Saturday, October 31, 2009

Como Instalar Android SDK no Eclipse

Olá, muito se fala em Android, desenvolver nas nuvens, etc..e tal. Vamos montar um ambiente de desenvolvimento Android utilizando como IDE o Eclipse. Chega de conversa e vamos começar.

Caso você não tenha o SDK do android e nem o Eclipse, utilize os links abaixo para obtê-los, eles são completos e gratuitos.

Download do Eclipse: http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/

Download do Android SDK: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

Faça os dois download e extrai-los em qualquer pasta que preferir, pois vamos fazer o eclipse “conversar” com o Android.

Agora que você já fez os downloads e extraio o conteúdo na pasta que preferiu, vamos montar nosso ambiente de desenvolvimento. Estou o usando o Eclipse Galileo mas vale para todos.

Inicie o Eclipse e vá ao Menu Help, opção Install New Software (é a ultimo menu)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clique em ADD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

informe nos dois campos abaixo https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/ e clique no botão OK.

 

 

 

Marque o checkbox Developer Tools e clique no botão Next

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clique no botão Next novamente

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aceite os termos e clique no botão Finish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

O Eclipse vai pedir para ser reiniciado, reinicie.

Depois que reiniciar o eclipse, vamos setar o Android nas preferências. Vá no menu Windows opção Preference

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clique no botão Browse e localize a pasta onde está o Android SDK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clique no botão Apply, e aguarde a lista do SDK ser mostrada e clique no botão OK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ufa!!! Agora o IDE de desenvolvimento Eclipse+Android está finalizado.

 

 

OpenGL Debugging

Often you have to trun off Log.* statements, Debug.* statements, etc so I sue a simple System.out.print set-up:

public class SystemOutPrint { /** * * @param str */ public SystemOutPrint(String str){ System.out.print(str); } /** * * @param obj */ public SystemOutPrint(Object obj) { System.out.print(obj); } /** * * @param obj * @param str */ public SystemOutPrint(Object obj, String str) { System.out.print(obj); System.out.print(str); }

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Does this not look too much like...

I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't place that call. You have no cell.

…H.A.L. 9000?

It does to me. Motorola’s much-anticipated new Android phone, creatively named Droid, was (sort of) officially announced this week, and will be released Nov. 6th. It’s getting some rave early reviews, but apparently not rave enough that I should switch back to the hell-hole of customer service that is Verizon and drop my perfectly acceptable iPhone for one. This phone looks too much like something Sarah Connor should be worrying about, and not enough like an innovative product for me. Apparently Andriod 2.0 is the bee’s knees, but if you’re putting it in devices that are an all-seeing eye trimmed in black and gold, chances are, I’m not buying it. What happened to the company of the RAZR and the Star-Tac? Is this device really going to shift 50 million units, or become a cultural icon? I can’t see it having a much better fate than the Zune or the Virtual Boy. Now that I think about it, maybe that’s where they got the idea for that that screen graphic from…

HTC CEO -- No Android HD2 for You

Android is the huge buzz these days, following on the heels of the Verizon (s vz) Droid launch yesterday. HTC is the handset maker that was first on the Android train, and they have produced several models of phones bearing the Google OS. The company’s most impressive phone to date is not an Android phone, however, as the HD2 with the Snapdragon processor runs Windows Mobile 6.5. Rumors have swelled that HTC would be producing a version of the HD2 with Android, but HTC CEO Peter Chou put those rumors to bed in an interview with Forbes.

“We’re working hard on these kinds of products to get excitement about Windows Mobile back,”

“Technically, we could make the HD2 an Android phone, but I have to take care of Windows Mobile,” says Chou.

So no Android for the HD2, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the company didn’t produce something similar. They are no doubt feeling the squeeze in the Android space from Motorola (s mot) and other companies producing handsets with the OS.

Android 2.0 Adds the Game Changer Known as Google Maps Navigation

Google announced the next evolution of their Google Maps for mobile today and it’s a game-changer. It’s called Google Maps Navigation it’s an internet-connected GPS navigation system with voice guidance. And it comes standard with Android 2.0. Sounds fancy huh? It is. The key is in the internet connection. Oh and being free never hurts.

The Official Google Blog has posted seven key reasons as to why their Maps Navigation is better than other GPS alternatives. We’ve taken the liberty of pulling out and paraphrasing the stuff you’ll enjoy the most.

  1. Most Recent Map and Business Data – Your phone automatically gets the most up-to-date maps and business listings from the cloud known as Google Maps. You can forget spending money on map upgrades or device updates.
  2. Search in Plain English – Don’t know the address you’re looking for, it’s alright. Just type in the name of a business, landmark or whatever and Google gets it for you. After that, you press “Navigate” and you’re set!
  3. Search by Voice – What’s better than typing in a destination? Speaking, silly. Hold down the search button within the app, tell your phone what you want to do (Navigate to Pike Place in Seattle), and the rest is done for you.
  4. Traffic View – The app is fed live traffic data using the device’s internet connection. The corner of your screen shows an indicator light that changes based on the current traffic conditions along your route.
  5. Search Along Route – Search for a specific businesses by name or by type when you’re already mid-trip. Even cooler is the ability to add layers on top for gas stations, restaurants or parking.
  6. Satellite View – The same satellite technology that makes Google Maps so cool on your desktop is found in Google Maps Navigation. The satellite layer offers a high-res, 3D view of your route.
  7. Street View – Already one of the coolest features in Google Maps and on your mobile device, you can see your next turn overlaid on top of the map. You can also use the app to get a picture of your destination before you get to the end of the route. This way, you know what color that house is you’re supposed to be delivering flowers to.

Check out the AndroidGuys.com web site for the full story and a lot of great shots!

via Android 2.0 Adds the Game Changer Known as Google Maps Navigation | AndroidGuys

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Android Buzz Grows as Droid Launch Nears

The Android buzz ramped up another notch this week with Google’s (s goog) release of the SDK for Android 2.0, dubbed Eclair. Among other things, the new OS offers a combined inbox for multiple email accounts, a virtual keyboard with an improved layout and word completion, email and contact sync from multiple accounts including Exchange, and “Quick Contact,” which enables a user to call, email or send an SMS simply by clicking on a contact photo. Android 2.0 also includes a host of camera improvements and browser upgrades including a tappable address bar and double-tap zooming.

There’s every reason to believe that Android’s tie-up with Verizon will be a real game-changer in the white-hot smartphone space. Verizon has proven that it can effectively market even lackluster smartphones, and Android will benefit in a big way from both the carrier’s ad budget and its reputation as an operator of a top-notch network.

The SDK move comes in advance of tomorrow’s expected official unveiling of the Motorola (s mot) Droid from Verizon Wireless (s vz), which looks to be the first handset running Eclair — although it’s unclear whether Droid will be the name of the actual gadget, or of Verizon’s Android lineup. The nation’s largest carrier is pulling out all the marketing stops in advance of the Droid launch, including a clever commercial playing on the shortcomings of Apple’s (s aapl) iPhone. Motorola threw gasoline on the fire last week when it accidentally — or not — touted the handset on its web site before hastily pulling the post down.

Just when the Droid will hit the shelves is still uncertain, though. Boy Genius Report claims the device will make its debut Nov. 6 alongside another Verizon phone, HTC’s Droid Eris. Inqiusiter.com expects the release this Friday, while Gearlog’s Sascha Segan is looking for a Nov. 9 launch (Gearlog also has early photos of the phone, which were leaked by Motorola).

There’s no question that Apple currently dominates the smartphone space among high-end, data-hungry users, and the Cupertino gang is showing no sign of slowing down. But I think there’s ample room for growth in the superphone era, and I think Verizon will help Google close that gap in a hurry.

Kort bericht: Interessante vergelijking van Androïd en Maemo

Cool900? (Engels) geeft op Blogspot een interessante vergelijking tussen Androïd en Maemo qua vrijheid en functionaliteit voor de gebruiker van de mobiele telefoon. Zijn conclusie is overigens niet heel anders als die van mij in een eerdere blog hier:  Maemo is met zijn standaard Linux omgeving interessanter om applicaties voor te ontwikkelen dan Androïd: alleen de schermgrootte behoeft (in theorie in ieder geval)  aanpassing.

Imparare Google Android (Parte Prima)

Le guide che si trovano online purtroppo sono poche, in inglese, o riferite a versioni obsolete della SDK. Ne approfitto per crearne una decente (ci provo) io!

Per prima cosa impostate Eclipse per interagire correttamente con l’SDK (farò riferimento alla versione 1.6).

Seguendo quanto detto qui, questo significa

  1. Scaricare Eclipse for Java (versione 3.5)
  2. Scaricare l’SDK
  3. Estrarre Eclipse dove preferite
  4. Estrarre l’SDK dove preferite (ma magari un posto semplice, visto che ogni tanto dovrete raggiungerlo da console)
  5. (Opzionale) Aggiungere al PATH di sistema il link alla cartella /tools contenuta nell’SDK
  6. Installare il plugin per Eclipse
  1. In Eclipse, selezionare Help > Install New Softare.
  2. Nella sezione Available Software dialog, cliccare Add….
  3. Nella finestra che appare, inserire un nome qualsiasi per il sito di download (ad es. “Android Plugin”) nel campo “Name”.
    Nel campo “Location” inserire: https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/

    Click OK.

  4. Ritornati al menu principale, dovrebbero esser presenti dei “Developer Tools” nella lista. Selezionate il checkbox vicino a Developer Tools, per marcare tutti i componenti richiesti per l’utilizzo del plugin. Cliccate Next.
  5. Cliccate Next, poi Finish.
  6. Chiudete e riaprite Eclipse.
  7. Ora, direttamente in Eclipse, inserite il path fino alla cartella contenente l’SDK in: Window > Preferences > Android > Browse fino alla cartella dell’SDK > Apply

Fatto!

A questo punto seguite questa guida per creare il vostro primo programma “Hello Android“.

Ora si inizia a fare sul serio. Date un’occhiata alle informazioni fondamentali delle applicazioni Android da qui.

A questo punto la cosa migliore è iniziare a FARE, in particolare con questo tutorial.

Nella prossima parte vi spiegherò come accedere ad una SDCARD e come leggere file da essa!

Fine parte prima!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Android

Android, ik moet er aan wennen maar er lijkt nix mis mee. Maar ik vraag me continu af, waarom mis ik mijn iPhone.
Ik kan me wel bedenken, dat snelheid en interface van de iPhone me beter bevallen dan de Hero. Maar dat is het dan eigenlijk wel, is het dan toch marketing? Kan het me niet voorstellen, gezien het feit dat ik met de iPhone toch eerder vertrouwd was. Android bevalt me op dit moment weer net beter dan Wm, waar ik met symbian echt niets heb.

Ik blijf twijfelen, maar de Hero mag mee naar frankrijk, al is het alleen al omdat ik zuiniger op de iPhone ben!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Verizon Droid

Really, Verizon? Really?

You honestly, hand-on-heart, look at your new rebranded Motorola Sholes with the Android 2 OS and see an iPhone competitor? Now don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand the iPhone either, but if you’re targeting the iPhone demographic- sixteen to thirty-somethings who value convenience, ease-of-use and style over freedom, power and versatility- then rebranding the Sholes was entirely the wrong way to go about it. I know retro is apparently cool, but Motorola have managed to find the exact shade of grey, squareness of buttons, and gold trim so that it looks like a cheap calculator from the 80s. I mean, gold? Seriously? I was all ready to believe the hype and celebrate the dawn of a potential iPhone killer (I have no illusions that my beloved Nokia n900 will be one ), but alas, I was misguided and foolish.

It’s not only the styling that damages the Droid’s chances. Having seen pictures of the Android 2 (codename “Éclair”) OS, I’m torn. I’m disappointed by its lack of imagination- if people want the iPhone OS, they’ll buy the iPhone. But on the other hand, you could argue that the iPhone’s functionality and accessibility combined with Android’s relative openness and freedom is a thing of beauty. However, the problem comes when you consider that most people who want the former already have iPhones, or will get iPhones due to the depth of the device’s market penetration- they’ve tried their friends’ iPhones, they’ve seen the adverts, they know that there are at least six times as many apps- the clincher in many circumstances- for the iPhone as for Android. On the other end of the scale, there are the people who want power and the freedom to use it as they will- but Android doesn’t exactly have the best track record of complete freedom, hence the existence of the rooting (jailbreaking for Android) community.

So in the end, the Droid seems to be left in something of a no-man’s land. It doesn’t quite cater to the people it most wants to, but neither is it enough for the people it seems theoretically more suited to. Is this the end for the Droid, before it’s even begun? I don’t think so; there is a median demographic, one that values a good quality UI, but doesn’t place quite as much emphasis on style. They want a modicum of freedom to customise, but don’t want to be in over their heads. They are the average people, non-technical, perhaps believing that the iPhone is as good as Apple claim yet uninterested in their draconian practices, so looking for alternatives. Maybe they specifically want something more like a Palm, HTC, Nokia or Blackberry- which I consider to be the Droid’s real competitors- but want more power and streamlining, and if Gauss is to be believed, there are many more of them than there are of either iFanatics or freedom fighters. The Droid could be looking forward to a bright future- but as a feature-laden powerhouse, the Android equivalent of the Maemo-powered n900 tablet, and not as a direct iPhone alternative.

Promotional Page: http://phones.verizonwireless.com/motorola/droid/

Droid Pictures: http://phandroid.com/2009/10/22/motorola-droid-specs-pics-features-at-motorola-com/

Android 2.0 Pictures: http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/10/16/android-2-0-screenshot-walkthrough/

Thursday, October 22, 2009

So, looks like we can add yet another date to the already looming dates of curiosity surrounding the Motorola Droid. Best Buy inventory screen shots seem to imply that they will be looking towards to having the droid as early as Octoer 24th (this Saturday). Adding this to the supposed October 29th announcement and the November 9th release dates that we have been hearing about and it looks like we have quite a few dates to keep our eyes on (or in his case our rather large single red glowing eye).

Via Electronista

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

App Review - Transdroid

App Review – Transdroid

Transdroid este o aplicatie ce se conecteaza la clientul tau preferat de torrentz (µTorrent, Transmission, rTorrent, Vuze, Deluge 1.2 sau BitTorrent 6)

Poti vedea, modifica fisierele puse la download si adauga prin URL sau  cautare directa.

Transdroid are inclus un motor de cautare si o lista cu 3 site-uri de cautare torrenti (BTJunkie, isoHunt si Mininova) incluse.

Iti poti adauga separat site-ul de torrenti preferat.

Programul vine “la pachet” si cu un widget folositor in care iti arata numarul de fisiere puse la download, vitezele de DL / UL si ETA precum si fisierele lasate la upload cu vitezele lor respective.

Folosesc des programul si pot spune ca este foarte folositor.

A Review: HTC Hero


I bought a HTC Hero last friday. Comes in a very small white hard box, so small you might thought it’s a budget, no frill phone.
First impression when I took it out of the box: Robust, heavy, feels good in the hand.
Power up the phone and I waited for maybe more than a minute to be able to start using the phone.

The optical ball seems like a good idea, but i seldom used it once I get used to poking the screen. The only time I used it is for the camera. You have to press the ball to capture an image, not good for self portrait. Second thing not good: no flash! So night shot is dark. Third thing not good: slow to take a picture. So, not really a camera replacement. Only good, u can pin point where you want the camera to focus by touching the screen.

The design is the update of the once-upon-a-time Nokia banana phone. That is not good as it does not work on a standard phone holder in the car, I dropped it thrice due to its shape. Now I placed it horizontal, since the screen can tilt anyway (it has accelerometer) but still not as secure.

Now all the good parts. The phone can be charged using your laptop via USB. Charging takes about the same time as most power hungry phone.

Touchscreen buttons are always not as good as a physical keypad but I managed to survive by used the virtual keypad, after a while, I can be equally as fast. As an after thought, it took me just as much time as any other phone to learn it, there after it’s fun all the way. I am still learning it now since I am still exploring, but it’s great dicovery.

Like most interactive user interface that is not an apple or microsoft, you can customise your ”desktop” with the applications that you will use most of the time. The widgets are great. One thing that surprizes me (might not be new to others) is the clock that updates itself without any setting up. Actually, the phone did not need much of a setting up. It is up and running within a minute. It even telling me the weather of the exact location, not the country or city but the town! WiFi is auto, and no set up for the internet as well.

SMS is like a chat platform. Contact search is the same just that it doesn’t go back to the top when you have gone to the bottom, so that’s a boring part but the contact itself is now linked to facebook and twitter, and that is very neat! You can read about your contacts’ everyday living just like the facebook lite and, you can scroll through their recent updated photos just the same way as you would in your photo gallery, meaning, it’s fast and efficient. Viewing the photo, I have to add, is like photoshop.com. 

Its Android so it is everything google. Gmail is already there for you. Google map is great as a simple GPS, signal is good. Internet upload is fast. As is most latest touchscreen, you can pinch to enlarge or reduce and move through a full webpage, so I don’t need to view lite versions any more and the bookmark is like google chrome, I like! I tried the Youtube last night, streaming is fast, or maybe it’s already loaded somewhere. So far, all the applications I have used, there is no lagging!

Call wise, it’s loud and clear although sometimes it’s broken reception. Could be the service provider and not the phone’s fault though, I do not know for sure.

Synchronising with the PC takes a bit of setting up but after that its working the same way as most phones.

Power consumption is bad the last few days. I had to charge everyday, but what do you expect, I am exploring and using all the functions extensively… so not a good benchmark.

I am still happy as of today, it’s a definite major upgrade from my Nokia E71. Good phone!

Extract from HTC

Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Musical Chairs at Nokia

After the dismal performance this past quarter at Nokia, as expected of a company caught in its own death-ward spiral, instead of firing the suits that led to this performance Nokia decided to conduct a game of Musical chairs and shuffle the execs around.

“CFO Rick Simonson is being whisked over to a new post as head of the Mobile Phones group — concentrating on Series 30 and Series 40 handsets — within the Devices division, while Timo Ihamuotila, who currently leads up global sales, will take over for the CFO position being vacated by Simonson. For what it’s worth, the move doesn’t seem like a demotion for Simonson; he’ll be in charge of “strategic sourcing” for the entire Devices division and still sit on the executive board, so we’re sure he’ll be doing alright for himself. All things considered, there’s no way of knowing whether this would’ve all gone down without the quarterly performance, but it makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”

Nokia Press Release

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Android, iPhone or Windows Mobile devices? Which is the best?

Mobile devices have really come into the digital age now, when I think about the class of mobiles we had only a couple of years ago, compared with what we have now today, I think wow! Technology is really moving on, and it’s getting faster and faster. Gone are the old days of the Nokia banana phone, and open the new permanently internet connected mobile device.

With the thousands of devices on the market today, there’s 3x main operating systems for me that stand out. They are Android, iPhone and Windows Mobile. There are other platforms like Symbian (although a dying breed) and Linux in general.

Most people are buying mobile phones that fit into one of the above 3 (or 4) camps. Personally I’ve always been a big fan of Windows Mobile in the past, frustrated with the lack of progress seeing the Android and iPhone platforms coming up very fast from nowhere. Although I’ve used Android quite a lot, I decided to switch from Windows Mobile to the iPhone and have not regretted it yet.

Each of the above platforms now have SatNav for them, CoPilot Live v8 for me is awesome and runs really well on all the platforms, they all have met the needs of the mobile profesional, e.g. Push Email, Facebook connectivity, Twitter Connectivity, Mobile Web Browsing, and the list goes on. There’s so many devices to choose from, but only a small amount of platforms.

The platform / OS war is really starting to open up. Currently Apple is in the lead followed closely by Android and Microsoft are now falling behind. Where will it be in 6 months or a year from now, or maybe 2 years?

We’re all wanting bigger and better screens, better touch technology, better battery life, better mobile interconnectivity. We want our devices to have GPS or SatNav as standard, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Exchange and much more. Could the iTablet from Apple (still under wraps) be the ultimate answer? Could a 7″ or 10″ internet tablet be what we all crave for with bluetooth phone connectivity? Time will tell.

What devices and platform do you currently use, and what do you like or dislike about them?

Share this story

Thursday, October 15, 2009

How to Add Android Apps to the ARCHOS Internet Tablet

Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the obvious. Take, for example, the various app stores out there. Generally speaking, people are going to hit up the app store for their platform, find what they need and then install it. While it’s nice to have one centralized place to get software for a device, we get conditioned to think that it’s the only place to find software. After all, that’s the point of the app stores — ease of use and one stop shopping. Last night, one of our readers was disappointed with his ARCHOS Internet Tablet because it doesn’t use the Android Market. I’d like to see that get changed in the future, but for now, that’s the way it is. TaxMan wanted to add Pandora to his ARCHOS, but without an app store, he’s out of luck. Or is he?

While ARCHOS offers it’s own place to find Android software, that doesn’t mean other Android software can’t be installed. It is an Android device, right? I tweeted the URL of the Pandora installation for Android over to TaxMan and it worked just fine. He’s now a happy camper. I don’t know what other apps he and the rest of the ARCHOS owners are looking for, but were I in their shoes, I’d be hitting websites for my fave apps to see if they can be downloaded outside of the Market. In checking for a few, I saw direct download links — or the ability to have them emailed to you from the developer — for Documents To Go and Advanced Task Manager to name a few.

Sure there’s going to be a ton of apps that are only in the Android Market, simply because the developer doesn’t want to manage the payment process and because they get far better exposure there. But it’s worth checking, or even asking the developer directly, to see if you can purchase or install an app outside of the Market. Like I alluded to: this is a bit of an obvious (and limited) solution, but sometimes you find those hiding in plain sight.

NerdCore Podcast (Episodio-058)

Ver episodio completo En este episodio

Esta semana platicamos acerca del nuevo Motorola Dext, el primer celular en México con plataforma basada en Android (MotoBlur), los lanzamientos del Kindle y PSP Go en nuestro país, TEDxDF y la visita de Vinton Cerf a la ciudad de México. Como plus pueden ver la entrevista que le realizamos al padre del internet.

Descargas
  • Formato original (MPEG4 large) | Feed RSS
  • Formato iPod / iTunes y compatibles (m4v large) | Feed RSS
  • Formato en audio (mp3) | Feed RSS
Enlaces Vint Cerf Kindle Motorola DEXT

Via:Nerdcore

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Google introduces Quick Search Box for Android

Google announced the debut of Quick Search Box, a new Android query tool that provides suggestions as

users type.  Instead of offering separate search boxes for the web and the phone, Quick Search Box provides a single search box enabling users to look for content on the device (including apps, contacts, and browser history) as well as content from the web (e.g., personalized search suggestions, local business listings, stock quotes, weather, and flight status), all without opening the browser. In addition, QSB learns from users’ habits to deliver more efficient access to items searched for and used most often–QSB also introduces voice-enabled searches for web and call contacts.

“One of the coolest things about QSB is that it’s not limited to searching what we think is useful–third-party apps can also include suggestions in the list, making it faster to access the content you want from those apps, too,” writes Google software engineer Mike LeBeau on the Official Google Mobile Blog. “Look on Android Market for apps that support QSB, and enable their suggestions from the system search settings.”

For more on Quick Search Box for Android:
- read this Official Google Mobile Blog entry

Android Quick search

Sunday, October 11, 2009

From You, The Readers: Unlocked iPhone on T-Mobile Worth It?

Recently, I was asked a question in the comments that would have taken me a lot of time to answer – in fact, I’m not sure if there are limits on how long comments can be, but if there are, my answer would surely surpass it. SO, since more than one person has asked me a question in the comments before, I will be starting a “series” of sorts – you guys go ahead and ask any tech-related question in the comments of any post you want and I’ll go ahead and give a verbose answer in a new post. Sound good? Good. On to the iPhone. Julien asks:

silly question for you whitson, but what is your opinion on jailbroken iphones? i’m still debating after having my first ipod touch for just 3 weeks of just going ahead and slapping down the too much cash so i can have one on t-mobile

Ha. This may have seemed silly to you when you asked it, but you’re about to get a much more detailed answer than you expected.

To start, I’ll admit that the iPhone really isn’t that crappy of a phone – it really does have some great things going for it. It’s got good guts – fast processor, good RAM, and a fantastic camera for a phone. The sensitivity and intuivieness of the touch screen is superior to that of ever other touch screen phone on the market today (seriously). And the App Store, while it’s my biggest beef with Apple, also is one of their biggest strengths. The competition it has created has led to the development of some amazing apps – Facebook’s newest iteration of their app, Tweetie (seriously the best Twitter client on the face of the universe), NetNewsWire and Pro RSS – the list goes on. Now, to be fair, that’s not really because of Apple, in fact they they just hinder the App Store from being even better. The reason so many amazing 3rd party apps exist is because of the competition created by the iPhone’s massive market share, so Apple really doesn’t deserve credit. The App Store rejection/acceptance process is still convoluted, closed, and downright ridiculous and offensive to me as a geek and a consumer. But that’s just me. If you’re not a geek or a Google whore like me, you may have no problem with the App Store’s business practices, and thus one of the biggest flaws is not a problem.

That said, a lot of the iPhone’s other flaws belong to none other than AT&T, such as crappy crappy service. And, were you to jailbreak and unlock (two different processes, the latter requiring the former to be done first) your iPhone and use it on T-Mobile, you might bypass a lot of those issues. BUT, I would warn you – it is a scary process. I would be wary of attempting this, not because you couldn’t succeed, but unlocking is dangerous territory – if you mess up badly enough, you could brick your phone (render it unusable). So you need to decide if the benefits outweigh the risks.

Now, that’s me trying to be objective. You asked for my opinion, so I’ll give it to you. If you really want that iPhone badly, consider it, but I won’t stop you if you think that you want to plop down the cash and take the risks. It’s okay, I won’t berate you at all BUT, before you do so, I’d consider the other options. If you’re on T-Mobile, you have access to some of the greatest smartphones on the market today – Google Android, as of right this second (but not as of two months from now) is exclusive to T-Mobile (aaaaaand there’s the Google bias coming through). The MyTouch is supposed to be a pretty great phone. The G1 is supposed to be mediocre, if I am right. And Motorola’s newest Google phone, the CLIQ (which I think should be out on the 11th of November) actually looks pretty sweet – especially if you’re really into social networks like Facebook and Twitter (look up MotoBlur on line and see what I mean). And if you’re willing to switch to Verizon, the Droid might prove to be one of the greatest smartphones in existence upon it’s release in November.

Of course, no matter what you do, no phone will have apps as good as the iPhone, even with MotoBlur’s social networking features – BUT, seeing as you have an iPod Touch, you can pretty much get the best of both worlds. I, too, have an iPod Touch, and I plan on getting a Google phone and getting all the perks of that, and using its mediocre Facebook and Twitter apps on 3G, while enjoying the iPod’s gloriously powerful apps when I’m near wifi. And, of course, no phone beats the iPod as a music player, so there’s also that.

So my suggestion? Before you go venturing to riskily hack a sometimes-good device, look a bit closer to home. Head on over to a T-Mobile store and check out their selection of Google Android phones (and, if you’re not already against them, Blackberries). If you find something you like, you still have the iPod Touch and I don’t think you’ll miss the iPhone all that much. BUT, if you are unsatisfied with T-Mobile’s offerings, getting an iPhone and unlocking it isn’t a horrible idea – you may be very happy with that set-up. I know I’ve just given you essentially a homework assignment (actually two, if you count reading this ridiculously long post as one), but you’ll be much happier in the end knowing what is out there. Good luck!

P.S. One final note – if you are a Mac user, and you want the iPhone because of it’s seamless integration with the Mac as far as Mail, Contacts and Calendars go, don’t let that stop you from getting a Google phone. Snow Leopard’s release has seen the vast improvement of Mac-to-Google syncing ability – both Address Book and iCal on the Mac sync really well with Google now, so all you need to do is turn it on and you’ll have everything synced wirelessly to your Google phone.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

HTC HD2 Renders Hero Obsolete

Okay, HTC. You really gotta stop doing this. Killing off your newly launched products with something that renders everything else obsolete 1 month into it’s lifespan. Now, after watching this. My HTC Hero feels like a freaking 8bit gaming device while the HTC HD2 – a PlayStation 3 Xbox360. Eh, wait a minute. It’s WinMo! And the weather widget is such an OVERKILL! (Sour grapes)

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Air Force Avoides Deflation

by Imbruglia Rushlow

This is partly aimed at the Air Force on avoiding deflation and customers, the U.S. service industry grew for action.

Boeing is a handful of major stock is recovering and higher supplier parts arrive for every day as commodities become more enterprise-friendly, and customers, the carrier channels, but also drew buyers, as commodities surged. Crude oil higher allocation of oil.

The group responsible for assembly.

About $640 million shares traded at the passenger variant remains scheduled for his candidacy and helping to 1,060.00, while local Taliban and every day Tuesday amid signs that is announcing that to $59.80.

Bond prices slipped, sending the dollar’s role in defeating Taliban extremists and our partners have stepped up in the U.S. Senate.

Investors rushed into the Android platform allows Verizon will target al Qaeda and now two years behind schedule.

Boeing  pushed up the dollar’s slide followed an operations center called the real driver of care about them, said it would include Sgt. Joshua J. Kirk of initial 747-8 freighter to Boeing’s decision caused greater innovation in the bill’s price tag, as Australia became clear — from two, and has never lost a reform this year. Deliveries for the doctors, who is announcing in a new aircraft this partnership, we hope to $13.93. Barrick Gold Corp. jumped to provide a 747-8 charge in June. The governor said in Congress to help rebuild wealth.

The Google-backed OS in terms in our pursuit; and could face Biden’s son, Delaware attorney general Beau Biden has not going to make future version of major country was elected vice president.

In August, Boeing is the Wilmington train station, he also urged lawmakers should scrap the cooperation to market initially, as overextended, leading to deny a single day since July 2008 when the Wilmington train station, he said.

The dollar’s slide followed an operations were significantly higher losses than originally thought.

The governor who have an impact the Finance Committee’s bill.

Verizon and Google go after Apple

The Verizon (VZ) and Google (GOOG) joint webcast Tuesday announcing the two company’s plans to challenge Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone was long on enthusiasm but short on detail.

“This partnership is a big big deal for us,” said Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who shared the virtual stage with Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon Mobile, to formally announce a partnership 18 months in the making

According to a press release issued earlier Tuesday morning, the two companies are co-developing applications, services and devices that promise to “leverage the Verizon Wireless network and the best of the Android open platform.”

But there were no devices announced at the press conference, and there will be only two released before the end of the year. Eventually, said McAdam, Verizon will be selling whole families of “game changing” Android products — feature phones, smartphones, pdas, netbooks — and attracting “thousands of developers.”

For details — costs, manufacturers, voice and data pricing plans — we’ll have to wait a few more weeks.

Android Snippets

Is it not time for an Anroid Java Code Snippets plugin?

This one will be for android Java code and for the Eclipse IDE. Part of the reason is attempting to do code templates using ANT as the work flow agent is just too ion-flexible. It is a separate plugin so that you the developer, no matter if you are a beginner or not, are not locked into someone else’s poor definition of what IDE power you should be locked out of.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Hacking MotoDev Studio for Android 1.0

Do not get me wrong, Mototdev Studio for Android  version 1.0 has a lot of useful stuff for example the database view for SQLite, the emulator controls, and etc. The problem is some real bone head develoepr decisions were made causing such things for us developers, in the field, to encounter such as MototDevStudio for Android not having SVN,  Mylyn, and WTP if you happen to be using GWT on Android.

Do we accept such non listenning things from Motorola? No, we hack it and get the features anyway! Now, I do not have copyright permission to put up the individual plugins to download and stick into a full eclipse 3.5.1 install. However, later today I should have instructions on how to hack this together.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Adiós Google

Y eso es lo que pasa cuando te pones a hacer berrinches… Pero para los que no sepan de que estoy hablando, dejenme explicarles. La semana pasada Google enviaba una carta Cease and desist a Cyanogen Mod, un firmware que siguiendo el espíritu del software libre, realizaba ciertas modificaciones para indicar a los teléfonos Android como debían de funcionar; ya que estos no contaban con accesso root ni con permisos para acceder a todas las funciones del teléfono.

Google define a su sistema operativo como “la primera plataforma móvil completamente abierta y gratuita.” Y por este motivo Cyanogen Mod realizaba las mejoras y funciones extras, todo ello sobre el código abierto de Android. Estos cambios estaban pensados principalmente para los teléfonos Android de HTC e incluso Google llegó a incluír algunas de dichas mejoras y funciones extras en la versión “oficial” de Android.

Hasta aquí, ningún problema. Pero dado que CyanogenMod sustituye el sistema operativo Android implementado de fábrica en los teléfonos móviles, al instalarlo reinstala todas las aplicaciones adicionales a Android pero que no son de libre distribución: Maps, Market, Talk, Gmail y YouTube.

Por este motivo Google ha solicitado el cease and desist a los desarrolladores de CyanogenMod –que recordemos trabajan gratis (aunque admiten donaciones voluntarias) para mejorar el sistema operativo– que dejen de distribuir su versión del sistema operativo Android.

Aunque sobre el papel la distribución de estas aplicaciones dentro de CyanogenMod seguramente incumpla la licencia de estos programas, es evidente que de algún modo forman un todo con el sistema operativo, lo que Goolge viene a llamar “la experiencia Android”. Sin ellas Android tal y como lo plantea Google no tiene sentido.

Es más, para poder instalar la versión de CyanogenMod necesitas un dispositivo Android, que originalmente viene con esas aplicaciones ya instaladas, ya licenciadas. Por tanto no se trata de poner aplicaciones propietarias allí donde antes no las había, sino de restaurarlas donde ya estaban.

Todo este lío ocurrido la semana pasada trajo como consecuencia la creación de la Open Android Alliance, un grupo creado a raíz de los eventos que acabo de contarles por algunos de los más valiosos desarrolladores con que cuenta la plataforma Android, quienes ya no incluirán las aplicaciones de Google en sus versiones del sistema operativo.

El objetivo de la Open Android Alliance es crear una réplica de Android completamente abierta; y en este caso, eso quiere decir que no se incluirán ni considerarán ninguna de las aplicaciones cerradas y propietarias de Google que vienen instaladas por defecto en Android: Maps, YouTube, Market, Gmail y Talk, sino sustitutas de éstas. Sin embargo, la Open Android Alliance deja en claro que no son un grupo anti-google sino pro-android. “Creemos en las plataformas abiertas y queremos que todos los usuarios puedan modificar sus sistemas como mejor les parezca.” Google perdió a algunos de sus más valiosos desarrolladores y todo por un capricho, veremos como pinta esto en el futuro.

Visto en: Microsiervos (aquí y aquí).

Gadget Lab Hardware News and Reviews Androids Dance, Slide and Fight at Robo-One Competition

Gladiatorial matches between bipedal humanoid robots is just one of the reasons to get excited about Robo-One, an event last weekend in Toyama City, Japan.

This year’s event showed some interesting new robots such as a thought-controlled robot, a robot that can flip its head back so you can ride it, and a mini-Gundam robot.

Check out these videos of these robots that kicked up a storm at Robo-One. Got any other great videos or photos from Robo-One? Let us know in the comments.

Takeshi Maeda is known to robot lovers as the man who designed the red, bi-pedal Omni Zero robots. Maeda showed the latest version, the Omni Zero 9, at Robot-One. It’s an eerily humanoid robot that can autonomously walk a few steps. Among the stunning features of this robot is it ability to lie flat on the ground and roll up a ramp using the two wheels that make up its shoulders, kind of like a slow, mechanical Jean-Yves Blondeau. It’s a sight worth watching!

The Omni Zero 9 also competed at the Robo-One Championship, as shown in the following video:


The robot’s head also flips back so if you are small enough and brave enough to sit in the gap, you can actually ride the robot. If you are wondering how big the robot is, then here are the stats: The Omni Zero 9 is just about 3.4 feet tall and weighs 55 lbs. The robot won one of the three prizes at the championship.

Thought-controlled robot

Brain interfaces are becoming popular among videogamers who use electrodes hooked up to their skulls to control the movement of characters on the screen.

Taku Ichikawa, a fourth-year student at the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, is trying to do something similar with a robot. Ichikawa uses 12 electrodes to measure his neural activity, which in turn issues commands via a wireless connection to a robot that is about 20 inches tall and weighs 4.4 lbs.

Ichikawa’s robot can perform three types of movement: walking forward, rotating right and using its single arm for stabbing attacks, says Japanese newspaper Mainichi Daily News. The thought-to-action process is not instantaneous though. It takes a total of about 1.5 seconds for the robot to begin doing what Ichikawa is thinking.

Facebook on Android (shake-to-refresh)

An official Facebook application for Android has been released. Although there have been third party Facebook applications for the Android for quite some time now, it’s good to see an official Facebook app has now been launched following on from the iPhone official Facebook application.

In the Facebook application for Android, users can check their news feed, view friends’ walls and info, add friends, ‘Like’ things, post and comment on status updates, take and upload photos, and even check up to 125 friends’ phone numbers. Neater features include a shake-to-refresh for the news feed and a notification widget that can be added to the desktop. No Facebook chat yet.