3rd Party Applications - Android Community

Tagged: 3rd Party Applications

Android gets Facebook application after all

By Staff Editor
on 13 Nov, 2008

Not long ago we told users that Facebook was probably not going to join MySpace in the Android Market because of the relationship with Google. There were even claims that Facebook executives were saying such things as “Android sucks, it doesn’t matter.” Little did we know that there was a Facebook application being worked on at the time. Now adults who do not believe in MySpace can get in on all the social networking action on their Android-powered handset. fBook is the first Facebook application to hit the Android Market. Facebook did not actually create this application; it was the guys over at Next Mobile Web. They say this application is a wrapper that not only optimizes the Facebook iPhone web application, but also fixes all the problems associated with it. It appears to be the same as going to m.facebook.com on your browser, but with the addition of picture uploading and push capabilities integrated into the phone itself. I wonder what the guys over at Facebook are going to have to say about this.

WikiTap allows Wikipedia searches and contribution on the go

By Staff Editor
on 13 Nov, 2008

Veveo has announced the launch of their own WikiTap application for both the iPhone and T-Mobile G1. Now G1 owners can contribute to Wikipedia anywhere from the vtap TM web video service. WikiTap allows you to quickly search Wikipedia to find multimedia content such as pictures and video. This is the first application that allows people to not only read articles, but also make immediate multimedia contributions on the go. WikiTap also enhances the Wikipedia experience on the G1 by bringing up relevant videos from vtap’s video index. You can also rate the relevance of the content for other WikiTap community members. “WikiTap gives iPhone and Android users a unique way to discover, enjoy, share and contribute to the already amazing amount of knowledge that exists in Wikipedia, all from the convenience of a mobile device,” said Murali Aravamudan , CEO of Veveo. “Built on vtap technology, which delivers over 250 million media search queries per month, the iPhone and Android community now have the ability to easily search through millions of Wikipedia documents, and micro-contribute by uploading videos on any topic, from anywhere, making it an even more powerful knowledgebase for other users.”

Loopt will soon allow you to spy on your friends with Android

By Staff Editor
on 13 Nov, 2008

Loopt has just announced the development of their social networking application for Android. They are very excited to be able to bring this service to other platforms. Many of you may have had your first encounter with Loopt on the iPhone. Loopt keeps you in the loop when it comes to knowing what your friends are up to. Looped has released two teaser photos of the application to spark interest. On the left you will see a map that displays all of your friends locations, on the bottom of the photo are pictures of your friends that are displayed. Just select a friend’s image and it will take you to where that friend is located. The photo on the right shows you where your friends are, how far they are from your location, and what they are currently doing. With Loopt expanding from the iPhone to other platforms it shows great promise. We are excited to see it come to Android, This not only helps them but allows Android users to connect with a wider range of people. [Via Android Community]

PhoneFusion brings visual voicemail to Android in less than beautiful fashion

By Staff Editor
on 12 Nov, 2008

PhoneFusion today announced their Fusion Voicemail Plus service for Android Smartphones at the Under the Radar: Mobility event. This is fantastic news for those who went from owning an iPhone to the T-mobile G1. PhoneFusion offers services that their existing customers enjoy so much that they decided to bring them to Android. Visual voicemail is an extremely useful service, that allows you to listen to messages in the order in which you like directly through your G1, without having to listen to them in chronological order. From what we have seen the visual voicemail service looks very primitive in its current state. The PhoneFusion Voicemail Plus service will be available for free by the end of the year. Louis Libin, chief executive officer for PhoneFusion said, "With the launch of T-Mobile's G1, the first Android-powered smartphone, people have been looking for an innovative visual voicemail app that runs on this breakthrough device. We believe Fusion Voicemail Plus fills this gap, giving the Android community a better way to stay connected when it matters most. We expect this application will quickly become one of the favorites on Android Market." [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OaBhKSXbzM[/youtube] [Via MarketWatch]

Android Community Week in Review – Week 45 2008

By Staff Editor
on 9 Nov, 2008

Verizon made a bold move this week, taking shots at the Android platform. They have a few valid points, and a few points that did not make sense. It is really not fair to compare a service provider with a range of phones, plans and operating systems, to a single phone that is the first in production. In Australia a young consumer electronics maker has told reporters that he will be launching his own Android-powered handset. Hop-on told a little bit about their theory as to why Sprint's CEO Dan Hasse is dismissing Android early on even though Sprint is one of the founders of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA). Hop-on also spilled the beans a little bit in regards to their upcoming Android-powered handsets. Hop-on will be releasing two different versions of their Android next year. A few people found a way to share your G1's Internet connection with your laptop using Telnet, it is not quite a tethering app, but it will do the job for now. We have read rumors that Taiwan may finally be getting the first Android-powered handset in the first half of 2009. Members of the XDA developers forum have found a way to gain root access in Android, this is not technically a jailbreak, but it does open the door for many opportunities. With root access Jay Freeman, the man responsible for Cydia on iPhone, has managed to port Debian on Android. It seems Google is going to go the same route that Apple has gone in the past in regards to preventing the jailbreaking of phones. Shortly after receiving word that this was possible, Google started working on a patch that will prevent any root access. This update, RC30, should be making its way to users sometime this week. It looks like developers are going to have to work a little harder to make advancements, with Google taking every step they can to prevent root access. Development of Android for the OpenMoko open source handset has been confirmed both by representatives and photos. There is also word that there will be a free Beta port to all existing FreeRunner customers. SMobile has started advertising an antivirus software program for Android. Now users will have the extra security they need. Steve Ballmer took the opportunity to say a few things about Android the other day, he spoke about how Android is not profitable, almost as if he felt threatened. AT&T Mobility on the other hand spoke about Android in a positive way. They are waiting for Google to open up to more non-Google applications before they release and Android-powered handset. The ever-popular Orb web application is soon going to be coming to Android in application form. Orb allows you to stream content or view files on your computer from anywhere that has an Internet connection. As far as other applications go, Meebo came to steal the spotlight. This extremely simple, lightweight instant messaging application will replace the native IM client for many users. Chinese network company, Huawei, has spoken about releasing an Android-powered handset in early 2009. Most Android phones that are to come will only be announced at this time, giving Huawei a head start.

Meebo instant messaging hands on

By Staff Editor
on 7 Nov, 2008

Today Meebo announced that their Android application is now available for download in the Android Market for free. This is the application counterpart to Meebo’s famous web app. Meebo brings instant messaging to Android-powered handsets without the need to have the browser open. After playing around with the application for a few minutes, we found it to be very simple and exactly what we were looking for. There is no lag in the application making it far more easy to use than the native IM application that comes with Android. The menus are very simple and far from cluttered. Just sign in using any popular messenger information such as AIM, MSN and Yahoo. This is by far the best instant messaging application we have seen on Android so far. We would like to know what you think about Meebo for Android. Here is the press release: Meebo Launches Messaging Application for Android Company releases instant messaging application for the Android Market Mountain View, Calif. – November 6, 2008 – Meebo, the Web’s live communications platform, today announced the launch of Meebo for Android, an instant messaging application that brings free and open communication to T-Mobile’s G1, the world’s first Android-powered mobile phone. Meebo for Android provides a simple “on the go” instant messaging experience for anyone with a Meebo account, or an account on one of the popular IM services. The application will be available as a download through the phone via the Android Market (http://www.android.com/market/). Meebo for Android includes:

Access to all of your IM accounts through a single login and single buddy list.

A fun and simple IM experience that’s similar to using meebo.com on your PC.

Real-time notifications! Alerts of new IMs are pushed to the status bar even when Meebo runs in the background.

“We are excited to provide Meebo users and Android enthusiasts with a new way to connect live with their friends,” said Seth Sternberg, founder and CEO, Meebo. “Enabling access to Meebo on the go means that more and more people will think ‘Meebo’ for open communications whether they are at their at home, work, school or none of the above!” The T-Mobile G1 is the world's first Android-powered mobile phone. The T-Mobile G1 combines full touch-screen functionality and a QWERTY keyboard with a mobile Web experience. With a fun and intuitive user interface and one-touch access to Google Search, the T-Mobile G1 is also the first phone to provide access to Android Market, where customers can find and download unique applications to expand and personalize their phone to fit their lifestyle. Meebo serves 40 million people and handles over 5 billion messages per month. The company has raised $37.5 million from investors Sequoia Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, JAFCO Ventures, Time Warner Investments, and KTB Ventures. For information about partnering with Meebo, please visit meebo.com/partners. About Meebo, Inc. Meebo is the Web’s live communications platform. Founded in September 2005, Meebo provides instant messaging and group chat to 40 million people at meebo.com and via partner sites across the Web. Meebo’s investors include Sequoia Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, JAFCO Ventures, Time Warner Investments, and KTB Ventures. Visit meebo.com to connect with friends live on the Web. [gallery]

T-Mobile G1 jailbroken?

By Staff Editor
on 5 Nov, 2008

It looks like members of the XDA Developers forum have just found a way to gain root access to root of the T-mobile G1. There apparently is a loop hole in the PTerminal application that grants access. Right now you can download the PTerminal application from the Android Market. We are told you can use it to start a telnet connection with your G1 and computer. Many call this a jailbreak because it is the only known term for many. Gaining root access in the G1 opens the door for so many new hacks and even a task manager to end applications. No word yet on if the loophole will be patched up or not

Turn on your phone's WiFi. This gives your phone an IP you can reach it at.

Get to a command prompt on your device by using the PTerminal application from the Android Market. (adb shell does not seem to work with these instructions, telnetd does not start up)

cd system

cd bin

telnetd

netstat (get your phones IP)

telnet into your phone's IP from your PC

you now have roo

[Via XDA]

First Twitter application Twidroid lands in Android Market

By Staff Editor
on 29 Oct, 2008

Thomas Marban, the guy behind Popurls, has created the first Twitter application for Android, Twidroid. The name may be slightly odd but it is hard to confuse with the purpose of the application. This application became available in the Android Market last Monday for free. We have been playing around with it for a few days now and it really has everything that you need in a Twitter application. However viewing links still takes you out of the application itself and into the Browser, and using this application will actually add Twidroid to the list of people you are following by default. Twidroid still offers all of the functions that you need in a Twitter application such as postings, replies and direct messages, user detail information, follow/unfollow a user, and directly integrated photo-posting from camera. We predict this is the first Twitter application of many to come, eventually it will come down to which application has more to offer. We would love to see a Twitter application such as Twinkle come to android in the future. Do any of you have specific Twitter applications that you would like to see for Android? [gallery]

JOYity brings mobile gaming into the real world

By Staff Editor
on 27 Oct, 2008

JOYity has brought social based gaming to a whole new level with Android. JOYity uses GPS to help users play adventure-based games with other people in the real world like it has never been done before.

JOYity is not one but three games in a single application. Once you download the application you can either choose to play YouCatch, Roads, San Francisco or City Race Munich or choose to design your own game. In Roads of San Francisco you have to follow clues all around the city. When you arrive at one location, a text or picture message tells you where to go next. The game is basically a Scavenger Hunt with a story line that can be played with several people. YouCatch is a version of Manhunt in which players in the same proximity sign up for the game. Everyone acts as a hunter and the hunted, the game assigns you a person to hunt while assigning you to someone else as the victim. The location of everyone is periodically flashed on the map so you can locate others. When you get within 25 feet of your victim just press the scroll ball for the kill, the catch is your location is broadcast every time you press the scroll button. The winner is the last person left standing. Below you can see two video reviews from AppVee of Roads of San Francisco and YouCatch. YouCatch is being played in Madison Square Park in New York City. AppVee was also impressed with this application saying that it is a “massive multiplayer trans-reality game.” What do you think about the new direction mobile gaming is going? [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDeG2FDjS1w[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqpTM8eBl5Y[/youtube] [Via Tech Crunch]

Android Community Week in Review – Week 43 2008

By Staff Editor
on 26 Oct, 2008

Just before the launch of the T-Mobile G1 this week, Google decided to pull almost all of the applications in the Android Market. It turns out that they were pre-production applications that were only there for demo purposes only. It was not long before applications returned to the Android Market in completed form. Myspace was the first social networking based application to hit the Android Market. With no sign of a Facebook app reports began to surface exposing the bad blood between Facebook and Google.

One San Francisco store was given the OK to sell the T-Mobile G1 a few hours early. The line grew rather long as people from all over the area lined up for a chance to get the G1 early. Many T-Mobile customers found a pleasant surprise on their doorsteps Monday morning as most of the pre-orders arrived 2 days early. Google finally released the source code for their Android operating system, however it appears it will only be for those who are running OSX or Linux. Kyocera also announced they are working on an Android-powered handset. No details about the device have been released at this time. T-Mobile's exclusive Hotspot Connect application was released into the Android Market this week allowing T-Mobile customers to connect to any T-Mobile Hotspot for free. The long awaited day came with the official launch of the T-Mobile G1, the first handset to run Google's Android platform. TmoNews reported that there was to be an over the air update (OTA) for the G1 on the 23rd, but after no update was made available, reports changed the release date to November 2nd. One concept of the Android interface surfaced in the Show Room for the Swedish software technology and design company Tat. Seen in the concept was a layout at the bottom that somewhat resembled that of the iPhone dock. Google announced that they will start allowing paid applications to enter the Android Market in early 2009. Another picture surfaced this week bringing hope to G1 owners who would like an on-screen keyboard, the picture showed an on-screen keyboard that very closely resembles that of Apple's iPhone. Instructions surfaced helping people activate their G1 at home without having an account, although to achieve this an activated T-Mobile SIM card is required. Hop-on is the latest company to announce that they are developing a phone to run the Android platform. Hop-on plans to unveil their Android in January at CES 2009. Stories are coming from all over the place stating that T-Mobile employees in non-3G areas know little or nothing about the G1 because they will not be selling the device. Two developers of award winning Android applications TuneWiki and Shopsavvy, held an AndroidDevCamp in Dallas on the 25th to help developers get started with Android. HTC CEO Peter Chou, told Mercury News that G1 sales for 2008 would be more than 600,000 units rather than the 1.5 million reported to be sold already in pre-orders. Security researchers have already found a security flaw in the G1 that can potentially allow attackers to record keystrokes made within the devise's browser application. Google is aware of this problem and states that it is not as bad as it appears and that they are already working on it. Our Golla G1 Case Giveaway came to an end this week, we would like to take the time again to thank our sponsor Smartphone Experts for making the giveaway posible. I am going to pick up a Golla case myself, the cases were actually really nice and fit very well. I would also like to say thank you to all of our members for making this week another record breaking week for us here at Android Community!