Tag: Mobile Tech

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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The buzz on Android 2.2 (aka FroYo) is that most of its improvements are under-the-hood performance gains and not flashy new features. If the tests conducted by Android Police are accurate then the performance increase will be extraordinary, largely due to an improvemend JIT (just-in-time) compiler. Using the Linpack tool, the site reported a 450 percent increase over Android 2.1 on a Google Nexus One:

Think about this for a second. 37.6, compared to 6.5-7 — that’s about a 450% speed improvement.

These results are so impressive, most likely due to the introduction of the long awaited JIT compilation into the kernel, that we felt they deserved immediate attention.

That’s pretty sick, hey? Hopefully I’ll be seeing Android FroYo in action next week at Google I/O.

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I mentioned this to RPadholic N8R yesterday and I wanted to let y’all know that I’m attending Google I/O next week in San Francisco. My priorities are digging up info on Android gaming, Android 2.2 (FroYo), and what’s going on with Chrome OS. That said, I’ll try to pursue any angles you’re interested in as well. Check out the agenda and let me know if there are any sessions you’re interested in. If I’m not in a meeting, I’ll hit it up for you and write about it.