Posted by admin on July 16th, 2008
The Android developer community is more than a bit upset these days with the way Google has been handling SDK releases. First it started with some minor complaints about the lack of SDK updates, but the fire has grown exponentially with recent news that Google has been “playing favorites” and releasing updated SDKs to the winners of the Developer Challenge and a select few others.
The news came through an unlikely means when Google’s Android advocate accidentally sent a note intended for the winning Developer Challenge developers to a much broader audience of developers.
“Ahhhh, now it makes sense,” one developer wrote on the Android forum. “So they’ve been making private SDK releases while the rest of us suffer with the pile of bugs from the 4+ month old release.”
Many developers have stated that they plan to leave their ambitious Android projects to take up the widely-available, well-made and popular SDK for the Apple iPhone. Google had better shape up - and quick - before the most important aspect of their entire project pulls away leaving the Android project in a smoldering heap.
Seriously, Google, get it together.
Posted by admin on July 14th, 2008
The highly-anticipated non-existent gadget last year was hands-down the Google Phone, or gPhone for short. However, those dreams were squashed when Google announced it’s creation of the Open Handset Alliance and released the Android platform.
However, just recently it seems there just might be some truth behind the whole gPhone rumor. Hollywood Reporter writer Dan Cox stated that:
“[...] Google execs also used the opportunity to talk about the inroads the company is making with its own branded mobile phone as a replacement for the iPhone.”
Apparently Cox was referring specifically to Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin and CEO Eric Schmidt.
Although many may not see the significance or difference between a gPhone and Android, the impact would be quite ground-breaking. Google’s ties with Apple regarding the iPhone have brought much speculation to the inevitable impact that Android will have on the Apple/Google relationship once the smoke clears. Time will tell whether an official gPhone ever appears.
Posted by admin on July 9th, 2008
A Croatian start-up company called Shout ‘Em has created quite the killer app for Android - the first mobile phone-based social network platform. The Shout ‘Em platform allows quick, low-cost start-up of small social networks for companies, friends and others who do want the power of running on mobiles without the risk associated with such a venture. The goal of Shout ‘Em is to “…provide tools and services so that [a mobile social network] service can be started with minimized risks and investments. It also helps [the] customer to stay focused on branding, promoting and building up a community and not to worry about technical details, scalability and reliability.”
Shout ‘Ems claims to have iPhone, Windows Mobile and Symbian clients also in the works. Guess that leaves out LiMo, eh?
It all sounds very businessy, but they also claim that it’s built for everyone right down to the end-user. They’ve put some money where their mouth is by already creating a user demo for the Android emulator (available in the Android SDK). Jump on over to Shout ‘Em’s download page for an awesome demo video.
Posted by admin on July 8th, 2008
As we all know, T-Mobile will have rolled out it’s new 3G network by October 1st in 20 major cities in the US. Allegedly, the flagship phone for the new network will be the evasive Android-based HTC Dream handset. According to the source, the phone will be launched with three other non-Android-based models including the Sony Ericsson Z780 and possibly the Motorola ZINE Z5.
Some of the other cities where T-Mobile is expected to offer its 3G service by the end of the year, include: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Memphis,Tenn.; Miami; Minneapolis; Long Island, N.Y.; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Sacramento, Calif.; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Tampa, Fla.; and Washington, D.C.
Posted by admin on June 23rd, 2008
The Wall Street Journal decided it would be a good idea to stir up some negative buzz over Android by announcing that it is “delayed” and won’t be released until “Q4 of 2008″. And how is this different from what Google has been telling us? I think not. But, we thought we might as well report it considering there has been so much unnecessary buzz over the issue.
Posted by admin on June 11th, 2008
Every now and then, we’ll address some of the questions popping up in the AndroidBoards inbox (admin@androidboards.com) . These can range from silly to serious to satirical - send them in and we’ll get to them… eventually.
Q: When do you expect to see the first mainstream adoption of Android in the consumer market? And what carrier will be the main proponent?
-ohadev
A: As far as the carrier, it’s fairly certain that T-Mobile will be one of the main proponents. Unfortunately, this means that the “Top Three” carriers in the U.S. will be tagging along behind, which could result in a slower consumer adoption of Android handsets.
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