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Motorola partners with Microsoft, will use Bing search and maps on Chinese Android phones

Posted on 10. Mar, 2010 by IBM. 

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digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/Motorola_s_Android_phones_to_use_Bing_search_in_China’; Uh, whoa. When we heard Google’s threatened pullout of China had prompted Motorola to seek out an alternative search provider for its China-bound handsets, we can’t say we were expecting a partnership with Microsoft to result. But here we are, staring at a press release announcing the Bing search and Maps will be the default on Moto’s Chinese Android phones starting in Q1 — and the partnership is described as “global,” so there’s a chance it could spread. That’s just one more slap in Google’s face from Moto, following the release of the Yahoo-powered AT&T Backflip — and another step away from the tight relationship that produced the Droid. And does this mean Motorola might yet build a Windows Phone 7 Series device, despite a very public commitment to Android? We’d say Eric and Sanjay have some unresolved differences to work through.

Motorola partners with Microsoft, will use Bing search and maps on Chinese Android phones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Maps adds bicycle directions, turns out its nothing like ‘Quicksilver’

Posted on 10. Mar, 2010 by IBM. 

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Enthusiasts have had plenty to cheer about with the convergence of electronics and bicycling over the years, from bikes that pedal themselves to the various devices and apps that assist them with their training. And for those of us who just want to get from one place to another? Google Maps has added bicycling directions to its walking, car, and public transport options — with travel times calculated to include things like the number of hills and fatigue over time. But that ain’t all! The company has also partnered with Rails-to-Trails to provide information on bike trails in more than 150 cities. According to Google, thousands of miles of trails in the US have already been added to the map, with more to come. For the time being, however, only those planning trips in their home or office need apply: while available on the web, those using a Google Maps smartphone app are being excluded for the time being. So much for “mobile first,” guys. Video after the break.

Continue reading Google Maps adds bicycle directions, turns out its nothing like ‘Quicksilver’

Google Maps adds bicycle directions, turns out its nothing like ‘Quicksilver’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android NDK hits Release 3, brings OpenGL ES 2.0 access to devs

Posted on 08. Mar, 2010 by IBM. 

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We know from a brief spat of iPhone 3GS controversy that OpenGL ES 2.0 brings a new level of immersive realism to 3D gaming on mobile devices, so Android developers (and users, for that matter) should be delighted to hear that a new release of the official Native Development Kit exposes its capabilities to anyone targeting Android 2.0 or higher. As a refresher, the so-called NDK is a bolt-on to the standard Android SDK that gives folks the ability to write and compile critical pieces of functionality in native code, closer to the processor without that pesky Java virtual machine standing in the way — in other words, it’s exactly what gamers and game devs need to make Android a serious gaming platform, and better access to badass 3D capabilities are a fun little piece of the puzzle. The latest NDK’s available for download now — so seriously, hurry up and go wow us with your revolutionary first-person shooter. Git!

Android NDK hits Release 3, brings OpenGL ES 2.0 access to devs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bad news: HTC says the Nexus One doesn’t ‘go in pockets’

Posted on 06. Mar, 2010 by IBM. 

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One of the biggest mysteries in the blogosphere right now is probably Crave’s Nexus One, which somehow developed a cracked screen while simply charging on the desk (sounds familiar, right?). Not even HTC could unearth the cause from its forensic inspection, but it didn’t rule out the possibility of a small crack growing over time due to, for example, “getting knocked around by keys” and repetitive squeezes in tight pockets. That’s fine, but saying “people sometimes forget that they don’t go in pockets” is surely stretching a bit, no? What happened to the awesomeness in the compression test and bend test that we once witnessed? More importantly, has anyone here had the same baffling screen problem and been charged £180 ($273) for the repair? If so, do share your pain with us — we’ve got a shoulder for you.

Bad news: HTC says the Nexus One doesn’t ‘go in pockets’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entelligence: Will Android fragmentation destroy the platform?

Posted on 05. Mar, 2010 by IBM. 

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Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

My friend and colleague Harry McCracken recently bought a brand new Droid from Motorola. He says it’s a “loaf of day old bread.” He’s right. The Droid and Android 2.0 were introduced with much fanfare in December, but have already been eclipsed by Android 2.1 running on Google’s Nexus One, and there are some serious ramifications for being behind. For example, Google recently touted the latest mobile version of Google Earth, which is a cool app that you won’t be able to use unless you’re running 2.1. Sure, Google says “Google Earth will be available in Android Market on most devices that have Android 2.1 or later versions,” but that’s most, not every. And what does Google mean when it says “as devices like the Droid get updated…” to 2.1? When will they get updated? Is it any wonder that some Android users are starting to get pangs of buyers remorse?

When Android was announced, I wrote that if “Google can deliver, the impact could be huge,” but I caveated a major issue: Google would need to prevent the market from fragmenting and allow it to succeed where other mobile and desktop Linux implementations had failed. Linux fragmentation remains one of the many reasons the open-source OS has failed to capture a meaningful share of the PC desktop market, and Android is rapidly following a similar path by fragmenting into different versions with different core feature sets, different users experiences and run different applications.

Continue reading Entelligence: Will Android fragmentation destroy the platform?

Entelligence: Will Android fragmentation destroy the platform? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Gesture Search puts your contacts just a stroke away

Posted on 04. Mar, 2010 by IBM. 

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If you look under the hood, Google’s been beefing up Android with support for gestures that developers can take advantage of, and the power and flexibility of that capability is now being demoed by none other than… well, Google, of course. Gesture Search — which is currently being billed a Google Labs project — lets you draw letters on the screen to reach contacts and other content on your phone, an especially nice shortcut for those who like to avoid the on-screen keyboard as much as possible. As it learns what you tend to search for, the quality of the searches improves, meaning you need to swipe less to get to frequently-accessed items. It needs Android 2.0 to do its thing, but if you’ve got a so-equipped phone, it’s available now from the US-localized Market.

Google Gesture Search puts your contacts just a stroke away originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tag: Microsoft’s first Android app is it

Posted on 04. Mar, 2010 by IBM. 

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Everybody loves a world’s first. So we might as well mention that Microsoft just released its very first application written for Google’s competitive Android smartphone platform: Microsoft Tag Reader. Tag, as you might recall, is Microsoft’s pseudo QR code implementation that uses high capacity color “barcodes” to link back to content. Download the app from the Android Market, scan a Tag with any camera enabled Android phone, and the linked data will automatically load on your device, be it a web page, video, advertisement, coupon, etc. Of course, readers without tags are as useless as tags without a wide swath of people with devices to read them — so really, Microsoft has no choice but develop its Tag apps (already available for WinMo, Symbian, Blackberry, and iPhone handsets) for as many platforms as possible. First!

Tag: Microsoft’s first Android app is it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android 2.1 looking fast, furious on Motorola Droid

Posted on 03. Mar, 2010 by IBM. 

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Alright, Droid owners, decent multitouch performance isn’t the only thing you’ve got to brag about. As you likely know by now, 2.1’s in the works for you — and from the latest video we’re seeing of an official test build running in the wild, we’re cautiously optimistic that it’s going to be a fantastic little update. As we’d reported some time back, the Nexus One’s revamped app launcher is missing, but multitouch appears to work like butter in both the browser and revamped Gallery app and the new news and weather widgets have made the cut as well. Most notable, though, might simply be the fact that everything flies — home screen switches, opening of the app drawer, zooming, it’s all mega-fast. Granted, anyone with an Android device knows that the speed of the device depends on the number of apps you’ve got running, the moon phase, and the direction of the wind, but it’s an encouraging sign nonetheless. Now if only Moto would stop fumbling the launch, we’d be good to go; in the meantime, though, check some video of the update after the break.

Continue reading Android 2.1 looking fast, furious on Motorola Droid

Android 2.1 looking fast, furious on Motorola Droid originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nexus One’s multitouch confused more easily than Droid’s?

Posted on 03. Mar, 2010 by IBM. 

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Thought all multitouch-capable displays were created equal? Think again — Android and Me has posted a rather fascinating (if not somewhat depressing) video showing a demo multitouch app created by a game developer who’d grown suspicious after running into all sorts of trouble getting the feature to work the way he wanted on the Nexus One. First up, the Droid handles the demo with aplomb — two thumbs are recognized smoothly and consistently. Next, though, the Nexus One gets confused after a while and starts registering presses at the wrong corners of the on-screen box formed by the placement of the thumbs. There’s always hope that this could be fixed with a firmware bump, but that hope looks to be in jeopardy from language posted by a Google engineer in the official Android dev forums: “…this is how the touch screen hardware on the Nexus One works (which is essentially the same screen as on the G1 and myTouch). The Droid has a sensor from a different manufacturer, with different behavior. Other phones will likewise have different sensors.” In other words, Google seems to think that HTC’s just using a lower-quality sensor than Motorola is. That’s good news for Droid owners, we suppose — but with game development on Android still something of a non-starter, hardware issues like this keep fragmenting the user base and preventing big-name developers from jumping in and betting on the platform. Follow the break for video proof of the wackiness.

Continue reading Nexus One’s multitouch confused more easily than Droid’s?

Nexus One’s multitouch confused more easily than Droid’s? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC is hiring…

Posted on 03. Mar, 2010 by IBM. 

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“In this position, you will join HTC America, Inc. at one of its most exciting phases.”

Note: The job was posted on February 10th — we just find the coincidence humorous.

HTC is hiring… originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google responds to Apple’s HTC lawsuit: ‘We stand behind our Android operating system’

Posted on 03. Mar, 2010 by IBM. 

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We were wondering when Google would have something to say about Apple’s patent lawsuit against HTC, since the majority of the claims appear to implicate Android itself, and while the knives aren’t out yet, we just got a short-but-sweet statement from a spokesperson:

“We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it.”

We’re quite curious to see whether this means Google will contribute money and/or manpower to HTC’s legal defense — we’d bet we’ll see some of Eric Schmidt’s crew at the table when this thing finally hits a courtroom. In related news, HTC ’s posted up a short, more formal version of the statement we received yesterday, saying that it “believes that consumer choice is a key component to success in the smartphone industry,” and that it doesn’t think the suit “poses a short-term material impact to its business.” That makes sense, seeing as it’ll be weeks before HTC even files a response to the suit, and months — if not years — before it’s resolved. We’ll see how it goes.

Google responds to Apple’s HTC lawsuit: ‘We stand behind our Android operating system’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple specifically going after Android in HTC lawsuit

Posted on 02. Mar, 2010 by IBM. 

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There’s no delicate way to put this: at least part of Apple’s patent lawsuit against HTC appears to be a proxy fight for a larger issue with Android as a whole. Apple’s complaint with the International Trade Commission makes an explicit distinction between HTC’s Android devices and its WinMo phones (referred only to as “DSP Products”), and the Android sets are repeatedly called out for infringing certain patents. We don’t know exactly what Apple’s issue is yet — the problem could be the specific way HTC implements Android, rather than Android itself — but it’s certainly a big shot across Google’s bow. We’ll keep reading and let you know what else we find out.

Update: We’ve gone through each of the patents in both lawsuits and we’re more convinced than ever that this lawsuit is really about Android, not HTC. Check here for the full rundown.

Apple specifically going after Android in HTC lawsuit originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Nexus one

Google Nexus one

Posted on 27. Feb, 2010 by IBM. 

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All droids are equal but some droids are more equal than others. Google it. You’ll get the Nexus One. There are around 50 smartphones and tablets running Android today. That’s right, out of all the offspring they fathered with the Open Handset Alliance, Google finally have one to proudly call their [...]

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Nexus One coming to Verizon March 23rd?

Posted on 27. Feb, 2010 by IBM. 

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What better way to start your Saturday afternoon than with another Nexus One release rumor. Without further ado, today we’ve got whispers care of Neowin that the recently-FCC’d CDMA device is launching on Verizon’s network March 23rd, perfect timing for the beginning of CTIA. And while that fits pretty neatly into that initial “Spring 2010″ launch window, there’s really no way for us to corroborate at this point other than just taking their word for it. You can wait diligently, can’t ya?

Nexus One coming to Verizon March 23rd? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Feb 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How would you change Google’s Nexus One?

Posted on 26. Feb, 2010 by IBM. 

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It hasn’t quite been out (in public hands, anyway) for two months, but Google’s Nexus One has managed to grab the world’s attention and focus it squarely on Android. Specs wise, it’s not the superphone that many had expected, but it’s certainly delightful in its own right. For those who have sprung for one, we’re bubbling over in anticipation to hear how you’d change it. Would you have snuck an overclocked processor in there? Would you have ditched the trackball for a sensor pad? Do you wish it were available on more carriers? Is the call quality up to snuff? Look — there’s a better-than-decent chance that you threw down some serious bills on this, so don’t hold back. The Nexus Two just won’t be the same without your pair of pennies.

How would you change Google’s Nexus One? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nexus One coming to Vodafone UK in April, says Telegraph

Posted on 26. Feb, 2010 by IBM. 

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Without citing its sources, the Telegraph is reporting matter-of-factly that the Nexus One will launch on Vodafone in April for a to-be-determined price, though it’s “likely to be priced very similarly to comparable smartphones such as the iPhone.” It’s no secret that Vodafone’s picking up Google’s Snapdragon-powered beast — but we’ve yet to lock it down to a 30-day window like this, so it’s progress. Coincidentally, this is going to collide head-to-head with the European release of the Desire, HTC’s remix of the Nexus One with Sense and an optical pad thrown in, so it’ll be fascinating to see which of these monsters comes out on top at retail.

[Thanks, Charles]

Nexus One coming to Vodafone UK in April, says Telegraph originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nexus One hits FCC again, this time in CDMA trim

Posted on 26. Feb, 2010 by IBM. 

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Remember how we figured out that an AT&T 3G-equipped Nexus One had stumbled its way into FCC certification not long ago? Using the same logic — mainly label shape and model number — we can safely say that this latest version to get approval is the dual-band CDMA variant that’s almost certainly destined for Verizon within the next few months. There’s not terribly much to see in the filing, but hey, take solace in knowing they’ve cleared this crucial bureaucratic hurdle (of course, Verizon’s infamous internal testing is another bureaucratic hurdle altogether).

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Nexus One hits FCC again, this time in CDMA trim originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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