Category: Mobile Tech

Here are some pictures of the HTC Evo 4G. My first impressions will be up in a few hours (waiting to hit the 24-hourmark with the phone). For now, please check out these photos and let me know if you have any questions about the phone.

Hey guys! I’m live blogging from Google’s big Android keynote today. The Internet in the convention center’s Internet is fixed, so let’s go for it! Keep refreshing for the latest updates (please).

Google vice president of engineering Vic Gundotra is running the show. The jabs at Apple are numerous. He rants about us not wanting “one man from one company with one phone on one carrier”. Ha.

– I’m skipping the “Android is awesome — look at our stats” part.

– Android 2.2 (FroYo) is official! Here are the highlights.

• Speed — The new JIT compiler speeds up Android two to five times. The benefits can be seen on all hardware. This should make users of the HTC G1 happy.
• Enterprise — FroYo has 29 new enterprise features. Out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange has been okay at best. Google is addressing things will improved syncing, remote wipes, etc. Depending on how good and easy-to-implement these features are, RIM and its BlackBerry phones could be in trouble.
• Tethering and Portable Hotspots — Most of you knew this was coming. It’s still awesome though. Google is showing an iPad tethering off a Nexus One. Ha!
• Web Browser is Two to Three Times Faster — The company has implemented tech from the Google Chrome browser (V8) in Android. It’s a browser speed contest: iPad vs. Nexus One.  The Nexus One trounces the iPad, despite the latter having a much faster processor. Of course this is Google’s test, so what else was it going to show?

– Voice recognition will be a big part of Android going forward. The demo is pretty slick. I’m sure the effectiveness will depend on the clarity of your voice. Complex voice searches were made. Phones calls were made too, but that’s been done before. Saying a long, complex search term is much faster than typing it (especially on a virtual keyboard).

– Big cheers for the Adobe and Flash logos. Vic says, “It turns out, on the Internet…people use Flash!” Flash is shown running

– Applications can now be stored on SD cards. This was a huge flaw in the Android ecosystem. It needed to be addressed.

– App updates can now be turned off or run automated in the background.

– The Android Marketplace has been greatly improved for desktop browsers. Users can look at apps, read reviews, purchase apps, and have them beamed to the phone from the browser. That last feature is cool. I would use something like that — explore apps on my PC, make an impulse purchase, and enjoy it on my phone seconds later without syncing.

– Music on your desktop can now be streamed to your Android phone. The music has to be DRM free. That’s pretty cool too.

– It’s the advertising portion of the keynote. I’m not interested in this part. I’m sure you’re not either. I’m going to zone out for a few seconds and catch up on site comments.

– Vic is totally selling the HTC Evo 4G. He better give me one. Developers are getting it today. I want it too!

– Google TV is official! The goal is to bring the best of the web and TV together. The slogan is “TV meets web. Web meets TV.” Here are the four goals for Google TV:

1. Less time finding, more time watching
2. Control and personalize what you watch
3. Make your existing TV content much more interesting
4. Mark your TV more than a TV

– A demo of Google TV starts with the interface of a traditional cable/satellite box. Yes, it’s sucky and archaic. The Google part of the demo isn’t working at the moment (oops!). Thankfully Old School is on the screen. Will Ferrell is funny. Ah, it’s working again. It’s being controlled by a Bluetooth keyboard. Google TV has a simple search box at the top of the screen. You’ll get results from TV and the Internet. If you click on a TV search result, it goes to the channel.

– Ha! The demo is failing, but a funny Nic Cage quote entertains the audience. There’s too much nerd interference and it’s messing with the Bluetooth keyboard. They’re actually asking everyone to turn off their phones to cut the interference.

– Another example uses a search for the show House. The TV results give you the option to record an upcoming episode. The Internet results show where you can buy episodes. One result leads to Amazon.com’s online offerings of house. Jumping back and forth from live TV, TV results, and Internet results is seamless.

– Google TV has Amazon and Netflix integration for streaming video fun. Naturally, YouTube works perfectly on the service.

– The speaker’s son loves Elmo but hates all the other characters on Sesame Street. A Google TV search leads to Sesame Street clips that only feature Elmo.

– Searching for specific news clips and sports highlights can be done on Google TV just like you would on a PC. The difference is that you’re watching it on your HDTV and sitting on your couch.

– Integrating TV and Internet can lead to new ways to enjoy traditional content with picture-in-picture mode. The big screen shows TV and the small screen shows Internet content. Examples of watching gold with a live leader board, watching basketball and seeing the live impact on your fantasy team, watching American Idol and following AI tweets are given.

– Google TV as a photo viewer is shown. This part isn’t really impressive or too interesting to me.

– My initial reaction is that some of these features are cool, but some of them are just a glorified version of Web TV.

– Ohhhh, gaming implication — playing an HTML5 game through Google TV. I need to think about that one for a bit. That could be huge.

– Google TV will be initially offered on separate boxes that connect to your cable or satellite box through HDMI. They’ll all have keyboards and pointing devices.

– Google TV can be controlled with Android phones via WiFi. It’s like the future! You can speak into your phone and get search results on your TV. Wow…it is the future!

– Google TV is built on Android 2.1, uses Google Chrome, and has a full Flash plug-in.

– Android apps will work on Google TV as long as phone-specific hardware isn’t required. In addition to web applications — which Google is going large on with HTML5 — users can enjoy Android apps. That’s very interesting.

While the HTC Evo 4G is all set for a June release in America, Samsung has been mum about the arrival of its super sexy Google Android-powered Galaxy S. A Samsung marketing rep would only confirm that it is coming to America in 2010; no specific date or carrier partner has been confirmed. Like the Evo 4G, the thing that stands out most about this phone is its screen. It’s not as big as the Evo 4G’s, but it uses “super” AMOLED technology. And yes, it’s super…thanks for asking. The picture is noticeably crisper and it supposedly doesn’t suffer from the poor outdoor viewing problems of OLED screens.

The form factor is straight out of Apple’s playbook. It’s smooth and curvy in all the right places (sorry, I just wanted to throw that line in). It looks like a slightly longer and thinner version of the iPhone 3GS. However, it’s feels lighter, despite having a beefy 1,500 mAh battery. I love the way the phone looks and greatly prefer its style to the Evo 4G’s.

The interface has some interesting features. There’s a social network hub, similar to the one featured on Motorola’s Blur interface, that collects your Facebook and Twitter messages. There’s a “daily briefing” app that collects local news and weather reports. In general, the interface isn’t as smooth as HTC Sense or Motorola Blur. I am not a fan of Samsung’s TouchWhiz interface, but the Galaxy S’ implementation of Android seems better than prior efforts. It’s just not as good as what HTC and Motorola are doing.

Although the Galaxy S’ 5MP camera is a lower resolution than the Evo 4G’s, I think it offers better images (at least from a totally scientific three-minute test). Samsung has a strong record with camera phones while HTC has been mediocre in this department.

If I had to choose between the Evo 4G and the Galaxy S, I’d lean towards the Galaxy S. The big “if” is the carrier it ends up on. I’ve been burned by Sprint in the past, as has RPadholic thejedirevan. I really don’t like AT&T. There’s a rumor that T-Mobile will be getting this phone, which would make me incredibly happy. Verizon, which has the HTC Incredible, doesn’t seem to need it. Where will it end up? I have no idea, but I wanna know now!!!

I spent a little time with HTC’s Android-powered Evo 4G, which is coming to Sprint next month. The first thing that jumped out at me was the screen — it’s frickin’ huge! I enjoyed the 3.7-inch screen on the HTC Nexus One when I spent a few days with it, but the 4.3-incher on the Evo 4G makes it look ordinary.

The shape isn’t as unusual as the HTC Incredible’s, but it’s still on the boxy side. If you dig the curves of the Apple iPhone of Palm Pre then you might not like the aesthetics of the Evo 4G. Looking past the surface, the phone uses HTC Sense, which is much friendlier than stock Android. I really like what the company has done with Sense; the downside is that you’ll have to wait a little longer for Android updates due to the customizations.

The camera took decent videos and pictures. I wasn’t expecting too much in this department. HTC hasn’t been the best when it comes to image quality and there doesn’t seem to be much of an improvement (keep in mind that I only played with the device for a few minutes).

Compared to Samsung Galaxy S — which I’ll be writing about in a few minutes — I preferred the Evo 4G’s screen size and interface. The company also has a strong track record with Android, whereas Samsung does not. Anyway, enjoy the rest of the photos!

Hey guys! I’m at the Google I/O keynote armed with my BlackBerry. A lot of the keynote content will be geared towards developers, but there should be some cool stuff that interests you. Keep refreshing this blog post for updates and I’ll try to check up on your comments. After the keynote is done I’ll add some pics. Stay tuned!

– Hrm. WiFi and mobile signal is overloaded. This is what happens when too many nerds are in one place. Most of the people around me are checking their smartphones (superphones?), iPads, or laptops as they’re watching the keynote. It’s kind of rude actually, but I’m absolved since I’m press. Ha!

– Clicker.tv shows off how HTML5 can be used for entertainment. It’s pretty cool. Check it out on Chrome if you have a chance.

– Crap. My web server appears to be borked. What the hell am I paying those guys for?!? *sigh* Great timing guys! I’ll be sure to switch next year.

– Peeps from Mozilla and Opera are showing how cool HTML5 is on their respective browsers. The video capabilities are pretty awesome.

– Adobe dude is showing how HTML5 can be used with Dreamweaver, Illustrator, etc. You can tell Adobe is loving Google right now. He teases a lot of Google devices running Flash…that will be seen tomorrow. Tease.

– An HTML5 version of Tweetdeck — my favorite Twitter application — is being shown. It works pretty well and looks almost as nice as the Adobe Air version.

– Google will launch the Chrome Web store to sell web apps and games. Plants vs. Zombies and Lego: Star Wars are shown. The former is expected, but it’s cool seeing a “reak” 3D game running on HTML5 through a browser. The framerate looked a little choppy, so I’m assuming it’s early.

– Old guy from Sports Illustrated (EIC) is showing how HTML5 will help reinvent his magazine. He’s showing a live prototype using HTML5. He describes it as a “highly edited, curated, searchable, open, and social take on sports.” Video is embedded into individual articles. A radial wheel is available in each artcile; it allows you to hit up related content. Articles can be promoted with tools like Google Buzz. Advertisements are slick…and a little evil — a camera ad is shown and can be viewed with different lenses, eventually using Google Maps to show where consumers can buy it. That’s awesomely clever.

– Hmmmmm. Now I’m wondering if there’s a bigger Internet problem going on. I can’t access numerous sites now. Perhaps Google broke the Internet.

– Google Wave is being integrated into Google Apps. That makes much more sense if it’s going to be used as a collaborative business tool. If you’re a sysadmin that uses Google Apps, you can grant users Wave access now.

– Okay, the site is working again. Google didn’t break the Internet.

Well…that didn’t last very long. In January, Google made a bold move and started an online phone store featuring the Android-powered Nexus One. Four months later the company has announced that it will be phasing out its online initiative in favor of brick-and-mortar retailers. VP of engineering Andy Rubin posted the news on the Google Blog:

Once we have increased the availability of Nexus One devices in stores, we’ll stop selling handsets via the web store, and will instead use it as an online store window to showcase a variety of Android phones available globally.

With Sprint and Verizon rejecting the Nexus One after pledging to support it, Google didn’t have the carrier support it needed for its atypical business model. In America, so much of the handset business is carrier driven and controlled. Take Nokia, for example — it’s the largest handset manufacturer in the world, but since it doesn’t have much support from the “big four” (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon) it’s a minor player in America.

I’m sad that Google isn’t giving its online store more of a shot. Certainly it made several mistakes over the last few months, but its online venture still has the potential to change the way consumers buy phones. *sigh* I just prefer the Asian and European models of paying more for phones and using cheaper services that are contract-free. Perhaps I’ll wear black at Google I/O next week to mourn the death of Google’s online phone store.

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Here’s a rumor that I really, really, really hope pans out. According to Boy Genius Report, T-Mobile has a UMA (unlicensed mobile access) Android phone in the works. As some of you already know, this is one of my favorite features about T-Mobile. UMA lets you use WiFi signal in place of your mobile signal. In addition to being fantastic for indoor reception or areas with poor reception, this feature is brilliant for international travel — as long as you’re calling through WiFi, calls made from other countries to America count against your bucket of minutes. Anyway, here’s the word from BGR:

We have just heard T-Mobile is going to begin testing UMA calling on Android devices starting in Q3 of this year. Finally.

Please, please, please be true!!!

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The next version of Google Android — nicknamed FroYo or Frozen Yogurt — will feature built in tethering and WiFi hotspot functionality according to TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington. The other day I mentioned one web site claiming a 450-percent performance improvement from Android 2.1 (Eclair) to 2.2. Being able to use your Android phone as a wireless modem or hotspot is a brilliant feature. I’m hoping that Google will have more Android surprises at next week’s Google I/O conference.

It will be interesting to see how carriers react to this new addition (as opposed to New Edition). I’m guessing that the feature will be removed on phones using a custom Android build. I don’t see mobile providers wanting to give away that functionality for free. A handset like the Nexus One will be much more difficult for carriers to handle since they have no control over plain vanilla Android. (Perhaps this was one of several reasons Sprint and Verizon told the Nexus One to piss off?)

It’s funny, I was extremely impressed with the HTC Incredible on Verizon and pretty much crowned it the best Android handset on the market today. The one issue I had with it — and really any phone using a custom interface like HTC Sense or Motorola Blur — is that new features would take longer to implement due to the customization. FroYo is restoring my love for stock Android. Why yes, I will have plain vanilla frozen yogurt, thank you very much.

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Sprint has announced that the HTC Evo 4G will be available on June 4, 2010 for $199.99 on contract. If you’ve been keeping up with this hot Android phone then you’ll know that it’s America’s first 4G handset and uses Sprint’s WiMax network for speedy data. The faster speeds come at a price — a $10 a month premium on top of the 3G data rate. If you want to use the phone as a mobile hot spot, that’ll run you an additional $29.99 a month. Here are some bullet points from the press release:

• Simultaneous voice and data capability in 4G and Wi-Fi coverage areas, enabling Web surfing and more while the conversation continues.
• Offering a new way to search with pictures instead of words, Google Goggles(TM) works with everything from books, DVDs and barcodes to landmarks, logos, artwork and wine labels.
• Superfast 1GHz Qualcomm(R) Snapdragon(TM) processor, ensuring a smooth and quick movement within phone menus.
• Two cameras – an 8.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with HD-capable video camcorder and a forward-facing 1.3 megapixel camera.
• Built-in mobile hotspot functionality allowing up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices to share the 3G or 4G experience on the go with a laptop, camera, music player, game unit, video player, or any other Wi-Fi enabled device.
• Integrated HD video capture with the ability to capture and share live video via the Qik Web site, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter(TM).
• Ability to easily watch video with the device on an HDTV via an HDMI cable (sold separately).
• Custom Web browser optimized for the 4.3 inch display and Sprint 4G speeds to deliver a full, no-compromise Internet experience.
• A handy kickstand built into the back, making it easy to watch videos on-the-go.
• Adobe Flash technology ensures that rich Internet content, such as embedded video and animation, are displayed the way they are meant to be seen.
• Pinch-to-zoom and automatic text reflowing provide easy Web page views.

The phone looks fantastic on paper, but I’m really not high on these premium charges. What do you think of the phone and its pricing? Any of you tempted to pick it up?

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