T-Mobile G1 Features List

I know I have a few posts with some of the features of the new T-Mobile G1 but I thought I would add everything into one post to make it easier to find the information.

Here are the Main features of the G1:

Touch screen

Instant access to key information with the touch of a finger

Just tap the screen and go

Real Web browsing capabilities

Quick and easy access to the Internet one click away

View more pages and rich Web content on your phone

3MP camera

Capture key moments in high-quality fashion wherever you are

Never worry about blurry photos with auto focus built right in

Customizable home screen

Just
drag and drop any of your favorite applications, photos, or folders
onto your home screen for quick access to what you use all the time

QWERTY keyboard

The built-in familiar layout lets you type messages easily without scrolling for the letter you want

Hinged screen slides open to reveal keypad and closes to prevent accidental dialing

Easy access to Google applications

One-touch access to Google applications:

• Maps (including satellite, traffic, and street views)
• Gmail
• YouTube
• Calendar
• Google Talk

IM/text/e-mail

All the ways you need to connect while you're on the go

Music player

With the 1GB memory card, you'll never be without your favorite tunes

One-click Google Search

Quick and easy access to the Internet in one click

Video playback

Watch your favorite videos, even YouTube, anywhere

3G network and Wi-Fi access

High-speed 3G network connection for surfing the Web or downloading information quickly and effortlessly

Seamlessly transition to open Wi-Fi networks to surf the Web or download information quickly

Android Market

One-touch access to Android Market

Customize
and personalize your device to fit your life with a variety of software
applications like games, social networking, and on-the-go shopping

Download the applications wirelessly with just a couple short clicks

There are some pretty great features to the G1/Android Platform and I'm sure we will learn much more once the Phone is officially released including access to the Android Market.

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Android Developers Videos

Android Peeks - browser tricks

One thing I like about Android... browser tricks.
Watch Android team members talk about their favorite features.

Android Peeks - copy & paste

Steve what are you waiting for?

Android Peeks - reader and photos

Android Peeks - media in the browser

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T-Mobile G1 FAQ's

Where can I buy the T-Mobile G1™?
The T-Mobile G1 will be available for purchase on www.T-Mobile.com, in select T-Mobile retail stores, and in authorized retailer locations across the United States beginning October 22nd.


What types of plans are available for the T-Mobile G1?
Once you’ve selected a specific T-Mobile voice plan, you must also choose a data plan in order for your G1™ to work. You can choose from a data plan that offers 400 messages and unlimited data access for $25 a month—or add unlimited messaging for just $10 more a month.


What Google services come pre-installed on the T-Mobile G1?
# This device takes many of the popular Google services we’ve come to love on our desktop computers and optimizes them for use on a phone. These services include: Google Search
# Google Maps
# Gmail
# Google Calendar
# Google Talk
# YouTube


What is Android?
Android is the mobile operating system on the T-Mobile G1. It allows developers from around the world to create new and exciting applications that can easily be loaded onto the phone from the Android Market.


What is the Android Market?
The Android Market is an application storefront, developed by Google, where you will find unique applications as well as mash ups of existing and new services from developers around the world. With just a few short clicks, you can download a wide range of innovative software applications—from games and social networking, to on-the-go shopping. You’ll even be able see which applications are the newest or most popular with a star rating system (similar to YouTube).


Can I use my T-Mobile G1 while traveling internationally?
Yes. All voice and data usage outside of the United States will be subject to international rates.


Can I activate my T-Mobile G1 with Prepaid service?
No. Prepaid service for the G1 is not available at this time.


Have questions about the G1 that you ordered early?
Just login to My.T-Mobile to get the FAQ’s

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HTC G1, Google Phone Video

Here is a Video showing some of the things the new T-Mobile G1 can do.

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Panoramio Application for Android, T-Mobile G1

The application starts by showing your current location in a custom MapView. You can pan and zoom this map to choose the area you want to search.




Once you have selected a search area, the application downloads thumbnails of the most popular photos taken within that area.



You can tap on an item to see more details.



You can use the menu to find more pictures by the same
photographer or to see the original photo on the Panoramio site. You can find the location of the photo in
the real world. You can show the location on the map along with your
current location.



Or, you can bring up a radar view that uses the compass and GPS to show
you the location of the photo in relation to your own location.

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T-Mobile G1 Press Confrence, Google, HTC, T-Mobile Live Blogging

T-Mobile G1 Worlds first Android Phone from Google, launched on both sides of the Atlantic at the same time. On the market by the end of this year.

Creating an open mobile internet and platform. Mobile internet will be dominant in the future, Mobile Traffic has grown 250%.

Committed to open mobile platforms. G1 brings open mobile platform to market for the first time.

Develop Applications and also make Android better, Android is future proof.

HTC, Google, T-Mobile shares same vision making mobile internet open and fun. Want to make internet experience more enjoyable.

Iconic Design (G1) maximize mobile experience, touch screen, keyboard appeals to many people, nothing like it on the market. Flexible and very powerful.

Mobile Internet lags in the USA by 16%, T-Mobile and Android want to change that.


http://announcement.t-mobileg1.com/#

Showing Phone now with teaser reel, looks like pictures. Taking Photos and getting ready to do live demonstrations.

Touch Screen, swipe across to see, long press for more features. Frame pictures to add on home screen. Drag and Drop on Home Screen.

Amazon.com one click MP3 ordering. Long press for more song options.

Multitasking, full slide out keyboard. Contacts, click to go to address with map. Directions, Traffic View, Street View (Google).

Compass moves as you move the phone.

Web Browser (Full Featured) zoom, multiple tabs, dedicated search button, search from anywhere on device (Contacts, Web) Send links by email right from browser (Gmail).

Applications:

Android Market on Phone, with user ratings. Programs, Apps, Games and more. (They Showed Pac-Man)

Open Marketplace, Great Third Party Applications to market.

Open Source, Freedom to develop any application to hoops, free to develop and Google will not stop your application from being distributed.

Track your Carbon footprint with the EcoRio Application.

Shop Savvy application lets you use as a Bar Code scanner to compare prices on the internet right in the store.

Question and Answer session.

Pricing is $179.00 (Beats the iPhone) existing customers can order today. October 22nd official launch day. 2 plan options for Data $25 Unlimited (Data) $35 Unlimited Web and Messaging/Data.

3G Network.

Europe Availability UK early November rest of Europe early 2009 First Q.

Tethering? Pricing with just data?

No tethering, data plan requires voice plan.

Support for MS Office Files? Can read Word, PDF, can develop by third party.

T-Mobile only? Yes Sim Locked to T-Mobile

Push email? Yes, Push, IMAP Pull

Desktop Application to Sync? No not yet, syncs with network.

Outside of 3G Markets? Yes but best experience in 3G. Also has Wireless.

How locked is this Phone? Issues like the iPhone?

Deflects Question.

Marketing? Google Marketing?

Yes, T.V. Ad's Marketing starts in October largest Advertising Campaign ever.

Server Sync? Bluetooth?
Sync with Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and more. Supports wireless headsets.

Chrome Browser?

No, but works on Web Kit. Chrome like but not Chrome.

Device Aimed at? Consumer, Business....?

Mass appeal for everyone. Young, Family, more consumer but thing enterprise will enjoy.

Gmail Functions?

Robust experience, same as desktop experience. Integrated in front end. Online Google Talk presence inside contact list.

iTunes, Skype, International?

works with any AAC, WMA, MP3, would need to be DRM unlocked for iTunes, up to consumer. No Skype support.

Dual band and Quad Band works on any band in the world.

Special Guests, Google Founders take stage.

Awkward moment......

They have been using the Phone for a while now. Throws phone in Air uses accelerometer to demonstrate app he created to measure time in the Air.

They enjoy the phone. 

Describes Phone as a computer.

Asks crowd to do a web search on their phone to demonstrate how easy it will be to do on the G1.

Computer like functionality on Phone.

Location based services.

Taking Photos. Everyone has their G1 Phones out.


Press Conference ends, press making way downstairs to see live phone demos.


 

Read more »

T-Mobile G1 with Google Press Conference in New York

The T-Mobile G1 Google Press Conference site is up and ready for today's conference, as information becomes available we will have the latest updates.

You can see the website HERE.

All site content and information about the T-Mobile G1™ with Google™
will be available shortly after the press conference is complete.

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Why Google Removed some API's from Android 0.9 SDK Beta

From Android Developers Blog

GTalkService
We were all really excited when the "XMPPService" (as it was called, at first) was included in the first early-look SDK. Once we brought in our security review team to examine Android, however, they soon realized that, as exciting as it is, the GTalkService has some fundamental security problems. Rich Cannings is one of our security researchers, and here's his explanation of the issues:

When I first read about GTalkService, I was both excited and scared. As a developer, I was interested in a feature that provided a simple interface to send messages between two Google Talk friends. The messages would appear on the receiving device as a standard Intent that was easy to handle. How simple and beautiful is that? Unfortunately, when I put my tin foil hat on, I recognized that things are a little more complicated than that.

We decided to postpone GTalkService's data-messaging functionality for the following reasons:

1. "Repurposing" Google Talk Friends
Google Talk friends are intended for a different purpose than that envisioned by the GTalkService. Your Google Talk friends can contact you at any time via IM. They can see your email address and often can see your real name. However, the idea of a Google Talk friend does not always line up with the types of people who may want to interact with via an Android application. For example, imagine a really cool mobile Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game using GTalkService. You would have to add all the players to your Google Talk friends list in order to play with them. Next time you log in to Google Talk from your desktop or on the web, you would notice that you have many new "friends". You may not want to chat with these friends -- and perhaps worse, you may not want them to know what your real name or email is. We do realize that Android users will want to interact with other Android users anonymously and for short periods of time, especially in gaming scenarios. Unfortunately, it turns out that using Instant Messaging is not really a good way to do that.
2. Verifying Remote Intent Senders
Intents were designed to send messages within the device. The Intent subsystem can conclusively determine who sent Intents only when the Intents originate from the same device that services the Intent. When Intents come from other devices, the Intent subsystem cannot determine what application sent the Intent. This can lead to a variety of problems. At first, remote applications could send arbitrary Intents, meaning that your Google Talk friends had almost the same control of your device as you did. Even once that issue was resolved, we recognized that we could not trust the identity of the application who sent the request. We could only trust the identity of the user. So a "bad" application on your friend's device could send a message to a "good" application on your device which would negatively affect the good application. In the end, we determined that the Intent system, as designed for local use, did not lend itself well to being the vehicle for a Remote Procedure Call (RPC).
3. Placing Too Much Security Burden on Developers
As originally designed, the GTalkService placed a significant burden on the application developer to avoid security flaws and perform user and relationship management. An Android application using GTalkService would be reachable from all of the user's Google Talk friends, and a flaw in that application could pose an inviting target to a malicious "friend" or automated malware. There are automated mechanisms that could be used to help protect vulnerable applications or stop the spread of malware, but the deployment of these technologies was not possible in time for the launch of the first Android handsets.

Although we would have loved to ship this service, in the end, the Android team decided to pull the API instead of exposing users to risk and breaking compatibility with a future, more secure version of the feature. We think it's obvious that this kind of functionality would be incredibly useful, and would open lots of new doors for developers. One of our top priorities after the first devices ship is to develop a device-to-device (and possibly device-to-server) RPC mechanism that is fast, reliable, and protective of developers and users alike.

As a final note, I want to point out that since the GTalkService was always a Google "value-added" service anyway, it was never guaranteed that it would be present on every Android device. That is, GTalkService was never part of core Android. As a result this change actually allows us the potential to build a new system that is part of the core of a future version of Android.

Bluetooth API
The 1.0 version of Android and the first devices will include support for Bluetooth; for instance, Android will support Bluetooth headsets. In the early-look SDKs, there was an incomplete draft of an API that exposed Bluetooth functionality to developers. Unfortunately we had to remove that API from the 1.0 release. To get the skinny on why, I contacted Nick Pelly, one of the Android engineers responsible for that functionality. Here's the story on Bluetooth, in Nick's words:

The reason is that we plain ran out of time. The Android Bluetooth API was pretty far along, but needs some clean-up before we can commit to it for the SDK. Keep in mind that putting it in the 1.0 SDK would have locked us into that API for years to come.

Here's an example of the problems in the API. Client code is required to pass around IBluetoothDeviceCallback objects in order to receive asynchronous callbacks, but IBluetoothDeviceCallback is meant to be an internal interface. That client code would break the moment we added new callbacks to IBluetoothDeviceCallback.aidl. This is not a recipe for future-proof apps.

To make things even more tricky, the recent introduction of the bluez 4.x series brings its own new API. The Android Bluetooth stack uses bluez for GAP and SDP so you'll see more than a passing resemblance to bluez's interfaces in Android. The bluez 4.x change requires us to carefully consider how to structure our API for the future. Again, remember that once we settle on an interface we need to support it for years going forward.

Rather than ship a broken API that we knew was going to change a lot, we chose not to include it. We absolutely intend to support a Bluetooth API in a future release, although we don't know exactly when that will be. This should include some tasty features, such as:

* Bindings to GAP and SDP functionality.
* Access to RFCOMM and SCO sockets.
* Potentially, L2CAP socket support from Java. (This one is under consideration.)
* An API to our headset and handsfree profiles.

On a personal note, Nick adds, "I would love nothing more than to start seeing some neat third-party applications and games over Bluetooth. In my opinion, Bluetooth is completely under-utilized on most mobile platforms and I'm excited to someday see what the developer community can do with Android."

I'm definitely bummed about these API removals. I was particularly looking forward to the P2P capabilities offered by GTalkService, but, as always, user security and privacy must come first. In all these cases, we'll work with the developer community to create some great APIs that balance these concerns.

Read more »

T-Mobile Android Phone Release Seen Bringing 'Avalanche'

SAN FRANCISCO -(Dow Jones)- With Deutsche Telekom AG's (DT) T-Mobile USA Inc.
preparing to ship out its first cellphones built on Google Inc.'s (GOOG) open
Android platform later this year, wireless carriers are expecting an avalanche
of innovation from users - and radical changes to what customers expect and
demand.

But some disagree on where start-ups should focus their efforts if they aim to
make money in this fast-changing landscape.

At the Wireless Innovations 2008 conference in Redwood City, Calif., sponsored
by Dow Jones & Co., Joe Sims, vice president and general manager of T-Mobile's
broadband and new business division, said he had already seen prototypes of the
company's Android-based phone, which are scheduled to ship in this year's final
quarter.

(This story also appeared in Venture Wire, a newsletter published by Dow Jones
& Co. that covers the venture-capital industry.)

"I'm impressed," he said. "We will have more than one product...(The move to
an open platform) will be innovation across the board, not just one device."

T-Mobile, like other carriers, was leery of Google at first, because the open
platform that the search giant was pushing seemed radical and untested, Sims
said. T-Mobile is now a part of Google's Open Handset Alliance, as is chip maker
Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM).

Like T-Mobile, Qualcomm was "skeptical" of Google's plan at first, said Sayeed
Choudhury, Qualcomm's vice president of product management for CDMA
technologies. "But we got over that hurdle when we saw the use-case models,"
Choudhury said. "The Web-browsing, the taking and uploading of pictures."

Choudhury said he expects big changes to happen fast once the Android phones
get into consumers' hands. Nedim Fresko, director of strategic platform
initiatives at Blackberry maker Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM), predicted T-
Mobile's release would be a "wake-up call for innovation."

But conference panelists differed on what areas of mobile technology - video
distribution, social networking, enterprise or entertainment - were likely to
heat up first.

"Security is the issue," Fresko said. "People want secure, managed and safe"
networks.

John Smelzer, a senior vice president and manager of News Corp.'s (NWS) Fox
Entertainment Group Inc.'s interactive media division, said photo and video
distribution would be the "next killer app."

News Corp. owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Dow
Jones Newswires.

Fox isn't immediately interested in moving social networks to mobile, Smelzer
said, but it sees great potential in start-ups working on applications that
replicate the broader online experience on handsets - for instance, middleware
companies, content aggregators, ad distributors and companies working on
encoding and transcoding data.

Subscription-based video has served Fox well, Smelzer said, and the company
plans to continue that model as networks and handsets move toward openness.

"For the long tail, we think it will be mobile Web," he said.

T-Mobile says all of its offerings will be tailored to the consumer, and the
consumer, in turn, will tell the carriers what they expect their mobile devices
to be able to do.

Panelists agreed that the major, inevitable changes in the next few years
won't be top-down changes, but will be a response from carriers to consumers,
who are going mobile in ever greater numbers and learning to expect much more
from their phones. In addition, they said, the time is ripe for innovators and
start-ups to deliver what consumers want in new, possibly lucrative ways.

"The college kids out there have all the ingredients, finally," said J.H. Kah,
senior vice president of Korean cellular service provider SK Telecom Co. (SKM).

"It's so easy and cheap for these kids to start new ventures," Kah said. "VCs
ought to look at very early-stage (companies), but the real winners (will be)
those that stick around a few years."

-By Timothy Hay, Dow Jones Newsletters; 415-439-6625

[Via: Cnn.com]

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Google releases new Android SDK

Android SDK m5-rc14 now available today.

There are a couple of changes in m5-rc14 I'd like to highlight:

• New user interface - As I mentioned when we introduced the m3 version
  of the Android SDK, we're continuing to refine the UI that's available
  for Android. m5-rc14 replaces the previous placeholder with a new UI,
  but as before, work on it is still in-progress.
• Layout animations - Developers can now create layout animations for their applications using the capabilities introduced in the android.view.animation package. Check out the LayoutAnimation*.java files in the APIDemos sample code for examples of how this works.
• Geo-coding - android.location.Geocoder
  enables developers to forward and reverse geo-code (i.e. translate an
  address into a coordinate and vice-versa), and also search for
  businesses.
• New media codecs - The MediaPlayer class has added support for the OGG Vorbis, MIDI, XMF, iMelody, RTTL/RTX, and OTA audio file formats.
• Updated Eclipse plug-in
  - A new version of ADT is available and provides improvements to the
  Android developer experience. In particular, check out the new Android
  Manifest editor.

You can download the new SDK here:
http://code.google.com/android/download.html

Upgrading?

If you have already downloaded an earlier version of the SDK and developed applications on it, please read the Upgrading the SDK document instead. The Upgrading document explains
how to migrate your existing development environment and applications to the new SDK release. The document also provides
information that you will find useful during the upgrade, such as lists of framework and API changes.

To develop Android applications using the code and tools in the
Android SDK, you need a suitable development computer and development
environment, as described below.

Supported Operating Systems

• Windows XP or Vista
• Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later (x86 only)
• Linux (tested on Linux Ubuntu Dapper Drake)

Supported Development Environments

• Eclipse IDE
  
  • Eclipse 3.2, 3.3 (Europa)
  • Eclipse JDT plugin (included in most Eclipse IDE packages)
  • WST (optional, but needed for the Android Editors feature; included in most Eclipse IDE packages)
  • JDK 5 or JDK 6 (JRE alone is not sufficient)
  • Not compatible with Gnu Compiler for Java (gcj)
  • Android Development Tools plugin (optional)
  
  
• Other development environments or IDEs
  
  • JDK 5 or JDK 6 (JRE alone is not sufficient)
  • Not compatible with Gnu Compiler for Java (gcj)
  • Apache Ant 1.6.5 or later for Linux and Mac, 1.7 or later for Windows
  
  

Note: If JDK is already installed on your development computer,
please take a moment to make sure that it meets the version
requirements listed above. In
particular, note that some Linux distributions may include JDK 1.4 or
Gnu Compiler for Java, both of which are not supported for Android
development.

Take a look at our extensive gallery of pics right here.




Technorati Tags: android sdk, android applications, google phone, gphone

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CES: Spotted, First Possible Android Smartphone

A Chinese OEM was showing off a Phone at CES 2008 that will be running Android by March.

Here is what PCMag said about the specs of the Phone:

The GW4 (aka the PDA Dual Net Phone) is a
slab-style smart phone with a touch screen and QWERTY keyboard, that
was running a version of MontaVista Linux 2.6 when we saw it at the
event. But according to Wistron spokeswoman Molly Lin, the GW4 will be
running Android by March, when Wistron will start selling it to more
prominent firms for branding. As a manufacturing house, Wistron has
made desktop and laptop PCs for Dell, HP, IBM and other top brands.

The GW4 we saw had surprisingly low specs, but that's a testament to
the efficiency of Linux, Wistron execs said. The GW4 is based on a TI
OMAP 1710 chipset with a 216-MHz processor and only 64 MB of program
memory, yet the model we saw ran the Opera Web browser, played video
and flipped between a range of Web widget applications like weather and
stocks. The user interface was very responsive.
The phone will come in two tri-band GSM/GPRS versions, one for the U.S.
and one for Europe and Asia. The very slow cellular GPRS (not EDGE)
network will be complemented by 802.11g Wi-Fi with a built-in SIP VOIP
client for Internet calling. A higher-speed 3G version will come out by
the end of 2008. The GW4 also has a 2.5-inch, 320x240 touch screen and
2-megapixel camera.

To read the whole Article just click the PCMag link above.





Technorati Tags: android, google phone, gphone, ces 2008, ces, GW4

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Android Password Manager

This is an adaptation of PasswordSafe by Steven Osborn (released under the Apache License) which is basic password manager for the Android platform. The source code have been adapted to use db4o instead of SQLite which makes the handling of persistence much more intuitive while still being fast.

Details

The application basically stores login information for websites such as url, username and password in a secure way using 128 Bit AES Encryption. The user must provide the correct password in order to access the application and this password is then used to encrypt/decrypt the data.

This is a sample video of the db4o powered application running on the Android Emulator:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFSD44AcBwM

If you check the source code (see the end of this page) you'll see that the the DBHelper class (SQLite persistence) has been replaced by the Db4oHelper class (db4o persistence). Let me now show you some of the differences between handling persistence with db4o and SQLite.

Link for more info and download:

http://developer.db4o.com/ProjectSpaces/view.aspx/Android_Password_Manager

Read more »

db4o - the database for Android

db4o: Persistence for Android

• Native Java queries
• 600K footprint
• Easiest database you have ever used
• Object persistence out-of-the-box

db4o - the database for Android
Google has created a stir with the release of the Android SDK, a comprehensive software platform for mobile phones that was recently announced at the Open Handset Alliance. The Java programming API and the fact that it is free makes it an ideal platform for millions of application developers - and immediately compatible to db4o.

Only hours after the Android release the db4objects team had some quick evaluations of the SDK running with db4o. The result: db4o runs without a snag on Android and is much easier to use than SQLite.

Important Links:

• Android Incubator ProjectSpace
• Android Discussion Forum
• Why Android will start the mobile Tornado
• Android brings handsets to the next level - and open doors a mile wide for db4o
• db4A - database for Android
• Android Password Manager demo application

Use Object-Oriented Database Technology for Android...
While Your Competitors Struggle With Flat Files or SQL.

Embed db4o's super-light database engine into your Android project and store any object structure with only one line of code - no more mapping required!

Powerful and lean at the same time, you can now build more data- and feature-rich applications, that propel you far ahead of competition and that make your users and customers cheer.

Enjoy superior performance, zero-administration, transaction safety, encryption, automatic deployment, shared memory processing, and much more. Out of the box.

db4o for Android
Download and test drive the world's most popular object database! It's free and open source under the GPL!

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http://www.sybase.com/

Keep this company on your Google Apps radar. More to come in the near future.

http://www.sybase.com/

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Industry Leaders Announce Open Platform for Mobile Devices

Group Pledges to Unleash Innovation for Mobile Users Worldwide

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.; BONN, Germany; TAOYUAN, Taiwan; SAN DIEGO, Calif.; SCHAUMBERG, Ill., November 5, 2007 -- A broad alliance of leading technology and wireless companies today joined forces to announce the development of Android, the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. Google Inc., T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, Motorola and others have collaborated on the development of Android through the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of technology and mobile industry leaders.

This alliance shares a common goal of fostering innovation on mobile devices and giving consumers a far better user experience than much of what is available on today's mobile platforms. By providing developers a new level of openness that enables them to work more collaboratively, Android will accelerate the pace at which new and compelling mobile services are made available to consumers.

With nearly 3 billion users worldwide, the mobile phone has become the most personal and ubiquitous communications device. However, the lack of a collaborative effort has made it a challenge for developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers to respond as quickly as possible to the ever-changing needs of savvy mobile consumers. Through Android, developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers will be better positioned to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. The end result will be an unprecedented mobile platform that will enable wireless operators and manufacturers to give their customers better, more personal and more flexible mobile experiences.

Thirty-four companies have formed the Open Handset Alliance, which aims to develop technologies that will significantly lower the cost of developing and distributing mobile devices and services. The Android platform is the first step in this direction -- a fully integrated mobile "software stack" that consists of an operating system, middleware, user-friendly interface and applications. Consumers should expect the first phones based on Android to be available in the second half of 2008.

The Android platform will be made available under one of the most progressive, developer-friendly open-source licenses, which gives mobile operators and device manufacturers significant freedom and flexibility to design products. Next week the Alliance will release an early access software development kit to provide developers with the tools necessary to create innovative and compelling applications for the platform.

Android holds the promise of unprecedented benefits for consumers, developers and manufacturers of mobile services and devices. Handset manufacturers and wireless operators will be free to customize Android in order to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. Developers will have complete access to handset capabilities and tools that will enable them to build more compelling and user-friendly services, bringing the Internet developer model to the mobile space. And consumers worldwide will have access to less expensive mobile devices that feature more compelling services, rich Internet applications and easier-to-use interfaces -- ultimately creating a superior mobile experience.

Open Software, Open Device, Open Ecosystem

"This partnership will help unleash the potential of mobile technology for billions of users around the world. A fresh approach to fostering innovation in the mobile industry will help shape a new computing environment that will change the way people access and share information in the future," said Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt. "Today's announcement is more ambitious than any single 'Google Phone' that the press has been speculating about over the past few weeks. Our vision is that the powerful platform we're unveiling will power thousands of different phone models."

"As a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance, T-Mobile is committed to innovation and fostering an open platform for wireless services to meet the rapidly evolving and emerging needs of wireless customers," said René Obermann, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Telekom, parent company of T-Mobile. "Google has been an established partner for T-Mobile's groundbreaking approach to bring the mobile open Internet to the mass market. We see the Android platform as an exciting opportunity to launch robust wireless Internet and Web 2.0 services for T-Mobile customers in the US and Europe in 2008."

"HTC's trademark on the mobile industry has been its ability to drive cutting-edge innovation into a wide variety of mobile devices to create the perfect match for individuals," said Peter Chou, Chief Executive Officer, HTC Corp. "Our participation in the Open Handset Alliance and integration of the Android platform in the second half of 2008 enables us to expand our device portfolio into a new category of connected mobile phones that will change the complexion of the mobile industry and re-create user expectations of the mobile phone experience."

"The convergence of the wireless and Internet industries is creating new partnerships, evolving business models and driving innovation," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer of Qualcomm. "We are extremely pleased to be participating in the Open Handset Alliance, whose mission is to help build the leading open-source application platform for 3G networks. The proliferation of open-standards-based handsets will provide an exciting new opportunity to create compelling services and devices. As a result, we are committing research and development resources to enable the Android platform and to create the best always-connected consumer experience on our chipsets."

"Motorola has long been an advocate of open software for mobile platforms. Today, we're excited to continue this support by joining Google and others in the announcement of the Open Handset Alliance and Android platform. Motorola plans to leverage the Android platform to enable seamless, connected services and rich consumer experiences in future Motorola products," said Ed Zander, Chairman and CEO of Motorola, Inc.

Open Handset Alliance Founding Members

Aplix (www.aplixcorp.com), Ascender Corporation (www.ascendercorp.com), Audience (www.audience.com), Broadcom (www.broadcom.com), China Mobile (www.chinamobile.com), eBay (www.ebay.com), Esmertec (www.esmertec.com), Google (www.google.com), HTC (www.htc.com), Intel (www.intel.com), KDDI (www.kddi.com), Living Image (www.livingimage.jp), LG (www.lge.com), Marvell (www.marvell.com), Motorola (www.motorola.com), NMS Communications (www.nmscommunications.com), Noser (www.noser.com), NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (www.nttdocomo.com), Nuance (www.nuance.com), Nvidia (www.nvidia.com), PacketVideo (www.packetvideo.com), Qualcomm (www.qualcomm.com), Samsung (www.samsung.com), SiRF (www.sirf.com), SkyPop (www.skypop.com), SONiVOX (www.sonivoxrocks.com), Sprint Nextel (www.sprint.com), Synaptics (www.synaptics.com), TAT - The Astonishing Tribe (www.tat.se), Telecom Italia (www.telecomitalia.com), Telefónica (www.telefonica.es), Texas Instruments (www.ti.com), T-Mobile (www.t-mobile.com), Wind River (www.windriver.com)

For more information about the Open Handset Alliance, visit the website at www.openhandsetalliance.com.

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Verizon Opens Network in 2008

Verizon Wireless announced that it plans to open it's wireless network in 2008. It seem like Verizon finally "Gets" it. I'm sure that saw what Google is doing with Android and didn't want to be the odd one out.

In an interview Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam says it now makes sense to get behind Android. "We're planning on using Android, Android is an enabler of what we do."

Now the only thing to do is wait. Will Verizon really open their network or will it just be a half assed attempt just to fit in with the rest of the crowd?

We will see soon. Good Luck Verizon.

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MyMobiSafe® Mobile Antivirus next Android App?

MyMobiSafe^® Mobile Antivirus Security Solution
http://www.mymobisafe.com/

I stumbled upon this site today while searching for news about Android.
Could we be seeing the first Mobile Antivirus application for Android?

And could this become the winner of the $10 Million Dollar Prize?

Do you really think there is a need for Mobile Antivirus Applications at the moment? In the future?
I bet as these Phones get more popular and we see more applications we will also be seeing more need for Security for the Mobile Platform.

Only time will tell.

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» Google’s big TV plan: Android on set-top boxes? | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

Following Credit Suisse’s $900 price target for Google one nagging question remains: Where–and how–is Google going to generate large TV advertising revenue?

If you recall Credit Suisse analyst Heath Terry slapped a big price target on Google and made some assumptions for 2010. One of them was a base case that Google would have TV advertising revenue of $416 million in 2010, up from nothing today. The bullish case called for $1 billion in TV ad revenue with the bear case being $130 million.

All day, I was wondering how Google would get there. Its deal with Echostar isn’t going to cut it. And TV partners are wary of Google anyway.

However, Tech Crunch’s Erick Schonfeld has a working theory. Google will take its Android software to the set-top box, get a bunch of developers on board and give us the future of television. As to be expected, few are commenting on the record about this plan. And Google is doing its denial without denying routine (it likes these rumors).

Color me skeptical. Here’s why:

Android is unproven. There are high hopes for an Android announcement that so far is a nice press release, a developer kit and a partner roster that is a bit noncommittal about the whole thing. If Android were launched by any company other than Google it would be classified as vaporware already. Before Android makes it into a handset, we’re leaping toward the set-top box.

Set-top boxes are difficult to get into. There are two primary makers of set-top boxes–Cisco and Motorola. Any effort for an open platform has to go through them. And then there’s Microsoft, which has spent billions over the years and is just now getting some traction. Sure, the ability for consumers to buy their own set-top boxes (Googlebox) is a plus, but the set-top box sure is getting crowded. On the bright side, Cisco has Web 2.0 religion and Motorola is an Android partner.

Partners matter. In the land of the set-top box, Google will run into the same problem it has in mobile–entrenched players that tell you what you put on their network. Google can have the best set-top software on the planet, but it needs Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon, AT&T and Cablevision to play along.

Maybe we don’t want our set-top boxes to be all Webified. Schonfeld argues quite well that the set-top box is a computer that doesn’t do much. What if it could? Schonfeld argues that a TV screen polluted with widgets, weather, sports scores and stock quotes could be a better experience. Well, I can have all of that now with Verizon FiOS TV via Microsoft’s widgets. I’ve hit the widget button maybe twice for giggles. TV is a different experience and more often than not I want all the boxes, TVs and technology to disappear in the background. Even the news scroll has become annoying. Some of us just want to watch the game in peace–without better targeted ads, widgets and other clutter.

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Rumor: First Android App To Come From WhatsOpen.com?

Here are some leaked Screen's of the First App from WhatsOpen.com for Android.

Looks Interesting. More info as soon as it's available.

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