July, 2009 - Android Community

Monthly Archive: May 2013

Our HTC Hero review goes live at SlashGear

By Chris Davies
on 21 Jul, 2009

Our review of the HTC Hero is finally ready, and it's no understatement to say that this Android smartphone impressed us greatly. Back in our unboxing video and HTC Sense demo we suggested that the Hero could be the best Android device to date, and the time we've spent with the handset has left us thinking that's certainly the case. The review is almost 4,000 words in all, and hopefully answers just about all of the questions about what improvements to Android HTC have made with their new custom UI. There's also a video demo of how the Hero handles widgets, plus Flash video and multitouch in the smartphone's browser. We know our Android Community members will still have plenty of questions, so ask away; HTC are clawing our Hero demo unit back from us on Thursday, so there's still time to get any specific queries answered. In the meantime, check out the full HTC Hero review here.

Qualcomm doing well with help from Android

By Shane McGlaun
on 21 Jul, 2009

Qualcomm is a leading maker of chips for mobile phones and provides some hardware in some Android phones on the market. The company raised its revenue predictions in June after seeing an improvement in its operations. Forbes reports that some of Qualcomm's good fortunes are thanks to the Google Android operating system. Qualcomm is a founding memory of Google's Android focused industry consortium called the Open Handset Alliance.

G1 gets an update but no donut

By Shane McGlaun
on 21 Jul, 2009

An update t the G1 was pushed out over the weekend that fixed a number of bugs. Those who hoped that the update would be the rumored Donut update are sad to see no new features were added with the update. What the update for the G1 did was rework the general permissions and install some bug fixes. The new firmware changed from CRB43 to CRC1 and is pushed out over-the-air.

Flurry offers Android mobile app analytics

By Shane McGlaun
on 20 Jul, 2009

Knowing how popular your merchandise is in the market is one of the keys to success for any business. Without knowing what you offer that consumers want, it's hard to bring new products to market that will be successful. The same is true for the virtual market with applications or Android smartphones and other devices. Developers don’t want to devote time to making an application if the app genre isn't popular with users. Flurry has announced a new channel partner program that will track the popularity of mobile apps.

HTC readying more phones, possibly an entry-level Android device

By Shane McGlaun
on 20 Jul, 2009

We are still salivating over the slick, but admittedly high-end, HTC Hero mobile phone that runs Android. We now hear that HTC is set to launch several more devices, with at least one running Android according to reports. With the high-end Android segment well covered, what the market needs is an entry-level Android device. It appears that HTC is working the HTC Click rumored to be just the entry-level phone we are looking for.

Android-powered LG GW620 uncovered

By Shane McGlaun
on 17 Jul, 2009

Our sister site SlashGear has uncovered some deets on a new LG Android-powered phone coming down the pipe called the LG GW620. The handset lacks a picture so we can't gaze upon its visage, but we do know a few specifications about the handset. The GW620 will sport UMTS/HSDPA and GPRS connectivity, though the specific frequencies supported aren’t offered. The device has a full QWERTY keyboard and a 320 x 480 resolution LCD that is assumed to be touch capable.

Android app maker gets $1.5 million investment

By Shane McGlaun
on 17 Jul, 2009

Android applications can make big money for the developers if the app is popular. Among some of the most popular apps for any smartphone are the location aware variety that offer information based on where the user is located. A company called Aloqa has announced that it has received an investment of $1.5 million to develop a new application that offers users suggestions on places to go. Aloqa also named a new CEO, who is a former Google executive named Sanjeev Agrawal.

Washington Post gets hands-on with Google Voice App

By Shane McGlaun
on 17 Jul, 2009

Google Voice has been around for a while now and it allows users to get one phone number for their home, mobile, and work. That is assuming that they can get in on the beta service, which is out of numbers right now and has a massive backlog of requests. Google announced a new app for Android devices this week that adds some requested features to Google Voice and makes placing calls with GV faster and easier to do. The Washington Post has reviewed the app and says that the voicemail features work as expected and that the text transcription is clear and simple.

Android 2.0 may hit late this summer

By Shane McGlaun
on 16 Jul, 2009

It seems like the much talked about cupcake update for Android has only been around a short time. Despite that fact, the next Android update is being talked about around the Web already. The Android 2.0 update was talked about by the Weather Channel in a talk about an App from the network. Android 2.0 apps won’t work on other Android versions and the Weather Channel says that it is already working with the Android 2.0 SDK. The fact that the Weather Channel is working with the 2.0 SDK points to a launch coming soon for the 2.0 update.

Google to expand Android Market payment choices

By Shane McGlaun
on 16 Jul, 2009

One of the biggest barriers that prevents many mobile phone users from buying apps for their devices is the lack of payment options. Blackberry is the worst with the only payment option being PayPal. I hope they get enough from PayPal to make up for the sales missed. Google has announced that it is adding new payment options to the Android Market for users. A coming update will now offer support for multiple billing systems. The biggest feature of the update is that it will allow users to buy applications and charge them to their monthly service bill.