Why Google could care less about the Verizon iPhone

Just two days after Verizon’s official announcement releasing information about the oft speculated CDMA iPhone, the media sector has become inundated with speculative posts and forecasts, previews and impressions, opinions and “fanboy-ism”.  Various media outlets are forecasting the “inevitable” death of Google’s Android OS now that AT&T no longer holds the reins of exclusivity to Apple’s powerhouse smart phone, the iPhone.  Personally, the proposed demise of Android amidst a multi-carrier iPhone market sounds about as probable as Palm becoming the leader of the mobile ecosystem; not fucking likely.  Don’t get me wrong, Verizon and Apple will see a serious boon in sales at the initial launch of the CDMA iPhone 4 with both parties profiting heavily, but Google’s Android has matured leaps and bounds in just the past year alone, securing it’s position as Apple’s iOS peer (in market penetration, if nothing else).

Asus Eee Pad Slider – Android tablet with a slide out QWERTY keyboard

CES was rife with devices seeking to reinvent the already ‘standard’ tablet form factor, either choosing to include a QWERTY keyboard as an accessory device, or something a little more snazzy.  Case in point, the Asus Eee Pad (side note here – when will Asus drop that ridiculous “Eee” moniker?), a full-fledged Google Android tablet featuring a hidden, sliding QWERTY keyboard.  While this form factor was represented well during the conference, Asus opted to go against the grain and ship the tablet with Android Honeycomb, NOT Windows 7 as expected.  Hit the jump for a brief run down on the Eee Pad.

NOX Audio’s Admiral Touch wireless headphones run Android

No, you do not need new glasses, you read the title correctly.  It seems as though audio device manufacturer NOX Audio has deemed is necessary to build a pair of headphones that sport a 2.4 color touch-screen and run Google’s Android OS.  The headphones are said to support gesture based input and is to  include WiFI for wireless communication, allowing usage of VoIP technologies.  No word regarding the battery life of this little bad boy, but one has to assume it’ll include something rather sub par when size and weight are taken into consideration.  So, if you’ve ever felt the need to run Android on a device plugged into…an Android device, this is the unit for you!  Stay tuned for more information on this pointless (AWESOME) device.

[Rumor] Samsung to announce Galaxy S 2 devices at MWC?

Despite the “rumor” classification, it’s a pretty safe bet to assume that Samsung will in fact be releasing the next iteration of it’s exceedingly popular Galaxy S line of smart phones at this year’s Mobile World Congress. The upgrade, according to the KoreaHerald, is expected to include the new SuperAMOLED Plus display, Google Android 2.3, and a dual-core SoC to top it all off . No word on whether this will be a dual-core version of Samsung’s sexy Hummingbird platform, or something altogether new. Hit the jump for some quotes directly from Shin Jong-kyun, alpha dog in the Samsung mobile division.

CES: Honeycomb – Not just for your tablet!

It’s finally here; Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) was announced (teased) and extensively demoed on Motorola’s flagship tablet, the XOOM, earlier this week at CES.  the community immediately fell in love with the reimagined tablet interface, but one question hung about the techno-sphere like a latent fart: WHAT ABOUT MY PHONE?!  Thankfully, we have a little more information regarding the usage of Android 3.0 on smartphones thanks to none other than Matias Duarte, head of interface and design for Google’s Android OS.  The guys over at Engaget were kind enough to record the interview with Mr. Duarte, and the from what we’ve seen so far, Android 3.0 is THE milestone update we’ve craved.  Hit the link for some key new features (impressions included)as well as a video of the interview courteoussey of Engaget.

CES: Motorola “XOOM”s to the front of the pack!

It’s official, the Motorola XOOM tablet is here!  The much rumored, Android 3.0 Honeycomb powered tablet from device manufacturer Motorola was made official today in a press release at CES 2011.  Initially featured as a prototype device during a Google keynote with Android lead man Andy Rubin, the Motorola XOOM is slated to be the flagship Android 3.0 tablet, developed hand in hand with Google to highlight the new tablet centric additions to the operating system.  Hit the link for specifications directly from big “M”.

A Month With AT&T’s Samsung Captivate

Recently, I was given an opportunity to spend a good deal of time with AT&T’s flagship Android phone, the Samsung Captivate.  The Captivate is (Quite obviously) a member of the Galaxy S family, whose 4″ SuperAMOLED screens and 1GHz Hummingbird processors can be found on most of the worlds major carriers (See T-Mobile Vibrant, .Samsung Fascinate, Sprint Epic 4G, etc).  How does the Captivate hold up to my (often hyper)criticism?  Can I successfully remove the battery door without a heart attack?  Find out after the break!

Google’s Android numbers surge in the U.S.

According to ComScore, Google’s Android OS took a five percent jump from April 2010 through July 2010. All other OS’ virtually took a decline in that same time-frame with the exception of Palm’s webOS. Of that, 53.4 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in July, up 11 percent from the corresponding April period. RIM was the leading mobile smartphone platform in the U.S. with 39.3 percent share of U.S. smartphone subscribers, followed by Apple with 23.8 percent share. Google saw significant growth during the period, rising 5.0 percentage points to capture 17.0 percent of smartphone subscribers. Microsoft accounted for 11.8 percent of Smartphone subscribers, while Palm rounded out the top five with 4.9 percent. Despite losing share to Google Android, most smartphone platforms continue to gain subscribers as the smartphone market overall continues to grow.

Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G Android Froyo 2.2 now ready for your downloads

Got a Sprint HTC EVO 4G? Been waiting for Android 2.2? You don’t need to wait any further. If you don’t mind performing a self-install, you can head on over to the update link, download the latest version HTC’s and drop this puppy on your phone.

Instructions a relatively simple (I’m doing this as I post): drop the .zip file to the root directory on your SD card.

1. Download the Android 2.2 firmware update DOWNLOAD LINK
2. Rename the file “update.zip” (make sure you don’t accidentally name it update.zip.ZIP).
3. Move the zip file to the root directory of your EVO’s SD card.
4. Shut down your phone and restart it in recovery mode by holding volume “DOWN BUTTON” while powering up the device.
5. Select Recovery Mode.
6. Hold the volume Up button and Power
7. Select “apply update.zip”

[Update] Looks like Android police and HTC for that matter are getting a ton of hits. Just keep trying and they should be back up in no time. I also posted a link for the file I just uploaded. This was direct from the HTC url I grabbed before the servers crashed.

[Update 2] Here is another mirror for the file.

[via Engadget thru Android Police]

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Non-rooted Nexus gets dressed up in Samsung TouchWiz UI

Looks like the guys over at XDA Dev site put together an app that allows the Samsung TouchWiz UI to load up on your Nexus One. Why someone would want to spoil the pure Android OS is beyond me, but I have to admit that it looks pretty damn nice. It works with both Eclair and Froyo so if you have an hankering for some TouchWiz juice, head on over to their site and check it out.

[via XDA Developers thru Engadget]

[tweetmeme http://wp.me/pv73k-1DE%5D