sandwich

Unwrapping Ice Cream Sandwich (week in review)

We finally got our first taste of Ice Cream Sandwich--the latest version of Google's Android mobile operating system.

Samsung Electronics and Google took the wraps off the Galaxy Nexus, the latest Android handset to carry the flagship smartphone moniker, during a Samsung event in Hong Kong. It also marked the debut of the latest version of Android, known as Ice Cream Sandwich. (Each iteration of Android is named in alphabetical order after a sweet treat).

For Samsung, the introduction of another flagship Google phone underscores its growing influence as an Android vendor. While the company was slow to shift … Read more

Inside Google's Ice Cream Sandwich phones, tablets

While user-facing software is what usually makes or breaks a platform--and Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is no exception--underlying hardware can make the critical difference between a snappy and slow device. So what's going to power upcoming Android 4.0 phones and tablets?

Texas Instruments will be leading the way on Android 4.0. Its dual-core OMAP4460 chip is inside the Samsung Galaxy Nexus which, in turn, is the launch vehicle for Android 4.0.

This didn't happen overnight. TI and Google have been preparing for this week's Ice Cream Sandwich launch for a while. … Read more

Android Ice Cream Sandwich versus iOS 5: Killer features

What I'm about to attempt--comparing Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Apple iOS 5--is a little like tiptoeing through a minefield. Most of you won't be happy and somebody could get hurt. (Read: me.)

Yet, this comparison must be done. For one thing, Google and Apple have both recently unveiled huge changes that respectively make their mobile operating systems far more powerful, and in some ways more similar to each other. For another thing, weighing the pros and cons of each platform against the other is a scenario that's played out daily among many people who are deciding which phone to buy.

Just a few parameters before diving in. First, I'm overwhelmingly looking at software, not hardware, but I'll point out where hardware does factor in. iOS 5 runs on multiple devices, but is the most powerful right now on the iPhone 4S. Ditto Ice Cream Sandwich. The unreleased Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the one phone that can currently show off the OS update's full spectrum of features, since it was purpose-built to be compatible with them all. That will change for both operating systems as additional future devices are built with the hardware to support the new software.

Second, I'm not just talking about new additions, but trying to look at the OS in its entirety.

Third, I'm looking at what each OS can do natively. Yes, there are scores of third-party apps you can download to do just about anything to satisfy something that one OS lacks that another has, but what we're looking at here is what Apple and Google have decided to bestow, not clever external developers. And I'm not talking about anything you can achieve only by jailbreaking or rooting. Official, but optional apps created by Apple and Google are OK--like Find My Friends and Google Voice.

Third, I'm throwing in two "fun" features for each (these will be the last two). I wouldn't recommend buying an iOS 5 or Ice Cream Sandwich device solely because of them, but they're pleasantly show-offy conversation pieces unique to each platform.

Got all that? Let's go.… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1563: A Nexus, Razr and a Lytro. It's the tech trifecta! (Podcast)

VidBlogger Nation's founder Marc Scarpa joins us to talk about his Social TV Network and the rise of new media. Buzz Out Loud's own legal advisor Gil Cabrera joins us to talk about Samsung and its reach for something, anything in their patent battles with Apple. Guess what, they aren't winning. But you know who IS winning? Steve Ballmer. It's Gadgets Galore with the Samsung Nexus, Droid Razr and the Lytro camera. Which one is Molly going to buy?

Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3) |  iTunes (320x180) |  iTunes (640x360) |  RSS (MP3) |  RSS (320x180) |  RSS (640x360)… Read more

Sony Ericsson to dish Ice Cream Sandwich for 2011 phones

While some handset makers are looking into Android 4.0 and evaluating the potential for updates, others are already making promises.

Such is the case with Sony Ericsson, which said this week that its entire 2011 product line will see Ice Cream Sandwich. Although the company hasn't outlined a specific time frame or soft expectation, it should go a long way to putting its consumer base at ease.

If the promise holds up, then Ice Cream Sandwich could arrive on smartphones like the Xperia Ray, the Xperia Play, the Xperia Play 4G, and the Xperia Arc. Updates for those … Read more

Asus' new Android Transformer tablet going quad-core

Asus Chairman Jonney Shih unveiled his company's next-generation Android tablet today, a 10-inch model in the Transformer family that will come with Nvidia's quad-core Kal-El processor.

Shih, speaking at All Things Digital AsiaD conference in Hong Kong, said the model will be 8.3 millimeters thick and features USB and mini HDMI ports, but reserved further details for a formal launch on November 9, according to All Things Digital's report. The tablet is called the Transformer Prime, according to Endgadget. … Read more

Ice Cream Sandwich: Say goodbye to bloatware

Android fans, say goodbye to bloatware.

CNET has recently confirmed with Google that the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update will let users disable any application, even those apps that the manufacturer and carrier preinstall as part of their business deals.

The ability to shut down unwanted apps also extends to the browser and Gmail.

For years, Android users have been harassed by the presence of apps that were locked into the phone and impossible to uninstall. Users who didn't want any of these preinstalled apps had to lump it, and turn an unseeing eye to the offending … Read more

What humanizing Siri, Ice Cream Sandwich says about us

commentary Like it or not, chances are that one of your most prized relationships is with your smartphone.

You love a phone design or you viscerally hate it; you can't stand this wallpaper, so you add that one. Your phone's design or color is a statement of your identity. Like all products it says something about you: you're hip and edgy, you're a top-notch professional, you're more subtle and value utility. If you invest in custom cases or stickers, is it only for protection, or also an act of self-expression?

Then there's the wallpaper you choose, the ringtones and alarms you set, the apps you download, that all create an environment uniquely shaped by and descriptive of you.

All this is a good thing, at least if you make or sell smartphones, and it's a tacit principle that the mobile industry thrives on. People don't just like their phones, we need them. And if you lose or leave behind your phone, you mourn every minute it's outside of your possession. Have you ever thought: my life is on my phone?

Yep, it's not for nothing that cell phones are called the most personal of consumer electronics.… Read more

HTC addresses Ice Cream Sandwich update

As we've learned today, Google expects that the first Ice Cream Sandwich updates will begin rolling out a few weeks after the Galaxy Nexus arrives.

Although HTC has yet to confirm my assumption, I assume that the Nexus S, which debuted with Gingerbread, will be among the first to receive the Android 4.0 upgrade.

But beyond the "Pure Google" phones, it's hard to forecast which handsets will see Ice Cream Sandwich. HTC, for its part, is already looking into the new release and is working to come up with a plan for updates.

Shortly after … Read more