Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
The Samsung Galaxy S will get an update to Android 2.3 Gingerbread as early as this month from what we hear today. No exact date has been provided, but we have been informed that we could expect the update sometime mid-April.
We can assume at the moment that the update will be for unlocked handsets not tied down to a specific contract. However, the Three network in the UK has also stated that the Galaxy S on its network will be arriving within the next couple of weeks. [Read more…]
The test version of the Android Market somehow was installed on a writers phone over at Tech from 10 and along with that, access to the Android Music Player 3.0. It isn’t known what the real method for getting the test market on to the said device was (a Galaxy S), other than perhaps it being in developer mode.
The actual market looks similar to the regular publicly available version other than a few changes. Most notable is the missing options to download paid apps. Other than that, it’s relatively the same. It does have the one addition though, which we have already mentioned. This is the Music Player 3.0. [Read more…]
In a recent survey, developers have hinted that developing for Android can be a bit of a problem. The reason for this is due to the fragmentation of the OS and the Android Market.
The main key points from the survey mention that device fragmentation was a huge (or meaningful) problem for 56% of developers. This number has increased over the last few months as well. Also, the break up of various Android app stores such as the official Android Market and the Amazon App Store is also another concern for developers. It seems like a good percentage want a single experience, just like the Apple App Store provides. [Read more…]
Android Developers has announced the launch of in-app billing for developers and app users on the Android ecosystem.
What this system does is allows developers to create apps that utilize in-app purchases. In turn, when users are using those apps, they can choose to pay and upgrade or add new features as they are released.
This also opens up an alternative way to try before you by apps in that you can offer a cut down app to users and then when they pay, the extra functions are added on. [Read more…]
It is now possible to update your DROID X or 2 to Android 2.3 Gingerbread, thanks to the guys over at MyDroidWorld.
Each of the smartphones needs to be rooted prior to installing the updates and once installed, the Gingerbread update cannot actually be rooted yet although the team is working on that. We also hear that it’s easy enough to jump back to a stock install in case things don’t go as well as planned, or if you run in to too many problems. [Read more…]
After believing that the Sony Ericsson X10 had been put away in terms of getting no more Android updates, we now hear, or surprisingly hear I should say, that the device will soon be getting Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Before we continue, note that this it the X10 only and not the other variations of the X10.
Back to the Android 2.3 update for the X10, we were told months ago that there would be no more updates beyond Eclair for this series of smartphones, but for various reasons, all covered here, we hear that SE has changed its mind and will be pushing the new update out either late Q2 or early Q3 this year. [Read more…]
Google has confirmed that it will not be releasing Android 3.0 Honeycomb to open source just yet. It is in the plans of Google to do that, but not just yet as they feel it isn’t ready and have more work to do on it.
Android 3.0, Honeycomb, was designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes and improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization. While we’re excited to offer these new features to Android tablets, we have more work to do before we can deliver them to other device types including phones. Until then, we’ve decided not to release Honeycomb to open source. We’re committed to providing Android as an open platform across many device types and will publish the source as soon as it’s ready.
When RIM launch the BlackBerry PlayBook, it will be capable of running Android apps. This information comes from a press release sent out yesterday by RIM.
“The BlackBerry PlayBook is an amazing tablet. The power that we have embedded creates one of the most compelling app experiences available in a mobile computing device today,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “The upcoming addition of BlackBerry Java and Android apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook on BlackBerry App World will provide our users with an even greater choice of apps and will also showcase the versatility of the platform.”
Yesterday, some results were published that showed the iPhone 4 was slower than the Google Nexus S in terms of page load speeds. The test data was gathered by looking up 45,000 web pages on each device. Today though, we hear that the tests were actually flawed due to the app used on the iPhone not utilizing new features of the Safari browser that was updated in iOS 4.3.
When testing with iOS 4.3, the company used UIWebView which unfortunately, didn’t benefit from the same speed increases as the Safari browser. What this means is that an accurate picture wasn’t gathered about the iPhone browser and thus, making it an unfair test. [Read more…]
Every couple of weeks, Android Developers releases details about the various versions of Android and which is the most popular. The reason for the release of this data is so that developers can see which version is most popular and then target either a specific OS, or perhaps decide it’s time to focus on the higher end of Android versions. The data was updated on March 15 and shows the percentage of Android versions with data gathered from devices that connect to the Android Market.
Seven versions of Android are tracked in the chart which includes 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.3.3 and Android 3.0 Honeycomb. What we see is that Android 2.2 now dominates the landscape and is installed on 61.3% of all devices. [Read more…]
Facebook has updated its Android app and along with the update, a number of new features have been added.
The new version is 1.5.2 and gives users the ability to upload photos on to friends walls. Uploading photos to groups is also now possible with the app. A full list of the features can be found below. [Read more…]
The Motorola DROID 3 has appeared over on Howard Forums and reveals the new generation device along with a few cosmetic changes to the keyboard layout.
The DROID 2 had a 4 row layout on the QWERTY keyboard which means the top row doubled up with numbers which were accessed by the function button. What we see on the DROID 3 is that a fifth row of keys has been added which brings dedicated 1 to 9 and 0 numbers on the top row. This also allows for more symbols to be added to the function key such as a other financial symbols. [Read more…]
