Filed under: Web services, Google, Googleholic, web 2.0
Googleholic for November 7, 2008
by Christina Warren Nov 7th 2008
Welcome to Googleholic, your weekly fix of everything Google!
In this edition:
Posts with tag android
Filed under: Web services, Google, Googleholic, web 2.0, Android
Googleholic for October 24, 2008
by Christina Warren Oct 24th 2008
Welcome to Googleholic, your weekly fix of everything Google!
In this edition:
Filed under: Audio, Google, Android
Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store
by Christina Warren Oct 24th 2008
Buying music directly from the Amazon.com MP3 store is one of Android's coolest features. Although it might not be the "killer feature" that some were hoping it would be, it offers a great way to get quality, DRM free music directly to your device. The only downside is that you have to download music over WiFi (the iTunes WiFi Store works the same way).As a huge music junkie (my total collection, including digitzed CDs is probably about 2 TB in size -- and that's not 2 TB of FLAC either, that's 2 TB of mostly V0 LAME MP3s), Amazon's MP3 store is easily my favorite place to buy digitial music. Although it might not be making a dent in iTunes sales figures (here's a hint - get in more countries ASAP and start offering digitial exclusives like iTunes does), its increasing selection and weekly deals and promotions continue to make it the best game in town.
So how does the Android version of the store stack up? It hits the most crucial points, but it does lack some of the finesses that could make this a real mobile destination.
Filed under: Google, web 2.0, Android
Android First-Look: YouTube
by Christina Warren Oct 23rd 2008
YouTube was undoubtedly one of the Big G's best acquisitions. For good or for bad, it's addictive. While watching short, low resolution video clips is hardly an activity you want to do from your HDTV (or even really large computer monitor), it's actually a nice thing to do on a smartphone, especially if you are in a long line.
We can thank the iPhone for saying "no" to Flash and getting YouTube to provide .h264 videos for its YouTube app because Android doesn't have to mess with Flash either (though Silverlight is a possibility). The YouTube implementaton is very similar to the implementation on the iPhone.
The Android version, unsurprisingly, has a bit more pizzazz. When you load the app, in addition to a listing of videos like on the iPhone, there is a top carousel of different categories featuring videos and you can then click on each category to get more previews. It's a nice touch.
Playback is nearly identical to the experience on the iPhone. The screen automatically switches to landscape mode and playback starts. If the connection is weakened or cut, the video stops and ports you back to the main page. You can advance through the video by dragging your finger across the screen or using the little trackball to control the cursor.
As I covered yesterday, if you see a YouTube clip embedded in another site or in a Google News piece, you are given the option to load the video in the browesr or in the YouTube app. Because Flash is absent, you ned to select "open in YouTube."
We can thank the iPhone for saying "no" to Flash and getting YouTube to provide .h264 videos for its YouTube app because Android doesn't have to mess with Flash either (though Silverlight is a possibility). The YouTube implementaton is very similar to the implementation on the iPhone.
The Android version, unsurprisingly, has a bit more pizzazz. When you load the app, in addition to a listing of videos like on the iPhone, there is a top carousel of different categories featuring videos and you can then click on each category to get more previews. It's a nice touch.
Playback is nearly identical to the experience on the iPhone. The screen automatically switches to landscape mode and playback starts. If the connection is weakened or cut, the video stops and ports you back to the main page. You can advance through the video by dragging your finger across the screen or using the little trackball to control the cursor.
As I covered yesterday, if you see a YouTube clip embedded in another site or in a Google News piece, you are given the option to load the video in the browesr or in the YouTube app. Because Flash is absent, you ned to select "open in YouTube."
Filed under: Web services, Google, web 2.0, Android
Android First-look: WikiMobile
by Christina Warren Oct 23rd 2008
If you had asked me yesterday if I thought I would get any use out of the WikiMobile Encyclopedia for Android, I probably would have rudely laughed in your face. The joke is on me, because WikiMobile is actually a pretty fantastic. It's also free -- something that cannot be said for the $19.99 BlackBerry version (and I'm not paying $19.99 to access a free website on my Curve).Bonfire Media really did a bang-up job bringing WikiMobile to Android. Just looking at the BlackBerry screenshots (apparently, it is also available as a subscription service on some AT&T and Verizon phones), the Android version is much easier on the eyes.
I'm not a huge Wikipedia fan -- I tend to trust it as far as basic time and date skeletons and for information on popular culture -- but I can't deny having found the service helpful. WikiMobile really accentuate and captilizes on those features.
Filed under: Web services, Google, web 2.0, Android
Android First-look: Twitroid
by Christina Warren Oct 23rd 2008
I'm pretty addicted to Twitter, so the very first application I sought out for Grant's T-Mobile G1 was an Android-based Twitter client. Unsurprisingly, the Android Market didn't have anything to meet my needs, but I did manage to stumble upon Twitroid, which as far as I can tell, is the only Android-based Twitter client available at this time.
Although the first official release will not be available until Monday (and the devs expect it in the Android Market shortly after), you can download the 0.7 pre-release version from twitroid.mobi. First, you need to enable "Unknown Sources" in the Applications settings on your device (Settings > Applications > check "Unknown Sources"), but after that, it is a simple OTA installation.
Because Twitroid was still in beta at the time of my test, I'm not going to grouse over the error messages and some of the quirk I experienced, but I do want to point out that those bugs did not negatively impact the rest of the device or any of its software. When the app crashed (really, I got a time-out message and was forced to choose "Force close"), the rest of the device continued to work swimmingly. Actually, Twitroid still continued to work, I just got a lot of "not responding" messages. After covering and reading about so many bugs and crashes in pre-2.1 iPhone firmware for TUAW, this was a bit of a relief. Even if something crashes, it does not appear to be the end of the world.
Aside from any beta bugs, Twitroid is a very nice Twitter client. It provides an easy way to send messages, take pictures and send those as messages (though the G1's camera didn't want to cooperate with me to send a non-blurry photo for an adequate test), access and reply to direct messages and even search search.twitter.com. By default, it automatically checks for new tweets every 3 minutes, though you can refresh that manually.
All in all, it is a solid first step for a Twitter client, and I look forward to playing with the first official release next week. A side note -- the actual mobile web interface for Twitter looks fantastic on Android's WebKit broswer. Readable, clean and very, very nice. While I still think a Twitter client is helpful for people who have lots of followers or want to manage more features, it is nice to know that the web interface is a step-up from the BlackBerry interface, anyway.
Check out the gallery for screenshots of Twitroid, it' pretty sexy.
Although the first official release will not be available until Monday (and the devs expect it in the Android Market shortly after), you can download the 0.7 pre-release version from twitroid.mobi. First, you need to enable "Unknown Sources" in the Applications settings on your device (Settings > Applications > check "Unknown Sources"), but after that, it is a simple OTA installation.
Because Twitroid was still in beta at the time of my test, I'm not going to grouse over the error messages and some of the quirk I experienced, but I do want to point out that those bugs did not negatively impact the rest of the device or any of its software. When the app crashed (really, I got a time-out message and was forced to choose "Force close"), the rest of the device continued to work swimmingly. Actually, Twitroid still continued to work, I just got a lot of "not responding" messages. After covering and reading about so many bugs and crashes in pre-2.1 iPhone firmware for TUAW, this was a bit of a relief. Even if something crashes, it does not appear to be the end of the world.
Aside from any beta bugs, Twitroid is a very nice Twitter client. It provides an easy way to send messages, take pictures and send those as messages (though the G1's camera didn't want to cooperate with me to send a non-blurry photo for an adequate test), access and reply to direct messages and even search search.twitter.com. By default, it automatically checks for new tweets every 3 minutes, though you can refresh that manually.
All in all, it is a solid first step for a Twitter client, and I look forward to playing with the first official release next week. A side note -- the actual mobile web interface for Twitter looks fantastic on Android's WebKit broswer. Readable, clean and very, very nice. While I still think a Twitter client is helpful for people who have lots of followers or want to manage more features, it is nice to know that the web interface is a step-up from the BlackBerry interface, anyway.
Check out the gallery for screenshots of Twitroid, it' pretty sexy.
Filed under: Google, iPhone, Mobile, Android
Android First-look: Google Reader
by Christina Warren Oct 22nd 2008
I'll admit, I'm not a huge Google Reader fan. I much prefer the interface of NetNewsWire on my desktop and have been very impressed with Newsgator Go for the BlackBerry (it blows Google Reader away and has all my feeds). That said, Google Reader on the iPhone is actually pretty spectacular.This is important, because the iPhone and Android use very, very similar browsers. Both are based in WebKit and they render pages almost identically. This is great news for Android, because newsreaders and smartphones really are a match made in heaven. Instead of the typical mobile Reader page, Google has created an optimized WebKit page that really, really shines.
Google Reader is so good, in fact, you probably wouldn't expect it to be a web app. You can easily view all new items in your account, view new items or all items from a certain category or view items from an individual feed. If a feed is truncated, clicking on a link immediately launches a new browser window to that article. Sharing and marking feeds with stars is easy and intuitive as well.
The real joy in using Google Reader is in how easy reading articles and feeds actually is. Instead of having to squint like I do if I view Google Reader on my BlackBerry (a problem I don't have with Newsgator Go), everything is clear and easy to navigate.
Check out the gallery to see some shots of Google Reader in action. I also threw in some images from my iPod Touch 2.0, to show off the similarities between the interfaces.
Suddenly Google's big play to make iPhone optimized sites is making a lot more sense!
Filed under: Developer, Google, How-Tos, Mobile, Android
Taking screenshots on an Android-based phone
by Christina Warren Oct 22nd 2008
Even before playing with the new Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, I knew that I would need to be able to take screenshots of the phone itself. Using a digital camera to capture screens externally just wasn't going to cut it. Because the Android platform is open (and now, open source), I really didn't expect this to be a problem. If anything, I thought there would be a way to take screenshots directly from the device like you can with the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Alas, I discovered this is not the case. After scouring Google trying to find answers, I asked Engadget's Editor-in-Chief Josh Topolsky what they used for the screenshots in their review, and he was nice enough to fill me in on the details.
Warning: right now, taking screenshots from an Android device requires installing the SDK. That doesn't make it as simple as pressing a button, but it's not the end of the world. If you've got a few minutes, and a quick connection with which to download the SDK, we'll show you how to take delicious Android screenshots of your own.
Filed under: Google, Mobile, Android
Android: Hands-on with the T-Mobile G1
by Christina Warren Oct 22nd 2008
At long last, we finally got our hands on the first Android handset, the T-Mobile G1. Our buddies at Engadget already put together a kick-ass hardware review and they were nice enough to break down the software too. Now that phone is officially available and the Android Market is open, we can finally start to give this new platform the once-over.I have been using the phone for the last four and a half hours or so -- and let me just say, the platform is slick. The hardware is certainly nice, but what really makes this thing sing -- and what we care about at Download Squad -- is the software.
The OS is fast and responsive. Running multiple apps doesn't seem to slow anything down at all. And although I have had a non-Android Market app crash on me a number of times, it hasn't affected the rest of the phone -- something I cannot say for my BlackBerry Curve.
Non-Android Market? Yup! Although the preferred and ultimately, probably the safest way to access applications is through Google's Android Market, you can download applications OTA (over the air) directly from developers after checking a checkbox in Settings > Application Settings.
I did this to use Twitroid a Twitter client for Android that is still in development.
Filed under: Google, Mobile, Android
Google Android Market is live
by Brad Linder Oct 22nd 2008
The Google Android Market is now live. What's the Android Market? It's sort of like the App Store for the the iPhone. But for cellphones running the Android OS. Right now, that means the T-Mobile G1. Because the G1 isn't locked down as tightly as the iPhone, you're free to install applications that don't come from the Android Market. Handango and MobiHand have already launched their own Android stores with free and commercial software.
But if you prefer to go through the official channel, the Android Market now has about 50 applications including WikiMobile for mobile access to Wikipedia, SplashPlay for learning to play the guitar, and iSkoot for making Skype VoIP calls on your Android phone. There's also a weather map program called iMap and a mobile client for streaming music service iMeem.
There are still far more applications for iPhone, Symbian, Palm, or Windows Mobile devices than there are for Android phones. But considering today is day one, there are already some pretty impressive apps.
All of the apps available in the Android Market today are available as free downloads. Starting Monday, developers will be able to upload their own software after paying a $25 application fee. And next year Google will allow developers to sell commercial applications in the Android Market.
Filed under: Google, Open Source, Mobile, Android
The Google Android user interfaces that didn't make the cut
by Brad Linder Oct 22nd 2008
Software design team TAT, which helped create the Google Android interface has posted a page showing a bunch of concept designs that didn't make the final cut. Some of the designs, like "Asia Cute" were obviously a bit too niche to be considered seriously. Others, like "Windows Mobile Homescreen" just seem too busy to me. But the "Browser Concept" view for the web browser is pretty attractive, if not particularly useful. And the "History Lane" interface for the music player could have given Apple's CoverFlow a run for the money.
The nice thing about Google Android is that it's not locked down like the iPhone operating system. And that means there's nothing preventing third party developers from taking some of these design ideas and running with them. Or coming up with something else entirely. We've already seen third party skins for Windows Mobile, and that's a closed source OS. With an open source OS like Android, the sky's the limit.
We'll have more Google Android updates for you throughout the day.
Filed under: OS Updates, Google, Open Source, Mobile, Android
Google Android source code now available
by Brad Linder Oct 21st 2008
Google released an SDK for the Android mobile operating system a few months ago. But with the first Android-powered phone set to go on sale tomorrow, Google went all out and released the source code today. This isn't a surprise. Google has long stated that it would make the source code for the operating system available, but now that it is, developers can do far more than create applications that will run on Android. They can help improve the operating system overall by submitting potential new features, bug fixes, or other ideas.
The software license also allows developers to port Android to run on additional devices (Perhaps your old Palm TX? Maybe an Eee PC?), or to develop custom versions of the operating system. Don't like the version of Android that ships with the T-Mobile G1? Maybe Verizon or Spring will have a phone that runs a completely different operating system built on the same source code.
You can check out a video introducing the open source project after the break.
[via Techmeme]
Filed under: Internet, Web services, Google, Googleholic, web 2.0
Googleholic for October 17, 2008
by Christina Warren Oct 17th 2008
Welcome to Googleholic, your often weekly fix of everything Google!
In this edition:
- iGoogle gets canvas views
- Google Webmaster Tools adds tons of new features
- Presidential debate search findings
- How often do you use Google?
- Android Madness at Download Squad
Filed under: Features, Google, Open Source, Mobile Minute, Mobile, Web, Android
First look at the T-Mobile G1 Google Android Phone
by Brad Linder Oct 17th 2008
Kevin Tofel of jkOnTheRun has been testing a T-Mobile G1 for the last few days. When it hits the shelves next week, the G1 will be the first device on the market based on the Google Android platform. Tofel says there's a lot to like about the G1, but there are still a few things that annoy him.
And most importantly, the platform will only succeed if Google can do a good job of attracting third party developers. The built in applications work very well, but there are still too many things missing. For example, while you can watch YouTube movies using the YouTube player, there's no video play for watching downloaded movies or videos from other web sites. Fortunately there's already a third party movie player available in the Android Marketplace. But that's one of only a handful of third party apps currently available.
You can see the phone in action and hear more of Kevin's thoughts by clicking the video above. If you're too busy to sit through a ten minute video, you can read some of the highlights after the jump.
Filed under: Google, Mobile, Android
Engadget reviews first Android handset
by Christina Warren Oct 16th 2008
While the rest of us have to wait until October 22 to get the first Android phone (though rumors are that users that pre-ordered for mail delivery might get them early), our lucky colleagues over at Engadget have been using and evaluating the G1 for several days. The hardware portion of the review is here, but since this is Download Squad, we're really intereste in the software.Here are the highlights:
- Interface is slick and usable. Engadget describes the set-up process as "utterly painless" -- just enter in your Google account username and password and go! If you don't have a Google account, you can create one on the phone.
- Google Contacts still suck, but at least they try to suck less on Android. Seriously Google, create a better address book!
- The built-in GMail client totally rocks. Our own Grant Robertson said the same thing to me earlier this week (he got to play with one at a T-Mo store). It does real GMail push that seems to be as fast as what BlackBerry has cooked up (and BlackBerry is FAST).
- If you don't use a Google e-mail account, the experience is less awesome. Here's a tip -- if you are considering getting an Android phone and you use a personal domain for e-mail, go ahead and set-up a free Google Apps account for that domain. You can still use a regular mail program (Exchange, Outlook, Mail.app, Thunderbird), but you can take advantage of the awesome Google web interface on your phone. If you use a corporate e-mail account, forwarding to a GMail set-up might be your best bet.
- The Amazon.com MP3 Store is cool, but it isn't the "killer" app. You can also only purchase/download files over Wi-Fi, not over 3G. I'm absolutely positive this was because downloading the music over the 3G network would cut into T-Mo's ringtone sales and add another pricing layer.
- The YouTube app is about the same as the iPhone app, for good and for bad.
- When you flip the phone to display stuff in landscape mode and then flip back to portrait, the phone will reposition everything automatically. So if you are using the built-in QWERTY keyboard and then decide to slide the keyboard back in and use the phone vertically, everything is automatically adjusted.
- Copy and paste exists!
- The notification system is top-notch
After spending the better part of an hour on 
