Android Atlas

Digg users with Android devices, who might have been jealous of Digg's recently launched iPhone/iPod app, now have one of their very own.

The good news is that it's free, and has the same, simple interface as its iPhone cousin. The bad news is that it's not packing nearly as many features.

Just like the iPhone app, Digg's Android app, which went live on the Android Marketplace on Friday, offers a quick way to view and sort through stories on Digg.com. Included are tabs for top, recent, and upcoming stories on Digg, as well … Read more

DoubleTwist, a music and media synchronization service for Android phones, has gained quite a bit of momentum lately. After picking up an endorsement from T-Mobile back in January, DVD Jon continues to add new features and enhancements to the client. This week saw the integration of the Android Market into the application.

The Mac version of DoubleTwist now lets users search the Android Market directly from their desktop in a clean and easy-to-use interface. Results provide the full market description, comments, and user ratings. Furthermore, you can scan a 2D barcode from any Android handset and jump directly to the … Read more

Knowing I'd have a few hours to waste on a recent cross-country flight, I grabbed a couple of games from the Android Market to use on my phone. One developer in particular, JiuzhangTech Ltd, caught my eye.

Though none of its casual games are necessarily original, JiuzhangTech brings them to Android in a clean, classy way. Among the titles I've played so far are WordSearch Unlimited, Super Flood, WordTwist, and Hangman Classic. I'll tell you more about the first two games here, but I'm confident that all will be on my phone for quite some time. … Read more

Last Tuesday at CTIA, Skype and Verizon  jointly announced the Skype Mobile application is coming to select BlackBerry and Android phones on Verizon's network.

While only nine phones can currently run the app, Verizon and Skype are sure to add more phones to the mix. So if you don't have a BlackBerry Storm I or II, BlackBerry Curve or Tour, Motorola Droid, HTC Droid Eris, or Motorola Devour, keep your peepers trained on this First Look video. We'll show you what you're missing out on--or what you should expect when and if Verizon pushes … Read more

Here's an interesting solution to a problem you may not have known you had. How to share the moments of your life, live, with others. Knocking Live Video is a free video-sharing app for iPhone, and now for Android, that broadcasts live video from one smartphone to another.

There's nothing new about live streaming video on these platforms or others. Qik is a free service that similarly broadcasts live video from smartphones and feature phones to the internet. However, Qik can be public or private , whereas Knocking Live Video is currently only private, and Qik streams to the … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Android and BlackBerry users envious of the new "bump" feature in PayPal's iPhone app should sit tight. Versions for their platforms are coming soon.

PayPal's slick new feature lets virtual money change virtual hands when two iPhones are tapped together (gently, now). The integration of Bump, which has heretofore let users exchange social information on Android phones and the iPhone, now connects PayPal users in close proximity so they can resolve debts on the spot.

"Bumping" money transfers is a practical and convenient way to settle a bill, but right now the service … Read more

Just to get it out of the way, Mozilla had no official news to share at CTIA 2010 in Las Vegas. That didn't stop us from catching up with Jay Sullivan, Mozilla's vice president of mobile, to lay a finger on the pulse of Firefox's browser for mobile phones. (After all, why should Opera have all the fun?)

Mozilla continues to actively develop for Nokia's Maemo/MeeGo platform, the host of the first-ever Firefox for Mobile 1.0. The problem is that Firefox is far from being widely available in its cell phone-friendly form, extensions and all. … Read more

Back in February, we read between the lines of a joint Skype and Verizon announcement to deduce that a much-coveted Skype app for BlackBerry was in the works. On Tuesday at CTIA 2010, the two companies took the podium again with a hard release date to share. Luckily, some Blackberry--and Android users--will only have to wait until Thursday to get the new Skype Mobile on their smartphones.

We say "some" phone owners and not "all" because at launch, Skype Mobile will only be available for nine handsets on Verizon's network: the BlackBerry Storm series, Curve series, and Tour; and the Motorola Droid, HTC Droid Eris, and Morotola Devour, (which also launches Thursday in Verizon stores.) Skype and Verizon anticipated expanding the app to other phone models and platforms in the future.

We got a chance to demo Skype Mobile after the press conference. As far as features go, it's slimmer than Skype on other mobile platforms, sticking to the bare basics of calling and instant messaging. One unique implementation lets you import contacts from the phone's native address book, a plus. Other than that, the app shows your Skype Mobile history and can update the status and mood you broadcast to others. However, you'll be disappointed if you look for goodies like file transferring, SMS, and Skype voice mail support at this stage.… Read more

In an effort to make it easier for you to share your thoughts, pictures, and general experiences, Google released an official widget application for Google Buzz last week.

The application gives users the capability to geotag their Buzz location information. For example: You just enjoyed a fantastic dinner and the dessert just arrived. Now you can snap a photo of the cheesecake and let your friends and followers know where they need to go if they want to try it for themselves. Using the built-in GPS feature found in Android phones, Google recognizes most establishments and adds the names for … Read more