android

On Call: Hello, Moto

Sixteen months ago I wrote in On Call that I was not prepared to dance over Motorola's grave. While some analysts and tech journalists weren't sad to see Moto go, I wouldn't savor a cell phone world without a company that had such a pioneering role.

Over the following year, however, Moto has done little to step up its game. Besides a few decent handsets like the ZN5, its product line mainly stuck to the tried and true of rugged and thin designs. It was all getting a bit worrisome until the Google Android operating system became … Read more

Wordpress makes blogs more mobile-friendly

In an attempt to make its blogs more mobile-friendly, Wordpress has launched two themes that will automatically be displayed when a Wordpress.com blog is accessed from a cell phone, the company announced Tuesday.

The type of mobile phone a user employs dictates what the different blogs will look like, the company said in a blog post. A modified version of WPtouch will be displayed on phones with "modern Web browsers like those on the iPhone and Android phones," the company wrote. A second, unnamed theme from an old version of Wordpress Mobile Edition will be displayed on … Read more

Google Android: More than just a cheap date

For years, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM have used Linux to lower the cost of their hardware and software-based solutions, while keeping profit margins fat and healthy. Google, ever the quick learner, is now doing the same with Android.

The mobile market will never be the same.

Just as Google and others are using open-source software to lower barriers to adoption of their proprietary cloud offerings, so, too, is Google using open source to reduce the cost of mobile computing in order to drive uptake of its proprietary search-related advertising business in mobile.

Google CFO Patrick Pichette said as much in … Read more

Also in Android news

It's been a big day for Google Android news, but Verizon's upcoming Droid phone (and the accompanying TV commercial) are only part of the story. T-Mobile put its Cliq handset on preorder and juicy tidbits leaked out from other sources.

We told you last week that a GSM version of the Motorola Sholes cleared the FCC, but we failed to notice that a CDMA handset also got the government's nod (the FCC ID is IHDP56KC5 instead of IHDP56KC2). The consensus in the tech world is that this device is the Droid. Unfortunately, specs are few and there … Read more

Droid lacks Apple's secret weapon: iTunes

Apple outstripped Wall Street's expectations for the quarter ended September 30, and while the blowout quarter was mostly thanks to higher-than-expected Mac sales, the company also sold a record 7.4 million iPhones. But a lot of commentators think that the iPhone is finally going to meet its match with Droid.

Announced this weekend by Verizon in a cheeky TV commercial, the Droid is a Motorola phone running Google's Android 2.0 operating system. The advertisement notes that the Droid will do things that the iPhone won't, like take pictures in the dark and run simultaneous apps (… Read more

Humanoid bot greets guests at Tokyo store

A female android developed at Tokyo University of Science has been working as a receptionist at a department store in the Japanese capital.

Saya, an air-servo-powered robot created by Professor Hiroshi Kobayashi, just finished a stint greeting customers at Takashimaya, one of the most prestigious retailers in Japan.

Saya can interact with people by responding to questions posed through a microphone. Decked out in a Takashimaya jacket and hat along with makeup by RMK, she directed customers to the appropriate floor of the retailer's flagship store in the Nihonbashi district.

Saya has about 700 programmed voice responses, including small … Read more

Preorder your Moto Cliq

The hubbub over Verizon's upcoming Droid smartphone isn't the only Google Android news Monday. T-Mobile also launched a preorder site for its new Motorola Cliq. The handset won't be available to take home until November 2, but you can reserve your Cliq now for $199 with service.

We had a chance to review the Cliq last week and discovered much to like about the handset. The hardware is great and Moto made some welcome interface tweaks to the OS. On the downside, performance wasn't completely perfect and some basic organizer features are missing, but the Cliq … Read more

BOL 1087: Google's leaky cloud

Have a Google Voicemail account? Have some voicemails in there? I may have listened to them today! Thanks to some leaks in the Google cloud (rain?) it seems some folks voicemails are searchable on Google. Glad that eye appointment went well! Also Verizon and Motorola are bringing it to the iPhone. But will Verizon have to make a switch next year if the rumors are true?

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1087

Verizon’s anti-iPhone gets its first commercial: ‘Droid Does’ http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/17/verizons-anti-iphone-gets-its-first-commercial-droid-does/ … Read more

Droid is coming to Verizon

Could the new Droid finally be the smartphone to knock the Apple iPhone off its pedestal? Droid partners Verizon, Motorola, and Google are positioning it as such.

The latest Android-based smartphone, the Droid, could debut as early as October 30, according to a cryptic countdown code on Verizon's Web site that promotes the new device.

Verizon has set up its Droid promo page with direct challenges to the iPhone, with such slap-in-the face headlines as: "iDon't have a real keyboard," "iDon't run simultaneous apps," and "iDon't allow open development." And &… Read more