New Android Market looks great.. but you cannot find anything!

New Android Market looks great.. but you cannot find anything! -(wireless internet service,internet service providers,internet service,wireless service providers,verizon wireless internet,verizon internet,broadband internet providers,wireless broadband providers,broadband internet,broadband wireless)

13 July 2011New Android Market looks great.. but you cannot find anything! Google announced that it would begin rolling out the newly-redesigned Android Market for smartphones and tablets.
We haven't spent a lot of time with the new Market, but we do like the new design.
Google went with a "tile" theme, similar to what you'd see on a Windows Phone 7 device.
Apps, books, and movies are organized nicely, and swiping left and right gives you more options to sort your searches by category or subject.
The downside:
Searching for apps still stinks.
We couldn't even find the new videeo app that lets you rent movies from the Market!
Instead, we had to find the link from Google's blog post about the new Market.
Embarrassing.
Along with the new design, the Android Market now has access to Google's bookstore and video rental service.
It's rolling out the update to phones running Android 2.2 (codnamed Froyo) and higher over the next several days.
Warning: The download worked for us on our Nexus S, but try at your own risk.
If you have problems, you can revert back to the old version of the Market under Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > All.
Then select the Market app and tap "Uninstall Updates."
 
 

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Amazon Android tablet to launch in October - report

Amazon Android tablet to launch in October -

14 July 2011Amazon Android tablet to launch in October - report Amazon.com has battled Apple over digital books, digital music and mobile applications.

Now the two companies are taking their clash to another front:
The tablet market.

Amazon plans to release a tablet computer by October, people familiar with the matter said, intensifying its rivalry with Apple's iPad.

While Amazon has long offered digital content on its Website, it has lacked much of the hardware to go with it.
Now the Seattle, USA, company hopes customers will use its tablet to buy and rent that content, said people familiar with its thinking.

An Amazon spokesman didn't respond to requests for comment.

Amazon's looming entry into the tablet market, which Chief Executive Jeff Bezos has hinted at in his appearances this year, is the latest example of how technology companies, once focused on a particular segment of the industry, are increasingly jostling one another on multiple fronts.

That trend is evident in the enterprise-technology arena, where onetime partners such as HP and Oracle became enemies in markets including server computers, and it is now becoming evident in consumer technology.

In recent years, Apple, Amazon and Google have found themselves competing in areas such as the mobile software market and digital content.
The overlap stems from a race to tap into the young and growing field of selling digital goods, such as video, music and books, which are potentially vast markets as more consumers turn to downloads.

Apple and Amazon have already had some bitter clashes.
In March, Apple sued Amazon alleging the online retailer had violated the trademark on the name "App Store."
Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs also has poked fun at Amazon's Kindle electronic-book reader, saying that few people read and that general-purpose devices like the iPad are superior to single-purpose ones.

"Amazon and Apple are frenemies" — both friends and enemies — said Sarah Rotman Epps, a Forrester Research analyst.
They "rely on each other as partners" — Amazon, for example, sells digital books via its Kindle app in Apple's iTunes Store — but "at the same time, they aggressively compete for customers' attention and dollars," she said.

Amazon faces a tough road against Apple in the tablet market.
Since introducing the iPad last year, Apple had sold 19.5 million of the devices as of the end of March 2011.
It is far and away the leader in the tablet market.

The iPad has been bolstered by its connection to Apple's App Store, which sells videogames and other software, and Apple's iTunes store, where people can easily download music, videos and books.

Apple officials didn't respond to a request for comment.

Amazon's tablet will have a roughly nine-inch screen and will run on Google's Android platform, said people familiar with the device.
Unlike the iPad, it won't have a camera, one of these people said.
While the pricing and distribution of the device is unclear, the online retailer won't design the initial tablet itself. It also is outsourcing production to an Asian manufacturer, the people said.

One of the people said the company is working on another model, of its own design, that could be released next year.

The introduction of a tablet poses a conundrum for Amazon on how to keep from cannibalizing sales of its popular Kindle.
Amazon has long said the Kindle is its best-selling device, though it has declined to disclose sales.

A person familiar with Amazon's thinking said it still figuring out how to market the tablet computer.
One issue is whether customers will want to buy both the tablet and Kindle, which is viewed as a dedicated-reading device for bookworms.

But Amazon will be facing competitors other than Apple.
Sony unveiled prototypes of a tablet and a wallet-shaped dual-screen portable device that will offer movies, apps, music, books and PlayStation games.
Sony said the devices would be available later this year.

Amazon plans to introduce two updated versions of its black-and-white Kindle in this year's third quarter, people familiar with the matter said.
One of the new Kindles will have a touch screen, which current models don't have.

Amazon is better-positioned than other companies to go up against Apple, said Ms. Epps, the Forrester analyst.
Part of the reason is because Amazon already has a digital-content store with a significant selection and following.

Amazon has heavily promoted its digital offerings this year.
It launched a streaming video service in February. And in May, it undercut Apple's iTunes store by selling an album by pop singer Lady Gaga for 99 cents.

Amazon is also in a position to offer a cheaper alternative to the iPad, said Ms. Epps.
It could sell the tablet for a loss while hoping to make money on sales of movies, music and books.

Customers are "looking for a cheaper alternative, and they're looking for a compelling experience, in terms of both content and shopping," which Amazon can offer, Ms. Epps said.

Nonetheless, she noted that unlike Apple, which has its own retail stores, Amazon lacks a natural brick-and-mortar outlet to sell its products.
In addition, Amazon's product may be less refined than the iPad, which is in its second generation.

"I don't know whether Amazon will be able to compete with Apple head-to-head on hardware sophistication," she said.

 

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Sony S1 and S2 Android tablets preview

Sony S1 and S2 Android tablets preview

14 July 2011Sony S1 and S2 Android tablets preview Sony has taken some heat for being late to the tablet party, but we cut it some slack the minute we glimpsed the S1 and S2 tablet prototypes back in April 2011.

Both tablets promise a unique spin on what has so far been a series of cookie-cutter 10" Google's Android tablets.

Sony may be late, but at least it's bringing something special.

Though they won't hit shelves until the fall, we were lucky enough to get our hands on both tablets yesterday.
Sony is mum on pricing, but given Sony's history, we think it's fair to say these tablets will not be positioned as a cheap Apple's iPad alternative.

To give each tablet sibling its fair time in the spotlight, here's our separate take on each of Sony's Android Honeycomb tablets.

 Sony S1

The Sony S1 Android tablet uses a wedge-shaped design.

Let's clear something up right at the start.
Sony insists that the names "S1" and "S2" are still product code names and not the final product names.

We're glad Sony is finally seeing the light on bestowing genuine names to its products instead of the expected alphanumeric mess, but it's not terribly reassuring that the company hasn't pulled a name out of a hat yet.

One thing Sony is exceptional at, though, is designing elegant hardware.

The S1 is a beautiful tablet.
Its wedge-shaped design makes it one of the most comfortable Honeycomb tablets we've held.
The 9.4" (1,280x768 pixels) touch screen offers great viewing angles and vivid colors, seemingly comparable to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (though we couldn't get a sense of its brightness range).
The back uses a subtle textured finish that offers a little extra grip and disguises smudges.

Whether it's a trick of the asymmetric design or some ingenious shrinking of the internal components, the S1 manages to feel relatively lightweight.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 still gets the prize for lightest design, but to Sony's credit, the S1 seems more durable while still maintaining a light and high-end feel.

On the sides of the S1 you'll find a socket for the power adapter, along with a headphone jack, USB sync port, and buttons for power and volume.

Compared against the ever-expanding sea of Honeycomb tablets on the market, there are a few key features that set the Sony S1 apart, aside from its design.
The Android 3.0 experience looks largely unchanged, but Sony has added a unique "Favorites" pane to the top navigation bar, displaying a quick view of your recently accessed and favorite content.
It has also added an optimization to the browser called Quick View that gives the illusion of faster page downloading by prioritizing a page's images ahead of JavaScript.
If you prefer to load your pages the old-fashioned way, the Quick View feature can be switched off under browser settings.

The S1 is also fully compatible with Adobe Flash and Adobe Air.
To spur the development of tablet-optimized apps built on the Adobe Air platform, Sony is sponsoring an App Challenge in the hopes of reaping some unique content.

Sony also touts its proprietary Quick Touch Panel enhancements to the panel used on the S1 (and S2), allowing for more responsive multitouch input.
With our limited time with the products, it's hard to say how much these optimizations mean for performance.

If nothing else, it's nice to see that Sony is sweating small details like these.

Other features, such as front and rear cameras and an internal speaker, are nice - but expected.
Sony is promising that both tablets will be PlayStation-certified for gameplay compatibility, though, which is certainly a feature that no other manufacturer will be able to brag about.

As far as disappointments go, we really wish Sony would give us a ballpark price.

Assuming the S1 isn't the highest or lowest priced Honeycomb tablet we'll see this year, we can only cite the same issues that dog all the other Honeycomb tablets out there.
The rate of development for tablet-optimized apps for Honeycomb seems slow to pick up momentum.

The battery life of these devices still seems behind the iPad.

Home ecosystem features, such as DLNA support, don't seem to inspire sales.
And on that same note, the S1's lack of an HDMI output seems like a misstep.

One surprise, though, is the inclusion of an IR blaster on the wide edge of the S1, which transforms the tablet into a giant DLNA-compatible universal remote.

 

Sony S2

The Sony S2 Android tablet uses a hinged design that can fit in your pocket.

The S2 is hands-down the most exotic tablet we've seen.

Using a hinged pair of 5.5" screens, the Sony S2 offers the pocket-size portability of a phone, the total screen size of a tablet, and the dual-screen potential of a Nintendo DS.

Unfortunately, we're not entirely convinced the S2 is going to satisfy in any one of these roles.

The Toshiba Libretto W100/W105 springs to mind.
These clamshell touch-screen devices always seem killer in concept, but it takes a lot of wizardry to make the sum of two good screens greater than a single excellent one.

Once the novelty is exhausted, you're looking at a tablet with a big unusable strip right through the center of the screen.

The unique screen also presents a challenge when it comes to apps.
Sony has put up a US$130,000 bounty to inspire developers to create Adobe Air apps optimized for the S2's unique dual-screen format, but during our limited time with the device Sony would allow us to view only its in-house apps, such as its eBook reader, media player, and a demo of Crash Bandicoot that utilized the S2's bottom display as a virtual gamepad.

It remains to be seen how Android's current catalog of apps will look.
A Sony rep stated that users will have the option to scale third-party apps across both screens (citing Maps as an ideal example) or limit them to a single panel to prevent them from being divided by the bezel.
Either way, non-optimized content will make for an awkward fit.

Still, there's a lot to like about Sony's foldable tablet.

It's a head-turner, for sure, and hopefully a signal that equally daring Android tablet designs are possible.
Also, at the end of the day, at least it can't be accused of copying the iPad!

Parting thoughts

Sony's tablets are the sexiest Android Honeycomb devices we've seen yet.

They're also the latest to arrive in a Android tablet market that is quickly showing a focus on price over all other concerns.

But compared with an Asus or a Samsung, or even an Apple, Sony does have a few aces up its sleeve.
Its legacy in gaming, digital cameras, and portable audio can't be matched by any competitor on all fronts.

There's a sense from what we've seen that Sony intends to leverage these advantages for all they're worth.

Sony will likely stumble on pricing.
The company's pride in its premium brand will probably prevent it from chasing Asus and others down past the US$400 (€283) mark, which is likely to be the norm by the time fall rolls around.

As the tablet market inevitably blooms beyond the iPad, there will certainly be room for two premium tablet brands, but we're not there yet.

 

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Android NFC-equipped smartphones to benefit from PayPal new P2P payment facilities

14 July 2011Android NFC-equipped smartphones to benefit from PayPal new P2P payment facilities PayPal yesterday unveiled a new peer-to-peer payment functionality that allows Google's Android users to pay each other by tapping two near field communication (NFC)-enabled devices together.

The feature, which follows an earlier contactless PayPal payment tool using Bump Technologies, shows how PayPal is gearing up for NFC as part of its larger push on mobile payments.

The payments work through a PayPal widget that allows a user to request or send money.
A user enters the transaction information and then taps their phone up against another phone also equipped with the same app.
After the phones buzz together (picture), the recipient can decide to send or receive money by entering a PIN number.

PayPal’s new mobile payment service will only work currently in the USA with the Samsung Nexus S from network operators Sprint and T-Mobile but will expand to other Android phones that include NFC functionality in the future.

The transactions utilize an encrypted token and don’t access the secure element inside the NFC chip, where payment credentials reside.
It appears this is set up for just peer-t0-peer transfers, which is still a big part of PayPal’s mobile payments business.

The company said it is now on pace to do US$3 billion in mobile payments this year though much of that is person-to-person transfers using the PayPal app, which don’t yield much revenue for PayPal.
Users do not have to pay a transaction fee when payments pull from bank accounts or an existing PayPal balance.

In many ways, this is similar to personal transfers PayPal has previously enabled through its mobile app using Bump Technologies.
Users are able to send money back and forth by bumping their phones together, a solution that doesn’t rely on NFC. 

It’s unclear how much of that may have happened through bump payments, so we don’t know how significant person-to-person NFC payments will be. It’s nice to be able to make a payment to someone by just touching phones but, again, it’s not like many PayPal users don’t have that ability now.

Shimone Samuel, Product Experience Manager for PayPal Mobile, however, said the NFC solution has fewer steps than bump payments and can be activated even when only one person has launched their widget.
Bump payments require both people to have their PayPal mobile app open. He said PayPal turned to NFC because it simplifies P2P payments.

“What I’m looking for is what is simplest and easiest for customers and NFC is the simplest way to request money,” he said.

The bigger opportunity is in enabling real-world payments as retail and local merchants, something PayPal is still set to unveil later this year.
That will be a much bigger deal because it will signal how PayPal will counter moves by Google and its NFC payments initiative, as well as other challengers like Square and the carrier consortium, Isis project.
Samuel declined to comment on how PayPal will use NFC specifically at point of sale but he said the company takes every opportunity to learn from its products.

PayPal needs to figure out how to tap that market for offline purchases, which is much bigger than than pure online transactions where it’s excelled.

So it’s nice that PayPal has enabled some P2P NFC payments, and it’s showing that it’s getting up to speed on NFC.
But we’re still waiting to see the real fireworks.

 

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Skype Brings Video Calling to Android Phones

Skype today announced an updated version of its Skype for Android app – Skype for Android 2.0, bringing Skype Video Calling to the currently fastest growing mobile OS(1).

With the new version, users will be able to make and receive free(2) 1-to-1 video calls over Skype between their Android phone and other Skype contacts on the iPhone, Mac, Windows PCs and even TVs(3). Skype for Android with video works over Wi-Fi or 3G data connections and can be downloaded for free from the Android Market or Skype.com/m using any phone browser.

“We are committed to bring Skype Video Calling to as many platforms as possible and are delighted to deliver on this with our new updated Skype for Android app,” said Neil Stevens, Skype’s vice president and general manager for product and marketing. “With approximately 30 million concurrent users logging into Skype at any given time(4) and making up to half a million simultaneous video calls(5), Skype for Android with video makes it even easier for users to share moments with their contacts wherever they are.”

In addition to video calls, users can also make calls to landlines and mobiles around the world, as well as send SMS’s to friends and family anywhere in the world at great Skype rates. All this comes with a complete redesign of the Skype for Android user interface. There's a new main menu on the Skype app for Android where users can navigate easily through their contacts, access their Skype profile to change personal details or see the balance of their Skype Credit. Finally a new mood message box at the top of the Skype app menu makes it easier than ever for users to share how they are feeling, what they've seen, or what they're up to.

For this first phase of launch, handsets that support video calling include the HTC Desire S, Sony Ericsson Xperia neo, Sony Ericsson Xperia pro and the Google Nexus S.

1 Source: Gartner report "Market Share Analysis: Mobile Devices, Worldwide, 1Q11"

2 Additional data charges may apply

3 iPhone, iPod Touch (4th gen) with iOS4 or higher, Skype for Windows version 4.2 and above, Skype for Mac OS X version 5.0 and above

4 As of March 2011

5 At peak times as of June 2011

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iOS and Android Now Supported by Almost 50 Percent of US Companies, but BlackBerry Still Leads

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Today in Mobile Technology history - the top story one year ago

iOS and Android Now Supported by Almost 50 Percent of US Companies, but BlackBerry Still Leads
Posted: 28-Jun-2011 [Source: Strategy Analytics] [Strategy Analytics reports iOS and Android continue to trail the RIM BlackBerry as the top corporate mobile phone choice.]

Boston -- According to recent end-user research conducted by Strategy Analytics, the number of US companies supporting Google Android and Apple iOS has reached unprecedented levels of adoption. At 42 percent and 49 percent respectively, these operating systems still trail the RIM BlackBerry which, at 72 percent, remains the top corporate mobile phone choice.

The Strategy Analytics Wireless Enterprise Strategies (WES) service report, “2011 Enterprise Mobility Mid-Year Recap and Outlook,” also reveals an average of 11 percent employee-owned devices (BYOD—Bring-Your-Own Device) that are reimbursed by US businesses.

“In contrast to the relatively modest, but growing level of reimbursement for BYOD devices, the exponential growth in enterprise support for iOS and Android suggests that Apple and Android devices and supporting ecosystems are gaining credibility in their own right as corporate standard-issue with appropriate levels of IT support,” commented Andrew Brown, Director of Wireless Enterprise Strategies service, and author of the report. “Nevertheless, IT policy management remains a challenge, suggesting a major opportunity for mobile device and application management solutions.

More...

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Sprint/HTC 3D

Nokia N9 MeeGo

HP TouchPad

Motorola Droid X2

Sony S1 and S2 Tablets

Nokia X7

Sprint/HTC 3D

CTIA 2011

Google Nexus S 4G

T-Mobile Sidekick 4G

iPad2

Xperia Play

HP webOS Tablet

Sprint/Kyocera Echo Dual-Screen

T-Mobile/Samsung Galaxy S 4G

AT&T/Motorola ATRIX 4G Smartphone

Verizon/Motorola XOOM tablet

Sprint/HTC EVO Shift

Nexus S

Samsung Galaxy Tab

HP's Palm Pre 2

HTC's Windowsphone

Motorola DROID PRO

Verizon/Motorola CITRUS

BlackBerry PlayBook

Sharp Galapagos E-Book Reader

HTC Desire HD

Nokia E7

T-Mobile G2

BlackBerry Torch 9800

Sprint/Samsung Epic 4G

Verizon/Motorola DROID X

Motorola MILESTONE XT720

iPhone 4

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide

Nokia N8

KIN Social Phone

Samsung Galaxy S

Motorola MILESTONE

Apple iPad

Dell Mini 3

Google Nexus One

View the original article here

Over 500,000 Android Devices Activated Each Day

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Today in Mobile Technology history - the top story one year ago

Over 500,000 Android Devices Activated Each Day
Posted: 29-Jun-2011 [Source: NYTblog] [Google VP tweets that the company was now activating over 500,000 Android devices each day.]

By Nick Bilton (NYTblog) -- "Andy Rubin, a vice president for engineering at Google who leads the company’s Google Android platform, said in a Twitter message Tuesday that the company was now activating over 500,000 Android devices each day."

More...

Back to Headlines...

Sprint/HTC 3D

Nokia N9 MeeGo

HP TouchPad

Motorola Droid X2

Sony S1 and S2 Tablets

Nokia X7

Sprint/HTC 3D

CTIA 2011

Google Nexus S 4G

T-Mobile Sidekick 4G

iPad2

Xperia Play

HP webOS Tablet

Sprint/Kyocera Echo Dual-Screen

T-Mobile/Samsung Galaxy S 4G

AT&T/Motorola ATRIX 4G Smartphone

Verizon/Motorola XOOM tablet

Sprint/HTC EVO Shift

Nexus S

Samsung Galaxy Tab

HP's Palm Pre 2

HTC's Windowsphone

Motorola DROID PRO

Verizon/Motorola CITRUS

BlackBerry PlayBook

Sharp Galapagos E-Book Reader

HTC Desire HD

Nokia E7

T-Mobile G2

BlackBerry Torch 9800

Sprint/Samsung Epic 4G

Verizon/Motorola DROID X

Motorola MILESTONE XT720

iPhone 4

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide

Nokia N8

KIN Social Phone

Samsung Galaxy S

Motorola MILESTONE

Apple iPad

Dell Mini 3

Google Nexus One

View the original article here