Check out this awesome video below! It shows…well, kind of blew it in the headline.
It’s slick, it works at almost full speed and aside from a few scaling issues it comes over unscathed to the HTC Touch! Only a matter of time before it gets onto the HTC Touch HD…
Sony Ericsson has today announced they are in the process of creating their first Android handset, having joined the Open Handset Alliance.
And according to the CVP of Creation and Development, Rikko Sakaguchi, the phone could be part of the Cybershot, Walkman or even Xperia stables…
“We believe Sony Ericsson can bring a wealth of experience in making consumer focused multimedia handsets with new user experience to the Alliance drawing on the successes of the Walkman and Cyber-shot sub-brands. Sony Ericsson is a strong supporter of open operating systems and we believe the Open Handset Alliance offers an exciting opportunity for a new and unique user experience only Sony Ericsson can deliver.”
Sounds like there will be some pretty impressive flagship phones in the near future from Sony, and goes some way to explaining the kind words said about Android surrounding the Xperia’s launch event… The fact that Sony are clearly stating that Android will ‘compliment’ as opposed to replace their existing operating systems of Symbian and more recently Windows Mobile means that no-one is going to be left out in the cold following this announcement.
Exciting times!
Source: G1 News/Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog
As the more perceptive of you may have noticed, this humble blog is merely flotsam riding on the back of the whacking great mobile phone comparison behemoth that is Omio.com.
And whilst doing our proper job, we noticed this morning that Google’s advertising system Adwords has added support for mobile devices with full (HTML) internet browsers. This means that canny advertisers can now use the same desktop adverts on both platforms, as well as specifically target only those that surf the web using mobile phones like Apple’s iPhone 3G and the T-Mobile G1 with relevant campaigns.
What does this mean? Mobile browsing is becoming kind of a big deal.
Let the nice lady explain things to you using easy words!
VERY clever. Did you see her distinct lack of mobile phone bias?
The Android / mobile advertising crossover is certainly well underway! This is definitely a contributing factor as to why the G1’s browsing experience is so slick…they want to transfer the quality of Google’s relevant and useful advertising as well as everything else onto mobile phones.
As long as the end user benefits, it’s all good we say!
Source: Google Mobile Blog
There’s nothing like a bit of healthy competition, but many would argue that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has been downright mean about the Android mobile phone operating system from Google in recent days.
Well, he doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon, with his latest comments at the event day for Austrailian telecoms company Telstra. He called out the Android monetising strategy as being “financially unsound,” and questioned Google’s revenue plans for the platform.
“I don’t really understand their strategy. Maybe somebody else does. If I went to my shareholder meeting, my analyst meeting, and said: ‘Hey, we’ve just launched a new product that has no revenue model!’… I’m not sure that my investors would take that very well. But that’s kind of what Google’s telling their investors about Android,” Ballmer said.
Gawd bless those guys at XDA Developers. Whilst we sleep or watch Strictly Come Dancing of an evening (Rachel Stevens to win!) those guys are working hard to make great things happen, including getting Xperia panels running on regular phones and the like.
This time, they have managed to shoehorn Google’s new operating system Android (premiered on the T-Mobile G1) onto the touchscreen of an HTC Touch Diamond, usually staunch Windows Mobile territory!
Granted, there are some teething troubles which the following video depicts in unintentionally amusing fashion, but it is a great proof of concept and Android looks as impressive as ever on the Diamond’s high resolution screen!
How long before they get this running on the 3.8 inch jumbotron screen of the HTC Touch HD and beat T-Mobile to the G2 everyone’s been clamouring for? We give it about a week.
Source: CoolSmartPhone / XDA Developers
In a playground fight writ large, Facebook has privately ‘dissed’ Android by not developing a version of their insanely successful social networking site for the platform.
Rumour has it that Google is still bitter at the Californian company after it pulled their hair at lunchtime chose Microsoft as a major investor and advertising partner, and they retaliated by kissing Facebook’s boyfriend creating the Open Social network.
So, according to TechCrunch, Facebook has no intentions of even entertaining the new system powering the T-Mobile G1, preferring to let the community do their work for free using APIs.
One of the Facebook sources was heard to have called Android ‘vapourware‘, whilst another commented: “Android sucks, it doesn’t matter.”
Real mature, guys. Just kiss and make up, you know you love each other really! Well, you both love money, and there is quite a bit to be made with Android in the future as more manufacturers pick it up.
Well, the G1 is out in America, and suitably Google and T-Mobile have gone all out promoting their new baby.
This is their first advert, named “Questions.” It seems to focus upon the whole idea that the G1 is entirely an ‘other’ device, with the hope that it will sway the undecided voters from the iPhone to something new! Partly true, with the new Android operating system inside, but it is still a phone under all that jazz.
The Wall Street Journal talked to the new marketing chief for T-Mobile, Denny Marie Post, and she explained that the premise is one of “curiousity is everywhere,” and that the ads will ramp up from over the next few weeks, answering many questions about the phone, and consumers themselves. Very high brow.
The most interesting point she makes is that T-Mo is picking up the bill for these ads, as Google put the money into developing the handset itself.
Diferentiation is great for the G1, it really needs to court the masses and the whole idea of trying something new was a good angle to go for. As long as the ads don’t stray into that ‘weird’ marketing place and end up like the Playstation 3 stuff.
Source: G1 News / Wall Street Journal
It’s all well and good for developers to be up in arms and waving pitchforks at Apple for having remote kill switches for their applications, they are supposed to be difficult and awkward and closed and cryptic. It’s in their nature.
But Google, courting these maverick devs with their open platform policy, giving people freedom to express their lame flashlight apps on the Marketplace, they wouldn’t put a kill switch on their beloved Android would they?
Well, yes. Yes they would.
The Android Market Terms of Service clearly state:
“Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement … in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion…”
Brazen as you like. At least Google is being honest about it, but it really scuppers my chances of getting my ‘Nearby Ladies of Ill Repute’ App out there.
App Store maybe?
This voracious blogosphere rumour has just begun to gather enough weight to make it plausible… G1 News reports that T-Mobile and Google are interested in making the HTC Touch HD their second Android-powered handset.
The 3G device has a huge 3.8″ touchscreen, built in GPS, Wi-Fi and Pocket Office, everything to make it a competitive handset to the iPhone 3G in the right hands. The 1.5 million preorders for the T-Mobile G1 is just the confidence boost for Google and HTC that is needed to prove that they can compete with the big boys, provided their device is appealing enough to the general public.
Oh, and is this the real reason why we won’t be seeing the HTC Touch HD making it to US shores? Could T-Mobile have already claimed it for their own nefarious purposes? Stranger things have happened…
Seems like the T-Mobile G1 is making the UK assault pretty soon, with the Google phone getting top billing on the T-Mobile UK home page!
The G1 registration page went up yesterday with a slick promo video and a prize draw to win one of eight shiny new Android-powered handsets!
More interestingly, the small print gives away some choice details about possible deals and contracts…The winners will get a G1 on a Pay As You Go SIM card (bundled with £25 credit!), with web ‘n’ walk only available at the fastest speeds through a pay monthly contract. Does this mean there might be a PAYG option for the G1? Hope so!
The winners are drawn on 30th October, with G1s being whisked off in the post within six weeks. Guess that guarantees a pre-Xmas release in shops!
Be quick if you want to enter, the competition ends on the 14th of October…
Source: G1 News / CoolSmartPhone
