android

Hands on with the HTC Touch Diamond2, Touch Pro2, and more

I'm sure I'm just setting myself up for disappointment one of these days, but I've come to expect big things from HTC at trade shows, whether it be CTIA or Mobile World Congress. The company has consistently delivered some of the hottest product announcements at these events, so can you blame a girl for thinking such thoughts?

Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 (well, maybe a little, but I'll get to that in a bit) as HTC debuted several new handsets. The Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer kicked off the show by debuting the HTC Touch Diamond2 and the HTC Touch Pro2, which replace the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro.

I stopped by HTC's booth on Wednesday to have a look at both smartphones, and I was impressed with the design improvements and enhanced technologies. The Touch Diamond2 probably wowed me more than the Pro2 because of its extremely thin and solid design. The device doesn't feel as plasticky with its brushed metal face and sides. Also, I can't tell if it's the sleeker design, but the screen pops out that much more and grabs your attention.

HTC has also worked on the user interface, providing a new Start screen where you can easily access your applications. It's also customizable and features more user-friendly icons. The touch-sensitive toolbar is a cool little feature. I didn't think it'd make that much of a difference but it definitely makes it easier to zoom in and out on Web pages and e-mails.

The Touch Pro2 is a monster, and I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. It's bigger than the Touch Pro (4.5 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick versus 4 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.7 inch thick) but again solidly built. The navigation buttons along the bottom are smaller than I like, but that's a relatively minor complaint.… Read more

Vodafone snags Android-powered HTC Magic

To our disappointment, there hasn't been a ton of Google Android news to come out of GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 so far. Huawei announced on Monday that it plans to start selling Android devices later this year, but other than that we didn't see a T-Mobile G2, and Samsung already said it would not show its Android phone at the show as it has been delayed until the second half of 2009.

However, we did get one device announcement. The bad news is that it's not for the U.S. market. On Tuesday, Vodafone said it … Read more

Microsoft still has no iPhone answer

Most of Microsoft's announcements Monday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona were leaked weeks ago, so there weren't any big surprises.

There's a new mobile OS, Windows Mobile 6.5, that's supposed to be friendlier than the notoriously clunky earlier versions. (ZDNet's mobile maven Matthew Miller is still disappointed.)

There's a set of cloud-based services for synchronizing data like contacts and photos. (Although apparently v.1 will not be connected with the Windows Live or Live Mesh platforms or services, so the vision of unified data sync across devices is still a whiteboard drawing as far as Microsoft products and services are concerned.)

There's a marketplace for Windows Mobile apps. There's a brand change--the phones will be called "Windows Phones," although the OS is still "Windows Mobile." (Confused?) Oh, and the company has finally acknowledged that competing in the consumer space is important, a year and a half after CEO Steve Ballmer dismissed the iPhone as a "$500 subsidized item" that had "no chance" of gaining any significant market share.

Assuming that any of this makes you want to run out and buy a Windows Mobile phone, too bad. None of it's available until late this year.

I'll give Microsoft some credit for envisioning and beginning to build a free alternative to Apple's MobileMe service. And the mobile marketplace is a no-brainer. But Monday's announcements just underscore that Microsoft has no answer to the iPhone. … Read more

Nvidia Tegra: Not just Windows, Android too

Nvidia is working with Google on Android phones as it veers off from its Windows-Mobile-only strategy.

On Monday, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nvidia announced that it is working with Google and the Open Handset Alliance to get its Tegra processor into Android phones. Tegra is a system-on-a-chip that integrates an ARM applications processor and Nvidia's GeForce graphics silicon, among other functions. The goal is to bring robust PC-like graphics to small devices.

"We welcome Nvidia's support of Android on Tegra," Andy Rubin, Google's senior director of mobile platforms, said in a statement. … Read more

Webware Radar: Truphone adds AIM to iPhone VoIP app

Mobile VoIP service Truphone announced Monday that it has integrated AOL Instant Messenger into its iPhone app. Besides being able to place VoIP calls, users can now log in to AOL and instant message other AIM users through the Truephone app. The software already includes support for Google Talk, Skype, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger.

Netbiscuits, a company that provides a Web software platform for mobile development and advertising, announced Monday that it has partnered with AdMob, the world's largest mobile-advertising service, to provide users with the advertising firm's ad placement tools. According to Netbiscuits, its software … Read more

Huawei to launch Android handsets

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to a Huawei executive as James Chen. The executive's name is Edward Chen.

BARCELONA--Chinese handset maker Huawei Technologies said Monday at the GSMA Global World Congress 2009 here that it plans to start selling phones using Google's Android operating system later this year.

Details about the upcoming phones are still scarce. But the company said it's partnering with a design consultancy company. The device is still in development and is expected to hit the market in the third quarter of this year.

Huawei is a large telecommunications equipment maker … Read more

Google lets programmers sell Android apps

The Android Market, Google's online repository of applications for the T-Mobile G1 and succeeding devices using the search giant's mobile-phone operating system, now lets organizations charge money for their software.

"I'm pleased to announce that Android Market is now accepting priced applications from US and UK developers," said Eric Chu in a blog post Friday. "Initially, priced applications will be available to end users in the US starting mid next week."

Google gives programmers 70 percent of Android app revenue, with the remainder going to wireless service carriers, minus billing settlement fees. Buyers … Read more

My Tracks turns Android phone into GPS device

Google on Thursday released an application called My Tracks that turns the T-Mobile G1 Android phone into a full-fledged GPS receiver.

The free software can record tracks showing where you've been, display them on a map, show elevation gains and losses, and share data with various online services.

As a geography buff, I have to confess that this one of the first applications that actually got me excited. I carry a Garmin standalone GPS device so I can geotag my photos and keep track of my trips, but My Tracks one-ups it in several ways.

For one thing, it's a phone and therefore much more likely to be toted at all times, not just on dedicated occasions. But more important, it's an Internet-enabled device, which means it shows my position on Google Maps--either map mode or satellite image mode, not just the feeble and expensive Garmin Maps--as long as it can find the Internet. Track data can be saved not just as a GPX file, but also uploaded and shared with Google Maps. And statistics can be uploaded into Google Docs spreadsheets or even Twittered (for example using the Twidroid application). … Read more

Android phones await security patch

A researcher who found a security hole in the Android mobile platform in October has found another one that he says is serious enough for him to recommend people not use the Android browser until the patch is installed.

Charlie Miller, a principal analyst at consultancy Independent Security Evaluators, said on Thursday that a patch for the vulnerability is available on Google's source code repository, but has not yet been made available for download onto the phones via the T-Mobile service.

Like the previous hole, the new vulnerability could allow an attacker to remotely take control of the browser, … Read more

Samsung delays Android phone

Well, here's the first disappointment of GSMA Mobile World Congress. Samsung will not be showing off its first Google Android smartphone at the show; in fact, we won't be seeing it at all until the second half of 2009.

Initial reports said Samsung would release its Android device some time in the second quarter of 2009, but according to an article in The Guardian, the head of marketing at Samsung's mobile division, Younghee Lee, said the company is "planning internally" for a release in the second half of the year. Lee added that Samsung is … Read more