android

DeviceAnywhere adds Android G1 to test database

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:08:31 -0500

Mobile application development solutions provider DeviceAnywhere announced the addition of T-Mobile USA's Google Android-powered G1 to its mobile content development, monitoring, testing and deployment services database. With the addition of the HTC-produced G1 to the DeviceAnywhere online database (which now spans across more than 1500 handsets and more than 25 operator networks worldwide), developers may virtually trial and tweak Android-optimized applications regardless of their geographic location, interacting with the handset's touchscreen and Qwerty keyboard as well as its one-click Google Search feature, 3.2-megapixel camera and 3.5G network connection.

For more on DeviceAnywhere's G1 addition:
- read this release

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2008 Year in Review: Google unveils Android mobile operating system

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:40:52 -0500

First announced in late 2007, Android--a Linux-based open software platform created by web services giant Google with the stated goal of "fostering innovation on mobile devices and giving consumers a far better user experience than much of what is available on today's mobile platforms"--promises a brave new world of developmental freedom and flexibility, especially in comparison to the strict proprietary nature of the iPhone OS. Where Apple has limited the scope of the iPhone SDK, restricting developers from creating applications that encroach on some proprietary features, the Android SDK is a veritable tabula rasa, limited almost solely by the imagination and technical know-how of the developer in question. Developers who've created applications for both iPhone and Android insist the latter poses far fewer challenges--not only does Google foster a far more collaborative environment, but it's also easier to publish on the Android Market virtual storefront than on the App Store.

So why aren't there as many developers gravitating to Android as there are to iPhone? For starters, it's a question of revenue--Google has insisted that developers cannot sell premium applications through Android Market until the first quarter of 2009. Also, at this particular moment in time there is only one Android-powered device available to U.S. subscribers--the HTC-produced G1, offered by T-Mobile USA, although handset makers like Motorola and Samsung have promised Android phones of their own in 2009. But make no mistake: Android will have legs. Expect future iterations of the software to include a mobile-optimized version of Chrome, the Google-developed web browser introduced in early September--within 24 hours of Chrome's release, Google claimed 1 percent of the global browser market, according to Internet traffic analysis firm StatCounter. Other Android improvements on tap reportedly include video capture, enhanced download functionality and support for speech recognition and Bluetooth. Expect Android to dominate headlines throughout 2009.

Sony Ericsson to develop Android-based handset

Jason Ankeny — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:27:29 -0500

Sony Ericsson announced its membership in the Google-led Open Handset Alliance industry group, confirming the move signals its intention to develop a device based on Google's Android mobile OS. According to Sony Ericsson, joining the ranks of the Open Handset Alliance complements the handset maker's existing Open OS strategy, which is based on the Symbian and Windows Mobile platforms. Sony Ericsson introduced its first WinMo device, the Xperia X1, earlier this year.

Days after Google formally announced the Open Handset Alliance in November 2007, Sony Ericsson said it was invited to join the group but declined in favor of concentrating on its UIQ interface. At that time, Sony Ericsson's U.K. and Ireland marketing director David Hilton told Pocket-lint the company "had a number of horses it could back and UIQ was the one we chose." However, he said Sony Ericsson had not ruled out a future deal with Google, adding "Never say never." In June, Sony Ericsson announced it would partner with Nokia, Motorola and NTT DoCoMo to establish the Symbian Foundation, a non-profit initiative to unite the UIQ, Symbian OS, S60 and MOAP technologies as part of a single open mobile software platform.

For more on Sony Ericsson's Android plans:
- read this release

Kogan to launch Australia's first Android device

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:08:31 -0500

Australian consumer electronics firm Kogan Technologies unveiled the Kogan Agora, the first Australian mobile phone powered by Google's Android mobile OS. The firm will release two editions of the device: The Kogan Agora (priced at $299 AU, or $199 U.S.) boasts a full QWERTY keyboard, central navigation key, 2.5-inch touchscreen, microSD slot and 3G connectivity, while the Kogan Agora Pro ($399 AU, or $266 U.S.) adds a 2 MP camera, WiFi and GPS.

Preloaded Agora applications include Gmail, Google Search, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Talk and YouTube. A customizable home screen promises instant email, SMS and IM notifications as well as immediate access to mobile web services. Sized at 108 mm x 64 mm x 14.8 mm, the Agora features a talk time of up to roughly 400 minutes, and supports music formats including MP3, WMA, AAC and WAV as well as video formats MPEG2 H263, H264, MPEG4 and AVI.

Based on the specifications, the Agora sounds a lot like a BlackBerry device, with an emphasis on consumer media applications instead of enterprise tools. Kogan will sell the phones directly to consumers with no contractual obligations, promising the Agora will interoperate with any carrier network. Both models will begin shipping to customers in Australia and abroad on Jan. 29.

For more on the Kogan Agora:
- read this release

Google unlocks Android G1, releases SDK 1.0_r2

Jason Ankeny — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:56:34 -0500

Google announced the availability of the Android Dev Phone 1, a SIM-unlocked and hardware-unlocked version of T-Mobile USA's G1, the first commercial device based on the web services giant's Android mobile OS. Google also issued release 2 of the Android 1.0 software development kit, which promises to fix a series of relatively minor bugs present in 1.0_r1. Designed for advanced developers, the Android Dev Phone 1 ships with a system image that's fully compatible with Android 1.0--according to Google, developers may use any SIM in the device as well as flash custom Android builds that will work with the unlocked bootloader, effectively giving coders carte blanche to create Android apps limited solely by their imaginations and technical skills. Google adds the Android Dev Phone 1 should also appeal to developers based outside of T-Mobile geographies.

The Android Dev Phone 1 arrives with a price tag of $399 and is available in 18 international markets, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, Japan, India, Canada, France, Taiwan, Spain, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Poland and Hungary. To purchase the device, developers must first register on the Android Market site--a "Purchase" link will appear upon logging into the developer account. To accommodate demand, Google will initially limit sales to one Android Dev Phone 1 per developer account. "Note that Android Dev Phone 1 devices are not intended for non-developer end users," Google warns on its Android website. "Since the devices can be configured with system software not provided by or supported by Google or any other company, end users operate these devices at their own risk."

The Android 1.0 SDK_r2 build--available for download here--repairs a handful of bugs discovered in the previous version. "In 1.0_r1, it was possible for developers to write technically-illegal code by using the Java Reflection APIs to access private or protected fields and methods. 1.0_r2 fixes that problem by enforcing private/protected visibility of items accessed via Reflection," writes Android developer advocate Dan Morrill on the Android Developers Blog. "Meanwhile, the class android.R.styleable was included in 1.0_r1 primarily for documentation purposes as a way for developers to look up the style attributes available to them to use. However, actually referring to that class via source code would result in applications that might break when run on future versions of the Android platform, so 1.0_r2 corrects the oversight and removes access to the class from the android.jar file. (The class remains in the documentation for reference purposes, though.)"
Morrill adds that both problems are obscure "future-proofing" issues, and writes it's unlikely that either caused significant problems for Android developers. Other small changes present in SDK 1.0_r2 are listed in the Release Notes here.

For more on the unlocked G1:
- read this Android webpage

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Hackers port Linux OS to iPhone--Android next?

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:49:06 -0500

A hacker has successfully ported the open source Linux kernel to Apple's iPhone, a significant step in creating a true alternative software platform for the iconic device. The Linux on the iPhone blog announced the port late last week--hacker Planetbeing writes "I'm pleased to announce that the Linux 2.6 kernel has been ported to Apple's iPhone platform, with support for the first and second generation iPhones as well as the first generation iPod touch. This is a rough first draft of the port, and many drivers are still missing, but it's enough that a real alternative operating system is running on the iPhone." The blog entry note that the port features a framebuffer driver as well as a serial over USB driver, while missing features include touchscreen support, sound, baseband and WiFi support, and accelerometer drivers. A custom bootloader offers users the choice between Linux or the conventional iPhone OS at startup.

The Linux on the iPhone developers said their future plans include porting Google's Linux-based Android mobile operating system to the Apple device. Ars Technica reports that Android was recently ported to the BeagleBoard, a hackable ARM board designed by TI for the hobbyist market. Open mobile product manufacturer OpenMoko project is additionally to port Android to its Neo FreeRunner handset. Of course, developers seeking to port Android to new devices must first address some of the nascent operating system's current limitations, including the absence of an onscreen keyboard.

For more on the iPhone hack:
- read this Ars Technica article

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China's first Android device debuts

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:16:43 -0500

Mobile software developer TechFaith Wireless Communication Technology and smartphone manufacturer QIGI announced the launch of the i6-Goal, the first commercial Chinese handset powered by Google's Android mobile OS. The 624-MHz CPU i6-Goal boasts a touchscreen, business card scanning and GPS functionality alongside mobile web access including Gmail, YouTube, Gtalk and other Google-owned services. According to QIGI, the firms have already signed sales agreements with a number of Chinese handset distributors and will begin shipping the i6-Goal soon. The Chinese mobile market is the world's largest, with a subscriber population fast approaching the 600 million total.

For more on the i6-Goal:
- read this release

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Motorola bets future on Android, Windows Mobile

Motorola bets future on Android, Windows Mobile

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:11:41 -0500

Motorola will stake its future on developing Android- and Windows Mobile-based smartphones that can compete with Apple's iPhone and Research In Motion's BlackBerry portfolio. Speaking last week in a conference call following the announcement of Motorola's third-quarter results, CEO Sanjay Jha said the beleaguered handset maker will delay a proposed spinoff of its mobile devices unit as it spends the next year trying to develop smartphones that resonate with consumers--central to Jha's plans are the Android and Windows Mobile operating systems, with Motorola hoping to introduce its first handset on the fledgling Google platform in time for the 2009 holiday shopping season. "We have been too focused on bright shiny objects and not on the user experience," Jha said during the analyst call. Critics have long singled out Motorola's proprietary software as the culprit behind its economic woes.

Jha warned investors a Motorola turnaround is at least a year away, and said the firm would shed 3,000 jobs, a little less than 5 percent of its workforce. Motorola reported Q3 losses of $397 million, compared with a profit of $60 million, or 3 cents a share, a year ago--sales fell 15 percent year-over-year from $8.81 billion to $7.48 billion, with the mobile devices division suffering sales declines of 31 percent to $3.1 billion from $4.5 billion a year ago. The unit also reported an operating loss of $840 million, compared with a loss of $248 million in the year-ago quarter. Jha said the mobile devices division will cut $600 million next year--about three quarters of the overall $800 million in cuts planned companywide.

Motorola has yet to officially confirm speculation its Android device will boast a variety of social networking-themed features promising users more direct and efficient access to services like Facebook and MySpace alongside an iPhone-like touch screen and a slide-out Qwerty keyboard. Citing sources familiar with Motorola's plans, BusinessWeek reported in October the company is already showing spec sheets and images of the Android handset to its worldwide operator partners. Motorola is a founding member of the Google-backed Open Handset Alliance, and in late September reports surfaced the firm is seeking to expand its Android development team from 50 members to 350.

For more on Motorola's outlook:
- read this New York Times article

Google confirms Android kill switch

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:42:51 -0400

With T-Mobile USA scheduled to release the HTC-produced G1--the first commercial handset based on Google's Android mobile OS--on Wednesday, Google has confirmed the existence of a so-called "kill switch" that would enable the web services giant to remotely disable applications from an Android-based device. Computerworld first reported on the kill switch, noting the terms of service for Google's Android Market read "Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement ... in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion." Google explains that the kill switch exists to protect users from malicious code, and that if any commercial software is removed from an Android device, the company will refund the consumer as well as seek financial restitution from the developer who created the app.

So far, developers are sanguine about the kill switch, telling ChannelWeb they weren't previously aware of the mechanism but expressing little surprise over its discovery. "We're not making malicious apps. It should be fine and I totally understand why they'd want to do it," said Jeff Kao, co-founder of Ecorio, one of the winners in the recent Android Developer Challenge. "We've done some things ourselves that a user might not like that we've had to tweak. For example, some services might run in the background and drain battery life without the user knowing it."
Apple stirred up its own controversy this summer following an independent engineer's discovery that each iPhone contains code that could theoretically remove software from the device at Apple's discretion. In a subsequent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Steve Jobs argued such a kill switch is necessary in case a malicious program is mistakenly added to the App Store: "Hopefully we never have to pull that lever, but we would be irresponsible not to have a lever like that to pull." Digital privacy and security advocates nevertheless questioned Apple's motivations, asking what kinds of safeguards are in place to guarantee the security of the kill switch itself.

For more on the Android kill switch:
- read this Computerworld article

Google promises free consumer trials for Android apps

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:48:48 -0400

Google will offer consumers free trials of mobile applications available on its Android Market virtual storefront according to Andy Rubin, who spearheads Android efforts for the web services giant. In an interview with BusinessWeek, Rubin said the free trials are just one of the significant differences separating Android Market from Apple's rival App Store--some developers have cited the absence of free iPhone consumer trials as a major obstacle to App Store software sales.

Nor will Android Market impose limits on how much bandwidth a given app will consume, Rubin said--T-Mobile USA, which will launch the HTC-produced G1 (the first Android-based handset) later this month, recently announced it will require developers to pay a $2.00 monthly fee if their free apps occupy more than 15 megabytes of bandwidth per user per month, although Rubin's promises would seem to suggest T-Mobile will find it difficult if not impossible to enforce such a policy.

For more on the Android Market policies:
- read this BusinessWeek article

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