Daily diggest » android

With Zuckerberg Gone Android, Will Facebook Get Better Mobile Apps?

Joe — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:08:32 +0000

Android users, rejoice! Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg will now be forced to feel your pain. The Android app for Facebook could be charitably described as less functional than the iPhone app

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Mashable

Samsung Captivate now shipping from AT&T, right on cue

Joe — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 07:33:46 +0000

Sure, the Samsung Vibrant came out three days earlier, but you don’t care if T-Mobile customers beat you to the Galaxy S punch — you’re on AT&T, and it’s about time you had ( another ) high-end Android smartphone to call your own. Our recent hands-on showed it was a bit sluggish, so you might want to wait for our full review, but if your heart’s set on that 4-inch Super AMOLED screen and 1GHz Hummingbird core, you’re only two clicks away from adding the Android 2.1 handset to your virtual shopping cart

Read whole story on : Engadget

Death Grip hysteria may end Monday with iOS 4.01

Joe — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 22:30:00 +0000

Reception issues observed by new iPhone 4 owners, derided as the “Death Grip” by bloggers, appears to actually be a software issue that an iOS update is expected to resolve early next week. Identifying the problem Clear observations of mobile signal strength and how they are affected by the placement of users’ hands are difficult to perform in part because there are multiple factors involved in receiving a mobile radio link, including outside interference and the conductivity or mass of different people’s hands. Additionally, cellphones in general (and in particular the iPhone) have always only presented a very rough approximation of signal strength in the signal bar display, averaged over time

Read whole story on : appleinsider

Verizon’s Droid Eris goes on permanent vacation

Joe — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 02:44:29 +0000

You might have figured that the recent update to Android 2.1 would’ve given Verizon’s Droid Eris a few months of additional shelf life, but alas, it was not to be; the phone is no longer available from Verizon’s online store, and we’d assume that any remaining inventory in the field will dwindle to nothingness in the coming weeks. If anything, it seems like the device — basically a tweaked Hero — would be able to effectively soldier on indefinitely for $50 or so on contract, but maybe the carrier’s intent on keeping Android a higher-end affair for the time being

Read whole story on : Engadget

Kik Updates with iPhone Support and Improved UI and Battery Usage

Joe — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:55:30 +0000

Kik let users know that they have updated their IM client (and soon to be music sharing service) to support iPhone, allowing for more cross-platform usage. The app also has an Android version on the way which will make the app even more ubiquitous. Kik for BlackBerry has also been updated with the following: • Improved the UI • Made it even easier to invite others to join Kik • Improved reliability • Reduced battery usage There isn’t much news about the music sharing service but it’s definitely going to be the killer feature when it launches

Read whole story on : BlackBerry

Samsung Galaxy S preview

Joe — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:20:37 +0000

Just because the US has gone gaming crazy these past couple of days doesn’t mean the smartphone world has stopped turning. Samsung trotted out its Galaxy S handset last night in London, and we were naturally there to try and glean a better understanding of where this 4-inch Android 2.1 device fits in our wishlist hierarchy

Read whole story on : Engadget

New cloud-centric Apple TV to cost $99, run on iPhone OS 4?

Joe — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:05:00 +0000

Alleged details on a forthcoming update to the Apple TV set top box were revealed on Friday, with the device reportedly based on iPhone OS 4, powered by Apple’s custom-built A4 processor, and offering 1080P cloud-based streaming content — all starting at just $99. Engadget editor Joshua Topolsky said the information came from a tip and was confirmed by a source “very close to Apple.” The new hardware will reportedly have just 16GB of storage, but will be capable of full 1080P HD video.

Read whole story on : appleinsider

Erick Tseng leaves Google and Android… for Facebook

Joe — Wed, 12 May 2010 20:54:03 +0000

Looks like Google’s Android team is being shaken up a little: senior product manager Erick Tseng just announced on Twitter that he’s leaving for a new position at Facebook. You might remember Erick from his appearance on The Engadget Show and a brief video we did with him at CES — he was an instrumental part of the Android team, and a pretty great interview to boot

Read whole story on : Engadget

Adobe slips mobile Flash Player 10.1 to second half of 2010

Joe — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 21:00:00 +0000

After mounting an intense attack on Apple for not supporting Flash on its iPhone OS mobile devices, Adobe has admitted that it will not be able to ship its promised Flash Player 10.1 for mobile platforms until the second half of the year. Adobe’s Flash Player 10.1 has been widely publicized as being the first version of the company’s runtime that will enable mobile devices to play most of the Flash content originally designed for playback within web browsers running on the PC desktop. The new 10.1 version was initially targeted at Android and Palm’s webOS, with developer preview editions released over the last few months

Read whole story on : appleinsider

iPhone consumes 70% of Millennial Media’s smartphone traffic

Joe — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 23:50:00 +0000

Mobile ad network Millennial Media has published a traffic report for March 2010 showing the iPhone demanding 70% of the firm’s US smartphone ad impressions. Millennial Media is now the largest independent mobile advertising network, after Google announced plans to acquire AdMob and Apple purchased the second place Quattro Wireless. The company reports that Apple’s iPhone accounts for 40% of all the ad impressions it serves on all devices, which includes smartphones, feature phones, and “connected devices,” a category that includes anything that isn’t a phone but can still browse the web, such as the iPod touch, iPad, Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation Portable

Read whole story on : appleinsider