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Rubin: Android getting more social features; Donut, Eclair, and Flan all in the oven
You don't have to look far past Palm's Synergy tech for webOS and smaller-scale operations like INQ to understand that social internetworking -- an intelligent aggregation of every corner of your life -- is the wave of the mobile future, and Google's going on record saying that it understands. At a T-Mobile- and Google-sponsored event in San Francisco earlier today, Andy Rubin (you know, the Android dude) discussed upcoming releases in Android's pipeline starting with Donut, which we've already heard mentioned, but then progressing to "Eclair" and "Flan" without mentioning specific timelines. He didn't bust out any comprehensive roadmaps, but he waxed poetic about some of the social-centric possibilities -- for example, being kept abreast of a contact's Facebook photo and latest update every time they call -- and mentioned that developers will soon have additional options for charging for apps (presently, Google Checkout is the only way to handle it, but carrier billing is coming soon).He also reiterated that the hardware pipeline for Android is staggeringly massive, with 15 to 20 phones coming this year alone. One manufacturer actually had the stones to show him eighteen Android-powered devices in a recent meeting -- sounds like a very Samsung-esque thing to do, but whether it's Samsung, HTC, or someone else, we're happy to hear once again that the Magic, Hero, Dream, and Galaxy won't be the only games in town for long.[Via Phone Scoop]
Haier H7 Android handset set for September launch
Haier may not exactly be breaking any new ground with the outward appearance, but its new H7 handset is an Android phone (which still counts for something these days), and it's reportedly on track for a launch as soon as this September -- in France, at least. Unfortunately, the phone the company had on display at CommunicAsia 2009 was just a non-functional mockup, but the final model will apparently pack a 2.8-inch touchscreen, along with a 2-megapixel camera, built-in GPS, WiFi, and, most importantly, Android 2.0 (a.k.a Donut) -- assuming it's available by the time the phone launches. No word on any release plans beyond France just yet, but the H7 will reportedly run $150 -- on contract, presumably.[Via ModMyGphone, thanks Neerhaj]
HTC Hero "Rosie" ROM demoed on G1
The process for getting HTC's Hero ROM with the so-called Rosie UI onto your G1 isn't necessarily for the faint of heart, so for those looking for a slightly more hands-off experience until HTC gets around to introducing this stuff officially, an installer went ahead and threw together a convenient little demo of some of the Android skin's capabilities. Everything we see here reinforces the understanding that this is a thorough, deep customization of Android, taking UI polish and functionality to the next level -- and happily, HTC appears to have really tailored the experience to Android rather than simply taking TouchFLO and retooling it for another platform. A good example of that is widget support -- we see weather and Twitter widgets demoed here, and there appear to be plenty of others available in the list. There's no telling whether we'll see this skin come to Dreams, Magics, and G1s, but it's at least heartening to know that the G1 has enough horsepower to effectively run the stuff. Follow the break for the video.
HTC Hero build of Android ported to G1
The process isn't for the faint of heart, but considering the reward here, the trials and tribulations of hacking the hell out of your G1 might just be worth it. As usual, the bright chaps over at xda-developers have managed to obtain the HTC Hero's heavily-skinned Android ROM and port it to the G1, offering a totally unique look and feel with all manner of enhancements and customizations not found on a stock Android 1.5 build. Getting it all going involves flashing your device, connecting to it with the Android debugger while it's stuck in an endless boot loop, and messing around with some other stuff, so yeah -- if you're a greenhorn you might want to get a pro to take care of this for you and make sure that you're comfortable with the very real possibility of bricking your baby. Hey, it's just a phone, right? What's the worst that can happen?[Thanks, Ash]
Video: HTC Hero with 'rosie' Android UI leaked?
After making a brief appearance on YouTube this morning, what seems to be a promotional video for the HTC Hero has been resurrected courtesy of Android Community. Not only do we see Hero in 7 different colors, but we get another glimpse at HTC's purported "rosie" Android UI already seen in that supposed tutorial video a few weeks back. So sit back and click on through, don't cost nothin' but 89 seconds that you were just going to dither away anyway.
Android 2.0 "Donut" features demoed at Google I/O
We're still trying to get used to the overwhelming joy of having Cupcake installed on our G1s, but it's full steam ahead over at Google where engineers are already slaving away on the Donut branch that'll eventually come to be known as Android 2.0. Demoed today at the first I/O keynote were Donut's universal search (known simply as "Android Search"), which will let you search both online and locally on the phone through contacts, calendars, music, and any app with the proper code, and a text-to-speech API, which should allow developers to integrate Google Voice Search-style awesomeness into the apps of their choice. We also got a brief glimpse of handwriting gestures used for searching through list -- the live example was drawing the letter 'e' and going to that specific point in a list of songs. Nothing wildly different interface-wise -- yet -- but we know from the initial 1.0 release that the UI's very much subject to change, not to mention the fact that HTC and others look poised to do some serious customization of their own. Check out the gallery for shots live from the I/O keynote!
New video of HTC Hero's Android build offers Frenchy vision of widget utopia
The verdict is still out on whether what we've been seeing is indeed some precursor to Android 2.0 "Donut," or (more likely) some elaborate HTC skin designed bring HTC's Android home screen experience up to par with its extensive Windows Mobile reskinning. Either way, things are shaping up quite nicely for the HTC Hero, with another leaked build showing widget functionality galore, including weather widgets that actually show the weather. Interestingly, this isn't a complete replacement for the existing home screen, since in the add widget dialogue you can pick an HTC Gadget, a Google Gadget, or other regular things like Shortcuts, and most everything seems to cohabitate well in the example video. With the rate these leaks are coming, we're guessing we'll be hearing more about the HTC Hero before too long, and if not we've always got the nouveau cocktail jazz electro crossover stylings of Air to keep us calm. Video is after the break.[Via Android Guys]
Android build for upcoming HTC Hero has revamped interface, social networking?
This one's a bit of a mystery, but it's certainly a tantalizing one: Haykuro of xdadevelopers fame has posted video of what purports to be the Android build off of HTC's upcoming Hero device. What's special about it is a reworked interface, which shows a lot of polish from icons to built-in apps to general interface elements... and maybe just a bit of TouchFLO flair. There are also new features like a login / logout menu for "social networks" in the settings menu. While the device lists the firmware as 1.5, there's a small possibility that some of this new look and feel could be headed for Android 2.0 "Donut," or perhaps HTC just feels like it needs to diverge from the pack a bit now that other manufacturers are starting to drop their own Android handsets. Check out the incredibly epic video after the break.[Via Android Central]
Hold the phone: T-Mobile G1 v2 to really be the Samsung Bigfoot?
Well well -- it looks like whatever Android handset Motorola's cooking up might not be the T-Mobile G1 v2 after all. Mobile-review just published this shot of a Samsung Bigfoot with a slider QWERTY keyboard, and we've got to say, it looks a hell of a lot more like the device in that leaked T-Mobile roadmap than that rendered Moto unit. (It also looks a lot like the Samsung Beat DJ, but that's neither here nor there.) Not only that, but there's also an early spec sheet and another image of a candybar set called the Spica -- apart from the slider, Bigfoot and Spica are nearly identical lower-end versions of the I7500, with three-inch screens, three megapixel cameras, and Android 2.0 "Donut" preloaded. That certainly throws a monkey wrench into what we had thought was a neatly-tied little bow, but we've got to say we're stoked to see so many Android sets appearing all at once. Now if someone could just tell us when and where these would ship, we'd be all set. Spec sheet after the break.[Via Unwired View]
Kururin Doughnuts randomly appears on Gametrailers with English subtitle
Is Kururin Doughnuts getting localized? You probably don't remember this as the donut-starring platformer with bonus dessert recipes that we highlighted back in March. It was released in Japan last week, and now some gameplay footage has appeared on Gametrailers.The mere existence of the video on Gametrailers isn't conclusive proof of anything, since undeniably Japanese clips of Stock Trader Shun, Let's Try Fortune Telling DS, and our favorite, Doki Doki Majo Shinpan, were uploaded on the same day. But what piqued our interest was the subtitle given to the game: Enchanted Pastry. It's not just a translation of the Japanese subtitle, Okashi na Recipe (Recipe for Sweets)-- so where did Gametrailers get it? Either they made it up or there's a US trailer involved. Or something else. Enjoy some video after the break![Via Game|Life]
Platforming and cooking: two great tastes that taste great together?
Kururin Donuts (Spinning Donuts) is a mascot platformer starring a giant donut. That's not so crazy. It's quirky, at best. It's a nice, colorful game, at least, and it looks a lot like Sonic Rush, which we liked just fine.But here's where it gets weird, and where we start getting excited about this game: after you complete a level, you are rewarded with a recipe for a dessert. We aren't interested because it's an attempt to shoehorn one of the new DS fads into an otherwise average game. Although, now that we mention that, that is kind of noteworthy.No, we're interested because your avatar is a dessert, and the recipes are also for desserts. So, there's a good chance that you'll learn how to cook and eat your character. That is brutal. We wonder if this will get a CERO Z rating because of the violence.Screens featuring the doomed, tragic hero are after the post break.
