AndroidGuys

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Monkey See Monkey Do
2008-02-19 22:15:00
The virtual ink had not even dried on our last article when we saw that T-Mobile is expecting to offer a $99 unlimited calling and texting plan. Currently the unlimited text package would run $14.99 in addition to the 5,000 minute plan costing $129.99 a month. That's a heck of a savings for those of you out there eating up minutes, you clock-gobblers.The plan is set to start effective this Thursday, February 21st.AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Monkey , Carriers

AT&T and Verizon Offering Unlimited Plans
2008-02-19 22:00:00
Following in the footsteps of Sprint, AT&T and Verizon have announced that they are now going to offer unlimited calling and data plans. One has to wonder if these companies reacted that quickly to Sprint or if it was something in the making for quite some time. Each company is ready to adopt the policies of the next, but play the waiting game to see who makes the move first. It's nice to see another proactive move on the part of carriers. They are fast realizing how big the burden is on them to retain customers. With early termination fees and open network capabilities, the network providers are doing all they can to look appealing. Now more than ever, Joe Blow can opt out of a contract and sign up with another company without financial strains. Wait until phones can cross networks! AT&T's announcement came 5 hours after Verizon's. Both offer an unlimited calling plan for $99 whereas Sprint's is $119 for the same. AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google ...
More About: Carriers , Plans , Unlimited

Motorola Still Shedding Jobs
2008-02-19 19:30:00
While nowhere near the thousands of jobs lost in the last rounds of cuts, 200 Motorola employees will still have to start looking for employment elsewhere. Engadget Mobile informs us today that the center in Schaumburg, Illinois is being hit with the losses. According to their source, customer service, mobile, and lab departments are taking the bulk of the hits. Is this the last of the cuts or is Motorola getting more precise with their scalpel? AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Hardware , Jobs , Rumors , Leaks

Opera May Play Role In New Android Phones
2008-02-19 18:30:00
Opera's "Mini" browser has been the browser of choice for mobile users for quite some time, so it makes sense that they would play a prominent role in the mobile phones of the future. Known for it's speed even on slower networks such as EDGE and GPRS, Opera would be a perfect fit for both lower end and premium handsets, and with Google's "write once, run on many" mindset with Android Opera's low profile would ensure the phones resources aren't being wasted while surfing the web. Internet Explorer anyone? Click here for video of the latest Opera Mobile Browser (9.5) in action. Check out how Opera totally PWND Internet Explorer in the speed test. They have some pretty cool things planned, so take a look.AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Phones , Opera , Opinion , Play , Role

T-Mobile First To Market With Android Phone
2008-02-19 16:30:00
While other carriers are taking a "wait and see" approach to Android based handsets T-Mobile is having none of that. The German based company intends to have a handset out by November of 2008! That's the 4th quarter for you Wall Street types. I have a hunch that it will be produced by HTC, and it will most certainly be touch screen based. I would also expect T-Mobile to have this phone available for both the European and US markets. Stay tuned to Android Guys for more news on T-Mobile, Google's Android and all the other OHA members.AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Hardware , Phone , Market , Rumors

RIM Suing Motorola
2008-02-19 14:30:00
Remember a few years ago when RIM was sued by NTP over patent infringements? Then again by Visto in 2006? Well, it seems they've had just about enough of that and are filing their own lawsuit against Motorola . You can check out the complete article here on PC Magazine. RIM is suing not only over patent infringements, but also what it believes to be "exorbitant licensing fees" by Motorola. They may have a difficult time proving "exorbitant" in a court of law, but we'll have to wait and see. RIM also said there was a direct connection between the increase in licensing fees and the recent woes suffered by Motorola's handset division. I guess if you're Motorola you'll get that cheese any way you can. Android Guys will keep you posted on this one.AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Hardware , Discussion

34 Weeks of OHA: #7
2008-02-19 13:00:00
Open Handset Alliance Member Profiles (Week #7 - Esmertec ) For 34 weeks, each Tuesday, Jordan from fandroid.net will be joining us to offer a profile of each of the 34 members of the Open Handset Alliance.Company Name: EsmertecHow the OHA site classifies them: Software Company. What the OHA site says about them: Esmertec is a leading provider of multi-media solutions and end-to-end integration services that accelerate time-to-market and reduce operational costs for OEMs and Operators. What they do: We provide software platforms that enable the deployment of content and applications in devices and over servers. Our customers include mobile telecom operators and manufacturers of mobile handsets, set-top boxes and interactive televisions. Esmertec's software and service capabilities excel with its reliability as well as fast and local execution. Basically, they offer Java-based products for mobile and embedded systems. Their Jbed Java Virtual Machine (JVM) offerings come in a nu...
More About: Weeks

New SDK Considered "Big Improvement"
2008-02-19 02:00:00
Ryan Paul over at Ars Technica spent some time with the new release of the Android SDK. He claims that there are 'noteworthy improvements' to the platform with the recent offering known as 'm5-rc14'. Even with plenty of work to do and "technical issues to resolve", he says that "Google has now demonstrated enough responsiveness to developer demands to justify giving the company the benefit of the doubt. This second look at the platform and the development ecosystem has boosted my confidence in the endeavor and given me reason to be optimistic about Android's prospects." Anybody else play with the new version yet? What kind of stuff have you encountered? Let us know in the comments.AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: People , Links , Improvement , Developers

New SDK Considered "Big Improvement"
2008-02-19 02:00:00
Ryan Paul over at Ars Technica spent some time with the new release of the Android SDK. He claims that there are 'noteworthy improvements' to the platform with the recent offering known as 'm5-rc14'. Even with plenty of work to do and "technical issues to resolve", he says that "Google has now demonstrated enough responsiveness to developer demands to justify giving the company the benefit of the doubt. This second look at the platform and the development ecosystem has boosted my confidence in the endeavor and given me reason to be optimistic about Android's prospects." Anybody else play with the new version yet? What kind of stuff have you encountered? Let us know in the comments.AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Improvement

Alienware: No Comment
2008-02-18 17:41:00
TechRadar spoke with Alienware ?s Mat Bettinson earlier today about that mock-up for a prototype. They were served up the good old "no comment" when asked about the company?s plans to move into the mobile phone market. Bettinson says that Alienware was ?flattered by the mock-up?. Adding, the ?design is not necessarily what Alienware would do, but it's interesting to see how the artist sees Alienware design elements enhancing another technology product."AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Hardware , Rumors , Comment , Leaks

PacketVideo Brings TV to Any Wi-Fi Capable Phone
2008-02-18 16:08:00
For user of phones and mobile entertainment devices without TV capability, your day has come. PacketVideo, one of the founding members of the Open Handset Alliance, has demonstrated a mobile receiver device that decodes digital TV signal and re-purposes it for use on phones. The receiver is compatible with all of the major mobile standards like TDtv, DVB-H, MediaFLO, and WiMAX. Compatible with many phones including the Nokia N-series, Apple iPhone and HTC Smartphone devices, the receiver can be customized with the operator?s badge.AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Hardware

Samsung Dropping Two Android-Based Phones in '08?
2008-02-18 15:25:00
Here's a departure from what we've already heard. Samsung is rumored to be releasing to handsets this fall and winter. A high end model due in September and a lower end model due in time for Christmas. So far, we've only been told 2009 for Samsung. On top of that, HTC is the company rumored to be bringing the first device to market. Which carrier will get the phones? According to this article, both Verizon and T-Mobile are mulling it over. The first non-exclusive phones from Google might be around the corner however we're not holding our breath over this as apparently the source has an shaky past when it comes to breaking news. One thing that tips us off that it might be inaccurate: Referring to them as gPhones and not Android-based. Google is not in the business of branding a phone (yet). There are two gPhones slated for release with the first coming in September and the second probably not appearing until after Christmas. Given that the first is the high-end model an...
More About: Hardware , Rumors , Leaks

AG5 - February 16th Edition
2008-02-16 22:47:00
It's Saturday again so it's time to hit you up with 5 AndroidGuys we think are worth another look. If this is your first time stopping by, consider this your Cliffs Notes for the last week. 3GSM/MWC has ended and now we start looking forward to the products and services coming in 2008. Android and the Open Handset Alliance are poised to place themselves prominently within the industry and we hope you'll continue to rely on us for your news and opinion. To make sure you don't miss anything important, subscribe to our standard feed as well as our podcast feed. #1 - Android makes its official debutFinally! After what seemed like an eternity, we get to see it in the wild. What was the initial response? It's fast and doesn't need much power to run it! Imagine the potential with cutting edge technology.#2 - Reactions to new SDK are all over the spectrumIn what comes as no surprise to us, Android's new developer kit is being compared to iPhone. This will be one of those c...
More About: Hardware , Software , People , Carriers , Developers

Addressing the Alienware Phone Article
2008-02-16 17:54:00
Let me start off by saying that the design I saw of that Alienware phone is about the most hideous looking phone I've ever seen. In my 6 years of working in and closely following the cell phone industry, I have never been so completely turned off by a design. It would probably do well with the hardcore Star Trek and World of Warcraft fans but not the other 95% of the world. There is no market out there to sell this thing. Dell and Alienware would invest far too much time and money into a device like this only to see it sell limited numbers.Enough about the device itself. I want to switch gears and discuss the content of the article and talk about how little credibility I find in the piece. First of all, the article comes after 3GSM/MWC yet it refers to being announced there. We know that nothing materialized from neither Dell nor Alienware. There is not one substantial reason given as to why the phone is currently in the works, only rumor and conjecture. There is no 'sour...
More About: Phone , Article , Opinion

Rumor Mill Churns Again
2008-02-15 22:36:00
Here's one for you to chew on this weekend. Dialphone has some mock-up pictures of an alleged Alienware handset due out this year which will be running Android. No, seriously. That's what it looks like.For those of you calling hoax on this, might I remind you of something? Alienware was acquired by a little computer company named Dell. If that name rings a bell, you might also remember some rumors flying around just before the Mobile World Congress. Something to the effect of "Dell to create gPhones."This has to be the most unique looking phone we've seen in a while. Would you carry one of these around?AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Rumor , Rumors , Leaks

This Week in Open Handset Alliance News (February 15th Edition)
2008-02-15 20:56:00
We changed the title of our Friday round-up article but not by much. Formerly "OHA News ", all we really did was add a few words to the beginning so prospective readers get a better idea as to what's in store when they open the article up. So how about that MWC/3GSM show, huh? All kinds of goodness came out of it. There was plenty to report on in or out of Barcelona. Without further ado, here's a handful of things that went down this week for the members of the Open Handset AllianceMotorola and Nortel have been making eyes at each other (Wireless Week)Nokia likes Google a whole bunch (Uber Phones)Piracy suit names eBay in case (TopTechNews)nVidia potential buyer for AMD? (Engadget)Intel offices raided by EU (Pocket Lint)Network interoperability from Sprint (PhoneScoop)LG reading minds with new phone (Just Another Mobile Phone Blog)Review of HTC Touch Cruise (GSM Arena)T-Mobile waiving activation fees through the 18th (T-Mobile)Starbucks will let you keep using your T-Mobile H...
More About: Hardware , Rumors , Google News

Judging a Book...
2008-02-15 16:14:00
Now that two completely different versions of the software developer's kit (SDK) have been released, it's time to assess what's being said about Google's foray in the mobile arena. Did it improve on the initial offering? What changes were made? Does Android look like it's going to live up to its hype?Around 4-6 weeks ago, there was a lot of backlash surrounding the SDK and how it was buggy, missing vital information, and not quite what was expected. Google's name was being tarnished by bloggers and tech sites as word quickly spread that they were "being unresponsive to the developers" working on Android. After a week or so of hype, the consensus among bloggers and fanboys was that people were just expecting way too much out of a pre-release SDK.Fast forward to Mobile World Congress (MWC) and the public unveiling. The first few days of MWC had almost all interested parties singing Android's praises as they found it to be considerably fast and intuitive, even on phone te...
More About: Opinion , Book , Developers , Discussion , Judging

Potential for 2D Barcodes is Limitless
2008-02-14 18:03:00
As individuals and teams are busy plugging away with their current Android projects, I'd like to appeal to them. In fact, it doesn't matter what platform you are writing for. Symbian, Apple, RIM, Windows Mobile, or Linux. All can take advantage of this. The technology behind the 2D barcodes has been largely ignored in the United States.2D, or Quick Response (QR) barcodes have been around for over 13 years yet essentially nobody can tell you how they work. Most people haven't seen them before and the few that have will most likely just say "Oh yeah, I've seen them before. What do they do again?"Here's a quick primer: They were initially designed for tracking parts in auto manufacturing, but they're now used in a much broader commercial context. Aimed at mobile phone users, the codes often store text and links to URL's. You'll find them in magazines, on signs, business cards or pretty much anywhere you can put a sticker. A user with a camera phone equipped with the rig...
More About: Opinion , Developers

Mixed Reactions for New Android User Interface
2008-02-14 16:05:00
We were looking at an article on Gizmodo this morning that has a short video showing how the new SDK looks running basic functions like making a call. After watching the video, we glanced through some of the comments from readers as they reacted to how it looks. It seems like this UI is polarizing people. Either it's loved, or hated. We'd like to point out one thing. This is a bare bones developers kit, designed for people to 'sex up' however they see fit. It can be equated this way. CSS and HTML are the backbone for most websites today. It can be very basic when left alone, or it can be some of the most practical and beautiful stuff you'll encounter. It's up to the person using the basic rules and code. If you were here last week and saw the article on The Astonishing Tribe, you saw one of the companies involved in the Open Handset Alliance. TAT specifically designs user interfaces (UI) for mobile devices and their work is among the best in the world. We know we so...
More About: Software , Links , User , Interface , Developers

TI Closer to Releasing Android Device
2008-02-14 15:03:00
Take a look at that picture right there. See that? It's the closest thing to an actual device running Android yet. That is, aside from the prototypes we've been seeing all along. Incredibly bulky and completely un-sexy, we'd still rock the crap out of it. Why? Because nobody else has one yet. Imagine the looks on faces when you break that bad boy out. "Oh this? Well, it's the future my good man."For a more complete gallery of the device, head over to Engadget Mobile. Apparently, Texas Instruments is slated to start shipping this thing to developers within the next two months. Specs include their OMAP 3430 CPU running at 600 Mhz and video output at 720p.AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Hardware , Device , Developers , Closer

Android Goodies
2008-02-13 22:40:00
While stumbling around the Google Android code page, I noticed a link not yet mentioned anywhere else. It seems our good friends at Google have put together 6 wallpapers based around Android. We're definitely gonna keep our eye on this page as we're curious what other 'goodies' will pop up.Go download a new wallpaper for your (soon to be) favorite mobile platform!AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Links , Google News , Goodies

SDK Update Has Been Released
2008-02-13 19:00:00
Just got word from the official Android blog that the new SDK has been loosed on the world. Sounding like an actual Android's name, m5-rc14, is now available to developers. So what changes can one expect?Taken directly from the blog...New user interface - As I mentioned when we introduced the m3 version of the Android SDK, we're continuing to refine the UI that's available for Android. m5-rc14 replaces the previous placeholder with a new UI, but as before, work on it is still in-progress.Layout animations - Developers can now create layout animations for their applications using the capabilities introduced in the android.view.animation package. Check out the LayoutAnimation*.java files in the APIDemos sample code for examples of how this works.Geo-coding - android.location.Geocoder enables developers to forward and reverse geo-code (i.e. translate an address into a coordinate and vice-versa), and also search for businesses.New media codecs - The MediaPlayer class has added supp...
More About: Resources , Contests , Giveaways , Google News , Released

Android Initial Reactions (Meta Review) - UPDATE
2008-02-13 17:59:00
Rather than do a post for each tech site out there, we're going to do a meta-review for all of the initial reactions coming in from around the web. We'll dock this one at the top of the site and continue to add to it throughout the week. Bookmark this post or subscribe to the feed as we'll be busy with this one!It's definitely very promising," an analyst for technology research firm Gartner, Carolina Milanesi, told AFP. "This means that we should be on track to see commercial devices in the second half of 2008. Yahoo! NewsThe interface was quite snappy ? it was almost exactly as swift as the emulated software on any PC ? and it looks good and tight with lots of nice transitions et al. Crunch GearThe interface is dead quick and rather glorious, and while we had no internet connectivity on it, we still were able to have a peek at various applications. In a few words, we like what we see. Engadget MobileThe one thing I will say is, Android is fast, fast, fast. Like, OMG fast. F...
More About: Review , Update , Meta

Qualcomm Runs Android at MWC
2008-02-13 16:15:00
Showing that you don't have to be cutting edge to run Android , Qualcomm was showing off a demo board, featuring 3G connectivity, GPS, Wi-Fi and a number of other elements. Different from the ARM demo from Monday, Qualcomm showed how 3D graphics would enable software developers to create state of the art interactive graphics.AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Hardware , Runs

LG Announces Android Based Phone
2008-02-13 12:58:00
LG plans to release this as of yet unnamed handset by the end of 2008 or the beginning of 2009. It should be noted that LG doesn't currently offer handsets for T-Mobile, so could this be a hint of a handset that Sprint intends to carry? Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available to us.Android Guys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Hardware , Phone , Rumors , Leaks

Android Running on Touch Screen Handsets
2008-02-12 21:35:00
PhoneMag.com has video up from MWC with Android running on an older E28 handset. It's a tad bit sluggish when compared to the other prototypes, but that's no cause for concern. The hardware inside that device is antiquated when you match it up to today's current designs. Add another 6 months worth of technology from companies like nVidia, TI, Intel and Qualcomm and you'll be just fine running it later this year. AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Hardware , Screen , Running , Links , Touch

Microsoft Still Wants Yahoo!
2008-02-12 18:41:00
After the counter offer of $40 per share from Yahoo , it seemed like that was all that was needed to end the deal and put it on the shelf. At nowhere near Microsoft 's $31/share, it felt as if there was an insurmountable gap. Not so fast. Seems like Microsoft is countering the counter offer. "So... let's say $35/share and we end this little thing. Deal?" At one point, they were unwilling to pay so much, but now things have changed. Does Big M feel the heat from all these other platforms and feel it's necessary to get this deal done before someone offers $37 or so?You know, I had a dog one time that would growl if another dog came near his food. He never really wanted to eat it. He just wanted to make sure the other dog didn't get it. I'm just saying.AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Yahoo!

All Your Mobile OS Are Belong to Symbian
2008-02-12 15:40:00
Remember a few weeks back when Apple was bragging up their 4 million handsets shipped stats? Ok. And yesterday Microsoft announced 14.3 million shipped in last 6 months. Hmm, impressive. How about this one? Nokia says they shipped more 77 million Symbian phones last year. And that's that. How many Android phones will ship in the first 12 months? Anyone care to wager a guess?AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Mobile

Just a Little Clarification
2008-02-12 15:21:00
Ok, so you've seen the reference models and prototypes from hardware and chip makers. You're following the MWC show as closely as you can from a PC. You're looking all over for an Android phone, a gPhone, a Google Phone, whatever... You might as well stop right now. Do not expect to see an actual device from the 4 founding members of the Open Handset Alliance this week. The companies (LG, Samsung, Motorola, and HTC) have not hinted at anything being revealed at Mobile World Congress. From day one, the target date for Android-based phones has been slated for "Second half of 2008" so let's be patient.If you're relatively new to the whole Android thing, here's what we know so far. Samsung has promised an Android phone by early 2009 and LG Electronics says the same thing, if not late 2008. HTC is expected to bring a handset to T-Mobile by the end of this year. It could be 4-6 more months before you get to see something brand new. For now, you'll have to make do with pro...
More About: Hardware , Rumors , Leaks

Packet Video Brings Mobile TV to More Phones
2008-02-12 13:28:00
Open Handset Alliance member Packet Video is showing off it's Mobile Broadcast Receiver at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. It is a small stand alone unit that converts digital TV signals for use on cell phones. The unit is rechargeable, but you will need a broadband access point (Wi Fi) to play back the video. Of course this also means your device must be equipped with Wi Fi, which seems somewhat perplexing to me considering that most older handsets do not have this feature. As a member of the OHA it's all but certain that we will see a variation of this device on Android based phones. Perhaps they will find a way to make it available over 3G networks in addition to Wi-Fi hotspots. You can see the complete press released here.AndroidGuys | The most trusted site for Google Android news and opinion.
More About: Phones , Mobile TV