AndroidMarket
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DoubleTwist adds some polish to Android with new media player app
Peruse the Android Market this morrow and you might come across a hot new addition from the folks at DoubleTwist. That's right, the iTunes-aping desktop sync manager has gone native on the Android platform and early feedback on its media player implementation has been positive. The free music and video player app does that whole seamless thing quite well, apparently, interfacing directly with your Windows or Mac computerino and porting over relevant playlists, ratings and media. A widget and other features are coming soon, though you'll likely have to pay for them, given the "free for a limited time" note on the download page. Better get it while the gettin's good.
Skype Mobile with video support coming to Android Market later this year?
Skype's PR folks have been unusually loquacious today, as they've responded to a query about whether HTC's EVO 4G would get a Skype client with a deep and meaningful forward-looking statement, underpinned by a promise of an Android app "for all consumers globally to download regardless of carriers." This universally available addition to the Market should arrive "later this year," but what's important about it is that it's preceded by a lengthy spiel about Skype's ambition to "set the bar on mobile video calling," which it also intends to do this year. Does this necessarily mean that Skype video calling is coming to Android in time for us to wish granny happy Hanukkah over video chat? No. Is it a well constructed insinuation to that effect? Hell yes. Read the full statement at the source, or find the juiciest excerpt after the break. [Thanks, Jeremy]
Google adding over-the-air app installation and iTunes streaming to Android
Sure sure, Froyo is great and all, but Google just blew our minds with two previews of upcoming Android features at I/O: OTA application installation and remote music streaming. OTA installation is just as simple as you'd expect -- after browsing to an app on your desktop, you can push it to your phone and install it with just a single click, all done over the air. Interestingly, Google also showed music being purchased and transferred from Android Marketplace in the same way, which could indicate a deeper push towards music integration, or just be a nice demo. Either way, it's pretty slick stuff -- the fewer wires we have to carry, the better. The remote music streaming is a little crazier: Google bought a company called Simplify Media, which makes a bit of desktop software that can stream all your music directly from iTunes to your phone. The demo was quite slick -- you just open the app and push "all," and all your music is instantly available. Whether or not this'll work over 3G or be limited to the local network is still up in the air, but we're dying to try it out.
Android support for memory card app storage is finally 'coming soon'
One of the biggest complaints with Android since the dawn of civilization is that the expansive plains of storage available on microSD cards have been left under-utilized; coldly ignored by the OS while it did everything it could to stuff the measly couple-hundred megs of internal storage with apps. Soon that problem will finally be rectified, with a Google representative closing the long-running Issue 1151. The issue, which covers external installation of apps, was opened in October of 2008 and since then was voted on by 2561 people, all of whom want Google to set their memory cards free. Exactly when this functionality is coming it remains to be seen, but the "coming soon" note in comment 535 is very encouraging. Froyo, anyone? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Android Market clears the 50,000 app mark, says AndroLib
Google has never been too inclined to give the world the straight dope on total app counts in the Android Market, but other companies -- notably AndroLib -- have been happy to try to pick up the slack. The app tracking site now reports a grand total of 50,031 approved binaries as of this writing, marking a pretty magical milestone in light of the Market's humble beginnings as a free-only cache of a handful of apps for the G1. To be fair, AndroLib is aggregating across all of the Market's regional sites -- you won't find 50,000 apps in any one Market alone -- but it's undoubtedly a solid sign for the platform. Now we just need a little Froyo to go with that, right?
HTC Legend gets firmware update in Europe, reunites with missing apps in Android Market
Attention, possessors of the European HTC Legend! Have you noticed a handful of missing apps in the Android Market, namely Twidroid, Layar, MySpace Mobile, Barcode Scanner, Google Goggles, FxCamera, and so forth? Today, the brilliantly quiet HTC has finally come to light with the bizarre offending bug -- camera incompatibility. Oopsie! Any moment now your metallic slab should receive the OTA update to patch things up, and hopefully the Droid Incredible will get the same fix even sooner. Crisis averted.
Dell Aero details confirmed with new leak: 624MHz processor, handwriting support, DRM
Compared to the other crazy handsets Dell leaked today, the Aero is definitely the runt of the litter. But with a leaked Q2 AT&T release date, the Aero will be first on our doorstep. What other juicy morsels have we gathered? On the hardware side, it's sadly a slow 624MHz Marvell processor that drives that 3.5-inch capacitive multitouch screen, but hey, like the Chinese model, it's planned to ship with a capacitive stylus for handwriting recognition. More interesting is software. Like Motorola's CLIQ, Aero comes with QuickOffice right out of the box, and supports Microsoft ActiveSync and Exchange to ostensibly keep in touch with your business. For the social crowd, there's on-device photo editing and "aggregated notifications" for the bevy of social networks Dell's agreed to support. While you probably knew the device would have a WebKit browser with Flash Lite, leaks reveal it will have a robust media player as well -- robust enough to have some sort of music streaming and download ability (PlayReady, anyone?) protected by Windows Media DRM. Though it's probably still Android 1.5 onboard, docs show Dell plans a "refresh" to Android 2.1 sometime between Q3 and Q4, but it's hard to say whether the Aero will get an OTA update, or whether only new Aeros will ship with Eclair. That said, given the relative insignificance of this handset compared to its new big brothers, we're more than willing to wait and find out.%Gallery-91354%
Android Market gets 9,000 new apps in March, world domination can't be far behind
Wanna know what exponential growth looks like? Try following Android's progress over the past few months and you'll be treated to plenty of rapidly ascending charts. This latest one from AndroLib is no different, illustrating as it does the ever-increasing influx of new games and applications for Google's mobile platform. Developers must clearly believe Android's growing market share is only going to keep expanding, as last month saw their most productive output yet, with a sweet 9,308 new additions to the Market. Naturally, the same proviso applies as with Apple's inflated App Store numbers -- quantity does not guarantee quality -- but what we're witnessing is surely the solidification of Android as a legitimate and fully fledged member of the smartphone OS upper echelon. And that can only be a good thing.
New doubleTwist for Mac adds built-in Android Market functionality
The latest version of doubleTwist for the Mac (1.0b1b to be precise, available now) adds a whole new Android Market element to the application. Much akin to the iTunes Store for apps, doubleTwist lets you browse Android apps in a beautified, desktop interface, but the "twist" is that you can't actually download and sync apps with your phone. Instead, the Android Market browser presents QR codes for scanning with your Android phone and directly downloading the apps on the handset like you do already. Sure, desktop app downloads, backup, and syncing would certainly be better, but this is a nice start at least. D-Twist (as we like to call it) is also getting audio playback on the Mac, as well as podcast search and playback, with podcast subscription and syncing coming next (it's already on Windows). Meanwhile, Windows users will have to wait until the next major version for Android Market. Not to worry, you can do the exact same sort of app browsing at apps.doubletwist.com on any plain old browser. You can even check out the Engadget app right here. Update: We're trying to play around a bit with the app, but at the moment the search functionality is broken and most of the QR codes are handing us bad URLs for apps. Hang tight! Every once in a while we see a blip of non-brokenness, but we're guessing there are some server hiccups at the moment holding us back from Android Market enlightenment.
Rogers, Telus both offering paid Android Market apps
For Americans, the ability to blow dollar after hard-earned dollar in the Android Market is old hat -- it's been happening since early last year -- but Canada's had a rougher go of it. Rogers just flipped the switch not long ago, and now Telus has joined the party, meaning most Canadians currently using Android-powered handsets can spend US dollars, euros, or yen to fill up their handsets' internal memory (the Market shows prices in each apps' local currency, and we're not aware of any Canadian apps at the moment). It's long overdue, so we're picturing an epic spending spree this week as these guys blow off some steam -- but hey, there are worse ways to go bankrupt, right?
Screen Grabs: Nate Archibald dials up Google Latitude to locate poor Jenny
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com. Oh, Jenny Humphrey -- will you ever learn? It's not at all smart to sneak out at night wearing a seductive outfit, only to find your way into a club, get drugged and open yourself up to all sorts of regrettable mischief. Thankfully, Gossip Girl's own Nathaniel Fitzwilliam Archibald is an experienced Droid owner, and he's also in the business of saving damsels in distress. Having Google Latitude just a click away sure is convenient, but having this particular gal's phone number just a Tommy Tutone jam away doesn't hurt, either. Makeshift vid of the rescue is just past the break.
Exclusive: Android Froyo to take a serious shot at stemming platform fragmentation
We had a couple people at CTIA last week -- people whose words carry weight -- tell us off the record that the next major version of Android would take big strides toward stopping the ugly trend toward severe fragmentation that has plagued the platform for much of this and last year. You know, the kind of fragmentation that has already left users running not one, not two, not three, but four distinct versions of the little green guy (1.5, 1.6, 2.0, and 2.1) depending on a seemingly arbitrary formula of hardware, carrier, region, software customization, and manufacturers' ability to push updates in a timely fashion. Put simply, Google's been iterating the core far faster than most of its partners have been able to keep up. Thing is, in light of our CTIA conversations, we didn't have an idea of how Google planned on fixing this -- until now. We've been given reason to believe that the company will start by decoupling many of Android's standard applications and components from the platform's core and making them downloadable and updatable through the Market, much the same as they've already done with Maps. In all likelihood, this process will take place over two major Android versions, starting with Froyo and continuing through Gingerbread. Notice that we said apps and components, meaning that some core elements of Android -- input methods, for instance -- should get this treatment. This way, just because Google rolls out an awesome new browser doesn't mean you need to wait for HTC, Samsung, or whomever made your phone to roll it into a firmware update, and for your carrier to approve it -- almost all of the juicy user-facing stuff will happen through the Market. The second part of this doubled-edged attack on platform fragmentation comes from a simple reality: we're hearing that Google may be nearing the end of its breakneck development pace on Android's core and shifting attention to apps and features. By the time we get to Froyo, the underlying platform -- and the API that devs need to target -- will be reaching legitimate maturity for the first time, which means we should have far fewer tasty treat-themed code names to worry about over the course of an average year. We like awesome new software as much as the next guy, but Google's been moving so fast lately that they've created a near constant culture of obsolescence anxiety among the hardcore user base -- and in turn, that leads to paralysis at the sales counter. How much of this strategy actually materializes -- and how effective it is at changing the direction of the platform at large -- remains to be seen, but it sounds like a promising turn of events. Considering it's been a solid five months since the Eclair SDK premiered, that's an eternity in Google years; time to shake things up a bit, we reckon.
Neofonie announces WePad 11.6-inch Android slate
Another day, another Android tablet render. This one, the imaginatively titled WePad, is as ambitious as its name might suggest. (You know, because "we" is plural of "I"? Yeah, it's a stretch.) Dwarfing the iPad with its 11.6-inch (1366 x 768) display, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, GMA 3150 graphics, webcam, two USB ports, flash card reader, UMTS modem, and a mooted six hours of battery life, we could see ourselves picking one up -- provided the price point is decent. But that's just the beginning! The manufacturer, Neofonie, also has designs on a WePad app store and, if all goes according to plan, this thing'll sport genuine Google Android and the Android Market. The company also mentions something called the "WeMagazine publishing ecosystem," the basis of a turn-key operation for getting your own branded device out on the e-reader market, so if you're looking to get into the biz just hit the source link to begin your adventure. As for us, we'll wait to see a final product before we jump to any conclusions. [Thanks, Dan Z]
Google issues statement on Nexus One sales, touts Android Market's 30,000 apps
Numbers released by Flurry Analytics yesterday suggested that Google's Nexus One had sold around 135,000 units in 74 days (the same amount of time it took the iPhone to hit a million) -- not a staggering number by any measure. Now, we don't really have any way to assess the accuracy of Flurry's data, but we spoke with Google's team about a few things, and here's what they had to say. For starters, Google wanted to assert the idea that selling lots of a single handset isn't the company's primary goal, an idea which makes sense considering how many handsets are currently available with Android. In our conversation, Google actually called out the sales figures for the Droid and seemed eager to make the point that their game is more of a war of attrition fought on a variety of fronts. Read their statement -- and lots more -- after the break...
Motorola Backflip doesn't allow non-Market apps, proves AT&T doesn't get Android
Let's step into the time warp, shall we? Specifically, we'd like to go back to our interview of AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega at MWC last year when we asked him about the carrier's support for Android (or lack thereof): Chris: Okay, and expanding on that a little bit, I heard you speak at CTIA last year and you mentioned that... you mentioned basically the same comments about Android at that time. You said that you thought that it was promising, you liked what you saw, but that was at a time when there were a lot of questions about why AT&T wasn't in the OHA. I'm wondering if your thoughts, your opinions have changed since then. Has AT&T's direction with Android changed at all? Ralph: No, actually, I think that they have been somewhat validated in that... we like the Android as an operating system on its own, but we want to make sure that we have, and customers have the option, to put applications on that device that are not just Google applications, so when the G1 came out and T-Mobile launched it, it's primarily a Google phone. And we want to give customers the choice of other applications on that device, not just the same Google applications. Chris: So you're basically waiting for Android to be de-branded, so to speak? Ralph: Well, to be open. (Laughter.) Right? I mean, the whole idea behind Android is that it's gonna be an open OS, and so I don't wanna roll an open OS to market that has primarily Google apps on it, and I think that's gonna happen. I mean, I see a lot of activity, I think it's got a good future, and I think it makes a lot of sense that the OS is open-source, separate from Google apps that are also very good. A year later, enter the Motorola Backflip -- AT&T's very first Android device. Does it hold true to de la Vega's principles? Well, it depends on whose glasses you read the statements through. Yes, true, it definitely doesn't have "primarily Google apps on it" thanks to the carrier's questionable decision to remove Google search and replace it with Yahoo -- but as for giving "customers the choice of other applications," that's another matter altogether. It seems that Backflips are being shipped without the ability to turn on non-Market installations, meaning that AT&T has effectively locked you into getting all of your content through the walled garden. Add in the Yahoo debacle and the egregious amount of unremovable crapware they've left in ROM, and we start to wonder: why did AT&T bother partnering up with Android if they weren't going to take it seriously? Certainly doesn't bode well for the Mini 3 and the rest of the pack, now, does it?
Google Maps 4.0 with Buzz support now available in Android Market
Looks like Android's getting in on the new Google Buzz party in more ways than one today -- in addition to support in the browser, Maps 4.0 is now in the Android Market and it's all Buzz-ed up and ready to go. We've heard from both Droid and G1 owners that it works on their devices, so we're guessing every other Android set out there running 1.6 or higher will work as well -- let us know if you find anything else cool, won't you? Same goes for you S60 and WinMo kids out there. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
DirecTV mobile app now live on Android Market
If you're familiar with DirecTV's iPhone app, then this fresh Android release should be no stranger as both free apps offer the same handy search and record functionalities. No official requirements published yet, but an educated guess would suggest they'd be the same as the iPhone counterpart. The lucky folks over at DBSTalk have once again had a chance to preview this DirecTV app before it went live on Android Market last night, so either get to downloading or head over now for their dandy walkthrough.
Phishing Android apps explain our maxed-out credit cards
There's no such thing as a perfect mobile app store strategy -- you're either too draconian, too arbitrary, or too loose in your policies, and as far as we can tell, there's no way to find a balance that isn't going to trigger an alarm here and there or get a few people worked into a lather. If you're too loose, for instance, you're liable end up with the occasional bout of malware, which is exactly what appears to have gone down recently in the Android Market with a few fake banking apps published by a bandit going as "Droid09." As you might imagine, the apps end up doing little more than stealing your information and ending your day in tears; the apps have since been pulled, but that's probably little consolation for those already affected. The moral of the story? Be vigilant, keep a close eye on those system permissions the Market warns you about as you install new apps, report sketchy ones, and -- as always -- use a hearty dose of common sense.
Google's got a plan for overcoming Android's app storage limit
Perhaps the biggest single technical issue bedeviling Android today is its app storage limit -- the fact that installed applications can only reside on internal phone storage, not on microSD expansion. Since devices usually have no more than a gig or two under the shell (and usually much, much less), that's been a serious showstopper for two reasons: one, it limits the raw number of apps you can install, but more seriously, it stops any single app (say, a game with a few hundred megabytes worth of textures and data) from effectively being possible. Happily, Google announced at its Nexus One event today that this wrinkle will get smoothed out in a future release by enabling encryption on the card -- simple enough. It's not clear when this will be released, what version of Android it'll come to, or whether it'll be available to existing phones, but we're hoping the answers are "soon," "the next one," and "yes," respectively.
HTC debuts widgets for Sense-equipped Android phones
HTC was already in the Android software game by virtue of the fact that it drops a fully-customized UI and widget suite on some of its models, but this is new: they've migrated over to the Market. Now, what'd be insanely awesome here is if you could, say, buy Sense for $9.99 and install it on any Android device, but yeah, not so much -- what we've actually got here is a four-pack of free widgets that are compatible with the Hero and Droid Eris. Dice, Today in History, Tip Calculator, and Battery are each downloadable individually; none are particularly exciting or different than what's already available in the Market, but they've all got that famous HTC high style and the exclusivity of knowing that Motorola, Acer, Samsung, and Huawei riffraff can't use them. All four are available now.
