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  Motorola Charm Combines QWERTY, Candybar and Android

  JP 11:00 pm on July 7, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Android, candy bar, Charm, glaring omission, nbsp (1,601), Read (1,390), spiritual successor

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Google

  Since hitting the market in late 2008, Android has had one glaring omission from its repertoire of form factors: a candy-bar style, portrait QWERTY phone like a BlackBerry. Those who fell in love with their BlackJack or Dash back in the day, and are desperate to upgrade to a modern mobile OS like Android finally have an option: the Motorola Charm.

  The Charm is the spiritual successor to the Backflip, as a touchpad, mounted on the back of the phone, can be used to navigate the OS. Also featured is a 2.8-inch touchscreen, and Motorola’s much maligned Blur interface, which compiles social networking feeds on your home screen. The Charm will be loaded with Android 2.1 instead of the finally official Froyo, but we wouldn’t be surprised if an update were to come shortly after it hits shelves. You’ll also find Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a Kodak-branded 3-megapixel camera. There has been no mention of GPS, but, hopefully, that omission was accidental.

  Gallery: Motorola Charm

  

  Continue reading Motorola Charm Combines QWERTY, Candybar and Android

  Motorola Charm Combines QWERTY, Candybar and Android originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Google Announces Froyo, Teases Future Android Improvements

  JP 2:03 am on May 26, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Android, developer conference, google (174), nbsp (1,601), web giant (3)

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Google, Web

  

  Today at the Google I/O developer conference the Web giant announced the newest version of Android, 2.2 or Froyo. The latest sugar-coated update of the mobile operating system packs in a number of seriously impressive enhancements and features that should only serve to reinforce its position as one of the most innovative operating systems in the mobile sphere. Here’s a quick run down of what to expect when Android 2.2 lands on devices sometime in the very near future and a glimpse of where Google plans to take its smartphone OS from here.

  Continue reading Google Announces Froyo, Teases Future Android Improvements

  Google Announces Froyo, Teases Future Android Improvements originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 20 May 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Android Tops iPhone in Market Share Race, NPD Reports

  JP 1:21 pm on May 12, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Android, google (174), iPhone (28), mobile os (2), nbsp (1,601), Read (1,390)

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Google, iPhone

  

  We knew that Android had been growing and gaining on reigning smartphone champs RIM and Apple, but we didn’t realize just how quickly it was ascending the ranks. According to market research firm NPD, the Google-built mobile OS has blown past the iPhone in terms of market share, shipping on 28-percent of all smartphones sold.

  That growth puts Android in second place, only behind smartphone champ RIM and its business-minded BlackBerry handsets. Meanwhile, the iPhone drops to number three with a mere 21-percent of the market. Of course Android, like BlackBerry, is available on several different carriers and on many different handsets. Similarly, the OSes have likely been aided by deals like the buy-one-get-one offer that Verizon offers for all Android and BlackBerry devices.

  Continue reading Android Tops iPhone in Market Share Race, NPD Reports

  Android Tops iPhone in Market Share Race, NPD Reports originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 10 May 2010 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Twitter Launches Official Android App, Surprises No One

  JP 1:47 am on May 4, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Android, app (20), homescreen, Read (1,390), system users, tweets (127), Twitter (167)

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  Last month, Twitter launched its BlackBerry app. Then, it bought Tweetie. Now, in a move that’s guaranteed to stir up more conversation among third-party app developers, Twitter has expanded its mobile kingdom to the Android platform thanks to a brand new app.

  As Twitter explains on its blog, the new app allows Android users to easily access their timelines via a special homescreen widget, and view tweet locations on maps. Twitter integration runs deep through the operating system: users can see their friends’ latest tweets from their address book, in GoogleTalk apps or from any other application that uses Android’s QuickContact bar. The app is already available for download in the Android Market, but will only run on Android 2.1 and above. If you have an older version, Twitter recommends that you just go directly to its standard mobile site — we recommend Twidroid.

  Continue reading Twitter Launches Official Android App, Surprises No One

  Twitter Launches Official Android App, Surprises No One originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 03 May 2010 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Android Gets Ridiculously Cute Figurines

  JP 12:53 am on February 10, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Andrew Bell, Android, designer toys, google (174), nbsp (1,601), rare editions, Read (1,390)

  Filed under: Google

  

  Because we’re fans of all things Google and its Android platform (and designer toys, too), we’ll put this in the stack of things so freakishly adorable we’ve got to get them all.

  Artist Andrew Bell and Google have partnered up to release a limited run of 12 standard Android figurines, with super-rare editions to follow. Each stands 3-inches tall and features articulating head and arms. The catch? These little bots will be blind-boxed, so you’ll have no idea which design you’re getting until you’ve actually opened it, unless you pony up for the case of 16. There’s no price yet, but they start dropping the 10th of this month, so start saving, Google-philes. [From: Dyzplastic, via: dvice]

  Android Gets Ridiculously Cute Figurines originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Get the Weather Channel Android App by Scanning Your TV

  JP 12:53 am on February 10, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: America (15), Android, app (20), gain traction, nbsp (1,601), qr code (3), Read (1,390), Weather Channel

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Google, TV

  

  Now we’d like to see your iPhone (or for that matter, iPad) do this. The Weather Channel promoted its Android app by displaying a QR code (that strange-looking box on the bottom left corner) and a banner instructing owners of the Google-powered handsets to “scan here.” Scanning the code would take you straight to the Android Market and the page for the Weather Channel app. Pretty slick, huh?

  QR codes have yet to really take off here in America, but it could be simple tricks like pointing your phone to download an app that help the tech gain traction. [From: Engadget]

  Continue reading Get the Weather Channel Android App by Scanning Your TV

  Get the Weather Channel Android App by Scanning Your TV originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Google Officially Debuts Nexus One Android Phone

  JP 10:00 pm on January 5, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Android, California (27), nbsp (1,601), Nexus (5), proximity sensor, Read (1,390), swiss army knife, voice capabilities

  Filed under: Google, Mobile Phones, CES-2010

  

  Last year, T-Mobile introduced its G1 mobile, the first handheld to utilize the Android operating system. Since that debut, analysts and spectators have been anxiously waiting for the next stage in Android devices, particularly the much-discussed Nexus One Google phone.

  Google announced the phone officially today in California. The presentation traced the history of Android and included detailed information about the size of the Nexus One (”No thicker than a number 2 pencil, no heavier than a Swiss army knife.”), its features (GPS, accelerometer, light, and proximity sensor), and its hardware (1 GHz Snapdragon). The Nexus crew also provided insight into some upgrades from the early G1 models, including “better news and weather widgets” and heightened voice capabilities.

  Continue reading Google Officially Debuts Nexus One Android Phone

  Google Officially Debuts Nexus One Android Phone originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  Is the Android OS Growing Too Quickly?

  JP 9:37 am on November 25, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Android, cliq, google (174), hardware differences, Hero (5), mobile os (2), nbsp (1,601), Read (1,390), U.S. (106)

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Google

  

  After getting off to a slow start, Android phones have gone gangbusters. As of last July, there was only one Android-powered device available in the U.S., but that number has since exploded. Now, there are eight Android phones available stateside, with more expected to debut in the coming months. So things must be looking pretty great for the mobile OS from Google, right?

  Not necessarily. A few issues have both Google and the developers of Android-friendly applications worried. For the most part, the issue can be reduced to the term “splintering.” Right now, those eight phones share three different versions of the Android core: 1.5, 1.6, and 2.0. The phones also have vast hardware differences between them; for instance, some models have keyboards while others don’t, and some cameras have flashes while others do not. Then, there are the customized interfaces (or skins), like HTC’s Sense on the Hero and Motorola’s Blur on the Cliq. These differences make it difficult to build apps, since even basic updates need to be tested against every possible combination of hardware, skin, and Android version. And a smartphone OS lives and dies by its developers.
  

  Continue reading Is the Android OS Growing Too Quickly?

  Is the Android OS Growing Too Quickly? originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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