Portable Electronics Ltd // Technology you can carry.

The upcoming Streak from Dell, we all know it as the Mini 5, has a few services  from Amazon preinstalled. One of which is a Kindle app.  Amazon’s MP3 store is expected since that’s already on several Android devices. On a promo picture for the Streak is has “Kindle Book Reader Applications” listed as well as a few other apps. Could Dell’s Streak  usher in Amazon’s digital book reader to Android?

There’s already a Kindle app for Apple’s iPhone and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry platforms for mobile e-book reading. Android could join them with it’s own Kindle app very soon. There will be no monthly fees for this, you can possibly download books in 60 seconds and there’s over 300,000 of the most popular books, magazines and blogs available.

[via androidcommunity]

With the recent release of Opera Mini 5, browsers have been in the spot light lately. This browser hasn’t really been mentioned and that’s a shame because it is one of the best browsers for Android. It has a new way off zooming with one finger; in fact it can zoom in three different ways. And there are a few other goodies are included.

This is one of the best browsers I have used on Android. It has tabbed browsing; the tabs stay situated at the top of the application which make switching tabs a breeze. They are also labeled with the name of the page unlike the numbered tabbing in Opera mini 5. Where it shines is its ability to zoom in three different ways. There’s the traditional Android double-tap, pinch zoom and one fingered zooming. This apps comes in a paid and a free version and also includes a task and file browser. XScope has some benchmarks tests that show its speed, it is definitely faster than the stock browser.

Click here to view the embedded video.

FOR 1.5/1.6

FOR 2.0 and up

Reports are starting to surface from South Korean government officials that the Android Market may be banned. The games in the Android Market have not yet received approval from the nation’s regulating body, the Games Ratings Board. This may cause the entire Market to be excluded from South Korean Android devices.

Google’s Korea branch has received a letter from the Ratings Board outlining what changes need to be made before the Market can be approved. If Google does not make the required changes it would get banned until they are made. 4000 games has yet to be rated by this board. There are two Android phones in South Korea and up to five more are rumored to be released this year, it would be awful for these phones to be rendered marketless.

[via afterdawn]

The awesome Android modding community continues to amaze. One of the hardest things to do is port a GSM ROM ot a CDMA phone. Koush, has recently ported the latest and greatest cyanogenmod to the Droid. Cyan’s Rom’s are always near the top of the hill in the custom ROM world. This is a luxury that was previously only available to users with HTC branded phones until now.

Recently there has been a push to port cyan’s ROM’s to non-HTC devices, there are two beta ROM’s at ModMyMoto for the Ciq which suffer from multiple bugs. But for the Droid, early reports from users has been positive. Users state that it’s very fast and stable which is a staple of cyan’s work. CyanogenMod’s add a new dimension that is unmatched by the stock firmware in a manner that makes your phone feel totally different than it did when it was stock.

Head over to cyanogenmod to try it out. Welcome to the world of cyan Droid users, enjoy!!!

First, on the topic of games, I have a small update to a story we ran last week. I had been speculating that Epic Games would announce the Unreal Engine for Android and I was completely wrong. Epic unveiled the Unreal Engine for Palm’s webOS and that was it for mobile.

We did however, get a glimpse of future mobile technology at the recent Game Developers Conference.

Imagination Technology, makers of the PowerVR GPU chip that powers the Motorola Droid, said we will definitely have “graphics comparable to the PlayStation 3 in three years”.

They can predict this with certainty because the chips are already being designed and it takes about three years for them to reach an actual handset. The new chipsets will be focused on multiprocessors and Imagination Technology claims you could theoretically have three or four in your phone.

Only Motorola produces Android phones with PowerVR chips inside, but we expect more handset makers to adopt them as performance increases. (HTC is also working with PowerVR.)

Advancements in mobile graphics technology is exciting because we are finally starting to see HDMI out on upcoming phones. Users could essentially carry around a high powered gaming device in their pocket that would easily connect to a HD TV.

Additional improvements are also in the pipes for current PowerVR chips on the market right now. A possible software-based update could bring Flash acceleration (up to 300% performance boost) and OpenCL support (which utilizes the GPU for help out in general purpose computing).

For a quick demo of what PowerVR is working on right now, check out this GDC video from PocketNow.

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• Verizon Nexus One typos make no Sense

Yesterday Android Central posted a leak document that said the Nexus One would feature HTC’s Sense UI. Many people questioned the information and pointed out several typos. In addition to Sense UI, Verizon listed the wrong model Snapdragon processor and the incorrect URL for Google’s phone store.

Verizon quickly noticed the mistakes and has already updated their equipment guide. Once again, Android Central has the screen grabs which show the corrected information. The Verizon Nexus One will be available only online and it will include the stock Android 2.1. This is exactly how the T-Mobile launch went down so it looks like Google is sticking with their original Nexus One strategy.

It was interesting to read the comments from yesterday’s post because our reader’s opinions were split down the middle on Sense UI. Some people love Sense and others said they would not by the phone if it was included. Thankfully, this device will have a bootloader that can easily be unlocked so you can flash virtually any firmware that your heart desires.

The Verizon N1 will feature the same Android 2.1 as the first device.

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• Warning: Do not try this at home with your Nexus One

With the Nexus One headed to Verizon and Vodafone in the coming weeks, customers on other networks are starting to wonder if and when they're provider will be offering the phone.  One such carrier, Sprint could really use a new Android handset with high end specs like Nexus One.

One of our readers was recently in an online chat with a member of the Sprint team.  Being that he will be ready to get a new handset soon, the subject of the phone came up. 

Here's the interesting part of the transcribed chat:

03/12/2010 11:40:46PM   Rick Bradley: "Questions about upgrading my existing phone"
03/12/2010 11:41:17PM   Agent (Brad M): "May I have your concern in detail?"
03/12/2010 11:42:58PM   Rick Bradley: "Yeah. I'm due for to upgrade my phone to a new handset in the next couple of weeks. I definately want to get the best phone available. I have heard through the rumor mill that Sprint MIGHT be offering the nexus one with google possibly as soon as april"
. I'd really like to use this phone and I'd hate to have to go to verizon.. is there any chance you could confirm or deny this rumor of sprint carrying the nexus one ?
03/12/2010 11:44:08PM   Agent (Brad M): "Sure. Let me check this."
03/12/2010 11:45:16PM   Rick Bradley: "thank you for checking"
03/12/2010 11:45:28PM   Agent (Brad M): "You are welcome."
03/12/2010 11:47:02PM   Agent (Brad M): "I am sorry. We do not have any update on the launch of this phone right now."
03/12/2010 11:47:59PM   Agent (Brad M): "However, I have notated your account."
03/12/2010 11:48:13PM   Rick Bradley: "in what capacity ?"
03/12/2010 11:48:43PM   Agent (Brad M): "Once we launch this phone, you will be notified with our promotional advertisement."
03/12/2010 11:49:52PM   Session Ended

While this is not proof of anything concrete, it certainly sounds like Sprint expects to offer the Nexus One in some capacity.   Whether that's directly through the carrier or more in a supportive role has yet to be figured out.  Also, the echoes a conversation someone else had with the carrier just a few weeks back.

What do you guys think?  Excited by the prospects of the super phone on the Now Network?

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The Revolution 2217 Android App by ToJam Games is a space invaders type of game with a lot of cool features for the Android platform. In each level you have the potential to earn credits by collecting coins. Once you have completed each level you can use those credits to upgrade your weapons and armor. You have 3 different types of weapons your normal shooter, bombs and torpedoes. You will get a few bombs and torpedoes when you first play the game and if you want to get more you will need to buy them which which you will have an opportunity to do after you beat each level.

The game features 25 levels and a secret Mega-Money-Mode if you can get a high score. If you are able to unlock the Mega Money Mode after the first level you will start with enough money to buy all of the upgrades and play the entire game without losing your extra life. The controls are easy to use and responsive. To move the space ship simply use the trackball, to shoot press the button of the weapon that you would like on the display screen.

Overall, this is a great space invaders type of game for the Android platform. At the time of this review the Revolution 2217 Android App is $1.99. Thumbs Up.

Screenshots:

We know you've been champing at the bit for some Odroid news... wait, you forgot already? You know, the Android-powered handheld game system that the manufacturer, Hardkernel, bills "the developer-focused portable game device"? To be honest, we'd hope that the company would focus on game players, but that's really beside the point: the thing finally has a release date: "early March." And for those of you lucky enough to get in on the ground floor, they've gone and upgraded the thing to Android 2.1. Peep it in action after the break.

Continue reading Odroid handheld game console due early March sportin' Android 2.1

Odroid handheld game console due early March sportin' Android 2.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android Community  |  Hardkernel  | Email this | CommentsJoseph L. Flatley030352238674914053210538044984998099759112037774325747677338155944481420197536161705280074528591333917295001134504534096095560990844213649640986101037899953698511905794413143356034178471773323653401620847119719436715197909703243893747122645091163524357830390160518710545357217558506731084033828445391063310011117194774811459195514850966441213015974837874520969108301564513340044011598187902897237390309318702010703989872008901462888429026540311177915949456915616178883244309726822

Welcome back to AndroidGuys' new series, Share With the Class!  To kick things off, we asked you what your favorite productivity apps were.  Some of you mentioned titles like Gmote, SwiFTP Server, Astrid, and ListBuddy.  It was interesting to hear how people use many different apps in many different days.  This time around we wanted to know what free apps you would be willing to pay for.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Scan to download Dialer One

I have more than 500 contacts.  Scrolling through them is much easier with Dialer One. T9 functionality makes it simple while driving.  The author updates the app several times a week, based on user requests.  You can start the app by long press on search button.  It supports many languages in the phone book; all my contacts are in Cyrillic.  Developed by the same author who made aContacts, also a popular dialer for Android. - Arseniy Finberg

Wireless tether (for root users) is dead simple to use. A lot easier to use than any of the Blackberry or Nokia solutions. It should have come pre-installed on the phone in the first place.  Its something that I use every single day on my phone. It eliminates the need for me to have a separate SIM card in my netbook and thus a second plan/account. This app focuses on doing one thing and does it very well.  - Brandon Roberts

I'd definitely be willing to throw a few dollars to the developer of Linda File Manager.  It's a free ad-supported file manager that is fast, solid, and not system intensive.  Fills a huge void, without the large footprint of other file managers.  It's got ads, which can always be annoying, but it's performance more than makes up for that.  I'd gladly pay for an ad-free version. - Justin Jelinek

I like listening to podcasts. The thing is I hate to sit and wait (mainly forget) to update them before I leave in the morning. Now with Google Listen it doesn't matter if I forget because all my favorite podcasts are accessible on my Android phone. All I have to do is hit "my listen items" and the cure to bad radio is anywhere I go. - Adam Marquart

The free app I would pay for is last.fm. It's a nice front end to the online radio of the same name. You get a nice widget to play your recommended radio from. You also get a full app to change stations, add new artists and listen to music. The app also adds any artists played on your device to your library. - James Pearce

I think the best thing that smart phones are capable of doing is catching radio streams.  The best I found for Android is A Online Radio.  Even though the station selections are a bit limited compared to the big guys (AOL, Yahoo) I have lucked out and found about six of my local stations that I listen to.  Being able to tune in radio stations where you get bad FM reception has prevented many a boring workday.

Scan to download A Online Radio

This is the reason why I think I would easily pay about the $5.99 range for a multi-channel stream app or 99¢ for individual stations.  Along with some of your local stations A Online Radio also supports Shoutcast and Icecast streams, so if you are handy enough you can create you own station to stream your mp3 collection.  - Brian H. Harris

I have two apps that are free that I would definitely pay for. The first is Twicca. I've tried just about every Twitter client there is for Android and I just keep coming back to this one. The interface is simple, the app is fast, and I love that a huge list of options for each tweet are just a tap away. My second app is Astro File Manager. I don't know what I would do without a file manager for any device with a file system. That's definitely worth paying for. - Jason Crabtree

Your Turn!

So now it's time to hear what free apps you are using that you might consider paying for.  Is it one of the above?  Why do you like it so much?  Come on, share with the class!

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As we’ve all heard by now, Skype Mobile is coming soon to Verizon’s Blackberry and Android phones. It sounds good, but how does it compare to Google Voice (GV) and why isn’t Verizon pushing Google Voice with the same enthusiasm?

Presumably, the Skype deal involves Skype giving Verizon a cut of the revenue earned selling Skype services to Verizon customers. Otherwise, there would probably be no deal. Skype has always been snubbed by carriers, but they’ve finally figured out how to get in the door… by paying the man! Meanwhile, Google has managed to leverage its Android operating system to get GV distributed.

Okay, Verizon is happy, Skype is happy and Verizon users can now call other Skype users for free so they are happy too. This appears to be the main benefit to Verizon users, calling other Skype users… while those being called are at their PC or have the app running on their smartphone. Sure, there are millions of Skype users saving billions of dollars calling internationally, and for these people it will give them the added benefit of calling from their Android phone, but for all other calling within the US and internationally (calling from the US), GV is the less expensive alternative… and with 100% Android integration.

Before going into detail on the cost savings, let’s first look at how Skype Mobile is being implemented for Verizon and how it is different. Skype is a voice over IP (VOIP) service that traditionally allows calling over the internet rather than the public switched telephone network (PSTN). All other mobile Skype apps on various mobile phones use the carrier’s data service rather than the voice service, i.e. does not use minutes. However, in the case of “Skype Mobile”, Verizon is carrying Skype calls, using its voice network, from the smartphone to Skype’s VOIP gateways and Skype routes the call to the destination over the internet. In doing so, Verizon is requiring a voice plan (and data plan), but has wisely chosen not to deduct minutes for Skype Mobile calls.

Wow, this sounds great! It doesn’t use monthly plan minutes, but to call someone on their cell or home number, users need to buy Skype credit for the minutes used. Sounds like a pre-paid cell plan, but I digress. It’s not that Skype Mobile is a bad deal, in fact it’s a real good deal for “Unlimited US/Canada”  calling for only $3 per month. What makes it unattractive is that GV with a Friends & Family plan allows for unlimited calls (at least to the US) for free… without the $3/mo charge.

By simply setting the GV access number as a F&F number, users can make unlimited outbound calls without deducting from one’s monthly plan minutes. Of course, taking advantage of this requires a 900-minute individual plan or 1400-minute family plan whereas using Skype Mobile will not, hopefully. This may leave Verizon users wondering if it might be more cost effective to use Skype Mobile exclusively, opting for the least expensive, lowest minute voice plan. This plan blows up pretty fast after thinking it through, however.

Skype Mobile cannot be used exclusively the same way GV can to save monthly cell charges. Attempting to call regular numbers would generally require the use of caller ID and a Skype ‘Online Number’ for $60 per year. This doesn’t sound too bad, but here’s the kicker… using the Skype number means users will be receiving SMS at this number and according to Skype’s published SMS rates, sending SMS to/from US cell numbers is 11 cents  per message. That’s $55 for 500 messages. Therefore, Skype Mobile may only be viable for calling other Skype users. For those with elaborate Skype networks, this is great news. For all other calls, Google Voice is still king.

While GV is great for Verizon users, what about the other major US carriers? AT&T has its A-List, same deal. As for T-Mobile, the original Android carrier, there are probably over 100,000 Nexus One users and hopefully many have a MyFaves account. Those who signed a new contract, thus giving up the My Faves feature, are not able to take advantage of GV to the same degree. Sprint? Well, Sprint doesn’t have a F&F equivalent, but users may already have an unlimited plan or plenty of minutes, which would make GV unappealing anyway. For international calling, GV is still a viable option, however.

When comparing international rates, GV is cheaper to nearly every destination by varying amounts anywhere from 5% to 50% or more. When calling more popular countries using GV, an across-the-board comparison shows calling land lines will cost 5-15% less while calling mobile numbers will cost 20-50% less. Be sure to check rates (for Swype and for Google Voice) for the country you are calling or see this comparison chart. There are, in fact, a few exceptions where Skype is cheaper. They are: Belgium, Austria, Chile and the Czech Republic -2.1 cents per minute using Skype vs. 3 cents using GV. Calling Finland is 3.1 cents per minute vs. 5 cents using GV. Sounds insignificant, but the savings percentage is 43% and 61% respectively.

Verizon deserves a round of applause for opening the door to a VOIP app even if it isn’t VOIP in the truest sense. Skype Mobile will serve avid Skype users very well and bring in more customers. This is good for users and good for competition making Skype Mobile a great companion to Google Voice. Meanwhile, we await Google’s integration of Gizmo5 or will it remain on the back burner?

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ESPN and Sprint are teaming up to give Android users the ultimate sports experience in the palm of their hand. Starting today, ESPN Mobile TV will offer Sprint consumers live sports programming and entertainment from ESPN.

The service will be offered via the existing Sprint TV application and does not require a software upgrade.

“Mobile has become an invaluable screen to the digital consumer. To super serve sports fans, you have to provide live coverage on the go, and we are excited to be working with Sprint to provide this offering to its customers.”Matt MurphySVP ESPN Media Networks

We don’t have a Sprint Android phone at the moment so we are unable to review this service. If you own a HTC Hero or Samsung Moment, please let us know how the new ESPN Mobile TV performs.

Programming and live events through April include:

• 23 Live Men’s NCAA Basketball Games (including Conference Championship games)
• 19 Live Women’s NCAA Basketball Championship Games
• 9 NBA Playoff Games
• 15 Regular Season NBA Games
• 30 Live NBA Fastbreak Shows
• 10 Regular Season MLB Games
• 50 Live Baseball Tonight Studio Shows
• 3 College Football Spring games
• 3 Live Friday Night Fights
• 3 Live NCAA Hockey Championship Games
• 5 Live MLS Matches

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It’s feeling a little like deja-vu here at Android Community, with another Android device from Motorola in to review. Hot on the heels of the Motorola DEVOUR and Motorola BACKFLIP comes T-Mobile’s latest Android smartphone, the Motorola CLIQ XT. As the name suggests, Motorola are positioning the CLIQ XT as a derivative of the original CLIQ (launched back in November 2009) but eschewing the QWERTY keyboard in favor of a newly slim line touch screen-only form factor. Question is, have Motorola done enough to update the rest of the smartphone? Check out the full Android Community review after the cut.

We weren’t joking about the deja-vu; the CLIQ XT (which will be sold as the Motorola QUENCH outside the US) has the same 3.1-inch HVGA 320 x 480 capacitive touchscreen as the DEVOUR and BACKFLIP, together with the latter’s 5-megapixel autofocus camera. There’s 3G – though here it’s support for T-Mobile USA’s 3G network, rather than Verizon or AT&T – along with WiFi b/g and Bluetooth 2.0. It also gets Motorola’s MOTOBLUR social networking system, which pulls in updates from Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other services, links them with contacts on your handset, and allows you to post updates to one or all of the networks from homescreen widgets.

Unfortunately, it’s MOTOBLUR that’s likely to blame for the CLIQ XT’s aged version of Android. With devices like the Google Nexus One and the HTC Legend – which we reviewed earlier this week – delivering Android 2.1, to launch yet another device with Android 1.5 seems increasingly unforgivable. Motorola say they’re working on an updated version of MOTOBLUR which will be compatible with 2.1, but there’s no public timescale as to its release; similarly, there’s no telling when – or if – further updates to coincide with newer versions of Android might arrive. To be fair, this is something HTC users have faced with HTC Sense, but it’s a concerning fragmentation trend in Android right now.

Even taking into account the limitations of Android 1.5, the CLIQ XT isn’t exactly a speed demon. Unchanged from the original CLIQ is the 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A chipset, something even Motorola themselves have abandoned in other recent devices. It adds up to an occasionally sluggish user experience, particularly when navigating between data-heavy apps (such as MOTOBLUR) or using the onscreen keyboard; given there’s no hardware QWERTY any more, that’s doubly frustrating.

Perhaps to assuage such annoyances, T-Mobile and Motorola have partnered with Swype to preload the company’s predictive keyboard technology onto the CLIQ XT. Rather than demanding you hunt-and-peck across the ‘board, Swype allows you to drag your finger from letter to letter, guessing at the word you were aiming for when you lift that finger from the display. We’ve already been using Swype on the Nexus One, and it works very well, certainly if speed is your number one priority. After some practice it’s possible to far outpace a regular on-screen keyboard, especially once you realize the dictionary is still capable of picking out the correct word even if your finger-accuracy isn’t 100-percent.

Non-dictionary words can be entered – and are subsequently stored – by tapping them in as usual, though we prefer the layout of other Android keyboards such as HTC’s to Swype’s. It’s also more successful with longer words; where we had ongoing problems was with shorter terms, those with apostrophes – such as “don’t” – and confusion between single and double letters in words. Meanwhile the trackpad underneath the touchscreen works as well as that on the back of the BACKFLIP, but we still found ourselves using the touchscreen more often than not.

Other changes Motorola have made include adding in pinch-zooming and Flash Lite in the browser, though their processor choice means the CLIQ XT is unlikely to see an update to full Flash. Best of all, though, is the work they’ve done on the Android media player. In its native form it’s an unloveable thing, but after Motorola have had their way there’s automatic lyric and album art downloads from Tunewiki and Internet radio streaming, along with an FM radio and YouTube support. It addresses one of the core shortcomings of Android in its present form, and lays down a challenge to Google themselves for the next release of the platform.

The 5-megapixel camera may tick all the spec sheet boxes, but performance is underwhelming. Autofocus is slow to lock, and more often than not images themselves are blurred or poorly exposed. Maximum video capture is 352 x 288 24fps, which falls short of what other recent Android handsets can manage. Meanwhile the HVGA display and the early version of the OS means there are numerous apps in the Android Market that won’t run on the CLIQ XT, though you do get the usual bevy of preloaded Google titles such as Gmail and Google Maps. Since there’s no Google Maps Navigation beta for Android 1.5 (only 1.6 and higher) if you want turn-by-turn directions then Motorola will point you in the direction of T-Mobile’s TeleNav partnership, which charges $2.99 per month (versus Google’s free alternative).

Motorola are claiming up to 6hrs talktime or 325hrs standby on a full charge, though with MOTOBLUR regularly pulling in updates you’re looking at a nightly top-up if you want to make it through the day. Shutting off the social networking features would obviously prolong the CLIQ XT, but given they’re so integral to the overall experience we’re not sure why an owner would do that (rather than, say, picking another Android device). It’s also worth noting that Android 1.5 lacks the in-depth power monitoring tools of later versions.

Given Motorola’s more recent Android phones have been spread across various networks as exclusives, you can’t exactly accuse them of flooding the market. Still, after the excellent DROID we’d like to have seen a little more imagination in their latest handsets, the CLIQ XT included. Contrasted with the HTC Legend – which, admittedly, won’t be arriving in its current European form in the US – the CLIQ XT’s chassis feels overly-plastic and under-designed. The expanse of textured battery cover (of which Motorola provide two color choices in the box) is calling out for a more inspiring treatment, and the hardware feels either underwhelming (like the HVGA resolution or lackluster chipset) or underused (like the 5-megapixel camera).

Of course, the CLIQ XT’s saving grace is likely to be its price, and while T-Mobile are yet to announce official figures we’re expecting the smartphone to come in at around $130 with a new, two-year agreement. That would put it not far short of the $150 T-Mobile are currently asking for the original CLIQ, which is obviously bulkier than the newer handset but otherwise offers much the same experience. The CLIQ XT fits reasonable in the hand and is certainly more pocketable, but it does feel a little like T-Mobile are treading water having previously led the carrier pack when it comes to Android. It’s not a bad smartphone by any measure, and its media player functionality is ahead of the game when it comes to rivals based on the same platform, but the Motorola CLIQ XT falls short of anything but mid-range, middle of the road mediocrity.

Many companies have tried to solve the application discovery problem with Android Market, but none have succeeded (until now).

AppAware is a free application that tracks installations, updates, and removals of Android programs. The service works surprisingly well because it captures and shares the information in real time. Users can participate anonymously or share their history via Twitter.

By using AppAware, any user can immediately see which applications are hot by watching how many people install them. The stats can be filtered by hour, day, or week so you can instantly discover the most buzz worthy apps.

When users install the Android app, they can also see which programs are being downloaded around their location and find the top installs for their specific device.

Since installing AppAware, I have found myself checking the app several times a day to see what others are installing. It has been helpful because I actually discovered quite a few new apps before I even knew they were available. I also like watching the updated apps list to see which programs deserve a second look.

If you enjoy playing with new apps and staying on top of the Android buzz, then AppAware is a must download. Give it a try for a couple of days and I guarantee you will discover a new app to install.

Update: Several users reported the service is offline after we posted this article. It appears we have overwhelmed their server. We will post an update when it comes back online.

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So what started as a quiet and respectable gathering of geeks has slightly ballooned into a full on party. We were able to secure a much larger space and have been able to send invites to dozens of you that RSVP’d over the past week. We are again getting close to capacity, so if you haven’t RSVP’d yet, do so by firing an email to RSVP@androidandme.com.

The meetup is going down at Opal Divine’s in downtown Austin on 6th street. Come join us for some food and drink or to just say hey. We’ll have free t-shirts on hand and would like to put one all over your midsection.

Andy over Austin

Which brings me to some bad news. Originally, we ordered way more shirts than we had spots. Now that we have a larger area, we’ve got way more space than shirts. It’s a stinky situation but we’d rather hang out with as many of you as possible rather than turning people away because we don’t have enough shirts. Because we came up a bit short we’ll only be able to give tees to the first 50 guests to check in to the party.

Since location-based services seem to be all the buzz at this year’s event, we are going to try a small experiment. We want all the guests to check in, tweet, or buzz about the gathering with Gowalla, Foursquare, Twitter, Brightkite, or whatever location-aware micro status updating doohickey currently has your fancy. Doing so will score you a free shirt. At the party we’ll have a table set up for the shirts and to score one you’ve simply gotta come with phone in hand and show us a status update.

We think it’ll be fun to see what effect (if any) a large crowd simultaneously spewing social alerts would have. And you get a free tee. So really everybody wins (except those after the first 50, you don’t win. At all.) To sum things up, we made this handy poster (which you’ll find at the event, marking the tee table):

Handy chart leading you to a free shirt (click for full size)

Also, that crazy awesome poster up top features our favorite Android characters Andy & Bill and was illustrated by Angie just for the event. We’ll have a couple dozen of them on hand at the party to give away so arrive early if you’d like to get your hands on one. If you just can’t wait, here is a Flickr set filled with shots of the final posters.

To sum things up: party tomorrow night, tees for the on-time, fun for all. If you haven’t RSVP’d yet, do so now. Looking forward to seeing all you guys there!

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Update: Verizon has corrected their equipment guide. No Sense UI for their Nexus One.

So much for that rumor. Verizon’s version of the Nexus One will not be sold in stores, but it will could include HTC’s new Sense UI.

Android Central has posted a new leaked document which states the Nexus One will only be available online through Google’s phone store. Buried in the features of the phone is the surprising news of Sense UI. The first Nexus One shipped with stock Android 2.1 and we assumed all the devices in Google’s store would do the same.

It is generally expected that Google and Verizon will announce the Nexus One on March 23rd at CTIA. If they follow the same launch strategy as the first Nexus One, the device could be available to purchase on the same day.

If you are on Verizon and were waiting to purchase the Nexus One, does this new information affect your decision? Do you prefer stock Android or Sense UI? Are you ready to order the phone on day one?

Really? Typo?

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We’ve been hearing a few success stories about Android developers in recent weeks, and the latest to trumpet their achievements is Snaptic.  The company is claiming almost 2,000,000 active installs, in no small part thanks to Android’s Intent functionality which allows developers to combine functionality of other applications.

In that way, Snaptic’s note-taking functionality has been integrated with the BBC’s News app, together with various recipe, dictionary, horoscope and other apps.  The app allows for text and media to be snipped from those apps and saved in a user-specific database, which is sync’d in cloud-based storage and accessible via a website.

Snaptic now say they’re adding in new developer functionality in the latest version of their Notes API, with more news coming out of SXSW this weekend.  What they haven’t said is anything about financial success; it’s not entirely clear how much money Snaptic are making from their 2m active users.

Press Release:

Snaptic Nears 2 Million Installs on Android

Quietly establishes lead in note-taking applications on Android, new developer integrations announced at SXSW

San Francisco, Calif. — Snaptic , a developer of smartphone and web applications that capture, organize, and share information has quietly become the leader in note-taking applications on Google’s Android™ with nearly 2,000,000 active installs. With a vision of easy information capture for all, Snaptic has introduced a simple way for Android developers to integrate note-taking capabilities into their own applications.

Many of the most popular applications in the Android Market, collectively representing millions of users, have integrated with Snaptic to make it easy for their users to save content to their notebooks. Some of the applications include:

1. Free Dictionary.org – Provides definitions, synonyms, pronunciation, spelling, and word quizzes.
2. BBC News – Delivers the latest news and headlines from the BBC.
3. DailyHoroscope – Conjures fresh horoscopes daily.
4. Favorite Recipes – Serves up thousands of recipes by ingredients, keywords or categories.
5. 10,001 Cocktails – Mixes preloaded recipes with drink search across a broad range of drink categories.
6. Tip Calculator – Simple to use calculator that makes it easy to split up a bill without having to do the math.

Snaptic is leading the charge in offering note-taking integration options for developers using the Android Platform’s “Intent” feature. Android Intent offers a simple way for developers to collaborate and leverage each other’s strengths and core competencies to deliver new, feature rich experiences for their application end-users. Snaptic has defined its own note-taking Intent API and published examples for developers to reference.

“Snaptic is focused on making it easy for people to capture information into a personal data cloud that’s accessible 24/7,” said Steve Brown, CEO of Snaptic. “Now Android developers can easily add note-taking to their apps and their users can save what they want from their favorite apps into their mobile notes.”

Information that is captured from integrated applications is automatically tagged to make it simple to navigate and retrieve saved content. End-users get additional benefit by being able to sync with the web at http://snaptic.com so that no matter where content is captured it’s consistent and available at all times.

Snaptic will be presenting at the SXSW 2010 conference in Austin Texas on Saturday, March 13, at the Hilton at 12:50PM to showcase how Android developers are working together to enhance end-user experiences. More information can be found at http://my.sxsw.com/events/event/748

About Snaptic
Snaptic is a leading developer of smartphone and web applications that capture, organize, and share information. As the leader in note-taking and geo-tagging applications in the Google Android Market, Snaptic provides the easiest way for developers to integrate note-taking capabilities into their applications. For more information, please visit http://snaptic.com.

Snaptic™, 3banana®, and AK Notepad™, Compass™, are trademarks of Snaptic, Inc.

It’s no secret that location, location, location is the hot topic here as we approach SXSW. Seems like nowadays everyone is jumping on board the location bandwagon, trying to get a piece of that sweet, social activity action. As new competitors erupt it has been interesting to watch the established guys step up their game to stay on top.

My profile, with activity

To that end, Foursquare has released a new update featuring a completely refreshed user interface and new SXSW content just in time for the big show. The new interface is a huge step up and is easily one of the nicer looking social apps available in the market.

The new interface features refreshed icons, an improved color scheme, and a handful of new features. The friends tab holds a nice stream of all your friend’s activity, as well as a leader board (for just your friends or your whole city). Places is a list of venues and locations you can check in to for badges and bragging rights while the Me tab is a central location for all your unlocked achievements.

Along with the new look comes some new content focused on SXSW. The Foursquare website updated a few days back with a look at all the new SXSW badges and hoopla, including a live game of foursquare (the playground hit) in downtown Austin.

Last night while we were out running around Austin with friends I noticed the new update notification for Foursquare. I’d heard a new user interface was on the way so I quickly grabbed the app and fired it up to find new, in-app SXSW content. When I check in to an Austin location Foursquare adds a SXSW banner at the bottom for keeping track of all your Austin accolades.

SXSW stats

The app also will let you create a venue, something sorely missing from the Gowalla native app. Unlike Gowalla, however, Foursquare will let you check in to a location when you are miles from it, sort of defeating the point of the app being location-aware. But if you can trust your social graph there is plenty of fun to be had here.

Foursquare launched at last year’s SXSW event so this is somewhat of a birthday for them. In just a year they’ve been able to pick up more than 500,000 users and over 1.4 million venues.

So for those of you coming to SXSW: make sure you have Foursquare installed (and Gowalla for that matter. This week I’ll be running both). It should a pretty easy way to find out what’s going on where and with who (in theory, at least). Check out a full gallery of screens below:

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Our recent look at the Nexus One touch screen generated a lot of questions and now we are back with some answers. The Nexus One touchscreen is not “broken” – it just suffers from a hardware limitation we were not aware of and did not perform as we expected.

For starters, let us look at the actual touch sensor used in the Nexus One. HTC selected the ClearPad 2000 capacitive touchscreen sensor. This touch sensor first debuted in 2007 and we believe HTC has used it in all their Android phones.

The ClearPad 2000 has support for “two-finger interaction and gestures” such as pinch zoom and pivot rotate, which is exactly how Google implemented it. Pinch zoom in the browser, gallery, and maps works flawlessly and we have no complaints.

The problems arise when developers try to use complex two-finger movements (like those found in games).

These multitouch issues have been well documented on the Android Developers forum and a Google employee responded with the following:

“This has nothing to do with the Android platform.  Please do not file bugs about it.  Android is just reporting what the hardware is capable of reporting.  There is no “normalization” for games or such, there is just the data the screen provides.  (Though there is some special code in the current framework for cleaning up the data from the Droid screen; arguably this should be in the driver or firmware for it, since this is really screen and hardware specific kind of stuff.  At any rate, it is not applicable to basic screen capabilities like here.)”Dianne HackbornAndroid framework engineer

The Motorola Droid features a different touch sensor (I don’t know which one. Help?) from the HTC phones and includes “some special code” which is the reason it performed better in our testing.

So what is this special code and can it be used on the Nexus One? Steve Kondik (Cyanogen) dug through the source and found the following:

Interestingly, there is a hack in the framework (which is enabled on the Droid, but not on the N1) that can be enabled by setting config_filterTouchEvents. With it disabled (the default), I get the axis-flipping problem. Enabling it fixes this, but there are still issues with the points “sticking” when they cross.CyanogenBacon lover

So as you can see, the Nexus One (and all other HTC Android phones) suffer from hardware limitations, but we could see an improvement in performance through a future software update.

Now that most of us are aware with the limitations, we know what to expect from future Android games. Developers can use two touches as long as they are careful about how they are implemented. Advanced two-finger gaming as seen on the iPhone, might never be possible because of the hardware that HTC is using.

If you want something to look forward to, check out the newer Synaptics ClearPad 3000. This touch sensor supports true multi-finger gestures and can recognize up to ten touches. Maybe HTC will pony up the cash and include it with their next superphone.

Synaptics ClearPad 3000 Series from Synaptics, Inc. on Vimeo.

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The Droid Duck Hunt Android App by Bluefoot Solutions brings the classic Nintendo Duck Hunt game to the Android platform. This game has the look of this classic game but the controls and lack of levels are a disappointment. You control the cross-hair by holding your phone flat and using your phone’s accelerometer in order to move the cross-hair. To shoot simply press on the display screen. The problem is that the cross-hair moves too slow. Another issue is the tree on the right hand side of the screen is too thick so if a duck flies behind the tree it is difficult to see and/or shoot it.

A few suggestions to make this game great would be to fix the controls and make the tree more transparent with less leaves. A local and online score leader board would also be a good idea as well so players can see how they match up against other players all over the world.

Overall, this classic game would be great if the recommendations in this review were implemented. At the time of this review the Droid Duck Hunt Android App is $1.99. Needs some work.

Screenshots: