, mini USB / HDMI connector, an inbuilt light sensor, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and a Li-ion battery of unspecified size. There's obviously no direct mention of a ship date in the documentation here, but we're putting our money on an early 2011 release. Care to wager, too?
Dell Venue Thunders into Korea this month with Android 2.2 and 4.1-inch Gorilla Glass screen
Dell's keeping up its usual habit of sneaking devices out with today's announcement of the Dell Venue for launch in South Korea. Local carrier KT has revealed the details of this 4.1-inch Android 2.2 device (sans keyboard, unlike its WP7 cousin the Venue Pro), which is set to arrive by the end of this month at a price of 700,000KRW ($606). Formerly known by its codename of Thunder, this has actually been one of the most hotly anticipated Android handsets of the year, though the only other information confirmed by KT so far is that it'll have a curved Gorilla Glass screen. We're sure a US launch can't be far behind.
Android Market update streamlines content, nukes tabs, dismantles 24-hour return policy to appease devs
Updates have been coming fast and furious to Google's Android Market for a couple weeks now, but this is the biggest shift yet -- that rusty tab-based interface is out, replaced with a rotating carousel of downloadable content, and a single scrolling pane of info for each and every app. What's more, it seems that Mountain View has heard the cries of game companies in particular, as it's got a couple of very special changes largely targeted at them -- the size cap on individual apps has been upped to 50MB, and Android Market's famous 24-hour return policy is no more. You'll still have 15 minutes to decide whether you want a piece of software or prefer a refund, perhaps long enough to give it a basic test, but there's no longer enough time to finish a game in one sitting before slyly giving it a pass. There's also a number of behind-the-scenes changes that should help make sure you only see apps your device can actually run, based on screen size, pixel density and OpenGL support. Google's pushing the update to every Android 1.6-and-above device over the next couple of weeks, so you can expect your app purchasing world to turn upside-down in time for Christmas cheer. Update: There are also two new categories being added: widgets and live wallpapers. Update 2: Of course, no self-respecting hacker waits for an OTA to get what they can sideload right now, and so XDA-developers is now distributing the new Android Market APK -- we'd suggest you give it a try too, but we're hearing that some folks are having difficulty downloading apps at all after the update. Still, the folks at Android Police seem to have it working, and have taken a host of screenshots of the interface. Go give them a peek at our more coverage link. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Windows Phone Android launcher brings Metro UI's simplicity, but none of its joy
Need to have the latest and greatest, but can't stand the sameness on tap? You can easily spruce up your Android device with some Windows Phone 7 window dressing to impress your fanboy friends. Mind you, the "Windows Phone Android" launcher -- now available in Android Market -- isn't good for more than a practical joke or three, as it's buggy, doesn't run on all phones (our Droid 2 failed, and we're hearing some Galaxy S derivatives aren't supported), doesn't support notifications, and doesn't even have those fancy auto-updating Live Tiles. No, what you're looking at here is just a stack of square icons to launch your apps, and a second pane with a vertically scrolling list of the same. Until some brave soul brings us the real deal, though, this may be as close as you're going to get. [Thanks, marky mark]
Visualized: the real Android fragmentation
It's been staring you in the face all this time. The Android fragmentation that not only threatens, but dooms Google's mobile OS: the buttons are always in different places. How will we ever cope? [Thanks, Drummertist]
Gingerbread ROMs start cooking for HTC EVO 4G et al; keyboard ported for rooted Androids
You can have your doubts about when your phone maker will finally get around to delivering an Android 2.3 update (March if you're with HTC, June if Samsung, 2017 if you're unfortunate enough to own a Sony Ericsson), but the smartphone dev community doesn't work that slowly. The guys who build custom ROMs just for the sheer pride of it have already begun work on delivering Gingerbread to owners of HTC's EVO 4G, Droid Eris, and Wildfire. It's all in the very nascent stages and warnings abound that you should only install these ROMs if you intend to contribute to the development process, but it does give us hope for a consumable new OS in the not so distant future. One thing that does look ready to be gobbled up, however, is Gingerbread's new software keyboard -- you'll find the download and installation instructions at the Droid-Life link below, just remember to bring your rooted Android phone along. [Thanks, Jacob]
Android 2.x now accounts for 83 percent of all active Googlephones
We're not totally sure that Android 2.1 users will be happy to be bundled in with 2.2 consumers -- after all, there's plenty in Froyo that's not available on Eclair -- but the fact remains that a cool 83 percent of actively used Android phones right now run one of the two latest iterations. A reminder is merited to say that by "active" we mean those that accessed the Android Market over the foregoing two weeks -- which might have a slight bias toward over-representing the newer phones with folks either abandoning their Cupcake and Donut handsets or simply not searching for new apps for them. Either way, we reckon it's good to see such nice big slices taken up by Android's most advanced versions, it seems almost a shame that Gingerbread's arrival will soon disrupt things all over again. For now, we're off to our delicatessen, all this food talk's given us the munchies. [Thanks, Dan]
Dish Network remote access app comes to Android, your Harmony groans
Dish Network took another step towards its ambitious TV Everywhere plans -- not to be confused with Comcast's and Time Warner's TV Everywhere partnership -- by releasing the Android version of its Dish remote access app late last week. This nicely completes the provider's suite of mobile offerings, which have already been available on the iPhone, iPad and certain BlackBerry phones. The catch is that to take advantage of the app, Android users must own a Sling-enabled Dish device like the ViP 722 / 722k HD DVRs or the recently released Sling adapter. With the necessary hardware though, the app turns smartphones into a control freak's best friend, working as a remote control, a DVR manager, and a Sling-powered media streamer to view recorded or live programming over Wi-Fi or 3G. That's a pretty nifty feature set considering it costs a lovely low price of free, and it's certainly more robust than mobile offerings from Comcast, Time Warner, or DirecTV. In other words, when it comes to getting the most from your paid TV service while on the go, it appears the underdog satellite company can certainly dish it out.
Nexus S teaser by Eric Schmidt now available on video
Ah, the "unannounced product" that Eric Schmidt brought along for his latest interview -- you want to see more of it, don't you? We know you do, so we've naturally tracked down the full 44-minute marathon chat session between Eric and his Web 2.0 Summit hosts, which thankfully kicks off by delving right into the phone that we know and love under the Nexus S name. Notably, the Google chief never calls it that explicitly, though he takes a moment to stress that in the past he was quoted as saying there'd never be a Nexus Two, not that there'd never be a Nexus successor at all. See the whole thing unfold after the break. [Thanks, Thomas]
Google's gingerbread Androids are fully baked, can the OS be far behind?
Continuing with our cookery theme this morning, we now have a full tray of scrumptious-looking gingerbread Android men, courtesy of Google Mobile's Twitter account. The whole world and his poodle already know that Gingerbread, Android's next iterative update that's presently expected to be given the numerical identifier of 2.3, is coming some time soon, but now Google's taken to fanning the flames of anticipation with some home cooking. What could it mean? Well, if you're an optimist, it means Android's about to receive its update imminently, but if you're a pessimist, you'll look at that Christmas-themed red and green attire and foretell of another month of waiting and thumb-twiddling. Either way, though, this seems to confirm Gingerbread is on track to land at some point before we welcome in 2011. Which can only be a good thing.
App review: Wall Street Journal Tablet Edition for Android
We'd always thought this was going to be the year of Android tablets, but until the day Google gives its full blessing for the tablet form factor, the market will still be lacking in apps that make good use of the extra screen estate. Funnily enough, today the Wall Street Journal took a leap of faith and pushed out an Android version of its tablet app, just in time to ride on the Samsung Galaxy Tab's first wave. In many ways, WSJ's Android app appears to be a slimmed down version of its iPad equivalent. Once logged in with a subscription account, users are greeted by the same start screen for choosing your papers, which are automatically downloaded at launch. Naturally, once the papers are on your device, you can read them regardless of internet connectivity, and you can save your favorites to a dedicated area there for quick access as well. More after the break. %Gallery-107209%
Wall Street Journal releases Android Tablet Edition app, phones need not apply
Given that the first truly respectable Android tablet just came out, the Wall Street Journal is timing its Tablet Edition app release pretty much perfectly. It aims to offer a faithful reproduction of the printed version of the paper while augmenting it with full-screen video, market data, customization options, and the ability to save articles for offline reading. $3.99 will net you a week's worth of access on both Android and iPad Tablet Editions along with subscriber privileges on WSJ.com. The app itself is free, so if you have a Galaxy Tab just hanging around (it doesn't work on phones, we've already tried on a Desire Z) you can give it a test-drive -- it's certainly what we intend to do, check back later for our impressions!
HTCSense.com goes live, only Desire HD and Desire Z supported at launch
Let's say you're a mobile phone maker. Now, what's the first thing you do after raking in $360 million in a quarter? We're guessing that "launching a new backup / remote wipe portal" wasn't the first thing that came to mind, but that's precisely what HTC has done. HTCSense.com was officially introduced alongside the Desire HD and Desire Z in London last month, promising to one day allow registered owners to use the web in order to locate a lost handset, remotely wipe a lost handset and maintain a backup of your contacts, texts, customizations, etc. in the cloud. Looks like "one day" is "today," with the portal finally opening its doors to registrants. Unfortunately, the only two phones supported at the moment are the two it was introduced alongside of (neither of which are publicly available), so it looks like you'll spend most of your time at the source link ingesting what it can offer you in the future. But hey, who said a little schooling was a bad thing? Update: Pocketnow has a walkthrough of the new services (via a ROM hack on the HD2), with a video embedded after the break. We know it's tough to wait, but at least this glimpse will make it a bit easier, yeah? [Thanks, Marcus]
Skype app arrives in Android Market, WiFi-only in the US
Finally, at long last, after so much waiting, Skype has made its debut as a full-fledged Android app. There are no Verizon-related limitations anymore, but Android Police reports that calling through the app is only available via WiFi, you can't use your mobile's data connection -- not yet, anyway. Another note they make is that Skype is using quite a few processing cycles to do its job, so much so that it introduced crackling on a call carried out with the EVO. You'll need to have Android 2.1 installed to run this thing, but if you do, why aren't you downloading it already? Let us know how your own 'droid fares in the comments below. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] P.S. -- Skype's press release and video after the break have confirmed that 3G Skype calls will be available to all outside the US. Wow. Also, Skype's acknowledged there are some incompatibilities with Samsung Galaxy S phones and is working to iron those out.%Gallery-104268%
LG scraps plans for Froyo tablet, will wait for next Android version
If you needed any further proof that Android in its present form isn't mature enough to perform tablet duties, here it is. Reuters is citing an unnamed LG official who has categorically written off the possibility of his company producing an Android 2.2 tablet. The LG informer has said that his company wants "the most suitable version [of Android] for our tablet and that is not Froyo 2.2." This mirrors Motorola's strategy of holding out until at least the next iteration of Google's mobile OS before diving into the tablet pool. Still, it'll be disappointing to those who took LG's words at face value when it promised its tablet will be an iPad killer -- that may still happen, mind you, just not this year.
BlindType acquired by Google, Android typists grin uncontrollably
The note's short and sweet, but it confirms that Google's buying spree is still on -- BlindType was just acquired by the Big G. If you'll recall, we were wowed back in July by the software's ability to predict words regardless of how text was inputted, and it seems as if a few bigwigs within Google were as well. It's unclear what Google's Android team plans to do with its newfound IP, but you shouldn't have to strain your imagination too hard to hazard a guess. As for the BlindType team? They're "excited to join Google, and look forward to the great opportunities for mobile innovation that lie ahead." Likewise, folks... likewise. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Sony Ericsson pushes Android 2.1 upgrade for X10 family back to 'late October'
Big surprises, eh? Sony Ericsson has been playing fast and loose with its calendar yet again, as it has just announced that the hotly (and by now angrily) anticipated upgrade to Android 2.1 for its X10 family of devices won't be happening until late October. We were given the gravest of assurances that the end of September would be the time our tragic wait would end, but nope, apparently "we need a couple of more weeks before we are ready to start the roll-out." Just so we're clear, this isn't Android 2.2, which is Google's current highest iteration and has been around for months now -- this is the upgrade to 2.1, aka Eclair, aka the software that's not too far away from its first birthday. SE is trying to console users with promises of HD video and continuous autofocus bundled into the Xperia X10 update, but then there's also word that different configs of the phones will get the update at different times. So don't be surprised if your French-speaking X10 Mini is still doing the Donut deep into November. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Samsung Galaxy S meets Froyo by month's end for T-Mobile UK customers
Android phones and their eternal struggle to get the latest version update, it's a book that needs to be written. It was only last night that we were hearing that the Froyo upgrade for Spanish Galaxy S users would be pushed back till late October, yet today our emotions are swung back the other way by news of T-Mobile UK promising the exact same update by the end of this month. If our solar calendars are accurate, that means there'll be no more than a 10-day wait left for T-Mo customers using this 4-incher. We'll bug the other UK networks as well to see whether their 2.2 updates are in the mail or still lost somewhere in the frozen isle. Update: Here's O2's current position: "We're working with Samsung to bring the latest version of Android, 2.2 FroYo, to our Samsung Galaxy S customers as soon as possible. This will take a period of several weeks and we will update our customers once the new software is available."
CE-Oh no he didn't!: Anssi Vanjoki says using Android is like peeing in your pants for warmth
You've been asking and imploring, so Anssi Vanjoki -- straight shooter, that he is -- now has an answer. Why doesn't Nokia switch to Android? Because Google's software represents only a short-term solution that will lead to bigger quandaries down the line, says he. Anssi was even graceful enough to illustrate this point with a vivid example, saying that mobile manufacturers who go the Android route are doing no better than Finnish boys who "pee in their pants" for warmth in the winter. Yeah. We don't know where to go from here either. To be honest, there's a legitimate point behind this trash talk, as the FT notes some analysts agree with Anssi that relying on Android as the universal OS may lead to "permanently low profitability" with users failing to distinguish among different brands if they all offer the same experience. Then again, tell that to HTC. [Thanks, Maark]
