Android and Me |
- Rumor: HTC Puccini to be powered by Qualcomm’s dual-core Snapdragon chip
- T-Mobile blocking Google Talk’s video chat feature when using 3G
- Amazon tablets codenamed “Coyote” and “Hollywood”, powered by Tegra 2 and Tegra 3
- Dual-core HTC Lead heading to AT&T?
- Why Google Voice is the reason I’m not ready to move to Google Music
- Gimme dat game: Bang Bang Racing is awesome – the controls? not so much
- AT&T will be rolling out updates, letting you sideload apps?!
- Dual-core phones do NOT equal twice the fun
- Microsoft to negotiate acquisition of Nokia as soon as next week?
- AT&T’s “slow” 4G actually has the largest coverage map
| Rumor: HTC Puccini to be powered by Qualcomm’s dual-core Snapdragon chip Posted: 16 May 2011 07:30 PM PDT The not very elusive HTC Puccini is making a public appearance once again. As we saw a week ago, the HTC Puccini is a Honeycomb tablet headed to AT&T with LTE support. Today, we got one more piece of the puzzle, the tablet will be powered by Qualcomm’s MSM8660 Snapdragon dual-core CPU. We last saw the MSM8660 at CES back in January, and while the CPU showed promise, it lost the race to market to NVIDIA’s Tegra 2. A few months later, Tegra 2 is everywhere from Audi vehicles to phones but we’ve yet to see a single device carrying the MSM8660. By the time we start seeing devices powered by Qualcomm’s chip, NVIDIA will be getting ready to launch Tegra 3. However, we’ve yet to see how this 1.5 Ghz dual-core Snapdragon beast will perform, so I’ll keep an open mind until I see some benchmarks. Chinese blog, 911HTC.com, also managed to get a screenshot (seen above) of how Honeycomb will supposedly look with HTC Sense on top. Nonetheless, I’d take this screenshot with the biggest grain of salt you can find. Simply because I don’t think HTC is capable of doing such an atrocity to the already-beautiful Honeycomb UI. Stretching out the Android phone UI and changing the app launcher is not my idea of improving Honeycomb. This could very well be how Android looks on the HTC Puccini right now, but it’ll definitely change before release — I hope. We’re definitely in for a crazy holiday season this year. With Qualcomm bringing out the big guns to fend off NVIDIA, and NVIDIA fighting back with Tegra 3, Android devices are about to get a whole lot faster. Now you just have to ask yourself, which one will I choose?
       |
| T-Mobile blocking Google Talk’s video chat feature when using 3G Posted: 16 May 2011 05:04 PM PDT The number of people that are able to enjoy Google Talk’s video chat feature freely just got even smaller than before — hard to believe, I know. Previously, to use video chat with Google Talk, your phone needed to have Android 2.3.4 and a front-facing camera — aka just the Nexus S. Now we can add one more “if” to that list. To use the feature wherever you wish, you’ll need to own Sprint’s Nexus S 4G. Since T-Mobile is currently blocking its Nexus S users from using video chat over the carrier’s 3G network. When Google Talk users try to initiate a video call over 3G, a message pops up saying: “You must be connected to a WiFi network to start a video chat.” Huh?! What happened to that “Truly Unlimited” sign you have all over your homepage, T-Mobile? In summary, to video chat wherever you want with Google Talk, you’ll need to buy a Nexus S 4G from Sprint. If Google Talk with video chat gets one more requirement, that last remaining guy that’ll be able to use it won’t even have anybody to use it with.
     |
| Amazon tablets codenamed “Coyote” and “Hollywood”, powered by Tegra 2 and Tegra 3 Posted: 16 May 2011 03:52 PM PDT We already know that Amazon has an entire family of Android devices in the works. But there are still some big question marks floating around these devices. Like, which CPU will they use? or how will Amazon price them? Well, today we got one step closer to knowing the answer for one of those questions. According to BGR, Amazon is working on two Android tablets codenamed “Coyote” and “Hollywood”. Coyote will be aimed at the low-end section of the market, powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 chip. While Hollywood, will be carrying NVIDIA’s upcoming quad-core chip, the Tegra 3. NVIDIA will supposedly release Tegra 3 in Q3, and this lines up perfectly with Taylor prediction that Amazon will announce these devices around this year’s holiday season. It goes without saying that these Amazon devices will launch with Amazon’s App store, and I’m having a hard time imagining Google approving them as “Google experience” devices. Meaning, you won’t be able to access the Android Market. As a long-time Market user, I don’t think I’m ready to buy the same apps all over again from Amazon’s App store. But we’ll see, maybe Amazon manages to convince me.
     |
| Dual-core HTC Lead heading to AT&T? Posted: 16 May 2011 01:58 PM PDT It looks like HTC may be ready to pull a Samsung and release their high-end phones on as many U.S. carriers as possible. Sprint has the HTC EVO 3D, T-Mobile has the HTC Sensation 4G, and now it looks like AT&T will be getting a dual-core phone of their own, the HTC Lead. While it's certainly exciting to hear that another HTC phone will be heading to AT&T's network, it doesn't look like the HTC Lead will be on par with HTC's other dual-core phones. Details about the HTC Lead come to us via a leaked system dump posted to the web by 911sniper. From what we can tell, the the AT&T bound HTC Lead features Qualcomm's MSM8660 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 768MB of RAM, and a 4.3-inch WVGA display. The HTC Lead will also feature Android 2.3.4, a 5 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 3.0, and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n. We're not sure why AT&T would order a new HTC phone that has only half the bells and whistles as the HTC EVO 3D or the Sensation. With the HTC Lead, AT&T may be looking for a mid-range phone that can be priced low enough with just enough features to entice customers to switch to their network. We simply don't know. Hopefully we'll be getting more details on the HTC Lead within the next few weeks. Would any of you prefer a mid-range dual-core phone if it saved you $100 or so?
     |
| Why Google Voice is the reason I’m not ready to move to Google Music Posted: 16 May 2011 12:54 PM PDT The crowd erupted in applause as the curtains were finally pulled back on the year-long tease that was the new and improved Google Music. Functional on everything with a browser, as well as the tablet and smartphone. Finally! A real, native music solution for Android users, and an amazing cloud layer on top of that to make sure you’ve always got access to your tunes. Like other Google apps for Android, however, the app is closed source, and there are currently no API’s to allow developers with existing music apps to bring Google Music into apps that are already being used by millions of Android users. The question that weighs heavy on my mind now is will Google Music be the massively successful utility Android needs, or will it be just another app? My biggest reason for suspicion is Google Voice. I love Google Voice. It’s something I am now unable to use a phone without. As time passed, I hoped that Google would do the right thing and open the service up to function with the now hundreds of apps within the Android Market that collectively do some REALLY cool things with SMS. Services like Vlingo, Handcent, and more are completely unusable for me since Google Voice is my primary number. Despite the many updates, API’s don’t exist for app developers to utilize this service. Out of the box, Google Music is no different. Despite the amazing features, I’d love to see integration with apps I already use, like my playlist data shared with apps like Slacker Radio to build a better radio station, or to give me lyrics to the songs I want to hear through TuneWiki. What about Google Music’s ability to function with my Sonos multi-room music system? At the moment, this won’t happen, and there’s little indication that things will change. During the Fireside Chat with the Android team at Google I/O, a music developer posed a question to the panel that made me write this piece to begin with. “Should I just quit now, since everyone is going to use Google Music?” Ultimately it will be up to Google to make their apps interface better with their own developers. Google loves data, but they don’t seem overly keen on sharing it. Until this changes, I’m probably going to steer clear of Google Music for now.
     |
| Gimme dat game: Bang Bang Racing is awesome – the controls? not so much Posted: 16 May 2011 11:59 AM PDT When NVIDIA announced the Tegra 2 processor for Android smartphones, I think we all knew that gaming on Android was going to get significantly better. True to form, NVIDIA has started partnering with developers to unleash games which take advantage of its powerful Tegra 2 chipset. On Friday, NVIDIA teamed up with Playbox to release Bang Bang Racing, a fun, action-packed racing game originally built for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 game consoles, now brought exclusively to mobile phones running the Tegra 2 processor. ControlsInstead of going the traditional screen overlay control scheme (where transparent control buttons are constantly on the screen), Bang Bang Racing uses a unique touched based control system. Simply put your finger on the screen in the direction you want the car to go, and the car will automatially steer toward your finger, moving more quickly the farther away your finger is from the car itself. The control scheme used by Bang Bang Racing, though innovative and different, makes the game extremely frustrating to play. Having your finger take up part of the screen on a 7+” tablet screen is okay, but you can basically forget about playing this game on your sub 5″ phone. You can ease the pain a bit with practice and through learning the courses more in-depth, but in the end the controls in Bang Bang Racing leave much to be desired. Judging from the comments on the Android Market, I’d say I’m not the only one who feels this way. GameplayThe best feature of Bang Bang Racing is the gameplay itself. The gameplay is fluid and really demonstrates the power of NVIDIA’s chipset. The physics are also pretty awesome, and the car moves and interacts with objects just how you’d imagine a car should in real life. The concept of the game is a simple one, you are in a field of eight racers, and your goal is to be the first one across the finish line. You can compete in individual races on the eight included tracks, or enter the championship mode to compete in a series of races to win one of four championship cups. Other GoodiesAs is customary with these types of games, there are several goodies that can be unlocked by progressing through the game (read: winning races/championships). Bang Bang Racing also features OpenFeint support, bringing online achievements and leaderboards so you can see where you stack up against other racers from around the globe. Pros
Cons
Final VerdictBang Bang Racing is an extremely fun racing game for Android Tegra 2 devices that is plagued by controls that, though novel and innovative, will ultimately leave users frustrated. As this game was featured on PS3 and Xbox 360, the $7.99 price tag shouldn’t really come as a surprise, but I feel this game may not be as successful as it could have been because of the price tag coupled with difficult controls as well as the 15-minute refund window Google has bestowed upon Android. If the control scheme wasn’t such a huge problem, I would have no problem telling you to shell out the $8 and buy this incredible game. Unfortunately, difficult controls can make or break a game, and for now I have to advise you against this game unless you have the patience necessary to master the controls. Gallery     
     |
| AT&T will be rolling out updates, letting you sideload apps?! Posted: 16 May 2011 11:12 AM PDT One of AT&T’s biggest mistakes (when it comes to the Android platform) is not allowing its users to sideload apps onto their smartphones. Maybe for the “average consumer,” getting apps from a source other than the Android Market is not a very common habit, but it definitely has been upsetting many of us. Many of you have been relying on the alternative trick that we have reported before, which allows you to sneak apps into your devices, but it is definitely quite more complicated than having official support. Also, the launch of the Amazon App Store was not such a sweet deal for AT&T customers. After realizing that said store required sideloading, things got a bit fired up, and AT&T promised that they would be working to resolve the issue. Our friends at Android Central reported that the Samsung Infuse 4G was the first AT&T Android smartphone with enabled sideloading. Of course, this made us wonder if this would soon become a trend for new AT&T devices, but things seem to be even better than that… According to a leaked document that Android Central got a hold of, AT&T will be rolling out updates that enable this long wanted feature (something we were hoping for). Sadly, this update will only be available for the Samsung Captivate, the HTC Aria, and the HTC Inspire 4G. This may not cover all AT&T Android users, but at least we are getting somewhere now. Until this update starts rolling out, let’s keep our ears open and our devices ready for some sideloading fun. As always, we would like to know what you guys think about this, so let us know how you feel about AT&T enabling sideloading. Do you even care for it? Are you excited to finally be able to use the Amazon App Store (or other sources)?
     |
| Dual-core phones do NOT equal twice the fun Posted: 16 May 2011 10:38 AM PDT I’ve made no small deal about how pessimistic I am when it comes to dual-core devices. This time a year ago it was all anyone could talk about – how amazing dual-core phones were going to be, and how it would change everything. I had more than enough doubt about the giant fluffy unicorn that was dual-core chipsets. However, as inevitable as every senseless push into new tech just for the sake of new tech often is, here we stand with a small arsenal of dual-core devices. Much to my chagrin, I was right, and for every “benefit” a dual-core device offers, it takes at least one away. Let’s start with the Atrix, shall we? This amazing dual-core phone, the first of the NDIVIA Tegra 2 phones, couldn’t even manage a smooth launcher. Sure, it’ll play Pinball THD like a champ, but what’s the point in owning the phone if you can’t enjoy the UI? Granted, the EVO 3D and G2x have smoother UI’s but both suffer from completely miserable battery life. Dual-core architectures were supposed to improve battery life, remember? Even Google said there would be improvements, because at the very least the garbage collector would run on a separate core if nothing else was being optimized. Yet here we are, screwed into even less battery life thanks to bleeding-edge hardware with little-to-no optimization. But we have dual-core, yay! There’s no arguing that the performance in other areas isn’t significant. NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 chipset allows for 1080p output to televisions, which is phenomenal. Tegra Zone games offer a very rich experience, and we’ve already seen hints of the gaming platform Qualcomm is getting developers involved in for their next generation of smartphones. However, as these “superphones” become more and more like computers, they need to have the battery tech to match. Plain and simple – they don’t. I know, I know “So what phone do you use that’s so awesome?” Glad you asked! I’ve had a Nexus S for quite a while now. Not since launch, but close, and I routinely get 16 – 18 hours of battery life. I was also fortunate enough recently to review the LG Optimus Black, a phone whose spec sheet included a “24-hour battery”. I got closer to 20, but that’s still incredible in comparison to G2x or the Atrix. This is not an issue that will be resolved in any meaningful fashion until the next version of Android. Ice Cream Sandwich will take the dual-core optimizations from 3.0/1 and bring phones into the fray. Considering the update cycles of the manufacturers involved in this little debacle, it’s entirely possible we’d all be shopping for our next phone by the time an update to make dual-core phones even worth it for us drops.
     |
| Microsoft to negotiate acquisition of Nokia as soon as next week? Posted: 16 May 2011 09:36 AM PDT Whoa Microsoft, why don’t we all calm down for a second here? Following the massive acquisition of Skype for $8.5 billion dollars, the software giant is ready to pull out its credit card once again and make an even bigger purchase. According to Russian tech blogger, Eldar Murtazin, Microsoft will begin negotiations next week with Nokia to acquire the company’s mobile division. Eldar also said that the deal could be closed as early as the end of the year. This is coming from the same guy that predicted the Microkia alliance back in December, and the rebranding of Nokia’s Ovi services. Murtazin is certainly somebody you want to pay attention to when he’s talking about Nokia. It’s possible that the negotiations between the two companies go south and the acquisition never happens, but at least for now, Microsoft seems to be interested in owning Nokia. It also doesn’t help that Nokia’s CEO, Stephen Elop (pictured above pointing towards where Nokia’s business is currently headed) used to work at Microsoft — so take that as you will. By acquiring Nokia, there’s a good chance that Microsoft will further alienate its OEM partners. Companies like LG, Samsung and HTC might not be interested in competing with the same company that’s selling them the software they put on their devices. This could be very good news for Android and very bad news for Windows Phone 7, with OEMs focusing even more on the former and even less on the latter.
     |
| AT&T’s “slow” 4G actually has the largest coverage map Posted: 16 May 2011 09:22 AM PDT Competition is rough in the mobile market nowadays. Manufacturers are all competing amongst each other, operating systems are fighting for the lead (though we all know which one is winning), and every carrier is trying to convince us that their 4G network is the best in some way. Sprint is the first, Verizon claims to be the fastest, and T-Mobile says it is the largest. Well, Fierce Broadband Wireless has released some maps they acquired through American Roamer (wireless coverage firm), proving that AT&T’s HSPA+ network will cover a much wider area than all of its competitors (ouch!). AT&T Mobility actually claims that their network will give down speeds of 14.4 Mbps, with enhanced backhaul. It is also important to clarify that these maps only show where AT&T has deployed their HSPA+ access, but it does not provide the location where it has upgraded its backhaul capability, so the maps may be a bit misleading… for now. Even if AT&T did happen to become the 4G network with the best coverage map, their data speeds have not been very convincing for many years now. It also seems like it will be the slowest4G network in the U.S. But that map sure looks nice for those who travel around a lot… What do you guys say? Are you willing to give up speed for coverage? If you are a 4G user, which carrier are you with? Which do you think is the best?
     |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Android and Me To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment