The lack of an official Google app solution for access to its superb RSS Reader on Android has been a puzzle for some time. But it’s been rectified today, with the launch of Google Reader – an Android app that supports full integration with your Google Reader account and feeds.
Here’s Google’s description [UPDATE: Long version now on Google's Mobile blog].
Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Android 2.3 Gingerbread UI shown off on video
e all know that Android 2.3 Gingerbread will bring some user interface improvements and Google has released a video which shows us what this will entail.
The video below is from the Hong Kong branch and it is showing off Google Voice Search. It’s not a massive overhaul – we weren’t expecting this from a .X update – but it looks like Google will be adding a few nice tweaks.
First of all, the Android 2.3 Gingerbread should bring some new icons to the status bar. It’s nothing crazy but the battery, signal and WiFi indicators look a little more stylish. There’s also some re-done buttons in the settings menu.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the UI tweaks in the upcoming Android Gingerbread update, as the lock screen will also be getting a new animation. The Google Maps update also shows a few visual changes that should permeate the whole operating system soon.
Of course, perhaps the most important feature of Android 2.3 Gingerbread will be its support for NFC technologies. This should make it possible for the little, green robot to become a mobile wallet and the Samsung Nexus S should be the first smartphone which will be able to take advantage of this.
We’re still waiting on when Android 2.3 Gingerbread will hit the streets, as it seems like we’ve been waiting a long, long time. There are reports that it will hit Dec. 6 but earlier reports have been off too. Google CEO Eric Schmidt said it should be coming out in the next couple weeks, so let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.
We also don’t know which phones will get the update, but you can be sure that the Nexus S will get it. If history is anything to go by, the Nexus One will also be one of the first devices to get the update.
The video below is from the Hong Kong branch and it is showing off Google Voice Search. It’s not a massive overhaul – we weren’t expecting this from a .X update – but it looks like Google will be adding a few nice tweaks.
First of all, the Android 2.3 Gingerbread should bring some new icons to the status bar. It’s nothing crazy but the battery, signal and WiFi indicators look a little more stylish. There’s also some re-done buttons in the settings menu.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the UI tweaks in the upcoming Android Gingerbread update, as the lock screen will also be getting a new animation. The Google Maps update also shows a few visual changes that should permeate the whole operating system soon.
Of course, perhaps the most important feature of Android 2.3 Gingerbread will be its support for NFC technologies. This should make it possible for the little, green robot to become a mobile wallet and the Samsung Nexus S should be the first smartphone which will be able to take advantage of this.
We’re still waiting on when Android 2.3 Gingerbread will hit the streets, as it seems like we’ve been waiting a long, long time. There are reports that it will hit Dec. 6 but earlier reports have been off too. Google CEO Eric Schmidt said it should be coming out in the next couple weeks, so let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.
We also don’t know which phones will get the update, but you can be sure that the Nexus S will get it. If history is anything to go by, the Nexus One will also be one of the first devices to get the update.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Wikileaks' Assange in UK, police know where: report
(Reuters) - Wikileaks website founder Julian Assange is in Britain and police know his whereabouts but have refrained so far from acting on an international warrant for his arrest, a British newspaper said on Thursday.
The 39-year-old Australian, who founded the whistle-blowing website that has disclosed a trove of secret U.S. diplomatic cables, supplied British police with contact details upon his arrival in October, The Independent said.
The newspaper cited police sources who said they knew where Assange was staying and had his telephone number. It added that it was believed he was in southeast England.
The international police agency Interpol this week issued a "red notice" to assist in the arrest of Assange, who is wanted in Sweden on suspicion of sexual crimes, but Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency (Soca) so far has refused to authorize this, the paper said.
Citing unnamed sources, the Independent said Soca needed clarifications about the European Arrest Warrant issued by Swedish prosecutors but it described the delay as technical.
The Metropolitan Police and Soca declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Assange, a former computer hacker, leads a nomadic existence and cultivates an aura of mystery. He left Sweden last month after authorities there said they wanted to question him about allegations of rape and other sexual offenses.
U.S. authorities, bruised by the international damage caused by thousands of classified U.S. documents being leaked to the media, have promised to take action to shut down such activities.
On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department had "an active, ongoing criminal investigation with regard to this matter" and insisted the Obama administration's promises of action were "not saber rattling."
(Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Michael Roddy)
The 39-year-old Australian, who founded the whistle-blowing website that has disclosed a trove of secret U.S. diplomatic cables, supplied British police with contact details upon his arrival in October, The Independent said.
The newspaper cited police sources who said they knew where Assange was staying and had his telephone number. It added that it was believed he was in southeast England.
The international police agency Interpol this week issued a "red notice" to assist in the arrest of Assange, who is wanted in Sweden on suspicion of sexual crimes, but Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency (Soca) so far has refused to authorize this, the paper said.
Citing unnamed sources, the Independent said Soca needed clarifications about the European Arrest Warrant issued by Swedish prosecutors but it described the delay as technical.
The Metropolitan Police and Soca declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Assange, a former computer hacker, leads a nomadic existence and cultivates an aura of mystery. He left Sweden last month after authorities there said they wanted to question him about allegations of rape and other sexual offenses.
U.S. authorities, bruised by the international damage caused by thousands of classified U.S. documents being leaked to the media, have promised to take action to shut down such activities.
On Monday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department had "an active, ongoing criminal investigation with regard to this matter" and insisted the Obama administration's promises of action were "not saber rattling."
(Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Michael Roddy)
Android, IPhone Are Most Wanted Smartphones
Apple's iPhone and devices that run on Google's Android operating system have emerged as the most desired smartphones, according to research firm Nielsen.
The company found that women picked the iPhone as their most-desired handset, while men and smartphone buyers aged 35-to-54 preferred Android phones.
The survey also indicated that 35 percent of current smartphone owners plan to get an iPhone, while 28 percent of both consumers want to upgrade to an Android-based device on their next purchase.
Thirteen percent plan to get a Research in Motion's BlackBerry phone, and only 6 percent anticipate getting a Microsoft Windows Phone 7 device.
Twenty-five percent of feature phone users were "not sure" what operating system they were going to buy next, compared with 13 percent of smartphone owners. Twenty-eight percent of consumers aged over 55 were unclear on their future choice of OS, but only 12 percent of the 18-to-24 age bracket was unsure which operating system they plan to get next.
The results indicate a growing dominance of Android and iPhone in the smartphone market, with both platforms gaining market share in the U.S. from other competitors.
Nielsen discovered Apple took a 28 percent share of the smartphone market, displacing former number one BlackBerry with 27 percent, while Android took 23 percent.
Android is clearly growing its presence in the smartphone market as more and more devices running the platform become available, but the consumer demand for Apple is still strong.
Apple, currently carried exclusively by AT&T, plans to start selling the iPhone at Verizon next year, which will open up the largest carrier in the U.S.
But the survey's results are far from permanent, with the overall smartphone market itself growing. Three out of ten mobile phone owners now own a smartphone, according to Nielsen, an increase from 25 percent in the second quarter and 28 percent in the third quarter.
And with seven out of ten mobile phone owners still open as prospective smartphone customers, the smartphone market is still wide open.
The company found that women picked the iPhone as their most-desired handset, while men and smartphone buyers aged 35-to-54 preferred Android phones.
The survey also indicated that 35 percent of current smartphone owners plan to get an iPhone, while 28 percent of both consumers want to upgrade to an Android-based device on their next purchase.
Thirteen percent plan to get a Research in Motion's BlackBerry phone, and only 6 percent anticipate getting a Microsoft Windows Phone 7 device.
Twenty-five percent of feature phone users were "not sure" what operating system they were going to buy next, compared with 13 percent of smartphone owners. Twenty-eight percent of consumers aged over 55 were unclear on their future choice of OS, but only 12 percent of the 18-to-24 age bracket was unsure which operating system they plan to get next.
The results indicate a growing dominance of Android and iPhone in the smartphone market, with both platforms gaining market share in the U.S. from other competitors.
Nielsen discovered Apple took a 28 percent share of the smartphone market, displacing former number one BlackBerry with 27 percent, while Android took 23 percent.
Android is clearly growing its presence in the smartphone market as more and more devices running the platform become available, but the consumer demand for Apple is still strong.
Apple, currently carried exclusively by AT&T, plans to start selling the iPhone at Verizon next year, which will open up the largest carrier in the U.S.
But the survey's results are far from permanent, with the overall smartphone market itself growing. Three out of ten mobile phone owners now own a smartphone, according to Nielsen, an increase from 25 percent in the second quarter and 28 percent in the third quarter.
And with seven out of ten mobile phone owners still open as prospective smartphone customers, the smartphone market is still wide open.
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