Patent app shows what a single hub for Google social networking might look like

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I think most of us can agree that Google will at some point end up with its own social network and that the network will be heavily tied into anything running the Android OS. With the popularity of Android, a highly integrated social network could be very successful even though almost everyone on the web uses Facebook today and other social networks are quickly becoming also runs. Google already has many different offerings that are based on social interaction, but they are all accessed separately making the services fragmented, for the most part.

A new patent app surfaced today that shows what a central hub for different Google social networking offerings and other Google services might look like. It’s a very simple layout that reminds me more than a little of the Facebook news feed. It also looks a lot like a Twitter news feed. Neither of those are a bad thing considering how well known they are for most of us today.
The second image in the gallery below is much more interesting than the first. It appears to show the ability to check out feeds and updates from just about all Google social networks and services in one place. An integrated hub on Android devices that will show you the updates across Google’s varied offerings all in one vie would be something very cool. The patent app also describes the possibility of an availability indicator that would show the user or the person that posted the updates is available for interaction.

 

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Leaked ROM Reveals Full Specs for T-Mobile Mytouch 4G Slide

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Earlier today Quentyn reported some fun little leaks of upcoming HTC devices thanks to 911sniper and briefly mentioned the HTC Double Shot (now known as the Mytouch 4G Slide). The guys over at PocketNow were able to crack open the ROM and what came pouring out were rainbows, kitten whiskers and an impressive list of specs. According the build.prop found inside the ROM,  T-Mobile may have something really great in store for the sequel to the Mytouch 3G Slide.
The QWERTY slider will be coming equipped with one of Qualcomm’s dual-core Snapdragon processors and a not too shabby 768MB of RAM. The screen will come in at 3.7-inches and feature an 800×480 resolution (which I’d say is perfect for a QWERTY slider). Another interesting tidbit is the fact that phone supports the codec for 3D video playback indicating the possibility of a 3D screen? And just like the screen, the 8MP camera will also support 3D video recording. The handset will also have a .3MP front facing camera, perfect for video calling seeing how the phone supports HSDPA category 10, capable of 14.4Mbps down on T-Mobile’s network.
Honestly, I am quite impressed with the list of specs on this phone. If you guys remember not too long ago it was rumored that T-Mobile was going to receive a dual-core, 3D qwerty phone nicknamed the Sidekick Twist (Project Emerald anyone?) but it never came to fruition. Although a little late, maybe those rumors weren’t too far off after all. One thing is for certain, if this phone has the same keyboard as the HTC Arrive, you can slap my face and call me jealous.
What do you guys think of this possible HTC QWERTY superphone? Are you second guessing upgrading to the Sensation after seeing this spec list?
[Via PocketNow]
 

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HTC ThunderBolt vs. Samsung DROID Charge: Battle Of The Specs

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Verizon’s pair of LTE handsets are sure to confuse some shoppers – though one is from Samsung (the DROID Charge) and the other from HTC (the ThunderBolt), the two sport relatively similar feature sets and designs that somewhat resemble one another. So what’s the difference? Well, aside from the Charge being $50 more expensive than the already-pricy ThunderBolt, there really aren’t many differentiators – let’s take a side-by-side look at their spec sheets:

Spec type	DROID Charge	ThunderBolt
CPU	1GHz Hummingbird	1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655
Display	4.3" Super AMOLED Plus	4.3" SLCD
OS	Android 2.2 (Froyo) with TouchWiz UI	Android 2.2 (Froyo) with Sense UI
Front camera	1.3MP	1.3MP
Rear camera	8MP with 720P HD recording	8MP with 720p HD recording
RAM	512MB	768MB
Internal storage	2GB	8GB (though not all of that storage is usable)
Included SD card	32GB	32GB
DLNA support	Yes	Yes
Buttons	Physical	Capacitive
Size	130 mm x 68 mm x 12 mm	122 mm x 66 mm x 13.2 mm
Weight	143g	177g
Battery capacity	1600 mAh	1400 mAh
Price on contract	$299	$249

As you can see, neither device is anything to scoff at, though – at least in my eyes – the fact that the ThunderBolt runs Sense UI turns the tide in its favor (despite the Charge’s superior screen and slightly thinner profile). Additionally, the Charge’s $300 asking price isn’t exactly the most budget-friendly deal in town, making it hard to recommend over the T-Bolt. Scroll down for images and videos of each device before commencing holding your breath in anticipation of our DROID Charge review.

 

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Compared: HTC Droid Incredible 2 vs The Original Droid Incredible [Specs]

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It’s April 28th, the official release date for the 2nd generation Droid Incredible from HTC, and if you haven’t studied this phone in detail yet, you’re probably wondering just what exactly has changed since the original "Dinc" entered the market last April. Let’s have a look, shall we?

Key Differences

Network

First and foremost, just like the Droid 2 Global Edition, the new Incredible 2 is a world phone with both CDMA and GSM frequencies. Verizon Wireless provides the following interesting numbers:

• voice service in over 220 countries
• data in over 200 countries
• 3G speeds in more than 125

Quite a step-up from the original already, isn’t it?
A notable omission I should mention while we’re on the subject is the absence of 4G/LTE. If you need a phone capable of faster LTE speeds, the Incredible 2 may not be for you, but if you don’t care about speeds that much and would rather own a world device, you can’t go wrong here.

Screen

The Dinc 2 sports a 4" SLCD screen compared to Dinc’s 3.7" AMOLED (although it was later switched to SLCD as well due to AMOLED shortages). The resolution remained the same at 480×800 pixels.

Cameras, Trackpad

Want video calling? The Dinc 2 has a front-facing 1.3MP camera, which the original Dinc didn’t have, but as a trade-off, it lost the optical trackpad (or "nipple" as some might call it) that so many users grew to love so much. It kind of bugs me that manufacturers insist on omitting it and then end up including a whole row of arrow keys on the keyboard, wasting valuable screen real estate, but I guess aesthetics and a simpler manufacturing process are more important to them.

Memory

To help keep more applications in memory at the same time, the 2nd Dinc includes 768MB of RAM, compared to the 1st one’s 512MB. For comparison purposes, it’s lacking compared to the Atrix 4G’s 1GB (though, in its defense, the Atrix also needs to use a bunch of memory of the Webtop UI), right in line with the Thunderbolt’s 768MB, and noticeably more than the Droid Charge’s 512MB.
The internal storage on the 2nd Dinc doubled to 16GB from 8GB, though it looks like this storage is no longer built-in and comes in the form of a removable SD card.
Space available for apps and system data (what the manufacturers are calling "ROM," though it is clearly writable by the system) seems to be around 1GB, although it would be great if someone else with a real device could confirm it.

Processor

On the CPU side, don’t let the same 1GHz clock speed fool you – instead of the 1st generation Snapdragon QSD8650 processor that used the 65nm technology, we now have the 2nd generation MSM8655 built using the more efficient 45nm technology. This should translate into better performance and [marginally] better battery life.

UI, Sense

Moving on to the UI, the Droid Incredible 2 ships with the 2nd version of HTC’s Sense UI (2.1 to be exact), compared to the 1st generation Sense on the 1st Incredible. While this is no Sense 3.0, which the upcoming EVO 3D and Sensation devices are going to sport, Sense 2.1 is a nice upgrade over the original (see here and here for info on the 2nd generation of Sense).

Battery

Next up, we have a slightly beefier battery on the Dinc 2 – 1450 mAh vs the original Dinc’s 1300 mAh. This should translate into a little bit more usage, but it’s really nothing to write home about.

Wi-Fi

On the networking side, the Dinc2 supports 802.11b/g/n, while the original only officially supported b and g at launch (the chip on the device was capable of supporting 802.11n, but for some reason it wasn’t enabled until Froyo).

DLNA

Droid Incredible 2 supports DLNA streaming for your wireless picture, audio, and video needs.

Weight and size

The weight and size differences are pretty negligible, with the Incredible 2 being slightly larger and heavier, which is not surprising considering the larger screen size.

Conclusion

The Droid Incredible 2 offers a host of both noticeable and subtle upgrades to the original Incredible. With a beautiful larger screen, a front-facing camera, improved capacity and speed, and an updated UI, the Droid Incredible 2 is one of the best (if not the best) world phones available on the market today.

Pictures

Droid Incredible 2

 

The original Droid Incredible

 

   

[Sources: Wikipedia, HTC [1] [2] [3], Amazon Wireless, Phone Arena, Verizon]

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Adobe Releases Major Update To Flash 10.2 For Honeycomb

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Adobe’s taken its sweet time with the Honeycomb-flavored version of Flash 10.2 – heck, it wasn’t available at all when the XOOM debuted – but it looks the software is fully cooked and ready to go at last.
The latest update to Flash for Android 3.0 (version number 10.2.157.51) introduces several enhancements, most notably hardware acceleration for 720p video. Browser integration has also been improved, and "important bug fixes and security enhancements" (including a fix to the "critical" vulnerability discovered a few weeks ago) have been made.
The update is now in the Market.
Source: Adobe
 

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Sense 3.0 Lockscreen Available for Some Rooted HTC EVOs

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There’s a lot of excitement for the HTC EVO 3D, particularly among current HTC EVO owners. Now, granted, most of this unbridled yearning is because of its stellar hardware, but the Sense 3.0 has also turned a lot of heads, particularly the lockscreen. Well, those of you have a rooted EVO will be happy to know that, thanks to xda forum member GODZSON, you can claim this elegant looking lockscreen today, assuming you’re running a Gingerbread-based ROM. The ROM also has to be Sense-based, apparently with at least Sense 2.1 running. I say “apparently” because it’s still being tested which phones the lockscreen does and does not run on. Something else to mention is thatIf you’re willing to try it out, the installation instructions are actually really simple…after the break!

1. Download the .apk file from the xda thread below and place it on the SD card of your phone.
2. Go to Settings > Display and enable Stock Android Lockscreen
3. Use a file explorer to install the .apk file like any normal side-loaded app
4. Go to Settings > Display and disable Stock Android Lockscreen

And that’s it! You should now be turning some heads with a lovely looking lockscreen. Something to note is that the shortcut option isn’t working. It’s only the lockscreen itself. Hit up the link below and try it out!
[via xda forums]
 

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Complete Schedule for Google I/O Now Available

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The full schedule for Google I/O, coming up on May 10-11, is now available. If you are planning to attend, you can start planning your schedule for the event. If not, never fear, Android Community will be there in force, covering the event for you. The schedule for the I/O BootCamp, held on Monday, May 9th from 8am-6pm is also up.


The bootcamp includes sessions like “Android for Beginners”, and “Google TV, the new frontier for App Development”, along with quite a few sessions dealing with Google APIs. The full conference schedule has fourteen different tracks, two for Android on the first day, and three on day 2. Topics include NFC, Mobile Apps, HTML 5, Apps for Google TV, developing Android games, and much more. It looks to be a jam-packed session, and we will covering it in-depth.
You can also access in depth descriptions of the sessions on the sessions page of the I/O site. Google engineers will also hold office hours to answer questions about products and technologies discussed at the conference. Office hours topics include: Accessibility, Android, Apps, App Engine, Chrome, Commerce, Developer Tools/GWT, Geo, Google APIs, Google TV, Google Mobile Ads/AdMob, and YouTube.
Two special sessions are being held towards the end of day one, and the Google Code Blog has this description of them:

Ignite. Fast-paced, fun, and thought-provoking, Ignite captures the best of geek culture in a series of five-minute speed presentations. It’s a high-energy session of short talks by people who have an idea—and the guts to get onstage and share it. This year we will learn about the Brain API, the similarities of Disneyland and Burning Man, and a dissection of the Tiger Mom myth.
Google Ventures Meetup. Google Ventures will be holding an experiment in controlled chaos. This event will bring attendees together with members of the Google Ventures core team (investors and experienced startup veterans), and select portfolio companies ranging from small, new teams to later-stage, successful companies. The room will be arranged to enable attendees to speak to panels of “experts” in bite-sized, three-minute 1:1 conversations, otherwise known as VC speed dating. Our goal is to connect both practicing and soon-to-be entrepreneurs with experts who can impart advice, lessons learned, and quick tips.

See you at the event, and stay tuned for our full coverage here at Android Community.
[via The Official Google Code Blog]
 

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Android 2.3.4 OTA rolling out to Nexus S and Nexus One

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This news is fresh off the twitter account from @GoogleNexus so that is as official as it gets, being a verified account and all. I’m assuming this will have the call wonk issue fixed for the Nexus One, as well as a few other Gingerbread fixes we have all been waiting for. You can bet these updates will be opened up and merged with all of our favorite roms like CyanogenMod as soon as possible.
So start hitting that “check for updates” button if you are on a stock Nexus One or Nexus S, I know mine is far from that myself. Or be sure to keep an eye over at the xda forums as these will be popping up as soon as anyone gets them, and probably rooted within a few minutes after that. I wonder if Google plans to update Gtalk in the market for other devices with front facing cameras or if that will be for Android 2.3.4 devices only. Either way this is exciting news.
GoogleMobileBlog has now posted some pictures and video of Google Talk, with video and voice chat. Coming to all Android 2.3.4 devices and it will work on 3G/4G and on Wifi.

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NFL Android Apps, Path to the Draft

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Today is the day, and what day is that some of you android nerds might say, Draft Day 2011. Today is the NFL Draft and it should be exciting for sure. With all the drama around the NFL lockout as of late, I can only imagine this being a little different than the past few years, but teams still need to draft well and trust me they will be trying their hardest. So for those like me that are Android, and NFL nerds I’vedecided to post a little information to help you all follow the NFL Draft on our favorite phones.

I wont get to much into the NFL part of this, or mention I think the Panthers will pass on Cam Newton and go for someone else. Do they really need two over-rated QB’s. Oops! did I just say that. Maybe the Cardinals will get lucky and get Newton instead, we will see. For now I’m just going to give you guys a few suggestions for applications for our android devices so we can enjoy the draft if we can’t be watching from home, or our computers. This isn’t quite a round-up, just more of a few of my top suggestions for android apps.
First off I’m starting with NFL Mobile, available exclusively for Verizon Customers and I wish I had it. It has recently been updated to help you all follow the NFL Draft for 2011 and it is top notch, as always. You lucky Verizon customers get FREE live coverage of the NFL Draft without paying for the NFL app fee. Can’t get any better than that.

For everyone else like me that is not on Verizon, we have to find something else but luckily for us there is some great alternatives. NFL Enterprises have a few apps of their own and they have just been updated last week to be ready for the draft. I suggest you take this route and get NFL ’11 Lite available in the Android Market here. It may not have live coverage like the NFL Mobile app but you will be able to keep track of everything pretty good.

The NFL also offer a premium version of the new NFL 2011 app called NFL Premium also in the Android Market here. It features basically everything the lite version has and more. Draft Alerts, Team Needs, News and more. Get this if you want the full paid version.

My last suggestion is an app I use most in general for sports because it has a little of everything, and it does it Well. Yahoo! Live Scores. It has just been updated today to also feature things like live updates, as well as NFL draft alerts so this is your best choice for the rest of us. I’d highly recommend you download Live Scores from the market here if you like sports in general. It is a great app overall and I use it to follow everything. They offer all types of Widgets so you can get up to date sports news right to your home screen.
So there you have it, those are my suggestions for a few great applications for Android to help everyone follow the 2011 NFL Draft. It is today starting soon so you better hurry and get your apps ready, your widgets set up and draft alerts for your team of choice set up and all ready to go. I know I’m set, but I’ll be watching from home myself. You never know what might happen this year, the Bengals might even pass on A.J. Green and go for a QB themselves, as they’ve had some controversy in that position lately. I’m excited to see how this all plays out and I hope you guys enjoy it also with a few of the above suggested apps. Go Packers!
 

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