Development

Mobile gadgets like Apple's iPad and iPhone could offer glasses-free 3D courtesy of a new, developing technology created by researchers in France.

Known as Head-Coupled Perspective, the technology uses the front-facing camera on a mobile device to create a glasses-free monocular 3D display. By tracking the position of the user's head, the projected 3D image can change its perspective and offer greater interaction. Even further, the technology doesn't rely on the accelerometer built into the iPhone and iPad, so it could conceivably work for other types of mobile devices.

The researchers behind this budding technology are Professor … Read more

Adobe Systems is something of an industry punching bag in some circles for offering software wedded to a personal computer era we're supposedly outgrowing.

It's time to update that corporate image.

As part of the debut of Creative Suite 5.5, the company today announced a collection of new software that includes three iPad applications; Flash tools better at creating content that reaches devices beyond PCs; and developer tools that bring some of Adobe's strength in design tools to the Web standards world of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.

It's not going to be enough to placate … Read more

Google cracks down on fragmentation, but does doing so put the Android Open Source Project's openness in jeopardy? First an app store, then a cloud streaming service, and now is Amazon planning an Android-based phone? What podcatching app do you use on your Android phone? We have the answers to all of these questions, plus Antuan tries to name as many popular Android devices as quickly as he can in this week's episode of Android Atlas Weekly with Justin Eckhouse and Antuan Goodwin.

Is Google strong-arming the Android world by bullying handset manufacturers and un-open-sourcing the mobile operating system?

Andy Rubin belatedly got around to denying that accusation, made last week in a Bloomberg BusinessWeek story, dismissing it as FUD in a blog post. "I think I'm having a Gene Amdahl moment," Rubin said, referring to the famed computer designer's term for the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that IBM used to undermine his mainframe business.

Specifically, Rubin said Google remains "committed to fostering the development of an open platform for the mobile industry and beyond." He denied … Read more

Last week, Bloomberg Businessweek reported that Google was beginning to take a firmer hand in controlling how partners use the Android operating system on their devices.

Writers Ashlee Vance and Peter Burrows didn't get too specific--they mostly relied on background interviews--but they described a few ways that the Googleplex is taking control. For example, Google now must be involved in all partnerships, developers won't be able to make random tweaks to the software, and developers who get early access to new OS updates will need to inform Android chief Andy Rubin himself. Also, companies that abide by the … Read more

Amazon's Android blitz continues with the launch of the Cloud Player service and a deal to preinstall its App Store onto phones. Meanwhile, in the original Android Market, app makers get a new way to monetize their wares. Also, Antuan risks bricking his new HTC Thunderbolt by attempting to installing a custom ROM during the show. Will he be left with an expensive paperweight? All of that and more on this week's episode of Android Atlas Weekly with Justin Eckhouse and Antuan Goodwin.

A few weeks ago I posted detailing the performance scores of several smartphones.

Of particular interest were the video battery results for the Android phones. Some commenters took issue with the fact that I used 720p video to drain the battery life of the Android phones, while the iPhone 4 was tested with video running at that device's native resolution.

Some thought this was an unfair battery drain, as the 720p video would have to be resized to fit a phone's native resolution, possibly taking away processing cycles, draining the battery more quickly. Commenters suggested that the video … Read more

As promised, the Home Shopping Network has begun previewing some of the new features that are part of an upcoming "mid-April" update to the Nook Color that we reported on a few days ago. Barnes & Noble has confirmed in a press release that the update would include the new app store but HSN is the one talking up the Nook Color's upcoming ability to watch Flash videos.

… Read more

Android app developers will be able to charge for upgrades and extras from within their apps starting next week, Google said.

Developers can upload test apps to make sure the service is working, said Eric Chu, who's involved with Google's Android developer program, in a blog post yesterday. "You won't be able to actually publish the apps to users until the full launch of the service next week," he added.

In-app billing lets developers offer optional upgrades such as Angry Birds' Mighty Eagle character or Photoshop Express' camera pack. Apple's iOS already has the … Read more