Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/tech_news/Motorola_getting_friendly_with_Android’; When a major player like Google comes up with a new mobile operating system that’s better than the competition and is totally free, you would certainly expect handset manufacturers to be interested. But there’s interested, and then there’s interested. After lingering for nearly a year in the former category Motorola is now firmly moving to the latter, hiring and headhunting in an effort to build up a 350-person group entirely focused on development of Android phones. The company was one of the original members of the Open Handset Alliance, but seems to have waited for the release buzz from HTC’s G1 before diving in head-first. There’s talk that Nokia (and its “real phones“) may be feeling the vibrations too, allegedly forming an internal team to do the same — on the down low.

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Filed under: Cellphones

We’re not sure if its recent spate of handset announcements had anything to do with it or not, but it looks like Google has now asked ASUS to join the Open Handset Alliance, an invitation that we’re assuming ASUS expected to accept (or else we probably wouldn’t be hearing about it). Apparently, Google is interested in working with ASUS due to its “brand recognition worldwide,” although neither party seems to be making any sort of official comments just yet. Knowing ASUS, however, we’re sure it’ll find some way to work its Eee brand into the picture before all is said and done. Eee Phone, anyone?

[Via VentureBeat, thanks Michael Y]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

California-based a la Mobile has crafted a somewhat complete set of phone apps in prototype form — you know, the most basic kinds of things you’d need on a smartphone to make it usable — on top of Android, claiming it’s the first group to show off a fully functional prototype. The firm installed its goodies on a Qtek 9090, a rather ancient, janky HTC device from days gone by, proving that a wide swath of devices already in the marketplace will be ripe targets for Android transplants once solid, fully functional code is widely available. Though no one in the 34 member strong Open Handset Alliance has publicly committed to a particular Android software stack — let alone a particular hardware design — a la Mobile says that it’s making a play among OHA member manufacturers to take a good, hard look at its wares as they navigate the process. The head of the LiMo Foundation, a sorta-competitor to the Open Handset Alliance, naturally downplayed a la Mobile’s efforts, calling Android “just like a big lab experiment” — though he did manage to call the prototype “interesting.” How about we keep the verbal volleys to a minimum and get some friggin’ Linux in the mainstream, ladies and gentlemen?

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Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

It’s not like we weren’t already aware of SiRF’s participation in the Open Handset Alliance, but nevertheless, the company is sounding pretty ecstatic about the software developer kit it “just received.” Reportedly, the outfit is already hard at work on “end-to-end location-enabling features” for Android, and in case you couldn’t guess, it’s also providing Android platform support for a plethora of products based on its famed SiRFstarIII architecture. Essentially, the firm is hoping to take advantage of having location as a “native feature” within Android, and it makes the obvious sound a whole lot more intriguing by teasing us with visions of “out-of-the-box locative experiences” involving geo-tagging, geo-searching and social networking. Still, we’ll tip our hat to any form of tight integration, but this here’s probably nothing to get riled up over.

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Filed under: Cellphones

While it’s still not clear if it’s actually going to go so far as to join the Open Handset Alliance (as previously rumored), it looks like Verizon Wireless is at least getting behind the Android platform, marking a fairly significant shift from its previous position on the matter. According to Business Week, Verizon Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam now says that the company is “planning on using Android,” adding that, “Android is an enabler of what we do.” It seems that Verizon’s embrace of open access won’t include the same level of support that it offers to its current handset lineup, however, with the company only promising to “to ensure the wireless connection is working for customers who buy those devices” (although it will test all phones developed to run on its network). According to McAdam, customers will have to “talk to their handset provider or their application provider if they have particular issues.” That, Verizon says, will allow it to offer far more devices than it’s previously been able to, which should, in turn, attract customers it’s previously been unable to lure in — or so it hopes.

[Via Phone Scoop]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

In a recent chat with clients, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster did a little name dropping regarding Google’s Open Handset Alliance, casually mentioning in passing that Verizon “is a member.” Hold up there, chief; last time we checked, that isn’t the case. Among US national carriers, only T-Mobile and Sprint have publicly thrown their hats into the Android ring, so we’re not sure whether Mr. Munster knows something we don’t (which is entirely possible) or whether he’s just a little confused. For what it’s worth, we can understand why he’d be confused in light of Verizon’s recent commitment to open its airwaves to all comers — the initiative appears to share much of the same spirit as the OHA’s charter, after all — but by the same token, Google’s intention to snap up 700MHz bandwidth would seemingly pit the two juggernauts against one another. We’ll have to wait and see whether Big Red’s name magically appears on the Alliance’s member list, but if it does, the pressure’s gonna get pretty high on AT&T to cave, eh?

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Filed under: Cellphones

According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple-BFF and mobile-telecom-extroidinaire AT&T is in talks with Google about joining the Open Handset Alliance. In an interview today, Ralph de la Vega — chief executive officer of the company’s wireless unit — said that the provider is, “Analyzing the situation,” concerning the use of Google’s Android operating system for some of its handsets. Although Mr. de la Vega hasn’t personally met with the search-engine giant, the fact that AT&T is even considering joining the Alliance could have a palpable impact on the industry’s perception of the forthcoming mobile OS contender. As you’ll recall, T-Mobile and Sprint have already jumped on the OHA bandwagon (though to what extent no one knows), and adding the de facto US leader to the mix might really get this stew boiling over. [Warning: read link requires subscription]

[Via Information Week]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Features

Thanks to the helpful Android OS emulator included with the SDK, we’ve been able to take a magical journey through Google’s new mobile phone platform. We’ll just tell you now… the ride was a bit familiar — but hey, that’s what the open source community is there for. Take a look at the gallery and feel the OHA vibes.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/software/Google_android_now_available’; Just like the good folks promised, the early look software development kit for Google’s soon-to-be huge phone OS has hit the streets… er, internet. From what we can tell, the OS is as comfortable on larger, VGA devices as it is on more traditional smartphone layouts. Oh yeah… and it plays Quake. Here’s what we know the software will support out of the box:

• Touchscreen
• 3G
• Webkit-based browser
• Threaded text messaging
• MPEG-4, h.264, MP3, and AAC file formats
• Accelerated 3D graphics

Below you can see an alternate fullscreen version of the phone (a hardware reference model, not a device you can expect to buy anytime soon) up and running its browser app. If you really want to get serious, pedal your steam-engine over to the Open Handset Alliance site where you can download the SDK for a variety of platforms. Otherwise, check out the gallery and view some videos after the break to see and hear more info than you can shake a stick at on the new platform.

Continue reading Google’s Android OS early look SDK now available

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Filed under: Cellphones

It already seems like an eternity ago, but Google’s big Open Handset Alliance / Android announcement was arguably the biggest news of the week, and it inspired a number of tech pundits and bloggers to weigh in — and Steve Ballmer to talk some major smack. Since no one really knows how any of this is going to play out, we thought we’d round up some of the more interesting viewpoints for easy reference — and maybe some easy laughs — when we get our hands on the first “GPhone” in late 2008.

We gotta start with John Dvorak, who cut straight to the point and said “The Google phone is doomed.” Additional money quotes include “Google is actually not a charismatic company that can make this new platform happen in a big way,” and “When I see a bunch of joiners jumping on some unknown, unreleased unfinished pipe dream, I actually laugh.” He even roped in the iPhone, calling it more of a “photo album than a phone.” Actually, Dvorak’s whole column is a great read even if just to experience the man’s naked anger towards every phone ever made.

Not to be outdone at the contrarian game, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer came out swinging as well, saying “Their efforts are just some words on paper right now.” Actually, he does have a point there — although Google and HTC may have been developing that “Dream” prototype, the real news will come in late 2008 when Android devices start shipping. How does that compare to WinMo, Steve? “They have a press release, we have many, many millions of customers, great software, many hardware devices and they’re welcome in our world.”

Continue reading Checking in with the pundits on Android / the Open Handset Alliance

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

It already seems like an eternity ago, but Google’s big Open Handset Alliance / Android announcement was arguably the biggest news of the week, and it inspired a number of tech pundits and bloggers to weigh in — and Steve Ballmer to talk some major smack. Since no one really knows how any of this is going to play out, we thought we’d round up some of the more interesting viewpoints for easy reference — and maybe some easy laughs — when we get our hands on the first “GPhone” in late 2008.

We gotta start with John Dvorak, who cut straight to the point and said “The Google phone is doomed.” Additional money quotes include “Google is actually not a charismatic company that can make this new platform happen in a big way,” and “When I see a bunch of joiners jumping on some unknown, unreleased unfinished pipe dream, I actually laugh.” He even roped in the iPhone, calling it more of a “photo album than a phone.” Actually, Dvorak’s whole column is a great read even if just to experience the man’s naked anger towards every phone ever made.

Not to be outdone at the contrarian game, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer came out swinging as well, saying “Their efforts are just some words on paper right now.” Actually, he does have a point there — although Google and HTC may have been developing that “Dream” prototype, the real news will come in late 2008 when Android devices start shipping. How does that compare to WinMo, Steve? “They have a press release, we have many, many millions of customers, great software, many hardware devices and they’re welcome in our world.”

Continue reading Checking in with the pundits on Android and the Open Handset Alliance

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

It may have downplayed the significance of Google’s Open Handset Alliance and Android OS yesterday, but it seems that Nokia is singing a slightly different tune today, with Reuters now reporting that the company hasn’t completely closed the door on taking part in the alliance. Specifically, Nokia spokesman Kari Tuutti said, “It’s not ruled out at all,” adding that, “If we would see this as beneficial we would think about taking part in it.” Tuutti then went on to say that “We should never close any doors.” Of course, that’s still a long way from actually jumping on board, which seems to remain a fairly unlikely proposition, “open doors” aside.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

C’mon, you knew this was coming. Not a moment after Google does its big reveal on the Android OS and forthcoming multi-manufacturer GPhone, the rumor mill has already starting churning with wild imaginings and fantastic leaps of logic. A not-so gigantic jump comes as speculation that HTC’s Omni — which we first heard about nearly a year ago — is actually the phone that has been referred to as the “Dream,” Google’s OS demo unit. We have to admit, there are some similarities between the two, not the least of which are the 3-inch by 5-inch size, rectangular touchscreen, full QWERTY that swivels out (which according to this earlier rendering, goes in more than one direction), and a beveled edge that “nestles in the palm.” We remind you, of course, that this is just the first in a long line of rumors trying to pinpoint the “real” GPhone — HTC or otherwise — so don’t get too excited just yet.

Update: As a commenter points out, the “earlier rendering” is actually the precursor to the Omni, the HTC Universal, though its screen mechanism bears a resemblance to the one described in the original Forbes article.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Carefully orchestrated announcements for broad, sweeping initiatives like the one staged by Google today don’t always do a great job of diving straight into the meat and telling it like it is, so we thought we’d boil down the Android and Open Handset Alliance sitch as best we could into a tight, easy to digest series of bullets. If this list is still wider than your attention span, though, just know this: you can pick up your Google-powered phone in the latter half of 2008.

• At its core, Android forms the basis for Google’s operating system and supporting software for phones. In Google’s own words, it’s a software stack.
• Two separate but related entities form the basis for today’s announcement: the Linux-based Android mobile platform (a result of Google’s 2005 acquisition of a start-up of the same name) and the Open Handset Alliance, a 33-strong group of device manufacturers, component manufacturers, software companies, and carriers that have committed to working with Android.
• There is no cut and dried “Gphone” and Google doesn’t intend (or at least it hasn’t indicated an intent) to enter the hardware business. Instead, it’ll leave that to established players like HTC, LG, and Samsung — and theoretically, anyone else that wants to have a go at it since the Android platform and its code base is wide open.
• Unlike the platform itself, there’s no guarantee that devices based on the Android platform will be open to third party developers. Google says that’ll be left to manufacturers and carriers to be decide, although it doubts they’ll choose to lock them down (hmm, has Google ever worked with a carrier before?)
• Nokia, Apple (on whose board Google CEO Eric Schmidt sits), Palm, and Microsoft are notably absent from the alliance. Palm has come out today to announce that it intends to continue to integrate Google services into its future products.
• Carriers currently in the alliance include China Mobile, KDDI, NTT DoCoMo, Sprint Nextel, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, and T-Mobile. T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel are the two national US carriers that are signed up; AT&T and Verizon are not.
• The first Android-powered devices are expected in the second half of 2008. Rumor has it that Google has been using an HTC-sourced device, the “Dream,” to demonstrate Android to potential partners. HTC may launch a version of the Dream as one of its first handsets to use the platform.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

Palm’s not the only company that isn’t afraid to speak out on the Open Handset Alliance. Nokia, Microsoft and Symbian made it most clear today that they don’t perceive danger from the new initiative and corresponding Android OS, with Nokia stating it quite bluntly: “We don’t see this as a threat.” Microsoft was a bit more on the defensive. “It really sounds that they are getting a whole bunch of people together to build a phone and that’s something we’ve been doing for five years,” said Scott Horn, from Microsoft’s Windows Mobile marketing team. “I don’t understand the impact that they are going to have.” The Symbian folks stated the obvious: “If Google was not involved the industry would have just yawned and rolled over,” said John Forsyth of Symbian. “We take it seriously but we are the ones with real phones, real phone platforms and a wealth of volume built up over years.” UIQ was a bit more optimistic about the OHA, saying that “Generally, it’s positive for the industry.” Apple wasn’t as commital either way. “We have a great relationship with Google and this doesn’t change anything,” said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris. “They are certainly an important partner for iPhone.”

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!