Just after announcing Google Voice integration for all of its customers, Sprint follows up with the Google Nexus S 4G WiMAX handset. Do these two collaborations, in conjunction with AT&T’s planned purchase of T-Mobile, mean more Sprint partnerships with Google, or perhaps even a buy-out? Read more »
There’s both good and bad news for Netflix subscribers on Android phones. The good news? A Netflix Android app has been leaked onto the Internet. The bad news? While you can browse, search and look at titles in your instant queue, you can’t actually stream anything. Read more »
With baseball season around the corner, basketball in full swing, and March Madness upon us, Hitpost, a San Francisco-based start-up is releasing mobile apps to share photos of sports events. It is the latest of many apps that are building mobile-based immersive experiences. Read more »
Samsung’s new Galaxy Player appears ready to take on Apple’s iPod touch, but can it compete? It looks like an attractive option for the Google Android crowd who wants a web-connected media player and e-book reader in a pocket, but without the monthly cellular bill. Read more »
Technological advancements have minimized the need for employees to be as physically present in a traditional office setting, and employee relationships now extend across different time zones and geographies. This paper discusses the future of work and the workplace in that context. We examine the shifting nature of actual workspaces, from four office walls to the online world; the emergence of new flexible hours that no longer require a nine-to-five mindset; the role of consumer-grade technologies such as iPads, smartphones and notebooks in the workplace; and what role cloud-based services such as Box.net, Huddle and Dropbox play. Companies mentioned in this report include Facebook, Apple, Google and Skype. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The Wi-Fi edition of Motorola’s Xoom tablet will launch March 27 for a suggested price of $599. Widespread availability in major brick-and-mortar retail stores and discounted prices could help, but it’s going to be a few months before sales of this tablet zoom. Read more »
Thanks to a slew of recent technology advances, the smartphone is turning into a truly personalized information assistant that can handle everything from your appointments to traffic reports. A new Android app called reQall Rover wants to turn your smartphone into an intelligent information assistant. Read more »
After a dozen iterations over the past nine years, the Sidekick brand rides again. T-Mobile’s Sidekick 4G built by Samsung pairs many hardware features of the Galaxy S 4G with Google Android, a custom TouchWIZ interface and innovative new messaging software from the carrier. Read more »
The iPad 2 is here, and a couple of us here at GigaOM have had the opportunity to put the new tablet through its paces over the course of the weekend. Check out our thoughts and the iPad doing its thing on video. Read more »
What the CES or the Mobile World Congress is to gadgets, SXSW is to apps. I’m amazed by not only the number of apps that are launching, but by how prepared attendees are to try new apps out. Mobile-focused development has reached a tipping point. Read more »
Mobile marketing is an emerging industry with tremendous opportunity, but it also is a space teeming with potential pitfalls. Here are some of the key mistakes to avoid for advertisers attempting to target users on their phones. Read more »
Having a hard time reading all of your favorite websites? If you have an Android device, consider using ReadItLater, a $0.99 app that captures saved articles for offline reading and syncs them in real time. A free browser add-on shoots articles from a mobile device. Read more »
How can navigation companies fight against the likes of free offerings such as Google Maps? They either have to create extra value in terms of data or the experience. Navigon takes a step towards doing that with a free Android app that finds nearby parking spots. Read more »
According to the latest comScore report, Android has overtaken iOS in the U.S. when it comes to smartphones and taken the lead in overal market share. iOS shows flat growth compared to last quarter, but a few new moves could turn things around. Read more »
Android application discovery continues to be a challenge, but apps abound to help the situation. The lastest — App Hunter — focuses solely on free and reduced priced software in the Android Market. Updated daily, the software finds apps and then points you to the official Android Market. Read more »
In a cue from Nokia’s design shop, Samsung is expanding its successful Galaxy smartphone line with the Galaxy Pro and its small touchscreen paired with a full QWERTY keypad. Could the Galaxy Pro give Nokia “platform remorse” if the smartphone is a sales success? Read more »
Mobile malware has become a very real threat thanks largely to Google’s lack of oversight in Android Market. The company’s refusal to play app cop will increasingly take a toll on its app distribution business — and maybe on Android as a whole. Read more »
I spent time with Samsung’s Galaxy S 4G phone and found it a worthy upgrade. The next Galaxy S is a question mark though; the processor inside may vary based on region, which could mean software incompatibility. And Google is ironically combatting Android fragmentation with fragments. Read more »
Does iPad 2 live up to the enormous amount of hype surrounding it? The answer is yes, and this research note explains why. We examine new features on the device and how they will help Apple grasp an even tighter hold on the tablet market, what that means for competitors like Google and Samsung and why the device could be the best example yet of computing in what Steve Jobs calls “the post-PC world.” Companies mentioned in this report include Apple, Motorola, Samsung and Google. For a full list of companies, and to read the full research note, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The first bits of Honeycomb are now starting to filter down into Android smartphones, in the form of Fragments. Here’s what these smart panes can do and why you’ll want programmers to start using them for Android apps on smartphones of every size. Read more »
Unless you have an unlimited data plan for your Android device, you’ll want to check SPB Wireless Monitor, a $10 app that watches data use and alerts you at configurable intervals. Alerts are based on bandwidth or costs and it tells which apps are data hogs. Read more »
Android in the U.S. pushed ahead of rivals iOS and RIM in January, according to Nielsen Wire, and is finding more popularity among younger consumers. HTC is also winning both the Android and Windows Phone 7 manufacturing race ahead of rivals Motorola and Samsung. Read more »
OEM manufacturers are showing off a number of Android-powered set-top boxes at CeBIT this week. That could mean many of the cheaper media streaming devices available in U.S. stores could soon be based on Android — but it also signals a market shift toward Android. Read more »
Google has apparently pulled more than 50 Android apps that were pirated and infected with malware which transmitted information from the apps. The issue highlights some of the vulnerabilities of the marketplace, which can be exploited through its openness. Read more »
T-Mobile’s fast network can finally be used to its full potential with the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, the first handset offered by the carrier with a 21 Mbps radio. But is it worth an upgrade since it’s otherwise very similar to the Vibrant? Read more »
Games on Android are poised to get a lot more robust with advanced 3-D graphics thanks to Unity Technologies, which announced today it is releasing Unity for Android, its 3-D game engine that will allow developers to port over and create robust games for Android devices. Read more »
In a move that signals an end of an era and carries a hint of irony, T-Mobile and Microsoft said it will end the Danger Service for existing Sidekick devices on May 31 as the carrier prepares to release new Android-based Sidekicks. Read more »
The race is on to see who can help enterprise customers secure and manage the emerging fleet of employee-bought smart devices. The latest entrant to the space is Enterproid, a start-up that has built an app environment for smartphones that partitions corporate data from personal information. Read more »
The first Android 3.0 tablet launched this week: there’s both good and bad in it, ranging from a solid Google experience to a lack of apps, and hardware that won’t work until later upgrades. A faster Firefox is here as is Gingerbread for Nexus One handsets. Read more »
The first Honeycomb tablets are launching, but the store shelves for Android tablet apps are pretty empty, with just 16 titles appearing today. The race is on for developers to start boosting those numbers, because existing smartphone apps aren’t providing a rich tablet experience. Read more »
Mozilla released the newest beta of Firefox for Android, and it’s a screamer. Benchmark tests show that Firefox’s JavaScript engine is more than twice as fast as Android’s native browser. Even the Motorola Xoom shows more speed with this new mobile version of Firefox. Read more »
With the arrival of the Motorola Xoom, the first of many Honeycomb tablets is poised to do battle against Apple’s iPad. But several reasons make it evident that Google Android 3.0 isn’t yet ready to challenge and was rushed out the door a little too soon. Read more »
In a move that could signal Google is taking a hard line on in-app payments similar to the way Apple has outlined new subscription rules, Google has pulled the popular Visual VoiceMail app from Android Market citing a violation of the developer payment rules. Read more »
My mobile profession combined with a robot addiction takes a new step forward thanks to Cellbots, a free Android application to control home robots. The software moves a connected robot through the phone’s touchscreen, by voice commands and even through a Google Talk session. Read more »
Comic book and graphic novel aficionados who own Android devices have a new way to consume content: Graphic.ly is available in the Android Market. So how well does it work? I’ve had a few app crashes and see room for improvement, but it’s worth the download. Read more »
After riding Android and Verizon to help fuel its comeback, Motorola Mobility is sounding a cautious tone about its reliance on Verizon in the wake of slowing sales. Motorola sales on Verizon Wireless accounted for 28 percent of Motorola’s sales last year. Read more »
I keep most of my work in the cloud these days, to facilitate collaboration with my remote colleagues. But I have an HTC EVO 4G, so I tested VNC® Viewer for Android to see if it would work to gain emergency access to my work computer. Read more »
Android starred at the Mobile World Congress show, with dozens of tablets and smartphones announced. As if that wasn’t good enough news, Google confirmed that some Honeycomb features would be coming to handsets. And a new app turns your Android device into a wireless media server. Read more »
Are you an Android user that’s envious of Apple’s AirPlay function? With the new doubleTwist AirSync app, you needn’t be jealous: The software has an update that supports wireless streaming of video, pictures and music to an Xbox 360 or PS3! Here’s what it looks like. Read more »
Mobile World Congress is over, and in just three years time, Google’s Android platform has gone from idea to star of the show. Clearly, it’s now a two-horse race for first in mobile ecosystems, while other players are fighting it out for the third dominant platform. Read more »
