2
Sep
As I was habitually trawling through my Gmail account this morning I noticed something new that drew my eye in the top right hand corner. It was a link to Google’s new Gmail Priority Inbox functionality (beta).
continue reading "Have You Tried Google’s New Gmail Priority Inbox Beta?"
21
May
Google has just announced the sweet delicious details of it’s latest version of its mobile operating system, Android 2.2 codenamed “Froyo”.
6
Jan
You may be seeing the words “Nexus One” appear all over your RSS feeds and favorite websites. If you don’t know what it is, it is Google’s first official smartphone. Yes, there have been other phones from manufacturers such as LG, Motorola and HTC that run their Android operating system, but this is the first device that will be sold directly from Google itself via its Nexus One online portal.
The device was officially announced in California yesterday at an invitation-only event (Yes I am sad I didn’t get an invite). Google have dubbed it a “superphone” as it comprises of all the latest in mobile phone technology such as superfast 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 5MP flash camera, voice-to-text typing, GPS, huge 3.7 inch screen and full wireless capabilities.
Pricing is US$530 unlocked or US$180 on 2 year contract with T-Mobile. Unfortunately, it says that the phone is not available in Australia yet 
Google seemed wary to call it the “iPhone killer”. I think this is wise considering how quickly the Apple iPhone market has grown. Personally, I think it’s a step closer but other smartphone manufacturers are still 2-3 years away from truly taking over.
Here are all the juicy specifications of the Nexus One (ref: NextWeb)
Nexus One Specifications & Features:
Size & Weight:
Height:Â 119mm
Width:Â 59.8mm
Depth:Â 11.5mm
Weight: 130 grams with battery, 100g without batteryDisplay:
3.7-inch (diagonal) widescreen WVGA AMOLED touchscreen
800 x 480 pixels
100,000:1 typical contrast ratio
1ms typical response rateCamera and Flash:
5 megapixels
Autofocus from 6cm to infinity
2X digital zoom
LED flash
User can include location of photos from phone’s AGPS receiver
Video captured at 720×480 pixels at 20 frames per second or higher, depending on lighting conditionsCellular and Wireless:
UMTS Band 1/4/8 (2100/AWS/900)
HSDPA 7.2Mbps
HSUPA 2Mbps
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n)
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
A2DP stereo BluetoothPower and Battery:
Removable 1400 mAH battery
Charges at 480mA from USB, at 980mA from supplied charger
Talk time:
Up to 10 hours on 2G
Up to 7 hours on 3G
Standby time:
Up to 290 hours on 2G Up to 250 hours on 3G
Internet use:
Up to 5 hours on 3G
Up to 6.5 hours on Wi-Fi
Video playback:
Up to 7 hours
Audio playback:
Up to 20 hoursProcessor:
Qualcomm QSD 8250 running at 1 GHzOperating System:
Android Mobile Technology Platform 2.1Capacity:
512MB Flash
512MB RAM
4GB Micro SD Card (Expandable to 32 GB)Location:
Assisted global positioning system (AGPS) receiver
Cell tower and Wi-Fi positioning
Digital compass, AccelerometerAdditional Features:
Haptic feedback
Teflonâ„¢ coated back
Second microphone for active noise cancellation
SIM card slot
Micro SD slot
Proximity sensor
Light sensorPre-Loaded Applications:
Maps, Gallery, YouTube, Market, Phone, Gmail, Browser, Voice, integrated Google suite, Navigation, and others. No full official list available at this time.File Formats Supported:
Image: JPEG (encode and decode), GIF, PNG, BMP
Video: H.263 (encode and decode) MPEG-4 SP (encode and decode) H.264 AVC (decode)
Audio encoders: AMR-NB 4.75 to 12.2 kbps sampled @ 8kHz
Audio decoders: AAC LC/LTP, HE-AACv1 (AAC+), HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+) Mono/Stereo standard bit rates up to 160 kbps and sampling rates from 8 to 48kHz, AMR-NB 4.75 to 12.2 kbps sampled @ 8kHz, AMR-WB 9 rates from 6.60 kbit/s to 23.85 kbit/s sampled @ 16kHz., MP3 Mono/Stereo 8-320Kbps constant (CBR) or variable bit-rate (VBR), MIDI SMF (Type 0 and 1), DLS Version 1 and 2, XMF/Mobile XMF, RTTTL/RTX, OTA, iMelody, Ogg Vorbis, WAVE (8-bit and 16-bit PCM)Languages Supported:
Keyboard: English (U.S), French (France), German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil)
Display: English (U.S), French (France), German, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Korean, Japanese, Russian,
14
Jun
The guys at Gear Diary have been able to secure a HTC Magic and have provided great pictorial review on it. Overall they confirm that HTC have made some major improvements with their next iteration of their Android line.
On the HTC Dream / T-Mobile G1:
I had the opportunity to test out a HTC Dream (unlocked version of the T-Mobile G1), and to be perfectly honest, I didn’t like it at all. The software wasn’t that great, the battery life was poor and whoever thought of that design should be locked away forever.
Looks like the battery life especially took a turn for the better on the HTC Magic:
I’ve only had the Magic for three days and I’m already very impressed with it. Everything on it is easy to use, it looks great and so far the battery life seems to be good too.
A friend of mine recently asked what are my top recommendations for smartphones are the moment and the HTC Magic has earned it spot in my top #5 after the reviews like these.
Via Gear Diary
2
Mar
Ruslan Kogan wasn’t the only one to be disappointed that his Agora range of Android phones didn’t get released by its scheduled January date – I was going to get a demo!
Turns out that Google raised the concern that the Agora Android screen (320×240) size wouldn’t cater for Android apps that were developed for higher resolution screens (480×320). This is the is the first that I’ve heard of any display size restrictions on Android apps.
The plot thickens with speculation that a deal may have been cut between HTC and Google which ensured that HTC would deliver Australia’s first Android phone, not Kogan.
A good example of brand protection from possibly crappy wares?
One can only imagine the hoo-ha raised should there have been a massive list of bugs discovered while running the Android OS on a Kogan Agora phone ? (would’ve have been 2nd in the world).
I feel for Kogan but also understand that Google and HTC have an interest in protecting their “high” standards.
13
Dec
The T-Mobile G1 disappointed in terms of aesthetics although people are still excited about it due to the Google Android OS. The G1 will forever hold a special place in people’s hearts being the first to carry the Android platform ever, but as we go along, better-looking Android phones would sure pop up pushing the G1 to the back of our minds.
continue reading "Lenovo’s Ophone Looks Great; Only Available in China"
10
Dec
The Open Handset Alliance has just gained more than just a few new members. Along with Sony Ericsson, the other 14 companies are AKM Semiconductor Inc., ARM, ASUSTek Computer Inc., Atheros Communications, Borqs, Ericsson, Garmin International Inc., Huawei Technologies, Omron Software Co. Ltd, Softbank Mobile Corporation, Teleca AB, Toshiba Corporation and Vodafone.
9
Dec
For all the potential Android app developers out there, your time has come – Google has announced the launch of the new Android Dev Phone 1. The handset is the same HTC Dream that’s being sold through T-Mobile as the G1, except that as its name implies, this one’s meant for the developers and hence, unlocked.
continue reading "Google Releases Unlocked Android Dev Phone 1"
4
Dec
After the zzzPhone, the next to come up with a Google Android handset is Chinese company Qigi. In my opinion, this looks quite a lot better than the Android zzzPhone if it really looks anything like its picture. Called the i6, the phone will have two different versions ran by Android and Windows Mobile 6.1 OS.
