Android and Me |
- Cool App Concept: Qonqr to be like mobile, real-life Risk
- Samsung Galaxy Pro brings another portrait QWERTY handset into the mix
- Google Navigation now factors in real-time and historic traffic to recommend routes
- Gowalla gets revamped in version 3
- Samsung Mobile to dual source parts for Galaxy S II, Tegra 2 version for US?
| Cool App Concept: Qonqr to be like mobile, real-life Risk Posted: 07 Mar 2011 03:52 PM PST A team of Minnesota-based developers submitted an awesome idea to the Twin Cities Startup Weekend, a local competition that challenges budding entrepreneurs to build a prototype business over the course of a single weekend. The team ended up winning the competition with Qonqr (pronounced Conquer), a check-in-based game that has been likened to playing a real-live version of Risk with other players in your community. The actual gameplay for Qonqr is a bit strange; users build teams of "nanobots", your tiny, invisible robot army that can conquer entire cities. Qonqr will require you to be at or near the city's center in order to send your nanobots to conquer the city, unless of course you want to shell out some real dough. If you’re not close to the city you want to conquer, you can use real money to buy a "virtual missle" to send nanobots remotely to conquer cities far and wide. What happens if your city is already taken over by another player? It’s simple, really; the player with the most nanobots wins the battle for the city. Overall, Qonqr has the potential to be a pretty cool spin on location-based games that are currently available on Android. Qonqr is not available on any mobile platforms just yet, but they plan on releasing apps for Android, Windows Phone 7, and iPhone sometime in 2011. They did say that Android will probably be the last platform they develop for, but their company is based out of my hometown, so perhaps I'll be able to convince them to change their mind. Anyone else think this is a cool idea, or do you think the whole location-based games/check-in services are a bit played out? Sound off in the comments.
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| Samsung Galaxy Pro brings another portrait QWERTY handset into the mix Posted: 07 Mar 2011 02:10 PM PST The Samsung Galaxy Pro was unveiled today at the at Samsung SEA Forum in Singapore. The Samsung Galaxy Pro is the first Android handset from Samsung to sport a portrait QWERTY keyboard. The handset will feature an 800MHZ CPU, 2.8-inch touchscreen, 3 megapixel camera, WiFi, and 3G connectivity and will run on Android 2.2. Like the majority of Samsung's Android devices, the Galaxy Pro will feature TouchWiz and Samsung's Social Hub. Launch details and pricing for the Samsung Galaxy Pro are still not available, but 3 UK has announced on their blog that the handset will be coming to their network sometime soon. I'm personally not a huge fan of having a full keyboard on the outside of my phone, but it's hard to deny that there's a huge demand for this form factor. RIM has made a fortune with their BlackBerry handsets over the years and now Android manufacturers want to show that they can compete in that same segment.
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| Google Navigation now factors in real-time and historic traffic to recommend routes Posted: 07 Mar 2011 01:29 PM PST File this one under "It's about flipping time." On Google’s mobile blog, they announced an update to Google Navigation which brings a long sought after enhancement to route navigation (in my opinion, anyway). The old Google Navigation simply picked the fastest route under ideal circumstances, which comes back to bite you in the rear should there be any traffic along the way. In the new update, Google Navigation will use an algorithm that factors in both current and historical traffic detail to project the shortest route from point A to point B under current and expected traffic conditions. This should hopefully save you some time and frustration by recommending the actual fastest route instead of the ideal route. Yes, Google's "real-time" traffic status can be hit or miss, so don't expect the recommended route to be fastest 100% of the time, but we're much closer to 100% than we were yesterday. There is no need to update the maps application, as this enhancement to Navigation should already be fully functional as of the latest update. Simply use navigation as you normally would and enjoy the newly added features.
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| Gowalla gets revamped in version 3 Posted: 07 Mar 2011 09:53 AM PST Today, Gowalla announced that they have released a “rethought and reworked” version of their check-in application onto the Android market. With Gowalla 3, the Gowalla team hoped to bring an application that was uniquely Gowalla and uniquely Android, a feat they’ve largely accomplished with the new release, though you’ll still notice some overlap with its iOS counterpart. The updated Gowalla application has been re-envisioned from the ground up, and brings the following changes/enhancements:
Overall, the new application looks and feels awesome. Though I'm not convinced the nicely-updated application is enough to convince customers to switch from competing check-in services, it certainly will be a welcome update for those of you who already use Gowalla. If you haven't check out Gowalla yet and aren’t tied to any one particular check-in service, the update is certainly worth giving Gowalla another look. Gowalla 3 is now available on the Android market for all Android 1.6+ devices. Gallery    
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| Samsung Mobile to dual source parts for Galaxy S II, Tegra 2 version for US? Posted: 06 Mar 2011 09:12 PM PST There was a lot of confusion surrounding the hardware specs of the Galaxy S II when Samsung announced the superphone last month at Mobile World Congress. Samsung’s official press release said the device featured a dual-core application processor, but it never mentioned which specific CPU was inside. When we questioned Samsung on this we were initially told it was a Tegra 2 chip and then later informed it was actually Samsung’s Exynos 4210. NVIDIA then sent out a press release to announce their Tegra 2 was powering the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and hinted at an upcoming phone by saying, “the companies are also partnering to bring a new Android-based super phone with a dual-core CPU to consumers, for never-before-seen experiences.” Since that time three separate sources have all provided evidence that suggest Samsung will dual source some of the components for the Galaxy S II, which includes using two vendors for different regions to supply the processor. First Pocket-lint discovered a Samsung Galaxy S II product brochure that noted the dual-core Exynos application processor "may not be applicable in some regions". Then our friends at Anandtech spotted a Tegra-powered Samsung phone with the model number GT-i9103, which is quite similar to the Galaxy S II model number GT-i9100. Finally we have a post written by Desire Athow of ITProPortal who says an unnamed NVIDIA spokesperson showed him a slide that confirmed they would power an upcoming Samsung phone. A recent report from the Korea Times suggested that Samsung Semiconductor will quadruple the shipment of their mobile application processors, but 50 percent of the capacity for 2011 will be reserved for Apple. That would be more than the supply for its own products such as Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab, so it makes sense that Samsung would turn to another vendor to keep up with the high demand. Both the Tegra 2 and Exynos platforms should offer similar performance, but NVIDIA appears to have a slight advantage when it comes to premium content. NVIDIA just launched their Tegra Zone app, which highlights games that are specifically optimized for Tegra 2 and over a dozen developers have committed to supplying additional exclusive titles. Hopefully we should know more in just a few weeks at CTIA in Orlando. Samsung Mobile announced the original Galaxy S at last year’s event and they have another Unpacked event to reveal their new products for US consumers. I expect we will see the Galaxy S II announced for multiple US carriers, so we will have to keep an eye on the specs to see if they differ. If you were thinking of picking up the Galaxy S II, which processor do you hope Samsung uses for the US versions? Would you like to see them stick with their Exynos chip or go with the more popular Tegra 2?
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