Android 2.1

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July 19, 2011
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Rugged Motorola Titanium hitting Sprint on July 24th for $149.99

By on July 19, 2011 at 2:00 AM.

Rugged Motorola Titanium hitting Sprint on July 24th for $149.99

It looks like the rumors were correct: Sprint announced on Monday that the rugged Motorola Titanium phone will be available on July 24th for $149.99. The Motorola Titanium runs Android 2.1 (Eclair) and meets Mil-Spec 810G ratings for dust, shock, vibration, low pressure, solar radiation, high temperature and low temperature. The Titanium, which supports push-to-talk, is equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard, a 5-megapixel camera, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, a 2GB microSD card and a 1,820mAh battery. Read on for the full press release. More →

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mobile
July 8, 2011
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Sprint’s Motorola Titanium Android phone landing July 24th for $149.99

By on July 8, 2011 at 1:01 AM.

Sprint’s Motorola Titanium Android phone landing July 24th for $149.99

A leak document picked up by SprintFeed suggests that Sprint will launch the Motorola Titanium, an Android smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard, on July 24th for $149.99. The Titanium is no secret as Motorola officially announced it in May, but the company didn’t provide pricing or launch details at that time. The phone supports push-to-talk and offers a military-grade ruggedized design that’s resistant to dust, shock, vibration, low pressure, solar radiation, high temperatures, and low temperatures. It’s equipped with a 3.1-inch touchscreen display and a 5-megapixel camera, but sadly only runs Android 2.1 (Eclair). The price and date aren’t official just yet, but $149.99 sounds about right to us. More →

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mobile
July 7, 2011
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Google Maps 5.7 for Android adds Transit Navigation, better search, photo viewer [video]

By on July 7, 2011 at 2:01 AM.

Google Maps 5.7 for Android adds Transit Navigation, better search, photo viewer [video]

Google took the wraps off of Google Maps 5.7 for Android devices on Wednesday, and the software update adds quite a few new features. The most noteworthy addition is Google’s Transit Navigation beta feature, which provides navigation instructions for public transportation in more than 400 cities around the globe. You don’t have to leave it open, either. Once you’ve started your trip, Transit Navigation will automatically remind you with an alert when your stop is coming up. Google also made it easier to find driving or walking directions in one click, improved search suggestions with category icons, and added a photo viewer to the Places feature of Google Maps. The update is available free from the Android Market for devices running Android 2.1 or newer. Hit the jump for a video of Transit Navigation beta in action. More →

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mobile
May 31, 2011
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AT&T’s Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 finally gets Android 2.1 (Eclair) update

By on May 31, 2011 at 7:25 AM.

AT&T’s Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 finally gets Android 2.1 (Eclair) update

Countless Android fans complain about new phones still launching with Froyo while Gingerbread has long since been pulled out of the oven, but Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 owners on AT&T can only dream of frozen desserts. Sony Ericsson on Tuesday announced that the Android-powered Xperia that started it all will finally be updated from Android 1.6 — yes, that’s Donut — to Android 2.1, Eclair. Obvious annoyances aside, it’s quite clear that AT&T and Sony Ericsson had some major issues while getting this update ready for primetime, so we suppose X10 owners should be happy the companies didn’t just give up. New features introduced by the Android 2.1 update include 720p HD video capture support, continuous auto-focus and face detection in video capture, multitouch support and five home screens instead of three. Eclair is available for the Xperia X10 beginning Tuesday, May 31st, and it can be accessed by visiting sonyericsson.com/attupdate on a PC. More →

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mobile
May 13, 2011
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Barnes & Noble updates NOOK for Android app with magazines, newspapers

By on May 13, 2011 at 11:11 PM.

Barnes & Noble updates NOOK for Android app with magazines, newspapers

Barnes & Noble announced on Friday that it has updated NOOK for Android eReader application with access to newspapers and magazines. Users with 7-inch 800 x 480 resolution tablets running Android OS 2.1 and higher — that includes the Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Tab 10.1, XOOM, G-Slate, and others — can now view more than 120 magazines including popular periodicals such as Esquire, Maxim, Rolling Stone, and Popular Science, as well as national newspapers such as USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune. Users can choose to access the content with a free 14-day trial, a subscription, or by purchasing issues individually. The update is free and should be available in the Android Market now. Hit the jump for the full release. More →

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mobile
May 10, 2011
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WatchESPN streaming video app now available for Android

By on May 10, 2011 at 6:58 AM.

WatchESPN streaming video app now available for Android

WatchESPN, an app that allows users to stream live TV content to devices over Wi-Fi or cellular data connections, is now available for Android devices. ESPN released the app for the iPhone and iPod touch last month and we’ve definitely been enjoying it, so seeing the network follow up with an Android app last week was most certainly welcomed. WatchESPN streams live content from ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com provided you subscribe to a cable TV package from one of ESPN’s partner companies. If your cable provider isn’t among those listed by ESPN, however, you’re unfortunately out of luck. More →

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Breaking
May 5, 2011
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Sprint unveils Motorola XPRT and Motorola Titanium Android phones

By on May 5, 2011 at 9:06 AM.

Sprint unveils Motorola XPRT and Motorola Titanium Android phones

Sprint on Thursday unveiled two new Android smartphones from Motorola — the Motorola XPRT and the Motorola Titanium. The XPRT is a dual-mode smartphone capable of roaming internationally on GSM networks, and it’s also the first Android phone from Sprint to feature enterprise-class security. Spec highlights include Android 2.2 (Froyo) with MOTOBLUR, a 3.1-inch touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera, a full QWERTY keyboard with BlackBerry-style buttons, a 1GHz processor and Adobe Flash 10 support. The Motorola Titanium is Sprint’s successor to the i1, and it will be a military-grade ruggedized smartphone running Android 2.1 (Eclair). Other highlights include a full BlackBerry-style QWERTY keypad, a 3.1-inch touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera, Push to Talk support and dust, shock, vibration, low pressure, solar radiation, high temperature and low temperature resistance. The Motorola XPRT launches on June 5th for $129.99 on contract. Pricing and availability details are not yet available for the Titanium. Hit the break for Sprint’s full press release. More →

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mobile
May 4, 2011
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MLB intros MLB.TV mobile phone only subscription for $50 per year

By on May 4, 2011 at 5:59 AM.

MLB intros MLB.TV mobile phone only subscription for $50 per year

MLB has announced a new MLB.TV subscription package that’s aimed at baseball fans that only want access to live play-by-play content on their mobile phones. The package costs $49.99 per year, which is a considerable price drop from the MLB.TV Premium ($109.99 per year), and standard MLB.TV ($89.99 per year) packages that also include support for PC/Mac, Roku, Boxee, and playback on specific connected televisions. The only requirement is that you have an iPhone, iPod touch, or an Android 2.1+ smartphone with the $15 MLB At Bat 11 application installed. Now all you need in your cubicle is a mini-fridge with a few sixers of Bud Light. Oh, and a winning baseball team. More →

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mobile
April 27, 2011
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Google Docs standalone app for Android now available

By on April 27, 2011 at 7:20 PM.

Google Docs standalone app for Android now available

Yes, we’re also tired of accessing Google’s mobile website to view our Google Docs on Android. That’s why we’re happy to report that Google has officially launched a standalone app for Android smartphones. Users can open attachments directly from GMail, share and filter docs, and upload new documents right from their Android phone. There’s also a homescreen widget for quickly opening starred documents, uploading photo, or creating new files. But here’s the real squeeze: the app uses optical character recognition (OCR) tech which allows you to snap photos of text to create editable documents — sorry Kinkos! Uploaded photos will be automatically convert to this format, too. Google says the only limitation is that it doesn’t recognize handwriting and “some fonts.” Google Docs for Android is available for Android 2.1+ phones in the Android Market now. Hit the jump for the QR code.

More →

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mobile
April 20, 2011
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CNN outs free Android app

By on April 20, 2011 at 5:59 AM.

CNN outs free Android app

On Tuesday, CNN announced the availability of its mobile news application for the Android platform. The app provides quick access to CNN’s main news stories and features — complete with a picture-driven user interface — and closely resembles the news organization’s current iOS offering. Other features include free access to CNN Radio, breaking news notifications, and the option to share live photos and videos with CNN — a feature CNN refers to as “iReporter.” We’ve installed the CNN application on our T-Mobile G2x, and enjoy the robust feature set it offers. We also dig the customizable widget that is bundled with the app. CNN for Android requires Android 2.1 or higher and is available in the Android Market now. More →

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mobile
April 15, 2011
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Daily Android activations surpass 350,000 mark

By on April 15, 2011 at 8:30 AM.

Daily Android activations surpass 350,000 mark

In case you haven’t heard, Android is kind of a big deal. Some research firms say it’s already the world’s top smartphone operating system, having recently passed Symbian’s quarterly sales pace for the first time, and just about every firm on the planet is predicting that Android’s market share will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. And it’s not just hot air — Google on Thursday during its first-quarter earnings call revealed that daily Android activations have surpassed the 350,000 mark. That adds up to nearly 2.5 million Android activations each week and about 10.5 million activations each month. Google said in December of last year that it was activating 300,000 Android devices each day, and if it can maintain its current pace there’s no question it will achieve global market dominance for years to come.

74 Comments
mobile
April 8, 2011
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Alltel adds LG Axis, Samsung Gem, HTC Merge, Motorola Milestone X to Android lineup

By on April 8, 2011 at 6:43 AM.

Alltel adds LG Axis, Samsung Gem, HTC Merge, Motorola Milestone X to Android lineup

Alltel on Thursday announced four new Android smartphones, including the LG Axis (free), Samsung Gem ($89.99), HTC Merge ($124.99), and Motorola Milestone X. The LG Axis and Samsung Gem both run Android 2.1, which is two generations old — the HTC Merge and Motorola Milestone X are likely the more attractive of the bunch. The HTC Merge sports a full QWERTY keyboard and runs Android 2.2 (Froyo) under HTC’s Sense user interface. Meanwhile, the Motorola Milestone X is powered by Android 2.2 and sports a 4.3-inch touchscreen display as well as an 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash and 8GB of on-board memory. Alltel says the four phones are available now in stores and online, although pricing for the Milestone X has not yet been announced and the device was not listed on Alltel’s website at the time of this writing. Hit the jump for the full release. More →

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mobile
April 4, 2011
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87% of Android developers think fragmentation is a problem, survey finds

By on April 4, 2011 at 3:04 PM.

87% of Android developers think fragmentation is a problem, survey finds

The debate surrounding Android fragmentation continues to draw attention, and the issue resurfaced on Monday following the results of a recent survey. According to Baird analyst William Powers, roughly 87% of Android developers believe that fragmentation is a problem for the Android platform. 57% feel Android’s fragmentation problem is either “huge” or “meaningful,” and about 30% agree that it is a problem to a lesser degree. Google said this past November that the overwhelming majority of Android devices — 77% — run Android 2.1 or Android 2.2, but developers apparently still feel that the existence of multiple Android versions in the market at the same time is less than ideal. What’s more, the company’s recent decision to provide limited early access to upcoming Android builds for partners whose plans for the software are approved by Google suggests that the company views fragmentation as more of a problem than it might convey publicly. More →

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