Google adds '+1' rating feature to Android Market

Google is giving Android Market users a new way to evaluate applications even as it struggles to keep malicious ones off the store.


The "+1" feature on the Android Market is intended to be a more personalized complement to the standard star-based app-rating system that users have traditionally employed to give their opinions on applications.
BACKGROUND: More malware apps sneak onto Android Market

The premise is simple: If you like a particular application on the Android Market, you can sign into your Google account and give it a +1 that all of your other Google contacts will be able to see when they click on the app. In other words, you'll be able to see whether or not your friends and acquaintances are fans of a particular game just by clicking to see if any people you know have recommended it. Friends' and contacts' +1 ratings will also appear in search results if they have recommended any products or websites relating to the search keywords, Google says.

"With a single click you can recommend that raincoat, news article or favorite sci-fi movie to friends, contacts and the rest of the world," Google writes on its official blog. "The next time your connections search, they could see your +1's directly in their search results, helping them find your recommendations when they're most useful."

Google began rolling out its +1 feature on its Web search results this past March, letting users give recommendations on whether various search results accurately matched the keywords they entered into the search engine. Google says that it's going to start implementing the +1 system on other popular Google properties including Blogger, Product Search and YouTube as well. Google is also working to integrate the +1 button onto a wide variety of partner sites, including Rotten Tomatoes, The Huffington Post, Best Buy and Bloomberg.
The addition of the +1 button to the Android Market comes as Google has continued its struggles to keep malicious applications off of the market. Just this past week Google had to remove 25 different malicious applications from the market, less than three months after it had to pull more than 50 different applications from the store during the so-called "DroidDream" infection. Security firm Lookout Mobile Security estimated that between 30,000 and 120,000 users were infected by the latest round of malicious applications.
Ever since launching Android in 2007, Google has gone out of its way to making the mobile operating system the most accessible and app-friendly in the industry. One way it has tried to do this has been in taking an "anything goes" approach to screening applications for sale on its Android Market. Basically, Google itself doesn't screen any of the apps that go up on its store but rather relies on users to flag potentially malicious apps so they can be removed after they've already posted on the store. While this has led to a wide array of different apps being available on the market, it has also predictably created some serious security issues, such as the aforementioned DroidDream fiasco.

Google pulls more malware from Android Market

Google removed more malware-infected applications from its Android Market last week, according to a security researcher who reported the rogue software to the company.


On June 5, Google yanked 10 apps from the market after Xuxian Jiang, an assistant professor in computer science at North Carolina State University, reported his findings to the company.

Jiang published an analysis of the malicious code, dubbed "Plankton," in a blog post last Thursday.
Andrew Brandt, lead threat research analyst at Webroot, has also dug into Plankton.

"It has the ability to remotely access a command-and-control [C&C] server for instructions, and upload additional payloads," Brandt said in an interview Friday. "It uses a very stealthy method to push any malware it wants to phone."

Unlike other code embedded in apps that have appeared in the market, Plankton doesn't rely on a vulnerability to "root," or gain complete control of the smartphone, said Brandt. Once the victim has installed the bogus app, however, Plankton can call in other files from the hacker-controlled server, including ones that would exploit one or more unpatched Android bugs.

"This is pretty serious," Brandt said.
Plankton also harvests data from the phone, including the bookmarks, bookmark history and home page of the device's built-in browser.

All 10 of the apps that Google pulled after Jiang's report purported to be add-ons or cheats for the popular mobile game "Angry Birds" from Finnish game company Rovio. None of the apps actually provided their promised functionality, however, but were simply the delivery vehicles for Plankton.

Plankton was not the first Android attack code that Jiang and his team have reported to Google.
Also on June 5, Jiang told Google of finding apps infected with "DroidKungFu" on unauthorized Chinese app stores, then two days later followed with a report of "YZHCSMS," a Trojan horse that racks up bills by sending hidden text messages to premium numbers.

DroidKungFu uses the same pair of exploits to root the smartphone as "DroidDream," the name given to the first malware bundled with apps in the Android Market.

YZHCSMS was found in Android apps on both Google's market and on Chinese download sites. According to Jiang, YZHCSMS-infected apps were available on the Android Market for at least three months before Google pulled them.

Malicious apps have become a persistent problem for Google, which has had to scrub the market several times since early March, when it pulled more than 50 programs able to compromise phones and remotely issue them commands.

Two weeks ago, Google suspended nearly three dozen malicious apps from the market. Experts tied the newer wave -- labeled "DroidDream Light" -- to the same group responsible for the Mach campaign.
Although Google may be scanning market apps for known malware, that does little good unless an antivirus company has crafted a signature that "fingerprints" the malware, Brandt said.

And with malware able to sneak into the Android Market -- and in some cases remain there for months -- it's unlikely Google has engineers scouring app code.

"It takes a lot of time and experience to evaluate code," said Brandt. "There are ways to do it in an automated fashion, but you really need a bit of human feel [to evaluate] commands and their sequence to tell if something's malicious."

Brandt's advice to Android owners?

"Use some common sense," he said. "These [Plankton] apps were supposed to do things like unlike "Angry Birds." But then why did they all ask for permission to connect to the Internet?"

Android Tablets Come to First-Class Fliers

Attention all frequent flyers: Got the cash for first class? Those of you who do will soon get much more than a little extra legroom and some free drinks.

On Monday, Samsung and American Airlines announced they will provide Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 10.1 to travelers in seated in premium cabins for a select number of transcontinental and international flights.
“American is the first North American airline to offer a branded tablet on board its aircraft,” says Virasb Vahidi, American Airline’s chief commercial officer in a release.

Current on-board entertainment devices will get the boot for 6,000 Galaxy Tab 10.1 devices on select flights between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco, as well as between Boston and Los Angeles. International flights to South America and Europe will also receive the new Galaxy Tab 10.1 devices. The tablets will begin replacing the current in-flight entertainment system later this year.

If you haven’t traveled in a while, a number of airlines include touchscreen seat-back displays from which you can purchase film or TV offerings or even inflight games.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 is thinner and lighter than the iPad 2, measuring 8.6mm thick and weighing in at 595 grams. The original 7-inch Galaxy Tab debuted in November and sold over one million in units in its first two months.

American Airlines seems to be leading the way in embracing the tablet revolution. The airlines already offers in-flight movie streams to iPad users via Wi-Fi. But it’s not alone: earlier this year Alaska Airlines adopted the iPad for inflight manuals.

Hopefully other airlines will begin catching on to the trend. There’s only so many times I can see Country Strong on cross-country flights.

Android Market Apps Hit With Malware

The inevitable has happened with the Android marketplace: Google pulled nearly two dozen apps Wednesday that were infected with malware capable of rooting devices and stealing data. The company is investigating dozens of others.


Users have downloaded as many as 200,000 of the free apps following their market appearance days ago. The apps ranged from games of chess to photo editors to those named “Super Sex Positions.” Google confirmed that they pulled the apps from the 2-year-old market early Wednesday.

“This is the first time there has been a widespread attack. This is the first time we’ve seen it in the real official Android marketplace,” Chris Wysopal, chief technology officer at Veracode, said in a telephone interview.
Wysopal, who said plenty of apps have been infected in overseas markets, added that it was inevitable that the Android app market would become home to malicious apps. He said the infected apps could insert software into a phone anonymously and make the phone click ads or send premium SMS messages.
There was no immediate evidence that any of the potential exploits actually happened.


Wysopal suggested that Google should begin vetting apps like Apple does for its platform.

“This was inevitable. The model has to be that the applications need to be vetted before they are available for download,” he said.

Google declined to address Wysopal’s statement on the record. But it provided its developers’ conditions agreement and a CNET story about the security of Android and Apple apps.

The Android attackers, meanwhile, downloaded legitimate applications and uploaded similar pirated versions back to the market with malware.

Dave Marcus, director of security research at McAfee Labs, said in an e-mail that “in terms of attacks and malware, it doesn’t get any worse than root access, which this malware has.”

Google is remotely removing the apps from Android devices. Security experts said phone owners who have downloaded the apps should wipe and “reset” their phones to their original state.
Here are some of the offending apps:

• Falling Down
• Super Guitar Solo
• Super History Eraser
• Photo Editor
• Super Ringtone Maker
• Super Sex Positions
• Hot Sexy Videos
• Chess
• Hilton Sex Sound
• Screaming Sexy Japanese Girls
• Falling Ball Dodge
• Scientific Calculator
• Dice Roller
• Advanced Currency Converter
• App Uninstaller
• Funny Paint
• Spider Man

HTC Sensation Android phone

A powerful beast wrapped in a study, aluminium shell

The HTC Sensation combines a large, qHD display with an excellent unibody aluminium design. It may not feel as snappy as other dual-core Android phones, nor offer anything hugely new or innovative over previous HTC models, but it remains a great smartphone. 

Joining the Samsung Galaxy S II, the Motorola Atrix and the LG Optimus 2X, the latest dual-core powered Android smartphone is the HTC Sensation. The Sensation has a 4.3in qHD-resolution display, the latest version of HTC's Sense user interface, and a sturdy, aluminium unibody casing.

Read our detailed preview of the HTC Sensation and check out our HTC Sensation vs Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone showdown.

HTC Sensation: Unibody design

One of the highlights of the Sensation is HTC's unibody aluminium design, which has been used on a number of HTC's other Android phones including the original Desire, the Desire HD, the Legend and the recently launched Incredible S and Desire S phones. The HTC Sensation's unibody casing is constructed from a single piece of aluminium and it does feel very well put together. There are no noticeable creaks or rattles, and it feels like a product of quality craftsmanship.

The HTC Sensation's battery cover feels a little awkward to remove — taking it off feels as though you are snapping the phone into two separate pieces. The battery cover consists of almost the entire shell of the handset, with the screen and the body of the phone completing the shell. The actual phone and screen part itself is quite thin — it's almost exactly the same thickness as the Samsung Galaxy S II. The Sensation has a thicker design than most of its competitors, but the extra girth is a trade-off we think many users would be willing to make for the added durability of the unibody design. The impressive build quality really does make the HTC Sensation feel like a premium device should.

The HTC Sensation includes four touch-sensitive shortcut buttons below the display (home, menu, back, and search) and the keys are backlit and responsive. It's a shame there is no physical shutter button, as it's hard to keep the Sensation still when taking a photo with the on-screen shutter key.

HTC Sensation: qHD display

The HTC Sensation has a 4.3in super LCD (SLCD) display. The big draw card here is the resolution — the Sensation's 540x960-pixel resolution makes it a quarter HD (qHD) screen. In general, the higher the resolution the better, as it increases the pixels per inch on the display. The Sensation's qHD screen means you see more of a website at once, and it is great for video playback and mobile gaming.

In a side-by-side comparison, we immediately noticed that the HTC Sensation displays crisper text, and more natural looking colours than the Samsung Galaxy S II. The crisper text is most evident when zoomed out in a web page; it's here that the HTC Sensation really shines. However, its SLCD screen simply can't match the vibrancy, brightness, and viewing angles of the Galaxy S II's Super AMOLED Plus display. The Sensation is also hard to see in direct sunlight. It's a great screen in its own right, but it's beaten by the Galaxy S II.

The glossy surface of the HTC Sensation's display is something we don't like. The surface seems extra glossy but doesn't feel as smooth to slide your finger across as most other Android phones we've tested. On a positive note, we do like how the edges of the glass curve upward toward the edge of the screen — this means the screen doesn't actually come into contact with surfaces when the phone is placed face down on a desk or table.

HTC Sensation: Performance and software

The HTC Sensation is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and runs the latest version of Google's Android operating system, 2.3 or "Gingerbread." HTC's Sense UI overlay sits on top of the standard Android interface, and although the changes in version 3.0 are mostly aesthetic, it adds polish to what already is a tidy UI.

The best feature of Sense 3.0 is the new lock screen, which now comes with four customisable shortcuts that can be dragged into the 'unlock ring' to unlock straight into an assigned app. In addition to custom wallpaper, the HTC Sensation also allows you to display photo albums, a friend stream, weather, stocks or the clock on the lock screen, and all come complete with the fantastic animations we've come to expect from HTC. The lock screen will also display missed call, e-mail, and SMS notifications (and album art when you are playing music), but you annoyingly can't directly unlock straight into these apps unless you have them set as a lock screen shortcut. Sense 3.0 also includes a 3D rotating effect when scrolling between home screens, and an updated weather app with new animations and sounds, which can thankfully be turned off. We love the fact that HTC Sense displays your eight most recently opened applications at the top of the notifications panel in a horizontal scroll bar, along with quick setting toggles including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi hotspot, GPS, mobile network and a link to all phone settings.

The Sense UI's slick animations and flashy menus do give the Sensation an edge over other Android phones, and we think Sense is particularly good for first-time Android users or people who haven't used a smartphone before.

Further, the HTC Sensation feels like a finished product, and not like a half-baked phone that was rushed to release — we did not experience any glaring bugs or noticeable lag during testing. However, the Sensation feels a little slower than some of its competitors due to the graphically intense UI. The HTC Sensation is not a sluggish smartphone by any means, but simple processes like swiping between home screens, zooming out to display a 'helicopter view' of current home screens, or even swiping to open the lock screen aren't as instant as other dual-core phones we’ve tested.

The Sensation works with HTCSense.com, a set of desktop-based services largely centred on backup and security. Once you've created a HTC account and logged in, you can locate your phone on a map if it is stolen, remotely lock or wipe the handset, redirect calls and messages to an alternative phone number and archive contacts, text messages and call history — all through your PC.

The HTC Sensation has an excellent Web browser. It supports Flash video and multitouch zooming, and it loads and renders pages quickly and smoothly. The Sensation also handles media efficiently; we loaded a 720p HD AVI file onto our microSD card, and played back the file without any issues.

HTC Sensation: Camera, battery life and other features

The HTC Sensation has an 8-megapixel camera with a dual LED flash, and a front-facing VGA camera for video calling. The rear camera also doubles as a full 1080p HD video recorder. The flash works reasonably well in dim lighting, and video recording is of an excellent quality. The camera has a wealth of settings including the ability to adjust ISO, sharpness, saturation, contrast and exposure. We also loved the fact you can use the external volume controls as zoom keys, though the lack of physical camera shutter key is an annoyance, and the shutter is slower than we'd have liked.

The HTC Sensation doesn't come with an HDMI-out port but includes a new connection technology called Mobile High-definition Link (MHL). The on-board MHL technology uses the standard micro-USB port on the Sensation for outputting 1080p HD video and audio via HDMI. You'll need a micro-USB to HDMI MHL connector to enable this feature (this is not included in the box), but the beauty of MHL means it can also be used with a USB adapter. This means the HTC Sensation can utilise USB on-the-go functionality like the Nokia N8.

Battery life on the HTC Sensation is much improved compared to the Desire HD, but users will still need to charge the phone every night on most occasions. We managed around 12 hours during moderate use, though we recommend turning off e-mail, Facebook and Twitter updates to significantly boost this result.

Keep in mind that review unit is an overseas import of the HTC Sensation available though online store MobiCity, and not the final Australian model that is likely to be released toward the end of the year. The Australian model of the HTC Sensation is likely to feature various bundled telco apps, and may include extra, local software that is not pre-loaded on our imported review unit. We will update this review with any necessary changes when we get our hands on an Australian model of the Sensation.

Flip ‘n Shake for Android – Review

Android Phones are far better than the other smart Phones because Apps available for android phones in Android Market gives a great utility to people to control their Android Phones in various ways. Suppose you are in a very special meeting and forget to put your phone on silent/vibration mode, this great app will help you to overcome this problem. So now you can silent-vibrate your phone by just flipping or shaking it using Flip ‘n Shake.

This great app will let you to control your Android phone. It is actually works with many toggles such as

• Silent mode Toggle
• Vibration mode Toggle
• Wi-Fi
• Keep screen on
• Flashlight
• Speaker phone
• Start Audio Recording

About flip ‘n Shake:

Current Version: 1.0.2

Requires Android: 1.5 and up

Category: Tools

Installs: 500 – 1,000

Size: 399k

Price: $1.99

Overview:

So now you don’t need to turn your phone in vibration or silent mode by pressing volume button just face down, face up or shake your Device to this action.

Flip ‘n shake come in two versions; one is the lite or free version while the second one is pro version which is ad free version. You can just download the app and install on your Android phone. The very best thing about this great app is that you can even customize this application under Advanced Settings.

You can control the sensitivity of different functions of this app such as sensitivity of Face down, face up or threshold for vibration. While if you are recording the audio than you can select the maximum length of the audio and other recording options.

You can select through three different States that are

1. Idle state Actions:

One can define the face down, face up of vibration when the Phone is in idle state.

2. Ringing state:

Select through the actions to set the options when your Android Phone is ringing.

3. in Call State:

When you are on a call and suddenly have to Put your phone down than you can select an option for that such as End call,Keep screen on etc.

After Customizing it just  hit Back button and then Select Enable or Disable to use this App.

Conclusion:

This app has received many good reviews and ratings from its users. If you in office or attending a very important meeting than you can just face down the Phone to Put it through different toggle. So, in the end this is a must have app for any Android user.

Virgin Mobile: No Android Skins For Us

Sprint's prepaid subsidiary, Virgin Mobile, prefers its Android phones to remain ... virgin.

Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that Virgin's new Motorola Triumph smartphone runs a relatively stock version of Android 2.2, while Motorola's new Photon 4G and XPRT phones for the main Sprint brand use Motorola's Blur software extensions.

This, it turns out, is on purpose.
"Virgin Mobile USA aims to make available devices that allow the end user to have the freedom to customize the device to their liking. We like to take a consistent approach with our Android portfolio and so we prefer to have the true Android experience loaded on all our Android phones," a Virgin spokesperson said in an email to PCMag.com.

If the "true Android experience" means no manufacturer skin—which it seems to mean at this point—this is a big deal. Most Android phones in the U.S. have software that's considerably altered by the manufacturer, whether it be Motorola's Blur, Samsung's TouchWiz, or HTC's Sense UI. Folks who dislike the manufacturer skins say they make phones slower or even unstable, and render the Android experience inconsistent; folks who like them say they add missing features or polish to the Android OS
.
It'll be interesting to see if Virgin's take leads to more hacker-friendly approaches such as a policy on "unlocked bootloaders," which allow advanced users to install customized versions of the Android OS.
Virgin's largesse has limits, though. You'll find some Virgin bloatware icons preloaded on the phone, including Virgin Mobile Live and My Account. So it's not the absolute stock Android build

Android Central Editors' app picks for June

 Sean Brunett - PicFolio for Picasa ($2.99)

  I absolutely love the Picasa integration with Android, but I don’t like that there’s no native option to upload videos to your web albums. That’s where PicFolio for Picasa comes in. It is a very functional app as it downloads your Picasa Web photos for easy offline access and provides a nice interface for viewing them. If you don’t want it to do this, there’s a very easy offswitch. The feature that I’m most excited about, however, is the ability to upload videos straight to your Picasa account. Before I was routing everything through Dropbox, but with PicFolio for Picasa that is unnecessary. Simply open your Gallery or favorite photos app, go to share the video of your choice and PicFolio Uploader will be one of the options. It provides a status bar letting you know the progress and there is a WiFi-only option for data conscious users out there. [Market Link]

Menno - Fireball (Free)

 

A few weeks ago I mentioned that Chalk Ball reminded me a little of Jezzball, and some readers disagreed. Perhaps that comparison was a bit of a misnomer, but I think it works with my pick for this week. For those of you who never played Jezzball, the object of the game was simple. There was a box with balls bouncing around in it and using your mouse you would block off certain parts of that box, making the available space smaller and smaller until eventually the balls can no longer move. Fireball follows a similar concept, but instead of blocking off a giant square, the field is in some shape (like a sea horse) and you "slice" bits off until you've successfully removed a certain portion (such as 70%). As the game progresses, the levels become harder, both with the inclusion of more/different fireballs and "buffs" that can make certain aspects easier or make you restart the level. harder. The graphics on this are some of the best I've seen for a game like this, and the gameplay is smooth and addictive. The only issue I've found so far is that the application apparently doesn't save your progress between shapes. Each shape has 5 levels, and if you leave the game and come back to it, it will start you at the first level of any shape you've unlocked. While potentially frustrating, I've found that I don't really mind this as much since every time I replay a level I keep getting a better score, but your mileage may vary. [Market Link]

Joshua Munoz - C25K (Free)

Summer is right around the corner, and for some people it's great motivation to get back in shape. If running is your style, I'd highly recommend Couch to 5K. This is a lightweight, simple app that has each day of the C25K training plugged into it as a separate workout, with audio notifications denoting when to walk or run. It supports apps running in the background (like Music and Endomondo) with no problem, but if for some reason you switch out of the app in the middle of a run, the timer pauses. This is a limitation of the free version (the paid version keeps the timer going), but as long as you keep C25K running on top, this is one of the best training apps out there. [Market Link]

Alex Dobie - Remote Desktop Client ($24.95)

This app won't be for everyone (it's certainly not cheap), but if you own or rent any Windows servers, then the ability to quickly control them via a mobile device could be extremely useful, and that's exactly what the Xtralogic Remote Desktop Client allows you to do. Just like any full-sized Remote Desktop application, Xtralogic's app allows you to control to control the resolution and color depth of your RDP session, along with more advanced options for security and memory card redirection. This is a great feature that allows you to transfer files between your phone's SD card and your remote machine. It may be a bit expensive, but the Xtralogic client offers a full remote desktop experience from anywhere where you have a data signal, which in my opinion is worth the price tag. [Market Link]

Anndrew Vacca - TV Guide Mobile (Free, Amazon AppStore)

Anybody else despise that crawling schedule on the TV Guide network? Thanks to Roundbox's TV Guide Mobile, you’ll never have to suffer through it again. Plug in your zip code and pick your cable or satellite provider and TV Guide Mobile will show you a full listing of what’s playing right now. Want to see what’s on tonight? You can plug in any date and time within the upcoming week to see what’s playing and when. You can even add programs or stations to a favorite list, which will give you a quick reference to the schedules of exactly what you want to see. There's a tab for the latest entertainment news but don't expect any frills beyond that; just come for the listings and leave happy. [Amazon Link]

Jerry Hildenbrand - Hot Death (Free)

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (or in a Florida garage converted into a rec room) I used to play Uno, with a twist. It was called Hot Death, and what you did was get out the magic markers, and invent new cards. I'll let you use ye old Google to find out more about it's origins, just know that it was also written as a BASIC program back when computers were huge, expensive, and didn't do much. I just found out that it has been ported to Android, and have been having fun with it ever since. It's easy to play, but hard to master, and in my opinion improves the card game every bit as much as a few beers does. It's also open-source (GPL) software, which makes it that much better. If you enjoy card games, you should give it a look. it's free, runs on Android 2.1 and higher, and loads of fun. [Market Link]

BBC World News Android app now available outside of UK

The popularity of the Android OS is so incredible that almost every form of publication has migrated their news and services to an application available in the market, and now the BBC just joined the list. BBC originally released their Android application a few months ago in the UK, but  apparently left out the rest of the world from their offering. After a few months of eagerly waiting, the application just became live in the Android Market for the whole world to get their hands on.

BBC is well-known for offering great international and UK news, making the app quite the release for loyal watchers. Their stories touch on everything people are interested in and they usually have some great breaking news that sometimes even makes it on our front page. They’ve had many interesting interviews that have given us a better understanding of the mobile industry, and where it’s heading. Having all that content (next to reading our blog on a daily basis, of course) is just about the best way to stay up to date on everything happening in the mobile world.

Like with most news applications, it’s free and is available to older and newer devices. This means anyone with a phone running Android 1.6 – 2.3.3 can get their hands on it in the Android Market. Here are a few of the key features from the latest version:

• Simple design with easy scrolling for efficient browsing
• Tap to reveal full-screen article and in-story video
• Swipe through stories to browse
• Post stories to social networks, or share via email and SMS
• Get breaking news with a real-time headline ticker
• Listen live to BBC World Service radio
• Watch or listen to the latest news headlines
• Personalise your home screen by adding and removing sections
• Choose to automatically update content in the background
• Set text size to suit your preferences

New Windows Phone 7 app porting tool for Android developers released

Today Microsoft posted on their developer blog about a new tool to make porting apps from Android devices to Windows Phone much easier. Much like what Microsoft did recently for iOS, the API tool is said to be like a translating dictionary for people that are native Android coders, and will help them to understand the Windows Phone 7 environment. Hopefully this means developers will be able to bring their useful applications to the platform and help Microsoft expand their Marketplace selection.

With the Android Market growing at a fast rate and currently housing over 150,000 apps, it’s smart of Microsoft to appeal to those developers. Recent polls show that developer interest for Android is above all other mobile OSes at 67%, while Windows Phone is second to last at 36% developer interest. This release means Microsoft can ride the Android wave by having a way for developers to easily move their software to WP7, and that should appeal to the thousands of coders out there.

While this news isn’t directly related to this story, during an interview with the channel 9 news, one of the major developers, Thomas Fennel talked about the popular live tile feature of the Windows Phone 7 OS. Throughout the interview, Tom talked about the live tile feature and how it was almost removed from the Windows Phone 7 feature list. Apparently the best feature of WP7 was almost removed in the Mango update, but rather, they realized what great potential this service has and ended up improving it. This move makes me question where Microsoft is really going with their OS; live tiles and instant information was the original selling point for the OS, so what would the end result look like without them?

Verizon 4G Android Faceoff : HTC ThunderBolt Vs Samsung Droid Charge

When I last looked at Android phones in January, Verizon didn’t have a 4G phone. That’s since changed. Indeed, Verizon has three now. In this review, how I found two of them — the HTC ThunderBolt released in March and the Samsung Droid Charge released in May — measured up against each other.


Before I get into the specifics, a refresher on how I approach phones. I’m interested in how they work for real life activities that I tend to do, rather than a head-to-head spec faceoff that often isn’t that important.
Can I check email with them easily? Snap a photo and make simple adjustments? Can I type on them with one hand quickly? How well can I tweet from them, or check-in on Foursquare? How well does the browser work?

For a real torture test, I typically do all these activities while I’m also inline skating at the end of my workday. Alternatively, it’s when I’m on the move, walking on or off an airplane. The phone has to work well when I’m using it with one hand.

I’m also interested in Verizon, because in my experience, it has by far the best network of any of the US carriers. I’d been wanting to get a permanent Android phone on Verizon (as opposed to various review units I’ve had), and I’d been waiting for the 4G phones to arrive, before making that purchase. When the ThunderBolt finally came out, I bought one. Samsung, at my request, sent me a Charge to review against it.

Specs: Thunderbolt Versus Charge

Let’s do the specs first. The ThunderBolt is a big, heavy brick. It’s 122 mm long, 67 mm wide and 13.2 mm thick. In contrast, the iPhone 4 (which I also own and use)  is 115 mm long (a bit shorter), 59 mm wide (not as wide) and 9.3mm thick (much thinner). Weight, the ThunderBolt is 173 grams to the iPhone’s 137 grams.
All that size does give you a bigger screen, though the 800×480 resolution is less than the iPhone’s 960×640 resolution. Then again, I’ve found that resolution and screen size can mean little when different apps use different sized fonts and layouts.

As for the Droid Charge, it’s slightly bigger than the ThunderBolt yet oddly lighter. It’s 130mm long (versus the ThunderBolt’s 122mm); 67.5mm wide (vs. 67mm) and 11.7mm thick (vs 13.2mm). Weight is only 143 grams, only a bit more than the iPhone 4′s 137 grams and much less than the ThunderBolt’s 173 grams.
The screen resolution and size (4.3″) is the same as the ThunderBolt. Both also have 8 MP cameras plus 1.3 MP secondary front cameras. Both are Android 2.2 “Froyo.”

What’s different? Officially, the Thunderbolt has 8GB of internal storage to the Charge’s 2GB. But the specs you see everywhere are wrong. The ThunderBolt actually has 4GB of storage (see HTC support thread here). Unless you load a ton of apps that can’t use the SD card, the 2GB on the Charge probably isn’t a big issue.

Need more specs?

• Droid Charge Specs and here
• HTC ThunderBolt Specs and here

Battery: The Charge Stays Charged

Battery life. Now there’s a difference!

The Samsung has a 1600 mAh battery to the ThunderBolt’s 1400, but the official usage time is a more dramatic difference, 11 hours to 6.3 hours. Not bad for the $50 more that the Charge costs ($300 vs $250, on 2 year contracts).

More than anything else, I’d say the short battery life lets the ThunderBolt down. I could get over it being so heavy, so big, but I can’t get over it wanting to die at the end of several hours of use that wouldn’t make my iPhone blink.

Email

Let’s talk apps. I’m a native email app user, rather than a Gmail app user. Maybe I’ll finally change, if only because the Gmail app gives a consistent experience.

By default, both apps will show you about the same number of emails in your inbox (Thunderbolt on the left below shows 7; Charge shows 8):

The ThunderBolt has a nice conversation view button (second from left in the screenshot above) that I’ve not seen on other Android phones I’ve used (and which is awesome on the iPhone). The Charge can show you things in conversation view, but you have to dig into the settings to enable this. There’s no easy toggle on and off.

Where the ThunderBolt loses in the email faceoff is in what happens when you’re done reading an email. Hitting “Delete” on most phones I’ve used will archive your email (if you use Gmail) and bring up the next oldest item. But to get the Delete button on the Thunderbolt, you have to push the Menu button, which brings up Delete among other options, then you push Delete and have to confirm that. That extra step is a pain, if you read a lot of email on your phone — and I do.

The Charge doesn’t have this problem. Hurray! But it has another problem. When you delete, you move “up” to a newer item, not “down” to an older one. There’s no way to change this, and it causes me to go crazy when I delete and get sent back to some other email I’ve already viewed.

Other inconsistencies. Want to see pictures in your emails? The ThunderBolt shows them automatically; the Charge makes you hit Menu to reveal them (and the Nexus S has a “Show Pictures” button).

Once you have the pictures, the ThunderBolt will let you pinch to make them larger but not smaller to fit the entire screen, as the Charge (or the iPhone) allows. The Nexus S won’t let you pinch to get bigger or smaller. The Charge, like the iPhone, also allows you to pinch to enlarge a purely textual message, like the iPhone. This is nice.

If you don’t want to use the Gmail client, these types of inconsistencies are super important, if you spend a lot of time in email. Sadly, if you do use the Gmail client, there’s no pinch to zoom in or out on the Charge.

Browser

When it comes to the browser, perhaps the most annoying thing about the ThunderBolt is that when you click in the address bar of an existing window, it doesn’t clear what’s already there (as does the Charge) or provide a delete button (as does the iPhone), which makes it easy to enter a fresh URL. Instead, it deletes everything other that http://www — which just feels weird.

But by default, the ThunderBolt (on the left) shows more of a web page:

 

That’s even more than the iPhone 4 shows, despite its slightly higher resolutions.

Oddly, in that mobile view above, I could pinch and zoom in the ThunderBolt but not in the Charge (or Nexus S). There are, however, ways to see more or less text on a page by going into the view settings for either phone (five zoom levels for the ThunderBolt and three for the Charge).

Shifting from mobile to regular view, both displayed the full home page, with the Samsung (on the right below) maybe slightly easier to read:

 

But really, the text is just too small on either. You need to pinch and zoom. At first, I was impressed that the ThunderBolt seemed to pinch and zoom better, auto-fitting sections of pages unlike the Charge. But that’s because the Charge’s “auto-fit” setting wasn’t enabled by default. Once I ticked that on, all was good.

Both phones can do the tap-and-zoom thing where you tap on the main body copy of an article and the text zooms in and auto-fits, as does the iPhone 4. But the iPhone, for me, does show a bit more when you do this despite its smaller screen. That higher resolution helps!

Oddly, neither phone can have more than four open browser windows. Are you kidding me? All that 4G fast loading power, and only four windows? The iPhone can do 8 and the Nexus S can do 7. If Google’s future is that we’ll run apps in browser windows, it might be nice if we could have more windows open. As for flipping through the windows, the Samsung feels a little, just slightly, more polished.

Twitter & Pictures

What’s there to say about Twitter, when the official app works exactly the same on any Android phone? Well, it actually doesn’t, not when it comes to uploading pictures.

See, if you take a picture and want to tweet it later, then your phone’s native photo gallery management system takes over. Here, the Samsung is much better.

The ThunderBolt will take you to your camera pictures showing the oldest picture first. If you have a lot of photos, then you’ve got to start flicking downward or use the scroll bar to get to the end. On the Samsung, your most recent photo (which is probably want you want) is listed first. If not, going to others feels easier when you swipe horizontally across the screen.

Text Entry & Keyboard

How well can you enter text? The iPhone remains the gold standard to me. But then, I’ve used the iPhone so long that it’s what feels natural.

I like the look of the Samsung’s keyboard better, but looks don’t equal performance. I found both keyboards worked about the same.

Instead, it’s thing like auto-correct that are probably more important . By default, the Samsung does much more prediction. When it got that right, it was great. When it didn’t, it sucked. But you can turn it off.

I like that the ThunderBolt (shown on the left below) gives me a comma and a period on the main keyboard, unlike the Samsung or even the iPhone. Oh, to have an apostrophe!

 

I also like that the $ symbol is on the main number keyboard for the ThunderBolt:

 

The Samsung puts this on the second of its three different number keyboards. I don’t use the $ symbol that often, but it’s handy to have within easy reach. And wouldn’t it be nice if we could just remap the keyboards the way we wanted?

Camera

I’m less worried about picture quality (you’re shooting with a phone; how much quality do you want?) than ease of using certain features.

I’m not a big digital zoom fan, but occasionally it’s nice. Both cameras make it easy to do with the volume buttons as well as screen menus. The Nexus S remains without a digital zoom.

You can tap to shift between video and still shots, or to view your photo gallery, easily on both. Both will auto-focus and allow to tapping to refocus. Neither has a hard button for snapping a picture.

On the Samsung’s side, there’s a slightly larger soft button for taking a picture. It’s very easy to pop open a side menu to adjust things like the exposure, which I want to use all the time when shooting into bright light. Many other options are also available.

But the Samsung is horrible in how the power button locks the screen rather than turns it off. When shooting, I’m often turning my screen on and off between shots, to save the battery. On the Samsung, I’m constantly locking it up by doing this. I pray for this to be fixed.

The ThunderBolt doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that the Samsung has, in terms of picture settings. Maybe you won’t need them. But if you’re wanting a phone that doubles as a smart pocket camera, the Samsung’s probably the better option.

Other Stuff

What else? I like that the Samsung shows all the apps you’ve downloaded at the end of your application list. The last thing you’ve downloaded will be there, which makes it easy if you’re wanting to find that and put it on a main screen.

The Samsung’s got HDMI out, which I’ll probably never use. But it’s there for those who might.
Both phones can do the mobile hotspot thing, which I believe Verizon is still tossing in for free (how about making that permanent, Verizon?). I’ve found this can be flaky on both phones, turning off for no apparent reason.

The Samsung has real physical mnu buttons. I haven’t decided if I think this is better or not.

The Android Edge

In the end, I still find myself feeling a sense of relief when I go back to using my iPhone. The interface of native apps feels better. The overall experience feels better. The phone is more compact. It just seems to work better.

I sometimes wonder why I’m wanting to use an Android phone at all. But then I remember my three key reasons which are now joined by a third:

• Google Voice Actions
• GPS Navigation
• Google Voice
• 4G speed

Google Voice Actions

Being able to speak into an Android phone to send a text, an email, to do a search or to fire up GPS navigation using Google Voice Actions continues to be great. I was doing this last weekend, and a non-smartphone friend immediately declared she wanted my phone.

I still thought the iPhone would be better for her for various reasons, so I looked to see if there was an easy way to make the iPhone do what Google Voice Actions can. I didn’t find a way (and yes, I looked at Siri). Google Voice Search for the iPhone isn’t the same thing, either.

GPS Navigation

Time and again, I’m glad to have had a pocket GPS built into Android that’s worked very well, giving me turn-by-turn directions.

For instance, I was on a small island in Australia, driving a golf cart (the common mode of transportation on this island), and wasn’t sure which of one of the only two roads to take.

I spoke into my Android phone, telling it the pizza place I was trying to find. Within a minute, my golf cart was absurdly being navigated with its own GPS. But it was that easy and fast.

Google Voice

Months ago, I ported my phone over to Google Voice. For more about this, see:

• My Life With Google Voice Number Porting, Six Months In

While the iPhone supports Google Voice, Android still provides much better native support (as you’d expect). If you’re a big Google Voice user, then Android still has the edge here.

4G, Baby!

Unlike other carriers, where 4G is just a buzzword that seems to mean 3G in a new phone, Verizon’s 4G really is a step up. It’s stunningly fast.

The big drawback to the iPhone over Android had been, for me and many others, AT&T’s crappy 3G network. Now that the iPhone is on Verizon, many are enjoying better connectivity with the iPhone. But, they’re not getting 4G speed — and it really is a dramatic increase.

In addition, few seem to be using the 4G network, so I can often get a signal and connectivity at big events. For example, at the recent Google I/O event, full of Android enthusiasts all using their 3G phones, I was one of the few 4G users around. And my 4G rocked along.

Android Versus iPhone

For me, because I have several phones for work and testing purposes, I have the luxury of picking a phone for the right occasion.

If I know bandwidth isn’t going to be that big of an issue, or if I won’t need a GPS, I’ll grab my iPhone say for my evening inline skate, knowing I can easily and comfortably do everything. It’s also my phone of choice if I head to the gym, because it’s still better for dealing with music.

If I’m heading out to cover an event, to go on a trip or really anything where I’m not certain how I might need my phone exactly, then Android is what I’m reaching for.

If you’re looking for a smooth, intuitive solution, the iPhone is probably still the safer bet. Then again, if my mother can use Android (and she surprised me by getting one a few months ago on her own — I’d have suggested the iPhone), then believe me, anyone can.

If you don’t want to wait perhaps another year for 4G speed in a phone, then definitely look at the Verizon models.

ThunderBolt Versus Charge

Which of the two 4G phones in this review win with me? In a way, neither. Both are too damn big and full of oddities that leave me unhappy.

But there must be a winner, because I do want an Android phone with that 4G speed — and in my testing, the Charge won. The longer battery life, coupled with being lighter and better camera options made it my pick.

Indeed, Verizon has a trade-in program that I took advantage of. Back went my ThunderBolt, and I purchased a new Charge for my permanent phone, putting my trade-in credit toward that.

Since I first started working on this review, the LG Revolution is another Verizon 4G Android phone that’s come out. I’ve not used it, but maybe I’ll try it in the future.

The Motorola Bionic remains in oblivion, which is sad, because I’ve liked Motorola’s take on Android perhaps the mos..

Motorola & Sprint Team Up To Offer A Portfolio Of Android-Based Devices

In addition to the Android-Powered Photon 4G we showed you earlier, Sprint, along with its prepaid brands Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA, are teaming up with Motorola to launch more than 10 new Motorola devices in 2011.

The Motorola TRIUMPH will be the first Virgin Mobile USA device from Motorola. This smartphone features a 1GHz processor, 4.1-inch WVGA touchscreen, two cameras, a slim design (less than 0.4 inches thick), HD-Video (720p) capture and HDMI output. Earlier this week, Sprint and Motorola also debuted the Motorola XPRT, which is the first Motorola smartphone powered by Android from Sprint to deliver enterprise-class security, personal productivity enhancements and international roaming.

The Motorola Titanium will be another new offering coming later this summer. This smartphone uses Sprint's Push-to-Talk capabilities and will be the first Nextel Direct Connect smartphone built on Android 2.1. Boost Mobile also announced three new Motorola devices recently, including the Motorola Clutch + i475, Motorola Theory, and Motorola i412.

New Portfolio of Android-Based Devices Empower Both Businesses and Consumers with World-Class Versatility, Productivity and Entertainment Features
Sprint to launch more than 10 new Motorola devices in 2011, including Motorola PHOTON 4G, boasting Sprint 4G, Android 2.3, Sprint ID and worldphone capabilities, Motorola XPRT, a business-class Android smartphone, and Motorola TRIUMPH, the first Motorola Android smartphone for Virgin Mobile USA

     
NEW YORK, Jun 09, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sprint (NYSE: S) and Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) today announced a reinvigorated alliance that strengthens and extends the two companies' device innovation leadership. Sprint and its prepaid brands of Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA will launch more than 10 new Motorola wireless devices in 2011, bringing revolutionary performance, speed and design to Sprint customers. This new portfolio demonstrates a commitment to bring customers advanced devices with industry-leading features, including smartphones, tablets and best-in-class Push-to-Talk devices.

Two new devices were communicated today as part of this relationship, including the iconic Motorola PHOTON(TM) 4G, Motorola's first Sprint 4G device with a dual-core 1GHz processor, Android(TM) 2.3, Sprint ID and worldphone capabilities, and Motorola TRIUMPH(TM), the first Virgin Mobile USA device from Motorola. These two devices, along with the additional products in the new portfolio, build upon Sprint and Motorola's long history of innovation across Sprint 3G and 4G networks and Nextel National Network.
"Over the years, we have teamed with Motorola to bring top of the line devices to our customers across both prepaid and postpaid brands," said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. "I am pleased to see our collaboration grow. Together we will enhance the customer experience by bringing innovative devices to market, such as the Motorola PHOTON 4G and Motorola TRIUMPH."

Sprint was unbeaten among major wireless carriers for customer satisfaction according to results from the 2011 American Customer Satisfaction Index. In addition to tying for first place among wireless carriers, Sprint was also the number one most improved company in customer satisfaction, across all industries, over the last three years, according to the survey.

"We are excited to be partnering with Sprint to announce a new portfolio of innovative, differentiated Android-based products that make the mobile experience better for people - whether at home or at work," said Sanjay Jha, chairman and chief executive officer, Motorola Mobility. "These devices showcase our deep insight into consumer needs and harness the power of Sprint's networks."

Motorola's First Sprint 4G Phone

Sprint and Motorola are taking wireless innovation to a new level with Sprint's first 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA(R) Tegra(TM) 2 processor smartphone on the Sprint 4G Network, Motorola PHOTON 4G. Motorola PHOTON 4G provides on-the-go users with an edge in managing their lives, around the world. Motorola PHOTON 4G offers the perfect blend between personal and business needs and boasts enterprise-quality security for Android, international GSM capabilities, a 4.3-inch qHD display, dual cameras and a kickstand for hands-free viewing.


Built with Android 2.3, Gingerbread, Motorola PHOTON 4G, combined with the Sprint 4G Network, lets users browse, download and multitask at blazing-fast speeds to support their busy lifestyles. Motorola PHOTON 4G does it all, providing users with an array of versatile tools, like the Motorola webtop application, allowing users to access and create content from a larger screen while connected to a Motorola accessory dock (available for purchase following device availability).

Additional features include:

• Dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and 1GB of RAM
• Large 4.3-inch touchscreen with qHD (Quarter High Definition) display
• Dual cameras - 8 megapixel, dual-LED flash camera with front-facing webcam to store photos and videos directly on the device and VGA front-facing camera for video chat
• Android Market(TM) for access to more than 200,000 useful applications, widgets and games available for download to customize the experience
• Sprint ID for an easy way to personalize the user experience with apps, widgets, ringtones and more, all in a single download
• 16GB of onboard memory, support for up to 32GB SD Card, for a total of up to 48GB
• Worldphone capabilities to access emails, calendars and news from locations around the globe
• 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability, supporting up to eight devices on the Sprint 3G or 4G networks and one while roaming internationally on GSM (Mobile Hotspot capability while roaming internationally on GSM will be delivered through an upcoming software update)
• Ability to utilize the webtop application while connected to a Motorola accessory dock (sold separately) to open, view, edit and send Microsoft Office documents using cloud-based web apps through the full Mozilla Firefox browser 
• Supports critical IT device policies commonly requested by enterprises and government entities, including integration ease, cost-of-management and data security concerns

Motorola PHOTON 4G will be available this summer. Pricing, final specifications and a full list of accessories will be provided closer to launch.

Motorola's Debut on Virgin Mobile USA

Available this summer, Motorola TRIUMPH is the first Motorola device available exclusively to Virgin Mobile USA customers. Tech savvy customers will appreciate the feature-rich Motorola TRIUMPH as one of the hottest phones with the added flexibility of a no contract plan.


Motorola TRIUMPH boasts a vibrant 4.1-inch WVGA touchscreen, two cameras, a super slim design at less than 0.4 inches thick, HD-Video (720p) capture and HDMI output to allow for image sharing on your HDTV (requires HDMI cable sold separately).
Additional features include:

• 1GHz processor and up to 32GB of expandable memory to power and store multimedia libraries
• HDMI out hook-up for flat screen multimedia viewing
• Android Market for access to more than 200,000 useful applications, widgets and games available for download to customize the experience
• Access to corporate email, social media sites, like Facebook(R) and Twitter(TM) and a full suite of Google(TM) services, like Google Search(TM), Gmail(TM), Google Maps(TM), Google Talk(TM) and more
• 5 megapixel rear-facing camera and front-facing VGA camera for video chat

Motorola TRIUMPH will also be the first handset to come preloaded with the Virgin Mobile Live 2.0 app used to access the Virgin Mobile branded music stream
.
Virgin Mobile Live 2.0 is a social networking music application, which will provide Android users free access to the company's critically acclaimed music stream hosted by DJ Abbey Braden, as well as live music performance videos, and "check in" features at special events. All status updates made using the app will also sync with Facebook and Twitter. It will be available in late July at www.virginmobileusa.com and in major retail outlets nationwide.

Business-Class Android OS Smartphone

On June 5, Sprint and Motorola debuted Motorola XPRT(TM), the first Motorola smartphone powered by Android from Sprint to deliver enterprise-class security, personal productivity enhancements and international roaming. Designed for business users, Motorola XPRT offers a sleek, compact design built on Android 2.2, Froyo.

It features:

• High-resolution 3.1-inch HVGA display with physical QWERTY keyboard
• 5 megapixel camera with camcorder and dual LED flash for low-light performance
• 2GB memory card included, supporting up to 32GB
• Corporate email (Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync(R)), personal (POP & IMAP) email and Quickoffice for opening Microsoft Office(TM) documents
• Worldmode - CDMA (EVDO Rev. A), GSM/UMTS (HSPA) - international roaming service available in more than 200 countries
• Google mobile services such as Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps with Navigation, syncing with Google Calendar(TM), Voice Actions and YouTube(TM)

It is available now in Sprint Stores, Business Sales, Web Sales (www.sprint.com) and Telesales (            1-800-SPRINT1      ) for $129.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement.

More than 10 Devices Together by Year End

Additional devices available in 2011 from Sprint and Motorola will include:

• Motorola Titanium(TM): Available late summer, Motorola Titanium leverages Sprint's industry-leading Push-to-Talk capabilities as the first Nextel Direct Connect(R) smartphone built on Android 2.1.
• Motorola XOOM(TM) with Wi-Fi: In May, Sprint made available Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi through Direct Ship sales channels for $599.99 (excluding taxes). It is the first device to feature Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), the version of Android designed specifically for tablets and features innovations in widgets, multitasking, web browsing, notifications and customization. It also offers a 10.1-inch widescreen HD display, 1GHz dual-core processor and two cameras, a rear-facing 5 megapixel camera with flash that can capture HD video and a front-facing 2 megapixel camera for Google Talk with video chat.

Boost Mobile recently announced availability for three new Motorola devices:

• Motorola Clutch(TM) + i475, successor to the highly popular Motorola Clutch, is a candy-bar QWERTY device with a larger display screen, improved keyboard for text messaging and walkie-talkie functionality. It is available now for $99.99 (excluding taxes) at Boost Mobile's exclusive retail stores, select independent wireless dealer, major retail outlets nationwide and at www.boostmobile.com with free shipping.
• Available later this month and priced at $79.99 (excluding taxes), Motorola Theory(TM) is a sleek, candy-bar QWERTY at an affordable price. Key features include a high-finish premium design, threaded messaging, web and email access, Bluetooth(R) technology, 1.3MP camera and 2.4-inch QVGA display.
• Coming late June, Motorola i412 is ideal for wireless users craving an uncomplicated phone for talking, texting and walkie-talkie functionality. It will be available for $69.99 (excluding taxes) at Boost Mobile's exclusive retails stores, select independent wireless dealer locations across the country, www.boostmobile.com with free shipping and major retail outlets nationwide.

Motorola Clutch + i475 and i412 are the latest walkie-talkie phones to offer Push-to-Talk service operating on the Nextel National Network, the fastest national Push-to-Talk network1.

All three devices will be available with Boost Mobile's $50 Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage plan where the longer you stay, the less you pay simply by making on-time payments. For every six on-time payments, a Boost Mobile customer's monthly cost will shrink by $5, eventually getting down to as low as $35 a month for unlimited nationwide talk, text, web, email, IM and calls to 411. Payments do not need to be consecutive to qualify for the next savings milestone.

Boost Mobile was recently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as Highest-Ranked Non-Contract Company in Overall Customer Satisfaction Performance2. It offers wireless phones and services with no long-term contracts.

Dell Bringing 10" Android Tablet (Streak 10 Pro) To China First

It's a world full of tablets, and we're just living in it. Dell's Streak 10 Pro has seemingly got lost in the mix; with so many other Android 3.0 tablets stealing the limelight, it's being an elbowing match to get coverage these days. Now, Dell's ready to introduce their own 10" Honeycomb tablet, but it won't be coming to America first. Dell has confirmed that they "are indeed working on 10" tablet products," with one in particular aimed at "prosumers." They're also working on a Windows 7-based tablet for enterprise consumers, which is due out later in the year. Evidently the company seems some pent-up demand for a Win7 tablet, signaled by their intentions to go forward with this instead of holding out for Windows 8 (or whatever it'll be called when the codename gets dropped).

 

The 10" Android tablet will be the Streak 10 Pro, and strangely, it'll hit Lenovo's home turf later in the summer. After launching in China, Dell will be "evaluating" launch plans for other regions and locales during the second half of 2011. Dell goes on to answer the question: "Why China?" The answer's obvious: it's home to tons of people, and Dell sees tremendous growth opportunities here. The company isn't revealing additional specifications yet, but hopefully they'll be revealed soon (along with a price). The 10" Honeycomb sector is seriously crowded, but with a name like Dell, they're definitely welcome to the party.

OnLive Unveils Tablet Control / Gaming App For Android And iPad

OnLive seems to be the only major game-streaming company that's still hanging around to see if this really is the next great breakthrough in at-home entertainment, but they took the opportunity at E3 this year to unveil an iPad an Android tablet app. Why an app? Probably not for the reasons you think. With the app installed, your slate instantly becomes a touch / motion controller or standalone cloud gaming system. It offers seamless integration with or without your HDTV, and it's the first touch / controller game with a major publisher onboard.

It's slated to ship this fall in the US and Europe, and the company's promising deeper social integration than any console announced for 2012. The OnLive Player App for iPad and Android will enable gameplay of virtually all OnLive games on an iPad and Android tablet with touch or OnLive’s new Universal Wireless Controller. In addition, the OnLive Player App allows the tablet to be used as a touch and motion controller combined with an HDTV (or PC/Mac if preferred), and allows both synchronized or independent video on the tablet and HDTV screen, enabling combined gameplay with tablet and HDTV, or separate gameplay on tablet and HDTV.

 

Full voice chat-enabled multiplayer is supported, both in-room and with others throughout the world, providing a complete multiplayer experience whether at home or on the go with a mobile device. For gamers preferring a smaller screen, OnLive will provide the exact same functionality on iPhone and Android smartphones, allowing them to be used both as game systems themselves with touch and the OnLive Universal Wireless Controller, or as a controller to an HDTV (or PC/Mac), for simultaneous or independent play.

OnLive is also unveiling as part of this experience the first 10 gigabit cloud-based full-featured browser for iPad, Android and HDTV; bringing the full richness of the Web loading from ultra-fast 10 gigabit/second Web connections to OnLive’s cloud-based servers, including support for full-featured Flash and video sites. Mobile and home devices will no longer be limited to the speed of their local connection for Web browsing or Web plug-in compatibility, opening up access to Flash games and social gaming for tablets and HDTVs.

All OnLive games played using the OnLive Player App will play seamlessly across all OnLive-compatible devices, including iPad, iPhone, Android, on HDTV via the OnLive Game System, on connected HDTV and Blu-ray/media players and on PC and Mac. The future of gaming? Only time will tell, but it certainly gives us reason to dust off our tablet.

Chinese Mobile Company TechFaith to Announce Six Android Handsets

TechFaith, a specialized mobile company focusing on Enterprise smartphone offerings has announced via a press release that they will be launching six new Android powered handsets on June 23rd.   If you like watch the carrier roll out some new Android Phones watch the webcast live on cnmo.com at 14:30 PM Beijing time. Under its TecFace brand, the Company is a leading developer of specialized mobile phones for differentiated market segments, including the rapidly growing Smartphone market targeting Enterprise users and Operators through its TecFace brand; Outdoor and Sports enthusiasts through its Jungle brand; and the Teen market through licensed brands.