April 9, 2009 by Tap
Don't get me wrong, Google's recent updates to the mobile versions of Gmail and Google Calendar are great but as an Android user they leave me with a bit of a dilemma. Here's why.
Firstly, Gmail. I really like the new interface. It's clean, simple and intuitive. I like the easy access to the labels menu. The compose screen is easy to use and I particularly like the context menu that stays on the screen when you scroll through the contents of an email. Add to that the fact that (with Gears installed) you can create emails offline and send them later. All of this makes the new mobile Gmail far better than the native Gmail app that comes with Android. The problem is that Gmail notifications are still linked to the native app so clicking on a new notification in your status bar opens the native Gmail instead of the browser version.
Moving on to the Calendar, Android's native Calendar works pretty well for me as it is and the addition of event editing to the web version is of no real benefit to Android users using the native app. What is nice about using the online version is the ability to easily switch between Gmail and Calendar in your browser. Another gripe I have about the web Calendar (and maybe this is just a setting thing) is that in month view, I can’t see which days have events scheduled. The native calendar app displays this very well.
The upshot of all of this is that I'm still left with a mail/calendar solution that, instead of being a single integrated app, ends up being a mix of both native app and browser versions in order to give me all the features I want, the way I want. This leaves me a little bit disappointed.
Oh, and does anyone know if there's a calendar widget for Android yet? Before moving to the G1 I had a WinMo HTC TyTN that displayed events/tasks on the home screen. I have yet to find a way to do this on my G1.
March 23, 2009 by Tap
Let's face it, the G1 is great if you use Google Mail as your primary email account but if you're used to using Exchange, there's no beating a Blackberry. That, together with the lack of push-email support is why detractors have slated the G1 as a serious business smartphone contender.
A new version of TouchDown, an Exchange client for Android by NitroDesk, may change all of that. This latest version provides users with the ability to receive emails in real-time from exchange servers that have ActiveSync enabled on them (Microsoft Exchange Server 2003/2007 SP1). With TouchDown you can:
- Compose and send Email
- Reply to, Reply All and Forward your email
- Delete Email messages
- Move email between folders
- Add, Delete or Edit existing contacts when you are on the move (The changes to your contacts are automatically updated to your Exchange account)
- View your daily/weekly/monthly calendar
- Create appointments with notifications
- Set customizable alerts
- Store the database on an SD Card to save phone memory
A pretty comprehensive feature list I think you would agree although still missing is the ability to BCC emails and the ability to edit existing appointments. NitroDesk has also taken security into consideration with the inclusion of PIN support and the ability to Remote-Wipe sensitive data if the phone is stolen. It looks like we finally have a business-class Exchange client for Android - watch out Blackberry.
March 16, 2009 by Tap
Tired of waiting for the on again, off again Cupcake update? Better Android has just announced the release of a paid version of Open Home, their home replacement app, which now includes Cupcake features. According to the Better Android blog, they have managed to back port some Cupcake features to the current firmware and Open Home, available for $2.99, includes both live folders and a soft keyboard.
Other home replacement apps have been released before now but Open Home seems to be the first one based on Cupcake and while other home apps on the Android Market may stop working once Cupcake is officially released, Better Android claims that theirs will continue working.
March 11, 2009 by Tap
It looks like the wait is finally over for UK G1 owners as T-Mobile confirms that paid apps will be available in the UK from tomorrow, March 12th. This news comes straight from a live blog post on Pocket Gamer this morning, reporting from a T-Mobile Android event in London.
While the bombshell was obviously paid apps, Richard Warmsley, T-Mobile UK's Head of Internet and Entertainment, also revealed a few other tasty titbits. He confirmed once again that the G1 currently accounts for 20% of T-Mobile sales but went on to say that it's now reaching 70% of iPhone sales in the UK. He also went on to reveal some interesting G1 user demographics as well as some of the current top Android apps including The Weather Channel, MySpace Mobile, ShopSavvy, Daily Horoscope, Free Dictionary, RingDroid, BarScanner, SaveMMS and CompareEverywhere.
The overall impression is that T-Mobile is incredibly enthusiastic about the future of Android and will be ramping things up by Q4 2009 with not just more Android phones but also possibly Android tablets and Ultra-Mobile PCs in future. It looks like we have a lot to look forward to in the coming months.
Via: Pocket Gamer
February 27, 2009 by Tap
True to their earlier announcement this month, TeleNav has confirmed that GPS Navigator is now available for Android phones, starting with the Google G1. As we've come to expect from TeleNav, GPS Navigator is extremely feature-rich and includes:
- Full colour 3D maps which work in both landscape and portrait modes
- Turn-by-turn navigation via voice and onscreen instructions
- A comprehensive database of more than 10 million points of interest
- Name and address voice speech recognition
- Audio traffic alerts and one-click rerouting
- Current weather and five-day forecasts
A monthly subscription of $9.99 (in addition to your phone data plan) provides unlimited use of GPS Navigator. TeleNav is also offering a 4 year prepaid subscription at $249.99. This may sound like a lot but it does effectively mean that your monthly subscription is just $5.20. Also bear in mind that unlike buying a standalone GPS system (which may well be out of date in 4 years), with TeleNav you are actually buying a service which you can transfer if you decide to upgrade to a newer phone which makes it futureproof and a sound investment.
While on the subject of standalone GPS systems, many of you will be familiar with TomTom satnavs. You can read an interesting comparison between GPS Navigator on the G1 and the TomTom One at Android and Me.
February 25, 2009 by Tap
In a follow-up to a previous post (which ironically was titled 'Translating fun into profit with Android') Android developer Ed Burnette laments the poor sales of his paid Android app, Re-Translate Pro. Interestingly, Ed provides some install figures from his Market Developer Console for both the initial free version and the paid version which he released last week. These figures alone provide some insights into the challenges facing Android developers and serve as a warning to those who see paid apps as a way to making easy money.
By all accounts, Re-Translate is a well built, fun app which translates text from one language into another and then back again to the original language to see just how mangled the text can get (in this case using the Google Translate API). According to Ed, the free version received a lot of positive feedback and even an enquiry from a manufacturer to pre-install it on their upcoming Android phone. Console stats showed that the app was installed 35782 times which seemed to indicate that there was some revenue potential for a paid version.
Now I have to point out at this stage that I don't think money was the overriding factor in Ed's decision to release a paid version of Re-Translate. The app was originally developed as an example for his book, Hello, Android and I got the feeling from reading his earlier post that it was more about testing the market and discovering the in and outs of selling apps on Android Market. However, I'm sure that many developers would not approach things from the same perspective and this is where there are lessons to be learnt.
Needless to say, sales of the paid version of Re-Translate Pro have been disappointing – just 8 installs since its release, 3 of which were refunded. That's a far cry from the 35000+ free installs. So what's the deal? In part, I think it's human nature. Ed suspects that the poor sales are due to a lack of visibility in the Market but I suspect that even if he had great exposure, installs of the paid version would still be disappointingly low. Let's face it, Re-Translate may be fun but it doesn't really provide any lasting value. It's in our nature that when things are new and for free, we'll try almost anything, but force people to make some kind of a decision (i.e. pay $2.99) you immediately lose that effect. Couple that to that the fact that Google allows users to return apps within 24 hours and you have an environment that's not conducive to generating revenue from apps that don't provide any lasting value.
The bottom line is that while there is money to be made with paid Android applications, developers are going to have to work hard to generate returns. Apps that don't provide value are going to be punished and will simply disappear – that's the nature of a self-regulating environment like the Android Market. Of course some users will take advantage of Google's 24 hour refund policy but I still believe that for the vast majority of users, paying for something of value is not a problem. Overall I think that Google's model for the Android Market is sound and will result in a win-win for both developers and end-users alike.
You can read Ed's post here.
February 23, 2009 by Tap
According to a thread on the Google Mobile support forum, there seems to be a bug that prevents paid Android Market applications from being updated. According to the thread, "After you purchase a paid [application] and and then try to update it, it doesn't update. It just says downloading and nothing happens." This bug only affects paid apps. Free apps are not affected.
Google's response - "Thanks for reporting this to us - just wanted to let you know we're looking into it."
Via: Google Mobile Help Forum
February 2, 2009 by Tap
Following a successful launch in the UK and US in 2008, Shazam has announced that it's mobile music discovery application is now available across Europe on the Android platform.
Andrew Fisher, CEO of Shazam said, "We've enabled huge numbers of users to shape their own unique music experience through Shazam on Android, and extending our top rated service into new markets across Europe brings Shazam to an even wider audience." Fisher continues, "Bringing music discovery and the ability to connect with new artists by purchasing tracks through Amazon, becoming 'friends' with artists on MySpace to sharing information with friends and recommending music gems from our vast database takes Android users on an unparalleled individual musical journey."
Via: Shazam
January 30, 2009 by Tap
Given the open nature of the Android Marketplace, it was only a matter of time until we started to hear talk of dodgy or even malicious Android applications. Step forward eMobieStudio's MemoryUp, an optimisation program designed to reclaim unused memory. Rumour has it that once installed, the app was able to delete files. Not only that, it was accused of sending spam using personal contact information, removing calendar items, corrupting memory and placing adware onto the G1. Pretty strong accusations, all of which have been denied by both eMobieStudio and Google who investigated the app and found that "In the versions we tested, MemoryUp cannot perform any of the malicious things it is reported to have done."
Despite these findings and the fact that applications are well sandboxed within the OS, it seems that MemoryUp has been removed from the marketplace which is obviously a blow to its developers. More importantly however is that fact that this incident has brought into question the open nature of the Android Marketplace itself. Unlike Apple's App Store which has a fairly strict screening process, the Android Marketplace provides developers with "an open and unobstructed environment to make their content available." The process of regulating the marketplace has been passed onto the users themselves who are able to rate applications or even flag them as harmful. In the case of MemoryUp this process worked although the worrying downside is that in this instance the application was binned as a result of an imaginary threat. On the one hand this has got to be a bit of a concern for other Android developers. On the other hand it is a clear indication that applications deemed as useless or malicious will not be tolerated in the Android Marketplace which has to be a good thing for end users.
Via: ars technica