Android Mobiles

Today, February 9th, 2010, Google has yet another release for us(Android Users) that extends the abilities of your Android Device and Gmail account. This free service is called Google Buzz and is essentially another social networking medium. With Google Wave not making much headway, the introduction of Google Buzz to all Google Accounts combined with the simplicity of the service, Buzz may actually prove to be quite popular.  It is accessible through your online Gmail account or from any mobile phone. Buzz specific features include just some of the following:

• Public updates and “buzz’s” that can seen by friends
• Updates can be made public to be seen by anyone
• See nearby buzz updates
• Comment on or Like friend’s updates
• See nearby buzz updates via a new layer in Google Maps for Android, iPhone, Nokia S60, and Windows Mobile
• Read buzz updates about anywhere from the Places Page
• Speak “post buzz” into Android Quick Voice Search on Android and iPhone
• Location added to buzz updates
• Pulls media/photos from links for fast and easy access

Not only will you be able to make status updates but you will also be able to share anything you want with friends such as Twitter, links, videos, pictures, and much more. For a chart of features supported on different mobile phone platforms see below:

If you have not already set up your Google Profile and combined it with Buzz, try it out now! Watch the following video for a demonstration:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Get on Buzz now! You can even check me out here.

Over the last few years, many phones have been thrown in a head-to-head matchup with Apple’s iPhone.  We’ve yet to see a device come along and dethrone the current king of smart phones.  At some point, something has to be considered better, right?

Along comes the Nexus One.

Will the new Android superphone be able to knock out the seemingly unbeatable iPhone 3GS?  Well, if you read the headline of this post coming in, you know it does. CNET released their latest “Prizefight” yesterday and it shows our beloved Android winning the battle.  Check out the video below!

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?

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!