Android

Flash player 10 coming to Android in October

2009-06-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

One of the many glaring omissions still not featured on the iPhone is support for Flash. Rumors keep circulating that Flash will be coming to the iPhone, but that has failed to happen and unless something big changes this isn’t the year of flash for iPhone fans.

Adobe has announced it will be released the beta version of Flash Player 10 for smartphones in October. The player will be offered for Android, Symbian, Windows mobile, and webOS, notice iPhone OS is missing.

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said that ARM, NVIDIA, Broadcom, Intel, TI, and Quallcomm are all optimizing the player for their products right now. Narayen said, “Multiple partners have already received early version of this release and we expect to release a Beta version for developers.”

[via MobileBurn]

Search by voice and transit directions come to Google Maps on Android

2009-06-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today we're releasing an upgrade to Google Maps for Android-powered phones. We've added a whole host of new features and fixed a few issues with Google Latitude.

You can now search Google Maps for Android using your voice, making it easier than ever to look up places while on the go. Whether you're searching for an address, a business, or nearby windsurfing spots, just speak your query and Google Maps will find it. Our voice recognition engine currently understands English in American, Australian, and British accents. After you search, you'll see a map of places. To help you decide where to go, we've improved our business listings to include content such as store hours, prices, ratings, and reviews.

We also added transit and walking directions to Google Maps for Android. You can now get directions using public transportation in over 250 cities, including New York City and San Francisco. If you're looking for the best route on foot, use walking directions to take advantage of pedestrian-only pathways and to avoid one-way restrictions - just in time for summer!

Google Maps for Android includes some big improvements to Google Latitude. We fixed an issue that caused background location updates to periodically stop for some of you. Now, once you select "Detect your location" from the Latitude privacy menu, your location will continue to update as long as your phone is on.

You may also notice a new experimental feature called Updates that lets you communicate with friends and post messages. Start Latitude and click the "Updates" tab to shout out updates at friends when they're at interesting locations, start a conversation when you're at your favorite restaurant, or just add more details to your Latitude location for your friends to see. Your friends will also need to download this new version of Google Maps for Android in order to use this experimental Updates feature -- they will not get your messages otherwise.

Unlike past Android software updates for the T-Mobile G1 or HTC Magic, the new Google Maps release won't be automatically pushed to your phone over the next few days. Instead, the upgrade is available for download in the Android Market. Just search for "Google Maps" and install today.

By Ole CaveLie and Chandan Pitta, Software Engineers

Glympse time-controlled GPS tracking hits Android [Video]

2009-05-21T06:04:00.000-07:00

Fresh to the Android Market and set to take on Google’s Latitude is Glympse, another way of sharing your location with friends, colleagues and family. Glympse attempts to tackle the problem of ongoing privacy present in many location-based apps; that is, you may want to let someone know where you are for a certain period, but not forever.

Generally, location-sharing software works in one of two ways: either a one-off alert, which usually sends out a set of GPS coordinates either by SMS or email, or an ongoing connection as in Google Latitude. While Latitude does allow for privacy settings, such as turning on and off tracking on a per-contact basis, it’s something the user needs to remember to switch.

What Glympse offers, instead, is a range of time-controlled tracking invitations. These can run from a single instant, through minutes and several hours. No special software is required by the recipient; instead they merely receive a link which takes them to a web-based map; the sender can also prematurely end or extend the invite. The Glympse app is currently available through the Android Market as a free download, but the company is planning Windows Mobile, iPhone and BlackBerry versions. More details at their FAQ here.

[Thanks notxel21!]

Dell demo Android OS 1.5 Cupcake on Mini 10v netbook [Video]

2009-05-20T09:48:00.001-07:00

Android OS 1.5 Cupcake hasn’t even had its official release onto G1 handsets in the US, but that hasn’t stopped Dell from experimenting with the open-source OS on their latest netbook. The Dell Inspiron Mini 10v packs the usual mixture of an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM and a 120GB hard-drive, but Dell normally fit it with Windows XP Home.

In this video demo, however, Dell’s Doug Anson shows the Mini 10v running three different platforms, including Cupcake. There’s little detail, sadly, but he does say that it’s a “small, snappy” OS and that it “runs fairly nicely”.

Sadly Anson also reiterates that Dell have no “announced product plans with the Android environment”, but the fact that they’re testing it and with seemingly decent results does bode well for the future. The Inspiron Mini 10v retails from $299 in the US, and is available to order now.

The Iterative Web App - Gmail for Mobile Gets Labels

2009-05-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 18, 2009 11:32 AM

On April 7th, we announced a new version of Gmail for mobile for iPhone and Android-powered devices. Among the improvements was a complete redesign of the web application's underlying code which allows us to more rapidly develop and release new features that users have been asking for, as explained in our first post. We'd like to introduce The Iterative Webapp, a series where we will continue to release features for Gmail for mobile. Today: Labels. --Shyam Sheth, Product Manager, Google Mobile.

You asked for it, and we listened. We've added labels to Gmail for mobile on Android-powered devices and the iPhone. Labels in Gmail allow you to use color-coded tags to manage your inbox.

To label an email, select a message then tap 'Label as..." from the drop-down menu on the Floaty Bar. In the pop-up menu, select the label(s) you would like to use and tap 'Apply'. Please note, you can add and remove existing labels to your emails in Gmail for mobile, but labels can only be created, renamed and deleted in the desktop version.

To label your emails on the go, point your mobile browser to gmail.com on your iPhone or Android-powered device. To make it easy to check your Gmail, try creating a home screen link. The new Gmail for mobile supports iPhone/iPod Touch OS 2.2.1 or above, as well as Android-powered devices, and is available for US English only.

Posted by Heaven Kim, Product Marketing Manager, Google Mobile

Do more with Google Latitude!

2009-05-05T03:21:00.001-07:00

When we launched Google Latitude a couple of months ago, we were flooded with feature suggestions. One frequent request was to allow you to share your location with even more people and not just your Latitude friends. Today, we're launching two applications that do just that!

Google public location badge lets you publish your Latitude location on your public website or blog. You can just embed the standard badge -- like this or you can use the KML or JSON feeds directly. Read more about the badge on our Blogger Buzz. When you enable this application, your location will be shared publicly and you will not be able to control who can or cannot see it. For your privacy, you may choose to share your best available location, share only your city-level location, or simply never enable the badge.

Google Talk location status (beta) lets you share your Latitude location with all your Gmail chat and Google Talk contacts. It will automatically update your status message to your current city as you move, and anyone who can chat with you will be able to see this location status. Of course, you can easily change back to your custom status message at any time.

Visit google.com/latitude/apps to enable these applications. They are two separate apps, so you can select which one(s) you'd like to use and customize exactly how you'd like to share your Latitude location. You must be an existing Google Latitude user; if you're not already, you can sign up here!

Please note that we take your privacy very seriously, and your location will not be shared with any application without your consent. Both apps adhere to the same terms and conditions -- you must explicitly opt in to the application and of course, you can always disable an app by going back to the app's page.

These applications are only available in the US for now, but they'll soon be ready for all the same languages and countries that Google Latitude supports.

Hope you enjoy these, and stay tuned for more Latitude goodies. Also, we love feedback, so please tell us what you think in our Help Forum or suggest ideas for apps on our Product Ideas page (be sure to include "Latitude" so we can search for them!).

Posted by Rohan Seth, Software Engineer, Google Mobile

Android 1.5 ‘Cupcake’ released

2009-04-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

Android Community is hearing from multiple T-Mobile G1 users that Android 1.5 “Cupcake” is being pushed out as an OTA upgrade. The system update, which was released officially to developers earlier this week, will be rolled out to handsets throughout May, according to one report.

Cupcake 1.5 brings with it an on-screen QWERTY keyboard, necessary for the new breed of Android devices which lack hardware keyboards, such as the HTC Magic and Samsung I7500 (which will have the new version out of the box). Other improvements include direct photo and video uploads to Picasa and YouTube, respectively, together with various behind-the-scenes improvements such as faster browsing courtesy of new JavaScript and webkit engines. Video demo here.

Reports are telling us that the update is reaching users in the US and Europe. The Android 1.5 system update is a 44MB file, and as yet there’s no way to artificially trigger its download, only wait for your carrier to push it OTA. Keep track of progress in this forum thread.

Getting ready for Android 1.5

2009-04-14T10:44:00.001-07:00

I'm excited to announce that starting today, developers can get an early look at the SDK for the next version of the Android platform. This new version (which will be 1.5) is based on the cupcake branch from the Android Open Source Project. Version 1.5 introduces APIs for features such as soft keyboards, home screen widgets, live folders, and speech recognition. At the developer site, you can download the early-look Android 1.5 SDK, read important information about upgrading your Eclipse plugin and existing projects, and learn about what's new and improved in Android 1.5.

We've also made changes to the developer tools and the structure of the SDK itself. Future Android SDK releases will include multiple versions of the Android platform. For example, this early-look includes Android platform versions 1.1 and 1.5. One benefit of this change is that developers can target different Android platform versions from within a single SDK installation. Another is that it enables developers to install Android SDK add-ons to access extended functionality that might be provided by OEMs, carriers, or other providers. We at Google are using this feature ourselves: this early-look SDK includes an add-on for the Google APIs. This add-on provides support for the Google Maps API, which was previously embedded in the "core" SDK.

To help you prepare your applications for the release of Android 1.5 on phones, over the next few weeks we'll be publishing a series of articles on this blog to highlight new APIs and other changes. In addition to the new APIs that I've mentioned, we'll cover topics such as OpenGL, asynchronous tasks, system settings, and new Activity callbacks.

I encourage you to start working with this early-look SDK, but please know that the APIs for Android 1.5 have not been finalized. The majority of the APIs are settled, but there may be some changes before the final release. As a result, it's very important that you don't release applications based on this early-look SDK, since they may not work on real devices. The applications you release should be built on the final Android 1.5 SDK release, which will be available around the end of this month.

I look forward to seeing all the great apps that use the new capabilities in Android 1.5. Happy coding!

Gmail gets a new engine for iPhone and Android-powered devices

2009-04-08T17:11:00.001-07:00

Today, we're thrilled to tell you about the improvements we've made to Gmail for mobile, running in the iPhone and Android web browser. First, you'll notice that it's a lot faster when performing actions like opening an email, navigating, or searching. And if the data network drops out on you, rest assured that Gmail won't. You'll still be able to open recently read messages and to compose over a flaky, or non-existent, network connection.

All this is achieved with aggressive caching and by leveraging new browser technologies, like HTML5 and Gears. The full impact of this new architecture isn't visible yet, but it will enable us to significantly improve performance and quickly roll out new features in the near future. We're really excited about the potential impact this change can bring - so excited, in fact, that our VP of Engineering, Vic Gundotra, shared the news and demoed these new capabilities at the February 2009 GSMA Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona and last week at Web 2.0 in San Francisco.

The new Gmail for mobile will also help you tackle your inbox faster. Gone are the days when you had to archive multiple messages by selecting each one, then scrolling all the way up (or down) to reach the archive button. Our fingers were getting sore with all the scrolling and we're willing to bet yours were too. Now when you select a message, a floaty bar appears near the top of the screen with options to archive, delete, and more. In fact, the floaty bar stays with you as you scroll through your inbox, so you can easily archive, delete, or view more options no matter where you are.

Lastly, we improved the look and feel of messages. Labels are easier to read and are more in-line with the familiar Gmail labels you see on your desktop. We also moved the search menu up into the top header, making it more accessible.

Go to gmail.com from your mobile browser to give it a try, and stay tuned for feature additions and improvements. For easy access to your Gmail, create a homescreen link. If you have any feedback or ideas, please let us know.

*Please note: The new Gmail for mobile only supports iPhone/iPod Touch OS 2.2.1 or above. If you have an older firmware version, you'll be directed to the previous Gmail for mobile. All Android-powered phones are supported. New Gmail for mobile is available for English only. The roll out will occur over the course of a day, so please check back later if you don't see the updated user interface right away

Check out the video below to see new Gmail for mobile in action:

If you are a Google Apps user, go to mail.google.com/a/yourdomain.

Joanne McKinley, Engineer, Google Mobile

Huawei confirm T-Mobile G3 for Euro Q3 launch

2009-04-06T20:39:00.001-07:00

Huawei have confirmed that they will be supplying T-Mobile with their Android-based smartphone, which will launch in Q3 2009 as the T-Mobile G3. An Huawei spokesperson has told reporters that “I can confirm that Huawei will be releasing the third Google phone on T-Mobile this year”, with the handset in question presumably the full-touchscreen device the manufacturer showed at Mobile World Congress in February 2009.

The handset is expected to have a 5-megapixel camera, headphone jack and integrated WiFi. Huawei’s demo unit was a non-functional model, and the company refused to remove it from the glass casing during the show.

According to the reports, T-Mobile are angling the Huawei device as a low-cost handset, although specific pricing has not been confirmed. It will launch in the UK sometime after July 2009, trailing the HTC Magic which sees its European Vodafone launch in May.

[via Electricpig]

RC-33 Change log for G1

2009-02-06T00:27:00.001-08:00

A check on the T-Mobile forum again today, Will (forum administrator) has managed to post the change log from the upcoming Android Firmware RC33 updates. The updates will add the ability of checking new software updates, save mms picture, google voice search and report comments in Android Market as spam. The Android Market will also display a “Updates Available” messaging when your installed application is updated. Some users have also reported to have received the updates over the air.

Fixes:

Comcast fails to download more than 1 email
- Symptom(s): No error message but it stays on “Load More Messages” without ever pulling another email.
“Messages” Stability Issue
- Symptom(s): When trying to send a message or exit the “Messaging” application you receive a pop up message that reads “Sorry! Activity Messaging (in application Messaging) is not responding. Force Close Wait”
WiFi forcing a logout of IM
- Symptom(s): While using the IM clients on the G1 if you turn on or off WiFi the sessions are terminated and you will need to sign back in.
No reminders for calendar items.
- Symptom(s): Missing appointments due to the lack of a reminder.
G1 hanging at the G1 Screen
- Symptom(s): A small number of G1 devices hanging at the G1 screen during the initial power up.

New Features:

Support “Check For Upgrades” (New feature to check for system upgrades)
Voice Search (New Google feature for searching)
Ability to save pictures recieved as MMS
Ability to report offensive comments in the Market as SPAM

Installed Cupcake Development Build..

2009-01-27T05:33:00.000-08:00

After building/compiling the latest master branch of android (cupcake), I installed it onto my phone. Here are the obvious changes I see:

New Local Setting Page - Gives you option to pick different locales and pick different text inputs.
New Option to view running and third party applications - An option to view running and third party applications from the normal application list. Does not provide a way to terminate them.
New windows opening/closing animation effect - a new popping effect when windows are opened/closed.
New default notepad - a very simple and ugly default notepad.
New Global Time application - not sure if it will be provided by TMobile but it’s just a rotating earth and I couldn’t get it to do anything else.
New Spare Parts Application - Once again not sure if the official version will have this, but it provides a number of extra settings such as setting windows animation and transition animation speed, font size, end button behavior and etc. It also has a “display rotation” option which supposedly should allow auto-rotate base on orientation across the entire os, but it is not currently working.
New Virtual Keyboard - The virtual keyboard will pop up on every edit box. I didn’t feel any haptic feedback but I am thinking that it’s just not there on the example keyboard. Because the phone does not auto-rotate (an option exists but it doesn’t work), it’s very hard to type on it. The sample keyboard also does not provide auto-corrections.
Slightly better looking buttons with more shadow.

Locale Setting Page

An option to view running applications

An option to enable opening/closing animation effects

default notepad application

Global Time Application

An application to set a number of cool options

Source [http://arronla.com/2009/01/installed-cupcake-development-build]

Tmobile G2 Photos leaked!

2009-01-22T06:58:00.001-08:00

Android T-Mobile G2: Leaked Photos and Facts

JR Raphael, PC World

Jan 21, 2009 4:53 pm

T-Mobile G1? That's so yesterday. The second-generation "G2" Android phone is now said to be nearing its debut -- and today, we're getting a first glimpse at some photos said to show the still-top-secret device.

T-Mobile G2, Is That You?

The photos, obtained by the aces at gadget blog Gizmodo, show a blurry, white HTC phone believed to be the T-Mobile G2. (Side note: Why are leaked photos of new tech devices always blurry? Shouldn't the people who have access to these cutting-edge creations also have the technological know-how to take a decent digital picture?)

Focus issues aside, the photos depict a thinner phone with one conspicuous omission: the slide-out QWERTY keyboard. If the pictures are accurate, the G2 would offer only an iPhone-style virtual keypad -- a sharp change from the full keyboard engineers proudly showed off at the G1's launch last September. The shift would, of course, match rumors swirling around since December of the keyboard's looming demise.

While the G1's keyboard left fingers feeling less than satisfied, I must say that I'm a bit disappointed to see HTC abandon it altogether. I'm one of those weirdos who finds a virtual keypad more irritating than Kathy Griffin after caffeine, so having the slide-out option was a plus that set the device apart from the iPhone for me. But I disgress.

Other key features of the T-Mobile G2, according to our fuzzy photo-taking friends, include a 3.2-megapixel camera and a touchscreen interface similar to its predecessor's. The unnamed (and unwilling to focus) sources also claim the G2 will come out in mid-May.

Android Timeline

Thus far, T-Mobile's G1 is still the only Android player out there. If the suspected G2 timing proves to be true, T-Mobile may be releasing its second attempt at Android around the same time other companies are just getting up to bat. Samsung is one of several manufacturers expected to have an Android phone out somewhere around the middle of 2009. Blurry photos of that device, I assume, should be popping up any day now.

(Image credit: Gizmodo)

CupCake Facts Revealed

2009-01-20T20:39:00.000-08:00

All of you who have coincidentally become cupcake followers can finally have something to sink your teeth into. No the update has not been pushed out by Google, but there is some information regarding what will be included in future updates. More information included after the jump.

Google does have the INTENTION to release and over the air update (OHA) that includes elements taken from the cupcake update. A senior G1 PDA Specialist, Dylan, has apparently made a few facts clear, these facts are listed below.

FACT - There WILL be a G1 update shortly as it was INTENDED to be by mid-January so the next target is now by the end of January.

FACT - T-Mobile will not just provide Cupcake elements to the G2 and leave the G1 behind.

FACT - The next update will be called RC31 and include Cupcake elements.

FACT - The mass of calls lately for Cupcake is registering and causing T-Mobile to double their efforts in getting the update out.

FACT - NO ONE has received RC31 as of today.

FACT - When the update is released it will be done in stages “Over The Air” but it will be by region not when you purchased the G1.

FACT - The memo I was privy to is NOT distributed to Support personnel.

FACT - T-Mobile Specialists & Support are LAST to know when an update happens and are notified AFTER it is released as was the case with RC29 & RC30.

FACT - T-Mobile does have a battery improvement program in motion.

FACT - T-Mobile’s plan for battery improvement will be one of OR a combination of efficiencies in an OTA update and an extended life battery replacement.

[Via GoogleAndBlog]

Virtual keyboard and other features being added to Android Cupcake Update!

2009-01-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

Last week a new branch of the Android smartphone operating system was made public. This update, code named Cupcake, will add a number of new features to the Android platform and is expected to be merged into the main trunk of the publicly accessible Android source code tree over the next few weeks.

The biggest updates to come from Cupcake are the addition of video recording and playback, Bluetooth stereo support, new browser features like copy/paste and quick search, and the overdue addition of an on-screen virtual QWERTY keyboard. A video of what appears to be Cupcake's on-screen keyboard was posted on YouTube a few days ago and can be seen below.

One of the stranger additions to Android to be packaged into Cupcake is new "x86" support. This basically means that support for Intel and AMD's desktop PC processors is being added to the platform, though we are not sure for what purpose.

A full list of new features and bugs addressed by Cupcake is available from the Android source code website. [via AndroidAuthority]

2008-09-23T17:45:00.001-07:00

First Android Phone

2008-09-23T17:09:00.001-07:00

T-Mobile’s unveiled the first phone powered by Google’s Android software today Tuesday, Septebmer 23, 2008. Gphone is built by Taiwanese firm HTC and was released by Google and T-Mobile executives in New York. Google phone is targets both the iPhone and the Blackberry.

The phone runs on Google’s open source Android software, which Google hopes will eventually become the dominant operating system for mobile phones and make handsets compatible with the networks of multiple carriers.

Gphone will be available in the market for $179. Starting today, existing T-Mobile customers will be able to order it online to be delivered to them when it becomes available. the official launch date at T-Mobile stores will be October 22nd. T-Mobiles announched 2 data options for the device.

A $25 plan that will offer limited messeaging.
A $35 Plan that offers unlimited messaging and web facilities.

Some of the main features include

320×480 touch screen
Trackball for thumb-based navigation
Built-in Internet applications
5 hours talk time, 130 hours standby Battery Time
3.1 Mega Pixel Camera
A hidden QWERTY keyboard
GB MicroSD card preinstalled
GSM,GPRS,EDGE and Wi-Fi
Available in White, Black and Brown