8
Feb
2011
Nexus S coming soon to Vodafone
The original Nexus One set the mark for Android phones, why not? After all it was one that Google monitored from conception to realization from day one and it was more of a mark for all other Android devices to be judged on then being a device that had mass world appeal. That being said, Google followed up last year’s hit with a revision dubbed the Nexus S, one that sports not only 1GHz Hummingbird processors, but support for NFC as well.
While U.S customers have been experiencing the joys of the Nexus S, most of us here in the U.K have been missing out, even though this is a GSM device. That said, we’re hearing that Nexus and Google will be bringing the playground here to the UK in the form of Vodafone.
According to said company’s Group Director of Terminals, Patrick Chomet: “It’s great news that our customers will very soon be able to get Google’s Nexus S direct through our stores. At Vodafone we work closely with our partners across the industry to offer our customers a leading smartphone range that includes the latest innovations in product and user experience.”
Samsung’s DJ Lee who is the Executive Vice President and Head of Sales and Marketing Team at the company’s Mobile Communications Division had similar words: “I am very pleased to introduce this amazing mobile experience to Vodafone’s customers. Nexus S integrates Samsung’s best-in-class hardware and technology with Android’s stunning new features and user experiences. Nexus S enables users to enjoy the latest mobile technology and faster multimedia content with an intuitive user experience.”
Of course, no one is going to blame Google, Samsung or Vodafone with their offer, but isn’t it wise to wait just a week more to see what’s up at MWC before jumping ship for a Nexus S?
Source: Vodafone
23
Dec
2010
Google Nexus Set To Go On Sale in UK from Dec 22
The Google Nexus S is slated to be released in UK with the Android 2.3 Ginger Bread OS on December 22. Customers can pre order at selected stores of Carphone Warhouse and Best Buy UK.
Following a decision on price cut, Google Nexus S is now priced at a reasonable £429.95. This is a welcome move on the part of the manufacturer.
First review:
With shifting allegiance from HTC, the Google Nexus S boasts Samsung’s trademark glossy finish. Awarded 4 stars by TechRadar, the Google Nexus S is touted as the best android device in the market today. And quite true to this description the Google Nexus S is equipped with some of the best features like:
- a 4 inch (94 mm) super AMOLED display with 800X480 WVGA resolution
- NFC
- 1GHz processor, 16GB of storage
- a 5 megapixel camera
- a VGA resolution camera in the front for video calls
- color saturated panel with black and crisp edges
- empowered with contour display technology
- limited hardware control with just a power button and volume rocker
- supports quad band GSM/EDGE and triband UMTS/HSPA (900/1700/2100)
However, according to preliminary review, the absence of a micro SD card slot is one negative element of the phone’s design.
Carphone Warhouse and Best Buy UK has reported being positive about sales ever since news of the price slash hit the market. Indeed, both the retailers have cut the market price from £550 to £430 for the SIM free version of course. The contract price is rated at £30 per month with the contract period ranging over two years.
This second Nexus mobile, following on from the Nexus One, is Google’s prime device for Android 2.3’s release. And silence has been maintained on the price slash issue. It is true that the earlier marked price was a bit too high to affect the sales of the device positively. Perhaps, this is what drove Google to release the Nexus S at the revised reduced price.
2
Jul
2010
Android Gingerbread in New Rumors
While we are all waiting for the release of the new Android Froyo update for the many smart phones running Google’s powerful, open source, operating system –Google has been busy in their labs working on what would be the newest version of the Android OS: version 3.0 Gingerbread.
The name (and version number) has already been announced during the Google I/O conference. But with the expected launch date of “end of 2010” being several months away, the current focus for many is on the 2.2 Froyo –which is still not released for a great majority of handsets. Right now, only the Google Nexus One is able to make use of the update that is available. While it is expected that compatible patches will also be released in the next few weeks, none have yet to be made available.
Anyway, the rumors regarding the new version 3.0 Gingerbread are both impressive and at the same time, a little hard to believe. The source of the rumors has been traced to a Russian tech podcast that states that the new 3.0 version will be made specifically for high end Android devices –while mid to low range handsets will be sticking with version 2.2 Froyo. While such a move would not be surprising (Microsoft is doing the same with Windows Mobile and the upcoming Windows Phone 7), Google is not quite likely to take that route.
Right now, Google’s mobile platform is the most used OS –considering that there are so many handsets that make use of the OS. Pushing version 3.0 to abandon the older OS would mean alienating a large percent of Google’s current users. Also, Google also announced at the I/O conference that they plan to make the Gingerbread something close to a standard version –stable and with minimal compatibility issues so that all devices have a specific benchmark to meet.
1
Jul
2010
What is New with Android Froyo?
So it is the latest Android OS version, but with so much hype about the new Froyo, it is getting hard to figure exactly what is so special about the new version. We already know that the Os update has been released for the Google Nexus One. In the meanwhile, the Desire, Wildfire and Legend (which is HTC’s killer Android trio for this season) and several other handsets such as the Motorola Milestone and the Samsung Galaxy S might have to wait a little while longer for a compatible patch to be released.
With the launch of Adobe’s Flash Player for the Android 2.2 Froyo pre-empting the actual OS itself, many are wondering when the new era of Flash on smart phones will actually start. The players are all in place and all the industry needs now is a massive multi phone update to the new Android version.
Of course, the new OS is going to be bringing users more than just Flash support. In fact, the new Froyo updates have so much to offer that Flash support ends up becoming an extra feature.
The most obvious difference in the new OS is that the interface now has a cute mascot telling you what to do. And unlike Microsoft Office’s annoying paperclip, the Android Robot (a term that would make science fiction fans cringe) actually offers useful advice.
One of our favorite improvements is in the camera user interface. When taking photos, users can now easily adjust the settings, add effects and basically control every element of the shot in order to provide the best image possible (of course, users might want to brush up on the basic theories of shutter speed and aperture to figure out what exposure settings are best under certain light conditions). At the very least, the new UI lets users add in cool effects to photos too.
28
Jun
2010
Android Smart Phones Getting Froyo Update
Google has finally released a final build of the Android 2.2 Froyo update and that file is now available for people to download. Many have reported that the update does not appear on their handsets which means that this patch will not work on all Android operating systems. It has been confirmed that users would need to have the FRF50 firmware if they want to get the latest version of the Android.
Initial tests on the new Android 2.2 Froyo shows that Google has been true to their word in terms of the improved performance; the screens shift faster, apps and features load quicker and overall, the phone experience feels a lot smoother. In some ways, the update makes it feel like the CPU itself has been boosted in speed.
Web browsing has also been improved in the case of loading Java faster, however, since some internet connections are really slow, it is hard to see the big improvement –though when the connection is fast and stable and users are viewing pages with plenty of Java script, the performance boost is pretty noticeable.
Tethering and turning the handset into a WiFi hotspot have been confirmed, though these have yet to be tested. The feature has been much in demand among many smart phone owners in order to make full use of many 3G data plans and the inclusion of this to the Android is a welcome addition.
Naturally, the most anticipated feature is the Adobe Flash Player. Fortunately, Android smart phone owners do not need to wait any longer as Adobe has already released the downloadable Flash Player update just two days ago. The software development company was met with surprised and confused reactions from people as the player was only compatible with Android 2.2 and only the Nexus One has the OS at that time. Users of HTC’s Desire handset are expecting an update to Froyo soon.
27
May
2010
Pac-Man Takes a Bite out of Global Economy and We are Happy
In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Namco’s iconic video game character, Pac-Man, Google has decided that their new Google Doodle will be based on the design of the original Pac-Man arcade game.
The Google Doodle is basically the logo of Google in the first page of the search engine, for many years, Google has made the habit of changing the logo design to reflect major events, holidays and other pop culture moments. The Pac-Man commemorative doodle is not only impressive for its true-to-form nostalgic and retro design, but also because people can actually play it.
Instead of the usual “I’m Feeling Lucky” button (to the right of the “Google Search” button), Google has put in an “Insert Coin” button instead. When pressed, this allows the player to play a game of Pac-Man on the doodle. Pressing insert coin twice turns the game into a cooperative mode.
Controlling Pac-Man from the web browser is easy, the first player users the cursor key in order to direct Pac’s movements while a second player will use the W, A, S, D keys (for up, left, down and right, respectively) to control Mrs. Pac-Man (she’s the one with the ribbon).
If you have somehow managed to live anytime during the past thirty years without ever having played Pac-Man, the point of the game is simple; the goal is to consume all the pellets in the stage. Players move Pac-Man around the stage to eat all the pellets while avoiding the ghosts. There are several large super pellets that when eaten, allows Pac-Man to eat ghosts for short amount of time.
It is a simple, fun and addictive game. In fact, it is so addictive that during the game’s presence in the Google main page, an estimated 4.8 million hours were logged in by over 500 million unique users –that translates to around a hundred million GBP in terms of employee hours. The game is now stored in a permanent page in Google’s site.
2
Mar
2010
Vodafone to Launch Nexus One in April
When it was predicted that 2010 would be the year of the Android, they certainly were not mistaken.
The year started with the release of the Google phone, the Nexus One. Despite the many hiccups, side problems and 3G errors that plagued the smart phone, Google pushed through with the device. They had a pretty dismal sales performance –selling only 20,000 units during the first week; but still pressed on in developing and updating the device that showed Android in the way Google wanted us to enjoy it.
The Nexus One comes with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor. The CPU keeps everything running fast and smoothly. It keeps the animations smooth and crisp while easily running multiple functions on the device. The 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen is a perfect input system for mobile devices that delivers high quality images and visuals while the 5 mega pixel camera is perfect for taking videos and images.
So anyway, reports are showing that the device is indeed headed to the UK and Vodafone will be offering the device to its clients. Right now, interest on the Google phone is pretty low thanks to the big buzz generated by the WP7 mobile platform. But with the HTC Desire coming out this March (as well as the HTC Legend, XPERIA X10, and several others) it would not be surprising to see some pretty heavy marketing for the Nexus One to pop out.
Anyway, the Nexus One, despite being carried by Vodafone will still be limited in availability. Vodafone staff has been advised to refer customer inquiries to the Google online website as the phone will only be available through Google’s online store. We seriously doubt that pitch will get plenty of people to sign up.
Read more about the Nexus One on Vodafone at Softpedia.
5
Feb
2010
Google Phone Gets Multi Touch, Goggles and More
The past couple of weeks have been full of Apple goodness, particularly because of the launch of the Apple iPad. The newfangled gizmo is being set up as the next big thing in home and digital electronics and it looks like the buzz is far from being over.
Oddly enough, the hype on the iPad distracted many in mobile industry from the recently launched Google phone, the Nexus One. The holiday season was full of reports and rumors regarding the device; but the actual launch itself went without much fanfare and the device enjoyed a very low-scale market acceptance. All in all, only 20,000 units of the Google phone were sold in the first week of sales, and there was little to almost no interest in the device to follow for the rest of the month.
Looks like Google is shoving their lead star back into the limelight with some much needed updates. First off, the Nexus One has been criticized heavily for its many 3G problems –some devices were reported to switch over to EDGE despite being in an area with good 3G signals. The recently released patch for the Google phone will be fixing this issue along with some other yet to be mentioned bugs.
Aside from fixes, the patch will also deliver updates and new features to the Google phone. Now, users will be able to take full advantage of the 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen with the activation of multi touch features. For the 5 mega pixel camera, users will be able to point and learn with the Google Goggles. Even the Google Maps application is getting a quick update in the form of version 3.4. The update can be obtained online through download.
Read more about the Nexus One’s new update, additional features and more at Stuff TV.
6
Jan
2010
Internet giant Google release their own brand smart phone
Everybody, or at least most people will have heard of Google. The most visited website on the planet, and worth billions of £s, Google have dominated the internet market by using many of their applications, most commonly their search engine, and more recently YouTube, Google Maps and Google Trends. At a Private invitation only viewing at the Google headquarters, they reveled the new phone which is a slim touch screen phone designed to carry out many tasks at the same time.
Running on Google’s Android system, the Nexus One is designed to be used by businessmen and families alike, allowing you to combine your work life with your personal life. At the moment, the phone is available from Google’s website only, and can only be taken out on a T Mobile plan in the US. In Europe the phone will be available on Vodafone, although contract prices and deals are currently a bit unclear. When the phone was unveiled, Google stated that the phone was “a point of convergence where the web meets phone and is an example of what is possible on mobile through Android.”
The exact specifications of the phone are currently unknown, but many great features are expected, including heavy integration with Google products, meaning you can access things like YouTube and Google trends straight from an application rather than having to go through an internet browser to look at it. The Nexus One is expected to be very popular following on from Google’s many other Android phones, which are available in over 20 versions, though admittedly not Google’s own make. “You will see it pushes the limits of what is possible on a mobile phone today,” said Peter Chou, HTC chief executive.
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