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Google Android 2.2 Froyo: What’s New?

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So over at the recently-concluded Google I/O conference, Google unveiled Android 2.2, or Froyo, to the world. Now with people eagerly waiting for iPhone OS 4.0, Android 2.2 amazingly showed that Google can beat Apple, and if Google manages to get the products they announced out (oh my lord I want me some Google TV), there is a huge possibility that Apple may play catch-up soon.

Okay, so Android 2.2, called Froyo, is out. What makes it stand out? What features are going to make people dump their iPhones and go for Android handsets? Here are the top new features of Google’s smartphone operating system, taken from ZDNet:

– Improved security with the addition of numeric pin or alpha-numeric password options to unlock device. Exchange administrators can enforce password policy across devices.
– Remote wipe: Exchange administrators can remotely reset the device to factory defaults to secure data in case device is lost or stolen.
– Exchange Calendars are now supported in the Calendar application.
– Auto-discovery: you just need to know your user-name and password to easily set up and sync an Exchange account (available for Exchange 2007 and higher).
– Global Address Lists look-up is now available in the Email application, enabling users to auto-complete recipient names from the directory.
– Portable WiFi hotspot: Certain devices like the Nexus One can be turned into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot that can be shared with up to 8 devices.

Honestly, this has made me all the more excited to get an Android phone once my current phone – a Nokia E63 – dies on me. What do you think?

Google to stop online sales of the Nexus One

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If you’re planning to buy the Nexus One from Google’s online store so you can get it contract-free, you well, you better act fast. Google will soon stop selling their flagship Android phone online. Don’t think for a moment that this move means that Google is going to drop the Nexus One. This is merely a change in strategy.

It seems that Google has realized that people don’t like to buy phones without seeing them first, so they’re switching strategies and are selling the Nexus One via retail outlets.

From Google’s official blog, the changes to Nexus One’s availability are:

More retail availability. As we make Nexus One available in more countries we’ll follow the same model we’ve adopted in Europe, where we’re working with partners to offer Nexus One to consumers through existing retail channels. We’ll shift to a similar model globally.

From retail to viewing. Once we have increased the availability of Nexus One devices in stores, we’ll stop selling handsets via the web store, and will instead use it as an online store window to showcase a variety of Android phones available globally.

Innovation requires constant iteration. We believe that the changes we’re announcing today will help get more phones to more people quicker, which is good for the entire Android ecosystem: users, partners and also Google.

Once Google sees stable sales of the phone via traditional retail channels, they’ll pull the plug on the web store. They say that it was a great niche channel for early adopters, but it’s not for everyone.

Android ported to iPhone

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Now, I don’t mean to sound like a fanboy here, but the iPhone still is the best-looking smartphone out there. I may not be totally sold on the iPhone OS and Apple’s Apps Marketplace, but the iPhone’s smooth, minimalistic hardware always appealed to me. And then there’s the iPhone OS. I know, there’s so much love for the iPhone OS and its huge apps marketplace, but it really is not my cup of tea. I’d rather go for something more… open. Kind of like Google’s Android.

Now of course, we can’t really ask for Google Android to be installed on the iPhone, that’d be a pipe dream. But that never stopped an iPhone hacker known only as Planetbeing from trying. He was able to port Google’s Linux-based operating system. This is probably the first time anyone has done this, and nobody can deny how huge this is.

From AppAdvice:

It’s still in alpha version for now, but with some improvements, this would allow anybody to use both iPhone and Android OS on their iPhone. Just like you can do Bootcamp on your Mac to access PC apps, you’ll be able to go on Android to try all these apps that don’t exist, or were not allowed on the iPhone. Imagine for a second that Adobe manages to puts flash on there, well, you’ll get to have it too.

Obviously this is not condoned by either Google or Apple, and it is unclear if you are going to break your iPhone’s warranty by doing this. Now if somebody, anybody, can pull this off on the iPad…

Download the Android iPhone port here. Read the original blog post here.

The Google Nexus One is here!

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That was pretty fast, don’t you think? Just a few short weeks ago, there came out rumors that Google has been giving its employees a mysterious phone that they were supposed to test out over the holidays. Then we see Google employees praising the phone to high heavens over on their Twitter accounts. Heck, after Google’s initial announcement, I was expecting the Nexus One to be released around March to June.

So imagine my surprise to see that the Nexus One is already out, but there’s a review already on TechCrunch! Michael Arrington himself gives his two cents on the Nexus One.

Basically, the phone is everything people loved about Android, and then some. The Voice Keyboard has been retooled so that every single text field in the device is now voice-activated. It has a great camera, a (as of yet vaporware) cloud backup service, and loads of eye candy:

Google has added a lot of nice graphical touches, including 3D scrolling of apps, and a new way of viewing photos using the CoolIris technology. Photos dip into the plane as it there is depth. Tipping the phone trips the accelerometer and the photos dip in the same way.

Unfortunately, the Nexus One’s microphone seems to be placed in an awkward position. If you cradle the phone between your head and shoulder when you’re not using your hands, your voice gets muted. This means you have to bring your headsets all the time. Battery life seems to have taken a hit with all the eye candy Nexus One packed into it too.
But still, the Nexus One looks like a pretty solid phone.

Will it pose a serious threat on the iPhone? What do you guys think?

Rumor: The Google Tablet to go after Apple’s iSlate?

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Oh boy, is Google sure on a roll. Mere weeks after the announcement of the Google Phone, the Android-powered Nexus One, and the Google Netbook running (also recently-announced) Google Chrome OS, rumors began flying of another hardware product running Chrome OS. And this time it’s a tablet computer. [Read more…]

Google Goggles: First Peek

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If you need any more proof that Google Android is definitely going to step up to take the iPhone down, Google is coming out with Google Goggles. Okay, that product name kind of reminds me of a website that used to infect unsuspecting users with loads of malware, but trust me, Google Goggles is different. Way different.

Google Goggles basically is mobile search taken to a different level. Instead of using words, use your Android phone’s camera to take a picture, and Google Goggles will process and attempt to recognize the image, and will return relevant search results.

Okay, since Google Goggles is still in its infancy, we’re going to definitely run into a coupe of caveats when using it. Books, business cards, artwork, places, logos and landmarks are going to work brilliantly, but take a picture of food and other things, we’re going to end up with gibberish results, if any.

Actually, the first glimpse of Google Goggles is actually a video showing animated caricatures of Google engineers presenting a cartoon demo of Google Goggles. So it was vaporware and all, and we weren’t expecting Google Goggles to go live for a while.

I was pretty surprised to see a live demo of the experimental software on a yet-to-be-released phone. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, the other Android phone other than Nexus One that I want to get my hands on in the future, has got Google Goggles installed on it. Here’s a video demo of the much-awaited android app, and this time it’s not a cartoon:

I’m pretty impressed with Google Goggles. Tell me what you think!

The Google Nexus One Phone: specifications revealed

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It looks like Google’s not going to let news about their Nexus One die, because specs of the much-awaited Google Phone have come out. I’m guessing this is meant to stem the steady stream of questions about the phone’s guts. I mean, how the heck are we all supposed to know if the Nexus One is going to be good if we don’t know a single thing about its hardware specs?

The good news is that the guys from Engadget have been able to get their hands on a Nexus One, and darn it’s good. The highlights of the Nexus One specs are as follows: 1GHz Qualcomm QSD (Snapdragon) 8250 processor, 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED touch screen (currently non-multi-touch), quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz) GSM/EDGE and tri-band (900, 1700, 2100MHz) HSDPA support, a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth v2.1+EDR, 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM, an included 4GB microSD card with support up to 32GB, 5MP camera with mechanical autofocus and LED flash, Android v2.1, and a very svelte 0.45-inch thick body.

It’s also possible that it’s going to work on T-Mobile 3g and not (the much-ranted about) AT&T 3G. That’s good.

One more thing: it’s going to be available come January 5. Yes, that soon! But it’s going to be available only for limited “invite-only” retail sales. That means you have to look far and wide into the bowels of eBay (heh) to get your hands on a Nexus One if you’re not invited.

There isn’t any word on pricing yet, but it looks like the Nexus One is indeed coming much sooner than we thought.

[via]

The Google Nexus One: it’s coming

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It all started as rumors spreading in Twitter. Apparently Google employees were given a phone to test (or “dogfeed,” as the practice is known). The employees started tweeting about how amazing it was and how it can cure cancer, solve world hunger, etc. Okay, I’m just kidding. But we all know how great the new phone is and how Android 2.1 is amazing on it.

Soon, pictures of the new phone started to leak and spread like wildfire. The “Google Phone” is running on HTC hardware and it seems to be an HTC Passion, but without the branding.

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Google at first was claiming that the phone was just a mobile lab for their developers to use over the holidays:

We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it.

Soon it was revealed that the Google Phone is actually called the Nexus One, and it will be sold unlocked. Amazing.

Again, I don’t think I want to use the term iPhone killer. Please, it’s been overdone. But believe me when I say that only Google would have the same brand equity as Apple which would demand the same amount of loyalty. Plus the fact that the Nexus One is unlocked and can be used with any carrier is going to win them a lot of users fed up with AT&T.

Let us wait and see what will happen.

Meanwhile, here’s a video of Nexus One booting up at a less-than-impressive 20 seconds. If Google hopes to beat the iPhone, the Nexus One has got to do better than that.

Android 6.1 Donut is rolling out

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According to Unwired View, Android 6.1 Donut is already gradually being rolled out over the air.

Donut is a OTA (Over-the-air) update which you should be seeing very soon, if not already. From what we’ve heard, T-Mobile is working to roll it out as fast as possible to help fix the system reboot error that’s well-known on current versions.

Other feature improvements include:

  • Improved Android Market experience
  • Camera, camcorder, and gallery interface
  • Updated Voice Search
  • Updated search experience (similar but not identical to iPhone’s spotlight search)

So have you guys received the new Android or are you still waiting for 6.1 to hit your mobile devices? How is Android Donut treating you so far?

Google’s Eric Schmidt parts company with Apple

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eric-schmidtIn a short and frankly unsurprising press release, Apple has announced that Google’s Dr Eric Schmidt has resigned from its board of directors.

Schmidt has been on Apple’s board for three years, throughout rumors and actualization of both the iPhone and Android-based phones, but now that Google is looking to further push both Android and its own operating system (ChromeOS), that conflict of interest is all too apparent.

[Read more…]