Editorials

Jan

Editorial: Five Things Android Tablets Will Need In Order To Succeed

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Editorials, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Tablets

Introduction

If there's one thing CES told us about the upcoming twelve months in technology, it's that 2011 will be the year of Android tablets. And with noteworthy entries such as the Motorola XOOM, ASUS' lineup, and the T-Mobile G-Slate, it looks like the tablets' quality might be just as high as their quantity - at least hardware-wise.

But what about the software? After all, isn't a device's OS what makes or breaks it? And even if the tablets are good, will consumers care? Let's take a look at the top five areas Android tablets will need to succeed in.

Jan

Android: A Look Back To 2010, And A Look Forward To 2011

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Editorials, News

Looking Back: Andy Conquers The World (And Then Some)

What a whirlwind year for Android. Although the T-Mobile G1 - the first Android handset - dropped way back in October of 2008, it arguably took until 2010 for Android to become feasible for the mainstream. In fact, when the Nexus One was released in early January, it was widely hailed as being the first true Android competitor to the iPhone, in no small part due to the advancements made with Éclair.

From there, Android took off: Eric Schmidt announced in May that over 100,000 Android handsets were being activated daily. By June, the number was up to 160,000.

Dec

CNN Money: Could Google Become A Carrier?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Carriers, Editorials, News, Off-Topic

Yesterday, CNN Money posted a rather interesting piece that posed the question: could Google become "your new phone carrier?" If you're anything like me (and I hope for your sake that you're not), your first response was "Google? A carrier? #$%^ Yeah!" But as awesome as I'm sure that would be, the more I think about it, the less likely it seems.

I'm not saying it won't happen. Hell, even the author of the article (David Goldman) doesn't seem sure of the idea. The point of the article seems to be more so to point out that it's feasible, especially down the road.

Dec

[Updated] Rant: How To Piss Everyone Off By Gaming The Android Market - Yes, I Am Talking About You, Forester/Woodman/etc

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Apps/Games, Editorials

Last Updated: December 27th, 2010

This has been brewing for a while, but I've had enough. As you may know, throughout the week, I keep an eye out for any new worthy Android apps to be rounded up and published for everyone to enjoy. An important part of this search is looking through the new apps list, for which I had chosen AppBrain - specifically, this RSS feed, which lists every app entering the Android Market.

As I've looked at these new apps day by day, I started noticing something peculiar. No, it wasn't the amount of fart apps and soundboards - those, while annoying, are still legitimate applications, which, thanks to Google's openness, deserve a place in the Market just like any other app.

Dec

Will The FCC's Net Neutrality Order Cost Smartphone Users?

Posted by David Ruddock in Carriers, Editorials, News

In a word: yes. Wireless carriers in the US (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.) have long been deeply opposed to net neutrality over their so-called "mobile broadband" networks, but today they've been given a power they have long desired to see the FCC put into writing.

If you haven't been following the net neutrality saga, you might want to find out what exactly "net neutrality" is, or what it means.

What is "net neutrality"?

It's a loaded term, to be frank. Net neutrality activists will tell you it means the complete freedom of information from corporate interference by requiring that ISPs (Internet service providers) do not give any preferential (or deferential) treatment to any information transmitted over their networks, unless it is clearly illegal or dangerous.

Dec

Android Devs To Manufacturers and Carriers: It's Not Rooting, It's Openness

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, News

The Android dev team has generally been assumed to have a passive stance on rooting and unlocking Android devices. That is, do it if you want - we won't stop you. And there's certainly evidence abound supporting this - Google's Nexus One could be unlocked via a simple ADB (Android Device Bridge) command: fastboot oem unlock. The same is true of the Nexus S.

Of course, it only makes sense - Google doesn't want to put any unnecessary barriers between Android developers and the open source OS, especially on developer phones.

But a new post on the official Android Developers Blog shows that team Android is a little more concerned with how their operating system is being used than some of us may have previously assumed.

Dec

Modder’s Column: How To Remap Your Android Phone’s Hardware Buttons Without Touching A Single Line Of Code

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Editorials, Mods

So maybe you've recently upgraded your Android phone and haven't gotten used to the new device's button alignment yet... or maybe you never use that pesky Search key and want to turn it into the camera key your EVO 4G has always wanted... or maybe you just enjoy tinkering with your phone. If you're in one of those situations, what you may be lusting after is a way to remap your phone's hardware buttons (i.e. making the Search key take on the duties of the Home key, or vise versa).

Up until now, there haven't been any user-friendly methods of doing this, at least not any that can be so greatly customized.

Dec

Your Battery Gauge Is Lying To You: Everything You Need To Know About Bump Charging And Inconsistent Battery Drain

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Editorials, Tips, Tutorials

This article was written by a guest poster Byron G and originally posted to his blog. It is reprinted here with Byron's full permission.

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Your Smartphone Is Lying To You (And It’s Not Such A Bad Thing)

Climbing out of bed, about to start your day, you unplug your new smartphone from its wall charger and quickly check your email. You’ve left it plugged in overnight, and the battery gauge shows 100%. After a quick shower, you remember that you forgot to send your client a file last night. You pick up your phone again, but the battery gauge now reads 90%.

Dec

[Updated Again: Rohan Responds] Notion Ink Pre-Order Page & Return Policy Are Arousing Suspicion, Anger

Posted by David Ruddock in Adam, Editorials, News, Notion Ink

Last Updated: December 11th, 2010

Note:

Let me direct you all to our most up-to-date post on this issue:

Our Response To Rohan's Blog Posting

Please leave comments there - this thread is getting a little unwieldy.

Thanks,

David

Update #4: If Notion Ink is planning to unveil Adam at CES, why are they not listed in the CES exhibitors list?

Update #3: Rohan Shravan has posted, in response to many users' concerns, some information on his blog regarding many of Notion Ink's policies, shipping costs, and warranty.

Rohan has also stated that on December 18th, a video demonstration of the Adam will be posted for all to see.

Nov

[Editorial] Is Google Really Shooting Itself In The Foot With Android?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Editorials, News

A few days ago, Harvard Business Review writer James Allworth posted on the HBR blog and argued that Google has effectively shot itself in the foot by making Android such an open system. To boil the 800 word post down, Mr. Allworth's argument is that the openness of the system has led to competitors taking the Google out of Android - namely, Baidu in China and Bing on Verizon. The issue is that Google's revenue comes from the ads on their services; consequently, a de-Googled Android would result in no income for Google. Further, there's another problem that he doesn't mention at all: Chinese carriers have replaced the Android Market with their own proprietary market.