If you were ready to dismiss the HTC Flyer as HTCs spin on the Samsung Galaxy Tab then HTC would like just six minutes of your time to try to convince you otherwise. It’s a well made video and worth checking out if you are mulling over a tablet purchase this Spring.
We’ve been over the specs before and they are solid but not world-beating; 1.5 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 16/32 GB Storage and a 7″ screen with 1024 x 600 resolution. But the specs aren’t really the story of the Flyer. The work that HTC has done with Sense and the addition of a pen with a legitimate digitizer steer it in a completely different direction than the other tablets burning up the charts at the moment.
The fact that it isn’t launching with Honeycomb seems to be a sticking point for some and if you are a developer (or a user for that matter) that just wants the Android tablet reference design obviously you are not the target for the Flyer. However, if you are assuming that because it isn’t Honeycomb it isn’t optimized for tablets then I think you need to take a second look at what HTC has done with Sense and Scribe on the Flyer. In my opinion it looks potentially more like a tablet optimized experience than anything I’ve seen short of the Courier mock-ups.
While the emphasis on the pen might make this feel like a bit of a niche device HTC does have you covered if you are interested in videos or gaming on your tablet. The HTC Watch service looks competitive with the other offerings out there presently and the OnLive gaming integration is potentially quite interesting.
Before you rush to hit that pre-order button, I’m sure you take my advice that seriously, I want to be clear that I haven’t used one personally yet so I can’t attest to whether HTC has delivered on what they are promising. Two basic concerns I have with the pen are that it is an optional accessory which considering its deep integration with the device seems bizarre and as the former owner of a pen-enabled tablet I can assure you that the inability to store the pen in the tablet will be frustrating. With that said I have heard good things from a number of individuals that I trust who have had hands-on time with the Flyer so I’m not just being blindly optimistic.
Based on the video its safe to assume that HTC is focusing mainly on the student and/or enterprise user, which are the same demographics that manufacturers have failed to capture with Windows tablets for the last decade. If you fall into either of those categories I’m particularly interested in your opinions on the Flyer, but feel free to sound off even if you are just looking for a tablet for personal use.
File this under things you didn’t know existed but now that you do you totally want one. We were just emailed a video of someone demonstrating Perfect Spiral Trainer, an app powered by what the guy is calling his Replay Football system, which tracks a modified Nerf ball in-flight and reports back all sorts of interesting data via Bluetooth.
Uhhh, what? Just watch video below:
From the YouTube page and original creator:
It employs a Nerf football with a 9-axis motion sensing pack and a visualization / throw analysis application on an Android platform. The football transmits real-time motion data via Bluetooth. A Motorola Droid 2 was used for the Android platform. The sensor pack is by InvenSense.
Once a throw/catch pair have been detected, the football graphic turns red and the program enters replay mode. To replay the throw, the user performs a tap motion on the screen to start playback. The throw release speed, time in flight, RPM of spiral and spiral wobble (precession) are all displayed during playback. The 3 graphs ( from top to bottom) display the raw data from the Accelerometer, Gyro, and Magnetometer respectively. A long-press on the screen resets the state back to ‘green’ to accept a new throw for analysis.
We ran into the team from InvenSense back at CES in January and were impressed with a bunch of the stuff they were working on. They’re working on a whole range of sensors and middleware for tracking movement in the real world and this football application is a solid demo of that- even if it is just for fun.
What other crazy real-world motion tracking applications do you guys think we’ll see in the future? It’s quite a shift to start imagining for things that don’t particularly involve my phone itself moving but it’s a shift I think I could get used to.
The fanboy groups, forum nazis, and various other online community groups of every persuasion have essentially the same thing going for them, the internet is their battleground for violently bashing the other guy. Sure, I’ve been known to drop the occasional iHate, or shake my head knowingly at the guy all excited about how he’s going to mod his Droid X, but I’m a fan. We’re users, our fanatical drive is what motivates other people to make the leap to Android in the first place. With Android, we’ve even enjoyed some Google developers taking the leap into slamming the competition. So, where’s the line with the smack talk? Fan? Developer? Storefront Sales reps? What about corporate level business professionals, who work for major telephone carriers?
Since the announced purchase of T-Mobile by AT&T, there’s been an increasing amount of downright insults coming from executive level employees at various carriers, oddly unrelated to the purchase. For instance, at CTIA there were two equally egregious examples of smack talk. The first day of CTIA started with a Round Table including CEO Ralph De La Vega of AT&T Mobility, during which he responded to a failing demo phone with “Oh, that must be a Verizon Phone” leaving the crowd roaring. A relatively tasteless jab, but one that got the fans of either side of that coin chattering all day long, especially considering Verizon was not officially in attendance at CTIA:Mobile Focus. Later that very same day, during Sprint’s unveiling of the Evo 3D and The Evo View 4G, CEO Dan Hesse made sure to get a dig in on the competition when he explained that these devices were “4G, not Faux G”. The result of said comment being the entire room moan in a way that can only be contextualized by adding “Sick burn, dude” after it.
The carriers aren’t alone in this fight, either. During Samsung’s press event at CTIA, the air on stage was nothing short of aggressive in the speeches delivered by both J.K Shin and Omar Kahn about how Samsung “would not be beaten”. Are these companies under the impression that this is what you need in order to continue the fanatic appreciation of their products and services? Are we as consumers merely argumentative adrenaline junkies waiting to find the next person who is wrong on the internet, or are these companies going to0 far?
Editor’s Note: We’d like to take this chance to welcome Russell to the Android and Me team. If you’ve spent some time in the Android community or at the events, you’ve probably run across this guy. He’s good people. And now he’ll be writing for us on a regular basis. You can follow him on Twitter at @russellholly or keep reading Android and Me for more.
We know we missed the wrap-up yesterday but we didn’t want a repeat of Tuesday – there were so few things in the pipeline that it would have been quite embarrassing to post. Today is a lot different, though. As you can see below there are a ton of things to check out that we didn’t have a chance to get up on our front page. Be sure to take a quick stroll through everything.
Dummy Nexus S units have begun showing up at Rogers in Canada. [AC]
Also in Canada, Mobilicity employees will start training on the Nexus S on April 1st. The carrier is also hosting a pre-order. [MobileSyrup]
Google’s added a cool new feature to their mobile search engine today that’ll make looking up stock information easier than it’s ever been. By simply searching for the ticker symbol of your company of choice, it’ll bring up a card showing you their performance from one day to five years. Swiping left and right will take you to different pages that’ll give you related financial news tied to that company, a market overview, and a look at your own stock portfolio if you’re signed in. Check it out on your phone now by launching the browser and searching a stock symbol. (“GOOG” is a good one to get started with.) [via Google Mobile]
We can’t put too much stock into their findings, though, as there are many other different ways to buy phones from Verizon Wireless. 61% of stores polled said that the two phones were neck and neck, while a measley 11 noted that the iPhone 4 was selling faster.
Even with the meager sample size, this is good news for Verizon. They’ve tested the waters and are seeing if there is room for high-end devices from these direct competitors on the same network. If these results are even a tiny bit indicative of what’s really going on then I’d immediately call the HTC Thunderbolt a success. [via BGR]
Sony Ericsson is getting ready to unleash their Playstation-certified Android handset – the Xperia Play – and is getting the games catalog up and ready to go for when the device finally does launch. A number of PSX (Playstation 1) titles are now in the Android market but you won’t be able to do anything but look on in jealousy as most of the smartphone-toting world won’t be able to download and play them.
It shouldn’t be long before it’s launched in Europe, though, and we hear Verizon’s going to be releasing their version in the middle of April. Now excuse me while I go drool over the thought of playing Syphon Filter on my phone.[via Droid Gamers]
In directly related news, it appears Sony has gotten that PSX emulator removed from the Android market. It’s a predictable move but one I can’t really be mad at Sony for even if emulators themselves aren’t exactly illegal. The folks at PSXDroid have apparently found no ill will toward Sony because of the decision. [via Engadget]
We’re not surprised, but Sprint is said to be discounting their Samsung Galaxy Tab come April 3rd. It’ll get a $100 reduction to bring it down to $200 after signing a new two-year data agreement. It seems the device’s off-contract price will be getting a few dollars shaved off of itself, too, as the suggested retail price is said to be going down from $499.99 to $429.99. Good luck, Sprint, because there are a wave of WiFi-only Honeycomb tablets coming that will make most of us pass this seemingly-lucrative deal right on up. [via Engadget]
ASUS wasn’t terribly confident in showing their tablet off before they were able to get Honeycomb loaded onto it, but now that it’s nearing release they’ve undone the wraps on it. One Swedish outlet was able to get their hands on it and decided to play with the Transformer on camera – for nearly 30 minutes. I honestly don’t have the time to sit through 30 minutes of footage right now – especially considering it’s in Swedish – but let us know if you do and be sure to clue us in on anything you find interesting. The video rests above. [via Liliputing]
Not that we care because it’s already in the Android market where we prefer to get most of our wares, but GetJar has allowed Opera to republish their “Mini” application in their app store. If you don’t remember, the application was pulled immediately after Opera announced they’d be introducing an app store of their own – GetJar says this violated their agreement.
They reportedly attempted to resolve the matter with Opera but were forced to pull it after numerous unsuccessful tries. We’re really only interested in this story because of the interesting dynamic with competing app stores – is it really that much of an issue? It’s not as if they published their app store application in your app store. Would you deny Amazon’s collection of Android apps at this point?
We understand the issue behind conflicting interests – Google and Apple showed us that they couldn’t really get along with their CEO sitting on the latter’s board of directors – but it’s just an app. [via Electronista]
Google continues their commitment to advancing NFC technology by joining the NFC Forum, according to Mobile Crunch. They join the likes of AT&T, Motorola, LG, and more carriers and OEMs looking to incorporate NFC technology into their products and services.
“The NFC Forum thrives on the active participation of global industry leaders and innovators such as CSR, Google, and Intel,” said Koichi Tagawa, chairman of the NFC Forum. “Their energy, ideas, and influence will greatly enhance the work of the Forum, as will the support of our new Associate, Implementer, and Non-Profit members from around the world.”
This follows news from the other day of Google’s partnership with financial giants MasterCard and Citi Group in bringing NFC-based mobile payment options to those of us living in America.
It remains to be seen what kind of role Google will take on as a member of the Forum but we’re willing to bet our marbles that it’s a big one – they’re being called a Principal member along with intel and the aforementioned entities, but don’t explain what that is exactly.
Whatever the case, we’re glad to see them join as it means they’re behind the technology they put inside the Nexus S 100% and it should encourage more partners to join up and get things rolling. [NFC Forum]
When Android 3.0 was designed and launched specifically for tablets, the ugly voice of fragmentation screamed out from dissenters. We had a phone OS on Android 2.3/2.4 called Gingerbread, a tablet OS on Android 3.0 called Honeycomb, and a lot of confusion amongst the community. Eric Schmidt silenced much of that confusion at MWC in Barcelona, saying Ice Cream would merge Gingerbread and Honeycomb… but now we’re learning a great deal more.
In case you didn’t catch that… it’s huge news. In my humble opinion, Google TV is an ENORMOUS opportunity for an entire industry (television) to take the leap that it’s promised for decades (Internet TV). With the addition of apps and games from Android Market, I strongly believe Google TV will be a somewhat unstoppable force. We’ve known Google TV is based on Android and Chrome, but merging it into the AOSP branch means a lot of things, starting with Google’s supreme confidence and motivation in Google TV itself.
Google has been catching a ton of flack for not releasing the Honeycomb source code – it’s time to stop complaining. While everyone cries “fragmentation”, Google attempts to prevent the fragmentation, and then everyone cries “you’re not Open Source”! In my mind, Google has done a great job of balancing a project driven by Open Source concepts without losing control of Android’s momentum.
We reached out to one of our trusted tipsters regarding the [Icecream = Google TV + Honeycomb + Gingerbread] rumor and not only did they confirm it… they also provided some feedback of their own. According to this anonymous source, part of the reason Google is with-holding Honeycomb source code is BECAUSE of the planned integration with Google TV. If Google were to release the source code of Honeycomb now, then launch Ice Cream with Google TV integration, we’d be looking at the same problems and disparities between Gingerbread and Honeycomb all over again. Only this time the odd man out would be the newly added “TV” features.
What does the addition of Google TV to AOSP mean for consumers? A lot… but most of it is behind the scenes stuff. If phones, tablets, and TVs are all pulling from the same code that uses the same APIs, I see two immediately huge benefits:
Quicker updates. Google only has to update ONE code base which will account for phones, tablets and TVs. Fix it once or add a feature once and they’re golden across the board. This will allow Google to FOCUS on one “product” – the AOSP – with many different device types enjoying the benefit.
Easier/seamless integration between services running on different hardware since they’re based on the same code. Take for example the “Speech-to-text” operation on your Android Phone (I use it all the time). If Android OS and Google TV are not only using the same code for this, but it’s pulled from the same exact place, it maximizes consistency and greatly reduces the possibilities of headaches and compatibility problems.
While the above analysis could be considered a healthy mix of rumor and speculation, out tipster flat out told us that we can expect AOSP to merge Google TV, Honeycomb, and Gingerbread at Google IO. Of course timelines always change, as do plans, but this would be a HUGE step in the right direction for Google TV and open the door for Android Market on Google TV which we’ve been eagerly awaiting. Plus it all just makes sense.
I have no doubt that Google TV will eventually be HUGE. It’s a great concept on it’s own, but with the full momentum of Android behind it… I’m not sure it can lose. In my mind, the bigger question mark is Chrome and Chrome OS.
We’ve previously heard about HTML5 killing Apps and even Google CEO Eric Schmidt said most mobile apps will soon be written in HTML5. Chrome is Google’s insurance policy. They’ve got Android on the native mobile side and Chrome on the HTML side – they’ve got two leading horses in one of the most important races in all of technology. Chrome OS is more of an experiment in my mind, but testing the waters for how a atrictly HTML5-based, mobile-connected device can work. Once – and if – the shift from native apps to HTML5 takes place… Google will already have a huge head start.
Just as Google TV is merging into the Android source, I wouldn’t write off Chrome eventually being merged as well. Android has such a powerful brand name and following that people KNOW it and people WANT it. If Google launched anything as “the new Android XYZ” it would immediately grab consumer and critic attention. Although, as proven by the slow start of Google TV, it’s got to have the killer content to go along with it or we’ll hear it in one ear and out the other.
PLEASE NOTE: this is regarding the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) and nothing consumers – or even developers – will notice cosmetically. It’s all ‘behind-the-scenes’ stuff… but important stuff that will certainly affect us all in the long run!
[Via GTVsource - thanks anonymous for verifying details!]
[Hoax Alert]: Looks like we’ve been had, folks. (For the facial recognition part of this story, anyway.) Google has chimed in to let folks know that the story - originally published by CNN – is bogus. While they didn’t completely deny that they’re working on something like this, they state that the information presented by CNN is purely speculative.
Google says they’d never add a feature like this to any of their applications without some strong privacy braces in place – I’m sure they don’t want to step on the FTC’s toes again. And that’s that. The privacy policy bit is still valid. Here’s an excerpt from Google’s full statement on the matter:
In fact, we are NOT “introducing a mobile application” (as the CNN piece claims) and as we’ve said for over a year, we would NOT add face recognition to any app like Goggles unless there was a strong privacy model in place. A number of items "reported" in the story, such as a potential app connecting phone numbers, email addresses and other information with a person’s face, are purely speculative and are inventions of the reporter.
A couple of interesting stories have come from the Google camp. After irresponsibly handling updates to Google Buzz where users were exposed to privacy-altering changes without their consent, the Federal Trade Commission and Google have agreed to review their privacy policy every two years.
Furthermore, Google will be required to change their service from allowing a user to opt out to requiring them to opt-in to certain features before they can use them. It’s a welcome change that should make a lot of folks happy who feel they were violated in the first place.
One of those new services you’ll soon have to opt-in to is a facial recognition engine that has become known as “Google Goggles for people”. It’s simple, you snap or select a photo of someone’s face and Google will search the world wide web trying to match the image up with profile pages on social networking sites that person may be a member of.
It’ll return information such as name and place of birth among other things. It’s a very interesting concept on paper but I have to see this thing in action before getting excited about it. I know Facebook has some fairly-reliable technology to automatically tag your friends in pictures you upload, but that doesn’t always work too well itself. [via ReadWriteWeb]
We’ve been hearing a lot about the Eee Pad Transformer’s availability lately but most of their news has been for folks in Europe. That doesn’t mean they’re sleeping on their United States plans, though. A coming soon page has now been published at major retailer Best Buy’s webiste and it even comes with a price tag that might excite you folks – a mere $400.
I say “mere” because this thing is loaded as far as specs go – a 10.1 inch 1280×800 display, two USB 2.o ports, front and rear cameras, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor. The fact that it’s a Honeycomb tablet makes everything that much sweeter.
The price is a bit low for its feature set but – as with any of these early listings – it’s never final. (But we’re damn sure hoping it’ll look similar once it eventually makes its way to store shelves.) [via Android Community]
The folks at American Airlines have announced a new sweepstakes to go along with the release of their newly-launched Android application. One lucky winner will get a chance to win 1 million AAdvantage Miles and will give away a NOOKcolor each day for the next 30 days. Sweet deal right? I know you’re wondering how to get in on all this fun, though, so listen up – download the app, watch the video, click a link, register and there’s your entry. Shouldn’t take long at all and the reward will far outweigh the time you spent doing it if you end up winning. The video’s above and here’s the market link for the app. [via Android Police]
A freshly leaked pricing sheet is revealing what we can expect to pay for two upcoming Droid handsets for Verizon. To be exact, the sheet lists minimum advertised prices (MAP) for upcoming and current Android handsets. New here are the Samsung Droid Charge and HTC Droid Incredible 2, both handsets that should be launching in April. The Charge looks to demand a head-turning $299.99 while the Incredible 2 asks a more reasonable $199.99.
The pricing of the Charge seems a bit steep, especially considering the lukewarm reception it has received. There is a chance the pricing may come down in the form of a discount, but other prices on the list seem to suggest the discount is already applied.
US Cellular has just announced the availability of the Samsung Gem for their network. It will be available in stores and online beginning tomorrow, April 1st. The Android 2.2 phone isn’t much to get excited about in light of the many options available on networks across the nation, but if you are on US Cellular and looking for a cheaper Android alternative, this might be worth a look.
Earlier in the week we heard news that O2 had uncovered some issues in testing that had forced the company to delay the release of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. You can add Vodafone and Three to the list, as both carriers have pushed back the launch of the gaming handset.
Three still hopes they can launch the device next week, but Vodafone is leaving the less optimistic release date of “as soon as possible.” Orange remains the only carrier committed to their original launch date, and T-Mobile UK stands by its non-committal “mid-April” launch window.
Google has been catching a ton of 
While the above analysis could be considered a healthy mix of rumor and speculation, out tipster flat out told us that we can expect AOSP to merge Google TV, Honeycomb, and Gingerbread at Google IO. Of course timelines always change, as do plans, but this would be a HUGE step in the right direction for Google TV and open the door for 
