Android Atlas

What's your listening pleasure?

(Credit: Screenshot by Scott Webster/CNET)

Fans of radio shows like "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" will be happy to learn that NPR Digital Media released its first application for Android devices. In addition to the above shows, NPR News offers many of the network's popular programs. You can download NPR News from the Android Market for free today.

I've already logged considerable time playing with NPR News over the last day or so and have found it to a welcome addition to my handset. The app has a very simple and intuitive interface that makes learning a breeze. The color scheme and fonts echo that of the mobile NPR Web site and make great use of the screen space.

After installing I was listening to the day's top stories within minutes. Being that this is an Android application, NPR News has the ability to run in the background of my phone. For example, I can check e-mails and browse the Web while listening to my favorite programs.

There are anywhere between 10 to 20 topics to choose from including World, Politics, and Movies, and the news appears to be updated regularly. It is incredibly simple to find local stations and related podcasts thanks to GPS and cell-tower triangulation. The app was able to pull up three stations within 20 miles of my location and notify me of the radio frequencies, call signs, and on-demand podcasts. It's also possible to search by Zip code should you want to pull up your favorite stations from around the country.

Those of you with busy schedules and finicky palates will enjoy being able to handpick your news and form personalized playlists. NPR News lets users browse through the various categories and add articles to your queue. What's more, an update expected in the spring of 2010 promises live station streaming.

There are only two features I felt were missing from NPR News. First is the ability to subscribe to specific shows automatically. Call me lazy, but I don't want to have to manually select the same shows over and over. The other opportunity for improvement lies in adding the rest of NPRs original programs.

Neither of the missing features are deal-breakers and I'm fairly confident that both of these will be built into future updates. These quibbles aside, I'm very happy with this release.

A small update to version 1.2 lets you upload photos from your phone and share favorite businesses with friends.

(Credit: Yelp)

Yelp's first foray on Google's Android phones wasn't much to look at.

The initial feature set of Yelp's business review app for Android, which debuted December 7, was minimalist. It contained enough features--read-only access to Yelp.com, click-to-call, and a hyperlink to get directions from the browser or Google Maps--to avoid a user riot, but one would hardly call it the answer to Yelp's iPhone app.

On Tuesday, Yelp is making good on its promise to quickly pad the app's features. Version 1.2, an update available through the Android Market app on your smartphone, now lets you upload pictures from your Android phone to Yelp's site.

If you're meeting someone at a restaurant, bar, or museum, you can now share Yelp's business listing with others over SMS, e-mail, Facebook, and other third-party apps you may have installed on your phone, like a Twitter service. As a third addition, you're also free to sign in to your Yelp profile from the smartphone.

These changes may seem like small potatoes at first--you still can't add your own rating, write tips, or review a place from the phone--but they reverse two of our complaints. Yelp tells us we should expect to see more interactive features in early 2010, like drafting a review for later publishing, and bookmarking a business.

(Credit: Screenshot by Scott Webtser/CNET)

Google has been busy the last few days with updates to the official Android Developers blog. With new code samples and resources, the blog is becoming a better resource for the very people who Google depends on to elevate the platform.

On Thursday, Google unveiled the Device Dashboard, which breaks down the current composition of devices accessing the Android Market. The tool is designed to help current and prospective developers get a feel for which versions of Android they should be coding.

The Dashboard already shows that writing for Android 1.1 would be a waste of time, as only 0.3 percent of current handsets are running it. On the other hand, Android 2.0 and 2.1 already account for nearly 18 percent of all handsets accessing the Android Market. Two handsets running Android 1.6, the T-Mobile G1 and MyTouch 3G, make up a majority at 54 percent.

The dashboard is a welcome move to developers who were upset over the different builds of Android that already exist. At least now they have a better understanding about which versions have the most traction and which might be dying off.

Yesterday, Google also released a new set of sample codes to help developers understand some of the features found in Android 1.6 and 2.0. These codes range from creating interactive home screen widgets to getting your applications to speak using text-to-speech (speech synthesis). The developer site got an additional makeover, as a new "Resources" tab now lists frequently asked questions (FAQs), tutorials, and technical articles.

(Credit: Screenshot by Scott Webtser/CNET)

Effective Wednesday, T-Mobile customers with a Google Android phone running version 1.6 of the operating system will begin receiving an update to their Android Market. After installing the update and opening the Market, users can access a "T-Mobile Top Picks" section that showcases applications there were selected by the carrier. Besides being innovative, these applications can a great jumping off point for new users looking to personalize their handsets.

So far, there are 20 applications listed in the Top Picks. Though a quarter of the titles were developed by T-Mobile, most of the apps are free. The only paid titles are Absolute Fitness, FaceIT, FlightStats for Android, and Gem Miner: Dig Deep. Two included applications, Pandora Radio and Aloqa, are consistently ranked among the top rated and most download in the Android Market.

T-Mobile offers customers even more recommendations with the carrier's "AppPack." Serving as a filter for the Android Market, AppPack lets users browse apps that have been handpicked and tagged by T-Mobile. After launching with roughly 10 apps in its list, it expanded to include more than 30 yesterday.

The nice thing about AppPack is that it can run in the background and receive updates. Users will receive occasional notifications of new apps and will be directed to the Android Market to download them. With both Top Picks and AppPack, T-Mobile's aim is to introduce apps to people who might not have come across them otherwise.

(Credit: Screenshot by Scott Webster/CNET)

The Android Market has grown from zero applications to 20,000 strong in a little over a year. According to Androidlib, a Web site dedicated to tracking the Android Market, the milestone was reached on Tuesday. While this is an unofficial tally, it's a telling figure nonetheless.

Android shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, the number of applications is growing from month to month. After taking nearly 10 months to cross the 10,000 mark, the market doubled in size over the next five months.

With all the talk of unhappy developers, it's still becoming increasingly obvious that developers aren't sitting on the sideline any longer. I can't think of one company or team still taking the "wait and see" approach. The largest mobile application market, Apple's App Store, has over 100,000 applications available, but many analysts believe Android has the potential to contend with the iPhone in the coming year.

While the number of apps may have doubled in the last five months, the mix between paid and free titles has remained practically unchanged. Free applications accounted for roughly 64 percent of the selections back in September, whereas today that number is around 62 percent.

As promised, T-Mobile last night began rolling out a new billing option for Google Android users.

Customers of the nation's largest Android carrier now have an option to charge Android Market purchases directly to their monthly bills and bypass their credit cards and Google Checkout accounts. T-Mobile is the first carrier to offer a billing alternative, though Sprint has also committed to making a similar move.

As the update is considered "invisible," T-Mobile customers will not receive any notifications of a pending software update. Rather, you can access the new billing option by logging into the Android Market and making a purchase.

This update will roll out over the course of the next few weeks and should hit all handsets by the end of the year. Similar to Google Checkout, applications uninstalled within the first 24 hours after purchase will not show up on your T-Mobile bill.

For now, the only paid apps that can be applied to your monthly bill must be in U.S. currency. Titles priced in other currencies must be purchased using a credit card. According to the official T-Mobile Forum, they are working in conjunction with Google on a solution to convert these apps to U.S. dollars.

(Credit: Yelp)

Frequent Yelp users will be pleased to see a Yelp for Android app take its place in the Android Market on Monday. Be forewarned, however, that the app contains the minimum services from Yelp.com in this iteration.

There's the usual search for restaurants and businesses nearby, which Yelp sniffs out using GPS or cell tower triangulation. Results records include ratings, reviews, and photos you can view from the phone. You can click or press a button to call the business. There's another button to map the location to a movable Google map, and this version thankfully includes our favorite new feature--a link to pop open directions in a browser from your current location to the business.

Yelp on Android lacks many of the interactive program features that are present on the iPhone version, including the ability to contribute your own photos and tips. We'll presumably see more functionality in future editions. For now, Yelp is read-only on Android phones.

Residents of the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Ireland can download Yelp for free from the Android market.

AndroidStats

(Credit: Screenshot by Scott Webster)

As the number of apps and games continues to grow for Android, it's getting harder to keep on top of everything. Rather than trying out every title that enters the Android Market, I like to look for specific genres of apps.

For instance, I really enjoy casual games on my T-Mobile G1. I always find at least a few minutes of downtime throughout my day so I'm constantly trying to get a new high score or unlock a new puzzle. However, as much as I'd love to try out every brain game that's released, it's simply impossible for me to do so. Instead I look for the titles that seem to be making the most noise in the market. For this, I use an Android app called AndroidStats.

As the name implies, it provides statistics into what's going on in the Android Market. I glance through the app every few days to see if there are any significant movers or shakers I've yet to play. AndroidStats is very straightforward in that it lets me see how apps are performing from day to day as well as over time.

Two features of AndroidStats that you won't find in the Android Market are Biggest Weekly Movers and Yesterday's Price Changes. The former shows users which apps or games have gained the most ground in the last seven days. I find it very similar to Heatseekers on Billboard's music charts. The latter lists apps that have changed in price as compared with the previous day. While most of these are price drops, occasionally you will find price increases.

If you find an app that captures your interest, you can view the title and you'll get the same description that developers provide in the Android Market. One bonus here is that URLs are clickable. In addition, an accompanying chart shows how well the application or game has been performing in terms of overall rank. The menu button provides the option to find other apps by the author or go directly to the download page in the Android Market.

AndroidStats is a free application, but does have an unobtrusive AdMob advertising bar at the top of each page. For a glimpse into how it all works, you can also visit AndroidStats.com to see a Web-based setup.

Three developers made it past thousands of community voters and a panel of judges Monday to emerge as the winners of Google's second Android Developer Challenge (ADC2).

The top overall prizes went to SweetDreams, What the Doodle, and WaveSecure. These winners took home between $125,000 and $250,000 for their efforts. Smaller cash prizes were awarded to the top-three applications in each of 10 categories, which included media, entertainment, education, and travel.

SweetDreams is a lifestyle application that lets users sleep comfortably while knowing their handsets will block unwanted calls in the middle of the night but still sound the alarm clock at the designated time. You also can set a downtime for your handset, and disable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other battery draining items.

What the Doodle is a multiplayer game that finds players drawing out pictures for phrases while others guess the answer. The real-time game includes Free-For-All and team modes, global leaderboard, and voice recognition.

WaveSecure is a security app that gives users peace of mind in the event of a lost or stolen phone. Similar to Motorola's MotoBlur interface, customers can track the location of their phone, lock out prying eyes, and remotely wipe their data. The backup feature allows for full restoration should the user recover the lost phone or purchase a new device.

The developers who didn't win money still stand a chance of gaining some added visibility. T-Mobile, which currently offers the most Android phones of any U.S. carrier, served as a judge. The carrier's "AppPack" features a hand-picked group of apps that is pushed to new Android users. Landing on this or a similar list might be more than some developers could have hoped for.