Author: AndroidGuys

A newly leaked store ad has landed online showing the T-Mobile Garminfone arriving just a few days from now.  Dropping June 2nd, the GPS-heavy handset is expected to retail for $199.99 for new customers who sign a 2-year service agreement.  Of course those of you eligible for upgrade discounts can also take advantage of the same pricing.  Looking to buy one outright so you can avoid that pesky contract?  Get ready to fork over $599.99 for one.  Yeah, that’s right.  Six hundred bucks.

Audiofy is looking for beta testers for their audiobook player for Android. If you happen to be a fan of audiobooks and are running a device with Android 1.6 or higher, you’re advised to check out Audiofy’s website. Sign up for their new application which allows for buying and listening to over 13,000 books. Through the app customers can download audiobooks over 3G and WiFi connections and play back both DRM-protected and DRM-free selections.

Features include:

• Keeping It Simple – When the app launches it lets you know the most important stuff – what your titles are, the current book you’re listening to, and one- click access to the store to get more audiobooks
• Organize Your Audiobooks – Review your books by title or author, or click to get new titles in Audiofy’s audiobook store.
• No Limits – You can download dozens of audiobooks without stretching the limits of most Android smartphones. And if you run out of space, just delete a few titles and re-download them later if you like. No penalties here – enjoy!
• Listen All You Want – No matter how many books you listen to, we’ll track where you are and bring you back a minute or a month later.

English Android fans will be happy to learn that The London Evening Standard is now available for handsets, providing instant access to local news and information. Users will be able to enjoy real-time coverage on sports, business, entertainment and more with Handmark’s latest Android offering. Like similar titles from the developer, articles can be stored for later reading as well as shared with friends.  Grab the free application out of the Android Market for handsets running Android 1.5 or higher.

It was one week ago today that Gameloft unveiled ten HD games for Android handsets.  It was almost immediately pointed out that there were problems with finding and loading games onto various handsets.  Gameloft quickly and quietly pulled the links down.  Today sees the developers giving it a second attempt.  Head to gameloft.com/android-games/ and download games like Assassin’s Creed, Modern Combat, NOVA, and Hero of Sparta for your Android phones.

Thanks to Dave for the heads up!

Pandigital, a company known for digital picture frames, will be dropping their first e-reader, the Novel, next month. For $200, users will get a 7-inch color touch screen, WiFi (802.11 b/g/n) connectivity, and 1GB of internal storage. Like many other e-readers, the Novel supports PDF, EPUB, and HTML formats and features a mini-USB port for transferring files to and from a PC or Mac. There will be full support/integration with the Barnes & Noble eBookstore providing access to scores of books, magazines, and newspapers. Preloaded applications include a web browser, email client, alarm clock, and calendar. Don’t expect this to eat up too much of the nook market share as it will only have a limited release when it streets next month.

Here’s a quick walkthrough of the Novel courtesy of CNET/Crave:

One of Engadget’s tipsters was digging through an HTC site designed for internal component bidding and unearthed a few new product codenames. You can now add Glacier, LED, and Vision to the list of possible future Android phones. We say possible only because HTC is still committed to Windows Mobile handsets as well. The Vision model has “TMO” listed next to it which could indicate a T-Mobile release. As to whether this means T-Mobile UK or T-Mobile USA remains to be seen. According to Engadget their source was also able to dig up the Incredible and Legend codenames far in advance of official releases.

Engadget decided to give the Android faithful a head to head video showing Flash 10.1 versus Flash Lite.  In one corner we have a Nexus One running Android 2.2 with Flash 10.1 installed.  In the other corner, we have an HTC Desire running Flash Lite in the browser.  With nearly equal hardware, will there be much of a difference in performance?  Well, can’t spoil things for you so you’ll have to watch.

Not content with their Android 2.1 update from a few weeks ago, Motorola Droid owners are already looking for 2.2 (Froyo) information.  Our inbox and twitter feed has been hammered with requests from Droid users begging for the latest Android release.  “How long will we have to wait?” seems to be the question of the week.  The guys over at SlashGear decided to reach out to Motorola to see if the handset maker has an update in store.

“We’re excited to see Google’s news of the next version of the Android operating system and look forward to integrating it on our Android-based devices as it’s made available to the open source community.”

While I can’t comment on specifics, we do expect DROID by Motorola users will receive Android 2.2 as a software upgrade in the near future.

Until someone can get Motorola to pin down an actual time frame, ‘near future’ will have to suffice.  It could be worse Droid owners – you could be running MOTOBLUR on Android 1.5 like Backflip, Devour, Cliq, and Cliq XT users.

MocoSpace is announcing today that their first Android application is now available. Similar to their mobile website, the app focuses on social networking and chatting. MocoSpace currently enjoys 11 million registered users with 3 billion monthly pages. MocoSpace for Android offers live chat, photo uploading, message notifications, and profile viewing and commenting in a rather clean and friendly manner.

We’ve really listened to what our users want in developing this application. We know that our users love to communicate, so we’re committed to giving them the best mobile chat experience to help people stay connected and have fun on their phones. – MocoSpace CEO Justin Siegel

MocoSpace for Android runs on Android 1.5 and above. Grab it for free out of the Android Market today.

Well that didn’t take long.  The HTC EVO 4G has been rooted thanks to the developer/hacker community.  We can’t say we’re shocked at all by this – Google and Sprint did give put a couple thousand of these right into the hands of the guys who love to tinker with phones most.  It just so happens Matt Matracci was one of those guys in attendance.  A few buddies and a couple of hours later… presto!

While the full step-by-step process has yet to be revealed, you can watch the video below for the time being.  Any guesses as to how long before Froyo hits the EVO 4G?  Unofficially of course.

Hi there!  We noticed you staring at that picture up above.  You like?  Yeah, that is presumably the follow up to the Motorola Droid from Verizon.  It looks great, doesn’t it?  Would you like to hear the rumored specs?  They’re just about the nicest we’ve seen on an Android phone to date.  Okay, here goes…

As we looked around a bunch of posts within Howard Forums, the best we can piece together is this:

• 4.1″ TFT FWVGA screen
• Texas Instruments OMAP 3630 Processor
• 2GB -8GB internal memory
• Android 2.1 (Eclair), possibly 2.2 (Froyo) upon launch
• MOTOBLUR (BLUR community chat)
• 8 MP camera with 720p video recording
• 1080p output via HDMI port
• Roughly 9mm in thickness

We’ve seen July listed a few times as the release time frame so Android 2.2 could make the cut.  However, based on Motorola’s history, we’re guessing it’s Android 2.1 at launch.  As for the name of this thing, you guess is as good as ours at this point.  We’ve heard Droid 2, Droid Xtreme, Shadow, Droid Shadow, and a couple others.  Of all the names we’ve seen tossed around, Shadow seems to stick the best. On the other hand, the “Droid” label is clearly marked in the picture.   Guess we’ll just have to wait to find out, won’t we?

There were a handful of phones on display at last week’s Google I/O which have yet to cross our radar.  As good of a job as we think we do in keeping up with handsets, there are plenty out there we’ve yet to cover.  One such handset is the Acer Liquid Stream.  With only a display model behind a case to tease us, we were left to guess the specs.  That was until we talked to a little birdy.

According to our tipster, the Acer Liquid Stream currently runs Android 2.1 and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip although the speed wasn’t 100 percent known.  We’d like to assume it’s the full 1GHz, but it could be underclocked to 768MHz. The phone also features a 5 megapixel camera that records in 720p with HDMI output, Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS.  We’ll be doing our best to piece together the rest of the picture so check back often!

Verizon’s newest commercial for the Droid Incredible has landed online in YouTube fashion.  Taking off from the previous teaser, viewers are starting to learn more about the handset it self.  We like the fact that the carrier actually decided to show the phone, albeit briefly, at the end of the clip.  It’s one thing to talk about how powerful a phone is, it’s another thing to show how sleek it is or that it’s touch-only.

Sprint is doing their part to make Android handset owners aware of apps that can benefit them come Memorial Day.  If you plan to do any traveling or cooking out, you’ll be wise to check out these recommendations!  Many of you seasoned vets may already be familiar with these titles.  However, if you’re new to the Android family, these make a great starting point.

• Kayak – Connects you to the popular travel search engine to find deals on airfare or get the perfect hotel. If your flight is canceled, find a new one in a minute, or get on the phone with the airline in seconds.  FREE!
• TripIt Travel Organizer – Puts all your travel plans right on your phone, no matter where your travel was booked. Forward travel confirmation e-mails to [email protected] to build your itinerary, sync your plans with your calendar, and access your travel info any time right on your phone. FREE!
• WeatherBug – Easily find out the current local weather, plus hourly and seven-day forecasts for your vacation destination. WeatherBug features live neighborhood weather updates from 8,000 weather stations across the country – including National Weather Service weather alerts, such as tornado warnings. By using integrated GPS, the app can change its forecasting location automatically, so there’s no need to manually enter your new location once you arrive.   FREE!
• WHERE – Provides useful information about the local area, places to visit, things to do, and opportunities to save money with offers and coupons. Sprint plans to preload WHERE on select new Sprint phones launching in 2010.  FREE!
• NY Bus & Subway Maps – Delivers quick access to New York MTA subway and bus maps on Android phones. Similar apps are available for public transit options in Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other cities. FREE!
• Backpacker’s GPS Trails – Doubles as a portable trip database and personal navigation device for your outdoor travels: hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, trail running, mountaineering, or basic trail navigation. Search by name or park, or select from trails near your current location to find adventures across North America, and use the compass to follow bearings or go to waypoints on the trail. $9.99

Think things are bad now?  Privacy hounds are going to be up in arms once they see what Google is up to now!  Watch the ‘news’ clip below to see what the future holds for ad-subsidized handsets and content/location aware advertising.

New Google Phone Service Whispers Targeted Ads Directly Into Users’ Ears

Effective immediately, customers with Motorola Backflip handsets can download AT&T’s myWireless Mobile app. The free title allows users to manage their AT&T wireless account while on the go. Not to worry though, the app is not device specific. Once AT&T decides to roll out more Android phones, they too will be able to run the app.

Features of myWireless mobile:

• Bill Payment – View and pay your bill directly from your phone
• Voice and Data Usage – View usage for minutes, data and messaging
• Features – Add or remove features, including new texting plans and more, directly from your handset
• Paperless Billing – Enroll and reduce clutter

If you happen to be a Backflip owner on AT&T and want to download the app, head to www.att.com/myandroid from your handset.  It’s also available in the Android Market by searching for “mywireless mobile”.   NOTE:  You will need to sign up for a myWireless account before the app works.  If you haven’t done so, get started at www.att.com/mywireless.

Tonight’s episode of the podcast marks the official 1 year anniversary of our weekly Monday night show.  It’s hard to believe it but we’ve been doing this for 52 weeks now!  Our podcast goes live every Monday at 10PM EST/7PM PST over at BlogTalkRadio.  We open up a chat room about fifteen minutes before we go live for all you enthusiasts and developers who wanna talk Android.

To mark tonight’s special occasion, we’ll be giving away two copies of TeleNav GPS for Android handsets.   All you have to do is tune and listen live for the instructions! We promise we’ll make it easy on ya.

Oh, you might wanna follow us on twitter.  We’re just saying.

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam is doing his part to rally excitement for Android phones and tablets. Big Red’s boss was recently at the Reuters Global Technology Summit where he divulged a few goodies. What kind of goodies? How about Motorola, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics working on tablets that run off of Android?  Tablets due as early as the second half of this year.

He also went on to say that LTE-capable handsets from Motorola, HTC, and LG will be arriving between now and this time next year. The carrier expects to cover 25-30 markets later this year when they turn on the their LTE network.

These forthcoming phones and tablets will run on Verizon’s current CDMA network for the time being. Down the road, customers will be able to upgrade them so that they are compatible with the LTE network.

Fun fact: McAdam says the new network will be fast enough to download full HD movies in under a minute.

Just in time for their tenth anniversary, Gameloft has announced the availability ten high-definition 3G games for Android and other smart phone platforms. According to the press release, Gameloft has custom created each game for individual handsets which should enhance the gaming experience.

“Our goal has always been to offer the best gaming experience for each device,” said Gonzague de Vallois, Senior Vice President, Publishing, Gameloft. “With the arrival of smartphones that allow the creation of high quality games, we are excited to bring consumers a unique line up of diverse titles combining rich 3D graphics and intense gameplay”

The ten games available immediately are:

• Asphalt 5
• Let’s Golf!
• Assassin’s Creed
• Hero of Sparta
• Gangstar: West Coast Hustle
• Dungeon Hunter
• Real Football 2010
• N.O.V.A. Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance
• Modern Combat: Sandstorm
• Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.

These Gameloft games are now available via http://www.gameloft.com and http://wap.gameloft.com.

HTC has just unveiled their next Android handset this morning. Called the Wildfire, it’s a Sense UI smart phone that follows in the footsteps of HTC Tattoo with a bit of Desire form factor. Like other Sense-based devices, the Wildfire features Friend Stream, Peep and the other widgets that help add flavor to their custom build of Android.

One feature that makes its debut on the Wildfire is the new application sharing widget. Designed to help users share and discover new Android applications, it allows for anyone to recommend titles to friends via text, email, twitter, etc.  Friends will then receive a link taking them directly to the application within the Android Market.  In another first for the handset maker, the phone comes with HTC Caller ID which displays your contact’s Facebook profile picture, latest update, and birthday reminders.

If you are looking for cold hard specs, the Wildfire comes with:

• Qualcomm MSM7225 528 MHz processor
• 512MB ROM, 384MB RAM
• Android 2.1 (Eclair) and Sense UI
• 3.2-inch QVGA TFT capacitive touch screen
• 5 megapixel camera w/auto focus, LED flash
• 802.11 b/g
• GPS, AGPS
• Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
• 3.5mm audio jack; microUSB
• Proximity sensor
• G-sensor
• Compass
• Light sensor
• FM radio
• Optical joystick

Look for the new HTC Wildfire across major European and Asian markets starting sometime in the third quarter (Q3 ’10).