The fusion of cutting edge hardware and radical user interface improvements proves iOS has catching up to do.
Depending on who you asked at yesterday’s Android Honeycomb launch event in Mountain View, California, the latest upgrade to Google’s (GOOG) mobile OS was either a revelation or another iterative upgrade.
Some of the attendees I spoke to shrugged when I asked what they thought.
“Looks like just the next natural step for the OS,” said one.
Cupcake. Donut. Eclair. Froyo. What’s up next? Why, it’s Gingerbread and Honeycomb of course. These future Google Android updates may posses sweet nicknames, but they also pack a lot of power and continue to improve the still quite youthful Android operating system, hopefully adding both function and performance.
When can we expect these updates? A lot depends on the mobile carriers and the device manufacturers themselves. With a huge number of devices (both smartphones and tablets) on different networks, some old, some new, there’s no uniform rollout like Apple iPhone users see. You take your chances with the device you buy, and the staggered rollout of these updates continues to be a large bone of contention with many Android owners.
Website: NetFront Life Browser
Price: Free
NetFront Life Browser is yet another web browser for Android. Thankfully, it has some neat tricks up its sleeve that make it worth a gander.
The browser is based on webkit and supports the usual features you’d expect such as tabs, bookmarks and page zooming. However, it adds some interesting ones on top such as screen tilting where you can tilt your phone at any angle – even 45 degrees – and the browser will render the page at that angle. It also beautifully renders bookmarks and history with thumbnail images of the various sites you’ve visited.
And while rendering speeds aren’t quite as good as the standard Android browser, the app is very new and likely to improve over time so we’re willing to cut it some slack. Unfortunately, those with older handsets will not be able to use it, as it’s available for Android 2.1 and 2.2 devices only.
Verdict
It’s still early days, but Life Browser has some interesting features that make it one to keep an eye on.
via TrustedReviews
Website: B.iCycle
Price: £0.84
B.iCycle was originally developed for the iPhone, but the author has now ported it to the Android platform. It mimics the functionality of a GPS enabled bicycle computer, but adds a few interesting extra ingredients into the mix.
The large and clean user interface presents you with useful information such as current speed, average speed, total distance covered, climbed altitude and calories burned. On top of this, it also plots your progress using maps from the OpenStreetMap service. You can set it to log a GPS trace of your trip and email it to you so you can view it later via Google Earth or share it with other bikers.
Because it uses OpenStreetMap, it can download these maps to your phone’s SD card, which helps to save on battery life when you’re out on your ride.
Verdict
Bi.Cycle is a cheap and cheerful bike computer that packs in some really neat and useful features.
via TrustedReviews
Android 2.2 has finally become the majority version of the OS just as 2.3 has hit the streets, Google’s latest official data showed. Basing its information on results as of early this month, about 51.8 percent were using the previous version about eight months after it was first made public at Google I/O in May. Owing in part to the limited launch of the Nexus S, only 0.4 percent were using the true latest release.
Rumors of an updated version of the Samsung Vibrant have been circulating recently, and now a potential released date for this Android OS smartphone has leaked out.
This upcoming model will supposedly offer full support for T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, as well as other enhancements, like vide-conferencing capabilities..
via BrightHand
The Android onslaught continues. According to a leaked build file published on AndroidSPIN, the next HTC Android device to make a big splash in the market will be the Scorpion a.k.a. Olympian. While the site posts a disclaimer that it can’t validate the authenticity of the information, what we see is certainly impressive.
The indication is that the Scorpion will get a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor under the hood. It will feature WiMax compatibility and will run the FRE65C build of Android 2.2. If these specs hold true, this phone should leave current Android owners drooling with envy.
Engadget speculates that it could be a rumored smartbook as opposed to a handset.
There’s no word or speculation on when exactly the Scorpion will hit the market, but it’s not expected for some time. Until then, we’re stuck with the Nexus One and Droid. [AndoridSpin via BGR]
Over the next several weeks, Android 1.6 will be rolling out to customers via an over-the-air update. In addition to a number of user-facing features such as a new Android Market and a faster camera application, the Donut branch has a few goodies for developers as well. This article explores how to get 1.6 right now, and the developer-facing features inside.
Can’t wait for the regular update? The 1.6 SDK is available for download now. It contains an emulator for a virtual Android device so you can develop and test your programs on your desktop machine. Windows, Linux, and MacOS are supported.
by Ed Burnette
[via ZDNet]
As with our Ubuntu wishlist, we can’t actually tell everyone contributing to Google’s open source Android mobile phone software what to do. All we can do is suggest five things that would make its smartphones even smarter.
By Kevin Purdy
[via LifeHacker]
Sherpa, the location-based service from Geodelic got released early and is now available for download on the Android Market. The service automatically learns about your habits and shows relevance based on your surroundings without needing to search. Sherpa features passive personalization which enables the app to create a unique interest profile. It learns things like your favorite coffee shops, banks, and food types.
Download this app by going to “Market” on your phone and “Search” for “sherpa”.
