Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
Motorola has unveiled their latest Android device, the Motorola Defy. The Defy added to the masses of other Motorola Android phones along with the Motorola i1 in Motorola’s effort to produce the most Android phones on the planet.
The Defy’s handset body is impact, dust, water, and scratch resistant and certified to IP67 standards. The exterior shell and Gorilla Glass perform in great standards with keeping the 800 MHz OMAP 3610 processor, 1540 mAh battery, 1.25GB of onboard memory, and a 5MP camera with LED flash safe from harm. The display on the Motorola Defy will measure in at 3.7 inches, offering up a 480 x 854 pixel resolution.
It runs on 1.5 BLUR and operates on Android’s 2.1 Eclair. Motorola plans to launch the Defy in Europe in Q4 2010.
Sources:
http://www.androidguys.com/2010/09/01/motorola-announces-defy-european-market/
http://www.androidcentral.com/motorola-defy-hit-europe-water-damage-resistance\
http://androidheadlines.com/2010/09/new-motorola-defy-android-2-1-smartphone-here-q4.html\
http://androidspin.com/2010/09/01/take-the-motorola-defy-just-about-anywhere/
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
Samsung Mobile has announced today that it has shipped more than 1 million of the Android 2.1-powered Galaxy S phones in the United States. The line’s popularity has increased drastically, with the AT&T and T-Mobile versions already in stores. The Sprint Epic 4G launches on Tuesday, followed by the Verizon and US Cellular versions, so we might see a couple more million of these devices being shipped soon.
Source:
http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-mobile-ships-one-million-galaxy-s-devices-us
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
The Motorola Charm will drop in stores soon, debuting on August 25. This phone runs on Android 2.1 and has an updated version of MOTOBLUR. This is definitely geared toward the social users that text a great deal and keep up with social networks. It also ofers a full touch screen. A unique feature that sets the Charm from other handsets is that it offers a touch sensitive track pad that is on the back of the device.
Source:
http://pinoytutorial.com/techtorial/motorola-charm-specs-review-release-date/
http://androidheadlines.com/2010/08/moto-charm-charms-its-way-to-the-shelf.html
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
There has been rumors that the next Android OS version after Gingerbread will be called Honeycomb. So far, Google has named every version as a dessert, mainly the Cupcake (1.5), Donut (1.6), Eclair (2.1), Froyo (2.2), and the upcoming Android 3.0 Gingerbread. Now, according to TechRadar, the new version will be called Honeycomb.
If these sources are legit, Honeycomb may be an incremental upgrade from Android 3.0 (Gingerbread), just like how Android 2.2 (Froyo) was to Android 2.1 (Eclair). This means that Android Honeycomb will probably be Android 3.1 or Android 3.2. Further details of this upgrade are still not known.
Android 3.0 Gingerbread, which is rumored as a tablet-friendly version, will be due out by early 2011 or sooner. Features are confirmed to include WebM video playback support and improved copy–paste functionalities.
Sources:
http://androidspin.com/2010/08/19/android-honeycomb-next-up-after-gingerbread/
http://www.androidcentral.com/after-gingerbread-next-android-version-be-called-honeycomb
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
Samsung has recently added a couple of new handsets to India’s entry-level smartphone line-up, namely the Samsung Galaxy 5 and the Samsung Galaxy 3. Both smartphones feature Android 2.1 Eclair, 3G, expanded audio/video capabilities over stock Android, a Touchwiz interface, and are generally good in design. Samsung has yet to announce the release of these two devices to other countries though.
Here are the specifications:
Source:
http://androidheadlines.com/2010/08/new-samsung-galaxy-5-and-galaxy-3-android-handsets-appear.html
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
Google has just announced the Nexus One as their official developer phone. The Nexus One is no longer sold via Google’s online phone store, but it is still available for developers inside the Market dashboard.
The Nexus One is shipping with Android 2.1 and soon after activation, it is widely expected that it will be updated to the Android 2.2 Froyo platform, allowing current and new developers to start using the latest hardware and software to help create the best application. The Nexus One is the successor of the previous developer phone, the T-Mobile G1/HTC Dream (ADP1) and the Google ION/HTC Magic (ADP2).
Source:
http://androidspin.com/2010/08/05/nexus-one-adp3-development-phone-available-for-529/
http://www.androidcentral.com/nexus-one-now-officially-dev-phone
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
The results are here again. Data collected during two weeks ending on 2 Aug 2010 shows that Eclair has grown to cover 59.7 percent of the Android version pie and is still the most dominant. Eclair covered a 55.5 percent of the pie previously.
With Android 2.2 Froyo’s share increasing from 3.3 percent to 4.5 percent now, results should show a change of pace next month. Popular devices like the HTC EVO, Motorola Droid, and the HTC Desire are all expected to be receiving a Froyo update this month, so we will most likely see a change in distribution next time.
Sources:
http://androidspin.com/2010/08/03/android-2-1-takes-most-of-the-pie/
http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
LG Electronics has announced the Korean release of their Android smartphone, the LG Optimus Z (LG-SU950/KU9500). The device runs on Android 2.1 and features a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, the device is being made available through SK Telecom and KT. Other details include a 3.5 inch WVGA “Hyper” HD LCD (800 x 480 pixels), Korea-specific T-DMB mobile TV, a 5-megapixel camera, Dolby Mobile and DivX support. The Optimus Z also features a matte-finish metal and comes with two 1350mAh batteries.
The device boasts a number of unique options designed to give users a well-rounded user experience. The On Screen Phone function allows users to display their phone interface on PC using Bluetooth or a data cable. Once connected, it provides the ability to manage applications, e-mail, documents, images or music files. There is also another option, Drag & Shake, which allows two users to share files between smartphones by shaking the phones.
Sources:
http://www.androidguys.com/2010/07/29/lg-optimus-announced-korea-tablet/
http://www.androidcentral.com/lg-optimus-z-now-available-korea
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
We’ve talked about this before. We all know from the Android developers site that there are lots of phones out there running on Android 2.1, but there’s something missing from what we’re being told; something that Google’s not ready to divulge.
The chart here comes from date on its developer site about different versions accessing the Android Market for apps. One thing to note is that the only device out there running on 2.2 Froyo is the Nexus One, which was officially sold out just moments ago. Some phones however, are about to have a Froyo update soon.
The biggest threat for Android developers, as we all know, is platform fragmentation. Old versions of Android can’t run apps that target more recent versions, though old apps can run on the new platform. The later Android versions have all sorts of features that you don’t get on the others too.
These are the timings of the version releases, which means that this chart covers approximately one year.
1.5: 30 April 2009
1.6: 15 September 2009
2.1: 12 January 2010
2.2: 20 May 2010
There are certain issues that these graphs don’t show us.
We do not know whether people with newer versions of Android are more likely to access the Android Market. We also do not know what proportion of Android apps are written for what version of Android. Although Android apps are forwards-compatible, a user will certainly be put off visiting the Market if he went there once on a 1.5 or 1.6 phone and found that pretty much everything required a later version.
Source:
http://androidheadlines.com/2010/07/android-very-fragmented-and-google-not-saying-so.html
Weekend Mobile Industry Snippets!
Android 2.1 Eclair has climbed stealthily over the last month or so, now controlling 53.1% of the Android device population. In mid-May, Eclair only accounted for about 30% of all Android devices. The issue of fragmentation still lingers in the Android world, but it seems like the combined effort to upgrade 1.5 and 1.6 to 2.1 has provided Eclair a massive boost in the Android OS share. With an eventual Gingerbread release, only time will tell if the fragmentation cycle will start all over again.
Sources:
