android

Upgrade Android icons to display unread count

Android's open nature makes it easy to customize the look and feel of your phone with widgets, themes, and home screen replacements. Not surprisingly, many have chosen to make their Android phone look and operate like the wildly popular iPhone.

Yet, Android and the iPhone differ in the way they display unread application notifications. Android places new alerts in the systemwide notification bar while the iPhone places a notification directly over the specific app. Both systems work well, but some might prefer the iPhone's system.

SMS Unread Count is a free Android widget that attempts to emulate the … Read more

Nokia Android rumors earn outright denial

Nokia has strongly denied working on an Android-based handset, following a report early on Monday that it's planning to do so.

The report, carried in The Guardian, took a cue from "industry insiders" to predict the launch of a touch-screen Android device at Nokia World in September. When contacted by ZDNet UK later Monday morning, a Nokia representative issued an "outright denial" of the piece.

"There is no truth to this story whatsoever," a statement from the company read. "It is a well-known fact that Symbian is our platform of choice for … Read more

Netbooks and touch screens: A good marriage?

Netbooks are helping boost the PC market as it continues to slide with the economy, but it's only a matter of time before something precipitates a market upturn.

Thanks to the announcement of the Archos 9 PC Tablet on Wednesday, there's even more evidence helping fuel speculation that touch screens can transform the Netbook experience from basic computing into multitouch bliss.

Touch screens are undoubtedly popular in the mobile market, but they have yet to break through in the computing space. Will they be as revolutionary for PCs as they have thus far been for smartphones? … Read more

Android phone running slow?

Though Android can run multiple programs and close background processes as needed, there are times where the OS' overall performance slows down. And during those times in particular it's troubling that Android doesn't let you close applications manually.

Fortunately, the Android Marketplace offers an answer. Advanced Task Manager is a paid application that enables you to view all running applications and end them on demand. For only 99 cents you can see all open applications and background processes on your phone, which can help you identify which are taking up memory. With the tap of your finger, you … Read more

On Call: Apples and Androids

Q: What are the main differences between the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS? With the iPhone 3G being just $99, I'd rather not spend the extra $100 for the 3GS if I don't have to. - James

A: The extra $100 for the iPhone 3GS gets you a few things. They aren't mind-blowing, but they are worth an extra $100, depending on your point of view.

Voice control: This is a welcome and nifty feature that performs well. Not only can you make calls using only your voice, but also you can use the iPod player. It's particularly useful if you'll be using the iPhone while driving. Video recording: Another feature that was long overdue. The video quality is quite good and the editing tool is unique and very easy to use. Accessibility options: The 3GS is the first iPhone to offer a broad range of accessibility feature, like Voice Over, which will read a description of the onscreen controls. Other options will further assist visually impaired users. Compass: The compass and its integration with the Google Maps feature are neat, but I don't see myself using them that much, though you might feel differently. Better battery life: The iPhone 3GS promises double the battery life of the iPhone 3G. We're still testing our iPhone 3GS, but it did seem to last longer than its predecessor did during preliminary use. I'm hoping that it lives up to expectations, as short battery life is one of the drawbacks of both the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G. Faster performance: We have found the the 3GS is faster than the iPhone 3G. It opens applications more quickly and turns on in half the time. If price is your main issue, then I think you'll get a great iPhone experience with the $99 iPhone 3G. But, if money is third our fourth on your criteria list, I'd say that you'll enjoy the added features from the iPhone 3GS.

… Read more

Explore new Android apps

Though the Android Market has been open for eight months, it lacks many important features present on Apple's iPhone App Store. Above all, you can't browse the full gallery of apps on your PC. What limited browsing features that are present on the official Android Market site only display selected applications.

But where Google has lagged, the community has stepped up. A number of clever Web sites now enables users to perform improved searches, view a complete listing of apps, and see historical rankings. You can use a combination of these sites to discover new apps and trends. … Read more

Report: Dell working on Android gadget

Dell is developing a pocket-size Internet device using Google's Android operating system that could take on Apple's iPod Touch, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal on Monday.

Two people who have seen early prototypes of the device told the newspaper it looks like Apple's iPod Touch but slightly larger. And like the iPod Touch, the device isn't expected to include a cellular phone. The device is considered part of a new category of gadgets called mobile Internet devices, or MIDs, which are designed to fit into the market between a mobile phone and … Read more

Is Google Adsense good for Android?

Last week Google announced the beta version of Adsense for mobile applications. With this new service, developers will be able to better monetize their applications and games. What's more, the revenue generated should be enough to encourage developers into spending more time on their Android projects.

In order to qualify for the beta service, a developer's application must generate 100,000 impressions per day. The developers generate revenue based on the number of people who click on an advertisement they display. The click-through rate, or CTR, is often higher on mobile ad units because they are highly targeted … Read more

Google move paves way for Firefox on Android

Google's move to let software run natively on Android devices opens the door for a version of Firefox that can run on the operating system.

At present, Android applications are written in Java and run on Google's Dalvik Java virtual machine. Last week, though, Google announced the Android Native Development Kit version 1.0 that lets software run natively on the Linux layer below, though the company sees it as a way not to run full-fledged applications as much as to run components of ordinary Android applications.

"Android applications run in the Dalvik virtual machine. The NDK … Read more