Android and Me |
| Samsung Droid Charge might be released this Tuesday (Updated) Posted: 30 Apr 2011 12:59 PM PDT Verizon has been advertising their 4G LTE network to be the largest in the world, as well as the fastest in America, and the recent 4G LTE outage caused great disappointment among their customers. Aside from all the commotion, though, what really bugged some people was the fact that the Samsung Droid Charge was delayed. This device was supposed to be released along with the HTC Droid Incredible 2 and the Casio G’zOne Commando last Thursday, April 28, but Verizon’s second 4G LTE smartphone didn’t make it to the fantastic trio. Our friends over at Android Central got a hold of some screenshots of a document from Costco, which seems to indicate that the device might be available for purchase this coming Tuesday, May 3rd. The Droid Charge shipments should start arriving this Monday (along with confirmation or revision of the launch date), and all locations should be stocked by the end of Wednesday. Whether the Samsung Droid Charge will be released this Tuesday or not, we are not completely sure, but the date should be near, since preparations are clearly being already scheduled. If you have been interested in this device, stay tuned to see if it will make it to the shelves on Tuesday, and don’t forget to read Russel’s hands-on with the Droid Charge. As always, share your opinions and comments with us, and keep coming back for more information about the topic. Update: Android Central has also received an image of Costco’s inventory screen, further proving that the Droid Charge may be coming on May 5th. The image is now added to the slideshow below, so go ahead and check it out.
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| On the verge of real Android fragmentation Posted: 30 Apr 2011 08:51 AM PDT Of the many things that get said about Android in an derogatory tone, my least favorite is that of “fragmentation”. The biggest reason for my distaste of the subject is typically the extra junk that gets lumped in, causing even the most rational of conversations to tailspin into a fanboy fight. It’s a subject that is neither clearly defined, nor is there a platform right now that does not also suffer from fragmentation to some extent. The truth of the matter is that Android takes more heat regarding fragmentation due to the volume of handsets that are running the OS. So, my distaste of the subject typically leaves me unwilling to even talk about it, until now. Unfortunately, I see Android on the verge, and in some way already beyond the point, of having actual fragmentation issues. I was quick to ignore it, but the signs are all around us. The first, and likely the most significant in the not-so-distant future, is app development. When NVIDIA dropped the Tegra 2 Processors, Android saw the advent of the Tegra Zone and Android Market apps with “THD” (Tegra High Definition) on the end. NVIDIA isn’t the only one playing this particular game, either. At this year’s Game Developer Conference, Qualcomm could be seen wooing game developers with the promise of a dual-core chipset with native 3D audio support to create a truly immersive mobile gaming experience. At Appnation this past week, Qualcomm made their Developers Kit, which includes a dev phone made entirely by Qualcomm, for sale to developers. There are already several really impressive looking games on their way to Android, but they will be specifically optimized for the Qualcomm chipset. Let’s not forget the increasing chasm that exists between Android 2.3 and Android 3.0. This week alone I have installed 3 different apps that either could not run on 3.0, or displayed an error upon install that informed me my device was not supported. Backbreaker HD, which ran amazingly on my phone, isn’t optimized for Tegra 2, and as a result is not even playable. Earlier today, as excited as I was to finally see HBO Go for Android, I was unable to use the service on my Xoom, because my device wasn’t supported. Soon, we’ll see Netflix for Android, but it will only run on Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon hardware. The list goes on and on, and the end result is that one day EVERYONE will own a phone that can’t do SOMETHING in the Android world. Every answer I can think of when it comes to a solution to this problem is the wrong one. Google can’t get involved in policing apps for functionality, lest we lose the “open” Market we’ve come to love so much. The hardware manufacturers will continue to give you a reason to buy one of THEIR phones, and just wait until the carriers get involved so that the random awesome game you want is only available on AT&T. Don’t get me wrong, some parts of this are going to be just amazingly awesome. The rich graphics, the amazing sound, the more powerful handsets are all going to rock, but what exactly is the cost of that much awesome?
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