Google is reportedly working with bank Citigroup and credit/debit card provider MasterCard to launch an Android based payments system using the NFC technology baked into the Nexus S. According to the WSJ‘s sources, Google will release an app later in the year which allows Citigroup customers to swipe their phones on VeriFone-made NFC enabled payment terminals.
The same app may allow for payment history tracking along with coupons and other personalized offers to be pushed. On the flip side, Google –and its retailer partners –would be able to gather greater information on shopping habits, and thus better tailor its advertising.
Google would apparently not take a cut of the transaction fees, instead only getting a foot in the door on better quality analytics. The search giant was previously tipped to be readying NFC payment trials in San Francisco and NYC.
Processing mobile payments via an external dongle? That's so early 2011. Charge Anywhere has a less troublesome idea, and if you're the lucky owner of a Google Nexus S, you could soon be accepting cold, hard virtual cash via NFC. For those already familiar with the space, you'll know that this very company already has applications out for the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android devices, but all of those obviously require a credit card swiping mechanism to be connected. According to CNET,the latest version will include support for the NFC module embedded within the Nexus S, enabling it to be a full-on mobile payment terminal with no additional hardware required. Both MasterCard PayPass and Visa Blink payments could be ingested, but don't go searching for the update in the Android Market; the company's done with the new build, but it won't be let loose to the public until it's ran past larger customers first. We don't get the impression that the NFC-compatible version will run any more than the $9.99 per month, but it's obviously a wait-and-see affair for now.
Sony Ericsson’s decision earlier this year to freeze OS updates for the XPERIA X10 met with no small amount of disgust from owners of the smartphone, and their complaints were certainly vocal. Now, however, Sony Ericsson has backtracked and changed its mind,announcing that Android 2.3 Gingerbread will now be headed to the X10 at end Q2/early Q3 this year.
Sony Ericsson describe the decision as a response to consumer feedback and a side-effect of developing Gingerbread for the 2011 model range. There are a few things to consider, however. The update will be for generic handsets, not carrier-modified versions, and there’s no guarantee that the latter will ever get Gingerbread. The XPERIA X10 mini and mini pro won’t be getting Gingerbread, and Sony Ericsson says this really will be the final update for the X10 –it’ll see no subsequent updates after 2.3. There’ll also be some limitations compared to the XPERIA Arc and other 2011 handsets:
The current plan is that the XperiaTM X10 will get the Android standard Camera user interface and therefore features like e.g. face recognition, smile shutter etc will be lost.
Moxier is replaced by the gingerbread native EAS functionality.
Mediascape is being replaced by the media experience widgets and music player included in our new 2011 products.
DRM keys for protected content on your phone will be lost in the upgrade process.
The Sony Ericsson Backup and Restore client is not supported in the Gingerbread version and will therefore be lost.
Support for bi-directional languages will be reduced compared to the latest version of the 2.1 version of the XperiaTM X10.
Still, we have to give Sony Ericsson credit for changing its mind on a decision that left a lot of people furious about being early-adopters of the company’s handsets.
The whispers our pals at CrackBerry first planted in our heads last May are true (and again this spring) -- Android applications are coming to the BlackBerry Playbook via BlackBerry App World.
We'll let that sink in for a minute.
Here's the deal: Any app that runs on Android 2.3 will work, RIM says. There will be a pair of optional "App Players" that provide the runtime for the android applications. There will be compatible APIs, so developers should be able to easily port their apps. The apps will be downloaded from RIM's App World and run in a secure sandbox. So we're not talking low-level stuff here.
From the press release:
Developers will simply repackage, code sign and submit their BlackBerry Java and Android apps to BlackBerry App World. Once approved, the apps will be distributed through BlackBerry App World, providing a new opportunity for many developers to reach BlackBerry PlayBook users. Users will be able to download both the app players and the BlackBerry Java and Android apps from BlackBerry App World.
The PlayBook goes on sale April 19, but Android applications won't be able to run at launch. Instead, RIM will show off the new App Players and demo Android apps at BlackBerry World in Orlando on May 3-5.
Said RIM president and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis:
"The BlackBerry PlayBook is an amazing tablet. The power that we have embedded creates one of the most compelling app experiences available in a mobile computing device today. The upcoming addition of BlackBerry Java and Android apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook on BlackBerry App World will provide our users with an even greater choice of apps and will also showcase the versatility of the platform."
So, yeah. Android applications will be able to run on the PlayBook. But the apps can't be all that deep, and will be running in some sort of emulation layer. But perhaps it's a all a middle ground to entice Android developers to go all-in with the BlackBerry NDK and do real ports, and not just emulation. We'll just have to see. Full presser's after the break.
Samsung gazed into its crystal ball today, and what did it see? The pixel density of tablet screens drastically increasing. Yes, while Apple may not have managed to cram a screen into the iPad 2 worthy of the Retina moniker, it sounds like Samsung may be working on just such a thing, as the company projects that it will have tablet displays with 300 to 400 pixel-per-inch resolutions by 2015. Presently, the Samsung Galaxy Tab has a seven-inch, 1024 x600 panel, which translates to only about 170ppi, but Samsung suggests that tablets of the exact same size might stretch well beyond 1080p desktop resolutions as pixel density increases, and yet still manage a respectable 8 to 10 hours of battery life. Samsung also said that while it's still waiting to see if consumers adopt stereoscopic 3D, it might be interested in joining the throng, perhaps bringing a glasses-free tablet display to market in the years to come. Curious what else the future might hold, according to Samsung
import android.app.Activity;
import android.app.SearchManager;
public class MusicActivity extends Activity {@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
String query = getIntent().getStringExtra(SearchManager.QUERY);
// Do something with query...
}
}
The Nexus S is coming to the Now Network in a 4G flavor. Touted as "Pure Google," this WiMAX-toting device will be the very first to feature "fully integrated" Google Voice -- which means using only one number for all your calls and permits for things like web calling and voicemail transcription. Pretty kool, and potentially even more important than the mere addition of 4G networking. All it took to discover this bit of intel was a casual search for "nexus" on Sprint's web portal, not exactly the hardest snooping job ever. Now it's just a matter of waiting a few more hours until Sprint's CTIA event to hear the full details of its collaboration with Google.
Samsung's promised 3D video streaming service has gotten the official go-ahead in the company's home nation today, bringing to fruition a content partnership with DreamWorks Animation and breathing new life into many 3DTV sets. The machine-translated press release isn't entirely lucid on what content will be provided when, but it looks like movie trailers, music videos and children's education films will start things off, before full-length features and more are added later on. All the new on-demand media will be accessible via the 3D application on Samsung's Smart TV platform. The United States and Europe are next on Sammy's roadmap for this VOD rollout, but don't fret if yo live elsewhere, the service will be available all around the world in due course.
A great update over the developer console has been implemented.
We all knew it was coming, but T-Mobile has just announced the Sidekick 4G,the successor to the insanely popular Sidekick. This time around it's made by Samsung, has a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, powered by the Hummingbird CPU and Android 2.2. Add in a front facing camera, HSPA + network speeds up to 21 Mb/second, and a pretty faithful reproduction of the OG Sidekick's great five-row keyboard, and now it doesn't seem quite so tweeny.
On the software side T-Mobile is offering up two new messaging applications -- "Group Text" and "Cloud Text", Samsung's MediaHub, and a DriveSmart app which is designed to stop texting while driving. The addition of a dedicated app switching key, appropriately called the "jump key" looks pretty interesting as well. We have the full press release after the break, and the Sidekick 4G forums are open for business!
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If you have thought about how awesome it would be to use your Motorola Xoom as an in car media player, or for navigation, you are not alone. Android Central forums member 3800scpowered took to creating a custom car dock for the Xoom for this very reason. With the use of some aluminum, and the standard desk dock for the device, a rather unique, yet professional looking car dock for the Xoom was created. It's wired for power from the car to keep it charged while on the go.
After its announcement back at CES,we have heard next to nothing about Hulu Plus coming to Android. Well, Hulu has now gone and thrown up an image of a Nexus S along with a "coming soon" for "Android OS 2.2 phones" on their list of Hulu Plus compatible devices. As the Nexus S is an Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" phone, we can presume that Froyo is the minimum OS requirement. Tablets are not specifically mentioned so it may well be that only phones will be supported at launch. Either way, hopefully this means that the app really is "coming soon" and we will have our questions answered (as well as satisfying our need to watch Fringe on the go) shortly.
Sony’s Play Station Suite is coming to NVIDIA Tegra-powered Android phones and tablets later this year. The news comes straight from an announcement posted in the graphics adapter manufacturer’s Tegra Zone app, which also reveals that there is a plan to eventually release Play Station 2 games for mobile devices through Sony’s software framework.
In case you’ve not read much about it, think of Play Station Suite as a sort of portable PlayStation Network Store, providing downloadable gaming content from Sony for devices which meet the so-far-unannounced “PlayStation Certified” requirements. Although Suite is considered “hardware-neutral” — meaning it is not tied to any specific piece of technology the way Apple’s App Store is — this is the first indication that it will be available on something other than Sony Ericsson’s XSperia Play, the so-called “PlayStation Phone.”
The “hardware-neutral” status means that a wider range of supported devices was expected and today’s news confirms it, though there’s no mention of exactly which devices will qualify as “PlayStation Certified.” NVIDIA’sTegra 2 sports a dual-core processor — the company also has a couple of quad-cores in the works — which makes it ideal for bringing console-quality gaming experiences to the world of mobile devices.
No date was given for when PS2 games might be arriving, though it’s a safe bet that they’ll probably be held back until quad-core mobile processors are more readily available. Support for PSOne games had already been confirmed with the previous announcement of PlayStation Suite alongside the Xperia Play, and it looks like Wild Arms, Cool Boarders and Syphon Filter are expected to launch this year.
Well, that didn't take long. Just half a day or so since Adobe announced that Flash Player 10.2 would drop for Android on March 18,and the darn thing's already leaked out. This is the version that the Motorola Xoom has been waiting for,of course. So we fired it up on a Xoom, and -- behold, Flash! It's also running decently on our CyanogenMod 7 device (that's Gingerbread for you teetotallers), and our man Alex has it on his Froyo'd HTC Desire. That's not to say there's not some stuttering, still, but who's to say if this is a final build -- or if it's early and busted. If you're the adventurous type, give it a shot.
Looking to start your own business, become an entrepreneur? Then you'll certainly find yourself reading a lot of information about the rights and wrongs of getting things started. Luckily, Entrepreneur Magazine has released their mobile application that allows you to access their vast library of how-to's and best practices.
The information it presents to you is customizable by your interests. All of which can be saved and stored for later reading through the app. If you're seeking advice or answers to some of your upstart business concerns then give Entrepreneur Magazine a look. The app is free and available in the Android Market right now.
Behold the ViewSonic ViewPad 10 dual-boot tablet that allows you to work in either Android 1.6 (weird!) or Windows 7 on demand. This device runs a 10-inch 1024 x600-pixel touchscreen display, 1.66GHz Intel Atom processor, has a total of 2GB of memory, connects via Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and has a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera for video chat. The odd thing about this device (if all those specs weren’t enough) is that we were introduced to a very similar tablet by the name of ViewPad 10 Pro, one that ran Android 2.2 Froyo, at Mobile World Congress 2011.
Another odd bit is that we were told that the “Pro” would be running Android 2.2, and that this “Pro” version would replace the ViewPad 10. THEN he said that the ViewPad 10 would be sent an OTA update to Android 2.2 Froyo in March (aka now) to update it to the level of the Pro, which should also be released on March. What in the world? Either we’re just losing our minds, or ViewSonic really needs to differentiate their model numbers with more than a letter of a number.
That said, having the ability to boot to either Windows or Android in one device does seem fun, if not unnecessary. In our experience, working with a tablet means you’ve got a certain number of things you want to accomplish, thus you pick the one that’ll accomplish them. Having two systems on one single tablet to us seems indecisive.
Google Instant Previews, the search feature that shows snapshots of web pages along side search results has finally made its way to Android and iPhone handsets. Users of Android must have vs. 2.2 (Froyo) or above, while iPhone users must have iOS 4.0 and above to take advantage of the new search feature. Users don’t have to download or update anything at all to use the new feature either. All they need to do is search for a topic and the click on the magnifying glass on the right of the results (note, not the search bar).
This will navigate to a new page that will have snapshots of different pages that users can then swipe through, with titles of each page overlayed with more information of the page featured. To get back to original results, just hit the back arrow. The preview will also provide both full and mobile versions of the sites so that users can have a choice or to take advantage of a mobile optimized version of any given site. That’s a godsend for smaller screen smartphones where users have to spend time looking around with their finger constantly swiping.
Google has done a great job seamlessly integrating this useful and popular feature and it should make search even faster and more useful than before. The search function is available to phones in 38 languages starting today.
We’ve been passed a video apparently filmed during CeBIT in Germany by The Inquirer of a relatively new, not yet released, but not completely unannounced Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet by the name of Windpad. The full name they’re going with thus far is MSI WindPad 100A, MSI of course standing for our good pals at Micro-star International, a Taiwanese electronics firm that was more than glad to show off the pad to an intrepid reporter. This tablet is approximately the same size as the Motorola XOOM at 10.1-inches in the display (capacitive), but has some excellent if not odd features that are quite enticing.
First you’ll notice the trackpad –but wait, where is it? It’s essentially invisible, sitting right up there in the upper right hand corner for you to use with your thumb so that you’ll not have to hold the tablet with one hand, a practice which the presenter says is unhealthy. At the moment we’re not entirely sure if what we’re seeing along the righthand side of the display is four physical buttons or if it’s just dips in the glass showing where four buttons are accessible by touch –and is the trackpad a nubbin, or a tiny flat pad? We’ll see soon enough.
Inside is what we hear will be a 1GB Tegra 2 dual-core processor, a completely custom user interface (that more than likely every developer from here to Japan will reduce back to Honeycomb basic,) which includes a dock showing home, web browser, books, gallery, movies, music, and apps –which we believe means we’ll be able to fill this dock with whatever we like. Either way though, again, more than likely this UI will either change before the release or be changed by hackers once its out. Additionally, we know this tablet will have storage of 32GB in an solid state drive. On the back of the tablet there’s a 5-megapixel camera while the front has a 2-megapixel camera.
Along the righthand side, (and remember we’re landscape here,) is a full-sized USB port (for a keyboard, says the presenter) as well as a power cord port. On the left side you’ll find a power button, miniUSB port, HDMI port, SD card reader, headphone jack, and a switch that locks the orientation of the screen. There will be two versions shipped, though we’re not sure where and on what carriers, one just Wifi and the other 3G. The unit weighs in at 800g which is 1.764 pounds which, as you may already know, is about .1 pounds heavier than the XOOM.
MPSI WindPad 100A Honeycomb Tablet with Tegra 2 Dual-Core Processor Demoed in [Video] - http://pulsene.ws/14kKS
While I always tend to take all these user numbers with a grain of salt, the latest ComScore results are rather interesting and certainly worth noting. For the first time, Android has surpassed Research In Motion as well as Apple within the ComScore ranking period of the past three-months ending in January 2011. As noted by ComScore:
65.8 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in January 2011, up 8 percent from the preceding three-month period. Google Android captured the #1 ranking among smartphone platforms for the first time in January with 31.2 percent market share. RIM ranked second with 30.4 percent market share, followed by Apple with 24.7 percent. Microsoft (8.0 percent) and Palm (3.2 percent) rounded out the top five.
While interesting to see, it's not really surprising in anyway. Android continues to grow and as more manufacturers step up to make use of Google platform a slow down in market growth doesn't appear to be in site. While I personally shed a tear for BlackBerry, Research In Motion is in a transition period and will be for quite some time. This is an Android and Apple time now, with Microsoft working there way back into relevancy.
Android edges out BlackBerry and iPhone in recent ComScore survey - http://pulsene.ws/14jb2
If you're not the sort of person who explicitly trusts GPS and mobile navigation, move on. For everyone else, Google's just flipped the switch on a cool little feature for Google Maps Navigation (which we're reminded yet again is still technically a beta product). Now, when you're driving and using a Google Maps Nav route and have traffic up ahead, the app will automatically route you around it. And you don't have to touch a thing. From the Google Mobile Blog:
You don’t have to do anything to be routed around traffic; just start Navigation like you normally would, either from the Navigation app or from within Google Maps. ... Starting today, our routing algorithms will also apply our knowledge of current and historical traffic to select the fastest route from those alternates. That means that Navigation will automatically guide you along the best route given the current traffic conditions.
Hey, whatever keeps us from having to ask for directions is a good thing.
Just to throw a little more fuel on the fire,it turns out that directing your browser to now.sprint.com/nexus takes you to an landing site where you're told that "this page will be ready soon." Certainly sounds more likely than ever that Sprint's preparing to launch its own variant of the Nexus S -- and if our sources are correct, it'll be called the Nexus S 4G, likely with both CDMA and WiMAX on board. Interestingly, both now.sprint.com/evoview and now.sprint.com/evo3d -- the other two devices in our rumor three-pack from earlier today -- redirect to Sprint's home page rather than giving you an HTTP 404 error, suggesting they're also real. CTIA kicks off in just over two weeks' time where these things are likely to be revealed, but who knows? Maybe they'll give us a little tease ahead of the show
Sprint's Nexus website is 'coming soon' - http://pulsene.ws/14bNo
Since the Motorola Xoom can be rooted and unlocked it was only a matter of time before someone tried loading an OS that shouldn't be on there, onto one. As such, the above video shows us that Ubuntu can indeed be loaded up on the Motorola Xoom and while it's certainly not running at optimal speeds the fact it loads at all gives hope to some. If you fancy jamming Ubuntu onto your Motorola Xoom hit up the source link for the full installation instructions.
Ubuntu on the Motorola Xoom - For better or worse - http://pulsene.ws/14eN7
Don't look now, but it would seem that people love them some Angry Birds. A shocker, we know. Rovio announced at the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) that the free-with-ads Android version of the popular game had been downloaded an astounding 30 million times. What is even more impressive is that Rovio claimed five million downloads back in early December. They said they were pulling in $1 million in ad revenue back then, so some quick math would estimate that they might be raking in north of $6 million per month now. That's a lot of irate avians.
A new Google Maps update has hit the Android Market, bringing the app to Version 5.2. The latest update from the Google Maps team mostly focuses on the social aspect.
For those of you that use Google's Hotpot,you will now be able to tweet your reviews using the integrated rating widget. The reviews will be appear in searches, Google.com/hotpot,and on Place pages.
In addition to the new tweetable Hotpot reviews, Google Latitude users will now be able to "ping" their friends. The new ping feature will appear in the notification bar. So, now instead of texting, emailing, or calling them, you can just ping them to meetup.
Google has also reminded us that you can also check-in using Google Latitude. The check-in feature was added last month to version 5.1. Not the biggest update in the world, but still, the Google Maps team is always innovating and updating the app.
Here's the changlog:
Post your reviews of places to Twitter
Check in at places with Google Latitude to earn status and share with friends
Ping Latitude friends to ask them to check in. Friends will get a check-in request notification from you.
Search for a place to check in from Latitude if it's not in the suggested list of places.
Full deets are at Google's blog post.
Google Body for Android tablets is available once again, for real this time - http://pulsene.ws/13UTm
LG Optimus Pad listed on Amazon.de for a slightly less crazy €899 - http://pulsene.ws/13qYA
Motorola's Xoom 3G arrives in UK for £600, gets enigmatic listing on Amazon.de for €700 - http://pulsene.ws/13NOV
