Technology Android

[Rukas]

^^ Wow that is so mac-ish.

 

[Shadows]

that touch screen side kick looks fucking sexy.

 

[Casey]

that touch screen side kick looks fucking sexy.

Perhaps you should cancel your contract with lame-ass AT&T and get one. It's called a MyTouch Slide btw, Rukas just said it resembles what a touchscreen sidekick might have looked like. The sidekick line is dead.

 

[Casey]

Looks like the MyTouch Slide is initially coming in 3 colors.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

Sky.com - your home for the latest news, sport and entertainment

they are advertising the 4 android phones on Vodaphone: the SE X10, HTC Tattoo, HTC Legend and HTC Desire.

I hate 24 month contracts. I would only take one out if i can downgrade it like half way through or if i wanted the phone so desperately. But as with anything im prepared to wait and see deals on other networks.

 

[Cooper]

Sky.com - your home for the latest news, sport and entertainment

they are advertising the 4 android phones on Vodaphone: the SE X10, HTC Tattoo, HTC Legend and HTC Desire.

I hate 24 month contracts. I would only take one out if i can downgrade it like half way through or if i wanted the phone so desperately. But as with anything im prepared to wait and see deals on other networks.

Yea Orange tried to tell me the best phones are only on 24month contracts. Not true.

 

[masta247]

24 month? We have 36 month contracts here with crappy phones lol. That's why I switched to pre-paid. Plus it's cheaper.

 

[Casey]

I wouldn't take out a contract longer than 18 months.

I'm at the end of my 18 month contract on my G1 this month and I've been fiending for another phone for like 4 months at least. But I'm not taking out another contract until I hear more news about the Motorola Shadow cos that's what I want.

 

[masta247]

We wouldn’t go as far as saying that Samsung I9000 Galaxy S is the best Android handset just yet, but it’s certainly in contention for the throne. And if Samsung manages to polish up the already really nice TouchWiz UI before the Galaxy S gets released officially it will certainly become the handset to beat.

Samsung I9000 Galaxy S preview: First look - GSMArena.com

I like this. It's said to have the most amazing screen evah. Some new gen S-AMOLED. Its processor is faster than 1ghz snapdragon despite also being 1ghz. It records hd videos with 30fps.

 

[Casey]

I heard the GPU in that new Samsung can process something like 90 million triangles per second. The next best GPU in an Android phone is only 30 million (Nexus One). That's impressive.

 

[Cooper]

True but I can't see why you need that power at the moment?

 

[S O F I]

^To talk shit about the iPhone.

 

[masta247]

To run 3d and games overall well. Phones are not too great in that aspect yet.

However the test says that its graphics engine is not all that great and I think 90 million triangles might turn out not to be real. PSP processes like 33 million or so and it's still superior to all phones (mainly because of better 3d).

 

[Cooper]

Yea polygons per second is a terrible benchmark for real world 3d performance.

90m is a lot more than a ps2....coupled with the quicker processor...we should have awesome games on it

 

[Cooper]

^To talk shit about the iPhone.

We don't need arbitrary measurements to talk shit about the iPhone. I've already got a better camera, screen, & processor.

 

[Casey]

The rise in GPU's in phones over the next year combined with the fact that the Android team have recently hired a "Gaming Advocate" to their team shows that there's going to be a strong focus on gaming.

I think by the time we get to Android 3.0 (probably in 10 months or so) Android will be a serious contender in the gaming world. In fact, I'm willing to bet that a major electronics company will put out an actual portable gaming device built on Android within the next 18 months.

 

[Casey]

Verizon in the US are launching the new "Droid Incredible" later this month:

Verizon Picks Up HTC DROID Incredible Smartphone: Android 2.1, AMOLED, GPS - HotHardware

We've witnessed reports suggesting that Android consumption is on the rise while iPhone use is slipping, and it's easy to see why: every other week a new Android phone hits the market, while Apple makes iPhone users wait a year or more to see new hardware. With so many Android options, it's pretty tempting to give at least one of these sexy devices a look. Today, Verizon Wireless and HTC have announced the latest Android smartphone, and on paper, it looks like a serious contender.



The DROID Incredible really is one of the more incredible phones we've seen lately, and aside from the obvious lack of 4G support, it's nearly as good as Sprint's EVO 4G that was announced earlier in the year. Because it's made by HTC, the company also has slid their "Sense" overlay in here, making it easier to access certain apps from within Android by placing shortcuts on the home screen. It's a touch panel-based phone, with a 3.7" WVGA AMOLED display (800x480; capacitive touch), 8MP camera (dual LED flash), optical joystick, integrated GPS, a light sensor, digital compass, Friend Stream (for social networking integration) and a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

There's even Wi-Fi, 3G and a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the $199.99 (after rebate) price point puts it in direct competition with the iPhone 3GS, EVO 4G and a slew of other phones at the high-end. If you're interested, Verizon will begin online pre-sales on the 19th, with store availability planned for April 29th. Best Buy will also begin pre-sales on April 18th.

Verizon Wireless today announced DROID Incredible by HTC, the newest Android device on the nation’s most reliable wireless 3G network, will be available beginning April 29.
Featuring a “topographic” design that demonstrates the powerful engineering just beneath the surface, DROID Incredible by HTC is designed with craftsmanship and precision while making it easier than ever to stay connected.

DROID Incredible by HTC features the newest version of the HTC Sense experience, a seven-panel home screen with a wide selection of interactive widgets so the most important content is immediately available at a touch. Customers will enjoy seamless integration with Exchange ActiveSync®, quick and easy access to Flickr for sharing and viewing pictures, video, and Android Market™ with more than 30,000 Google applications. DROID Incredible by HTC is the first Verizon Wireless phone that takes advantage of Qualcomm’s 1GHz superfast Snapdragon processor, and it’s the first available phone from Verizon Wireless to include an 8 megapixel camera.

Shortly after the phone becomes available, customers will be able to enjoy two of the latest exclusive apps from Verizon Wireless – NFL Mobile and Skype mobile™.

Additional Key features:

Android 2.1 with HTC Sense experience
1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon™ processor for maximum responsiveness
Friend Stream for unified Flickr, Facebook and Twitter updates
“Leap” view for quick access to all seven home screen panels
8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash for crisp, detailed images
Razor-sharp 3.7 inch WVGA (480x800) AMOLED capacitive touch display
Optical joystick for smooth navigation
Dedicated, touch-sensitive Home, Menu, Back and Search keys
Proximity sensor, light sensor and digital compass
Integrated GPS
Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
3.5 mm headset jack
Price and availability:

DROID Incredible will be available for pre-order online at Cell Phones, Cell Phone Plans, 3G Smartphones, the Best Cell Phone Service - Verizon Wireless beginning on April 19 and it will be in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on April 29. Pricing will be $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.
DROID Incredible customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access. Email and Web for Smartphone plans start at $29.99 for unlimited monthly access.

This will definitely be a big seller. Verizon at the moment has the biggest selling Android device (Motorola Droid), and this device is part of the Droid series as well, so it will benefit from the successful marketing campaign that Verizon have been doing for the past 8 months.

 

[Casey]

Also, if any of you guys use Twitter, you'll notice that Twitter have had a change in strategy recently - developing an official Twitter app for Blackberry, and acquiring the company behind Tweetie (one of the most popular iPhone Twitter apps) and rebranding it as an official app also.

Well, the guys at Twitter announced yesterday at their Chirp conference that there'll soon be an official Twitter app for Android also.

No-one knows yet if they've been developing their own official Twitter app in partnership with Google (like they did with RIM for the Blackberry), or whether they will acquire an already popular Twitter app like Twidroid and re-brand it. Either way, it should be pretty awesome and will certainly have a very tight integration with the OS, more so than any of the third party apps.

Twitter Plans 'Official' Android App | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

 

[Casey]

I don't know enough about the processor industry to understand the ramifications of this, but perhaps one of you (masta?) could enlighten me:

Intel Brings Android OS Support To Atom Processors «Free PC Guides

 

[masta247]

A cheap Android from Orange:
The Orange Boston runs Android, costs a euro? - GSMArena.com news

^Intel Atom is probably the best netbook processor by now. Energy efficient and reasonably fast. This means that it'll be used in Android devices.
It just means there'll be more major players instead of just Qualcomm and Samsung.
However the new 1,5ghz Dual core Snapdragon will probably dominate high-performance Android devices.