Category: Mobile Tech

Sprint Unveiling Dual-Screen Kyocera Android Phone?

Sprint is holding a press event this evening with special guest David Blaine. The company promised an “industry first” for the event. The Wall Street Journal went ahead and spoilarzed the whole thing: according to the newspaper’s sources, Sprint will unveil the Kyocera Echo — the first dual-screen Google Android phone. Here are more details:

Sprint Nextel Corp. plans to unveil a smartphone late Monday that includes a twin set of touch screens that give the device a pseudo-tablet design, according to a person familiar with the device.

The device, called the Echo and made by the U.S. unit of Japan-based Kyocera Corp., features two 3.5-inch touch screens that can be stacked side by side.

A dual-screen smartphone is potentially fascinating, but I’m not going to expect too much from the Echo. Kyocera hasn’t done well with high-end smartphones and lags behind the Android competition. Then again, I can’t help but think of the early Nintendo DS rumors; people laughed at the idea of a dual-screen handheld…and Nintendo laughed all the way to the bank with that one.

Are any of you intrigued by the prospect of a dual-screen Android phone?

Source

Xperia Play (PSP Android) Commercial From Super Bowl XLV

A commercial for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play — the Google Android phone with PSP capabilities — aired during Super Bowl XLV, but only in select markets. If you didn’t get to see it, I’ve embedded the spot above. If you did get to see it then have fun reliving the phallic nightmare that was this commercial.

Man, the commercial still wigs me out. Check it out when you get a chance and share your thoughts (please). I’m curious to see if anyone else finds the ad disturbing.

Verizon iPhone 4 Commercial: Does Your Network Work?

Verizon’s marketers are at it again, busting out the cleverest and more appropriate use of the phrase, “I can hear you now,” in this iPhone 4 ad. It’s a cute and straightforward spot that asks consumers, “Does your network work?”.

Also, I’m pretty sure that the “I can hear you now” guy has been going through the same depression and anxiety issues that I’ve had in the last year. Perhaps I’ll call him to see if he needs a workout buddy. Ha!

Verizon Will Throttle Top 5% of Data Users (Hello iPhone!)

Just in time for the onslaught of iPhone 4 customers it will receive, Verizon has revised its terms in conditions and reserved the right to throttle data speeds. Unlike AT&T, Verizon still offers unlimited data plans. If you’re a data hog then there’s a chance that your speeds will slow down “periodically”. Here are the details:

Verizon Wireless strives to provide customers the best experience when using our network, a shared resource among tens of millions of customers. To help achieve this, if you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5% of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle to ensure high quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand. Our proactive management of the Verizon Wireless network is designed to ensure that the remaining 95% of data customers aren’t negatively affected by the inordinate data consumption of just a few users.

I know that some of you are interested in picking up an iPhone 4 on Verizon’s network. Does this development change anything for you?

Source via Boy Genius Report

Android Honeycomb and the iOS Conundrum

Here’s a video from Google’s Android Honeycomb presser. Honeycomb is the first version of Google Android that was designed for tablet use. I wasn’t expecting much going into the press conference, so I was surprised by how excited Honeycomb made me. The widget, notification, and Gmail features have me curious about future Android tablets…which has left me with a bit of a conundrum.

You see, I was dead set on going with an Android phone and an iPad 2 in 2011. I need to use both operating systems so that I can write about them and play games on both platforms. Prior to yesterday’s presser, I was completely uninterested in Android tablets. Unfairly, I think my disinterest was derived from being mostly unimpressed with the Samsung Galaxy Tab Android tablet (which uses a version of Android that Google admits was never designed for tablet use).

My genuine interest in Honeycomb has me thinking about going with an iPhone 4/5 and an Android Honeycomb tablet. This annoys me because I had a nice plan in my head and Google threw a wrench in it. I’ll wait until Apple’s iPad 2 press conference — which should happen this month — before I make any decisions.

If you have a chance, check out the Honeycomb presser and let me know if there are any features that interest you.

Google Unveils New Android Market Web Site with Push

Google has launched an updated version of the Android Market web site…and it’s so much better than the old one. Previously, Android Market’s web presence was minimal, with a limited amount of information on a very small number of titles. The new site is eons better, with a wealth of information and useful new features.

The coolest thing about the new Android Market site is that it allows you to purchase apps on the web and push them directly to your phone. Reading information and user reviews about apps is more comfortable on a computer, but once you make a purchasing decision on your PC, the app starts downloading to your phone. Being able to push purchases is a slick and powerful feature.

One of the big knocks against Android is that its users don’t buy nearly as many apps as their iOS counterparts. The new Android Market makes content easier to discover and purchase. This should give the Android Market a nice boost, which in turn will help the OS appeal to developers.

I’m going to play with the new Android Market throughout the day and post some updates in the comments section. As of this writing, I can only browse content. The site won’t allow me to sign in so that I can purchase and install apps. Hopefully this gets fixed later today.

Android Overtakes Symbian in Q4 2010…Kind Of

Tech nerds were going gaga over this Reuters story that proclaimed that Google (Android) has toppled Nokia (Symbian) as the leading seller of smartphones. Certainly the numbers can be interpreted that way, but it’s a bit of an apples-and-oranges comparison. First of all, Google doesn’t make smartphones; it makes a smartphone OS. Nokia actually sells and makes smartphones. This fact was later added to the article, but the headline is still misleading. Putting that important distinction aside, the numbers are still impressive:

In the fourth quarter, phonemakers sold 32.9 million Android-equipped phones globally, roughly seven times more than the year-earlier quarter, compared with Symbian’s sales of 31 million, according to Research firm Canalys.

Although Samsung and Sony Ericsson offer Symbian phones, the majority of Symbian smartphones are made by Nokia. Compare that to Google Android, which is used in a wide variety of smartphones from a wide variety of manufacturers. The business models are entirely different.

Android vs. Symbian is a boring fight. Depending on your point of view, Nokia is either confused or being glacial with its smartphone strategy. While the company still ships more phones than anyone else in the world, it looks like it will keep losing more and more ground in the immediate future. What’s more interesting — and a juicier topic to debate — is the Apple iOS vs. Google Android battle. Here’s more from Reuters:

The numbers also highlight Google’s success in battling Apple, whose shipments of its popular iPhone increased to 16.2 million from 8.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, when it almost doubled Android’s 4.7 million shipments.

Again, it’s an apples-and-oranges comparison since Apple makes the hardware and software for iPhone. However, there’s no denying that 2010 was a breakout year for Android. In my opinion, the Motorola Droid (released in late 2009) was the first Android phone that truly competed with the iPhone. From there, the Android market snowballed. With a variety of models from numerous manufacturers available on different networks, I knew that Android’s numbers would be gaudy, but I don’t recall anyone predicting that it would grow so much in a short amount of time.

I’m excited to see how 2011 pans out. The iPhone will be available on more carriers than ever before, but will that be enough to slow down Android’s growth? How do you think the smartphone market will play out in 2011? Are people making too big a deal about Android vs. iOS? Will HP WebOS and Microsoft Windows Phone 7 make an impact this year? Can RIM reinvigorate consumer BlackBerry sales with an updated OS? Gaze into your crystal ball and let me know (please)!

Source

Motorola Super Bowl Ad Pokes Fun at Classic 1984 Apple Spot

Motorola has posted a teaser for its upcoming Super Bowl commercial for the upcoming Xoom tablet (Google Android). Once you get past the fact that it’s more than a little ridiculous to post a teaser for a commercial, the spot is actually pretty clever. Remember that classic “1984” Apple commercial? The Motorola Xoom commercial uses it for…inspiration.

Give it a look and let me know what you think (please)!

Motrola Shows Off Atrix 4G’s Netbook Features

Motorola has posted a slick video showing off the Atrix 4G’s netbook-like functionality. Some of you will recall that this AT&T Google Android phone has an optional dock that allows it to be used like a laptop computer. While there are several Android phones with dual-core processors and large screens set for release over the next few months, the Atrix stands out from the crowd with its netbook-like functionality.

I’m hoping that Motorola starts a trend with the Atrix. Dockable phones would be very useful. What do you think of the feature and this video?

PlayStation Suite Brings PSone Games to Android, NGP

At a recent press event, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. revealed PlayStation Suite for Google Android and the Sony NGP handheld console. PS Suite will be available later this year for phones running Google Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) or later. I’ve known for a while that the upcoming PSP Android Phone will be initially limited to PSone games, but never found a source that would let me reveal it in an article. The presser took care of that problem. Here’s the official word:

In providing the PlayStation experience on Android based portable devices, SCE will commence a “PlayStation Certified” license program for hardware manufacturers. Through this program, SCE will offer necessary support, including development support as well as logo licensing, to ensure the delivery of PlayStation quality experience across various devices.

On the software front, SCE plans to provide PS Suite content within this calendar year, starting with original PlayStation games (PS one classics) that will allow users to enjoy “PlayStation quality” gameplay on their Android based portable devices. SCE also plans to open PlayStation Store where users will be able to download content in an easy to use environment, directly via the Android based portable devices. Moreover, SCE will provide a new game development environment in an effort to ensure new and compelling content is delivered on PS Suite, which will also offer opportunities for a wider base of developers and publishers to further expand their business on various portable devices.

The release of PS Suite will help patch one of Android’s glaring weaknesses: gaming. Some of you are thinking, “Yeah, but they’re old games!” To which I say, “So the hell what?!?” While I’ve enjoyed several iOS games, as an enthusiast gamer I much rather play a classic PSone game with depth. Besides, there are enough casual PSone games that will satisfy Android users looking for those kinds of experiences.

PS Suite will also give the platform’s detractors another chance to cite the fragmentation “issues” of the platform. That said, I would bet a large amount of money that it won’t be nearly as much of an issue as the press makes it out to be. I suspect that by the time it’s released, the majority of Android phones that are capable of using PS Suite will be running Android 2.3. That percentage would be even higher if you eliminated Samsung’s glacial update pace (I kid, I kid). The more legitimate fragmentation concern is how (if?) touchscreen-only phones will handle PS Suite games.

Despite any fragmentation problems, I believe that this is a huge move for Android gaming. How about you? Does the potential of PS Suite make Android a more attractive and well-rounded platform? Do you think fragmentation will be a problem for the PS Suite initiative?