android

Sprint expands 4G network; planning first 4G phone

Sprint made history in September 2008 when it became the first major US carrier to launch a 4G WiMax network in Baltimore. This week it expanded its coverage to three more cities and announced plans to launch 17 additional new markets in 2009.

Abilene, Texas Amarillo, Texas Austin, Texas Boise, Idaho Bellingham, Wash. Charlotte, N.C. Corpus Christi, Texas Greensboro, N.C. Killeen-Temple, Texas Lubbock, Texas Maui, Hawaii Midland-Odessa, Texas Raleigh, N.C. Salem, Ore. San Antonio, Texas Waco, Texas Wichita Falls, Texas

Sprint promises that its 4G network, which the carrier built in partnership with Clearwire, will deliver peak … Read more

Motorola courts Android developers

Many handset manufacturers are working on Android phones, but few have been more active in the community than Motorola. Instead of focusing on the details of their upcoming handsets, Motorola has spent much of its time recruiting developers and building the community. This coming October, Motorola will host the Motodev Summit which will highlight all their resources available to developers and provide a first look at the company's upcoming Android-based phones.

At the Motodev Summit, Motorola should unveil its plans for the remainder of the year and show its two expected Android phones (Sholes and Morrison). Developers will get … Read more

An Outbox for your mobile Gmail

For the duration of its existence until now, the offline experience on Gmail.com from your iPhone or Android phone has been a unidirectional activity: you could compose outgoing mail, but not view it before it sent.

No longer. Introduced on Thursday, Outbox is a new Gmail.com feature for Android and iPhone users. It provides mobile Web users a way to view the queue of outgoing messages that Google will ship out once the cell phone gets back into a coverage zone.

We tested Outbox by opening Gmail from the browser and then switching the phone to airplane mode. … Read more

TouchPal gives Android an enhanced soft keyboard

Though the T-Mobile G1 offered only a physical keyboard at launch, the release of the Android 1.5 "Cupcake" update brought a virtual keyboard to the first Google Android handset. What's more, Google included its own soft keyboard, but also released an input method engine API so developers could create keyboards. Here's one of my favorites.

TouchPal is a new virtual keyboard for Android offered by CooTek. It stands apart from the default version by offering many new enhancements and shortcuts and three keyboard layouts (QWERTY, compact QWERTY, and T9). ToucPalm also supports four languages with … Read more

Official multitouch to appear in Android 2.0?

Google Android fans have long been waiting for official multitouch support on Android devices, but Google has yet to offer any confirmation. Even at this year's Google I/O developers conference where multitouch was a hot topic, I only heard that "we don't know when it is coming." But after doing some digging and speaking to several sources with knowledge of the situation, it looks like Android users may finally get their wish this holiday season.

When is it coming? Allow me to start with the rumor of the day. From what I understand, Android 2.0 will ship this year and will include multitouch support similar to what's found on the iPhone and the Palm Pre.This might sound far-fetched to some readers, but there is mounting evidence to back it up.

Several blogs have reported that Android will receive two more updates this year. I believe the first will be a minor update based on the Donut branch of Android. The second update, however, is likely to be a major refresh based off the Eclair branch.

The release schedule was recently echoed in a Reuters interview with Andy Rubin, director of mobile platforms at Google. Reuters reported that Donut will become Android 1.6 and Eclair will ship as Android 2.0.

So if Android 2.0 is coming this year, when exactly will it be released?… Read more

Documents to Go updates for Android

On Tuesday, two versions of file-viewer Documents To Go entered the Android Market. There's the new, free version of Documents To Go 2.0 for Android, and an updated version of the premium model, which expands some of the original app's capabilities.

The lighter, freebie version lets you view Microsoft Word and Excel files and e-mail attachments, but not create new compositions or edit documents.

For a $29.99 upgrade, Documents To Go Premium adds editing into the mix. It also contains more grownup features, including context menus, formatting, word count, and the ability to create a Live … Read more

New open source LiMo phones introduced

Panasonic and NEC announced nine new cell phone on Tuesday that use the open-source, Linux-based mobile operating system called LiMo.

As the mobile phone market evolves, software is becoming more crucial to handset development.

Apple set the bar high with its iPhone, which uses a form of Apple's own proprietary operating system used in its computers. Other companies have followed suit with advanced software of their own, namely Google with its Android mobile software. Like LiMo, Android is based on open source Linux. So far only two devices have been introduced running the Android software, but several handset makers … Read more

Recover your lost phone with Mobile Defense

Losing your smartphone can be as scary and stressful as losing your wallet, especially if you store passwords, financial data, and other sensitive material on you handset. Fortunately, Mobile Defense is a new Google Android application that aims to protect your personal information and privacy while helping you to recover a lost phone.

Mobile Defense works by installing a small tracking code on your device. Think of it as LoJack for your phone. The easy setup process only requires you to create an account to register your phone. After you install the app it will remain dormant until you activate … Read more

Which U.S. carrier will get the HTC Hero first?

The HTC Hero is one of the most sought-after phones among hard-core Google Android fans. It went on sale last month with several European carriers, but it has yet to receive an official U.S. launch date. That lack of confirmation has led many to speculate which North American carrier will land the phone first.

AT&T

AT&T should offer a Google Android phone this year, but the carrier's plans remain unclear. Several months ago, we got a first look at the HTC Lancaster, but there has been no news since. The phone had a target availability of August 3, but AT&T may be fine-tuning the software.

Last month, the HTC Hero was spotted on the FCC site with the WCDMA 850/1900 bands that AT&T uses. We've seen other Android phones like the Samsung Galaxy get the FCC's approval, but still fail to materialize. If you're an AT&T customer who is hoping for an Android phone, you might have much longer to wait.

Sprint

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has taken the wait and see approach for an Android phone. After recent upgrades to the operating system, Hesse said Android was ready for prime time and Sprint would offer at least one Android device this year.

One week after Hesse's announcement, Engadget posted a leak of upcoming Sprint phones that included the HTC Hero and the Samsung Q.

As with any Internet rumor, I wouldn't hold my breath, but this tip came from a mobile software developer who has been making the same claim since April.… Read more