Tag: Mobile Tech

Google I/O Day One: Music, Movies, and Sandwiches

Google kicked off its Google I/O 2011 developer conference with a keynote full of announcements. Some were exciting, some were interesting, some were meh. Here are some random thoughts on today’s announcements. Of course I want to hear what you have to say about them as well. Let’s get to it!

Android Ice Cream Sandwich — The next major version of Android will be called Ice Cream Sandwich. It will combine the phone features of Gingerbread and the tablet features of Honeycomb into one mobile operating system for all devices. The UI will receive a major overhaul and the application framework — which hasn’t been detailed — should help developers code more efficiently for multiple devices.

I’m psyched to get some Honeycomb features on a phone…but I’m bummed that I’ll have to wait until Q4 2011 to get them. The UI enhancements are completely necessary; as powerful as Android is, it still feels rough compared to Apple iOS and HP WebOS. It’s a bummer that Ice Cream Sandwich will take so long, but at least it should have a cool Nexus phone to show off its features.

I’m also praying that the new application framework truly makes things easier for developers and greatly increases the allowed file size for apps (currently 50MB). After attending numerous developer panels, I’ve come to understand what a pain in the ass it is to create games for the platform. The file size limit is just stupid. Android gaming will always be a step or two behind iOS until that restriction is lifted.

Google Music Beta — The company’s cloud-based music-service is now official. Its incredibly unexciting placeholder name is Google Music Beta. As you’d expect, it allows you to store music on the cloud and listen to songs on numerous devices. Flash is currently required to use the service. Amazon recently launched its Cloud Player service and Apple is expected to announce its iTunes cloud plans next month, so this move was expected and necessary.

I was surprised by the elegance of Music Beta’s UI. It looks smooth and intuitive, which is surprising for a company that’s known for UI that’s rough (at best) and clunky (at worst). Google will allow users to store 20,000 songs on the cloud. Several writers have pointed out that this is higher than the 5GB allowance on Cloud Player, but few of them reminded their readers that buying an online album bumps the storage to 20GB.

Music Beta looks like it’s off to a promising start. Going into the conference I was kind of “meh” about the service, but the UI really surprised me. That said, I think the company is at a huge disadvantage since it doesn’t sell music. Buying MP3s from Amazon instantly adds them to Cloud Player and I expect iTunes to behave similarly. While Music Beta looks cool and smooth, it adds an extra step. On the plus side, Music Beta offers a number of free songs to download.

Movies on Market — Movie rentals will be available on Android Market. The first Android products that can use movie rentals are tablets running Android 3.1 (released today for Xoom). Android 2.2 phones will be able to rent movies in a few weeks. Google claims that it will have “thousands” of movie rentals available for $1.99 each. Movies can be “pinned” so that they can be watched offline.

I’m positive that Google is going to mess this one up. The interface is clunky — certainly worse than what I saw from a beta of the competing HTC Watch service. Netflix is also coming to Android. One huge advantage that Netflix has is that it has a consistent feel whether you’re watching through a gaming console, a phone, or a PC. Android’s movie rental service feels awkward and competes with Google’s recently announced YouTube rental service. I think it was a mistake to launch a separate service for Android. I understand that it wants to keep all Android commerce on Android Market, but it’s an enormous waste of the YouTube brand — you know, the brand known for video.

Teaming Up for Faster Updates — Google announced an initiative that will ensure that Android phones will support the latest updates for 18 months after they’re released, as long as the hardware can handle it. Working on update guidelines and efforts to speed up the process are AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Vodafone, HTC, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericcson, and LG.

This is smart move that should have happened earlier. Although Google is slowing down the Android release schedule, it’s still fairly frequent. New Android phones are released every week (or it feels that way). Getting the latest software update is bottlenecked by hardware manufacturers and carriers. Bringing everyone together to make the process faster will keep phones competitive for a longer period of time and, more importantly, keep customers happy.

Also, that photo of Christina Aguilera is there for no real reason.

Google TV Gets Android 3.1 — *yawn* I was excited for Google TV when it was announced at last year’s show. The products have been disappointing, but not as disappointing as Google’s lack of support for the service. Hopefully new hardware and new software can help Google TV live up to its potential.

Android Accessories — Google is releasing a development kit to broaden the use of Android. It wants Android phones and tablets to be used with atypical products. It showed an Android phone being used as a heart rate monitor paired with a stationary bike. This could be fun…or it could be like the Wii heart rate monitor. *joke* I expect to see a ton of crap Android “accessories” at CES 2012. I’m positive that I could make a one-hour show about it.

Android @Home — Google is also working on ways to have Android control appliances and lights in the home. This is kind of neat in the “house of the future” kind of way…but I’m scared of a micro-Skynet scenario. I don’t want to die because I pissed off my refrigerator and it ordered my barbecue grill to roast me.

Your Turn — Those are my initial thoughts on today’s Google I/O announcements. Now it’s your turn! Please let me know what you think when you have a chance.

Skype Support Coming to Kinect and Xbox 360 Users

In case you didn’t know, Microsoft has just purchased Skype for $8.5-billion (cash!!!). Skype allows for audio and video communication using voice over IP technology (VoIP). The company plans to implement Skype in its Kinect and Xbox 360 products. Here’s a clip from the press release:

Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.

With friends and family around the world, I’m a huge fan of Skype. The call quality is outstanding and the international rates are competitive. I use the free Skype-to-Skype service, as well as Skype Out calls to mobile phones. I’m excited to see how Microsoft implements Skype in its Windows Phone and Xbox 360 platforms…but I’m also a bit afraid of the company wrecking a perfectly good product. Let’s see how this one plays out.

Any of you excited by the Skype acquisition? What do you think it will add to your Xbox 360 gaming experience?

Win a T-Mobile G2X and a Trip to E3 2011

T-Mobile is holding a sweet contest that could snag you an LG G2X and a trip to E3 2011. Dubbed “The Battle for E3”, I’m fairly certain that the contest doesn’t contain any physical  battling. Instead, you’ll have to post a short video on T-Mobile’s Facebook page and let the fans decide if you’re worthy to win. Here are some official details:

T-Mobile is introducing “Battle for E3” – an opportunity for consumers to compete for the ultimate T-Mobile gaming phone, the G2x, and a trip to this year’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles on June 7-9. To participate in the online competition, which kicks off May 15, all you have to do is upload a video (15 seconds or less) on T-Mobile’s Facebook page demonstrating how you are the ultimate gamer and ideal E3 “correspondent” for T-Mobile.

The videos will be ranked by fans voting on T-Mobile’s Facebook page and the top 10 entrants will each win a prize. The two most hardcore gamers, however, will win a G2x and the chance to attend the upcoming E3 Expo! Armed with T-Mobile’s hottest gaming phone – the T-Mobile G2x with Google – these two winners will chronicle their trip, host gaming challenges, conduct interviews and much more.

One unadvertised prize for RPad.tv readers is that you’ll get to hang out with me at the show! If you enter the contest, I promise to vote for you. Should you win, I expect you to make sure that I don’t punch any game developers at E3 parties. I don’t need another stupid Cliff Bleszinski story. I hope some of you enter. The G2X is a great phone and it would be awesome to see you at E3.

Manny Pacquiao Videogame Coming to Android, iOS, and PC

Fresh off his drubbing of “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao is set to star in a videogame called Manny Pacquiao: Pound For Pound coming to Android, iOS, and Facebook. Set for a Summer 2011 release, the game is being developed and published by Karkadann Games. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

Created for a casual gaming audience, and developed for PC, mobile, iPad, iPhone and Facebook, “Pound for Pound” Volume 1 takes gamers through narrative arcs, intense action and addictive game play, as Manny the martial arts action hero battles through the underground world of heinous villains on a mission of justice. Gamers not only wield Manny’s legendary combination of pummelling punches, with his lightning fast hands, but also a full arsenal of kicks and martial arts weaponry. Additionally, players will be able to customize and develop Manny into the ultimate mixed martial arts defender to fight hundreds of the most infamous enemies on a high-stakes fight.

I’ve never heard of the developer, but I’m excited for the game as a Pacquiao fan, an iPad 2 owner, and a Filipino-American. Even if the quality isn’t great, I’m sure I’m going to play the hell out of it simply because of Pinoy pride. Plus, it’s Manny Pacquiao fighting like Bruce Lee accompanied by a pet wolf! Next to Final Fantasy Tactics, this is the iPad game I want the most. I’ll try to get more info from the publisher. Until then, you can follow the game’s Facebook page.

PlayStation Network Key to Sony’s Android Tablet Future?

The tablet wars are going to get super interesting. Slick hardware is not enough to compete with Apple’s wildly successful iPad tablets. Competitors realize that they need to offer slick software and services too. Recently Sony announced that it will be entering the Android tablet space later this year. Will PlayStation Network be the key to Sony’s tablet success? That’s what PC Magazine’s Tim Bajarin believes. He recently wrote:

I understand that Sony’s tablet offerings will eventually be tied to the Sony PlayStation Network, in which there are about 77 million subscribers worldwide. If I read the tea leaves right, that should mean that Sony could use this network to deliver video, music, and games, as well as potentially host its own vetted app store and even create Sony dedicated apps. Its goal is to be number two in the tablet market (behind Apple) and number one in Android-based devices.

Leveraging the backbone of the PlayStation Network would give Sony quite an edge over its competitors, right out of the box. My only concern is that it has to rely on Google for its OS. Not controlling the OS could be an issue for delivering an enhanced user experience that’s optimized for Sony customers. But having a network backbone to deliver optimized content for various Sony devices is quite a plus.

Bajarin is one of the sharpest tech analysts in the world. His opinions are almost always on the mark. I think he’s on the right track here. The infrastructure of PlayStation Network has already expanded to include Qriocity. I can see Sony going even larger to create a multimedia “walled garden” of its own, with curated movies, music, apps, and gaming.

What do you think? Will PlayStation Network be the key to Sony’s tablet success? Or will it be the key to One-Eyed Willie?

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HTC Thunderbolt Review: LTE Speeds, Battery Life, and More

The HTC Thunderbolt lacks the dual-core power found in recent phones, but makes up for it with blazing fast Internet speeds on Verizon’s LTE network, mostly great build quality, outstanding call clarity, and a smoother version of Google Android thanks to HTC Sense. As long as you’re not looking for cutting edge performance and you don’t mind carrying a spare battery, the Thunderbolt will serve you well. It’s a great phone with a few minor flaws and one major one. Cue the D-Generation X music as I “break it down!!!”

Build Quality — In many ways, the Thunderbolt looks like the HTC Evo 4G or any number of high-end phones HTC has released in the last year. The front of the phone is mostly glass, with a nice metal border and very little bezel. The back of the phone is around 80 percent plastic (with a nice rubberized coating) and 20 percent metal.

I loved the phone’s heft and found it to be comfortable. However, I can understand that some people will find the Thunderbolt too heavy and too large for one-hand operation. As I illustrated in this video, this is definitely not a small phone, but most people should find its size easily manageable.

The one issue I had with the build quality is the way the back cover comes off. Even after a month with the phone, it takes me several seconds to remove the cover and it always feels like it’s going to break. For users that keep a battery or two on deck — and I can’t recommend this phone without a spare battery — this is annoying.

Also, kickstands on phones completely rule.

Screen — The Thunderbolt sports a 4.3-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 400 x 800. Although it’s the same size and resolution as the Evo’s screen, I found it to be much brighter with better viewing angles. Having a large screen is great for usability and watching videos, but I wish the Thunderbolt packed a higher resolution for better readability. For general use, the Thunderbolt’s screen will be eclipsed by the HTC Sensation’s qHD display. For readability, the iPhone 4 is still the best phone for reading text.

User Interface — Some people love Android skins and some people hate them. I generally dislike them…except for HTC Sense. I believe it’s the only Android skin that adds usability and smoothness to the Android experience.

The Thunderbolt offers the same usability enhancements found in other Sense 2.0 phones, with a few Sense 3.0 features thrown in. The interface is smoother and snappier than vanilla Android. The web browser is smoother than the stock browser. Sense features that were new to me include pocket mode (the phone rings louder when in a pocket or purse), flip for speaker phone, and quiet ring on pickup (ring tone gets softer as you bring your phone to your head). They’re just clever features that are examples of why HTC is ahead of everyone else when it comes to Android customizations.

While I’ve been hearing nice things about TouchWhiz 4.0 on the Samsung Galaxy S II, that phone is not yet available on an American carrier. For now I believe that HTC Sense is the only Android skin worth having.

Call Quality — Call quality was outstanding on the Thunderbolt. For phone calls, it was easily the best phone I’ve used since the Droid X. The ear piece produces clear sound and the speaker is very loud. Voice transmission is aided by a second microphone for noise cancellation. The people I called said that I sounded much more natural on the Thunderbolt than on the iPhone 4. Making a few test calls from a farmer’s market, the Thunderbolt blocked out more noise than the iPhone 4.

LTE Speeds — The big hook on the Thunderbolt is its LTE speeds. As I pointed out in this 4G shootout article, Verizon LTE slaughters the competition in 4G. The data rates are wonderful for web browsing, tethering, streaming, etc. After getting used to Verizon LTE, it was tough using a phone on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, which is fast but not nearly as zippy as LTE.

Camera — While I was satisfied with the cameras on HTC’s Evo 4G and T-Mobile G2, neither were as good as the eight-megapixel camera on the Thunderbolt. The camera on this phone is fast, focuses quickly, and takes great stills. The dual-LED flash can be too strong for indoor close-ups, but with proper distance can light up a space nicely. Video quality was also very good, producing nice 720p video (for a phone). The phone’s camera can produce great images, but falls short of the outstanding shooters on the iPhone 4 and Nokia N8.

The 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera can be used to snap vanity shots and for video chat. Unfortunately, all the video chat software on Android produced poor quality or wasn’t (yet) compatible with the Thunderbolt. A video-enabled version of Skype will be released for the Thunderbolt soon.

Battery Life — I knew this phone would be a battery hog. It has a large screen, a fast processor, a CDMA radio, a WiFi radio, and an LTE radio. The good news is that the phone’s power management is aggressive and the battery can last a long time as long as you’re not using LTE much. The bad news is that this phone is all about LTE and using the super-fast network requires a lot of battery.

Following my normal usage patterns, I averaged 8.5 hours on a charge. That’s the worst battery life of any Android phone I’ve ever used. There were a few times where I was using the phone constantly and downloading a lot of programs; in those cases, the battery lasted a little over four hours.

As wonderful as the Thunderbolt is, I can’t recommend it unless you’re always by an outlet or willing to invest in extra batteries. For road warriors or situations like trade shows, extra batteries are necessary.

Conclusion — Aside from the battery life, I was super impressed by the Thunderbolt. It offers a smooth Android experience and the best wireless speeds in America. While the $249 price seems high, keep in mind that the Thunderbolt comes with a 32MB MicroSD card on top of the 8GB of internal storage. If you’re down with picking up an extra battery or two and don’t need dual-core performance, the HTC Thunderbolt will take care of you nicely. It’s not perfect, but the ungodly LTE speeds will help you forget about the phone’s shortcomings.

HTC Thunderbolt Review: LTE Speeds, Battery Life, and More

The HTC Thunderbolt lacks the dual-core power found in recent phones, but makes up for it with blazing fast Internet speeds on Verizon’s LTE network, mostly great build quality, outstanding call clarity, and a smoother version of Google Android thanks to HTC Sense. As long as you’re not looking for cutting edge performance and you don’t mind carrying a spare battery, the Thunderbolt will serve you well. It’s a great phone with a few minor flaws and one major one. Cue the D-Generation X music as I “break it down!!!”

Build Quality — In many ways, the Thunderbolt looks like the HTC Evo 4G or any number of high-end phones HTC has released in the last year. The front of the phone is mostly glass, with a nice metal border and very little bezel. The back of the phone is around 80 percent plastic (with a nice rubberized coating) and 20 percent metal.

I loved the phone’s heft and found it to be comfortable. However, I can understand that some people will find the Thunderbolt too heavy and too large for one-hand operation. As I illustrated in this video, this is definitely not a small phone, but most people should find its size easily manageable.

The one issue I had with the build quality is the way the back cover comes off. Even after a month with the phone, it takes me several seconds to remove the cover and it always feels like it’s going to break. For users that keep a battery or two on deck — and I can’t recommend this phone without a spare battery — this is annoying.

Also, kickstands on phones completely rule.

Screen — The Thunderbolt sports a 4.3-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 400 x 800. Although it’s the same size and resolution as the Evo’s screen, I found it to be much brighter with better viewing angles. Having a large screen is great for usability and watching videos, but I wish the Thunderbolt packed a higher resolution for better readability. For general use, the Thunderbolt’s screen will be eclipsed by the HTC Sensation’s qHD display. For readability, the iPhone 4 is still the best phone for reading text.

User Interface — Some people love Android skins and some people hate them. I generally dislike them…except for HTC Sense. I believe it’s the only Android skin that adds usability and smoothness to the Android experience.

The Thunderbolt offers the same usability enhancements found in other Sense 2.0 phones, with a few Sense 3.0 features thrown in. The interface is smoother and snappier than vanilla Android. The web browser is smoother than the stock browser. Sense features that were new to me include pocket mode (the phone rings louder when in a pocket or purse), flip for speaker phone, and quiet ring on pickup (ring tone gets softer as you bring your phone to your head). They’re just clever features that are examples of why HTC is ahead of everyone else when it comes to Android customizations.

While I’ve been hearing nice things about TouchWhiz 4.0 on the Samsung Galaxy S II, that phone is not yet available on an American carrier. For now I believe that HTC Sense is the only Android skin worth having.

Call Quality — Call quality was outstanding on the Thunderbolt. For phone calls, it was easily the best phone I’ve used since the Droid X. The ear piece produces clear sound and the speaker is very loud. Voice transmission is aided by a second microphone for noise cancellation. The people I called said that I sounded much more natural on the Thunderbolt than on the iPhone 4. Making a few test calls from a farmer’s market, the Thunderbolt blocked out more noise than the iPhone 4.

LTE Speeds — The big hook on the Thunderbolt is its LTE speeds. As I pointed out in this 4G shootout article, Verizon LTE slaughters the competition in 4G. The data rates are wonderful for web browsing, tethering, streaming, etc. After getting used to Verizon LTE, it was tough using a phone on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, which is fast but not nearly as zippy as LTE.

Camera — While I was satisfied with the cameras on HTC’s Evo 4G and T-Mobile G2, neither were as good as the eight-megapixel camera on the Thunderbolt. The camera on this phone is fast, focuses quickly, and takes great stills. The dual-LED flash can be too strong for indoor close-ups, but with proper distance can light up a space nicely. Video quality was also very good, producing nice 720p video (for a phone). The phone’s camera can produce great images, but falls short of the outstanding shooters on the iPhone 4 and Nokia N8.

The 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera can be used to snap vanity shots and for video chat. Unfortunately, all the video chat software on Android produced poor quality or wasn’t (yet) compatible with the Thunderbolt. A video-enabled version of Skype will be released for the Thunderbolt soon.

Battery Life — I knew this phone would be a battery hog. It has a large screen, a fast processor, a CDMA radio, a WiFi radio, and an LTE radio. The good news is that the phone’s power management is aggressive and the battery can last a long time as long as you’re not using LTE much. The bad news is that this phone is all about LTE and using the super-fast network requires a lot of battery.

Following my normal usage patterns, I averaged 8.5 hours on a charge. That’s the worst battery life of any Android phone I’ve ever used. There were a few times where I was using the phone constantly and downloading a lot of programs; in those cases, the battery lasted a little over four hours.

As wonderful as the Thunderbolt is, I can’t recommend it unless you’re always by an outlet or willing to invest in extra batteries. For road warriors or situations like trade shows, extra batteries are necessary.

Conclusion — Aside from the battery life, I was super impressed by the Thunderbolt. It offers a smooth Android experience and the best wireless speeds in America. While the $249 price seems high, keep in mind that the Thunderbolt comes with a 32MB MicroSD card on top of the 8GB of internal storage. If you’re down with picking up an extra battery or two and don’t need dual-core performance, the HTC Thunderbolt will take care of you nicely. It’s not perfect, but the ungodly LTE speeds will help you forget about the phone’s shortcomings.

Say Hello to the White iPhone 4

Please please please check out this flippant video of the white iPhone 4. It’s certainly a gorgeous piece of consumer electronics — I almost want to make out with it. For size comparison, I filmed it next to the HTC Thunderbolt and the LG G2X. While the white iPhone 4 is certainly prettier than those phones, it doesn’t offer the Thunderbolt’s awesome LTE speeds or the G2X’s incredible Tegra 2 performance.

Android Gets Google Talk Video Chat

Google has announced that Android version 2.3.4 will have video chat capabilities through Google Talk. The official word on the roll out is, “Google Talk with video and voice chat will gradually roll out to Nexus S devices in the next few weeks as part of the Android 2.3.4 over-the-air update and will launch on other Android 2.3+ devices in the future.”

Android users will be able to see their friends on other Android phones or PCs that have Google Talk. While phones with front-facing cameras have been fairly common since the end of 2010, the software hasn’t been the best. Apple’s FaceTime is easy to use and has great image quality, but it’s limited to iOS (WiFi only) and Mac OS devices. I’ve been mostly unimpressed with newer services like Fring, Qik, and Tango. I expected Skype to own this segment, but the company has been pathetically slow in expanding its mobile video-chat efforts (currently only available in iOS devices on WiFi).

Google has a huge opportunity to dominate the mobile video-chat market. Google Talk is available to anyone that uses Gmail. Android phones are more popular than ever. The numbers are certainly there (though I wonder if Apple would approve an official Google Talk app with video chat). Will Google be able to take advantage of this opportunity? Will it force Skype to get off its lazy ass and Apple to expand FaceTime to other platforms? As a VoIP junkie, I can’t wait to find out.

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White iPhone 4 Finally Arriving…Tomorrow

Apple has finally gone official with the white iPhone 4. It will be available online and at retail on April 28, 2011. Despite the new exterior, the iPhone 4’s internals are a bit old compared to the new dual-core processor phones available in 2011. That said, it offers the best software and entertainment ecosystem on the market.

Any of you picking up a white iPhone 4? Are you an Apple fan that feels that “if it ain’t white, it ain’t right”?

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