Could HTC be on the verge of releasing an update to their critically acclaimed Touch Flo interface? According to a few sources such as Boy Genius Report & HTC Insider the update is codenamed "Manila" and is supposed to make Windows Mobile devices more "user friendly". They also go on to say that Manila's release my coincide with that of Windows Mobile 6.1. You can check out some screen shots here at The Unwired.net. Personally, I was surprised when I finally got the chance to see Touch Flo in action for myself. I expected it to be sluggish, and not nearly as intuitive to us as the iPhone, but I was mistaken. It even has me considering a Touch Flo based device as my next handset.
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Thursday
HTC: Touch Flo 2.0? Manila
Rumor Killed: Dell Not Attending 3GSM
Whether or not Dell ultimately comes out with a device that runs Android, it won't be announced in Barcelona. PC Magazine is reporting that one Anne Camden of Dell told them that 'they are not going to be at this year's Mobile World Congress (formerly known as 3GSM) conference, and they are not releasing a phone there.'
Fanboys can still pick that quote apart. "She didn't say they weren't releasing a phone altogether though!"
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Garmin Announces Cell Phone
The Apple iPhone did a lot more than just turn the cell phone industry on its ear. With it's "revolutionary" design and interface it showed a stagnant industry that innovation was still possible. It also showed manufacturers of other products that your name didn't have to start with an "N" or an "M" to jump into this market. Enter Garmin, a company synonymous with GPS navigation devices. Last night they announced their own handset they call the Nuvifone pictured in this article. Notice the resemblance to the iPhone? It's all touch screen with only a few buttons on either side. Here are the specs that we know of so far: 3.5G network compatibility, 3.5 inch color touch screen display, GPS functions which will use Google's local search capability, video camera, and MPEGG 4/MP3 & AAC. Garmin bucked the trend by releasing this news prior to the 3GSM conference in Barcelona next month. Stay tuned for more details on this one as it becomes available to us.
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Reserve Price Met: Open Access for All!
Following a few tense rounds without any bids, the nationwide block of eight C-Block licenses picked up a new bid during round 17 to push the potential winning price for the block past the $4.6 billion reserve mark, thereby triggering the spectrum’s open-access provision. The potential winning bid for the block in round 17 sat at $4.7 billion, with the minimum bid for round 18 set at nearly $5.3 billion.We, or Google rather, can all breathe a little easier. Next year at this time, we should be gearing up to start running our open-source devices on an open-source network! Just a couple of things to ponder. Who bid this up today? How much higher is this going to go? Keep checking back with us and we'll let you know what find out.
Good News, Bad News for T-Mobile
Taking the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study seven times in a row is how you keep customers. Congratulations to T-Mobile for the honors! With recent figures showing them picking up nearly 1 million new customers last quarter, odds are good that they'll be happy ones. And as we all know, happy customers are less likely to leave you. Are you listening Sprint?
Now, for the not so good news. T-Mobile is embroiled in a class action suit regarding not allowing their customers the ability to opt-out of receiving text messages. With rates between 15-20¢ per message, people should have the right to stop incoming. No excuses for this one. Fix this now and watch your satisfaction rate continue to climb.
T-Mobile Adds Nearly 1M U.S. Subs in 4Q
T-Mobile Continues to Receive Top Recognition for Quality Customer Care
T-Mobile Faces Text Messaging Lawsuit
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Crunch Time for Google
It's put up or shut up time for those interested in Block 'C' in the 700MHz auction. Why so? For starters, nobody bid for block C during the last three rounds yesterday. With very strict rules regarding inactivity, the FCC will start to disqualify bidders. Even though there are wavers available for some to skip rounds, it's rumored that at least one bidder is set to run out of wavers tomorrow. If this reserve isn't met fast, Auction 73 could quickly turn into Auction 76, tossing the open standards aside and pretty much ruining Google's plans. If they haven't put in a bid yet, then there's no better time.
Stay tuned to AndroidGuys for the latest updates. Better yet, subscribe to our feed so you can be assured of getting everything!
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Wednesday
The iPhone is No Longer Revolutionary
I'm not gonna beat around the bush here. I like the iPhone. I think the design of it is sleek, classy, and very desirable. What I don't like is the fact that unless I want to go about it illegally, I'm forced to go to AT&T to get one. Being a T-Mobile customer, I am more than happy with my current rates and services. I'd just love a new device that does all the stuff the iPhone does. That's exactly why I am holding off until Android comes out before getting my new handset.
Moving 4 million devices in such a short time has definitely opened some eyes. If you count it as a 'smart' phone, then they've snatched huge chunks of market share already. Here's another number for you though. Recent figures have shown that around 1/4th of all iPhones being sold are getting unlocked. What does this statistic tell us? There is a demand to free, or open the device up for other networks and as costly as it is, people are willing to pay for one. If you haven't had a chance to play with an iPhone, I'll say this. It really does feel like a totally different animal. Revolutionary? Last year, it was. Next year, not so much. Allow me to explain.
In the last few months, we've already seen some advances made in cellular software and hardware that were only thought possible on Apple's pretty little baby. And we're not talking about skinning or emulating. HTC's TouchFlo technology and Microsoft's in-development WinMo7 are making it so that touch screen phones no longer need to rely on a stylus for tapping or typing. Even better, TouchFlo knows the difference between a finger and stylus, so you get different reactions based on what you are using at the time. Something that will come in handy for maps or photo applications.
The newly launched SkyFire program for Window Mobile is not only able to act like Safari when browsing the internet, but they also claim that they will be able to allow any rich media or sort of interactivity you might come across online. Even in beta form, it's better than anything else WinMo users have had to deal with.
Will the 3G iPhone hit the market before Android phones do? Apple might do themselves a favor and try to make that happen. Knowing what we do about proposed GPS based mapping programs, local search, and advertising, Google might one up them when Android phones roll out. These devices are going to be able to do a lot more than give you driving directions with your Google Map.
It's for all of these reasons, and more that I am convinced that when Android based phones start hitting the market, we're not going to have iClones, but viable alternatives that offer more.
My advice to Apple is to drop the price again and get your 3G going now. Google is right around the corner, ready to unleash an army of more capable handsets at lower costs. How will they be able to compete with non-subsidized handsets and/or ad-based services with their current business model? T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, and even AT&T will gladly provide service to a phone when they don't have to kick up a few hundred bucks to the manufacturer just for selling it. I think AT&T really stuck themselves good with that 5 year exclusive deal. At least here in the US.
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Dell and Google Launching Phone Together?
File this under rumor. For now. According to MarketingWeek, the word is Dell and Google are planning on making the announcement of a joint effort at next month's 3GSM in Barcelona. Makes sense to us and seems to add up when you consider that Dell recently snatched up a Motorola executive to run their new global consumer group. It would really put Dell back in the game if they came out with one of the biggest names in technology as their partner. naturally, sources close to Google deny any pending announcement.
We're not holding our breath. It sure would be nice to though.
UPDATE: Mike Elgan at ComputerWorld makes a few points to why this is not going to happen. Among his reasons, "Google historically doesn't partner with companies on the co-development of hardware, per se." Good point, but let's not discount that Google wasn't even in the handset game at all 6 months ago. What do we know though? His resume is steeped with credibility compared to ours.
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Tuesday
Motorola Leaving Handset Business?
The numbers are bad, but are they that bad? According to one guy, they might be. Richard Windsor, an analyst with Nomura International thinks that Motorola may exit the handset business and concentrate on becoming an enterprise and government company. Further, he speculates that they might be prime for a good, old-fashioned Chinese buyout. Respect knuckles to MarketWatch for this one. Full Post
700MHz Auction Update: 'C' Block Inches Towards Reserve
The C block closed on Monday at $3.42 billion, which was an increase of $1.27 billion over the previous week. Are we only days away from Google throwing in their $4.6B in dropping out? What if someone else wants it even more?
Developer Challenge Deadline Extended
Based on the great feedback you've given us, we've made significant updates to the SDK that we'll be releasing in several weeks. In order to give you extra time to take advantage of these forthcoming UI and API enhancements, we've decided to extend the submission deadline.Allow us translate that for you. "We know that our developer kit pretty much stunk, so we're giving you a newer one based on all of the complaints. And, in a show of good faith, we're extending the deadline in the hopes that those of you who were turned away by the initial offering will come back and try again."
The official Android blog alerted us today that they've extended the deadline to enter your project for the $10M in booty. Now you have until April 14th to get it in. So is it back to the drawing boards for some?
April 14, 2008: Deadline to submit applications for judging
May 5, 2008: Announcement of the 50 first round winners, who will be eligible for the final round
June 30, 2008: Deadline for the 50 winners of the first round to submit for the final round
July 21, 2008: Announcement of the grand prize winner and runner-up
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HTC Loses Ground in WinMo Smartphone Market
When factoring out touch-screen phones, High Tech Computers (HTC) has lost their foothold in the mobile industry to Motorola and Samsung. No surprises here in the US as the Motorola Q and Samsung Blackjack sold like crazy last year.
Motorola, Samsung and HTC have been competing fiercely in the segment with each vendor accounting for a 20-30% share globally, with Motorola now leading the contest with a small margin, the data showed. - Internal data from Microsoft.Expect the numbers to get thinner all around as more companies jump into the game.
When comparing touch-screen versions, or PDA phones, HTC still has nearly a 50% share. At least according to the same internal data. Again, this will not last long with companies like Palm, HP, and Dell looking to revive or reimagine their product lines.
Read more at DigiTimes.
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Monday
34 Weeks of OHA: #4
Open Handset Alliance Member Profiles (Week #4 - Broadcom )
For 34 weeks, each Tuesday, Jordan from fandroid.net will be joining us to offer a profile of each of the 34 members of the Open Handset Alliance.
Company Name: Broadcom Corporation
How the OHA site classifies them: Semiconductor Company
What the OHA site says about them: Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, providing products that enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment.
What they do: They build chips.
Wikipedia proclaims them "...among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders." Their site list their offerings as including Bluetooth products, network processing solutions, digital cable products, digital TV solutions, satellite devices, DSL chipsets, mobile multimedia processors, mobile phone solutions, networking components, security processors, I/O integrated circuits, storage solutions, VOIP solutions, WLAN solutions, and Ethernet solutions. They got solutions.
Broadcom is probably best known for their NICs. There's a good chance that the network card in the PC you're currently reading this article on was designed by Broadcom.
Of course, Broadcom doesn't really build any of this. Rather, it employs Asian people to do the building for them.
Special Feature: What is up with the Broadcom vs. Qualcomm conflict?
It's complicated, and probably less exciting than you'd think. Basically, these two seem to get off on suing each other, and have been doing so for a few years now.
The most recent and most interesting contest started back in May of 2005, when Broadcom went after Qualcomm with a lawsuit over 10 supposed patent infringments, as well as a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging unfair trade practices by importing products that infringe Broadcom patents. Then, in July of the same year Broadcom launched a couple more lawsuits accusing Qualcomm of violating antitrust laws.
Then a bunch of legal stuff happened.
The ITC eventually blocked the import of new cellphone models based on infringing Qualcomm chips, a jury awarded Broadcom $19.6 billion dollars, and, most recently, a federal judge has ordered Qualcomm to stop selling the contested chips.
So, like, ouch for Qualcomm.
I'm no legal reporter. This stuff makes my molars ache. Basically, these two hate each other. It makes Thanksgiving at the OHA household a tense affair. Let's leave it at that.
What they bring to OHA and Android: Semiconductors. And, given their history with Qualcomm, domestic violence.
Broadcom kinda has its fingers in everything, including LiMo, a partnership with Trolltech, and now Android. Whether this means they'll have a meaningful contribution to make in the Linux handset space or that they're just lurking to keep options open for the future remains to be seen.
Broadcom Corporation
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MIT to Offer Android Based Software Development Course
In a first-of-its-kind move, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will be offering a class this term revolving around Google Android based phones. As part of their computer science program, the course will start February 8th and work with the Google supplied Android SDK. The class will be broken into teams of 3-4 students each, working on a project for the term. Without giving away too much, Mr.Yu, mobile devices platform coordinator for MIT said that the projects will focus on a range of topics, such as those dealing with location based services (LBS). So far 25 students have been invited to join the class. Finally a class where your professor is not going to throw your phone away if it rings!
UPDATE: Apparently, first-of-its-kind applies to MIT only as Open Source Development of Cognitive Technology on a Mobile Platform is already a class offered at the University of Colorado. Thanks to our readers for being so alert!
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Nokia's Qt to Compete with Google's Android?
Just a few hours ago, Nokia announced that they were purchasing Trolltech, the Norway-based software developer for approximately $153 million. That's right, Nokia just opened up. The agreement should see Nokia contributing to the development of Trolltech's Qt framework. Nokia will most likely license Trolltech's code both commercially and via strictly open-source plans. The deal is slated to be finished during the spring of 2008.
Trolltech's deep understanding of open source software and its strong technology assets will enable both Nokia and others to innovate on our device platforms while reducing time-to-market," said Kai Oistamo, Executive Vice President, Devices, Nokia.Apparently, 40% of the world's market share just isn't good enough! We're not gonna hate though. In the end, it's just another move to provide customers with more choices.
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Palm Closing Retail Stores
In what seems like a downward spiral for one of yesterday's bigger PDA and smartphone companies, Palm is shuttering doors on all of their retail stores as well as the locations with Airport Wireless shops. You can probably blame Research in Motion for this one as BlackBerries have really eaten into their market share. We have to agree with most people when we say that Palm's OS seems antiquated when compared to RIM, WinMo6, and even Symbian. What does all of this have to do with Android? Well, Palm is building a new Linux-based operating system that is scheduled to be released at the end of this year, competing with Google's Android Linux-based smartphone operating system. Yet another offering in an increasingly crowded field. Full Post
Sunday
AG Link Love
We love it when a site links to us, whether it's tech related or not. Typically, we'll try to reach out to a website and thank them if we noticed they've added us a technorati fave or plugged our site somewhere. Entrecard has done very well for us in regards to opening our eyes to new blogs and sites in plenty of categories. We've met some incredible people and found some interesting sites through there. With our Entrecard contest, we've had a lot of sites linking to us, even without asking them. Today we'd like to mention a site and hopefully send them a few visits.
TechFires has a very crisp, clean look to their site. Updated every few days with links to other sites, TechFires covers a wide array of tech related subject. It's written in a tone that's easy to understand which is always nice. Who wants a site that talks over their reader's heads? Never too long on words, it's a great site to drop in on once or twice a week and learn a little something new. The three most recent subjects covered were ThinkGeek, CamStudio, and DocuWiki. When you stop by, tell them AndroidGuys sent you.
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Saturday
AG5 - January 26th Edition
Another Saturday, another AG5. For regular visitors, AndroidGuys takes a look back at 5 headlines we think deserve a second look. If this is your first time stopping by, welcome to AndroidGuys! Here's five things to bring you up to speed. Have a great weekend and we'll see you again soon!
#1 - 700MHz Auction gets going.
The illustrious 'C' block reserve price of $4.6 billion was not met, but nobody was really surprised. Look for the auction to last a few weeks before we find out who wins it.
#2 - Motorola releases some rather unappealing numbers.
New CEO Greg Brown has a long road ahead of him as Motorola needs a wake up call of sorts. Did it come in the form of 4th quarter '07 numbers? We hope so.
#3 - HTC seems to be selling Touches a pretty good rate.
Given that nobody has ever seen an HTC commercial, they are doing well against the Apple iPhone. With the right mix of software and promoting, HTC could put out a very sexy handset.
#4 - Android could become a major force.
In the first two months, programmers downloaded the software development kit for Android more than 250,000 times. This is way more than comparable SDK's for mobile devices.
#5 - AndroidGuys showed up on a couple of other sites.
TechWag sat down to ask us a few questions for one of their interviews and Scott guest-blogged on The Big Bald Blog this week. Thanks to both of the for helping to spread who we are and what we think about Android.
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Friday
700MHz Auction: Day 1
After the first day of bidding, the C block's high bid was $1.24 billion. Roughly 1/4th of the reserve price of $4.6 billion. No word on who was high bidder as the auction is blind. For more information, check out the following posts.
OHA News (January 25th Edition)
Another week of lean news specifically surround the Open Handset Alliance. We're optimistic though. It seems like each passing week, some non OHA news trickles out regarding Android. It's just a matter of time before we start getting the meat and potatoes we are looking for. For example, at some point in the near future, we'll have to find out how T-Mobile and Sprint will handle Android and in what capacity. Sooner or later, we're gonna learn what nVidia is up to and just what Intel is doing for their part in the alliance.
Samsung drops a little somethin' for da ladies. (GSMArena)
Verizon getting a white HTC Touch ( CrunchGear)
Google Docs added more features (Google Blogoscoped)
HTC addressed the video driver problem (Engadget Mobile)
Are cops allowed to search your phone? (PopGadget)
HTC and Parrot get together (IntoMobile)
LG and Samung agree to disagree (Just Another Mobile Phone Blog)
Android and Funambol server synergy (Open Androids)
Study shows smartphones were most returned Christmas gift (UberPhones)
First Samsung direct connect phone for Sprint (Phone Scoop)
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Thursday
20/20 Podcast #7
Jamie and Scott sat down on Thursday to go over some current posts as well as recent Android related news. Recorded over two 20 minute segments, we present to you episode seven of the AndroidGuys 20/20 podcast. If you want to check out some previous podcasts, please subscribe to the feed! We're open to suggestions, so if you have anything you'd like us to cover, let us know in the comments!
Part 1 (#7A) topics include the FCC Auction getting underway, Google Android and Yahoo Go!, and mobile search versus local search on phones. Shout outs to TechWag, The Big Bald Blog, and AskTheAdmin for all they have done for us lately, as well as what they have allowed us to do.
Part 2 (#7B) saw us discussing things like Hop-On's Chitter Chatter, NTT DoCoMo, A La Mobile, BancoMap, lowering costs for bringing a handset, and job cuts at Sprint. Respect knuckles to Jordan over at Fandroid.net for his help with the 34 Weeks of OHA!
Don't forget to subscribe to our standard feed as well as the podcast only version.
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Verizon and AT&T Get Set To Chitter-Chatter
Verizon and AT&T will both be carrying a version of Hop On's Chitter Chatter handset. The chitter chatter is one of the first devices that operates on both CDMA and GSM networks at the touch of a button. You can read the complete article here on Mac Report.net. Kind of makes you wonder why it took so long for this technology to be developed considering most of the world operates on GSM. No particular model was released for either carrier, but Hop-On's website features the HOP2001 as "Verizon and AT&T ready". A feature the article seemed to focus on was the Chitter Chatter's ability to offer the latest GPS technology at a fraction of the cost of similiar phones. You can visit Hop-On's website here to take a look at their current line up of handsets. Click here to see the HOP2001. Looks like a great handset to run Android on!
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Sprint Nextel Cuts Starting Near Top
You didn't think it was going to be all retail sales reps, did you? So far, the CFO, CMO, and President of Sales and Distribution are officially "stepping down" tomorrow. There's probably a lot of money to be saved in that move. Bringing in a replacement at lower salary would help the financial side of things pretty quickly. No word yet on whether or not the HNIC will be stepping down.
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It Has Begun!
Today is the start date for the 700MHz auction. Keep your channels locked to AndroidGuys for all the latest spectrum news! Here's a few quick things to know as it gets underway.
- The auction is officially called Auction 73
- The move from analog to digital television is what frees up the bandwidth in the 700MHz range.
- The auction is 'silent' in that the FCC will disclose to bidders the current asking price for each block without revealing anything about the who the high bidders are.
- Some big names participating are AT&T, Verizon, Cox Communication, and of course, Google
- There are 5 "blocks" up for grabs. Block C is by far the most prized of them as it contains the most bandwidth (22MHz, broken into two 11MHz pairs )
- The winner of Block C has to commit to an open-access network. Essentially, any device capable of supporting the protocols must be allowed.
- The reserve price for Block C is $4.64 billion.
- If the reserve price is not met, a new auction will start and 'open-access requirement' will be gone. This is what drives the rumors that Google intends to bid it up to the reserve price then bow out of the auction.
Sun Microsystems Not Sure What This Android Thing Is All About
According to Sun's vice president James Gosling, this Google Android thing is "just a bag of code". When asked to comment or take a position on Android in an interview for Computer World UK Gosling went on to say "It's impossible to have a position [on Android], right, because there is no data," he said when interviewed at the event. "Over the last couple of years, Google has been showing their phone at telecom conferences all over the world and with different business models, all of which really scared the carriers and handset makers." We are used to seeing these types of attacks from Sun because they are in direct competition with Android. Check out the complete article here. Because Android is based on Sun's JAVA platform Sun has always had concerns that Android would further split the Java community by offering yet another OS. Our take is that there's always room for another player. This leads to innovation, and that is something this industry desperately needs.
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NTT DoCoMo Talks GPhones
We are starting discussions to offer handsets that will have the Android operating system," said Takeshi Natsuno, managing director of the multimedia services department at NTT DoCoMo.The picture is becoming a little more clear each day as we find out what different members of the Open Handset Alliance are planning to do with Android. We're going to see Google products and apps added DoCoMo's devices. Additions will include a Google search box on the main I-mode menu page and Google Ads appearing alongside search results. They're also planning to add more Google services like Google Maps down the road. (Get it? "Down the road")
Natsuno added "When I look at the prototype, the Android-based handset works really well even on some of the cheaper handset designs." Encouraging news for those worried about Android phones being high-end, expensive devices. Read more at TechRadar.
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Wednesday
AndroidGuys Guests on The Big Bald Blog
We don't get to blow our own horn very often.Even more rare, we don't get to blow it twice in one day. Well, today's one of those days. Not only were featured on TechWag, but Scott took a little time to spend it guest-blogging over at The Big Bald Blog as well!
If you've read our site for a more than a couple weeks, you will recall that the guy who runs it (Big Pappa) recently gave away an iPod Touch. Even though we didn't win it, we were still very happy to step in and do a little self promotion. Head over there to read more about us and our EntreCard contest! Stop by and tell him that AndroidGuys sent ya.
Part 1 | Part 2
Thanks Big Pappa!
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TechWag Interviews AndroidGuys
We recently had a chance to spend some time talking with TechWag, answering some questions about us and Android. We'll save the good stuff for their site, but we'll at least throw you a little quote to whet your whistle.
Android is the catalyst the mobile industry needs, especially here in the United States. Our network providers have had too much control over the users for far too long. Consumers are learning the benefits of open source technology more each day. It was only a matter of time before people starting demanding more choices from their carriers.Now get over there and check the rest out!
Respect knuckles to RD for taking the time to speak with us. Full Post