Android Mobiles

One of the more popular file sharing and syncing services, Dropbox, seems to be gearing up for an Android app announcement.  An email has been sent out to their users teasing, “Do you own a BlackBerry or Android phone? Don’t worry! We’ve got plenty more mobile magic coming soon!”

If you’re not familiar with Dropbox, the service gives users 2 GB of cloud storage that can be synchronized between multiple computers and platforms.  In the meanwhile, Android users have SugarSync, among other services to use.

Source: Androinica

This is the kind of preferential treatment we’ve been hoping for since Android was announced.  Google just announced a pair of new features that help blur the lines between your PC and Android experience. Using your Google account, users can now pull up previous searches and starred/favorite places in the latest version of Google Maps. More specifically, you can pull up a search on your Android device that was initially done on a computer. Did you save a few local hot spots in Google Maps while on the laptop this morning? Bring ‘em up on your (insert Android phone) tonight!

Both of these features are available in Google Maps 3.4. The brand new Nexus One update going out this week will already bake in the new version. For the rest of us, we’ll have to wait a bit until it’s rolled out in the Android Market. We can’t wait to see where they go with these features and especially how Latitude gets integrated!

Early last month, we mentioned that an official Wordpress application for Android might be arriving shortly.  One month later, to the day, we’ve learned that it can be found for free in the Android Market.  According to the Wordpress blog, it looks and feels similar to the free wpToGo app that has been around for quite a while.  In fact, that app will no longer be supported as the  Open Source WordPress for Android app will get all the focus.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Features include the ability to:

• Configure and manage multiple blogs
• Comment moderation including the ability to reply to comments
• Create and Edit Posts including categories, tags and photos
• Create and Edit Pages
• Get notified of new comments in the Android notification bar

I know personally that I’ve been waiting a while for this app.  I can’t wait to see how it evolves over time as new features are integrated.  I’m sure many of our writers will be excited for this as well!

Source: AndroidAndMe

There has been plenty of spilled ink (and pixels) surrounding products released over the past few years by Google and Apple with both putting   out game changers or a iWhatever killers.  A perceived rift may be becoming a reality.  As both an Apple and Google fanboy, I am saddened by a situation that doesn’t seem as if it will ever get better.

I really like what both companies are doing even if they have their respective issues.  Nobody is perfect. I will list a few of the things I like and don’t, you can perfectly disagree with the following statements and share your point of view in a comment.

• Apple has a great OS: Mac OS X. It can be simple if you don’t want to know how it works but you can also have access to Terminal and the power of Unix.
• Google has a great email service: Either Gmail or with Google Apps (only online and not through pop3 or imap on a client). I think this is the next step of evolution for email: huge storage accessible whatever device you are using, labels and not folders, powerful search.
• Apple is controlling: Apple, or maybe just Steve Jobs, think they know exactly what consumers want and what they don’t need. Apparently, we don’t need Blu-ray drive in high-end computers or camera on a tablet.
• Google is slow: Like any large companies, everything takes time. They have to evaluate everything and this process take time. Sometime I wish they change things as fast as they can give search results. When will we be able to buy Android apps in more countries?

However they share a lots and worked together in the past. Google is still providing web search and maps for Apple products and even if Apple would like to change the situation, it will not be easy and quick.

Now, how can someone can be both an Apple and Google fans. The logic would say that if you own a Mac computer, you will own an iPhone. If you compare Android OS and Mac OS X they have tons of similarity:

-Menu bar in OS X and Notification Bar in Android: You’ll get the time here, your network status, battery status… all in the same place.

-Dock and Slider bar: These are very similar concept, you click or drag and you will see icons of all your apps.

-Terminal/root: On both systems you can use the stock interface as it is or you can customize and improve it. I have Path Finder to replace the Finder on my Mac and a MoDaCo ROM on my HTC Hero.

-WebKit: Safari on OS X and Android browser are based on the same open source engine used to render web pages.

I could add few more but the point is that Mac OS X and Android have a lot more in commun than Mac OS X and the iPhone (or iPad to be trendy). So, for an Apple/Google fanboy the logical choice is to own an Android phone that you will be able to use like you are using you Mac OS X computer. Would you agree?

We’ve received a couple of emails over the last week from a gaming studio called HyperDevbox who has alerted us to two games of theirs. Both of them, LoveCatch and the brand new ExZeus were written to take advantage of OpenGL and 3D gaming capabilities.  As you may already know, Android, in general, hasn’t been lavished with recognition for its games.  If companies like HyperDevbox are doing this with today’s Android phones, we can’t wait to see what the future holds.  These look just as good as anything else we’ve seen on a mobile device.

I asked them to give me an idea as to what they might charge for a game like ExZeus.  Their responses was that it should be around 350YEN for ExZeus arcade ($3.80 US).  As of today, that’s the same price that LoveCatch goes for.  They plan to publish it to not only the Android Market, but also the new SHOP4APPS from Motorola.  In fact, they’d like to have it listed in every market where the games could be delivered in a “secure” manner.

Both games will depend on the microSD card for app storage as it gets downloaded directly from their local server.  For instance, LoveCatch installs 22MB to your memory card.  HyperDevBox states that this should free up the local memory quite a bit, not exceeding 2MB worth of space!

Take a look at the videos for both games below!  Still pictures do not do either of these justice.

Android apps sometimes get a bad rap for trying to emulate features found in existing iPhone functionality or applications.  This time around, it’s Apple devs who mimic Android.  Check out the video below which shows an iPhone app that aims to replicate the lock screen built into our favorite OS.  Somehow, we don’t picture this one getting added to the App Store.

Thanks to Nick for the heads up!

South Korean handset manufacturer OCOSMOS has released a new MIP (Mobile Internet Phone, or Multimedia Internet Phone depending who you talk to), that has the ability to make calls over VoIP when connected to WiFi. Of course, it runs the Android OS, has a 3.7 inch AMOLED touchscreen and comes with a 5 megapixel camera.  Rounding out the specs are T-DMB mobile TV, WiFi, GPS, twin stereo speakers, and an Omos interface.  Oh yeah, it also has a 1Ghz CPU – just like that Nexus One!

Check out the video demo of the handset below. Warning, the cheese factor from the announcer is at full bore!

It seems that Mozilla has begun work in earnest on building Firefox for the Android platform.  Citing sources from the German Firefox community, Softpedia says that Mozilla is working with developers to make a build available that will at least display webpages in February, with a usable Alpha coming months down the road from that.

This is great news for those Android users looking for the Firefox experience on the their handsets. With Mozilla announcing in late 2009 that they were considering moving towards the Android OS, it appears they are going make good on that statement.

It is safe to say however that we will not see something usable for most likely another 6 months if there are any development delays (and there always are).  Still, the idea that there is a Firefox Browser build in the pipes coming our way is exciting and something to look forward to!

If you want to track the progress of the Android flavor of Firefox, and you can read German, check out the Firefox forums by clicking here.

Engadget Mobile has an article up taking a look at Chinavision’s “Robot” Android handset. Check out the article for the full specs and lowdown on the phone.  I’ll give you a hint before you go – It’s a 2.8″, dual-band snoozer.  As I stated in the title, this handset is nothing to get excited about in the least bit.

What I find interesting is the fact that we are starting to see Android penetrate deeply into the handset market, where even low end phones like this one are carrying Android. I really thought we would see this start to happen as Google pushed for Android to be on as many handsets as possible but I was not so sure after the release of the “superphone”.  However, this is an example of how a low end developer takes advantage of the free and open source Android.  In my opinion, this is a good thing, if only because that means Android is becoming the “go-to” OS for companies.

If you live outside of North America and do have an interest in this handset, it retails at $179.00.