android

Live coverage of Google's Android phone announcement

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Google's first consumer phone has arrived.

You've read all the exhaustive coverage of Google's Nexus One phone over the last month. The Android-based device emerged at a company holiday party and has been the talk of the smartphone industry ever since. And at an event here at its headquarters Tuesday, Google is unveiling the Nexus One and announcing a plan to sell it directly to consumers.

This post is our live coverage of the event, which lasted about 90 minutes. You can also get a summary of today's announcement and some of my colleague Kent German's initial thoughts about the Nexus One here.

9:52 a.m.: We're awaiting the start of Google's Android event here in Building 43 at Google's headquarters in Mountain View. The event is expected to start in about 10 minutes, and the requisite pounding get-excited music is blaring inside a large conference room. There are maybe 100 people crammed into the room, and Google executives Vic Gundotra and Andy Rubin have already been spotted.

10:06 a.m.: Mike Nelson, a PR representative for Google, kicks things off by promising a series of short presentations. Mario Queiroz of Google has been leading Google's efforts in this area, and he starts off the presentation.… Read more

Google unveils Nexus One

We knew it was coming, but we had to wait for Google to spill the news before we could talk about it with authority. And the company did so Tuesday morning at a press conference at the Googleplex in Mountain View, Calif.

As expected, the Nexus One is a new Google Android phone that offers an inside designed by Google and an outside designed by HTC. According to Google's Mario Queiroz, the Nexus One is a "superphone" where the Web meets the cell phone. "It's an exemplar of what mobile phones can do with Android," he said. The handset will be available first for GSM carriers like T-Mobile, but a Verizon version will follow.… Read more

Apple ceding open-source app market to Google?

Whether you're an open-source advocate or not, you likely run open-source applications on your laptop or desktop. From Firefox to VLC to Handbrake to Adium, some of the best applications for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux are open source.

The iPhone, however, is a relative wasteland for open source. Should Apple care?

OStatic points to four good open-source applications currently available for the iPhone, including Funambol for sync functionality and WordPress for blogging, but these are the exception to the rule. A Google search turns up others, but few that match the quality of open-source applications available on … Read more

Smartphones continue to surge

Was 2009 the year of the smartphone? Or will it be 2010? Either way, a new Forrester report confirmed a surge in smartphone ownership last year and expects more growth and more competition this year.

Around 17 percent of mobile phone subscribers now own smartphones, up from 11 percent at the end of 2008 and 7 percent at the end of 2007. Those numbers are even more impressive than they sound, Forrester said Monday, because new technologies typically enjoy a growth spurt in their first year and then trail off in subsequent years. Smartphones are doing the reverse.

In 2009, … Read more

Spring Design's e-reader taps into Google Books

Through an agreement announced Tuesday, the Alex e-book reader from Spring Design will be able to access and download more than a million books at the Google Books project.

Alex, a dual-screen electronic book reader, is based on Google's Android operating system and therefore can run some Android applications. The reader includes a Web browser, wireless networking using Wi-Fi or 3G, and audio and video playback.

"We are excited to be part of Google's initiative to digitize and deliver the world's books and look forward to the markets and opportunities these efforts will open up for … Read more

Blackfire Research to launch Wi-Fi speakers for cell phones, computers

Wi-Fi speakers have made some appearances over the last few years, in the form of prototypes and high-priced novelties. Finally, San Francisco-based Blackfire Research will release the Wi-Fi speakers we've been waiting for.

When the SmartSpeaker launches this summer, consumers will be able to stream audio, including Internet radio and movies, from Wi-Fi-enabled cellphone and computers.

Software for the speakers is still in development and will be available for the iPhone, Zune, Palm, Android, iPod Touch, and Blackberry by the time of launch.

Ravi Rajapakse, CEO of Blackfire Research, became interested in audio at the age of 12, when … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1138: Good luck with that, Bono

So, Bono has been listening to his manager and soaking up the idea that the Internet needs to be locked down before it ruins the video industry. This selfless act of Cassandra-like prophesying involves talking about how great the U.S. is at stopping child porn and how great the Chinese are at stopping anything they don't like. We point out a few holes in the theory there. Also, Google is doing everything. Seriously, if you even think fleetingly that Google might do something, well, apparently it already is.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) … Read more

Five New Year's resolutions for Google

In general, most New Year's resolutions tend to last as long as the NFL playoffs. But those who enter the year working for the world's most ambitious technology company won't have that luxury.

Google enters its 12th year as an information and financial powerhouse, holding claim to perhaps the most enviable position on the Internet and worming its way into all sorts of businesses that Internet companies have traditionally avoided. The company shows little sign of slowing down its innovation engine, but as a result of that pace faces competitive threats like never before from other giants … Read more

Want to see Google's new phone on YouTube?

Google won't officially unveil its Nexus One smartphone until Tuesday, when it has scheduled an Android Press Gathering. There are plenty of descriptions and images of the phone floating around the Web, though--a result of Google's decision to "dogfood" the device with employees.

And now, some video. Wednesday, a 10-minute clip of what appears to be someone taking the phone through its paces popped up on the Web. There's no sound, and the device appears to be configured for French speakers, so if you're an American with a short attention span, I'm not … Read more

Just how free will the Nexus One be?

As we now know, the Consumer Electronics Show will not be the only thing going on in the gadget world next week. Google is getting a jump on CES with a January 5, 2010, press conference where the company should unveil its Nexus One phone. Details on the HTC-made device remain sketchy--though we have seen some leaked specs--but most signs point toward T-Mobile as the carrier for the newest Google Android phone.

According to leaked T-Mobile documents obtained by Gizmodo, the Nexus One will be available unlocked for $530 without a contract and $180 with a two-year service agreement. … Read more