Google and Samsung are holding an event in Hong Kong on October 19th to introduce the next major update to the Android operating system, as well as at least one of the first phones that will run it. Since Hong Kong is all the way on the other side of the world, the event will actually take place at 10:00 at night on October 18th if you’re on the east coast of the US.

The two companies had originally scheduled a kick-off event for for this week. But the launch event for  Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and a new Samsung Nexus smartphone was pushed back.

In the meantime, as if the invitation didn’t already provide enough evidence that Ice Cream Sandwich will be available soon, Google has added a new desert-themed statue to its lawn.

Ice Cream Sandwich will be the first version of Android designed to run on both smartphones and tablets. It will bring many of the features that had only been available for tablets running Android 3.0 and up to phones for the first time — and provide tools that make it easier for developers to write apps once and make sure they’re equally at home on a pocketable device or a 10 inch tablet.

Google Android Ice Cream Sandwich launch coming October 18th is a post from: mobiputing

Google has already promised that the next major version of the Android operating system, code-named Ice Cream Sandwich, would be the first designed to run on both phones and tablets, combining some of the features of Android 2.x and Android 3.x and sprinkling in a few of its own. But that’s about all Google has said on the matter so far. Now the folks at Rootz Wiki and Android Police have published some leaked screenshots of the next generation of Android running on a Nexus S smartphone.

Here are some of the new features:

• The user interface with a blue theme that looks a lot like Android 3.x Honeycomb
• There’s a new app drawer and launcher screen that look a bit like what you would get if you took the Honeycomb versions and shrunk them down for a smartphone screen.

• There’s a panorama mode in the camera app.
• Google Shopper will come bundled with the operating system.

According to the person that leaked the photos the first phone to run Ice Cream Sandwich will be the Google Nexus Prime. Google hasn’t confirmed that the phone actually exists yet, but rumors have been floating around for a few months that this will be the next phone to follow the Google Nexus One and Nexus S.

The Nexus phones have been built by HTC and Samsung so far, but they’re built in cooperation with Google so that the company can highlight the latest versions of its operating system on appropriate hardware. It’s not clear who will be building the Prime.

Ice Cream Sandwich will also apparently be made available to Nexus S users as a software update eventually. There’s no word on the Nexus One or other older ANdroid phones.

First look at Google Android Ice Cream Sandwich is a post from: mobiputing

Google has announced that the next major version of Android called Ice Cream Sandwich will be available in the 4th quarter of the year. It will be the first version of Android designed to run on all sorts of devices including phones, tablets, and even devices with keyboards such as the Asus Eee Pad Transformer.

The update will bring many Honeycomb features to smartphones, including the “holographic” user interface, the program launcher, widgets, and the application framework.

Google also went out of the way to confirm that Ice Cream Sandwich will be open source… which may be an indication that the source code for Android 3.x Honeycomb will never be released to the public, but I may be reading too much between the lines right now.

Google Android Ice Cream Sandwich to bridge the divide between tablets, phones in Q4, 2011 is a post from: mobiputing

All we know about the update right now is that it’s designed to fix some bugs in the Nexus One and add support for voice and video chat to Google Talk on the Nexus S.

I suspect custom ROM developers will be able to incorporate some of those features into software for those phones and others pretty quickly.

via Android Central

Google Android 2.3.4 source code already available is a post from: mobiputing

Google has rolled out a new Gmail app for Android, and the good news is that it’s available as a standalone download from the Android Market, which means updates won’t be tied to operating system updates anymore. In other words, you won’t have to wait for Android 3.0 to get a new version of Gmail if you’re currently using Android 2.2. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the new app is only available for Android 2.2 at the moment. So if you were hoping that a new Gmail app that’s independent of the OS would make your older Android 1.6 device feel like new, it looks like you’re out of luck, at least for now.

Scan to download

Google has been saying for a while that it plans to take this approach with some of the core apps that are normally bundled with the operating system. This will allow Google to push updates more quickly to devices even if they’re running HTC Sense, Samsung Touchwiz, or Motorola Blur software which tends to lead to handset makers taking a longer time to push out operating system updates.

Aside from OS independence, there are a few other new features in the latest version of Gmail, which is quite similar to the version leaked a few weeks ago.

First, there are new persistent icons near the top of your screen no matter how far down you scrolling a message. This makes it easier to reply or star a message without having to scroll all the way back to the top. Honestly, I think the old version left the screen feeling less cluttered, but I can definitely see how this new toolbar could save some scrolling time.

Gmail for Android now also has a “show quoted text” button to show you text quoted in earlier messages, much as you can do with the desktop version of Gmail.

Google has also added a bit of support for the new Priority Inbox feature. If you enabled priority Inbox in a desktop web browser, you’ll see a new “Important” label in the mobile version of Gmail, although that’s not quite the same as dividing up your inbox window the you can on a desktop.

Gmail for Android is available as a free download from the Android Market if you’re running Android 2.2.

New Gmail app for Android available for download is a post from: mobiputing

Motorola Droid (sans yogurt)

Sure, a handful of Google Nexus One users have been rocking Android 2.2 Froyo on their handsets for a few months, but that’s a pretty small percentage of Android users overall. But it looks like the wider Android world is about get a cup full of frozen yogurt soon.

Engadget reports that Verizon will be rolling out Android 2.2 for the Motorola Droid next week. And Samsung UK reports that it will be rolling out Froyo updates for its phones in September.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s also evidence that the HTC Evo, HTC Desire, and other phones are getting updates soon.

Among other updates, Google Android 2.2 Froyo brings a new Java compiler which should significantly improve the speed of third party apps on most phones. There are also home screen changes, with persistent buttons for launching the web browser and phone app. And some carriers will allow you to take advantage of another killer Froyo feature: support for tethering your phone to a computer to share the 3G internet connection.

Google Android 2.2 Froyo coming to Motorola Droid, other phones soon is a post from: mobiputing

Google has been pushing out test builds of Android 2.2 Froyo to a small group of users with Google Nexus One phones for the past month or so. But as we’ve repeatedly been told, those early builds weren’t the official release that would be made available to the general public — so if you somehow managed to find and download the updates through some link you found on the web, you weren’t necessarily running the final version of Froyo on your Nexus One.

Starting today, that all changes. Google has announced that it has begun rolling out Android 2.2 for Nexus One handsets. Some users have already received notifications that the update is available, and Google promises that most users should get the update by the end of the week. I guess that means the build that leaked last night really was the final build — and if you’re the impatient sort, you can probably download it now by following one of the links from the xda-developers forum.

The Google Nexus One is the first phone to receive the Android 2.2 update because it’s the phone Google has the closest connection to. Up until recently the company had been selling the phone directly to consumers through its web site. But now that Froyo is available for one phone, I suspect it won’t be too long before we start to see other phone makers and wireless carriers start to offer updates for other devices.

Some of the new features in Android 2.2 Froyo include a major speed boost — particularly for third party applications, support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1, USB tethering and WiFi hotspot capabilities, and a new Home Screen design featuring phone and web browser buttons that show up at the bottom of all five home screens.

Google Nexus One is the first Android phone to officially receive Froyo update is a post from: mobiputing

Another leaked build of Google Android 2.2 Froyo for the Google Nexus One has been leaked. It’s not entirely clear what if any changes there are between this build and the one leaked a few weeks ago, but it appears likely that this is just a bug fix update, since the update is quite small (under 2MB).

In order to install the update, you’ll want to download the file from Google or a mirror site, rename it to update.zip and copy it to your SD card and then follow the steps below. But bear in mind, this will only work if you have a Google Nexus One that’s running the FRF50 build that was leaked recently and you haven’t rooted your phone.

OK, so here’s how to apply the update:

1. Turn off your phone.
2. Hold down the power button and the trackball at the same time until a white screen with three Androids on skateboards pops up.
3. Use the volume buttons to select “bootloader,” and then press the power button.
4. On the next screen, select “recovery.”
5. The phone will reboot to show you an Android and an exclamation point.
6. Use the trackball to select “apply sdcard:update.zip.”
7. Once the installation is complete, select “reboot system now”

Note that it will probably take longer than usual for your phone to reboot. This is normal.

If you notice anything new in the FRF72 build, let us know in the comments!

via xda-developers

stuff

New Google Android 2.2 Froyo update for Nexus One leaked (FRF72) is a post from: mobiputing

Google Android 2.2 Froyo should be available to the general public any day now, but it might be weeks, months, or never before you actually get the update on some phones. That’s largely because manufacturers and wireless carriers that customize Android by installing custom user interfaces such as Motorola Motoblur or HTC Sense. When a phone has this kind of custom UI, updating from Android 1.6 or 2.1 to Android 2.2 isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. The folks who designed the custom software need to retool the whole thing incorporating updates from Google, HTC, Motorola, or other companies.

There’s no doubt Google Android is getting prettier with each release, reducing the need for these custom user interfaces. But the truth of the matter is that most of the updates Google has pushed into each successive release of Android have been under the hood. Now that Android 2.2 Froyo has most of the features that Google wants to focus on, TechCrunch reports the company plans to focus on the overall user experience for the next release, codenamed “Gingerbread.”

The idea is to make the default UI so attractive and easy to use that companies won’t feel the need to cover it up with Motoblur or HTC Sense. Because Google Android is a much more open platform than Apple iOS or Microsoft Windows Phone 7, I don’t think Google would ever tell handset makers that they can’t use custom user interfaces. And I suspect that even if Google developed the best UI in the known universe, some companies would still tweak things to include links to partner sites for various reasons.

I’m actually pretty happy with the default UI on my Google Nexus One. But I definitely look forward to seeing what Google has in store for the next major release.

Google to focus on user interface for Gingerbread release is a post from: mobiputing

Of course, we’ve seen some pretty stellar improvements in that time. The newer versions of Android are prettier, faster, and more stable. New features like USB tethering and portable WiFi hotspot are coming in Android 2.2, and I wouldn’t really recommend we go backward. But it’s a bit tough to be happy with your purchase when you buy an Android handset only to find out that it will be months before it can run the latest updates — if your mobile phone company or hardware maker ever offers them.

Eventually Google hopes to do away with that pain. Andy Rubin is the Google vice president in charge of Android, and he recently told the folks at the Silicon Valley Mercury News that instead of releasing 2 major updates per year, Google eventually hopes to move to one major release per year.

That should cut back on the fragmented nature of the Android platform a bit. Right now you can walk into a store and buy a device running Android 1.5, 1.6, or 2.1 Hopefully moving updates to an annual schedule will result in older devices fading gracefully away and giving new ones time to shine in the spotlight without too many agitated users complaining that the latest software won’t run on the device they bought just this year.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll only get new features and apps from Google once a year. Google has already described plans to separate some core apps from the operating system so that you’ll be able to download updates to apps like the contact manager or gallery app from the Android Market as soon as they’re available.

via TechCrunch

Google Android updates will eventually slow to once a year is a post from: mobiputing

Yesterday I took a quick look at Android 2.2 Froyo and found that third party apps ran faster, flash Player 10.1 worked, but was a bit sluggish at times, and a few third party calendar apps stopped working. Today I wanted to take a more detailed look at some of the things that have changed in Android 2.2 Froyo.

You can find a video overview after the break, but here are some of the highlights:

User interface

1. There are phone and browser icons on every page of the home screen.
2. The Recent apps menu now shows 8 recent apps, and has no border around the edge.
3. You can press and hold the program launcher box to show previews of all 5 home screens.
4. Swipe up on the keyboard to bring up a numeric keypad (which disappears when you lift your finger).
5. You can rotate the display to the left or right to enable landscape mode.

Settings

1. There’s support for USB tethering and turning your phone into a WiFi hot spot.
2. Display and brightness settings have been moved closer to the top of the settings menu.
3. The Power widget for the home screen now lets you select auto-brightness.
4. The Running Services menu now lets you kill some services and apps.
5. Android 2.2 theoretically supports installing apps to the SD card, but developers need to enable this in their apps.
6. There’s an Update All option in the Android Market.
7. You can set apps to automatically install the latest updates on an app by app basis in the Android Market.
8. There’s an accessibility option to have the power button end phone calls.
9. The voice input settings let you specify your regional accent (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Generic).
10. Vibration can be set to always, never, only in silent mode, and only when not in silent mode.
11. There’s a warning when you enable USB storage mode than apps installed on the SD card won’t work.

Applications

1. Google Talk and Messaging have a new, lighter color scheme.
2. Google Messaging now shows icons for your contacts.
3. Gmail has forward and previous buttons to make navigating through messages easier.
4. There are new search widgets that let you search just apps, contacts, web, or all.
5. The Camera app makes it easier to adjust settings without swiping the side of the screen to bring up a menu.
6. In the video camera mode you can turn on the LED and leave it on (hello Flashlight!)
7. Voice input now recognizes swear words.
8. YouTube now supports HQ videos.
9. The Car Home user interface has been redesigned, making room for more apps.
10. Adobe Flash Player 10.1 is now available in the Android Market.

Some users have also found that the trackball can light up in different colors, but it’s up to app developers to take advantage of this feature. The gallery also apparently loads pictures faster, but I don’t have a lot of pictures so I haven’t spent a lot of time testing this.

As with any operating system upgrade, it’s inevitable that some third party apps are going to stop working. Yesterday I noticed that calendar widgets stopped displaying information. Today, the folks behind Calendar Pad issued an update to support Froyo. I suspect other calendar app makers will do the same soon.

I’ve also had problems streaming radio stations with Android Online Radio, but I’ve found that StreamFurious and AntPlayer both work. I still like the AOR interface better, so I’m hoping the developer issues an update soon.

One of the scariest app problems is that HelixLauncher apparently goes into a “Force Close loop,” which means you’ll need to do a factory restore in order to get your phone working again if you have HelixLauncher enabled when you upgrade from Android 2.1 to Froyo.

You can check out a hands-on video with more than 20 of these new features after the break.

What’s new in Google Android 2.2 Froyo? is a post from: mobiputing

I’ve been playing around with Google Android 2.2 Froyo on my Nexus One for the last hour or so. While Google is slowly rolling out the over the air update to Nexus One users, there’s a way to download the update and install it manually if you’re the impatient type.

Overall, I like Froyo so far. Third party apps definitely feel a little faster. Fennec is actually pretty usable now, even though the mobile version of Firefox is still pre-Alpha software. And the ability to turn my phone into a portable WiFi hotspot is absolutely awesome — or it would be if I weren’t getting inconsistent 3G service today.

But if you were hoping Froyo would turn the Nexus One into a superphone, it won’t. The overall user interface isn’t any faster than it was with Android 2.1. Sure,the phone is still pretty zippy when flipping between home screens and opening the program launcher. But switching from one app to another isn’t any faster than it used to be. And every now and again you’ll find yourself waiting for the home screen to reappear for several seconds after you hit the home button.

Some of the changes are merely cosmetic. For instance, Google has removed the border that appears when you press and hold the home button to see the list of recently run apps. And when you enable debugging, the icon that appears in the notification area looks like an Android-bug instead of an exclamation point.

Other features just aren’t really widely available yet. When you open the Applications menu in the system settings, you’ll see an SD card option, because eventually you’ll be able to install apps to the SD card or move apps that are already installed on your phone’s main storage to the SD card. But we’re going to have to wait for developers to update their apps to support this feature before we can actually put apps on our SD cards.

The new web-based Android Market, which will allow you to install apps directly to your phone simply by clicking a button on your desktop web browser isn’t active yet.

But there are still some nice touches. The mobile version of the Android Market now has an “update all” button, which makes it much easier to keep all of your third party apps up to date. And there are now browser and phone buttons that hang out in a persistent dock that shows up at the bottom of every home screen — freeing up space for you to install widgets, shortcuts, and other icons on your home screen.

Support for Adobe Flash is a mixed bag. On the one hand, you can play some Flash video in the Android browser using Adobe Flash Player 10.1. And some Flash-based games, like Bookworm work as well. But for the most part, playback is a bit choppy and I found that some videos seemed to have audio issues — while I was watching choppy video of The Daily Show, it sounded like Jon Stewart was saying everything twice.

It’s very possible these Flash issues will be resolved in the future. Adobe Flash Player 10.1 for Android is still in beta, and the software doesn’t support hardware graphics acceleration yet — but future versions will.

You can check out my hands-on video with Google Android 2.2 Froyo on the Nexus One, and some screengrabs after the break.

Update: OK, I’m starting to notice a few problems with the new build — or at least with the way it interacts with third party apps. Google must have changed the way the Google Calendar app works, because I’ve noticed that several home screen calendar widgets I’ve used in the past no longer work properly . Smooth Calendar and Calendar Pad simply don’t show any upcoming appointments anymore.

I’ve also noticed that some streaming audio apps are broken. While Pandora still works, Android Online Radio has trouble streaming most online radio stations, and the NPR News app can play individual stories, but not live streams from public radio stations.

Froyo also turns eMobile Task Manager into a glorified task switcher. It can no longer actually terminate apps or services.

Have you had any problems with Android 2.2 Froyo and third party apps? Let us know in the comments.

Update 2: I’ve put together a second video which looks at more than 20 new features in Android 2.2.

First look at Google Android 2.2 Froyo is a post from: mobiputing

The good news is that Google Android 2.2 Froyo will include a built in utility that lets you turn your Android phone into a WiFi hot spot or share an internet connection by tethering your phone to a computer via a USB cable. The bad news is that your wireless carrier gets to decide if and how you’ll use the feature.

TechCrunch reports that Google is making it easy for carriers to either disable tethering completely in the phones they offer, or charge extra for tethering capabilities.

So it looks like there may still be demand for third party tethering apps like PDANet after all.

Android 2.2 will support tethering, some wireless carriers may not is a post from: mobiputing

Google has officially unveiled the next generation of its Android operating system for mobile devices today at the Google I/O developer conference. The SDK is available for developers today, and Google says Android 2.2 Froyo will be available to OEMs in the next few weeks.

There are a ton of changes in Froyo, but here are some of the most exciting new features:

Tethering and WiFi hot spot

As expected, you’ll be able to tether your Android phone to a computer or other device, allowing you to share a 3G wireless connection without paying separate bills for your phone and laptop connection — assuming your carrier lets you do that.

Users will have the choice of turning your phone into a portable Wifi hot spot or sharing your connection over a USB connection.

Faster app performance

Google has added a new just-in-time Javascript compiler, which increases the speed of 3rd party apps by 200% to 500%. This is also something we’d heard about previously, but Google showed off a few demos making it clear just how much faster apps will run.

Support for Adobe Flash and AIR

There’s not much more to say about this one. We knew it was coming, and it looks like Flash and AIR will both be supported under Android 2.2, making this one of the biggest things separating the Android platform from Apple’s iPhone platform.

Install apps on the SD card

Google says that people are regularly installing more than 40 apps on a device. Google has made it easier to install apps on an SD card, expanding the phone’s memory. Froyo will also automatically install apps to the SD card if it determines that would be helpful. But users will also be able to manually move apps from the main memory to an SD card.

Google has also made it easier to find apps by creating an App search tool. Developers can also plug into the search API so that you can put a widget on the home screen that lets you search within an app. For instance, if you use Mint for your personal finances, you can search your Mint data on the home screen.

You can find more new features, a ton of photos, and the official Google video introducing Android 2.2 after the break.

Access to the camera, mic, accelerometer from the web browser

Web app developers will be able to access the hardware on Android phones, which means a web site will be able to support voice input or recognize accelerometer actions.

You’ll also be able to do things like take a picture by clicking a button on a web site. One of the coolest demos Google showed off today was a web-based translation tool. You can open a web site, speak a question into your phone’s mic, and the web app will translate it into foreign language text — and then speak it out loud. Need to find a hospital in France? Your Android phone can help.

Automatic app updates

Google has added two new features that makes it easier to update apps. First, there’s now an “update all” button in the Android Market that lets you install all updates available for your installed apps.

You can also select an option that lets you automatically install updates with no user intervention required. Every time there’s a new update, it will be installed.

Android Market web interface

Google is officially launching a web interface for the Google Android Market — and it looks a lot like AppBrain, only better, because it lets you click an install button on the web site and automatically download the app on your Android device.

Music in the Android Market

You’ll now be able to purchase music from the Android Market and download it to your device. Google is also now offering the ability to stream music from your home PC directly to your Android phone.

Cloud to device messaging API

This new API lets developers create apps that send messages that trigger actions from the cloud to your device. That sounds boring. It’s not. Here’s what it means: You can view a map in your desktop web browser, hit a button, and driving directions will automatically open up on your phone. You don’t just get an email or a text message with a link to click. The navigation app opens up and starts giving you directions.

You can also use this API to do things like click a button to open the web page you’re viewing in a desktop browser on your mobile device. it should be interesting to see what other uses developers come up with.

Advertising

Google has also added a few new ad formats for in-app ads. That includes expandable ads that you can click to pull down an add without leaving the app. These ads can also include rich media like videos, or click-to-call ads that will let you make a phone call to an advertiser with a single click.

Google Android progress

In other news, Google tooted its own horn a bit today, pointing out that 100,000 Android phones are now being activated every day. The Android Market now has more than 50,000 apps. And in the six months since Google introduced turn by turn navigation using Google Maps, more than a billion miles have been navigated.

Google introduces Android 2.2 Froyo is a post from: mobiputing

Google has revamped the Android Market web site. It’s no easier get a quick look at some of the top free, top paid, and featured applications, just like you would if you were using the Android Market on a mobile phone.

But there’s one major feature that’s missing from the web site: Search.

You’d think a company that made its name in the search engine space would put a little time into adding a search box to the Android Market web site. After all, there are more than 50,000 apps available for Android phones at this point. But you can only see a few dozen on Google’s official web portal for the Android Market.

Of course you can search the Android Market on a mobile device if you have an Android powered phone. And arguably that’s a lot more important than being able to search for apps on the web. But Google wants people to think about purchasing Android smartphones, the company’s going to have to make it easier to find out what kind of apps you can run without first plunking down the cash for a phone.

Fortunately there are plenty of third party web sites that are taking up the slack, including Cyket, AppsLib, and AppBrain.

via TechCrunch

Google Android Market web site is now prettier — still not very useful is a post from: mobiputing

But Rubin does confirm one thing: Adobe Flash will be available in Google Android 2.2 Froyo when it’s released later this year. It’s not entirely clear if phones running earlier versions of Android will get Flash, but we’ve at least seen a few developer previews of phones running Flash without Froyo.

Unfortunately, the one question I most want answered doesn’t appear to have come up: Why can’t you access the Android Market on non-phone tablets? We’ve seen some tablets such as the Archos 5 Internet Tablet hacked to include access to the market, but out of the box, the Android Market is only available on phones, which limits the utility of Android tablets.

Google: Adobe Flash coming in Android 2.2 is a post from: mobiputing

Google Android market penetration is growing at a pretty fast pace… but according to a new report from mobile advertising firm AdMob, the vast majority of Android users are still on phones using Android 1.5 or 1.6.

The report says that 11 devices accounted for 96 percent of all Android traffic last month, with the Motorola Droid leading the pack with 32 percent of traffic. That phone happens to be on Android 2.0 or 2.1, but most of the other handsets aren’t. Overall, 12 device manufacturers offered 34 different Android devices in March, 2010, and 38 percent of them were running Android 1.5 with 26 percent running Android 1.6.

Basically what’s going on here is that Google doesn’t get to automatically push out software and operating system updates to most of those phones. When Google releases an OS update, it makes it available to device makers and wireless carriers who can then figure out if and how to make the software available to users. Since most phones run some custom software on top of Google Android, it can often take a while before software updates are available.

Some handset makers are also still putting out new phones running older versions of Android, which complicates matters a bit.

Apple, on the other hand, controls all of the software and hardware for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. When a software update is available, Apple pushes it out directly to end users, which leads to significantly less platform fragmentation. AdMob reports that more than 86% of iPhone OS traffic last month came from devices running the two most current versions of the operating system, version 3.1.2 and 3.1.3.  That could change later this year, since iPhone OS 4.0 won’t be compatible with the first generation iPhone.

AdMob: More Android handsets in use today, but few running Android 2.0/2.1 is a post from: mobiputing

AT&T Motorola Backflip with Motoblur, Yahoo!

Apple’s iPhone may have changed the game in the smartphone space, but adoption of Google’s Android platform is growing at a ridiculous pace. There are good reasons for that: It’s available for handset makers to license for free. It’s also open source, which means that device makers can customize it to meet their needs.

But that customization aspect could backfire on Google. Because clearly Google isn’t making a dime by licensing the software. Instead, Google is hoping to get Google services like Gmail, Google Calendar, and first and foremost, Google search into the hands of as many users as possible. When you buy a device running Google Android, you’re kind of locking yourself into the Google software ecosystem — unless handset makers and wireless providers start to replace Google software with alternatives. And that’s exactly what’s starting to happen.

AT&T, for instance, has worked out a deal with Yahoo so that the Motorola Blur replaces all of Google’s search functions with Yahoo and AT&T software. Instead of Google Maps, you get AT&T Maps. Instead of the Google Android music player, you get AT&T Music. And the phone won’t run apps that aren’t available through the Android Market, despite the fact that most Android phones simply let you check a box to install non-Market apps.

Today Yahoo and Samsung announced a strategic partnership that will bring Yahoo! services to Samsung phones running Android or Bada OS. It’s not clear which Google services will be absent from these devices, but it looks like we can expect to see Samsung phones preloaded with Yahoo Mail, Messenger, Calendar, Weather, and other apps.

And Motorola has announced that it’s replacing Google’s location services with Skyhook navigation software. The partnership should affect many of Motorola’s upcoming Android phones.

While all of these tweaks are certainly going to continue to help Android gain acceptance as a mainstream smartphone operating system, I have to wonder if they’re helping Google achieve its goals with the platform.

Handset makers, wireless providers taking the Google out of Google Android is a post from: mobiputing

But what makes the Archos 5 Internet Tablet special is the underlying operating system which allows you to run thousands of Android applications. Out of the box, the tablet has a few Android apps installed including the Android web browser and the eBuddy instant message client. A few hundred more are available from the AppsLib app store. But with a little tweaking you can install the full Android Market, granting you access to many of the 16,000+ applications available for Google Android smartphones.

All this without the need to sign up for a contract with a mobile broadband provider. The lack of a service plan alone would make the Archos 5 one of the cheapest devices to run Google Android, since most Android Smartphones will end up costing you thousands of dollars over a 2 year contract. But with prices ranging between $250 and $500, this Android powered WiFi slate is truly one of the most affordable internet tablets around.

The folks at Archos were kind enough to lend me an internet tablet to review. The demo unit I received has 32GB of storage, an 800MHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU, 256MB of RAM, 802/11b/g/n WiFi, a USB port, and runs Android 1.6 plus some custom Archos software.

Design

The tablet features a 4.8 inch, 800 x 480 pixel resistive touchscreen display. It took That means you’ll get better results if you tap at it with a stylus or fingernail than with your fingertip, although because Android features large icons you should be able to perform most actions with a fingertip.

The case plastic case features a glossy finish, and there’s a shiny strip surrounding the screen. All of which is to say, that the tablet is something of a fingerprint magnet. Things get even shinier on the back of the tablet, where there’s a reflective almost mirror-like panel. But how often are you going to look at the back anyway?

Also on the back you’ll find a kickstand which you can pull out in order to prop the Archos 5 on a table for easy, hands-free viewing. A first I thought it was a stylus, but it turns out that no stylus is included with the tablet.

On the bottom you’ll find a micro SD card slot for additional storage. There are also a few proprietary ports on the bottom that you can use to connect an external battery or an optional docking station that lets you play video stored on the tablet on a TV.

The left side of the tablet has a headphone jack and a USB port which is used to charge the tablet and to transfer files to and from a PC.

On the front left side of the tablet you’ll find a speaker which provides reasonably loud, if not exactly stellar audio. On the back of the tablet, just behind the USB port there’s a reset button that you can poke with a straightened out paperclip to restore the tablet to factory default settings.

On the top of the unit you’ll find a power button and volume buttons. That’s it for the physical buttons on the Archos 5 Internet Tablet. All other controls are software-based. if you want to turn on the tablet, you press and hold the power button until it boots or resumes from sleep. If your tablet locks up, press and hold the power button until it shuts down.

There’s also an accelerometer which will automatically rotate the display depending on whether you’re holding the tablet in portrait or landscape mode.

Overall, the Archos 5 Internet Tablet has a rather cheap plasticky feel to it, especially when compared with a more expensive Android device such as the Google Nexus One smartphone. But I’ll let that pass, given that the Archos tablet has a larger screen and enhanced media playback capabilities with a starting price of less than half the cost of the unsubsidized Nexus One.

Measuring 5.6″ x 3.1″ x 0.4″ and weighing 6.4 ounces, the Archos 5 tablet is pocketable, but just barely. If you compare it to a smartphone, it’s enormous. Compared with a netbook, it’s tiny. That’s partly due to the fact that there’s no physical keyboard, something which dictates the size of a comfortable netbook.

Web browser

I’ll touch on the Android operating system and application environment in a moment. But first I wanted to single out two different software features: The web browser and the media software. The browser is the standard Android browser, but it’s particularly well suited to a small tablet like the Archos 5. The multimedia software on the other hand, is all Archos and blows away the standard media playback software that comes with most Google Android devices.

One of the things that bugged me most about the original Asus Eee PC 701 was that it’s 800 x 480 pixel display just wasn’t quite big enough to handle most web pages and many PC applications. Surfing the web is a lot less fun if you have to constantly use a mouse or touchpad to scroll from side to side or if you need to continually reposition windows to hit the OK and Next buttons.

The Archos 5 Internet Tablet has the same 800 x 480 pixel resolution (albeit on an even smaller display), but I don’t find the experience of web surfing on this tablet to be nearly as cumbersome. That’s largely due to the Android web browser, which is designed for the even smaller screens found on smartphones.

Like the iPhone web browser, the Android browser is capable of displaying full web pages as well as pages that are formatted for small screens. If a page is normally formatted for a 1024 x 768 or larger screen, the text may look tiny and unreadable on the Archos 5 screen — especially if you’re holding the tablet in portrait mode. But you can double-click on the page to zoom in, or use the zoom in/out buttons that appear at the bottom of the screen.

This may sound like a clunky solution, but anyone that’s ever used an iPhone or other Android device can attest to the fact that it actually makes reading full sized web pages on a small screen rather pleasant.

Pages that are formatted for smaller screens, such as the mobile versions of Gmail, Google Reader, or Engadget are even better since no scrolling is required at all.

Pages don’t render quite as fast on the Archos 5 as they do on the Google Nexus One, which has a faster 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. But they do still load reasonably quickly over my home wireless network. Surfing the web using the Archos 5 Internet Tablet and Android browser is almost as fast as using Google Chrome or Firefox on a Windows netbook. I was surprised to find that I was able to accomplish some tasks, such as checking the latest news and marking stories as read in Google Reader were even faster using a mobile device such as the Archos 5 than a desktop browser. Your results may vary.

The Android interface as featured on the Archos 5 features a toolbar at the top of the screen with a home, settings, and back button. You can also see the current time, battery and WiFi status and other notifications in this area.

Once you fire up the browser app, you’ll be taken to the browser homepage. To visit another page, hit the settings button in the far right corner to bring up a menu at the bottom of the screen which. Hit “Go” to enter a URL, “Bookmarks” to visit a bookmarked page or add the current as a bookmark, or “New Window” to create a new window/browser tab.

Flipping between open browser windows does take a few clicks, since you first have to hit the Settings button, then the “Windows” button and then find the window you want to open or close. It’s not quite as elegant as the way the iPhone and iPod Touch handle browser tabs. But it gets the job done.

Media playback

If there’s one thing that the Archos 5 Internet Tablet has to offer that you won’t find on any other Android-based device, it’s the excellent multimedia software developed by Archos. Most Android phones can handle H.263, H.264, and some MP4 and 3gp video files as well as MP3, AAC, WAV, and Ogg Vorbis audio. But the Archos 5 can handle almost any format you care to throw at it with support for video resolutions up to 720p. Here’s a partial list of supported codecs:

• MPEG-4
• H.264
• WMV
• MKV
• MPEG-2
• MP3
• WMA
• AAC
• FLAC
• Ogg Vorbis
• AC3

Basically, Archos took its multimedia software and ported it to the Android platform. I really wish the company would offer some of this software for purchase for other devices through the Android Market, but since Archos has no control over what kind of hardware other device makers use, it’s likely not going to happen anytime soon.

In addition to playing media packed onto the tablet’s hard drive, flash storage, or micro SD card, you can also stream content over a home network or connect to UPnP devices. Using the UPnP capabilities, I was even able to connect to my media center PC running Windows 7 and PlayOn‘s software — which allowed me to stream video from Hulu. Playback was nearly flawless, but this trick will only work over a home network. I would be able to stream Hulu at a coffee shop this way.

There’s also a video recording plugin that lest you record 720p TV shows as MPEG-4 videos using the optional DVR station docking accessory.

The Music application can play files from the internal storage, from over a network, or using the built in FM radio tuner.

You can also view photos stored on a network or the device, use the Archos Games section to download and install games including some Adobe Flash games. Did I mention that the Archos 5 Internet tablet supports Adobe Flash? Because it does. It’s not a new enough version to handle Hulu and some other web sites (without the help of PlayOn), but this is definitely another area where the Archos 5 Internet Tablet stands apart from other Android devices.

There’s also a “Media Club” section in the media software menu which lets you access web TV and Radio, as well as download stores for music and videos.

Other software

The Archos 5 Internet Tablet has a slightly modified version of Android 1.6. In addition to the media playback software, the UI has been tweaked so that the default layout is landscape rather than portrait, and the navigation buttons are at the top of the screen on the edges of the notification bar.

As with other Android devices, you can customize the layout of the home screen by tapping and holding on icons for a second and then dragging and dropping them to any location you like. You can also add widgets such as a calendar, clock, or music player to the home screen by tapping and holding on the desktop and then choosing the Widgets option. If you run out of space on the home screen or want to separate games from utilities, you actually have three home screens to choose from. Just drag the home screen to the left or right to open up a new workspace.

On the right side of the screen you’ll see a little tab with an arrow on it. You can tap this to open a complete list of applications. Any of these can be added to the home screen using the same tap-and-hold method I just described.

I’ve been using Android on a few different devices for the past couple of weeks and I’ve gotten somewhat used to the way the operating system works. I like the level of customization you have over the home screen, for instance. But Google sort of goes overboard when it comes to the settings menu, which has almost too many options, which aren’t always laid out in the most straightforward manner.

For instance, you want to know how to adjust the display brightness on the Archos 5? You open the settings dialog, click “Sound & display” and then scroll all the way down to the second last option to find “Brightness.” Tap that, and you can finally adjust the brightness using a slider. This setting comes below the Archos theme color, animation, storage notification, and equalizer settings. Maybe it’s just me, but I would have figured brightness would be right next to media volume at the top of the screen — or possibly even higher, since there are physical volume buttons on the Archos 5 Internet Tablet.

The on-screen keyboard that comes with Android 1.6 is usable, but not perfect. Since the Archos 5 has a resistive touch screen, I actually find it easier to tap on the keyboard using the back of a single fingernail rather than typing away with two thumbs. Generally I find the iPhone/iPod touch keyboard to be better for accuracy than the default Android keyboard, but the Archos 5′s large screen makes it pretty easy to enter text without too many typos.

One of the benefits of purchasing the Android powered Archos 5 Internet Tablet rather than a media player with custom software such as the Archos 5 without Android, is that there are thousands of third-party applications available for the Android platform. Unfortunately you can’t access most of them using the software that comes with the Archos 5 Internet Tablet. That’s because Google hasn’t officially approved the Android Market for devices that aren’t phones. Since the Archos 5 doesn’t make phone calls or have a camera, it might not be able to run some of the apps in the full Android Market, which I suppose is a bummer.

But the AppsLib marketplace that comes with the Archos 5 is no replacement. There are just a few hundred applications available at the moment. And while a growing number of apps are showing up in the AppsLib director, I’d much rather have access to the full catalog of 16,000 apps, most of which do work on the Archos 5.

Fortunately, there’s an unofficial tool that makes it incredibly easy to install the Android Market on an Archos 5 Internet Tablet. All you have to do is copy a file to the tablet using a USB connection, open it up in the Archos file browser, and then run the application once it’s been installed to add Google apps such as Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Talk, as well as the Android Market.

As I mentioned, some of the apps in the Market may not work on your device due to the lack of hardware support. And because the Archos 5 runs Android 1.6 rather than the newer Android 2.1 that’s running on the Google Nexus One smartphone, some programs such as Google Earth for Android won’t be available. But I’ve heard that Archos does plan to release an Android 2.1 update for the Archos 5 in the future.

Another thing I should point out is that while the Archos 5 has much of the functionality I’ve come to expect from an Android smartphone plus excellent multimedia capabilities, the device generally feels less stable. From time to time a program would crash or the entire device would become unresponsive. The solution was invariably to press and hold the power button to reboot the system and start over from scratch.

Verdict

The Archos 5 Internet Tablet is one of the cheapest Android devices that will let you surf the web over a WiFi connection. It also happens to have excellent media player software. Or to put it another way, the tablet is a decent media player that has the added bonus of being a web browser and Android tablet that will let you run thousands of third party applications. And it gets pretty good battery life. I didn’t test it extensively, because it’s much tougher to do a run-down test of a device that’s meant to be used on and off throughout the day than a standard laptop. But Archos says you should get 7 hours of video playback time and up to 22 hours of audio playback time, and that seems about right from my experience.

But is it worth shelling out the money for an Archos 5 instead of an Android powered Smartphone or an iPod touch?

The smartphone comparison is tricky. If you’re not interested in paying a monthly fee for access to a mobile broadband network, the Archos 5 is a much better deal than an unlocked smartphone — even if the software is a little older and the system is more likely to crash than a newer phone such as the Google Nexus One.

But you can pick up an iPod touch for less money than an Archos 5 and you get a web browser, app store with more than 150,000 applications, and a decent media player. But the iPod touch ahs a smaller, lower resolution display than the Archos 5, and limited multitasking capabilities. Try listening to a streaming radio station while surfing the web on an iPod Touch. You can’t do it unless you jailbreak the phone.

You can buy an Archos 5 Internet Tablet with 8G of flash storage for $250 from Archos. It’s also available with 16GB or 32GB of flash storage, or a 160GB of 500GB hard drive, with the top of the line 500GB model selling for $500. Some models are a few bucks cheaper from Amazon, but not all models are listed there.

Archos 5 Internet Tablet review is a post from: mobiputing