Showing posts with label Android. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Android. Show all posts
The tablet will replace console gaming? It seems that still requires a fairly long way to go in that direction. However, while still not showing indications, the following information may be slightly gives an overview on you.
The people behind HDblog.it recently changed their Acer Iconia Tab A500 to be gaming the system with the help of an Xbox 360 controller and HDMI cable connected to the TV Samsung 40 inch. What is the game of their choice? Yup, they play Shadowgun, newly released games.
Looks pretty good game played as well as on television. They use the USB controller in combination with an HDMI output and make the idea of gaming consoles become much more attractive. Quite a few who argue that the tablet would be the end of desktop computers, gaming consoles are also included TV? You can listen to the demo video below.
If the previous owner of the LG Optimus 2X many were disappointed that the smartphone is reportedly not going to get the updated Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, now comes news that might cure their disappointment. LG revealed that Optimus 2X will receive Android 2.3 update for unlocked models Gingerbread in Europe tomorrow.
In addition, the LG Optimus 3D will also receive Android 2.3 update on 21 November. While the LG Optimus Black followed one week later. "LG would like to thank all the Optimus series owners who have been waiting patiently to upgrade Android 2.3 Gingerbread. We strive to offer OS upgrades in a timely manner, "said a spokesman for LG.
LG does seem to have given up with Optimus 2X to bring the Ice Cream Sandwich. However, little relief when considering some of the devices that have not received updates Gingerbread 2.3, such as variants of T-Mobile and G2X. Well .. at least now the LG Optimus 2X owners do not have to wait and hope that developers deliver ROM Ice Cream Sandwich, although they are currently only able to try out Gingerbread.
CBS News accidentally reported that Apple CEO Steve Jobs had died in a careless post on Twitter.com today.
An account tied to the U.S. network's web series What's Trending, hosted by Shira Lazar, sparked an internet firestorm with a post reading: 'Reports say that Steve Jobs has passed away. Stay tuned for more updates'.
The item was pulled almost immediately but the text can still be viewed on the website, because so many people retweeted it.
uide to root Samsung Galaxy Mini
: Rooting has become so well liked for android users. We are sure you already know very well what uses of that. At this content we want to share with you how to root Galaxy Mini. Eventhough this is low-end smart phone you also is going to do like what you can do for early android phone.
Prepare : Just before rooting your Galaxy Mini, get sire you’ve got already set up what you will want. To do this, we’ll require SuperOneClick application since its all to easy to practice. Here are somethings which will required in rooting Samsung Galaxy Mini.
Download SuperOneClick.
Micro usb cable. Its packed on the sale.
Samsung Kies application program.
Be sure the electric battery was full.
If all of above existed ready, now you can begin to root Samsung Galaxy Mini. Trace these measures cautiously.
Root Samsung Galaxy Mini :
Install Samsung Kies into your desktop/ pc/ netbook.
Setting your Galaxy Mini to ADB manner (putting) application programs) Development) checklist USB debugging).
Plug in your device with desktop and be patient right until driver installing be completed.
Run SuperOneClick. exe which youve already downloaded.
Select root and be patient right until the rooting process completed.
And done! Now, your Samsung Galaxy Mini was rooted.
Facilitated communication users, Nokia Indonesia today launched Break Free, a program that wants to free mobile users from the conventional ways in the chat.
Through this program, combined with unlimited Internet package from Nokia, Nokia mobile phone users can enjoy unlimited data services, including chat, e-mail, browsing, and download.
Unlimited Internet program is a simple sound. However, Nokia's mission actually is not that simple. In it, the giant Finnish mobile phone vendor to offer rivals for BlackBerry Messenger: WhatsApp.
WhatsApp not the application of instant messaging (IM) made by Nokia. He is a mobile messenger application that can run on multiple platforms, including BlackBerry OS, IOS, Android, and Nokia phones based Symbian60.
As with the BlackBerry Messenger, WhatsApp using 3G access, or Wi-Fi that can send and receive messages, images, voice notes, video messaging, and even the location of Ovi Maps, as easy as using SMS.
However, unlike WhatsApp Messenger or any number of IM applications that exist today. WhatsApp utilize customer number as the username, not your e-mail. So, if you have a cellular phone number, either Telkomsel, XL, Indosat, and 3 (Tri), you can enjoy this application.
Apparently, Nokia's ambition to steal market share BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is not kidding. When compared with the fuel, of course WhatsApp that can also run on Android, BlackBerry, and iPhone has a wider segment. For, forward this application will replace the function of SMS.
"We want to show the world do not have any restrictions in communicating, both in terms of devices, operators, and platform," said Andrea Facchini, marketing director at Nokia Indonesia, in Jakarta, Friday, April 8, 2011.
As part of the Break Free, Nokia also announced the launch of the purchase of premium content services from Ovi Store through its cooperation with Telkomsel. Through this service, Nokia users can enjoy premium content by utilizing the prepaid or postpaid accounts they are.
Prepaid premium content comes in many variants with relatively affordable prices, ranging from Rp3.000 for premium themes, Rp 5,000 for Birds Angry, Angry Birds Seasons, Farm Frenzy, Real Football Manager 2010, and EA games Premium, and Rp10. 000 applications for personal Wi-Fi, like JoikuSpot Premium and high-definition games from game developers such as Gameloft and EA.
News of the appearance of Play Book (April 2011 in USA / Regulations and May in Indonesia) are in large sieve would be a competitor of all forms of tablets will probably exceed the expectations of his or watchman on the other hand it would be inconsistent with market tastes.
All this is related to the issue that the Play Book will be able to run applications from the Android sisop and issues that I think will soon become a reality, ie when Play book has been officially circulated in Indonesia.
It may be that this is a smart idea to boost the popularity of RIM continues with the news after being hit by soaring market Gugel aka Android Market.
On the other hand, this may become a boomerang for the general public. They may think RIM has succumbed to the popularity of android that lately more and more intensively with different variants.
Samsung Galaxi Gio price getting cheaper
Looks like Samsung GT-s5660 or often called Samsung Galaxi Gio these forward gait Galaxy 5. Pegged at Rp 2.2 million, less than Rp 100 thousand compared to its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Fit.
In terms of form, Gio is similar Galaxi Samsung Ace. On the front, 3.2 inch touch screen with 320 x 480 pixels is framed in black frames, on each side of the cell phone while circular chrome layer of gray. Image displayed on the screen Gio also clear, though it sunlight phone. While in the back there is a 3.15 MP camera. Unfortunately, the camera was not equipped with flash lights like the ones in the Galaxy Ace.
Gio galaxy using the Android OS 2.2 is already a compulsory menu Android-based phones today. With this OS, you can download millions of free apps in the Android Market. There are three factory default home screen, but if you want to add another, the home screen of this gadget is available up to seven screens.
Smart phone with unlimited number phonebook also been integrated into social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Gmail email accounts. So, you can view the status of your friends from the phonebook.
Iphone 4 Finally Coming!
After a long delay, the end of April and then officially released Apple Iphone 4 white. Before the official launch, the appearance of this device is colored various rumors, especially the white version of the paper was 0.2 mm thicker than the black because there are additional layers of certain materials so that the white color does not quickly fade.
However, despite earlier rumors, than the black version, this device is almost no change, except about the color. FaceTime technology is maintained. With this technology, you can make video calls with perfect picture.
Retina Display Technology campaigned since the beginning of the Apple also remains one of the mainstays. With this technology, you will be able to make the movie even more dramatic, the map looks clearer, more detailed email, as well as view the photos captured by a camera with a capacity of 5 megapixels. Retina Display uses a technology called IPS (in-plane switching) is also used Apple LED Cinema Display and the iPad to get a broad perspective.
There have been many gadgets on the market, especially mobile clever air-smartphones aka Android OS, most of those who want to use the gadget has its own reasons, whether it be for business purposes, for social networks. Sometimes we are a bit confused to choose what we want Android smartphones, but there are factors that hamper. You can comparasi from various brands available. then I will give you tips for those of you who want to buy air-Android smart phone.
The point is if you want to buy Android is as follows:
Adjust your budget just got today.
See the specs clearly between the desired, certainly in the same android price range. (there are features such as wi-fi or other).
See the support of its service (depending on the vendor what would you choose).
See community support (no, no, developing, or already developed), this factor is quite important like you have a problem and want to solve, then just ask the community who was a senior.
See the updated version of the Android support, be it official or non official (affecting warranty).
Customize your need for your Android with their respective interests, whether Android is only used for routine (phone, sms, internet) from which you can later know which way the Android wants you later, you can adjust the budget.
So the point is before buying a smartphone Android, adjust to his needs.
A tablet computer is a type of gadget that is currently favored by most people . Some people will choose a tablet computer to support their work , while some others use it so he can remain mobile , whenever he needed it. Therefore do not be surprised if we can find it easily in the commodities market. On the other hand , some tablets are also sold at affordable prices , as well as a variety of applications that are each capable of supporting the work you are doing . On the other hand , various support services such as android tablet repair can be found easily through certain online resources as well .
In a broader perspective , tablet repair service is one of the supports which of course will facilitate you when it intends to repair the damage on your tablet computer . Here, you can access an online resource such as Sandiegopchelp.com , through which the latter , you will get different types of repair services such as : Acer Tablet repair service , repair service Amazon tablets , tablets Android repair service , Apple tablet repair service , HeroTab tablets repair service , HP tablet repair service , and many more . With a variety of service types , then you can certainly have a lot of options, including if you want to use one type of services such as Motorola tablet repair .
As the complementary , the emergence of computer tablet triggered by one brand called Apple Inc., in which through its tablet product, it has reached a broad market share . The fact had shown to us that Apple was first brand who introduced a computer tablet products to the public. The latter step, as we know, then followed by another provider , and in a short amount of time , the tablet became a popular commodity in the community . At this point , if you are a user of Apple tablet , then you could probably use a service such as remote mac services to secure your data and online identity .
Whether you need software repair, hardware repair/upgrade, liquid spill repair or tv repair san diego, San Diego PC Help is the best choice for you as they also have a remote support. Common laptop problems include malicious software, dead LCD screen, spilled fluids and dropped laptop. They are experts in their field, just like their "No Geeks. Just Pros." slogan. So, don't worry to use their service, you'll be satisfied.
Some of the shift was triggered by demographics that also revealed the low current share for Windows Phone 7. Although it has almost entirely replaced Windows Mobile on shelves, Windows Phone 7 had just one percent of the field and was tied with the defunct Palm OS for share. Nielsen's new division of share gave Windows Mobile the largest share outside of the top three at nine percent where HP's webOS and Nokia's Symbian were tied at two percent.
The stasis wasn't directly explained but corroborated NPD data that showed a slight drop in market share in the early spring. Most have attributed the slowdowns to the introduction of the Verizon iPhone. The second US carrier activated 2.2 million iPhones and may have blunted Android's growth by giving an option to those who wanted an iPhone but had refused to switch to AT&T. Apple's presence also took away Verizon's previously undivided attention to Android marketing.
In a step outside of its usual comparisons, Nielsen found that Android users were also the most data-intensive of platforms. An average owner used 582MB per month, significantly over the 492MB of an iPhone owner. The BlackBerry's compression helped it use the least of all at about 127MB a month, although it wasn't helped by its work focus, a historically poor web browser, and a lack of apps.
Both Android and iPhone users were far more likely than anyone else to download apps. The discrepancy may have been helped by the narrower range of multitasking on iOS, since users on that platform were overall more engaged in media streaming, music downloads, and other tasks that normally use a large amount of content. Blackberry owners were the least involved.
Day one everything I heard about mobile development was performance, memory optimization, and battery consumption. Spread all over the internet are a variety of articles and presentations with a variety of [great] optimization techniques.
As with my previous posts on performance optimization I like to focus on the big gains and these techniques that are practical. I say practical because you can’t always spend a year working on each component and optimizing every interaction, but what you can do is focus on the big gains and when time permits – the details. I don’t mean to play down the importance of code optimization; especially for mobile applications optimization is of the highest importance.
In no particular order of importance let’s look at some excellent places for performance and memory allocation gains.
Keep framerate as low as possible
For anyone that hasn’t looked into it, the default framerate for the Flash Player is 24 frames per second. That means that 24 times every second new code is being executed, regions are being redrawn, and user interactions are being calculated. So it stands to reason that the quickest way to reduce memory consumption, code execution, and redrawing algorithms is to reduce the framerate and therefore the amount of times per second that all these calculations are being run.
What few developers know is that you can change your framerate dynamically dependent on what is happening within your application. The first recommendation is to set your framerate to something low but tolerable – like 4 frames per second. Then when a transition or other animation is going to play increase your framerate to keep your animation smooth.
stage.frameRate = 4;
Monitoring your framerate is very important as many flash designers want to ramp up the framerate to 60 frames per second because it will make the animations “pretty”.
Avoid timers
Each timer that you add and use in your application connects into the Flash Player environment and calculates time on each frame, thus adding additional computations on each frame for each timer you create. Real fast you can multiply these calculations if you aren’t careful.
To improve performance avoid high rate timers, this will reduce the amount of events being fired and the quantity of code being executed.
The second performance increase is to have one timer for the entire application. Think of it as a heartbeat for your application keeping the internal timing for all your functions. This will reduce the amount of timers you have and the amount of time calculations taken from the Flash Player environment.
Blends and Filters
It has long been known that as filters and blends cause for an extra amount of lifting from the Flash Player, lifting that can truly slow down performance. So where possible avoid blends and filters. “But I want to have a 2px drop shadow around this box.” Does it really need to be a filter? Can you not use a dark line that is 2 pixels thick? I know this sounds elementary but many people seem to forget that there are other more creative solutions that might get you to the same goal.
Cache As Bitmap
If you’ve been in the Flash Player world for a while you will remember the day you saw Adobe’s cacheAsBitmap presentation and how quickly everything rendered. My mind was blown and I had found my magic bullet to all my slow rendering woes.
Well not exactly. cacheAsBitmap is amazing and in many situations can be very helpful. How does it achieve it’s amazing win? By caching a bitmap off screen that can be used as opposed to needing to recreate the bitmap over and over again. The issue comes if you change the alpha/rotation/colors on your bitmap. Now the renderer needs to make a new bitmap to cache and you are doing extra lifting to cache and draw rather than just draw. What this means for you is if you are going to be making lots of alpha/rotation/colors changes then you might not want to set cacheAsBitmap to true.
myBall.cacheAsBitmap = true;
One other little used cache method is cacheAsBitmapMatrix. Similar to the cacheAsBitmap this will also cache the x, y, rotation, scale, skew properties. Keeping the Flash Player from having to redraw the object. Again, if you make any changes to alpha/color or the children sprites matrix the object will be redrawn and you will be spending more time and memory to cache an object that is constantly redrawn.
myBall.cacheAsBitmap = true;
myBall.cacheAsBitmapMatrix = new Matrix();
Asset Management
Asset management is extremely important with mobile because all those images can eat up memory quick.
First: Make sure your images are the right size. I’ve seen many developers take icons that are 40×40 and just resize them to 20×20 at runtime. I know this seems picky and obvious but this is a quick way to double your memory and hurt rendering performance with unnecessary calculations. Just make sure that images are set to their proper size.
Second: Don’t embed fonts/images/media you aren’t using. It’s easy to forget about all the items you are embedding. Be an asset nazi.
Third: Compress Compress Compress. Do you really need that high quality sound file? Or that PNG with the transparency layer when there is no transparency? Compress those media files. Use JPGs rather than PNG when possible. And if you are just trying to see the background through an icon, think or building the icon with the correct background already in the file. Transparency is another calculation that isn’t necessary if you can be sure of the end goal.
Don’t forget that images split by the power of 2 are going to be more efficient on memory than odd sized images. This can’t always be avoided by it’s good to remember. This is definitely a nit-picky thing.
“Make bitmaps in sizes that are close to, but less than, 2n by 2m bits. The dimensions do not have to be power of 2, but they should be close to a power of 2, without being larger. For example, a 31-by-15–pixel image renders faster than a 33-by-17–pixel image. (31 and 15 are just less than powers of 2: 32 and 16.)”
-From the Developing Air Apps for Android Guide.
Events and Bubbling
I’m really interested to see how Mate responds to this one. We’ve known for a long time that events are costly and that lots of events and event bubbling through deeply nested component trees can lead to bottle necks and performance issues.
A quick way to deal with these issues is to not bubble your events when possible and when you do need to bubble, stop propagation when the events have reached a point that they don’t need to bubble anymore.
event.stopPropagation();
Simplifying your display tree whenever possible is a great way to improve performance. Don’t do this for just the events but for your entire application.
One other thing you can do is prevent mouse events (that are set to bubble by default) from effecting children you weren’t intending. Try setting mouseChildren and mouseEnabled to false.
Drawing API
For you masochists that love to write out Actionscript drawings I’d take particular notice of this part. Watch out how much you draw dynamically because each drawing is drawn to the stage and then rendered in the rasterizer. When you build assets at authoring time your assets are rendered and stored in memory rather than created on the fly.
Color Selection
This gain is specifically to do with battery life. The color white takes more power to show than the color black. Am I saying to have all your applications look like tributes to The Dark Knight? Nope. Just giving your designers a warning that their decisions directly effect performance and battery consumption.
Embedded Fonts and Device Fonts
Android devices have fonts that are embedded within the system, these fonts will require the smallest amount of memory because it won’t require embedding any additional fonts and they render remarkably fast. Use these fonts when possible.
But what if you have a picky designer that has to have the fonts his way? Embed your fonts for the fastest rendering and follow best practices to limit the glyphs that you include with your embed.
You can find out what fonts your Android system has in the /system/fonts folder.
Garbage Collection
First off I think I need to say “stop running the garbage collection”. Yes developers, I know you want your application to clean itself up immediately. However, I’ve seen more than one app become sluggish because of an over worked garbage collector. So all those tricks that you’ve found to run the garbage collector, stop. The Flash Player runs the garbage collection when it needs to. If something isn’t going away the way you expect maybe you should check for other leaks caused by listener references or other common leaks.
Memory Allocation
Not enough programmers take advantage of Object Pooling. This is probably why I was impressed with PushButton Engine right from day one, everything is based off object pools. This is an easy and tested way to reuse objects and save your application from the costly ‘new’ function.
What do I mean by the costly new function? Whenever you use the “new” function and create a new object you are running a costly operation. Multiple things happen deep within the Flash Player including heap/memory allocation, garbage collection, and component creation. If you know you are going to be creating and destroying something frequently make the change to Object Pools early and save yourself the memory and performance woes.
A few months back I wrote another article doing a series of performance tests. I devote an entire section of tests to the “new” operator in Practical Performance Tweaks.
Video
This is something that your designers are going to hate: stop messing with the video player! All those crazy graphics, overlays, and blends that you may put over your video to add the grunge border will need to go. If you are worried about performance these are a quick way to cause redraws and layering calculations on each video frame.
When encoding your video thing of the final endpoint. Most devices have a native codec (usually H.264) that will help improve decompression and playback on the hardware level rather than the software level. Make sure to target these native codecs and see the performance and battery life improvement.
Show Redraw Regions
This is pretty low on the priority list but very important if you get it wrong. Flex visual components build off of the Flash Sprite class. As such they are interactive objects without animation timelines. However, when working with Flash based components, Flex developers often forget the MovieClip Class – the lowest class to include a timeline. This class can be set to run causing all sorts of redraws on each frame of animation until it is eventually told to stop playing.
When working with visual components from Flash or especially components that are based off of Movieclip make sure to stop the timeline when the component is not visible. Even when invisible the timeline is running and redraws are occurring. Using the Show Redraw Regions will expose this.
movieClipComponent.stop();
It is also best practices to look over your application as a whole and make sure that components aren’t needlessly being redrawn. This may be caused by a bad property or a misbehaving function. Check that only regions that change are actually getting redrawn for some pretty nice performance increases.
Open To Comments
I’d be interested to see where else others have seen visible improvements when using specific performance improvement methods. Feel free to comment! All the methods displayed above I have personally tested and seen the difference between using them and not using them.
Recently there has been a flood of Android based Smart phones in Indian market. The most of the Android phones in India is less than Rs. 15000 price range. These phones contain a lot of latest features like 3G, GPRS, dual camera, Video chat etc. The costs of these phones are also very low. I have given details about 10 such android based mobile phones.
1.Android Based Low Cost Mobile from Intex :
Intex is launching an android based Smartphone at a very low cost of Rs 5500. The Smartphone is expected to be released in February 2011. It will be running on Android 2.2 operating system and has a 3.2 MP front camera. Supports 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and has expandable storage space.
2.Maxx MR440:
Maxx MR440 is an android based Smartphone from Low cost mobile provider Maxx we estimate the MA440′s price to be between Rs. 6,500 – Rs. 7,500. Runs on Android 2.1, has a 3.1’ inch touchscree and supports 3G, GPRS. Wi-Fi.
3.Micromax Andro A60:
Micromax Andro A60 is one of the cheapest Android based mobile from Micromax. Priced at Rs.8000, runs on Android 2.2 has a full touch screen of 2.8 inches. It is a dual sim phone ans supports Wireless connectivity via 3G, HSUPA, HSDPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
4.Vodafone 845:
Vodafone 845 is an Android 2.1 based Smartphone launched by Vodaphone. Its price is around Rs 10,000 .Some of its key specifications are it has a 2.8 inch touch scree, 3.2 megapixcel camera , supports connectivity like Wi Fi , GPS HSPDPA.
5.LG OPTIMUS:
LG Optimus is a low cost android mobile from the Electronics giant LG. The phone is priced at Rs.11,000 and runs on Android 2.2 Froyo . It has a 1Ghz NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual-core Processor ,a WVGA touch screen of 4 inches ,8 MP back camera and a 1.3 MP front camera
6.Videocon Zeus:
Videocon has launched it’s own low priced Android based Smartphone Videocon Zeus Evolve or v7500 at an affordable cost of Rs 12,900. It is powered by Android 1.6 and can be upgraded to Android 2.1 Eclair. It has a 5 megapixel back camera with LED is also flash and capable of HD video recording.
7.Samsung galaxy i899:
Samsung galaxy i899 is an Android based Smartphone from the electronics giant Samsung with a price tag under 20,000 Indian rupees. Has a dust resistant 3.2” touch screen with a resolution of 320x480 pixels. Supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and almost all video and audio formats.
8.Huawei U8300 and U8500:
Huawei is a Chinese mobile company that is launching cheap Android based mobile in India. It’s chief marketing officer, Mr Victor Xu said “With the Indian telecom industry growing at the rate of 20 million subscribers each month, and poised to reach 1 billion by 2015, Huawei sees traction in the Indian telecom device segment,”
specifications of Huawei U8300 are
•QWERTY keyboard
•Wi-Fi connectivity
•3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash
specifications of Huawei U8500 are
•Full touch screen
•3G, Wi-Fi, HSPDA and GPRS supported
•3.2 inch WVGA display
•3.2 megapixel camera
The cost of both these phones are expected to be around Rs 10,000
9.Huawei Ascend:
Huawei has also introduced the cheapest Android based mobile Phone called Ascend. It is costing only $149.99 in the US which works out to around Rs 6700 in Indian currency.
Specification:
•HVGA capacitive touch screen of 3.5 inches
•3.2 MP camera with fixed focus and digital zooming facility
•Has special Physical Android related buttons for Send, Back, End, Menu and camera.
10. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini:
Xperia X10 mini has an impressive 5 megapixel camera and is priced at Rs.12899. It has 2.5 inch screen size and a 3.5 hours talk time is just not a good bargain. Xperia is powered by Qualcomm’s 600 MHz processor.
The massively popular play-chips Zynga poker platform is now available for Android mobile users.
Rumors of a Zynga Android launch have been circulating for some time; the company formally announced development of the application in November 2010. Iphone users have been able to to access the popular Facebook-based play money poker application via Zynga’s Live Poker app since 2008.
Both applications require you to have a Facebook account to play.
Note that the application connects you to Zynga Poker via your Facebook log in, so you might want to double-check all of your broadcasting settings before playing Zynga Poker on your mobile in order to avoid word of your poker exploits reaching those you’d prefer it not.
Android users can search for the app in the Market or use the attached QR Code to download the application.
Zynga’s increasing reach in the casual poker market places the company in an interesting position as regulation of online poker advances on both the state and federal level in the US. The company would be a very attractive potential partner for a casino entity looking to access a massive player base in a hurry, especially given the inherently viral nature of the Facebook-based game.
Major players in the real-money poker world such as the World Poker Tour (WPT) and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) are currently playing catch-up to Zynga when it comes to Facebook poker player bases.
Zynga’s entry into the Android universe is the second piece of big news for Android-owning poker fans in under a month. In late November, Full Tilt Poker announced the release of a Rush Poker Mobile application – one of the first forays into real-money mobile poker by a major online poker room.
The application was dropped from the Market after new ratings guidelines put the kibosh on real-money gambling, but Android users can still play Rush Poker on their devices – you just need to download the application directly from Full Tilt or use the QR code FTP provides.
Samsung has announced a bundle of new phones today, but none as vain-sounding as the Samsung Galaxy Fit.
This touchscreen handset has a 3.31-inch QVGA display, 5MP camera and is packing a 600MHz processor, so it is more than capable of doing web browsing and the like.
Android 2.2 is the OS that powers the device, but this won't be a clean version of Android as Samsung has added its own apps to the handset, to sit alongside the Google Market ones.
This includes something called Social Hub, which if you are a Samsung fan you are more than aware that it is the place that aggregates contacts, calendar and widgets.
Feature focus
Apps such as Swype and Quick Office are also on the phone by default and you get 160MB plus 2GB inbox memory built into the device.
This may sound a little flimsy but you can expand this with the microSD card slot.
Connectivity comes in the form of Bluetooth, USB 2.0 and WiFi and you also get a 3.5mm jack, FM radio and a speaker – which everyone on the bus will love.
The Samsung Galaxy Fit has a UK release date of March 2011, with pricing and carriers to be announced.
TechRadar will get its hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy Fit at Mobile World Congress 2011.
The past year has been a remarkable one for smartphones, with the meteoric rise of Google's Android OS, the restart of Microsoft's mobile strategy with its much-ballyhooed release of Windows Phone 7 and the continuing success of Apple's iPhone, buoyed by its new availability to Verizon subscribers. Never has there been so much choice in the smartphone market. As a result, hype and overstatement have been the order of the day.
Which smartphone operating system really is the best? More important, which one is best for you?
If you're in the market for a new smartphone, choosing which one to buy has much to do with the operating system that runs the phone as with the hardware itself. To help you decide, I put the latest versions of the three top mobile operating systems through their paces: Android 2.3, Windows Phone 7 and iOS 4.3.
There are, of course, two other smartphone operating systems out there: RIM's BlackBerry OS and Hewlett-Packard's webOS. However, we decided not to include them at this point.
Smartphone OS shootout
Introduction
User interface
Apps and openness
Features and data integration
Customization
Bottom line
Although RIM still has a considerable presence, its market share has been plunging, dropping from nearly 36% to just over 30% in the most recent quarter, and its developer support has been anemic, with an estimated 20,000 apps available even though it's been around for far longer than the iPhone and Android platforms, each of which has hundreds of thousands apps. (Windows Phone 7, which was launched just last October, has about 9,500 apps.) In other words, it no longer feels like a contender.
If BlackBerry makes a comeback, we'll include it in our next roundup. We'll also be watching HP's webOS, which will be available on several new devices this summer.
In this roundup, I concentrated as much as I could on the underlying operating systems, not the hardware on which they run. To get the truest look at Android, I tested it using a Samsung Nexus S, which ships with a version of Android that hasn't been customized by either the device maker or the service provider -- it's Android as Google intended it. For a look at Windows Phone 7, I chose the HTC Surround. And for iOS, I looked at the iPhone 4.
I've compared the platforms in several different categories, including ease of use, app availability, features, integration with desktop and Web-based apps, customization and platform openness. Come along for the ride and see if you agree.
User interface
Apple stuck to its decades-long recipe for success when designing iOS -- keep it simple and elegant, and marry the hardware to the operating system in as seamless a way as possible. Google, meanwhile, true to its techie roots, gives you an operating system you can tweak and customize to your heart's content, although that also means you may sometimes get confused along the way.
Microsoft made what may be the biggest gamble of all, by designing a phone that puts accessing information, rather than running apps, center stage.
Android
Like iOS, Android is app-centric, and so it features app icons front and center. The home screen is simple and stripped down -- all the app icons can be moved or deleted, except for three unmovable icons: the Dialer (for making a phone call), the Application Tray (an overlay that shows you all your apps) and the Web app.
There are also four hard buttons across the bottom of each Android device for bringing up a context menu, returning to the Home screen, going back a screen and performing a search.
Smartphone OS shootout
Introduction
User interface
Apps and openness
Features and data integration
Customization
Bottom line
As shipped by Google, Android includes five built-in panes, including the home screen. You can move among them by either sliding your finger to the left or right, or by touching a dot at the bottom of the screen that represents one of the panes. Each of these panes can be customized by adding widgets, shortcuts and files. So, for example, you can devote one pane to social networking apps and communications, another to news and feeds, another to entertainment and so on.
Overall, the interface is simple and straightforward. But at times it also has the feel of being not quite baked -- a little rough around the edges. It's as if the designers were still taking whacks at finalizing the design.
Android
For example, there are inconsistencies in the way Android performs familiar tasks. Take the way it handles Contacts. Run the Contacts app by tapping its icon, and you'll come to a complete list of contacts, including those imported from Gmail, those you've input on the phone itself, and contacts from social networking sites such as Facebook.
If you run the Dialer app (to make a phone call) and then tap Contacts from inside the Dialer, you'll come to what looks like the identical Contacts list -- but that list does not include your contacts from social networking sites. Nowhere are you warned that they're not truly identical.
You may also have trouble finding some of Android's interesting features. For example, Android's Universal Inbox is extremely useful -- it puts all of the e-mail from all of your accounts into a single location. But finding it isn't especially easy. First you have to find the Messaging app, and from there the Universal Inbox. You would expect a Universal Inbox for e-mail to live in the E-mail app, but it's not there.
iOS
It's like this: If you want the most elegant, best-integrated marriage of hardware and software -- not to mention absolute simplicity when it comes to ease of use -- you want the iPhone.
This is the phone that launched the smartphone revolution (yes, the BlackBerry may have gotten there sooner, but the iPhone perfected it), and for style and ease of use, it can't be beat.
iOS
Apple's iOS interface is the iconic design that people have come to associate with smartphones: a spare screen with app icons arrayed in a clean grid, a single hard button at the bottom of the phone that returns you to the main screen, and tiny notification icons across the top that inform you about things such as whether you have a 3G connection, your connection strength, battery level and so on.
At the very bottom of the screen, above the hard button, are icons for the most important apps, the ones for things like sending e-mail and making phone calls. Because apps are front and center, it's easy to choose the app you want to run.
You can have up to 11 home screens with their own apps and folders. And you can drag and drop icons between screens -- you hold and press an icon until all of the icons shake, then drag the icon to the screen where you want it to live. You can group multiple apps into folders as well.
Windows Phone 7
The most well-known of the slogans Apple has used over the years is probably "Think different" -- but when it comes to smartphone interfaces, Microsoft is the one thinking differently. Whether you like that new way of thinking will determine whether you'll be a fan of Windows Phone 7.
Rather than taking an app-centric approach, as the iOS and Android platforms do, Windows Phone 7 is organized around a series of hubs -- displayed as tiles -- that deliver information to you or let you perform certain tasks. So when you fire up a Windows Phone 7 device, you won't be greeted by a screen full of app icons but a collection of large tiles.
Windows Phone 7
In some instances, the tiles are little more than big buttons that, when tapped, launch standard apps for, say, e-mail. However, others deliver updates on changing information, such as the activity of your friends on Facebook, the number of unread messages in your e-mail account or the next upcoming appointment on your calendar. That's why the tiles are oversized, rather than being small icons -- they deliver useful information at a glance, without having to run the underlying app. If you're focused on getting information fast, this operating system is the easiest of all to use.
On the other hand, you get only two screens -- not seven, as you do with Android, or 11, as you get with the iPhone. All in all, the main interface and panes are the least customizable of any of the three phone operating systems.
There's another way that Windows Phone 7 differs from both iOS and Android -- instead of emphasizing how long you'll want to play with your smartphone, Microsoft 's ad campaign pushes the idea that Windows Phone 7 has been designed so that you'll spend less time on your phone. To a great extent, it delivers on that promise, but overall, Windows Phone 7 still isn't as intuitive, as elegantly conceived or as simple to use as iOS.
Conclusion
For simplicity, elegance and beautiful design, iOS has no peer. Android, while not badly designed, remains a bit rough around the edges. And Windows Phone 7 is designed to show information at a glance and isn't app-centric, so if you're the kind of person who isn't enamored with apps and just wants to get information fast, it's worth a look.
Samsung has announced four new android devices into its Galaxy lineup naming as Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Fit, Galaxy Gio and Galaxy mini. All four Android-based phones seem to be less proficient compared to their Galaxy S sibling, when it comes to hardware. It doesn’t sound like any of these models are coming to the US, but Europe and Asia are scheduled for appearances.
Samsung Galaxy Ace
Samsung Galaxy Ace is a mid-level device, powered by an 800MHz processor and based on the Android 2.2 Froyo platform.
It packs a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as GPS with A-GPS support.
The phone is quad-band GSM compatible, includes HSDPA technology and comes with a 3.5-inch HVGA TFT display.
Samsung Galaxy Fit
Samsung Galaxy Fit is an entry-level bar smartphone; it is powered by a 600MHz processor. Aside from the fact that it sports a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, Galaxy Fit features almost the same spec sheet as LG’s Optimus One.
It comes with a 3.31-inch QVGA TFT display, Android 2.2 Froyo, HSDPA, GPS with A-GPS support, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Samsung Galaxy Gio
Samsung Galaxy Gio is also a mid-tier handset powered by an 800MHz processor and runs Android 2.2 Froyo.
It comes with a 3.2-inch HVGA TFT display, 3-megapixel camera with autofocus, HSDPA, GPS with A-GPS support, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Samsung Galaxy mini
Samsung Galaxy mini features a 3.14-inch QVGA TFT display and a 3-megapixel camera with fixed-focus.
The entry-level smartphone is powered by a 600MHz processor and runs Android 2.2 Froyo. It is quad-band GSM compatible and comes with GPS with A-GPS support, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as HSDPA.
Android Tablet PC heat up nowadays. More than hundreds of Android Tablet PC on the market. Which one is the best for you? I can give you some suggestions.
What will you do with an Android Tablet?
This question is very important. It all depends on yourself. There are many application for Android Tablet, so it can complete many tasks. The main functions of Android Tablet are: surf internet with WIFI or 3G (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Skype, email, etc.), watch video and listen to music, reading ebook and documents and play games. Almost all the Android Tablet have above functions.
Main specification
1. Operation system
Different version of operation system can support different function. However, many application require the system should be above Android 2.1. Therefore, at present Android 2.1 is minimum requirement. My suggestion is Android 2.2, because it can support Adobe Flash, you can watch video on a normal webpage. Android 2.3 does not have big difference with 2.2. Android 3.0 has been released, but in my opinion, it takes time to test and not stable as 2.2. (I am writing this article on April, 2011)
2. Screen Size
7 inch, 8 inch, 9.7 inch, 10 inch — small size is lighter but image is small when you watch video or webpage. Big size is heavier. It depends on yourself.
3. CPU
CPU is the most important. It decides the reflection and the price of a Tablet PC. The CPU with cortex A8 or A9 is the best at present, such as Freescale and Telechips. CPU VIA is the cheapest one. The difference of CPU can have more than US$50 difference of price. My suggestion is to take CPU with cortex A8 or A9, it works much faster.
4. RAM
RAM is another important element which decides the reflection of Tablet PC. The bigger RAM is the better reflection of Tablet PC. At this moment, 512MB is the most popular size on the market.
5. Touch screen
Resistive touch panel is more accurate when you touch a point. However, more and more manufacturer use capacitive touch panel because it is faster (no delay when you type on the keyboard) and support multi-touch. Therefore, capacitive touch panel is the better choice.
CPU, RAM and Touch screen decides the reflection of a Tablet PC. They are the most important specification when you are looking for a Tablet.
6. ROM
ROM is the memory. It is like a hard disk. So the bigger the better. But this is not very important, because you can extend the memory capacity with a TF card.
7. Camera
The camera is almost useless unless the Tablet PC is with Android 3.0 operation system (Android 3.0 supports video talk).
Main function
1. G-sensor
G-sensor is the great creation from Apple company. It becomes the basic function for all Tablet PC. With this function, you can not only rotate the picture or menu, but also play G-sensor games such as racing car etc.
2. Adobe Flash
Tablet PC which support Adobe Flash can enable you watch video on www webpage. I think you don’t wanna buy a Tablet PC and still read small webpage like in a mobile phone.
3. Multi-touch
Multi-touch is another interesting function. With this function, you can enlarge a picture or webpage or documents by your two finger. It is also another basic function for a Tablet PC.
In the end, I personnally recommend two models of Android Tablet PC for your reference —2011 New Android 2.2 OS Tablet PC with 7 Inch LCD Touchscreen and WiFi and Newest 9.7 Inch Touch Widescreen Android 2.2 OS Tablet PC with 2.0 MP Camera They are the best China cheap Android Tablet PC at present. You can visit website ePathChina.com to see more details.
