tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36933194672047247852024-02-18T19:51:20.691-07:00Google Phone SystemFor All Your gPhone / Android FixgPhone Systemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04018577003790833829noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-89199439493891654332008-06-13T19:31:00.001-07:002008-06-29T07:34:09.273-07:00GTalk - Yahoo! Messenger InteroperabilityThe big news from Google this morning was the agreement to provide Yahoo! with access to Google's AdSense for search and AdSense for content in US and Canada. The <a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/20080612_yahoo.html" target="_blank">Google press release</a> and the <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/our-agreement-to-provide-ad-technology.html" target="_blank">Google blog post</a> on this topic had another interesting tid-bit: <blockquote>In addition, we will work to enable interoperability between our respective instant messaging services allowing users better, broader communication online.<br /><br />. <br />. <br />. <br />And with interoperability between IM services, users will have easier access to even more of their contacts.</blockquote><br /><br />I hope they implement this interoperability soon. The previously announced interoperability with AOL and Skype messaging platforms has not materialized yet. The facility for GMail users with AOL accounts to login with their AOL IDs and chat with their AOL contacts from within GMail does not count as interoperability.<br /><br />I wonder why IM platforms were not designed in the first place to function like email platforms: with the ability to message contacts on any other network. Now that IM platforms started out as walled gardens, what is taking the big IM platforms so long to implement interoperability with all other IM platforms, or at least with the major ones. Are they afraid that this will make their competitors stronger? Don't the big IM platforms realize that giving their users the ability to chat with friends on other networks is the best way to keep them on their own networks?<br /><br />If I could use Yahoo Messenger to chat with my friends who are on GTalk, I might never use the GTalk client because I find the YM client to be more full-featured. Think about it Yahoo and get working on interoperability with GTalk ASAP! And while you are at it, don't forget to include voice chat in the interoperability mix.<br /><br />PS: I'm not going to ask GTalk for anything here because my wishlist for GTalk would form a complete post in itself.A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-31265656488848972692008-02-29T22:54:00.003-07:002008-02-29T23:04:47.404-07:00Andy Rubin demos AndroidBBC's Darren Waters <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7266201.stm" target="_blank">interviewed</a> Andy Rubin, the main man behind the Android platform, and had him give a demo too. This is the kind of video I was expecting to see come out of the <a href="http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/" target="_blank">Mobile World Congress</a> this year, only to be disappointed. Here's a video of the demo.<br /><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?enablejs=true&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbbcnewstechnology%2Eblip%2Etv%2Frss&file=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Frss%2Fflash%2F704168&showplayerpath=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Fscripts%2Fflash%2Fshowplayer%2Eswf" width="400" height="255" allowfullscreen="true" id="showplayer"><param name="movie" value="http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?enablejs=true&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbbcnewstechnology%2Eblip%2Etv%2Frss&file=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Frss%2Fflash%2F704168&showplayerpath=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Fscripts%2Fflash%2Fshowplayer%2Eswf" /><param name="quality" value="best" /><embed src="http://blip.tv/scripts/flash/showplayer.swf?enablejs=true&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbbcnewstechnology%2Eblip%2Etv%2Frss&file=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Frss%2Fflash%2F704168&showplayerpath=http%3A%2F%2Fblip%2Etv%2Fscripts%2Fflash%2Fshowplayer%2Eswf" quality="best" width="400" height="255" name="showplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-81266055436481570832008-02-13T17:11:00.003-07:002008-02-13T17:22:49.711-07:00Challenges of Mobile AdvertisingMobile phones are intensely personal devices we carry with us pretty much everywhere. As such, it is hard-to-resist medium for advertisers. However, this platform can be a double-edged sword. Mobile advertisements are perhaps the most intrusive form of marketing, just a rung below telemarketing calls. So, there is a high potential for turning off prospective customers.<br /><br />In this post we will examine some of the challenges of advertising on the mobile phone.<br /><br /><br /><b>Limited Screensizes</b><br /><br />Unlike TVs and computers with ever increasing screen sizes, the size of mobile phone screens will always remain small. Every millimeter of space on that screen is valuable. There are no convenient side bars, header banners and footer spaces where ads can be shown without too much distraction from the main content. So, where to squeeze some ad space without encroaching on content and irritating the user? One way of increasing screen space on mobile phones is to make the entire face of the phone a screen, with a touch interface, like the popular iPhone.<br /><br /><br /><b>Reduced Receive-only Attention Span</b><br /><br />By its very nature the mobile phone is a device for active interaction, whether we are talking or messaging. On every other platform, be it print, TV, radio or the computer, the amount of time we spend in non-interactive, receive-only mode is much higher compared to the phone. Receive-only mode is when we are only reading / viewing / listening to something, as opposed to interacting with it by providing our own inputs. Most of today's ads are geared towards audiences who are in the receive-only mode. These are passive ads.<br /><br />Mobile phones are used in receive-only mode, only for short durations when we are looking for specific information or when we are passing time when waiting for an appointment or to reach a destination, etc. This substantially reduced receive-only attention span of mobile phone users presents another challenge for presenting ads.<br /><br />This issue can be addressed in a couple of ways: a) Provide content which encourages people to spend more time in receive-only mode on the phones. b) Come up with clever interactive ads / marketing campaigns. These are active ads which require the audiences to play with them or provide inputs.<br /><br />The one thing you do <i>not</i> want to do is <i>interrupt</i> the user with an ad when they are in active interaction mode - be it communicating with somebody or looking up information.<br /><br /><br /><b>Rewards for unsolicited ads</b><br /><br />The state of mobile devices and connectivity today is that showing ads on the phone involves a cost to the end-user. The ads may drain more power from the phone's limited battery source and it may increase the data usage for which the user may be paying by volume. In addition, the user will also be paying with her/his personal time and attention, which s/he might consider to be even more valuable than the battery power or data usage costs. As such, users will be loathe to consume unsolicited ads on the phone without being rewarded in return with something more than the information presented in the ad. Such rewards could be free voice or data connectivity, free phones, etc. As the market matures, I'm sure marketers will think of other innovative rewards with which to win over customer's attentions.<br /><br />The rewarding of users with free stuff in exchange for viewing ads happens more often than we realize. Eg: Programming on many TV netword channels are available to us for free viewing, subsidized by ads.<br /><br /><br /><b>Solicited Ads or Ads as (Search) Results</b><br /><br />The most effective presentment of ads is as a response to a user request or search. I am not talking of contextual ads shown alongside search results. These contextual ads are still unsolicited ads because they are shown without the user asking to see them. Suppose, the user is looking for a store or a business via a search service or directory calling service on the mobile phone. The service would then show mostly (or perhaps exclusively) businesses which have paid to be listed as results of that search. This, of course, goes against the principles of fair and unbiased search results and such a service cannot strictly be called a search service. Nevertheless, if the results are of high quality and relevancy, it will be used by the people. <A href="http://search.justdial.com/" target="_blank">Just Dial</a> in India is one such directory service which charges businesses to list them as search results.<br /><br /><br /><b>Summary</b><br />Advertising on mobile phones is not an easy proposition due to the scarce screen space, reduced attention span of users and risks of antagonizing the user by being too intrusive, or worse, costing her/him time and money to merely view the ad. However, the rewards are enormously high for anyone who successfully cracks this puzzle as effectively as Google cracked the contextual ads puzzle.<br /><br />In a future column, we will explore some of the possible options for displaying ads on a mobile screen with the least intrusion to the user.A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-44907741444498168372008-02-10T10:02:00.000-07:002008-02-10T10:03:52.055-07:00It's a gPhone debut parade!We had <a href="http://gphonesystem.blogspot.com/2007/12/rumor-gphone-debut-in-mobile-world.html">reported earlier</a> on rumors of a gPhone debut at the <a href="http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/" target="_blank">Mobile World Congress</a>, which opens next week. The rumors have taken on a tone of all but confirmed reporting in the past few days. Apparently, we won't see a debut of just one or two godPhones, but a parade of upto a dozen gPhone prototyes, according to <a href="http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200802081906DOWJONESDJONLINE000833_FORTUNE5.htm" target="_blank">this article on CNN Money</a>: <blockquote>As many as one dozen handset makers and chip companies are expected next week to unveil mobile phone prototypes designed to operate with Google Inc.'s (GOOG) new Android software platform, a source familiar with the situation said Friday.<br /><br />One analyst said the number companies preparing to show off their wares at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona amounts to "a small but symbolic step" forward for the Internet search and advertising giant, which has set it sights on the nascent but potentially lucrative mobile ad market.<br /><br />"Having prototypes is a signal, but not a promise, that the phones will be out there," said Bill Hughes, analyst at In-Stat consultancy.<br /><br />Hughes said the success of Google's effort to develop a next-generation mobile phone will largely depend on convincing independent developers - whom Google is counting on to add all the bells and whistles to its mobile phone software - that there will be a broad market for their applications.</blockquote> Couple of points:<br />a) How many of these "phone prototypes designed to operate with Android" will actually be running Android? I ask this only because the <a href="http://gphonesystem.blogspot.com/2008/01/gphone-race-kicks-off-wistron-starts.html">Winstron GW4</a> was being shown off as the "first Android-capable phone" at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, although it was decided not running on Android yet!<br /><br />b) The above CNN Money article claims that, "the success of Google's effort to develop a next-generation mobile phone will largely depend on convincing independent developers". I have heard a similar thing from many others about how independent developers will make or break Android. Well... no! We have repeatedly seen great-looking, shiny new mobile phones becoming a huge hit in the market <i>with no</i> independent developer support. All it would take is the introduction of just one Android handset which one-ups the iPhone, and everybody, their grandmothers and their kids will be lining up for it. So, no, the success of a new mobile phone or platform does not largely depend on independent developers. However, I don't deny that independent developers do make an important contribution, especially towards the long-term adoption and sustenance of a new computing platform.A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-64225847419833650612008-01-29T21:55:00.000-07:002008-01-29T22:11:11.205-07:00Android Class at MITThe <a href="http://www.mit.edu" target="_blank">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> is offering a computer science class based on the Android platform this semester, as reported in the <a href="http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/01/28/story12.html" target="_blank"><i>Boston Business Journal</i></a>.<br /><br />The class will be 25 students strong, covering the ins and outs of the Android platform, along with building applications on the platform. It is led by Professor Hal Abelson. It will also feature guest instructors Rich Miner of Google, Dave Mitchell and Eric Carlson from ConnectedBit, and Rajeev Surati and Andrew Yu of MIT.<br /><br />Android is probably the tool / platform which made it fastest from the industry to the classroom. Heck, it has not even made it to the market yet! I am thinking the only other software tools that appeared in the the classroom even before hitting the market were the ones which were developed right there on campus.<br /><br /><br />[via <a href="http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/01/28/story12.html" target="_blank"><i>Boston Business Journal</i></a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-11080435381395278512008-01-28T18:14:00.001-07:002008-01-28T18:19:53.636-07:00Android Developer Challenge Deadline ExtendedThe deadline for the first round of the <A href="http://code.google.com/android/adc.html" target="_blank">Android Developer Challenge</a> has been extended upto 14th April 2008. Previously, March 3rd had been announced as a <a href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2008/01/rising-to-challenge.html" target="_blank">hard deadline</a>. Here's the updated timeline as per the <a href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2008/01/deadline-extension-for-android.html" target="_blank">Android Developers Blog</a>: <blockquote>April 14, 2008: Deadline to submit applications for judging<br />May 5, 2008: Announcement of the 50 first round winners, who will be eligible for the final round<br />June 30, 2008: Deadline for the 50 winners of the first round to submit for the final round<br />July 21, 2008: Announcement of the grand prize winner and runner-up.</blockquote><br /><br /><br />[via <a href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2008/01/deadline-extension-for-android.html" target="_blank">Android Developers Blog</a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-42766287959487656652008-01-23T22:22:00.000-07:002008-01-23T22:37:22.054-07:00Adword Conversion Tracking Challenges on MobileEffectively advertising on mobile phones without alienating the user is a challenge that is far from being solved by anyone right now. I am quite surprised to learn that Google has a more basic challenge right now: it can't even track Adword conversions on mobile phones! In other words, when someone clicks on a Google ad on a mobile phone, Google might not always know about it and so may not get paid for it. This is a serious flaw indeed!<br /><br /><A href="http://www.accuracast.com/search-daily-news/ppc-7471/google-adwords-conversion-tracking-fails-on-mobile/" target="_blank">Accuracast talks</a> about how a large number of Adword conversions on mobile devices can go undetected because many mobile browsers do not allow JavaScript or cookies, the basic essentials for Google to track ad clicks.<br /><br />When Accuracast questioned Google, the response they got from a Google Adwords account manager not only confirms this, it even suggests that disabling images on a phone browser can prevent tracking Adword conversion: <blockquote>A significant percentage of mobile browser and carrier combinations do not support cookies. Google adds cookies to a user’s mobile device when he or she clicks on an ad to track conversions. Therefore, if users are using mobile browsers or carriers that do not accept or support cookies, they will not be included in your conversion tracking statistics.<br /><br />Additionally, cookies on mobile phones expire faster than the ones created for PCs. Therefore, a significant number of conversions for your site may go unrecorded after a certain period of time. When viewing conversions for a specified time period, note that conversions are assigned to the date on which the ad click occurs, not the date on which the conversion occurs. In addition, we will not be able to report conversions for users who disable cookies. <br /><br />Conversion tracking is also not supported when users disable images on their mobile phones. <br /><br />Although Google cannot record every conversion due to the reasons mentioned above, your conversion rate, cost-per-conversion, cost-per-transaction and value/click are adjusted to reflect only those sites from which we can track conversions.</blockquote><br />I am also surprised that this is not bigger news.<br /><br />[via <A href="http://www.accuracast.com/search-daily-news/ppc-7471/google-adwords-conversion-tracking-fails-on-mobile/" target="_blank">Accuracast</a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-69185778082313286622008-01-18T20:54:00.001-07:002008-01-18T21:00:13.008-07:00Issue Tracker for Android SDKThe Android Developers blog has <a href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2008/01/you-cant-rush-perfection-but-now-you.html" target="_blank">announced</a> the launch of an Issue Tracker for the Android SDK. Here's the link:<br /><br /><a href="http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/list" target="_blank">http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/list</a><br /><br />As <a href="http://gphonesystem.blogspot.com/2007/12/android-bugs-how-bad-is-it-right-now.html">reported previously</a> on this blog, an Issue Tracker had been one of the top items on Android developers' wishlists.<br /><br /><br />[via <a href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2008/01/you-cant-rush-perfection-but-now-you.html" target="_blank">Android Developers blog</a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-75558388659937364342008-01-10T19:38:00.001-07:002008-01-10T20:00:32.386-07:00Magellan’s Maestro Elite 5340 - first GPS unit with Google Search<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiZtHNsSqJEIgG_UHE569o40RlKjcWrpQUSGltSAqLdsu1S1vX2jy-ffOL119eVO0MprgwGz3LSFArDWeJdzCP-jrT2feG2AkiW0jxyaA3bbuOSronV0apv81komoGxdHZ3zOcG_Yz-xH/s1600-h/Maestro5340_with_Google.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiZtHNsSqJEIgG_UHE569o40RlKjcWrpQUSGltSAqLdsu1S1vX2jy-ffOL119eVO0MprgwGz3LSFArDWeJdzCP-jrT2feG2AkiW0jxyaA3bbuOSronV0apv81komoGxdHZ3zOcG_Yz-xH/s200/Maestro5340_with_Google.jpg" border="0" alt="Magellan's Maestro 5340 with Google Search"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154043012107986546" /></a> Thanks to lousy wireless data channels, GPS units have traditionally tried to cram local information into their own memory, instead of relying on expert data indexers like Google to serve the latest information. It has taken so long for someone to put Google search into a GPS unit. Well, better late than never. Magellan’s <a href="http://www.magellangps.com/news/releases/viewRelease.asp?id=583" target="_blank">Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS</a> becomes the first GPS unit to feature Google Local Search. Scheduled to ship in Spring of this year, this GPRS-only-no-Wi-Fi unit costs a whopping $1,299 <i>plus</i> a monthly fee for the GPRS connection! Compare that to the <a href="http://www.dash.net/product.php" target="_blank">Dash Express</a>, which costs $599 plus $10-$13 monthly, and has both GPRS and Wi-Fi connectivity. But then, the Dash features Yahoo! Local, which is not as good as Google Local.A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-62527689584337430052008-01-10T19:11:00.000-07:002008-01-10T19:31:43.842-07:00GE Phones - first with Google button!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWweLkgQdOX5jKGaijQ6EHglfzgi2fpzjUSQZcW2O_fy5GR7PoYFLY0LUnYkyITABG6FA3ZriTiCWNWti2b0WzZDKRdNeGwnYyCrI0w9wl39AHXOIYDSvnIvGZtvRMYZ6Wewqen4nbaUJ/s1600-h/GE_Phone_Goog411_button.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWweLkgQdOX5jKGaijQ6EHglfzgi2fpzjUSQZcW2O_fy5GR7PoYFLY0LUnYkyITABG6FA3ZriTiCWNWti2b0WzZDKRdNeGwnYyCrI0w9wl39AHXOIYDSvnIvGZtvRMYZ6Wewqen4nbaUJ/s200/GE_Phone_Goog411_button.jpg" border="0" alt="GE Phone with GOOG-411 Button"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154038704255788642" /></a> GE cordless phones (non-cellular) become the first phones to come with a dedicated Google button. The button is for Google's excellent free 411 service (1-800-GOOG-411). The phones will be available in April 2008.<br /><br />This is no different from Google's <a href="http://gphonesystem.blogspot.com/2007/12/google-mobile-updater-for-blackberry.html">earlier move</a> to put short-cuts to its web-based mobile apps on the BlackBerry home screen. If an easy short-cut to a great service is available right in front of them, people <i>will</i> use it. This is a great move by Google to boost usage of its 411 service and to get more users to <a href="http://gphonesystem.blogspot.com/2007/12/links-gtalk-translator-bots-callfreq.html">train its voice recognition algorithms</a>.<br /><br /><br />[via <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/03/ges-latest-dect-6-0-phones-feature-dedicated-goog-411-button/" target="_blank">Engadget.com</a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-66485320393360588622008-01-06T22:22:00.000-07:002008-01-06T22:48:37.511-07:00gPhone Race Kicks Off - Wistron Starts Claims<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJoBbwNtRzSm1C6XR51c0o3OW8Lbo6VV728JSNv7lmpvBpR2WqmvcJMaIZtnvCyWcEkmTuJZ730NAhFfQer637A9PvxyX_NeLfK4ne6sPCsPvOLuJGJYD7zbVDjFAuzUkmDpwtNJHyYjj8/s1600-h/Wistron_GW4.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJoBbwNtRzSm1C6XR51c0o3OW8Lbo6VV728JSNv7lmpvBpR2WqmvcJMaIZtnvCyWcEkmTuJZ730NAhFfQer637A9PvxyX_NeLfK4ne6sPCsPvOLuJGJYD7zbVDjFAuzUkmDpwtNJHyYjj8/s200/Wistron_GW4.jpg" border="0" alt="Wistron GW4"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152605989065188898" /></a> Looks like the race to see who will bring the first godPhone to the market has kicked off... albeit without anyone demo'ing a handset actually running Android. It's all just a race of words right now.<br /><br /><i>PC Magazine</i> <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2245563,00.asp" target="_blank">reports</a> on the Wistron GW4 handset unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today. Right now, the handset is running a version of MontaVista Linux 2.6. But Wistron claims that the "GW4 will be running Android by March, when Wistron will start selling it to more prominent firms for branding." However, I wouldn't hold my breath in March. It does <i>not</i> look like Wistron will actually sell a gPhone in March or April. The <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2245563,00.asp" target="_blank">PC Magazine article</a> concludes with the line:<blockquote>The GW4 will come out during the second quarter of this year, Wistron execs said.</blockquote> So, to summarize, the GW4 in its current version with MontaVista Linux, will only be available in the second quarter of this year, despite a working prototype being shown at CES 2008 right <i>now</i>. So, it is safe to assume a g(od)Phone avatar of the GW4 will be available even later. Never mind what enthusiastic PR people say about the GW4 running Android by March. They were probably only thinking of that happening in their labs.<br /><br />[via <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2245563,00.asp" target="_blank"><i>PC Magazine</i></a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-3172529126488411282008-01-05T22:47:00.000-07:002008-01-05T23:17:01.299-07:00Challenges of Android DevelopmentIt is always nicer to read the opinions and experiences of developers actually working on Android, compared to the commentary of bloggers / reporters who get their development-related information second hand.<br /><br />Nazmul Idris of the <i>Developerlife</i> blog seems to have waited over a month after initial release to check out the Android SDK and he's been at it for only a couple of days now. Nevertheless, his <a href="http://developerlife.com/theblog/?p=235" target="_blank">Google Android Musings</a> about the challenges of developing for a mobile platform in general, and for the Android platform in particular makes some worthwhile reading: <blockquote>In Android, there is no Swing or AWT, so you have to familiarize yourself with the new GUI APIs (hierarchically nested Views) that are part of Android. That’s not so bad… since they have lots of pre-built widgets, and they provide lots of data binding support for diverse data models. Having said that, the biggest difference in building an Android app, from one that runs on a desktop/server/laptop Java VM is that the Android app runs in a managed container. The SystemManager is responsible for taking the app through various discretely defined lifecycle states, which allows for apps to be interrupted by network coverage issues, or incoming phone calls, or just being turned off, as examples. An Android app that has a UI is called an Activity. Activities run in their own Linux process, and they have one default thread (Swing-like-EDT), that can not be hogged for more than 5 seconds, otherwise, the SystemManager will shut the app down. This requires users to know how to create background tasks, which is not easy. Also, the UI metaphor in Android is one of building “screens”, rather than building apps which have nested panels and complex layouts and centralized state management. This is a very common approach to taken when building UIs/apps for mobile devices. The idea is to split up an application into many discrete loosely coupled pieces… some that are bound to the screen (Activity), and others that are “headless” (Services). Additionally, there are lots of container managed persistence and data exchange mechanisms that are available. However, given that these pieces can be swapped out with different pieces, and that any screen can be paused or activated at any time makes life more tricky for the app developer. All of this raises the barrier to entry so to speak. And I’m not even going into the optimization techniques that you have to adopt to write code that runs fast.</blockquote><br />The above quote is just a small part of the article. Visit the blog to read some more on the topic.<br /><br />[via <a href="http://developerlife.com/theblog/?p=235" target="_blank">Developerlife.com</a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-20894531372962079312007-12-31T19:10:00.000-07:002007-12-31T19:19:03.866-07:00YouTube App for Helio OceanThe <a href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2007/12/upload-geo-tagged-youtube-videos-from.html" target="_blank">Google Mobile blog</a> talks about the custom-built YouTube app from Helio which lets you watch, record, upload, and share YouTube videos on your Helio Ocean phone:<blockquote>You can even let everyone know where you shot a video by attaching a "geo-tag," which includes the GPS coordinates for the location where you shot the video.<br /><br />You can also personalize your YouTube experience on the Helio Ocean by customizing your video feeds like My Subscriptions, My Favorites, My Playlists, My Videos and Received Videos. Of course, you can always view traditional YouTube categories like Most Viewed, Most Recent, Top Rated and Recently Featured.</blockquote><br /><object width="425" height="373"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OVKue_BWD6c&rel=1&border=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OVKue_BWD6c&rel=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="373"></embed></object><br /><br />Note that this YouTube app is from Helio and not from Google. It would be nice if Google released a similar app for mobile phones. Right now, YouTube has a <a href="http://m.youtube.com" target="_blank">mobile version</a> of its website.A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-61199415666153717512007-12-31T18:20:00.000-07:002008-01-10T19:32:40.178-07:00Links: GTalk translator bots, CallFreq Android app, Google's speech recognition training, UK spectrum auction, Google Mobile in Africa & India<ul><li><a href="http://googletalk.blogspot.com/2007/12/merry-christmas-god-jul-and.html" target="_blank">Translation bots available for Google Talk</a> - Just add a bot as a GTalk contact, send a message to it in one language and it will echo the message back in another language. For example, if you add en2es@bot.talk.google.com as a GTalk contact and send it a message in English, it will echo the same message back to you in Spanish. Check the link for a list of other language-pair bots available from Google right now.<br /><b>Tip:</b> If you have an IM app on your mobile phone which can communicate with your GTalk contacts, this could be used as a handy pocket translator. Be warned though, translations by these bots are not very accurate.</li><br /><li><a href="http://sadko.mobi/callfreq/index.html" target="_blank">New Android App: CallFreq</a> - Described as a "new generation of a phone dialer", which "intelligently analyzes the calling patterns of an Android communicator user and provide you only with the contacts that you currently need most". The current release sorts your contacts into those you call most frequently.</li><br /><li><a href="http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/12/google-is-all-about-large-amounts-of.html" target="_blank">Google's speech recognition software is being trained by GOOG-411 phone service users.</a> We can expect this training to be put to good use in future targetted mobile advertising algorithms as well.</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/dec/13/googlethemedia.ofcom" target="_blank">Might Google be interested in bidding for the broadcast spectrum in UK?</a> For those of you who might not know, UK is also planning on auctioning off the spectrum that is/was by analog TV service there. A spokesman for Google UK said that FCC restrictions meant that the company was not allowed to comment on its plans in this area anywhere in the world.</li><br /><li><a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/200711280391.html" target="_blank">Google partners with Safaricom in South Africa</a> to offer Google services on mobile phones there. Interestingly, it sounds like these services are being offered through the <a href="http://www.google.com/a/" target="_blank">Google Apps</a> route. Safaricom customers will have email addresses which are their mobile numbers followed by @safaricom.com and those who cannot access Google services such as Gmail through their mobile phones can access it via Safaricom's website. Sure sounds like Google Apps to me. Good move there by Google - offering Apps to Safaricom and in turn extending its reach to their customers' cell phones.</li><br /><li><a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Portals_eyeing_mobile_tie-ups_for_maximum_hits/articleshow/2576560.cms" target="_blank">Search Engine wars on mobile phones</a> are sure heating up in India. There are seven times more mobile phone users in India than PC-owners. So, it is natural for Google, MSN and Yahoo! to fight it out for mobile users in India.</li><br /></ul>A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-82089252662390058532007-12-27T19:51:00.000-07:002007-12-27T21:21:27.753-07:00Rumor: gPhone debut in Mobile World Congress?The <a href="http://gigaom.com/2007/12/27/google-phone-in-spring-2008/" target="_blank">latest rumor</a> to hit the blogosphere is that the godPhone might debut at the <a href="http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/" target="_blank">Mobile World Congress</a> in February 2008. Why all the hoopla? Apparently, Google has booked <i>two stands</i> on the expo floor, which is making everybody wonder why Google needs so much space.<br /><br />It will be interesting to see what Google has to show off at the expo. Whether or not any real gPhones are shown at the expo, one thing is for sure - there will be lot of publicity for Google's mobile apps and the mobile versions of their services.A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-30126683844432560202007-12-25T20:14:00.000-07:002007-12-25T20:35:33.359-07:00Android Bugs : How bad is it right now?A recent <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB119800856883537515-lMyQjAxMDE3OTE4ODAxMDg4Wj.html" target="_blank"><i>Wall Street Journal</i> article</a> about bugs in the Android SDK quoted a developer proclaim that Android is "clearly not ready for prime time". This led to a flurry of follow-up articles in traditional media and the blogosphere which would lead a casual reader to conclude that <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/12/developers_andr.html" target="_blank">Android doesn't work</a>!<br /><br />The reality is not so bad. The <i>WSJ</i> article seems to be based mostly on the writer's interaction with <i>one</i> developer, and most other articles are merely regurgitated versions of the <i>WSJ</i> piece! There is a <a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071219-google-android-plagued-by-dysfunctional-development-process.html" target="_blank">much better article on Arstechnica</a> which concluded that "it's a mixed bag". This article is different from all the others in one important way: the author himself tried his hand at Android coding before writing the article.<br /><br />The Arstechnica article quotes a Google developer who aptly sums up what seems to be the main issue facing Android developers right now: "it's a process problem, rather than a technical problem."<br /><br />Yes, majority of the complaints from developers seems to be about:<br /><br />1. Lack of 100% documentation about every single feature and functionality in the Android SDK.<br />2. More importantly, lack of a proper issue/bug tracking system which is public and up-to-date on the status of resolutions.<br /><br />To make up for the lack no. 2 above, the Android development community has set up an <a href="http://wiki.droiddocs.net/Known_bugs" target="_blank">independent Wiki to track known bugs</a>. I am not sure how complete and up-to-date this Wiki is. Nevertheless, it is quite revealing: there are just 6 critical bugs and 24 non-critical bugs listed as of now, in addition to 5 feature requests.<br /><br />I don't know about you, but being in software development for 10 years, I think those are damn good numbers for a very early, pre-release version of most non-mission critical software. So much for reports that claimed Android doesn't work!<br /><br />[via <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB119800856883537515-lMyQjAxMDE3OTE4ODAxMDg4Wj.html" target="_blank"><i>Wall Street Journal</i></a> and <a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071219-google-android-plagued-by-dysfunctional-development-process.html" target="_blank">Arstechnica</a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-42265849363843511252007-12-25T18:34:00.000-07:002008-01-10T19:33:03.581-07:00Android officially enters JapanJapan's largest mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo Inc has tied up with Google to promote Google's mobile services such as Gmail, search, calendar and Picasa, to users of its mobile Internet service. DoCoMo is also considering offering an Android-based phone in the second half of 2008.<br /><br />I came across many news reports with this information. Curiously, <i>not one</i> of the reports mentioned Android by name. In fact, none of them even mentioned any of the other Google products by their name, instead referring to Google's <a href="http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071224/APF/712240804&template=apart" target="_blank">search, e-mail, scheduling and photo-saving features</a>. Also, although this is an official and formal tie-up between DoCoMo and Google, there is no mention of whether or not DoCoMo joined the Open Handset Alliance. These omissions are rather conspicuous.<br /><br />[Via <a href="http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071224/APF/712240804&template=apart" target="_blank">journalgazette.net</a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-558633091364335792007-12-12T22:40:00.000-07:002007-12-12T22:46:16.933-07:00Google gives Calendar love for BlackBerry & Picasa love for iPhoneThe <A href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Official Google Mobile blog</a> announced some <A href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2007/12/no-more-excuses-for-being-late.html" target="_blank">calendar love for BlackBerry</a> & <A href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2007/12/picasa-redefined-for-your-iphone.html" target="_blank">Picasa love for iPhone</a>.<br /><br /><b>Google Sync for BlackBerry</b> <br />You can now use the <A href="http://m.google.com/sync" target="_blank">Google Sync for mobile</a> to sync-up your <A href="http://www.google.com/calendar" target="_blank">Google Calendar</a> with your BlackBerry's native calendar. Just point your BlackBerry's browser to <b><A href="http://m.google.com/sync" target="_blank">http://m.google.com/sync</a></b> and download Google Sync. From then on, any changes to your Google Calendar will appear on your BlackBerry calendar, and vice-versa.<br /><br />Google Sync will <b>two-way</b> synchronise your BlackBerry with the default calendar associated with your Google account. You have the option of selecting other calendars to download, but you cannot update them from your BlackBerry. You have automatic or manual synchronization options. The automatic sync option checks for updates every two hours. You can also decide how far into the future you want to sync your BlackBerry and Google calendars. You can set the option to sync from 4 to 24 weeks.<br /><br /><b>Warning:</b> If you use <b>Reset Sync</b> on the Options menu of Google Sync, it will delete all events on your BlackBerry calendar. Not just the ones inserted by Google Sync.<br /><br /><b>Picasa for iPhone</b> <br />After Google's main page (as opposed to the iGoogle homepage) got a special version for the iPhone, it is now <A href="http://picasaweb.google.com" target="_blank">Picasa's</a> turn. From the <A href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2007/12/picasa-redefined-for-your-iphone.html" target="_blank">Google Mobile blog</a>: <blockquote>Today, I'm happy to tell you that we've just released this new iPhone interface for Picasa. After you go to Picasa on your iPhone and log in, you can quickly see all your albums that you've uploaded to Picasa Web. If you click on any of the albums, you can get a full view of your picture with comments from your friends. Or you can click on Slideshow, sit back and watch the pictures scroll. You can also search for photos in your album or through community photos. Finally, with one of my favorite features, you can view your friends' albums through favorites.<br /><br />What are you waiting for? If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch go to http://picasaweb.google.com and check it out.</blockquote><br />Compared to any other mobile browser, the only extra feature for Picasaweb on the iPhone seems to be the slideshow feature. And I am sure the pictures look much better on the iPhone, of course.<br /><br /><b>It is worth noting that Google is targetting recent features and updates to the BlackBerry, the most popular phone in the enterprise space, and to the iPhone, the most [insert iPhone/Apple fanboy adjective here] phone in the consumer space. This is a sure sign that Google wants to play on the mobile phones of both the business users and the non-business users.</b><br /><br /><br />[via <A href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Official Google Mobile blog</a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-66542177176088589962007-12-10T14:27:00.000-07:002007-12-10T14:30:40.668-07:00Engadget Interviews Peter Chou, CEO of HTC<A href="http://www.engadget.com" target="_blank">Engadget</a> scored an <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/10/the-engadget-interview-peter-chou-ceo-of-htc/" target="_blank">interview with Peter Chou</a>, CEO of <A href="http://www.htc.com/" target="_blank">HTC</a>, the top Asian cellphone maker . Frankly, I don't know what to make of the interview.<br /><br />Majority of the interview questions were about Android. Unfortunately, the HTC CEO gave very few specific, clear answers. To begin with, he is not a native English speaker, and "some of his replies have been edited (by Engadget) for clarity". To compound matters, there was a certain ambiguity in his answers, which seemed deliberate. And then, he was trying to be politically correct vis-a-vis the Windows Mobile platform (HTC is a big maker of Win Mobile handsets).<br /><br />For some reason, Engadget seemed to frame many of the Android questions, pitching it against Windows Mobile. This was unnecessary, and it seemed to put Peter Chou on the defensive. He was being very careful not to appear to say anything bad about Win Mobile. Perhaps, he might have answered with more openness if Engadget had asked about Android, without referring to Win Mobile in the same breath.<br /><br />About two-thirds of the way down into the interview, Jason Gordon, HTC Global Director of Communications, added his two cents to his CEO's response. After this point, the language of the answers changed. But we are not sure if this is because of Engadget's editing of Peter Chou's responses, or if Jason Gordon continued to answer all questions from then on. However, the change in langauge did not lead to any more clarity in the responses. HTC continued to give safe answers, so as not to ruffle their partners, be they Microsoft or the US wireless carriers.<br /><br />Just about the only clear answer was given when Engadget asked if HTC was going to put Android on any of their existing hardware: <blockquote><b>Is that something you have the intention of doing? Using current hardware platforms to run Android?</b><br /><br />No.<br /><br /><b>So it's still going to be about the vertically integrated approach going forward? Not just about throwing any operating system on any piece of hardware.</b><br /><br />Right. But, of course, we have a lot of the latest leading-edge wireless technology, so some of our software can definitely leverage that. But products need to be very specific. Today, people really interface with and are really passionate about [our] products, so they need to feel something really unique about them.</blockquote><br />So, at least we know that HTC is designing totally new handset models for Android. It will be interesting to see how different the hardware specifications for Android will be compared to some of their existing smartphones.<br /><br /><br />[via <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/10/the-engadget-interview-peter-chou-ceo-of-htc/" target="_blank">Engadget</a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-74112455472730300022007-12-09T12:19:00.000-07:002007-12-10T14:30:06.490-07:00Links: Android running, 700 MHz Auction guide, Cellphone service survey, Object DB for Android<ul><li><a href="http://euedge.com/blog/2007/12/06/google-android-runs-on-sharp-zaurus-sl-c760/" target="_blank">Google Android runs on Sharp Zaurus SL-C760</a> - Someone outside of the Open Handset Alliance got Android running on hardware available in the market now.</li><br /><li><a href="http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/the-ultimate-700mhz-auction-guide/the-ultimate-700mhz-auction-guide-what-it-is-wholl-win-and-why-you-should-care-330628.php" target="_blank">The Ultimate 700 MHz Auction Guide</a> - Nice job by Gizmodo in explaining "what it is, who'll win and why you should care".</li><br /><li><a href="http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/annual-survey/consumer-reports--cellphone-service-survey-2008-published-read-em-and-weep-329104.php" target="_blank"><i>Consumer Reports</i> Cellphone Service Survay 2008 Published</a> - Gizmodo summarizes the survey of 47,000+ readers of Consumer Reports, which declares Verizon to be number one!</li><br /><li><a href="http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071205006175&newsLang=en" target="_blank">db4objects Announces db4o Database as Android Ready</a> - <i>Businesswire</i> reports that <a href="http://www.db4o.com" target="_blank">db4objects</a>, creator of the leading open source object database for Java and .NET, announces that db4o runs seamlessly on the Android platform.</li></ul>A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-25456102973682396302007-12-09T08:58:00.000-07:002007-12-09T10:44:55.307-07:00Android's and iPhone's security compared?When you see an article grandly titled, "<a href="http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/entdev/article.php/3714096" target="_blank">Google's Android vs. Apple's iPhone: Which is More Secure?</a>", what might you expect? That somebody has managed to compare the Android and iPhone systems in terms of: <ol><li>How easy it is to hack into the system, snoop around for information, control the system, etc.</li> <li>How easy it is to infect the system with virus, spyware and other such malicious software.</li> <li>How easy it is to prevent or clean-up after such attacks.</li></ol> And similar other questions.<br /><br />Instead, Kenneth van Wyk, a "20-year veteran of IT security" and "co-author of two security-related books", compares the two systems on the following basis and gives them the following grades: <ol><li>In Android, each application is assigned its own unique Linux user-ID at the time of installation and this ID is used to run the application. Where as, in the iPhone, "applications appear to all run with root (administrative) privileges on a single UNIX kernel". Based on this difference (and appearance), Android gets an A- grade and iPhone gets an F or "F-, if that’s possible".</li> <li>Android is an open system, which has led to at least one product vendor announcing the development of security applications. We have heard of no such thing about the closed iPhone system. Grades: Android B, iPhone D.</li> <li>iPhone has a well-developed and easy system for providing updates and patches through iTunes. We don't know of any such thing for Android. Individual handset makers will probably have to come up with their own update and patching process for their particular phones. Grades: Android INCOMPLETE, iPhone B+.</li></ol> And, after this very arbitrary and subjective comparison, he declares Android to be the more secure platform!<br /><br />Granted, at the very beginning of the article, Kenneth van Wyk, admits that there is no Android handset available right now for him to compare with the iPhone. So, this is an "apples and oranges" comparison. Nevertheless, this comparison and conclusion is not convincing enough.<br /><br />In fact, it is very obvious that the open nature of Android, the ease of development of applications which control the phone's features and functionality, and the corresponding ease in installing such applications will see a proliferation of malicious software for the phone. The more popular Android becomes, the more threats there will be. It is actually a pretty scary situation to imagine something as personal as the cell phone being compromised. Imagine someone getting access to all your most personal information and conversations. Imagine someone using your phone to silently route expensive calls, for which you get dinged on your bill!<br /><br />I think it is too early to comment on how secure future Android handsets will be. We can comment only on what is available now - Android SDK. And, it is certain too early to compare just the SDK with the iPhone to reach any convincing conclusion right now.<br /><br /><br />[via <a href="http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/entdev/article.php/3714096" target="_blank">Earthweb</a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-36760028432324054842007-12-07T12:21:00.000-07:002008-01-10T19:28:13.383-07:00Google Mobile Updater for BlackBerry<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXa_DE3WwD7iKjalyToGnJcxfHngAsiNCyMhHAE3thFy8sMFfgJzk-SDWlW1jf3lREEqOxwsMzsIVICZY_xNz9X-iOvHHJWptRa4pZEIdn5aju3Ev656BJNM6s-YV6-5WSW4eoVRbQkw6/s1600-h/GoogleMobileUpdater-screenshot.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXa_DE3WwD7iKjalyToGnJcxfHngAsiNCyMhHAE3thFy8sMFfgJzk-SDWlW1jf3lREEqOxwsMzsIVICZY_xNz9X-iOvHHJWptRa4pZEIdn5aju3Ev656BJNM6s-YV6-5WSW4eoVRbQkw6/s200/GoogleMobileUpdater-screenshot.png" border="0" alt="Google Mobile Updater BlackBerry Screenshot"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141318413102014578" /></a> Google has <a href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2007/12/update-google-mobile-products-on-your.html" target="_blank">released</a> a one-click app to update all the Google Mobile products on your BlackBerry.<br /><br />This might seem a little pointless right now. Google has only two phone-installed mobile apps (as opposed to web apps) which may need updates to be installed on your phone. These apps are of course, GMail and Google Maps. Almost all other <A href="http://www.google.com/m/products" target="_blank">Google mobile apps</a> are web-based, always loading their latest version on your phone's browser.<br /><br />So, what does the Google Mobile Updater do? Apart from updating GMail and Google Maps apps on your phone, it puts handy short-cuts to the other web-based mobile apps. Creating short-cuts right there on the phone might seem like a small change, but it could lead to a huge surge in the usage of these apps due to the ease of access. In the absence of these short-cuts, users had to type in the URL of the apps on their phone's browser.<br /><br />When I installed the Mobile Updater on my BlackBerry, I chose to install all the products it would install. Apart from installing the Mobile Updater itself, it updated my GMail and Google Maps apps, and created shortcuts for only the following mobile apps/services: Search, Picasa, Docs and News. Whenever there is an update to be installed, the Mobile Updater icon on the phone will change to show a green arrow:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXmgXhwxwzw8VuAjvJT73dvI5S5zZVmUIqBuRzWdTKqEKLuypV5I2BEdFpL-FB6-zk8keGTx4K05Xu2uv_fQav3ybLn2QcNG-LBFu_f0TArORqx7z_SMZavnMN9C2qvicX7LJrtGaD1BA/s1600-h/google-installer-canvas-32x32.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXmgXhwxwzw8VuAjvJT73dvI5S5zZVmUIqBuRzWdTKqEKLuypV5I2BEdFpL-FB6-zk8keGTx4K05Xu2uv_fQav3ybLn2QcNG-LBFu_f0TArORqx7z_SMZavnMN9C2qvicX7LJrtGaD1BA/s200/google-installer-canvas-32x32.png" border="0" alt="Google Mobile Updater Icon showing updates available"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5141325594287333506" /></a><br /><br />You can get the Mobile Updater by visiting <A href="http://mobile.google.com" target="_blank">mobile.google.com</a> on the BlackBerry's web browser. The Mobile Updater is only available for BlackBerry right now. No doubt, there will be versions available for other phones soon enough.<br /><br /><br />[via <a href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2007/12/update-google-mobile-products-on-your.html" target="_blank">Official Google Mobile Blog</a>]<br />[Image courtesy: <a href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2007/12/update-google-mobile-products-on-your.html" target="_blank">Official Google Mobile Blog</a>]<br /><br /><br /><b>Related:</b> <a href="http://gphonesystem.blogspot.com/2007/11/google-mobile-products-countries-lists.html">Google Mobile: Products and Countries Lists</a>A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-74744720590781692262007-12-06T14:43:00.001-07:002007-12-06T14:44:11.152-07:00Android Developer Challenge: Real-time Android EmulatorHere's a fun project for those of you participating in the <A href="http://code.google.com/android/adc.html" target="_blank">Android Developer Challenge</a>.<br /><br /><b>Create a desktop emulator, which mimics everything that's happening on your Android phone screen... in real time.</b><br /><br />I know, the Android SDK already comes with an emulator. That is not what I am talking about. I am talking about an emulator on your computer screen showing you the exact same thing that's happening on your Android phone screen, while it is happening. This would seem almost as if the images from your Android phone were being projected onto the computer screen via Bluetooth or WiFi. But, it's not just a projection of screen images. It should be a full functional emulator, which allows you to do everything your Android phone can do.<br /><br />Couple of scenarios off the top of my head where this would be fun: <ul><li>Suppose you are sitting at your computer in one room of the house, and your Android phone is somewhere in the pocket of your pants, in the wardrobe, at the other end of the house. When a call comes in on your phone, you should be able to accept the call and have a conversation through the emulator on your computer screen. You should be able to make calls, send and receive text messages, play phone games or use any of the fun applications that run on your phone, via the emulator.</li><br /><li>In another scenario, suppose your Android phone gets stolen. You should be able to bring up the emulator on your computer and see exactly what the thief is doing with your phone, listen in on his calls, etc.. Heck, you should even be able to control the phone's camera to take a picture of the thief and/or his surroundings.</li></ul><br />No doubt, there are many other interesting scenarios or applications where such an emulator would be useful.<br /><br />The best part of this project is that, the Android SDK already has an emulator. So, developers just have to figure out a way to connect the real phone to the emulator, and make them mimic each other.<br /><br />Sound like fun yet? Yeah, I thought so!<br /><br /><br /><b>Related:</b> <a href="http://gphonesystem.blogspot.com/2007/11/android-developer-challenge-application.html">Android Developer Challenge: Application Idea</a>A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-58335232027541830332007-12-06T14:08:00.000-07:002007-12-06T14:16:04.043-07:00Android Developer PodcastThe <a href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2007/12/google-developer-podcast-android.html" target="_blank">Android Developer blog</a> posted a <a href="http://google-developer-podcast.googlecode.com/files/googledev012.mp3" target="_blank">podcast</a> by two architects on the Android engineering team, Dianne Hackborn and Jason Parks: <blockquote>Dianne and Jason share a background at both Be and PalmSource, and talk about how that experience has been applied to Android. Other topics covered include: <ul><li>Some history behind the project<br />The high level architecture of Android. For example, how Linux processes handle the VM and manage security (the VM doesn't handle it)</li> <li>Details on the Dalvik VM and how it is optimized for small devices</li> <li>The architecture: From Intents to Views to Permissions and more</li> <li>How XML is slow, but the tools convert the XML to a nicer format for you</li> <li>The tooling and steps for building an application on Android</li> <li>How so many objects have a URL, and how the environment is like a mini-SOA (Services across processes instead of across the network)</li> <li>Thoughts on how you program for small devices, and things to watch out for if you move from the desktop</li> <li>The control, or lack of control that you have over the application lifecycle</li> <li>"Everything you do drains the battery"</li> <li>The thread story: they exist, you don't have to deal with them if you don't want to, and the UI</li> <li>Using XMPP for messaging</li></ul></blockquote><br />That's quite a list! I have not heard the podcast yet, but if something in it screams out at me when I listen to it, I will be sure to blog about it.<br /><br />You can download the podcast here: <A href="http://google-developer-podcast.googlecode.com/files/googledev012.mp3" target="_blank">Android Developer podcast by Dianne Hackborn and Jason Parks</a><br /><br /><br />[via <a href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2007/12/google-developer-podcast-android.html" target="_blank">Android Developer blog</a>]A Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3693319467204724785.post-72210370487966184922007-12-05T13:00:00.000-07:002007-12-05T13:38:53.308-07:00Harold Feld's 4 reasons why Google intends to win the 700 MHz AuctionSo far we have seen <a href="http://gphonesystem.blogspot.com/2007/11/google-announces-participation-in-700.html">fanboy optimism</a> that Google will bid in the 700 MHz spectrum to win, cycnical suggestions by analysts and bloggers that Google will not bid to win, and even a <a href="http://gphonesystem.blogspot.com/2007/12/does-google-intend-to-win-700-mhz.html">pseudo-psycho interpretation</a> of Google's words on its intent to win.<br /><br />Finally, we have something a little more reasoned: Harold Feld, Senior Vice President of the <a href="http://www.mediaaccess.org/" target="_blank">Media Access Project</a>, snorts some oak leaves and gives <A href="http://www.wetmachine.com/totsf/item/951" target="_blank">Four Reasons Why Google Will Bid To Win in the 700 MHz Auction</a>. The reasons listed are (in the words of Harold Feld): <ol><li>Google Has A Different Vision For the Wireless World It Can Only Achieve By Owning Licenses.</li> <li>Google Has No Desire To Be A Network Provider. But It Wants To Be A Network Architect.</li> <li>Anonymous Bidding Changes Everything.</li> <li>When Google Commits, It Does So All The Way.</li></ol><br />Harold Feld offers excellent arguments supporting each reason. Just one example:<blockquote>For Google, more than wireless is at stake. Google can read the writing on the wall for wireline, even if dumbass regulators in DC can't. Given enough time, the cable/DSL duopoly will gradually morph away from the existing open internet model to become more and more like wireless is today: you buy a basic contract for the core service and everything else costs extra. The provider bundles everything, controls the nature of outside attachments, applications, etc., etc., always taking its chunk off the top and driving up the price to everyone else. But if Google is successful in transforming the wireless world, it will also stop the transformation of the wireline world. By contrast, if Google can't stop the transformation of the wireless world, it is probably screwed on the wireline side as well.</blockquote>.<br />This is the type of well-thought analyses we'd like to see more often in the blogosphere, as opposed to the usual <a href="http://gigaom.com/2007/12/04/tech-blogging-the-web-mind-at-warp-speed/" target="_blank">tech blogging at warp speed</a>. Needless to say, I have long given up hopes of any real tech analysis of good value coming out of the MSM*.<br /><br /><br /><br />[via <A href="http://www.wetmachine.com/totsf/item/951" target="_blank">Wetmachine</a>]<br /><br /><br /><b>Related:</b><br /><a href="http://gphonesystem.blogspot.com/2007/11/google-announces-participation-in-700.html">Google announces participation in 700 MHz Auction</a><br /><a href="http://gphonesystem.blogspot.com/2007/12/does-google-intend-to-win-700-mhz.html">Does Google intend to win the 700 MHz Spectrum Auction?</a><br /><br /><br />*MSM = Main Stream MediaA Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03768568740804456403noreply@blogger.com0