SAN FRANCISCO--Google demonstrated some new tricks of its Android mobile phone software, including an elaborate use of Google Maps Street View and a touch-screen interface with abilities known for their presence on Apple's iPhone.
Steve Horowitz, Android's engineering director, used flicking gestures to sweep from the phone's home screen to another during a speech here Wednesday at the Google I/O conference. More unusual, though was a demonstration of how the phone's internal compass and accelerometer can enliven Street View.
After calling up a view of San Francisco using a Web browser, Horowitz turned around, and the Street View screen panned left or right accordingly, reflecting his orientation.
Also new were demonstrations of a central notification service that can display new e-mail, missed phone calls, and calendar appointments; the ability to unlock the phone using a specific connect-the-dots swipe across the screen; an option to put browser or contact list shortcuts on the Android desktop; and a version of Pac-Man from Namco.
Android consists of a Linux kernel with Java virtual machine technology on top for running software. Google supplies many applications, but it's trying to encourage developers to write their own. Google hopes Android will become an open system on which users can install whatever software they want, though it's not yet clear if phone service carriers will agree with that vision.
Although Android supported the touch screen, there was no support yet for multitouch, which permits two-finger controls such as pinching to shrink a photo. However, Android could accommodate that technology if handset makers use multitouch-capable screens, said Andy Rubin, the Android project leader, in a press meeting after the speech.
"When a hardware developer puts that hardware into the handset, I hope that hardware developer provides the driver," Rubin said.
A view of Google's Android mobile-phone software.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET News.com)Android can use a touch screen, but doesn't need one, Rubin added. "Steve could have given that entire demo driven by a trackball," Rubin said.
Rubin wouldn't be pinned down about when Android phones will ship, only reiterating the commitment to meet a deadline of the second half of 2008. "What you saw onstage looks pretty good, but we want to make sure it's perfect," Rubin said.
In the demo, Android ran on a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) phone from an unnamed manufacturer, Rubin said. It used a Qualcomm MDM 7201A processor, a Synaptics capacitive touch screen, and a 3.6 megabit-per-second HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) broadband connection.
Microsoft shows off its Surface computer in May
(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com)DENVER--On Thursday, Microsoft plans to show its partners the Surface computer that it introduced in May. But it will be a little while longer before most partners get a chance to do more than look at the tabletop computer.
Allison Watson, the head of Microsoft's partner efforts, plans to show off the touch-based device as part of a talk she is giving on Microsoft's innovation pipeline. Watson also plans to announce the company is forming a partner advisory council to help the company decide how it should open up the product to outside developers.
"Starting in April, I think the hope is we can launch an actual (software development kit) for partners," Watson said in an interview at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference here. "Before we do that, we thought we'd bring in real partners to help us."
For now, Microsoft is focusing the device, which costs around $10,000, on the hospitality and gaming and retail markets. Software development is limited to a few handpicked partners.
The perfect tool for mixing that Deanna Troi tribute album you've been working on.
(Credit: Jazz Mutant)Before Apple came along and integrated multitouch-screen technology into the iPhone, one of the first companies to weave multitouch into a commercial product was a boutique music controller company named JazzMutant. Their first product, the Lemur, was an extremely niche (and pricey) product that allowed musicians to use the Lemur's suite of touch-screen tools to play and tweak their music. You know its cool if Bjork takes it out on tour.
Dexter, JazzMutant's latest product, promises to bring multitouch technology to a wider audience. Released just a few days ago, Dexter is aimed at recording studio engineers and music remixers looking for a unique, and hopefully more efficient replacement for a mixing board. If the demo video is any indication, at least it bestows onto its user the design appeal of a Star Trek: TNG control panel. Price looks to be around $3,600. Ouch.
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