android 2.2

What Apple's FaceTime app means for Skype

As time ticked on in Steve Jobs' keynote at Monday's WWDC conference, we kept waiting for the Apple chief to showcase the iPhone 4's front-facing camera. When he finally did, it wasn't a Skype video conferencing app that many expected, but Apple's own software, called FaceTime.

FaceTime is built into the version 4 operating system that Apple is now calling iOS 4, since it powers the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Using the front-facing camera, two callers will be able to see and hear each other in a high-definition video call.

The good news is that FaceTime will require no setup, so firing up video chats should be intuitive even for VoIP novices. Here's the setback: at launch, FaceTime will run only over Wi-Fi, and only on the iPhone 4.

We understand that hardware and software requirements like a front-facing camera and HD video recorder would cause Apple to limit FaceTime calls to between iPhone 4 phones, but we are surprised that Apple isn't taking advantage of 3G calling, particularly since it's been six months since the company allowed third-party developers to add 3G calls to VoIP apps.

The bigger question on our minds, however, is just how big a blow FaceTime will deliver to Skype and other competing VoIP services.… Read more

Leaked Motorola Droid Shadow headed to Verizon this summer?

If the rumors are to be believed, it looks like the next flagship phone from Motorola might be right around the corner.

The Internet was abuzz this weekend with rumors of a rather powerful Droid 2 or "Shadow" handset bound for Verizon. The first glimpse of the device came from what appears to be the cover of a "Getting Started" guide. Subsequently, a thread over at HowardForums started piecing together the specs that go along with the sleek-looking beauty.

Rumors are pegging the phone with a 4.3-inch touch screen similar to that of the HTC Evo 4G … Read more

Motorola plans to update Droid to Android 2.2

We already know that the Nexus One and other HTC phones will get a Froyo update, but what about other phones? Well, Motorola Droid owners wondering if their beloved handset will be getting Android 2.2 need not worry.

The handset-maker already plans to make Froyo available via an update before too long. Slashgear reached out to Motorola over the weekend in hopes of getting it to open up about the latest version of the platform. Not surprisingly, the company was somewhat vague in its response.

We're excited to see Google's news of the next version of the … Read more

Android 2.2 coming to Nexus One, other HTC phones

Now that all the juicy details of Android 2.2 "Froyo" are out, the question for current Android phone owners inevitably turns to "When do I get it?" Well, there is good news for some, bad news for others, and no news for the rest.

Starting with the good, Google announced via its Google I/O Twitter account that Froyo will be served to Nexus One users in the next few weeks. Not terribly surprising that the N1 would be one of the first to get the update considering its direct ties to Google (though that … Read more

Android 2.2 in action (video!)

Google kept us busy with announcements at its I/O developer conference in San Francisco, like news of a Chrome Web Store, Google TV, a forthcoming update to the Android operating system that includes the first full-fledged Flash Player for a mobile phone, changes to the camera app, and support for tethering and portable hot spots, among a list of other additions.

We happen to have a version of Android 2.2 (albeit a prefinal one) loaded on a Nexus One, and dove inside to survey the new features for ourselves.

Google to take on iTunes with Simplify Media buy

One of the most interesting bits of news to come out of today's Google I/O conference was the company's stealth acquisition of Simplify Media a couple months ago.

Until March of this year, Simplify offered a free software application for PC and Mac that let users stream music from the iTunes or WinAmp libraries on their home computer, over the Internet, to other devices they own. The company also made an iPhone app that let the iPhone or iPod Touch receive these streams.

It was a nifty solution for users with big music libraries at home and … Read more

Kongregate's Flash games come to Android in style

One of the most exciting prospects of Flash coming to Android devices has been games. While the iPhone platform has become a developmental heavyweight for indie gaming in just a few short years, it remains unable to take advantage of the rich library of titles developed to work on Adobe's Flash player.

With this week's inclusion of Flash player 10.1 on Android phones as part of the 2.2 software update, however, gamers on the go now have access to these titles. The only problem, it seems, is that not all of them are mobile phone-friendly.

Kongregate, a popular Flash gaming host and community, has gone through the effort to weed through its library and pick out titles that work well on smaller screens. Of the site's more than 28,300 titles, its staff has pulled together around 120 that they think work quite well.

CNET on Monday spoke with Kongregate CEO Jim Greer about the collection, as well as the site's efforts to get some of its top games' developers to make small adjustments, a process he says is going quite well. "There were a few games where developers had to make some buttons bigger, or put some buttons on-screen to replace the need for a keyboard," Greer said. "But they're psyched about it."

Greer said Flash developers who were aiming to port over their games to the iPhone had gotten "the wind taken out of their sails" after Apple's change to the developer agreement back in April. "There were a number of developers who had Flash games that they were working on using Adobe's Flash compiler," Greer explained. After the change in the rules, Greer said many began focusing on Android instead.

As for the battery life, Greer said it's not as horrible as Steve Jobs might have made it out to be in his open letter earlier this month.… Read more

Android 2.2 brings camera software improvements

As part of the Android 2.2 "Froyo" update, which is being unveiled at Thursday's Google I/O Conference, a very nice upgrade has been made to Android's built-in camera software. Google has effectively made it a one-handed endeavor, and one that does a better job at matching its user interface to how you hold your device.

The biggest change is that the pull-down menu, which would often require two hands to toggle and navigate, has been removed completely. In its place is a very simple system of transparent dials that pop up with options when … Read more

Android 2.2 to integrate USB tethering, mobile hot spots

TechCrunch is reporting today that Android 2.2 "Froyo" will feature built-in USB tethering and Wi-Fi hot-spot capability. This is exciting news for Android users as it could potentially provide all phones with one of the great selling features of the forthcoming HTC Evo 4G from Sprint.

For those unfamiliar, mobile hot spots allow users to share their Internet connection with other devices such as laptops and portable gaming consoles. USB tethering is also rising in popularity, as many Android owners want to share their 3G connections with a Netbook while on the go.

As carriers begin rolling … Read more

Will we get first glimpses of Froyo at Google I/O?

Google I/O is only a few weeks away and the Android fanboys are getting anxious. At last year's event Google teased us with unreleased features like gesture search and the only phone on the market was the T-Mobile G1. Later in the year, some of these enhancements were rolled out as individual apps and OS upgrades, so as we near this year's two-day conference, which starts on May 19, questions are starting to pop up. What does Google have up its sleeve?

Most of the tech community is in agreement that Android 2.2 (Froyo) features will … Read more