Tag: Android
VIDEO: Spotify application on Google Android
We’ve heard it from head office and we’ve seen it on the iPhone but there’s something very warming about this video of Spotify in action on the Google Android platform. It might be the way they’re using a Mac as the computer while flaunting the non-Apple software on the non-Apple touchscreen smartphone, but then it might just be that the app looks like it’s running pretty damned smooth. See what you think.
We knew the cache potential of Spotify already but I’d be interested to see how many tracks you could have in an off-line playlist before you phone falls over. Loving the instantaneous syncing with laptop and the OTA search looks pretty good too although, let’s face it, that won’t have been a demo over 3G.
Still work in progress, as the man says, and no release dates yet but what do you think on first impressions? Would you pay the premium for Spotify Mobile?
(via Spotify Blog)
Leaked: Image of the HTC Hero, aka the 'G3'
An image has surfaced on the internet, on the ‘Code Android Singapore’ website, of the HTC Hero. This device is a followup to the HTC Magic, and is referred to by many as the G3 because it runs Android – Google’s mobile phone operating system.
It’s a lot squarer than the HTC Magic, and it looks like the infamous chin from the G1 has returned. There’s no trackball, either, which could indicate that G1 users haven’t been overly fond of it as a control mechanism. Also in the shots, though, may be a slot for a 3.5mm headphone jack. That would be a fantastic addition to the handset.
(via Code Android Singapore)
Tech Digest Podcast #5
We are not infected. Actually, I can’t say that for certain. Duncan has a cold and I travelled in on the Tube before we started talking about all the Swine Flu panic on Twitter, the internet maps and the spread of the virus.
Thankfully, Swine Flu cannot be transmitted over podcast and, at the least, we’ve had time to talk about the imminent release of the Palm Pre; Cupcake on the second UK Google Android phone, the HTC Magic; holographic storage and the one billionth iPhone app download.
This week in, er, hard/soft (please help us) it’s all about the cloud-based antivirus program Panda and I try to persuade Duncan to run down to Aldi and buy a Medion laptop. Easier than it sounds actually.
I think we’ve managed to sort out the buzzing problem but the new issue this week is that I’m a lot louder than Duncan. As it goes, I am, but even trying to balance the inputs and some levelling software doesn’t seem to have solved the trouble. Next time. We’re getting there.
Send all your comments, topics that you’d like us to talk about and any requests or words of wisdom to me at [email protected] or throw us a tweet at @techdigest.
Motorola Ironman Android phone planned for Q3 launch
We all love a good phone leak and the surprise from Motorola today is that their leaked phone might indeed actually be good. This is the Android-running handset codenamed Ironman which should be out by the end of Q3. That’s around September to anyone living in the real world.
No proper specs aside Wi-Fi, 3G, high-end CPU, top camera and something that looks rather like a touch sensitive QWERTY judging by the picture. Most interesting bit of Motorola kit I’ve seen in the last 12 months.
(via BGR)
HTC Magic Video: Hands on with the UK's second Android phone
I met up with Vodafone this morning to take a look at one of the hottest handsets of the summer, the HTC Magic known to some as the G2, known by all as the second Google Android phone available in the UK.
Straight up, it’s obvious that this handset is the looker of the two Android siblings at the moment. It may not be a particularly orginal form with the iPhone two years old now but I like the way they’ve taken “the chin” and turned it from a jutting Jimmy Hill to a more handsome Robert Redford. Take a look.
This missing flash will wind you up if the camera is the most important feature for you but otherwise there’s very little to complain about. It comes loaded with Android 1.5, aka Cupcake, meaning you can take video and upload straight to YouTube and Picasa, and there’s no longer the need for a hard keyboard. The virtual one seems certainly no worse than the iPhone’s.
The battery’s a slight improvement on the G1 with a 1340 mAh capacity which should see you out a a full day of heavy use before it’s time to plug in again.
A single small USB port at the bottom means you’ll have to use the in-box 3.5mm adaptor to fit your preferred headphones in, but it’s good to see they’ve had the issue in mind.
All in all, an A1 phone. Still time to get a fiver off the monthly tariff if you order today. £30 a month for 18 months grabs you a free handset, 600 mins and “unlimited” data and texts to the tune of 500MB per month and around 3,000 messages.
The handset is only available in white in the UK but that’s no bad thing until you dirty it up with your muddy paws.
HTC Magic spec sheet
Android 1.5 to hit G1 owners in May
T-Mobile G1 owners yearning for an onscreen keyboard, video recording and Latitude for Google Maps need yearn no longer. Well, not much longer anyway. Android 1.5, better known as ‘Cupcake’, will be hitting handsets in May.
T-Mobile has sold 100,000 G1 handsets since its launch in October, six months ago. That might not seem like much compared to the iPhones dominance of the smartphone sector, but it’s not bad for a completely new OS, brand and device. It’s T-Mobile’s most popular handset, too.
The Cupcake update will be delivered over-the-air to phones, so you won’t have to do anything except maybe hit ‘yes’ once or twice. The onscreen keyboard should help ease complaints that you have to flip out the QWERTY to enter even small bits of text.
T-Mobile has also announced that it’ll be releasing a second Android handset in 2009. This isn’t the G2, or the HTC Magic, which is coming out on Vodafone and will be available this weekend to people who’ve preordered.
No, it’ll be completely new device. A device that we know absolutely nothing about – because T-Mobile won’t tell us anything. Damn them. When we find out, we’ll let you know.
T-Mobile
Samsung launching i7500 and S8000 Android handsets
Phones don’t just jump straight from ‘unheard-of’ to ‘rumoured’ to ‘confirmed’, there’s a whole host of grey area in between. Samsung has two phones on the way that’ll be running Google’s Android OS, and they’re both about half-way between ‘rumoured’ and ‘confirmed’, i.e. pretty much certain.
The i7500 will be out first, in June, and will be just 11.9mm thick. It’ll feature no hardware keypad at all, so it’ll be rocking the latest version of Android – “Cupcake” – which packs an on-screen keyboard.
Other than that, it’ll have a 3.2″ capacitive touchscreen, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 5-megapixel camera, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card slot and 8GB of internal memory. Specs-wise, it’s basically an N95 8GB with a touchscreen and Android welded on.
Interestingly, the price seems to be set (in Germany) at just €300 (£270 or so), which is rather cheap for a handset with those specs. That’s what dumping proprietary operating systems will do for you.
Then there’s the S8000 which, as the name suggests, is an upgraded version of the i7500. It’s got a 3.1″ AMOLED touchscreen running at 480 x 800 resolution, meaning that the colours will look incredible while still consuming very little power.
Specs-wise it’s nearly identical. GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 5-megapixel camera, and 3.5mm headphone jack, but only 2GB of internal memory and no mention of an SD card slot. It will again be running Android, which takes us to two of a promised ‘more than three’ Android handsets from Samsung this year.
(via Unwiredview, i7500 and i8000)
The lowdown on the HTC Magic – pricing, release dates and contract info
We’re eagerly awaiting the Vodafone HTC Magic, which is basically the G2, so that there’ll be a little more choice in the Android chunk of the mobile phone market. The G1’s all well and good, and I like it more the more I use it, but evolution – even if it removes the lovely keyboard – is good too.
The HTC Magic will go onsale in the UK on the 1st May. Before that, you’ll be able to pre-order the handset from the 17th April, though I’m thinking that it’s fairly unlikely there’s going to be queues around the block, so you’ll probably be able to get one on the day itself.
It’ll be only available on an 18 month contract for £30 a month (totalling £540). That’ll get you 600 minutes, though, as well as “unlimited” texts and “unlimited” emails. Those will have some sort of crappy and overly restrictive fair-usage limit, no doubt. I hope Vodafone’s prepared for G2 users to hit that internet limit.
(via UK Gadgeteer)
T-Mobile plotting Android home phone and tablet
Remember, before we all had mobiles, the days of the home phone. Having to drag the cable across the hallway and under your door if you wanted to have a private conversation without the rest of your family listening in? That mysterious ‘Mercury’ button?
Those days are mostly at an end, but there are a few people still buying landline phones. As a result, companies are still making them – including T-Mobile who, rumour has it, will be bringing out an Android version next year. There’ll be a docking station that lets you sync it and recharge the battery.
On top of that, there’s a 7″ Android tablet in the works too. There’s very little detail being shared, but it’ll apparently let you ‘check the weather’ or ‘manage data across a wide variety of devices’. Sounds good. More when we get it.
(via Electric Pig)
HP considering Android for forthcoming netbooks
Top laptop manufacturer Hewlett-Packard, or HP, has confirmed that it’s testing out Android as a operating system for forthcoming netbooks. Normally the platform is only used in phones, and at the time of writing there’s only one phone on the market that uses it.
Android can work on netbooks, as Venturebeat proved back in January. They had a little difficulty with graphics drivers, but if a user wasn’t rendering much more than websites then it could be very effective and very cheap – a great solution for the netbook industry.
HP has said that it hasn’t made any decisions yet on whether to offer it or not, but it’ll be interesting to see how they fare with it. Other netbook manufacturers will almost certainly be watching, too.
(via PC World)
