August, 2009 - Android Community

Monthly Archive: May 2013

DroidSecurity offers Android security service

By Shane McGlaun
on 18 Aug, 2009

Many people who are militant about security on the computers don’t think much about security when surfing the net or checking email on their smartphone. A new company called DroidSecurity is offering software for Android devices that will protect users while they are online. The app costs $5 for a year of service and is a Java-bases antivirus scanner. The application also has a service built-in to help the user find a lost or stolen phone called trace lost. A phone that is turned off will yield the last known location and one that is on will give the real time location.

T-Mobile G1 may not be able to get update

By Shane McGlaun
on 18 Aug, 2009

In the immortal words of Scooby Doo -- rot-row. Apparently, users of the T-Mobile G1 may run into a big problem updating their device. PC World reports that the G1 may be unable to get significant updates in the future because its internal flash storage is nearly full already. "As much as I'm hoping that it'll be possible to somehow continue updating the G1, I can't promise anything," Jean-Baptiste Queru, a software engineer at Google, wrote on Twitter. "We knew that internal flash space was going to be very tight on the G1 and we kept the system partition tight on purpose."

Boring Dell mini 3i hits China

By Shane McGlaun
on 17 Aug, 2009

When I first heard that Dell was bringing smartphones out and then heard the rumor that it was unable to find a carrier in the U.S. for the devices, I wondered why. I figured that the reason was that the Dell smartphone had nothing compelling in its feature set. It appears that assumption was correct. After week of blurry leaked images, the Dell Mini 3i handset has officially debuted in China. All I can say is that the device is a turd and I see why no one wanted it here in the States.

T-Mobile Huawei Pulse 8220 Android handset tips up

By Shane McGlaun
on 17 Aug, 2009

New Android handsets are becoming very common on the market with new devices showing up all the time. Google previously promised that it would have 20 new Android devices available by the end of 2009 and it looks like the search giant will easily hit that number. T-Mobile has a new Android handset coming from Huawei called the 8220, but reports claim it may be called the Pulse when it hits the carrier officially. The device has Wi-Fi and a 3MP camera. Other features include Bluetooth and a 3.5-inch screen.

Canadians get cheaper Android devices on Rogers

By Shane McGlaun
on 14 Aug, 2009

Among the best news fans of Android devices can get from their carriers is that prices are coming down. In fact, the only people who don't like price cuts on devices are those who bought the day before the price was reduced. Canadian Android fans looking for a new device can now head over to their local Rogers Wireless store and pick up a couple Android devices at new lower prices. The two devices are the HTC Dream and the HTC Magic.

Android team forced to pull Palm Pre theme

By Shane McGlaun
on 14 Aug, 2009

Customization is one of the big draws to open source devices like those running Android. Users can modify and customize their devices to their hearts content. One of the stranger ways to customize phones to me is to try to make them look like other devices. A theme has been available for Android that mimics the look and feel of the Palm Pre. As it turns out the theme used wallpapers and icons directly from webOS and raised the ire of Palm.

HTC sells 1M Magic phones

By Shane McGlaun
on 13 Aug, 2009

The HTC Magic is known here in the U.S. as the myTouch 3G. The device hit the U.S. market in August and has proven to be a popular device for Android fans. Unlike the G1, the myTouch 3G lacks a QWERTY keyboard and goes all touch screen. HTC has announced that it has now sold 1 million of its magic handsets globally. The company didn't offer numbers split out on a country-by-country basis so exactly how many of those sales are from the U.S. is unknown.

Multitouch rumored to come with Android 2.0

By Shane McGlaun
on 13 Aug, 2009

One of the things that most of us want to see on any touchscreen smartphone is multi-touch capability. Android has been missing multi-touch since it debuted and it is high on the list of features that many Android users want. CNET reports that multi-touch may finally hit the Android OS in time for the holiday season. Android 2.0 is said to be shipping this year and one of the key features will be multi touch. CNET is basing this rumor on other rumors apparently.

ThinkFree Mobile for Android unveiled

By Shane McGlaun
on 12 Aug, 2009

For many business users the ability to view and edit Microsoft Office documents is a necessity. Editing Office documents is typically reserved for high-end Windows Mobile devices and third part apps that are expensive. A new app called ThinkFree has debuted for Android devices that allows mobile providers to offer an application for Android devices allowing the viewing of PDF and PowerPoint files. The app is compatible with Microsoft Office.

Skyhook offers Android app to find overpriced coffee

By Shane McGlaun
on 12 Aug, 2009

In my area, you don’t really have to look hard to find a Starbucks. It seems like there is one on every corner. If you do have a hard time finding your cup of overpriced morning Joe and use Android there is an app for that. Skyhook wireless has partnered with the Android LBS app called Find Starbucks. The app uses the location aware features of the Android device to find Starbucks locations near you. The app was released in June and has 3000 users so far.