With the buzz in full effect for HTC’s G1 - the first mobile officially sporting the Google Android OS - other developers are starting to catch up and get on board. The latest demos that are flooding the internet of the Android OS has pricked peoples ears and handset manufacturers are listening.
Motorola is the latest company who seem to have committed to putting serious development into incorporating the Android OS into their phones. It has been rumored that they’re currently looking to build up a 350 person team dedicated to developing the Android OS for Motorola phones. This will definitely be a boost to Motorola’s rep and should give them another step ahead in the market.
No other brands have yet seriously committed to Android, although representative were seen hobnobbing with the industry at the at the Android development conference and the blogosphere is reporting that they may be next. If Nokia were to to seriously take on the Android system they would become even more of a power house. Can you imagine your N96 sporting that hot and speedy Android? Sweet!
The first handset sporting the highly anticipated Google designed Android platform has been officially announced. The HTC G1 is scheduled to be hitting the market on October 22nd and preorders with T-Mobile for the device will be starting soon.
This has been a long time coming, especially for this blogger, and it’s finally nice to see that Google is about to put itself in the race. The G1 is going to be functional with a number of Google online services. Gmail will be available with push support, Google talk and YouTube as well. AmazonMP3 will also be directly accessible from the phone (although the lack of a 3.5 mm headjack will make music listening a bit frustrating).
One of the coolest features however is the embedded digital compass that syncs with Maps Street View and google maps to give you live 360 degree city scape browsing. So you can walk a city without even walking a city. Apparently integrated games with this GPS function are on the way. Counterstrike in your home town maybe?
In terms of hardware the G1 isn’t the fanciest phone, but it does hold its own. It features a 3.2-inch display touchscreen display, QWERTY keyboard and a 3.15 MP camera. The memory specs are 92 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM and a Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 Mhz processor which should work splendidly with the Android OS.
Even though the hardware leaves something to be desired the real reason we’re all going to be after this phone is the Android OS. Video demos of the OS are spilling out onto the web and the functionality looks fantastic.
Google’s Mike Jennings demonstrated a working Android OS; the interface is fast and responsive but is not yet parallel to the graphical interface of the iPhone. Jennings revealed that Google is planning an App Marketplace for them as well as saying he expected multiple payment options , which will of course include Google Checkout.
Its VERY much possible T-Mobile will be launching the HTC dream sometime in the upcoming Q.
The first Blackberry flip phone has been announced by RIM and is expected to be released this fall. This is a simple phone featuring Blackberry’s classic quality.
The highlighted features of the Pearl Flip 8220 are the WiFi, trackball navigation and also the SureType QWERTY keyboard. The phone also will feature a secondary external display and a 3.5 mm audio output jack for music. Also, unlike a lot of the Blackberry models this is sporting a 2.0 megapixel camera with video recording capabilities.
The phone measures up at 101.1 x 50 x 17.5 mm and weighs at 102 grams. At this size it is a little bit larger than most flip phones but it still has a nice sleek design. Although the pictures don’t look like anything to write home about it will be interesting to see how Blackberry can handle themselves with a new design.
Are you willing to try out a new Blackberry design?
Our friend BREW Ninja has just released a new internet video previewing some upcoming cell phone goodies recently. The video comes complete with his turtleneck ninja outfit. I think that is traditional wear.The quick video gives previews of 3 different phones. The HTC Coke, which is a modified version of the Touch Pro, the LG Lotus with a full QWERTY interface and the BlackBerry Thunder which is due out soon with Verizon.The video is pretty basic although the one complaint that is definitely interesting coming from the BREW Ninja is the touchscreen interface on the BlackBerry Thunder. In stead of the usual capacitive touch screens the screen on this device is an actual button. So to select icons and move around the screen you do have to apply quite a bit of pressure. This may be a concern for heavy handed users and it may make the screen more susceptible to breakage.Have a look at the video for yourself:
Although iPhone 3G home automation apps are nothing new there are some pretty heavy hitting apps on the horizon which are going to make your iPhone 3G into one cool universal remote. This means that you’re going to be turning on your stereo, turning off your TV, adjusting your AC and fetching your newspaper (maybe?) all from your the touch screen of your iPhone 3G.
Recently at the CEDIA expo some developers have been showcasing some of the apps on the horizon. Crestron, one of the developers at CEDIA are demoing one of the more further developed apps. It will allow you to control multiple rooms in your house via Wi-Fi or AT&T data. The best part is that it is a free download.
For the most part these apps are going to be offered for free in iPhone Apps store however some will be charging fees for the usage. But maybe this will be worth it for the pleasure of getting to hear your washing machine turn on when you’re in another room.
Pretty cool stuff, but I’m still waiting for the Rosie the Robot Maid from the Jetsons App.
Sony Ericsson have released the SDK for the upcoming Xperia X1 Smartphone. You may be a bit confused, because as all you savvy readers will know the Xperia X1 is operating on the Windows Mobile platform. An already strong platform which is enjoyed by mobile phone users around the world.
This SDK however is a free download from Sony Ericsson which will allow you to customize your Xperia X1 with whatever panels you please. The panels interface is similar to Apple’s iPhone Apps store and it will allow you to tailor your phone to however you want to use it. It is meant to make phone usage a much more interactive experience and allow users to customize and move through their phone more freely.
The video below gives us a short demo of what we’ll be able to expect when this gorgeous handset gets released. As you can see it is likely to have panels specifically for certain providers so you can configure your phone easily and quickly.
