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Category: Android

Brightkite or Buzz?


Tuesday February 9, 2010

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Google announces a new product that integrates with Gmail inbox that will allow you to start conversations about things that you find interesting. Google Buzz is about location more than anything, sharing information about your day to day online is considered to be richer if there is a location tagged to the post. The idea is that your description will have more weight if the reader has an idea of your whereabouts. Buzz will let you share links, photos, and videos throughout your social network.

Google Buzz on your mobile phone (Information Provided by Google Mobile Blog):

  • Buzz.google.com: A web app that provides access to Buzz from your iPhone or Android phone’s browser.
  • Buzz on Google Maps for mobile: The new Buzz layer allows you to see buzz near you or anywhere on the map. You can post public buzz directly from the layer, and even attach a photo from your phone. Also, try visiting a mobile Place Page to read recent comments or to post buzz about that place. You can access Place Pages from the web app as well, by tapping on the place name in any location-tagged post.
  • Buzz Shortcut from Google.com: You will see the buzz icon in the top right corner of the google.com homepage. Just tap on the icon to trigger the posting box.
  • Voice Shortcut: The voice shortcut, which is available in the quick search widget on Android and in Google Mobile App on iPhone, allows you to post buzz without typing anything. Just say ‘post buzz,’ followed by whatever you’d like to post.

Google Buzz at first glance seems kind of exciting and might be useful. Unfortunately, this is not some new social media idea, Brightkite.com has been implementing the same concept for a long time. Who knows, maybe Google’s version will be superior? It seems like Google is focused on so many projects right now it’s hard to believe they can manage providing a solid product. What are your thoughts, Brightkite or Buzz?

 

 

Reading Time: 4 minutes

When Apple released the long awaited iPhone it completely changed the mobile technology forever. Gone were the days of flip phones, mobile computers that could make phone calls became the bar. Every technology company has tried to create a rival to Apple’s iPhone technology and have failed miserably. What’s strange about the apparent lack of competition is the fact that Apple created a product that was far superior to AT&T service capability which in turn has created a lot of very unhappy customers. Since the beginning it has been one thing right after the other with the iPhone features and AT&T’s inability to make certain features work. I personally know several people who gave up on the iPhone altogether, in search of finding a better product that can facilitate their needs. Google is one of those companies who have taken on the challenge of trying to provide mobile Internet users what they need. Their success with the Android was little and didn’t do much to weaken Apple’s grip on the market; so what did Google do, they went out and tried to make a better product.

Now, Google readies launch of an iPhone rival, the Nexus One. Named after the ‘replicants’ in Ridley Scott’s science-fiction film Blade Runner and the Taiwanese company HTC procured the contract to create the Nexus One. Google will have full control over the Nexus One and it will have the Google logo right on the phone. Retailers expect Google to sell the Nexus One direct to customers through its website. I am optimistic that Google with not make the same mistakes that Apple has made and I am hopeful that they will create a product that is not hindered by the network providers inability to serve its customers.

All I can say is that in the UK there are four network providers that can service the iPhone, but in the United States there can be only one. “Google has approached several mobile phone operators in the UK, including T-Mobile and Vodafone, to gauge their interest in supporting its rival to the iPhone ahead of its launch in Britain next year”, reports the Guardian. How is it that an American company like Apple could throw their American customers under the bus?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

You’ve heard of the Android Market for Google’s G1. You’ve heard of the App Store for Apple’s iPhone. Now we have the Ovi Store for Nokia phones.

Nokia launched the Ovi Store on 5/26/09 allowing developers to add their programs to an online catalog for Nokia users to download. The store has over 50 Nokia handsets that are compatible at the moment.

Nokie use to be one of the greatest phone manufacturers (and some believe they still are). Does it still have a chance in the industry where giant competitors such as Apple and Google already have a large market share?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

T-Mobile G1 users will be getting an OTA (over-the-air) upgrade to the Android 1.5 “Cupcake” which is being pushed by T-Mobile randomly this month. Some of the features that are coming with the upgrade should have been there on the initial release and have been far pass due.

Some of the new features include an on-screen QWERTY keyboard (which helps prepare for the next Google phone which rumors say will be released this summer as the T-Mobile myTouch 3G). Other enhancements on the Cupcake include direct photo upload to Picasa and video upload to YouTube with the option to make them public or private. The picture or recorded video can also be sent as MMS and type in a title or caption.  Faster browser thanks to the new JavaScript and webkit engines.

A new radio has been added on this release which should help the battery life as well. A few things that were not mentioned on the release also include contacts photo appearing next to the contacts name, home screen widgets, voice search, and of course a call log that makes sense. The Android 1.0 told you how long ago the last call was made but not what time. The Android 1.5 displays what time the last call was made (this feature should have been available on the 1.0 release).

Would you like a Cupcake?

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While surfing the web doing some research on the next phone I want to get my hands on I came across some news on the new HTC Magic (what some rumors say is the Android G2), codename Sapphire 2.0 which was just released couple of days ago on February 17th, 2009 to Vodafone customers outside of United States. Every HTC device has a codename that is given before the release of the device.

HTC and Google have made great improvements from the first release of T-Mobile G1 by. The HTC Magic has followed other phones such as the HTC Touch Diamond 2 and Touch HD in taking off the slide out keyboard and having an on screen keypad like the iPhone or HTC Diamond.

A cool feature I noticed on some of the videos is a wide screen keyboard. The traditional camera which was on the T-Mobile G1 now has capability to record videos as well as take pictures. It’s not clear whether or not the T-Mobile version which will be released sometime this summer in the states will have the same features or not but we’ll have to wait and find out.

This phone is slightly thicker than the iPhone but feels like the same size. Great improvement in design since the G1. The only flaw most tech journalists found was the keyboard was a bit cramped but 3rd party keyboards will probably be available soon.

For those that are wondering, the HTC Magic is running on the Google Android Cupcake, incase you want to try implementing it on a Windows Mobile device as was done with the first release of Android. Click here for Google Android for WM found on XDA Developers =)

Do you think the HTC Magic has anything on the iPhone? What are your thoughts on the new HTC Magic?

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Google launched their G1 phone last year with the Android OS. Now you can get the Android OS on you Windows Mobile device without having to switch phones. XDA Developers, an online community that promotes tweaks and upgrades for your Windows Mobile device.

This isn’t a hack of any sort. Its simply a Linux image running on Windows allowing you to launch Android. Best part is, unlike a ROM update from XDA Forums which replaces your Windows Mobile OS, you do not need to flash your device to run Google Android. A simple soft reset of your device (re-boot) will launch the Linux application.

Have you tried running Android on you Windows Mobile yet?

Learn how you can run Android on your Kaiser (ATT Tilt/8925)

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Watch this short Youtube vid on an overview of the use of Google products on the world’s first Android-powered phone, the T-mobile G1. Is it the iPhone killer?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

T-Mobile partners with Google in releasing the new T-Mobile G1 phone. G1 will be the first phone released to run Android, a new operating system by Google. HTC, the manufacturer of most Windows Mobile Devices in the market has partnered up with Google to release this new line of mobile phones.
What features does the T-Mobile G1 have?
Touch screen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, slide your finger to unlock, icons on Home screen, downloadable App store and music store, Google Maps (like you’ve never seen before), full-screen Web browsing, accelerometer that rotates the screen when you turn the phone 90 degrees,
full QWERTY keyboard, voice activated dialing, memory expansion slot, etc.
The Android, a Linux based OS, doesn’t beat the iPhone user interface but sure leaves a lot of room for customization being that its an open source platform for the community to develop new programs. It does beat the Windows Mobile OS since it’s known to slow down over time, Android being a Linux based OS probably will not encounter such issues. I myself am a Windows Mobile user and cannot imagine using anything else (although Darin would go for the iPhone over a Windows Mobile any day).
You can pre-order your new Google T-Mobile G1 Phone now. Click here for the Google Phone