Android vs. Apple: The flyover states

Google phones may outsell iPhones in eight U.S. states. Can you guess which ones?

Click to enlarge. Source: Myxer

Here’s a bit of geographical trivia that may have business consequences.

According to a Myxer BoomBox report scheduled for release Friday morning, smartphones running Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system have closed the gap and may actually outsell Apple’s (AAPL) iPhones in eight states U.S. states.

Unfortunately for the manufacturers of Android phones, the states where they are selling best, according to this report, include some of the least-populated in the country.

They are, in alphabetical order:

• Arizona (2009 pop. 6.6 million)
• Montana (974,000)
• Nebraska (1.8 million)
• New Mexico (2 million)
• North Dakota (647,000)
• South Dakota (813,000)
• Wyoming (544,000)

States where the difference is less than 10%, Myxer lists as swing states. They include Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, South Carolina and Virginia.

Source: Verizon

Why the geographical differences? It’s tempting to read into the BoomBox map some kind of anti-Apple resistance in the so-called flyover states. But we suspect it has more to do with the holes in AT&T’s (T) 3G coverage made famous my Verizon’s (VZ) “There’s a map for that” ads.

And take the whole thing with a grain of salt. Myxer bills itself as “a go-to consumer destination for mobile entertainment and personalization — with one of the world’s largest catalogs of ringtones, wallpapers, videos, applications and games.” There’s enough sample bias in that description to fill the wide open spaces of Wyoming.

There are more charts and graphs about Android user patterns in Myxer’s January BoomBox report. It’s scheduled to be posted here on Friday.

See also:

• Verizon vs. AT&T: There’s a map for that

[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]

[Via http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com]

Android Application Development, Android Mobile Application Development, Google Android Applications

Android Application Development

V-Soft, Inc. offers Mobile Application development for Android Platform. Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. The Android SDK provides the tools and APIs necessary to begin developing applications on the Android platform using the Java programming language.  Android provides support of Java Language for developers that make Mobile Application Developers to build third party applications on Java which can run on Android Platform.

Android is the framework developed by Google and Open Handset Alliance. Android is software platform as well as Operating System. It is basically designed on Linux Operating system.

V-Soft, Inc. provides android mobile applications through Android spans simple to composite applications that sport certain performance ratios and constant quality levels.

Android is an Open Handset Alliance, which helps developers use Java programming language and create applications of different types. Android has rich support for Audio/Media types and Graphics and has support of its core library for developers to construct third party applications.

Our Mobile Application Developers has wide experience in mobile application Development using java language and android framework. We have a proficient expertise in creating android application / mobile applications, testing in a simulator, and porting to mobile devices.

Please click on Sample Projects for Mobile Applications to have an idea on the Projects developed by our expert Mobile Developers or you may get free quote from V-Soft, Inc. for  your Project.

Request Android Application Development services quote

Feel free to directly contact us on Phone: +91 (79) 40241600

Mail Us:  info@v-softinc.com

Android Mobile Application Development - Android Application Development V-Soft, Inc. provides high quality Android Mobile Application that are developed by professional Developers who are expert at using Android Application Framework to develop featured rich Google Android Applications.Android application development, android application framework, google android applications, android application programming, android development environment, android software development, Google android development, android mobile application development, mobile application development, android, android application, android mobile, android application, android developer, android software, application, mobile application, mobile software.

[Via http://mobileapplicationdevelopement.wordpress.com]

How to explain Open Source Software to rugby players

I work beside a young guy who, for reasons best known to himself, enjoys playing rugby at the weekends. He’s a big bundle of fun and we get along great, but he’s not the maturest gent I’ve ever met.

He’s been talking for a few weeks about buying an iPhone, cos, you know, they’re cool, right? I explained to him that whilst I think the iPhone is a beautifully designed piece of kit, I won’t buy into Apple’s locked down, proprietary world. He asked me what I meant by this. (I think proprietary was a new word to him). I tried to explain the virtues of an open platform and the freedoms that this choice entails. Normally when I start talking like this, he starts muttering “geek geek geek” under his breath and I’m forced to beat him up. (Whilst I would never normally condone violence in the workplace, or anywhere for that matter, I specifically asked my boss about this and he said that provided I did no permanent damage it was fine. Hey, I don’t want to get fired!)

Anyway, I could see that my monologue on the joys of open source were gaining no traction whatsoever, when I remembered a story I’d read on the web over the weekend. Apparently, Apple are withdrawing apps which contain any sexual content from the App Store. This includes even mildly risque applications with pictures of women (and men!) in bikinis, and the iWobble app (use your imagination). I’ve no desire to get into a debate on the pros and cons of borderline soft-core pornography; the issue here is that Apple has allowed these apps to flourish in the App Store, then unceremoniously yanked them without explanation. In a nutshell, it is censorship. The iPhone has parental control, so I see no reason why Apple needs to block this type of app from adults, when clearly there is a market for them. And the irony is that an iPhone user can open their browser and, within seconds, be looking at lots of pics of ladies (and men!) without their bikinis.

I realised that the simplest way to explain to my rugby-playing colleague the difference between an open source platform and Apple’s “walled garden” approach is as follows:

Locked-down, proprietary platform (i.e. iPhone) = No wobbly bits

Free and open platform (i.e. Android, Maemo) = Boobies galore

I think I made a convert!

[Via http://mesanna.com]

Rhodes framework brings.............. Agile to mobile development

A new edition of Rhomobile’s Rhodes framework for cross-platform smartphone development is designed to facilitate Agile methods, the company has announced.

Rhodes is an open-source framework for writing Ruby applications that run natively on Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Symbian and Windows Mobile devices. It includes binaries that abstract away each underlying platform, and developers use a single API for accessing native resources, said CEO Adam Blum.

Rhodes 1.4 features built-in tools for test-driven development, and it allows developers to write executable specifications that test applications, said Blum. The update was released earlier this week.

Further, Rhodes lets people write interfaces in HTML, which allows for rapid iteration, he added.

“[Test-driven development] is part of the general theme of taking Agile development methods that are mostly applied to only Web development, and taking all of that goodness, productivity and nimbleness to building smartphone apps,” Blum explained.

A newly introduced interactive debugger gives developers the ability to step through Ruby code on devices. At present, it only works for Android and iPhone emulators from the respective SDKs, Blum noted.

The upgrade also adds an integrated debugger for Mac OS X, database-based event logging, and support for BlackBerry Java Development Environment v5.0. Future editions will add support for MeeGo and Palm’s Web OS, Blum said.

Ruby is a modern and productive language that enables Web developers to leverage their skills to write applications in a modern Model-View-Controller architecture, Blum said. “They don’t need to use a 30-year-old language like Objective C,” he added.

An embedded module executes the Ruby code to run natively on each platform, he explained.

Rhodes is free for open-source development, but customers must pay US$500 if they wish to keep their source code private. The license places no limits on developers, and allows an unlimited amount of users and devices.

A server that synchronizes offline data costs an additional $5,000. A SaaS edition of Rhodes is available starting at $20 a month.

Source: http://www.sdtimes.com

http://www.amperesoftware.com/MobileApplicationDevelopment.html

[Via http://amperepr.wordpress.com]

The iPad

So it has been a while updating and the iPad is old news but I thought that I would update a little bit and go over some of the big headlines in the tech world.

The iPad

At the end of January at Apple’s media event they unveiled the iPad, the newest piece of the Apple computer line, that is to fit somewhere between the Apple iPhone and the Macbook Air. There were so many rumors circulating around that it became quickly the most anticipated event in Apple history. The TWIT network was hitting 100,000 people + streaming their live coverage of the event, making a network record. So what is it about the iPad that is getting so much fuss? There were several “Slate” Computers already on the market, most of them running proprietary OSs or a version of Google’s Android. It seems all the hype is about presentation. Apple has not been too notorious for failing at the unveiling of new technologies, but the question is still up in the air on the iPad. Will it be as successful as all the Apple fanboys hope? It does have competition. There is Amazon’s Kindle, which is everything right for an E-book reader, and there is the Archos 7 running android. My opinion? The iPad is Apple’s answer to the netbook movement. We’ll see how it goes.

[Via http://jstarr20052005.wordpress.com]

AndroidManifest.xml : Demystified..

Just like every living being has a soul..every Android application has an ‘AndroidManifest.xml’.

Like the soul, it tells about the application and it various properties like the permissions it uses, activities it has, minimum version of the SDK required etc. Below is an example to demonstrate the content in an androidmanifest.xml file:-

As shown in the above example, every ‘androidmanifest’ file has the following structure:

:It’s the root element. And all the elements are described as the child to this element. It also tell us about the java package for the application.

:This tag groups all the activities used in the application.

:It describes the activity declared in an android application. We provide the name of the activity class to it, preceded with a “.”(means the current directory).

:These are for declaring how the activities will be activated etc. Like in the above example, ‘basicElements’ is declared as the MAIN activity of the application, which will be launched by the LAUNCHER.

:It tell about the access it has over the device, like to be able to use GPS services one needs to declare it as:

< /uses-permission>

: It is for the declaring the minimum version of the android above which the application will run. For the android 1.0, it’s 1.

Apart from some of these other elements which can be described in the manifest are:

1. permissions

2. instrumentation

3. uses-library etc.

More can be read here.

[Via http://127bytes.wordpress.com]

Unlocked v Locked Mobiles/Smartphones?

These days new smartphones are released sadly with SO many bugs! (E.g. The Nokia N97’s currently at v.22!) Resulting in a rediculous situation of ‘Joe public’ ending up effectively as Beta testers! Well that’s what I think. But luckily new devices are generally followed by firmware upgrades from the manufacturers. Now, if you’ve got an unlocked device you can benefit from getting the very latest firmware upgrades as they’re released; either as an upgrade directly on the device (best via a 3G or Wi-Fi connection) or during a connection with PC Suite or Ovi Suite on your PC via a broadband connection. BUT, if your device is locked to a network provider such as Orange or Vodafone etc in the UK, you’ll unfortately have to wait for firmware upgrades to first be approved by the networks, uurrgghh! Which could mean the upgrade which positively fixes problems and adds enhancements may take weeks/months to be available! So, my recommendation is to try where possible to get hold of factory unlocked devices. I’ve also been told by a great local Nokia Care Centre to me (Fleet Communications, Eltham (SE London)) that if ‘Care Centres’ do a firmware upgrade to a (High Street) unlocked device it is likely to be re-locked after the upgrade to it’s original network!

Then I found this site… http://www.unlockedmobilephones.org.uk/

[Via http://palmtopman.wordpress.com]

Desiring the "Desire" :)

The HTC Bravo (now officially renamed the “Desire”) was officially announced by HTC at the 2010 MWC in Barcelona, Spain yesterday. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much anticipation over a cellular phone before. EVER. From what I’ve seen/read, I’m almost certain I will go out and get a Desire once it’s released (some sources say 29th March, some say April).

The leaked HTC road map pretty much nailed the Desire’s specs on the head, save for a few discrepancies. It will indeed have the same 3.7″ AMOLED screen as the Nexus One (also built by HTC), have an optical trackpad instead of the trackball the Nexus One had, and come with a 5.0 megapixel camera. Numerous sources have also stated that the Desire will have 576MB RAM (HURRAY!), including the official HTC Desire website here, so it must be legit. However, there doesn’t seem to be any word regarding its HD video recording abilities (which was mentioned on the road map), but no matter. Everything else about the phone is perfect!

The other Android-powered HTC phone that was announced, the HTC Legend (successor to the Hero) was also quite nice.

So far, the phone looks amazing, and I really cannot wait for it to be released

In other news from my life, Valentine’s Day was this past Sunday. Spent a terrific day with my girlfriend, Jenny. We had lunch dinner (:P) at Umi at Sylvia Park, then caught “Valentine’s Day” at the Extreme Screen at Hoyts (also at Sylvia LOL). I was a bit skeptical when seeing the trailers, as I was expecting the movie to implode, considering how many big-time Hollywood stars they managed to pack in. I’m glad to say I was pleasantly surprised. It was full of laughs, and was done very well. Taylor Swift takes the cake by far for the best performance in the film. Boy, the girl can sing AND act! What next?!

All in all, V-Day was a terrific day, and I’d like to say Happy Valentine’s Day to all, especially to my darling, Jenny!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

[Via http://revowution.wordpress.com]

Adobe's Flash of Insight

Disney Buys Marvel!

David Gardner called it. He’s up 1,334%! See what David’s recommending that you buy NEXT.

• Click Here Now

Adobe Systems (Nasdaq: ADBE) ain’t going down without a fight.

Adobe’s market-defining Flash platform, which powers the majority of all online video sites and lots of other applications , is in danger of becoming irrelevant as fresh Web programming standards take hold. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) already lets you watch some YouTube videos without Flash, for example. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has never offered a Flash player for its popular iPhone and iPod product lines, and the iPad will be Flash-free as well.

But the next version of Flash comes with some very significant changes that may keep Adobe in the game for the long run. Unlike earlier versions, where the inferior Flash Lite was required for mobile environments (and not supported by many phones), Flash 10.1 offers the same player experience across all platforms and looks like it will be rapidly adopted.

And that’s another key point: This Flash version runs on Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows, Apple’s Mac OS, Google Android, Nokia’s (NYSE: NOK) Symbian, Research In Motion’s (Nasdaq: RIMM) BlackBerry, Palm’s (Nasdaq: PALM), WebOS, and eventually Windows Mobile as well. The only big name that’s missing is the iPhone operating system. For that, Adobe’s upcoming Flash development tool lets you write Flash-based applications and then export them as iPhone apps with a few simple clicks.

The long-term vision is to provide a unified environment for programmers everywhere using the company’s AIR runtime — write once, deploy to any device you like. Sun Microsystems did this with Java years ago, and that platform is still very much alive: Your cell phone probably runs Java applications even if it isn’t a smartphone, and there are enterprise-class business applications built on the Java framework as well.

Adobe’s platform-agnostic strategy makes too much sense to fail. Once again, I see value in the $3.4 billion buyout of Flash designer Macromedia. Is this unified cross-platform strategy enough to save Flash? I think so, but your mileage may vary. Please share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Are we due for a market pullback? You better believe we are! This could be YOUR OPPORTUNITY to make a bundle – with deep value plays… special situations like spin-offs, mergers, turnarounds… and even microcaps! To learn more, enter your email address here.

Fool contributor Anders Bylund owns shares in Google, but he holds no other position in any of the companies discussed here. Microsoft and Nokia are Motley Fool Inside Value picks. Google is a Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendation. Apple and Adobe Systems are Motley Fool Stock Advisor choices. Motley Fool Options has recommended a diagonal call position on Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletters today, free for 30 days. You can check out Anders’ holdings and a concise bio if you like, and The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.

[Via http://financedaily.us]

Is There App Multitasking in Windows Phone 7? (Hint: It's Just Like the iPhone) [Windows Phone 7]

Multitasking’s been a bugaboo for the iPhone since like forever, which Droid and the Pre have gleefully exploited. But what about Windows Phone 7? Well, it sounds like it multitasks in the same sense that the iPhone does. We asked Joe Belfiore, the director of Windows Phone, what’s up with multitasking, and here’s what he told us:

“The core operating system is a modern multitasking operating system. If you play music for example, the music will play back as you navigate around the experience…if you’re using email, we have great support for push email and that happens in the background. … For third party applications—we’ll get into a lot more detail on this in MIX—but we have a few ways we’re going to make sure that third parties can bring their value to the user even when the app is not running. Live tiles are an example. Data feeds in the hubs are another example for some apps.”

That sounds to us a lot like how the iPhone multitasks. That is, select processes, like push email, the browser and music can run in the background, but it sounds like third-party multitasking in the same sense as Android isn’t part of the program. Still, the compromise in WP7 sounds like a happy medium: Piping data into its hubs and live tiles, where you can see info from multiple apps, sounds like it could work really well. We’ll see. [Windows Phone 7 @ Giz]

[Via http://mohawkmem.com]

Motorola QUENCH - next Android to appear

Motorola leads a frenetic pace in the presentation of terminals and is playing with a clear that Android is emerging in all effect, so if a formula works, why not go with her? and indeed, the next will be the Motorola or Motorola CLIQ QUENCH XT, what it is called in America. We continue with a terminal with a large 3.1 inch multi-touch screen user interface and MOTOBLUR, where we find shortcuts in the form of widgets to social networks more popular, plus the new text input system called Swype, in which according the company will be much easier and quicker to respond to messages.

In addition, the Motorola QUENCH has a camera 5 Mpx with autofocus and LED flash. In the section we will have both WiFi connections, bluetooth stereo and connect to 3G networks.

Of course, a compatible GPS with aGPS module could not miss. Regarding the design of the terminal can say little except that in addition to guide us through the menus using small taps on the screen, also we have a directional touchpad on the bottom of the chassis.

So far no details available, but we know that it will release within a few months and will be available in the U.S. in the catalog of mobile operator T-Mobile, while in Europe at the moment is unknown.

[Via http://crazyofgadget.wordpress.com]

Samsung Super AMOLED Blows All Others Away; Side By Side Comparison

Forget the rest, Samsung Super AMOLED is by far the best display built today on a mobile handset. As demonstrated in this extensive review by Mobile Review with by side photos of the new Samsung Wave running Bada against Google’s Nexus One, Nokia X6 (although I would like to seen the N900 here) and Samsung’s own S9000 Jet. This is a truly remarkable and stunning color screen , with never before seen brightness and screen resolution all packed into one package. A direct result of some great engineering at Samsung’s headquarters. Hit the link for side by side pics.

Samsung Wave S8500 vs. Google Nexus One

Samsung Wave S8500 vs. Nokia X6

Samsung Wave S8500 vs. Samsung S8000 Jet

[Via http://fonefrenzy.com]

HTC Legend Appears On Dutch Website, Will Go On Sale March And Look Even Sexier Than First Anticipated [Android]

Glimpsed in the most hi-res outfit we’ve seen so far is the HTC Legend, which—if rumors prove correct—should be shown off next week at MWC. It still looks like the Hero only with a unibody aluminum shell, but according to Dutch carrier KPN it’ll go on sale March. KPN’s advert for the Legend touts it as having a 600Mhz processor, an optical trackpad instead of the ball seen on previous models, and a 3.2-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen. The other specs gleaned from KPN seem par for the course—a 5.0-megapixel camera with LED flash, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and Android 2.1 (Eclair), and it looks like it’ll be running HTC Sense, the Android skin which they’ve used on a lot of their recent models. The leaked pics we saw recently of the Legend showed it as having black plastic inserts at the base and top of the back casing, where the SIM card, microSD card slot and camera are. It’s still got a chin by the looks of the profile photo on KPN’s site, but if you ask me that’s a good thing. This is definitely a phone to get excited about. [Tweakers via Electronista]

[Via http://mohawkmem.com]

Swype on myTouch 3G -- Text Entry Without Lifting a Finger

One of the challenges I’ve noticed on my Google Nexus One is the software keyboard. Obviously, I can use it since the device is my primary phone, but it’s not quite as good as the iPhone implementation. My speed is diminished just a tad and I occasionally revert to using voice-to-text for short bursts of input. That’s why I’m very interested in Swype — a new method for using that old QWERTY keyboard. Today, the company announced a product partnership with T-Mobile and the first fruit of that relationship is Swype on the myTouch 3G as of today. Swype isn’t just for Android (s goog) handsets though — when the HD2 arrives for the T-Mobile network, it too will offer Swype as a companion to the native Windows Mobile (s msft) software keyboard.

The video demo shows how quickly you can enter text, but like any other input method, there’s going to be an adjustment period. Luckily, there’s no new keyboard layout or any other barrier to adoption — you simply trace your words out, letter by letter, without lifting your finger. These days, I use two hands for data entry on handset keyboards, so Swype could free up a hand. While I haven’t tried the product yet, I’ve mimicked the method on my Nexus One and I think I can swipe text using just my thumb. I’ve got a request in for a beta review code, so if and when I get my hands on the software, I’ll try it for a few days and report back in.

[Via http://jkontherun.com]

The mobile multitasking advantage

How important is it for a mobile device to support background multitasking?

Specifically, how important is it that users can install, onto the device, applications which will continue to run well in background whilst the user is simultaneously using the device for another purpose?

Humans are multitasking creatures.  We get involved in many activities simultaneously: listening to music, browsing the web, holding conversations, taking notes, staying on the alert for interruptions… – so shouldn’t our mobile devices support this model of working?

One argument is that this feature is not important.  That’s because the Apple iPhone fails to offer it, and the sales of the iPhone don’t seem to have suffered as a result.  The applications built into the iPhone continue to operate in background, but downloaded apps don’t.  iPhone apps continue to sell well.  Conclusion: mobile multitasking has little importance in the real world.  Right?

But that’s a weak argument.  Customer sentiment can change.  If users start talking about use cases which the iPhone fails to support – and which other smartphones support well – then public perception of the fitness of the iPhone system software could suffer a significant downturn.  (“iPhone apps – they’re so 2009…”)

How about Android?  That offers background multitasking.  But does it do it well?

My former colleague Brendan Donegan has been putting an Android phone to serious use, and has noticed some problems in how it works.  He has reported his findings in a series of tweets:

I say, with all honesty that Android’s multitasking is a huge travesty. Doesn’t even deserve to be called that

Poor prioritisation of tasks. Exemplar use-case – Spotify [music playing app] + camera

Spotify will jitter and the photo will be taken out of sync with flash, giving a whited out image

Symbian of course handles the same use case flawlessly

Android really is just not up to doing more than one ‘intensive’ task at a time

Even the [built-in] Android music player skips when taking a photo

(Brendan has some positive remarks about his Android phone too, by the way.)

Mark Wilcox suggests a diagnosis:

sounds like the non-real-time, high interrupt latency on Linux is causing some problems in multimedia use cases

Personally, I find this discussion fascinating – on both an architecture level and a usability level.  I see a whole series of questions that need answers:

1. Are these results applicable just to one Android phone, or are they intrinsic to the whole platform?
2. Could these problems be fixed by fairly simple software modifications, or are they more deeply rooted?
3. How do other mobile platforms handle similar use cases?  What about feature phone platforms?
4. How important is the use case of playing music in background, while taking a photograph?  Are there other use cases that could come to be seen as more significant?

Perhaps this is a good topic for a university research project.

Related to this, it would be interesting to know more about the background processing abilities of modern feature phones.  For example, it used to be the case that some feature phones would discard the contents of partially written text messages if there was an incoming voice call.  Has anyone looked into this recently?

Regardless of the merits of these particular use cases, I am convinced that software responsiveness is important.  If the software system is tied up attending to task A when I want it to do task B, I’m frustrated.  I don’t think I’m alone in this feeling.

My 1990’s Psion PDA typically runs more than a dozen apps in parallel (several word processors, spreadsheeets, databases, plus an individual agenda, tube map app, calculator, and so on) and switches instantly between them.  That sets my baseline expectation.

Here’s another mobile use case that’s on my mind a lot these days.  It applies, not to a PDA or mobile phone, but to my laptop.  It’s not (I think) a device problem, but a wider system problem, involving network connectivity:

• I frequently find myself in mobile situations where I’m browsing websites on my laptop (for example, on the train), and the pages take ages to load;
• The signal indicator on the built-in wireless modem app says there’s a strong signal, but for some reason, wireless traffic is squeezed;
• I sit watching empty tabs on my Firefox browser, waiting and waiting and waiting for content to appear;
• In frustration, I’ll often open another tab, and try to visit the BBC website – to rule out the possibility that the server for the other web pages(s) has gone down – but that gives me another blank page;
• Eventually, things recover, but in the meantime, I’ve been left twiddling my thumbs.

When I switch to a WiFi connection instead of a cellular connection, things are usually better – though I’ve had the same bitter experience with some WiFi hotspots too (for example, in some Starbucks coffee shops).

So what should the highest priority be for system architects to optimise?  Responsiveness comes high on my own wishlist.  I recognise that this will often require changes in several parts of the software system.

[Via http://dw2blog.com]

[How-To] Google Maps 4.0 for Android hit, includes new layer called 'Buzz'

So with the keynote from Google taking place today which showed off their new ‘Buzz’ feature, an update arrived. Google said that Android and iPhone OS would be able to take advantage of the new ‘Buzz’ and it didn’t take long for Google Maps 4.0 to hit the market. With the newest version of Google maps you get ‘Buzz’ and that is about it. Buzz is a unique idea and I was a bit skeptic at first glance. However, after giving it a good long shot on the new Maps application on Android, Buzz is a winner. It takes from Twitter, Google Wave, and Foursquare, simplifies it, then puts it all into one little package in the maps app. I will put up a slew of screen shots to give you an idea of how to get started! Check out the screen-shots after the break!

I put a small caption on what each screen is underneath each screen-shot.

Selecting the maps application, (you can get the update in the Android Market under 'Downloads')

Once you have opened Maps, tap 'Menu', go to 'Layers', then check off 'Buzz'

Now you can see other Buzz user's Buzz bubbles! Tap one to get more details, tap again to go into that Buzz/conversation. If you want to create a new Buzz tap the colored bubble above the +/- in the lower right corner.

Once you tap the colored bubble in the lower right corner, you are brought this screen. Here you can create a new Buzz, add a comment, share a photo, and your location. Once you have done so the bubble appears on the map.

You can tap a bubble on the map, then tap again to dive into the conversation. Once there you can add a comment and read comments others have posted on that 'Buzz'

When someone replies to your Buzz or comments a Buzz you have commented on, you will receive and email notifcation with the thread inside. You can of course turn this off in Gmail settings.

There you have it folks. It is that simple. You can use this to converse with neighbors around you without having to go out, you can use it to comment on a food joint, theme park, or any other place you are at. Let people know what you are thinking. It is pretty fun. Let’s try to fill up our cities with bubbles people! The more the merrier!

[Via http://fonefrenzy.com]

Archos Android S5

I just can’t work out he power management on the Archos. Sometimes when I have WiFi and background data running the screen dims, shuts off and the power light goes out. All well and good, I assume the device is in a deep sleep, I perform a long press of the power button and the device wakes from sleep, Wifi and Background data are near instant on.

But, other times, albeit a longer period in-between power cycles, the device will cold boot! So, my question is – How long untill the device powers down from deep sleep? and How the hell do I control it?

Also, very occasionally when manually enter sleep mode the green power light fails to turn off. I did track down co.android.wizard which appears to be able to control WiFi swirching. I was killing this task in my quest for free memory, but I set it to ignore in Taskiller, that worked, but only after a couple of re-boots. Arrrgh!

If I want it to sleep allday so my browser windows are still there in the evening I shoulod be able to.

[Via http://raongeek.wordpress.com]

Dell Mini 5 passes FCC

 

One device that i am hugely is excited for running android is the Dell Mini 5. On the North American front the device has not got much attention , although we did grab a video of it at CES 2010 (Dell Mini 5 at CES 2010). I would love to see all the features a device of this size and potential power is bringing to us. Could this device alone beat out any hope for Apple’s Tablet being successful granted this device has some real power behind it (probably not)?  It has passed the FCC on AT&T 3G bands, and Dell has taken the stance Entertainment device first and phone second, and the way people are using Smartphone’s today you can be mad at them for taking this approach. For specs on the Device so far we know you have a 5 megapixel camera, front facing camera for webcams and video conferencing, Accelerometer, and GPS. They have not released their ideas on pricing yet but it supposedly will be ready by mid-year or maybe towards the end of the year.

Dell Mini 5 Passes FCC>>>

[Via http://smartphoneinsight.com]

Symbian Tablets 'Very Likely'

As of yesterday Symbian is now fully open-source. The folks at ZDNet UK had a chance to sit down with the chief of the Symbian Foundation. In it they discussed the difficulties in carrying out the largest code migration in open source history, as well as the future of the Symbian OS. When asked whether or not he thought that Symbian would make its way to a tablet or netbook, the Foundation’s chief executive replied that such a product was “very likely” to launch within the next year. This could mean a third entrant in the increasingly crowded tablets-made-from-phone-OSes arena. Android and iPhone OS had better watch their backs.

[Via http://mohawkmem.com]

MoDaCo Mobile Week Episode 39

‘MoDaCo Mobile Week Episode 39 – The ‘AFTER Apple released the tablet’ edition’ is now live! – WinMo @ MoDaCo.

Things had been getting a bit stale on the podcast front of late, do you find that? You get used to just listening to a select few podcasts, well I do anyway so I decided to revisit an old favourite in the shape of MoDaCo. And jolly good it was too with a good selection of topics including a big piece on the Motorola Milestone. The chaps seemed to like the keyboard, more than I expected anyway, although they conceded it does take a bit of getting used to.

They had that guy from traceyandmatt on too. As an aside, for some reason he signed up to follow me on Twitter a month or so ago. Lord knows why and no doubt he has been sorely disappointed with the ahem….quality…of my Tweets since. Back to the podcast…I was surprised to learn that all three of them use MacBook Pros as I had them down as Windows type of guys. It’s quite refreshing actually to hear Macs being spoken about in a positive tone on a non-Apple based site, too often you go onto some sites that purport to be neutral and the forums are full of geeky PC types who appear to have some burning hatred of all things Apple. The MoDaCo site used to be a real Windows Mobile zone but has changed of late to include Android and you could the same for another of my old faves, Coolsmartphone. I paid it a visit today through a link from another site and it has changed a lot too in the last year. Funny how Android is creeping into these old die-hard Windows sites, perhaps a sign of the fall in popularity of the platform?

[Via http://palmmac.wordpress.com]

HTC Hero battery life...

This thing has been getting better and better over the last few weeks, partly helped by finding some really good new 3rd party software and by the drastic improvement in battery life since I deleted some rogue 3rd party apps that refused to let go of data useage. I can get 3 days out of it no problemo and that is with push email on full time but 3G turned off.. I just wish I could say the same for my Palm Pre which kinds of dies a death just short of two days on reduced useage and with its extended Seido battery.

Sadly, as I have less confidence in the Pre’s staying power I tend to be wary of using things like wifi and browsing for extended periods which if you think about it, is pretty daft. I can use the Hero for long bouts of wifi for browsing and looking at apps in the Market without worrying about it making a serious dent in the power remaining. Which is how it should be really. The other day I was trying to run the Hero’s battery down to as low as possible, they say this is something that should be done now and again to keep it “conditioned”, and was hammering wifi and music and browsing and it was hardly going down at all. A month ago I was thinking my Hero days were coming to an end but now I’m not so sure…..if anything, I’m now looking forward more to seeing more Android phone choice in the months to come.

[Via http://palmmac.wordpress.com]

Android - Distance between two points on the Earth

When working with geo data, it is sometimes necessary to calculate the distance between two geolocations on the surface of the Earth. This is also a problem where I came upon and I will therefore describe my findings in this post.

Working in this area means that one has to brush of his trigonometry skills. But luckily there are some good resources on the web, that explain the theory perfectly. The formula you need is the haversine formula, which gets its name from the use of the haversine function:

.

The haversine formula is:

earth’s radius (mean radius = 6367.45 km)

Here the distance in kilometers will be calculated based on the latitudes and longitudes of the two points on the earth, expressed in radians. To convert from degrees to radians, simply multiply the value in degrees by . The function is a function implemented in many computer languages and is a variation on the arctangent function.

The error of this formula in calculating distances is about 0.1% and mostly due to the fact that the Earth is not a perfect sphere (see the resources below for a more in-depth discussion). Also numerical rounding errors can occur, but this is mainly an issue when the two locations are very nearly antipodal (on opposite sites of the Earth), which is generally not something you will use very often.

But enough now of the theoretics, I will show how to put this to a practical use. The code to calculate the distance between two points can be expressed in Java code as:

double EARTH_RADIUS = 6367.45; double latitude; double longitude; double lat2 = b.getLatitude() * Math.PI / 180; double lon2 = b.getLongitude() * Math.PI / 180; double deltalat = lat2 - latitude; double deltalon = lon2 - longitude; double a = Math.sin(deltalat / 2) * Math.sin(deltalat / 2) + Math.cos(latitude) * Math.cos(lat2) * Math.sin(deltalon / 2) * Math.sin(deltalon / 2); double c = 2 * Math.atan2(Math.sqrt(a), Math.sqrt(1-a)); double distance = EARTH_RADIUS*c;

Put this code into a method and you are done.

[Via http://devdiscoveries.wordpress.com]

Motorola Shadow (Nexus 2)?

During the press conference on January 5th, both the CEO of HTC and Motorola were present for some questions surrounding Google’s online store. Since the Nexus One was manufactured by HTC, Motorola wouldn’t have needed to be at the event if they didn’t have their own plans to offer the best of their devices together. So to sum it up, yeah, there showing off plans to more new phones.

Although the Droid isn’t up for sale on the google store, this doesn’t mean it’s not motorola’s turn at the Google Nexus hype.

Whether that phone will be Google’s Nexus Two or something else. It’ll be interesting to see if Motorola’s device creates any of the hype that HTC’s Nexus One did.

But only time will tell. Comment follow, enjoy

~Dan

[Via http://thetechtoday.wordpress.com]