As I have written here in various posts, there is a lot to like about the Nokia N8, primarily the camera. However, there are a couple other devices I have been using lately that trump the N8 and combined with some other issues I am returning the dark gray N8. That is if I can EVER get through the STUPID Nokia USA hold music (now going on 20 minutes on hold).
UPDATE: Not so fast, I just followed up after spending several more hours with the Nokia N8 and I CANNOT GIVE IT UP!
For one thing, Gmail through Nokia Messaging is a major failure and won’t keep my inbox synced so I am forced to read things multiple times to clear it on the device and elsewhere. Email is also a broken experience with email from different services appearing in large fonts or small fonts with a very inconsistent experience.
Fonts throughout the OS are not good, especially when you look side-by-side with a new Windows Phone 7 or Android device. Sorry Nokia, in this day and age you have to be better for me to spend so much money on a device.
The keyboard situation is not good. While the landscape keyboard can be made to work fairly well, I hate the experience of leaving an app to enter text and the multiple taps required to enter a simply text message.
The web browser was fine in 2006, but is not good in 2010 and almost 2011. Android, iOS, and Windows Phone 7 browsers all easily trump the N8. I know there is an update coming sometime and maybe I will check it out when sometime arrives.
I love the hardware, the camera, threaded text messaging and the ability to support services like Zune and Amazon. The N8 is still the best piece of Nokia hardware I have tried and the OS is good for Symbian fans, but as a writer for ZDNet I have had the chance to try too many other new mobile platforms that are better and this has colored my opinion of the N8. If I lived only in the world of Symbian I would definitely keep the N8, but I don’t so I am not.
I plan to give the WP7 HD7 or Android G2 a try and there is the chance that I might be back with an orange N8 or something. I think the E7 or maybe the rumored N9 MeeGo device may be more convincing at bringing a new Nokia device in my hand though, but we will have to wait and see.
As I have written here in various posts, there is a lot to like about the Nokia N8, primarily the camera. However, there are a couple other devices I have been using lately that trump the N8 and combined with some other issues I am returning the dark gray N8. That is if I can EVER get through the STUPID Nokia USA hold music (now going on 20 minutes on hold).
For one thing, Gmail through Nokia Messaging is a major failure and won’t keep my inbox synced so I am forced to read things multiple times to clear it on the device and elsewhere. Email is also a broken experience with email from different services appearing in large fonts or small fonts with a very inconsistent experience.
Fonts throughout the OS are not good, especially when you look side-by-side with a new Windows Phone 7 or Android device. Sorry Nokia, in this day and age you have to be better for me to spend so much money on a device.
The keyboard situation is not good. While the landscape keyboard can be made to work fairly well, I hate the experience of leaving an app to enter text and the multiple taps required to enter a simply text message.
The web browser was fine in 2006, but is not good in 2010 and almost 2011. Android, iOS, and Windows Phone 7 browsers all easily trump the N8. I know there is an update coming sometime and maybe I will check it out when sometime arrives.
I love the hardware, the camera, threaded text messaging and the ability to support services like Zune and Amazon. The N8 is still the best piece of Nokia hardware I have tried and the OS is good for Symbian fans, but as a writer for ZDNet I have had the chance to try too many other new mobile platforms that are better and this has colored my opinion of the N8. If I lived only in the world of Symbian I would definitely keep the N8, but I don’t so I am not.
I plan to give the WP7 HD7 or Android G2 a try and there is the chance that I might be back with an orange N8 or something. I think the E7 or maybe the rumored N9 MeeGo device may be more convincing at bringing a new Nokia device in my hand though, but we will have to wait and see.
The popular Android application database website AppBrain has posted a little snippet on their blog discussing some of the cool features of their “Hot Apps” section, as well as changes to their Android application.
Recently, they implemented a trackback section in Hot Apps which shows some of the most popular sites with links back to that particular app. You can see an example of this feature in action via the picture above, which is showcasing the newly released Winamp Android app.
The post also details a recent update to the AppBrain Android app, which adds an optional notification in your top bar which lists your last viewed apps. With this list, you can easily delete apps, create a shortcut, or share the app with friends using AppBrains social features.
You can find out more information about these updates, as well as links to past AppBrain blog posts, by hitting up the source link below.
Yet another manufacturer is delaying their Android tablet plans in favor of a more primed version of the operating system as Lenovo has announced they have no plans to release a slate device in the US until sometime in 2011. Word is that the company is holding out for the Honeycomb iteration of Android, a sentiment that echoes a report from yesterday stating that HTC has also delayed their tablet plans.
It has been suggested that Motorola has been given priority for Android Gingerbread. In much the same way that the Moto Droid was the only device to receive Android 2.0, which was quickly followed up with the launch of Android 2.1, it could be that Gingerbread will be featured exclusively on whatever tablet (or tablets) Moto produces while a 3.x version dubbed Honeycomb will follow shortly and come to other devices.
One thing is certain: we won’t be getting a LePad in the US anytime soon.
As reported earlier Sony’s line of Google TV products — the aptly named Sony Internet TV — began arriving in stores today, and Best Buy isn’t sitting on their stockpile. Nope, as expected the lineup of products featuring four HD television sets and a Blu Ray player has gone on sale. Best Buy is ready to start these moving off the shelves, and given the Google TV concept (and the various available devices carrying the platform) might be a bit foreign to some the retailer has created a succinct product guide to help curious buyers make a decision as to which format suits them best.
As of right now it looks like only Sony’s Google TV offerings are available, though we expect the Logitech Revue should be touching down any day now. Anyone catch the fever and make the purchase already? Or are you planning on waiting it out until the early adopters report in? Check out the gallery below for a few more images.
At this point, I think we’re all well aware of Samsung’s plot. The Galaxy S line: it’s a tool they’re going to use to take over the universe and enslave humankind. They have officially rolled it out to a ton of markets, including The top 4 markets here in the US. Now, Cellular South is hopping on the S train, and the line just keeps gaining speed.
Cellular South is going to be calling their iteration of Samsung’s doomsday device – er, Galaxy S line the “Samsung Showcase”. The assumed price is $199 like its counterparts, but this rumor has yet to be confirmed.
Google has made a significant upgrade to the Google TV website in anticipation for this months likely launch.
The new site features a visual tour, showcasing some of the various features of the Android powered Internet TV platform. For example, a page highlighting some of the various apps that will be initially available reveals that Netflix, Pandora, Twitter, Amazon Video on Demand, CNBC, and many others will come built in to Google TV.
Ah just what today needed, news of yet another lawsuit flung in the direction Android and its manufacturing partners. This time it’s Microsoft, not at all new to the patent-mincing game, looking in Motorola’s direction for alleged infringement of nine patents in their Android devices. Microsoft is calling to task processes for “synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power,” claiming Moto’s handling of such procedures is in violation of MS’s intellectual property.
While there is a pretty good chance this one will reach an out-of-court settlement, it could also fall into the other column of long, drawn out legal battles. Oh well, guess that’s the route you need to take when you spend your time releasing things like the Microsoft Kin.
Microsoft Files Patent Infringement Action Against Motorola
REDMOND, Wash. – Oct. 1, 2010 – Microsoft Corp. today filed a patent infringement action against Motorola, Inc. and issued the following statement from Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing:
“Microsoft filed an action today in the International Trade Commission and in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against Motorola, Inc. for infringement of nine Microsoft patents by Motorola’s Android-based smartphones. The patents at issue relate to a range of functionality embodied in Motorola’s Android smartphone devices that are essential to the smartphone user experience, including synchronizing email, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.
We have a responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard the billions of dollars we invest each year in bringing innovative software products and services to market. Motorola needs to stop its infringement of our patented inventions in its Android smartphones.”
New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco. What do these three cities have in common? We could probably list quite a few things, but we’re talking about the fact that none of those cities have been activated on Sprint’s 4G coverage map despite being three of the most populated and tech-savvy cities in the country. Turns out that the size and layout of these cities is the very reason that there has been a delay in getting coverage kicked in for subscriber’s in those areas. They call the areas “crowded and complex” but promise that soon residents of those metropolitan areas will no longer need to complain and ask “what about us?” every time Sprint announces expansion of their 4G coverage.
The below video gives a bit of background info on just exactly what goes into laying out coverage for a new network in a place already so inundated with man-made constructs. Perhaps surprisingly the 4G technology actually takes up less space than old 3G setups, and quite a few areas are already active in NYC. If you have found yourself around Times Square you may have already noticed this on your EVO 4G or Epic. So there you have it. They say it’s coming soon and from the looks of it it won’t be that long at all.
Members of the press have been invited to see Sony unveil the world’s first internet TV October 12th at 5:30pm. While they don’t mention Google TV specifically, it’s no secret that they’ve been working with Google and Intel to produce a TV with the technology embedded. We haven’t seen or heard much out of Sony themselves regarding it, but I suppose that’s what October 12th will be for. Now I just have to find a way to snag an invite. You think coming with a suit made out of Xperia X10s could get me through the door?
Well I guess we can throw any doubt regarding a Tegra-powered (most likely Tegra 2) Android handset by Motorola out of the window as NVIDIA’s CEO – Jen-Hsun Huang – confirmed they were working with Motorola and that they were one of their biggest long term customers (alongside Samsung and LG, whom we’ve already known about having close ties with NVIDIA). This all went down yesterday in a fireside chat at NVIDIA’s own GPU Technology Conference. This follows a rumor that broke a couple of days ago regarding a phone called the Motoroal Droid T2 which – you guessed it – will be coming with a dual-core Tegra 2 chipset on board.
We know Motorola’s working on a tablet, at the very least – codenamed the Stingray – but even that can’t be confirmed at this time. Even so, we’re told to look out for new codenames by the manufacturer looking to fight their way back to the top of the charts. These codenames would be the Motorola Venus (the aforementioned Droid T2), the Everest, and the Olympus (we have no idea what types of devices the latter two will be if they ever come to fruition.)
We expect to hear about at least one of these devices before the year closes, and then we’ll be looking forward to Motorola laying the smack down on the smartphone and tablet game as 2011 gets underway.
Just like Han Solo making the Kessel Run, someone has smuggled out a few pictures of the Motorola Droid R2-D2 in stock at Verizon. Well, the dummy units anyway. The release of the Star Wars-themed device shouldn’t be too far away, and with a World Edition refresh of the Droid 2 not far away either, it looks like those in the market for the handset will have quite a few options to consider. The phone is still looking pretty good in terms of pure geek awesomeness. I especially like the nice white and blue lettering of the slide-out keyboard. So who can’t wait to have this thing bleep-bloop-boppin’ in their pocket?
First AT&T, and now Verizon. Big Red has set up a teaser page for their upcoming 4G (LTE) network, and although it’s pretty minimal, it definitely shows us that Verizon 4G is on the horizon. All that appears on the page is a few sentences and an email signup for news about 4G coverage, so sorry folks, no details about a possible release date. It’s coming, though, so you’ll just have to be patient like the rest of us.
If you have your own online retail shop, or want to get started creating one in the smartphone space – keep an eye out on mobi-cart.com. Mobi-Cart offers a free service to build and manage your e-commerce shop application in a secure and easy to use manner. Even if you don’t already have an online site, you can use Mobi-Cart to create a standalone app for today’s smartphones. The service is currently in private beta, but is expected to be available to the public real soon.
Head on past the jump to read the full press-release:
Recently the Indian government announced that through a collaboration with the country’s top engineering colleges a $35 Android tablet had been developed to bring slate-style computing to the masses. That’s all well and good, except now Indian Android blog AndroidOS is making the claim that the tablet said to be developed and subsidized by the Indian government is actually the Chinese-made Hivision Speedpad. An image comparison of the two devices in question should settle any doubt as to the origin of the Indian tablet.
Now, we have no idea why the Indian government would make such a bold claim when the origin of the device they presented could easily be sleuthed out, so there is still a chance that the image provided as the table was just a poor choice for a placeholder or something similar. Meaning: not the final product. But the argument that the device was actually engineered in China is quite compelling. Do we have a case of government conspiracy here or can this all be chalked up to simple misunderstanding?
[via AndroidOS, thanks to Amit for sending this in]
Looks like Vodafone’s going to get one of Samsung’s lesser-desired, yet still decent-looking handsets in the Samsung i5510. The phone will run Android 2.2 and – while Samsung Hub reports this will be running stock Android – the shot of the phone below points to TouchWiz (but not 3.0, from what I can tell).
The biggest takeaway here is the slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard which takes a lot of its cues from the one found on the Epic 4G or some of Samsung’s other QWERTY-enabled Androids. Other specs include a 5-megapixel camera, bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi, a microSD card slot, and UMTS connectivity. No other details can be had just yet, hardware wise, but it’s said it’ll be offered for around 200 euros whenever it does debut.
Samsung looks to be taking a queue from Sony and People of Lava, in that there next interest with Android might be to start using the Google OS in their future TVs. Currently, Samsung uses their own Bada operating system for their smart televisions, but seeing how fast the consumer is adopting Android, this may change. Samsung has already sold over 1 million 3D TVs in the US Market, but it looks like 3D isn’t going to be the only selling point in the next generation TV market.
What type of features do you want to see in your next TV and is Android one of them? Let us know in the comments!
The latest big buzz on Android tablets has been the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but there’s another tablet looking to grab some of that 7 inch marketspace: the Viewsonic ViewPad 7, which was recently shown off at IFA 2010 Berlin. It may not have specs as impressive as the Galaxy Tab (slower processor and lower resolution), but the fact that it’s already running Froyo 2.2, and stock at that, is a comfort. It even has Marketplace access. Maybe manufactures are starting to listen to the consumer plea for vanilla Android.
What exactly does this mean? Instead of waiting for a software update from the manufacturer, you will get your updates directly from Google as they are released. Keep in mind, that although the ViewPad 7 has lower specs, it also means it will most likely be priced better then the competition. Which is good for public consumption. If you want something with more power, there is also the Viewsonic ViewPad 100 coming out, which is a 10-incher with beefier specs, although it has only been seen running Android 1.6 so far.
Check out the hands on video of the ViewSonic ViewPad 7 below:
You may have heard a thing or two about Google’s music service, likely to be dubbed Google Music. The idea was discussed at I/O back in May, which expectations we would see something around September. Well, September is here, and we’ve really heard nothing new about Google Music, until now.
Reports are now coming in that sources are revealing that Google Music may be landing sometime around Christmas. Sources are also revealing that Google is planning to launch the service along with Android 3.0. There’s only one catch, it seems that Google Music, being spearheaded by Andy Rubin himself, is having zero luck in signing deals with any major record labels.
Music is not the only area where Google is reportedly having difficulty getting content providers to come on board. There have been numerous reports that they are having an equally difficult time swaying studios and networks to partner with them over Google TV. One thing is for certain, though, and that is Google had better hurry up and get some record labels on board, or they will be launching a shiny new music service with no music to be found.
Google Music — or a version of what Google plans for Music to be — was shown off way back at I/O along with the debut of Android 2.2. It has since then been assumed that the launch of Music would most likely coincide with the launch of Android 3.0 (Gingerbread). From what has been revealed so far, the service will offer cloud-based functionality such as streaming from a desktop system to your Android handset as well as the ability to push song and album downloads directly to your phone. But when, exactly, does Google plan to unleash their counterattack on Apple’s iTunes?
The word is Andy Rubin has been hard at work in an attempt to get the service up and running by the holiday season, which does go hand-in-hand with the rumored release timeframe for Gingerbread. The problem is, so far Rubin and Google have failed to get any record labels to sign on to their music store. It isn’t that they don’t want to. One exec speaking on conditions of anonymity said, “finally here’s an entity with the reach, resources and wherewithal to take on iTunes as a formidable competitor by tying it into search and Android mobile platform. What you’ll have is a very powerful player in the market that’s good for the music business.”
See, music execs would love to have someone come along and take the power out of iTunes’ hands, or at least alleviate some of the hold Apple has on the digital music distribution industry. But for the same reason negotiations with Google may take a while. Record labels are very protective of their intellectual property, if you hadn’t noticed, and are pretty hung up on big profits at the same time. We expect most if not all major distributors to hop on board, though whether or not negotiations will delay the debut of Google Music remains to be seen.
Word is out that Firefox 4, when it ships at the end of October or thereabouts, will probably not include support for older, non-Intel Macs.
Mozilla’s director of Firefox Mike Beltzner hinted at the change on a Mozilla developer mailing list last week: “I am gathering data on the number of PPC users we have, but the likely outcome is that we will not be supporting PPC for Firefox 4. More on that as I get the data.”
PowerPC Mac users have precious few options for modern web browsers these days. Firefox 3.6 will likely be the last Firefox option for PowerPC Macs, and Google Chrome only runs on Intel machines. Apple is still supporting PowerPC Macs with Safari releases, but the latest version, Safari 5, requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later — users still running 10.4 (Tiger) can only run Safari 4.1, which has many of the features found in Safari 5, but is likely the end of the line. Opera 10 runs on older PowerPC Macs, but it struggles. Opera 9 is more reliable, but has fewer features. Slim pickings, and getting slimmer.
Of course, the problem could be solved by upgrading. And we have — most of us already have second or third machines at this point.
Our aging computers, especially laptops, are often put into service as dedicated devices for streaming music, checking e-mail or browsing recipes in the kitchen. In today’s cloud-based world, you need a good web browser to do most of those tasks.
An old machine that still runs but doesn’t have a decent browser is basically worthless.
I have one such old Mac — a G3 iBook — and my personal savior has been Camino. It’s a fantastic browser built on Firefox code. It can handle all the necessary music streaming and Gmail duties, and it’s lightweight enough to do so without beachballing. I don’t need all my add-ons and doo-dads, just Flash Player and a reasonable level of stability. I’ve been using it for years.
Charles Moore over at GigaOM has been experimenting with other choices on his old Macs, trying SeaMonkey, iCab and an old build of Opera, all with varying levels of success.
What’s your favorite browser for your aging Mac? What web tools do you use to keep those old boxen cranking past their prime? Let us know in the comments.
Logitech plans on introducing Google TV to the world with the Logitech Revue and how else would you market your latest product? Easy, scare the hell out of them. Logitech has released three new “lonely TV” ads that are just plain creepy. Each advertisement shows how the modern family spends time indulging in the latest technology and how your TV simply can’t compete with smartphones and other mobile devices, it is clear they want to bring everything back to the television. Below are the three new advertisements all in one place, Enjoy!
Motorola’s looking to get their feet wet with web applications for Android-based phones (or phones with webkit-based browsers, more accurately) by purchasing 280 North – the team behind the easy-to-learn web framework Cappuccino. The sale went down for $20-million and it said to help put Motorola in a better position to create better Android experiences for the many people who buy their phones.
No other details about the purchase or types of web applications were given, but it’s now clear as day that Motorola’s just as serious about stepping the software side of their Android game up as any other high-end manufacturer.
Wind Mobile, the Canadian start-up cell provider, has introduced their first Android phone to their growing selection of devices, the Huawei U8100.
While the Huawei, and Wind Mobile, are designed for the budget-minded, this little Android does boast some decent specs out of the box:
Android 2.1
Display 262K 240×320 QVGA
Screen size 2.8″
External memory up to 16GB
Camera: 3.2MP
Add to that Voice + Data plans starting at only $20 a month, and you can’t beat that deal. It’s also worth noting if you have a Nexus One for T-Mobile bands, it will also work on Wind Mobile’s system.
As I have written here in various posts, there is a lot to like about the Nokia N8, primarily the camera. However, there are a couple other devices I have been using lately that trump the N8 and combined with some other issues I am returning the dark gray N8. That is if I can EVER get through the STUPID Nokia USA hold music (now going on 20 minutes on hold).
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