Droid Today - Google Android news & information. We follow industry trends in the mobile mobile computing marketspace

New Android Marketplace update on the way

By Jeff Watson | 07.31.2011 | Android, Android Apps | Comments Off

Google announced a few weeks back that they would be delivering a new and improved version of the Android Marketplace to all devices running on Android 2.2+. Multiple users have informed us today that they have already started receiving the update.

The update brings video rentals and books to purchase to the market. The video section includes star-based rating system, a synopsis of the plot, cast and crew, a short video preview, reviews and related titles. Video rentals will start at $1.99. If you would like to purchase a book, you can view a sample and a description of the book. The new colorful UI allows users to view up to 12 apps or games at a time. Read more…

Email may haunt Google in patent case

By Jeff Watson | 07.30.2011 | Android | Comments Off

It may be wiser for Google to settle its patent infringement showdown with Oracle than take it to trial. New documents emerging from early hearings in the case suggest the search giant may have a tough time mounting a “no willful infringement” defense against Oracle’s claims that the Android operating system infringes its Java patents..

The first bit, as noted by FossPatent’s Florian Mueller, is a passage from an October 2005 email written by Andy Rubin, Google’s senior VP of mobile, concerning Sun, which held the patents at issue here before being acquired by Oracle.

“If Sun doesn’t want to work with us, we have two options: 1) Abandon our work and adopt MSFT CLR VM and C# language – or – 2) Do Java anyway and defend our decision, perhaps making enemies along the way.” Read more…

Mobsoup.com mobile analytics for android, iphone, blackberry opens it’s doors to developers

By Brian Kelley | 08.31.2010 | Android, Android Apps, Android Development, Android Phones | Comments Off

Mobsoup, which is either a bizarre name for a mobster or an appetizer that tastes like cement shoes, has just released their “HUMANalytics” (mobile analytics) platform to developers. While it isn’t the first mobile analytics engine on the web (and probably won’t be the last), it offers at least one option that the others do not: the ability to download raw statistics so developers and software houses can perform their own analysis. Trends for the mobile market space show nothing but Everest-like upward sweeps for the next 5 years and the general consensus is that any venture involved in the mobile experience has room for even more competition.

Motorola Reveals Three New Android Smartphones in China

By Brian Kelley | 08.31.2010 | Android, Android Phones | Comments Off

Motorola released two new Android smartphones for China on Monday, and announced details of another, as the company broadens its product offerings for the Chinese market.

Part of Motorola’s MING series, the new phones have touchscreen displays and can recognize Chinese characters traced on them.

The MT810 and A1680 are now available in some areas in China, priced at 5,980 renminbi (US$877) and 3,080 renminbi respectively, a company spokeswoman said.

The MT810 will be serviced by China Mobile, has a 3.2-inch screen and can display mobile TV broadcasts in China’s CMMB format. The phone also uses China Mobile’s OPhone 2.0 operating system, which is based on the Android 2.1 version.

The A1680 phone, built for China Unicom, runs Android version 1.6 and has a 3.1-inch display.

Verizon Rolls Out Android 2.2 to Droid Incredible

By Brian Kelley | 08.29.2010 | Android Phones | Comments Off

Verizon Wireless on Friday started to roll out Android 2.2, also known as “Froyo,” to HTC Droid Incredible phones.

The 93.7 MB update adds a ton of new features: it improves browser speed, adds Flash Player 10.1 to the browser, enables 720p high-definition video recording, turns on faster 802.11n Wi-Fi, and lets you use your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot (for $20 extra per month), among other features.

The update makes the Incredible the fourth U.S. phone to get upgraded after the Google Nexus One, HTC EVO 4G for Sprint, and the Motorola Droid for Verizon Wireless. Verizon’s Motorola Droid X and Samsung’s Galaxy S phones, among others, are still waiting for Android 2.2 upgrades.

To download the update, go to Settings, About Phone, System Updates. The update may not appear to all users on Friday, because Verizon has a policy of pushing out updates to different groups of phones over several days’ time.

Mozilla unveils alpha browser for Android

By Brian Kelley | 08.27.2010 | Android Apps | Comments Off

Mozilla today released an alpha version of its mobile browser for smartphones running Google’s Android operating system.

Fennec 2.0, which is built on the same Gecko engine that powers the better-known Firefox 4, adds integrated synchronization and boosts performance by separating user interface and rendering processes, said Stuart Parmenter, Mozilla’s mobile team technical lead.

Libox iPhone app for media streaming will come to Android

By Brian Kelley | 08.26.2010 | Android Apps | Comments Off

Back in June, several sites covered the Tel Aviv, Israel-based startup Libox that aimed to let you play your media on any device, and easily share media with friends. Now Libox has released a free iPhone app, and after playing around with it for a few hours, it’s clear that the company has created something that practically every iPhone owner would find invaluable.

The company already has a very capable mobile web version of its service available (accessible by heading to Libox.com on your smartphone), but its new iPhone app offers an even more refined user experience. Menus are more responsive, media loads faster, and the app also allows you to add media directly from your iPhone to your Libox library (making it accessible on any computer that can access the web, and other mobile devices).