android

While iPhone owners have long had a powerful Facebook app with a wide range of functionality, Google Android users have had to make do with the mobile version of the social networking site (called Facebook Lite). Not only does it offer limited features, but also it is clunky and rather difficult to navigate.

But that changed Tuesday when a new and long-awaited Facebook app hit the Android market. The free app offers many of the features that you've come to expect on the iPhone app and the full version of the site. You can scan your news feed, view … Read more

Many handset makers are planning Google Android phones, but thus far, only HTC has released devices in the United States. Samsung was the second company to offer an Android phone when it released the Galaxy I7500 overseas, but it remains uncertain if an American carrier will pick it up. New details, however, suggest that Samsung's second Android phone, the Galaxy Lite I5700, could make a run at a United States release.

The Galaxy Lite is the assumed cheaper version of the original Samsung Galaxy. Both the internal storage (1GB vs. 8GB) and the camera (3.2 megapixels vs. 5 … Read more

Reading the news about a University of Washington professor's experimental electronic contact lens, I wondered if my dream of the ultimate personal technology has finally moved from over the horizon to in sight. Here's what I want: to be able to walk into crowded cocktail party, and know exactly who I am looking at -- each person's name, last time we met, and other information pertinent for a pleasant social interaction. I want that information beamed into my field of vision, in text floating over their heads, like the health indicators over the bad guys in a … Read more

After playing peek-a-boo for the past few weeks, HTC officially introduced its latest Google Android handset on Tuesday, the HTC Tattoo.

Formerly known as the HTC Click, the Tattoo, we presume, gets it name from the customization options it offers and is being advertised as an Android phone for all. It's the second phone from the company, after the HTC Hero, to use the HTC Sense user interface, which provides up to seven home screen panels that can be personalized with various widgets, shortcuts, and wallpapers.

The phone itself is pretty compact at 4.17 inches tall by 2.… Read more

Open source, despite its community roots, often doesn't become mainstream until corporations get involved. There are notable exceptions--Mozilla Firefox and the Apache Web server being just two--but often it is corporate self-interest that provides the mechanism to deliver the value of community-developed open source to a mainstream audience.

While the mobile market remains highly fragmented, therefore, I take it as a very encouraging sign that Google has thrown its considerable heft behind Android, its open-source mobile operating platform.

Sure, we've had mobile open-source companies for years. I was part of one of the first: Lineo, an embedded Linux … Read more

BERLIN--Those of you familiar with Android devices will appreciate the sweet, delicious irony in the photo above. Yes, there are indeed Heroes, and they're made by HTC. But they've got some competition because Samsung has an Android-powered phone now, and it's called the Galaxy i7500. We've been playing with one here at IFA.

With its all-glass capacitive touch screen and lush interface, sweeping through the Galaxy's menus was unlike anything we've experienced on a Samsung phone before. Its 3.2-inch AMOLED screen's colors are rich, its menus are responsive, and wrapped in the … Read more

Google's Android Market is undergoing renovation.

The Android app store will soon launch several new updates in its upcoming 1.6 version, according to an Android Developers blog post from Google's Eric Chu on Thursday.

Developers will be able to provide screenshots, icons, and descriptions to better promote and highlight their applications.

Four new app subcategories--sports, health, themes, and comics--are being added, Chu said. Developers can target any of those subcategories for both new and existing applications.

For reasons Chu did not explain, Android app developers in Italy are getting some special attention. Italian developers will be able … Read more

Now that Sprint finally has announced its first Google Android phone, we thought we'd take a closer look at how it stacks up against the competition. Sprint has chosen the HTC Hero, which is the third Android phone HTC has made. The Hero was first released overseas shortly after the HTC Magic, which T-Mobile launched in the United States as the MyTouch 3G. The Hero and MyTouch 3G are similar, but the Hero offers a few key advantages.

Memory The Hero and MyTouch have the same processing power, but the Hero should be faster thanks to its increased memory. The Hero features 288MB of RAM compared with the 192MB RAM on the MyTouch 3G. Many current Android users have complained about speed issues, which normally are caused by background processes that slow the phone down. Having more free memory will let the Hero be more responsive, even when multiple programs are open.

Multimedia Media fans will be pleased to find a 3.5-millimeter headset jack on the Hero. This was a major complaint of the first two Android phones, but now HTC has committed to including a 3.5-millimeter jack on all future devices. The Hero also includes a 5-megapixel camera, which is an improvement over the 3.2-megapixel shooter on the MyTouch.

Battery The first Android phone, T-Mobile G1, suffers from battery issues that HTC addressed in the MyTouch. The Hero takes it to the next level by offering a 1,500mAh capacity battery, which is the highest capacity available on an Android phone. In contrast, the MyTouch has a 1,340mAh battery.

Software The Hero's software is another of its advantages. The Hero will be the first U.S. phone to feature HTC Sense, an HTC enhanced version of Android.… Read more

Ok, but just to be clear, when I say it's time for me to get a pimp, what I MEAN is that it's time to get a PMP -- a portable media player. That is, perhaps, an iPod Touch. Anyway, you'll understand. In other news, the MPAA is trying to clamp down on your analog hole and break your DVR all at the same time and Apple's Snow Leopard is having a rough landing ... apparently because of the picture on the box.