DoCoMo, Google to join forces, say Japanese reports

Japan's biggest mobile carrier, NTT DoCoMo Inc., will partner with Google Inc. to provide search and e-mail on its handsets, news reports claimed today.

As early as this spring, DoCoMo subscribers may be able to access Google's search tool, as well as the Gmail e-mail service, Google Calendar scheduler and Picasa photo-sharer, using the former's i-Mode network, said the Reuters news service and Japan's main business daily, The Nikkei. Each cited unnamed sources within DoCoMo.

DoCoMo's growth has fallen behind that of smaller carriers in Japan, said the reports -- a problem that has forced the company to scramble to match rivals such as SoftBank Mobile Corp. and KDDI Corp., which have put more resources into developing wireless Internet services.

More

Google Mobile Phones Debut in Feb?

There is new going around about a February debut of the new Google/Android Phone.

Here are a few links to news stories about this. There is no real info so it seems like this might be all speculation. Hopefully we will see soon. This new after everyone has been saying Android is not ready, buggy and hard to develop on.

Links:
http://www.crunchgear.com/2007/12/27/android-in-february-prepare-grains-of-salt-now/

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2007/12/gphone-alert-gphone-alert-february-in-barcelona.html

http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/12/26/android.phones.in.february/


The article says that Apple will be missing and Google will be attending.

http://www.apcmag.com/7726/google_powered_mobile_phones_to_make_a_february_debut

Sci-Tech Today | Report: Google's Android Full of Bugs

Report: Google's Android Full of Bugs

Following reports that Google's Android platform for mobile devices is buggy, IDC's Chris Hazelton pointed out that developers are being asked to "design an application when they don't even know what the interface is." Android devices are expected "sometime in the second half of 2008," he said, so there is time for problems to be worked out.

Wifi Army Game application!

This is awesome...


Giving you a peek at what kind of gaming platform Google's Android will host is the Wi-Fi Army developed by W2Pi Entertainment. The company hopes to win funds from the Android Challenge. This shooter game involves the 3 technologies - GPS, Google Maps, and camera phone. Instead of using video graphics, you can engage real people in a (gun) phone fight. The camera phone functions as your scope to hunt other players. The GPS is used to locate other players within 300 feet radius. Once another player is detected within the range, you will be notified about this new found enemy. Google Maps provides support to find other players. Sounds cool! Presently this game allows only 500 people to play per city. The icing on the cake is that this game is Free!

Source: Newlaunches

Android Hardware In The Wild: Google Android Prototype In the Wild

Android Hardware In The Wild: Google Android Prototype In the Wild: "Here's the first gorgeous shot of an Google Android prototype in the wild. It looks HTC-ish in build, similar to the grainy versions we've seen in the official videos and the renderings in the SDK emulator. Our source, a Giz reader, had some feedback to add to the prototype, which he used for a day: Even in early form, it's light and fast, much faster than the desktop emulator at times. And as a longtime programmer, he thinks it's a lot more put together than Window Mobile 5 on the back side of things. It's a prototype, so things will obviously change, but these are all great signs. I just pray that hardware by other makers is a lot more adventurous. In my mind, those HTC designs remind me a little too much of WM and will for a long time. [Thanks Tipster X]"

» Nokia dismisses Google Android threat at its peril | Open Source | ZDNet.com

Nokia dismisses Google Android threat at its peril by ZDNet's Dana Blankenhorn -- Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, "Olli-mandias" and CEO of Nokia, sneeringly dismisses Google's Android effort with a figurative wave of the hand.

Android's Got Game - Dodge Balls

Check out the vid below of the first game developed for Android that I've seen so far. You can also download the source code HERE.

Japanese cell phone operator gets Android running

The latest public demo comes from Willcom, with the PHS operator showing a core module based on Android in Tokyo last week. Aside from demo-ing a spot of multi-tasking by receiving a call while browsing Google Maps, everything is pretty much as expected. Check out some pics HERE.

Google Android runs on Sharp Zaurus SL-C760

Looks like the guys over at eugedge.com have managed to get Google Android running on a Sharp Zaurus SL-C760. This seems to be the first documented success with this device. Check out the article HERE.

Android: MapMe

This application is based on BrowseMap by Davanum Srinivas, a simple Google Maps viewer for Android which lets you:

• Browse Google maps on Android
• Zoom in and out
• Move around with the mouse (could be touchscreen on a real device)
• Toggle traffic and satellite view
• Find location

(The basic functionality is the same as the Maps application that already ships with Android)

However MapMe adds several features on top of this basic functionality thanks to db4o object persistence engine such as:

• Bookmark location to db4o (full map persistence including zoom levels and satellite & traffic view)
• Browse list of bookmarks
• Edit bookmark
• Navigate to location on map from bookmark
• Center map on current GPS reported location

Screenshots

To see the application in action you can watch the MapMe video on YouTube, a high resolution video (30 Mb) on an external server or the following screenshots:

db4o headquarters (satellite + traffic view)

MapMe main menu:

Creation of bookmark/navpoint:

List of saved bookmarks/navpoints:

More info!

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

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!

Verizon joins Google alliance, isolates AT&T

Verizon made a surprise move yesterday and joined the recently established Open Handset Alliance, Google's organization for promoting open software development for cellphones and other handhelds. The move will see Verizon use Google's Linux-based, open-source Android operating system on some phones. The software is an "enabler" that will let Verizon move towards an open platform, says company chief Lowell McAdam.

The decision comes just days after Verizon announced its unlocked device strategy, which will create a second tier of service that allows users to use unlocked phones and other devices and run software that has not been explicitly sanctioned by the carrier, including potentially competitive software such as VoIP tools. Previously, Verizon has often been held as an example of the restrictiveness allowed by American telecom regulations, with the company often insisting on its customized software and disabling hardware features such as Bluetooth file transfers to drive customers to paid services.

This change of heart was first triggered by efforts from Google and others to insist that the upcoming FCC auction for the 700MHz frequency band come with an open access rule, according to McAdam. The rule would obligate any winning bidder to allow any compatible device and any software to run on a service using the airspace. Verizon initially resisted the move, trying to sue to protect its business model and engage in suspicious lobbying but quickly dropping these efforts. Android helps as its open nature makes it reasonable to offer a similarly open service, the Verizon chief says.

The sudden switch leaves three out of four major US carriers embracing the Open Handset Alliance, potentially isolating and increasing pressure on AT&T. While Sprint and T-Mobile signed on as Alliance launch partners, AT&T has so far remained on the sidelines and is only considering the move while retaining its existing policy. As a GSM provider, AT&T is more open and allows users to run non-sanctioned, unlocked devices with a valid SIM (subscriber information) card but has not made any plans to carry phones of its own with unrestricted software.

Source: Electronista

http://www.sybase.com/

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

http://www.sybase.com/

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.

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.

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.

Android running on a real device

Check out the video below it is a Armadillo-500 running an actual Android Application.
Pretty interesting video and I can't wait to see what all of these Developers come up with.

We should have some pretty interesting Applications in the near future!

Artificial Life

Artificial Life, a mobile entertainment and game company announced that they will be making Games and Applications for Android. The company looks pretty interesting so hopefully some cool applications will come out of this.

You can check their site out here:
artificial-life.com

Source: Android Apps

Artificial Life -

Artificial Life -

Artificial Life, a mobile entertainment and game company announced that they will be making Games and Applications for Android.
The company looks pretty interesting so hopefully some cool applications will come out of this.

You can check their site out here:
artificial-life.com

jflubber - Google Code

jflubber - Google Code

jflubber

A simple java GUI tool to record flub points (mistakes) in recordings

Developed for the podcast I am a co-host of. The tool is like a simple stopwatch with the capability of recording any number of flub points - points with mistakes in the recording. It can then save a file which can be loaded directly into audacity as a label track, showing you exactly where the mistakes are to speed up editing.

See the developer.com article Building Java GUIs with Matisse: A Gentle Introduction at http://www.developer.com/java/ent/article.php/3589961 for much more information about the reason for writing jFlubber, and how it was built.

Download the executable Jar file with jflubber in it from the downloads section on the right.

For more help, see DownloadingAndRunning

Android Developers Blog: A Stitch in Time

Android Developers Blog: A Stitch in Time


Background: While developing my first useful (though small) application for Android, which was a port of an existing utility I use when podcasting, I needed a way of updating a clock displayed on the UI at regular intervals, but in a lightweight and CPU efficient way.

Problem: In the original application I used java.util.Timer to update the clock, but that class is not such a good choice on Android. Using a Timer introduces a new thread into the application for a relatively minor reason. Thinking in terms of mobile applications often means re-considering choices that you might make differently for a desktop application with relatively richer resources at its disposal. We would like to find a more efficient way of updating that clock.

The Application: The rest of the story of porting the application will be detailed in future blog entries, but if you are interested in the application in question and the construction of it, you can read about it in a not-so-recent Developer.com article about using Matisse (a GUI builder for Swing). The original application is a Java Swing and SE application. It is like a stopwatch with a lap timer that we use when recording podcasts; when you start the recording, you start the stopwatch. Then for every mistake that someone makes, you hit the flub button. At the end you can save out the bookmarked mistakes which can be loaded into the wonderful Audacity audio editor as a labels track. You can then see where all of the mistakes are in the recording and edit them out.

The article describing it is: http://www.developer.com/java/ent/print.php/3589961

In the original version, the timer code looked like this:

class UpdateTimeTask extends TimerTask {
public void run() {
    long millis = System.currentTimeMillis() - startTime;
    int seconds = (int) (millis / 1000);
    int minutes = seconds / 60;
    seconds     = seconds % 60;

    timeLabel.setText(String.format("%d:%02d", minutes, seconds));
}
}

And in the event listener to start this update, the following Timer() instance is used:

if(startTime == 0L) {
startTime = evt.getWhen();
timer = new Timer();
timer.schedule(new UpdateTimeTask(), 100, 200);
}

In particular, note the 100, 200 parameters. The first parameter means wait 100 ms before running the clock update task the first time. The second means repeat every 200ms after that, until stopped. 200 ms should not be too noticeable if the second resolution happens to fall close to or on the update. If the resolution was a second, you could find the clock sometimes not updating for close to 2 seconds, or possibly skipping a second in the counting, it would look odd).

When I ported the application to use the Android SDKs, this code actually compiled in Eclipse, but failed with a runtime error because the Timer() class was not available at runtime (fortunately, this was easy to figure out from the error messages). On a related note, the String.format method was also not available, so the eventual solution uses a quick hack to format the seconds nicely as you will see.

Fortunately, the role of Timer can be replaced by the android.os.Handler class, with a few tweaks. To set it up from an event listener:

private Handler mHandler = new Handler();

...

OnClickListener mStartListener = new OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View v) {
    if (mStartTime == 0L) {
         mStartTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
         mHandler.removeCallbacks(mUpdateTimeTask);
         mHandler.postDelayed(mUpdateTimeTask, 100);
    }
}
};

A couple of things to take note of here. First, the event doesn't have a .getWhen() method on it, which we handily used to set the start time for the timer. Instead, we grab the System.currentTimeMillis(). Also, the Handler.postDelayed() method only takes one time parameter, it doesn't have a "repeating" field. In this case we are saying to the Handler "call mUpdateTimeTask() after 100ms", a sort of fire and forget one time shot. We also remove any existing callbacks to the handler before adding the new handler, to make absolutely sure we don't get more callback events than we want.

But we want it to repeat, until we tell it to stop. To do this, just put another postDelayed at the tail of the mUpdateTimeTask run() method. Note also that Handler requires an implementation of Runnable, so we change mUpdateTimeTask to implement that rather than extending TimerTask. The new clock updater, with all these changes, looks like this:

private Runnable mUpdateTimeTask = new Runnable() {
public void run() {
final long start = mStartTime;
long millis = SystemClock.uptimeMillis() - start;
int seconds = (int) (millis / 1000);
int minutes = seconds / 60;
seconds = seconds % 60;

if (seconds <>

and can be defined as a class member field.

The if statement is just a way to make sure the label is set to 10:06 instead of 10:6 when the seconds modulo 60 are less than 10 (hopefully String.format() will eventually be available). At the end of the clock update, the task sets up another call to itself from the Handler, but instead of a hand-wavy 200ms before the update, we can schedule it to happen at a particular wall-clock time - the line: start + (((minutes * 60) + seconds + 1) * 1000) does this.

All we need now is a way to stop the timer when the stop button is pressed. Another button listener defined like this:

OnClickListener mStopListener = new OnClickListener() {
public void onClick(View v) {
    mHandler.removeCallbacks(mUpdateTimeTask);
}
};

will make sure that the next callback is removed when the stop button is pressed, thus interrupting the tail iteration.

Handler is actually a better choice than Timer for another reason too. The Handler runs the update code as a part of your main thread, avoiding the overhead of a second thread and also making for easy access to the View hierarchy used for the user interface. Just remember to keep such tasks small and light to avoid slowing down the user experience.

So that's it for the first of what will be a series of Android tips. Hopefully this will save you a little head scratching on what will probably be a fairly common thing to want to do (i.e. make something happen or update at regular intervals in a lightweight way in your application). There is plenty of more material from my experience of porting this very simple application which will be covered in some of the future "tips" articles. There are some other great tips being discussed as well as an opportunity ask questions at the Android Developers Discussion Group.

Android running in a real device

Android is running on Armadillo-500, a tiny CPU module providing a high degree of performance and expandability.
After 10 days of Android launching, we can see the platform running in a real device, what is next? I mean, are we in the same situation as when PC opened its door?
Lots of things have to change because even if you were able to run the platform, making calls is another story... unless a company opens the frequency to perform calls...

Source: Mobile Media Consult

» 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.

Android has been in the works for 2 years

Who noticed the article in BusinessWeek online 2 years ago on August 17, 2005, titled: "Google buys Android for Its Mobile Arsenal"? I only noticed it when rumours were starting to hit about the coming out of the Gphone (which turned out not to be a Gphone but "Android", an open software platform for mobile devices)

On 5 November 2007 Google announced Android as their open software platform for mobile devices. And it is now clear why they bought the company Android more than 2 years before as described in BusinessWeek in those days. How elegant of Google to name their platform after the company they took over, indicating they leveraged its assets well.

The BusinessWeek article describes the take-over of Android, a 22 month old and quite unknown startup at that time. The company operated under a cloak of secrecy, stating only that it made software for mobile phones.

Source: TelecomTrack

Google Acquires Many Domain Names

All of these domains were transferred to Google name servers in the past week or so. They are also all registered to Google Inc. You’ll see lots of Android domains as well as plenty of other interesting domain names. We will begin with some of the most interesting (in our view) names. The first one makes us wonder (aka pure blogosphere speculation) (-; if an online tax prep service (look out TurboTax and Intuit?) might be a another new service coming from Google? On the other hand, these domains, like many others, might be part of Google’s domain name inventory to make sure others don’t register them.

+++ gtaxes.com (note: Google also has .net and .org registered)
+++ foogleaddon.com
+++ technicage.com
+++ googlesecret.com
+++ logiquate.com
+++ macroslash.com
+++ nolimitdvd.com

+ gbeam.org
+ gbriefcase.org
+ gcentral.info
+ gmeet.net
+ gnoogle.com

+ google-gmail.com
+ google-labs.com
+ google-labs.net
+ google-search.com

+ googleblog.info
+ googlebux.net
+ googlecalendar.info
+ googlecalendar.net
+ googlefinance.com

+ googlefind.net
+ googlegmail.com
+ googlegroups.info
+ googlehelp.info
+ googlehelp.net
+ googlelabs.org
+ googlelocal.org
+ googlephotos.info

+ googleserchengine.com
+ googleshopping.com
+ googlesms.info
+ googlesms.net
+ googletv.info
+ googleus.com
+ googleus.net

+ googlewebapis.net
+ gsearch.info
+ gsend.org
+ gshopping.info
+ gshopping.net
+ gsites.info
+ gsites.net

+ androidalliance.com
+ androidalliance.net
+ androidalliance.org
+ androiddevice.com
+ androiddevice.net
+ androiddevice.org
+ androiddevices.com
+ androiddevices.net
+ androiddevices.org
+ androidfederation.com
+ androidfederation.net
+ androidfederation.org

+ androidhandset.com
+ androidhandset.net
+ androidhandset.org
+ androidhandsets.com
+ androidhandsets.net
+ androidhandsets.org
+ androidmobile.com
+ androidmobile.net
+ androidmobile.org
+ androidphone.com
+ androidphone.net
+ androidphone.org
+ androidphones.com
+ androidphones.net
+ androidphones.org
+ androidplatform.com
+ androidplatform.net
+ androidplatform.org
+ androidsdk.com
+ androidsdk.net
+ androidsdk.org
+ androidsoftware.com
+ androidsoftware.net
+ androidsoftware.org
+ androidtechnology.com
+ androidtechnology.net
+ androidtechnology.org

Source: ResourceShelf

Android in Action

It's been a week since Google released their first cut of the Android SDK and despite Scoble's claims to the contrary, thousands of developers spent last week developing their first Android applications.

Doesn't it make sense to launch the SDK well in advance of any actual phones?

Erstwhile video blogger Scoble is disappointment with Android. It seems this is largely because the launch "videos were boring". Robert? Dude? Who gives a shit about the videos? Developers don't want videos, they want CODE. Code, samples, and a well documented API. I still haven't watched the videos, I was too busy using the SDK to spend time looking at the pretty moving pictures. Apparently the shiny lights distracted Scoble as he screeches "[I] DO NOT TRUST THINGS THAT THEY WON’T SHOW ME WORKING". Android works. I've seen it, I've used it. They announced a software stack not hardware, and the software stack is available right now.

True, there are no phones yet, but Android is about development tools for 3rd party developers, so doesn't it make sense to launch the SDK well in advance of any actual phones? Google aren't going to out Apple the iPhone but they may just out Microsoft Windows Mobile.

You can bet that there's more than one Android project to duplicate the iPhone interface in excruciating detail.

There's been some complaints about the Android UI. It's true, the emulator isn't groundbreaking. It doesn't have to. It exists solely to provide the functionality developers need to write apps. How many projects do you think are right now in the process of reskining that bad-boy? The iPhone interface is as inevitable as this MS Messenger skin. The shipping UI is irrelevant, it's the flexibility of the SDK to create a new UI that's important.

Despite Scoble not knowing "...a single developer who has had his/her hands on Android" there are more than 4,500 members on the Android developer forums and more than 4,000 messages. Even if only 1% of them come up with a useful mobile application that's still about 30 more useful mobile applications than I've ever come across for Symbian.

The Android phone won't have the iPhone's consumer appeal. It's very true, but it's also entirely beside the point.

Read enough articles and you'd think that if Google doesn't immediately grab 30% of the mobile market at launch they Fail. That's short term thinking. Developers will write applications for Android phones because they literally can't write them for other platforms. One will get you ten that the iPhone SDK won't have nearly the level of phone access that Android provides.

Eventually people will be buying Android phones because the applications they *need* only run on Android phones. Don't believe me? Do you think people run Windows for the pleasure of it? Worst case scenario? Android forces people like Apple and Symbian to offer the same SDK access in order to keep their market. I'll take that and still call Android a net win.

Google's strategy seems to be 'make it open' -- with 'make it popular' a distant second.

People probably won't be lining up around the block on the release day for the first Android mobile but just like Google search and just like GMail, Android is going to change the way we think of mobile phones.

What made the PC so popular? Why has the web taken off? Because *anyone* with the inclination could bring their vision to life at minimal cost. If you've ever tried programming for a mobile phone you'll know it's expensive and difficult -- that's why there's so few *good* mobile phone applications, and very few for free. The Android platform is going to get thousands of developers playing around with new applications for mobiles, in the same way early IBM compatible PCs got thousands of electronics hobbyists interested in programming computers.

Eventually the availability of popular apps on Android phones is going to encourage more phone makers to release Android versions and networks to release Android phones. It costs them nothing in licensing.

People love iPhones, companies love options.

I don't run Windows because I like it, I run it because 75% of the applications I use every day only run under Windows; plus I can write powerful software for myself really easily.

Corporations will start buying Android phones for the same reason almost every company that's not a graphic design house runs Windows -- it's a more universal development environment with deeper access to the underlying hardware. I work for an investment bank, they'd never dream of writing corporate software for the iPhone; do you think the 300 Java developers here might be able create something useful with Android?

Source: The Radioactive Yak

PC World - Google, Sun May Clash Over Android's Use of Java

Google could be heading for a showdown with Sun over the way Android, Google's new mobile phone software platform, handles Java.

Instead of using the standards-based Java Micro Edition (JME) as an engine to run Java applications, Google wrote its own virtual machine for Android, calling it Dalvik. There are technical advantages and disadvantages to using Dalvik, developers say, but technology may not have been the driver for Google.

Google most likely built Dalvik as a way to get around licensing issues with Sun that would have come with using JME, said Stefano Mazzocchi, a developer and board member at Apache Labs.

Phone makers that incorporate JME into their phones must license the technology from Sun if they intend to make any modifications to it, Mazzocchi said. A phone maker could freely use JME under an open source license if it shares innovations to the software with the community, but most large handset makers are reluctant to do that, he said.

Rather than require phone makers to license JME as part of Android, Mazzocchi said, Google built its own virtual machine. Dalvik converts Java bytecodes into Dalvik bytecodes.

"So Google can say Dalvik is not a Java platform," said Hari Gottipatti, a mobile developer who also has been examining the issue.

Google declined to comment on Dalvik.

"I believe Sun didn't see this coming," Mazzocchi said. "I think this was a very smart and clever move."

Still, Google could run into trouble. If Google used any of Sun's intellectual property to build Dalvik, Sun could sue Google for patent infringement, Mazzocchi said. "I'd be very curious to see what Sun would do," he said. That's because Sun is a staunch advocate for open source, so it would hardly appease the open source community to sue Google over an open source software stack.

However, Google's move threatens Sun's business strategy, Mazzocchi said. He believes that Sun sees a bright future in the mobile market and hopes to earn revenue off the use of the Java virtual machine by phone makers. Google's plan diminishes that opportunity for Sun.

While Sun declined to comment directly for this story, it pointed to some public statements from company executives. Jonathan Schwartz, president and CEO of Sun, wrote a blog post congratulating Google on the day of Android's launch. Notably, he refers to Android as a "Java/Linux" platform. By contrast, Google carefully appears to avoid calling Android a Java platform. Google describes the Android software development kit as a set of tools that lets developers create applications using Java.

Sun also shared statements that Rich Green, executive vice president of software at Sun, made during Oracle Open World this week about Android. "We're reaching out to Google and are anticipating they will be reaching out to us to ensure the software and APIs will be compatible--so deployment on a wide variety of platforms will be possible," he said.

Green also said that Sun wants to work with Google to prevent creating a fractured mobile development environment.

That's a concern for other mobile developers like Gottipatti. The mobile environment is already fractured. Even with JME, he has to alter his applications for different phones. "But in that case as a developer I'm porting once and maybe tweaking for different phones," he said. "But with this you'll need to develop a separate application that's not standard. Unless Android becomes main stream and kills J2ME ... why should I develop applications that are not standard which I'm not sure about because I haven't seen any commercial handsets yet?"

Gottipatti believes that the technical differences in Dalvik were the main driver for Google, not the licensing issue. The license fee that handset makers must pay for JME is very nominal, he said. He thinks that if Google asked, Sun would have included JME in Android and waived the licensing fee.

AT&T talks with Google about joining wireless software group

AT&T eyes teaming up

Bloomberg News

Article Launched: 11/17/2007 01:41:05 AM PST

AT&T has talked with Google about joining its mobile-phone software alliance. The phone company is "analyzing the situation" and may use Google's software for phones, Ralph de la Vega, chief executive officer of the wireless unit, said in an interview Friday. He refused to give details of discussions and said he hasn't personally met with Mountain View-based Google. The search-engine giant announced Nov. 5 that it would work with 33 companies to develop software for mobile phones. Wireless carriers Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA joined the alliance, looking for features such as local shopping searches that could help them lure new customers.

This could become interesting. Direct competition to the iPhone?

AT&T eyes teaming up with Google

AT&T has talked with Google about joining its mobile-phone software alliance. The phone company is "analyzing the situation" and may use Google's software for phones, Ralph de la Vega, chief executive officer of the wireless unit, said in an interview Friday. He refused to give details of discussions and said he hasn't personally met with Mountain View-based Google. The search-engine giant announced Nov. 5 that it would work with 33 companies to develop software for mobile phones. Wireless carriers Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA joined the alliance, looking for features such as local shopping searches that could help them lure new customers.

Source: SilliconValley

Android Forum

Discuss the OS at our new forum.

First Google Android Apps now available for download!

Below are the first ever available Android apps from Google. You can download and run these on the Android emulator. Enjoy!

ApiDemos.apk
HelloActivity.apk
Lunar Lander.apk
Notepad.apk
SkeletonApp.apk
Snake.apk

For those unsure how to do this, a tutorial will be posted shortly.

Software tools for Google Android

Google released a software development kit for its Android mobile-phone software on Monday. This shot shows what programming looks like in the open-source Eclipse programming tool project, including an emulator that lets coders get started even if they don't have a phone prototype handy.

Credit: Google

The Android software developer kit includes an interface to the Google Maps service. Pictured here are driving directions shown in a translucent window above a map.

Credit: Google

This shot shows the "home screen" running in the emulator with various menu options below. The user interface look and feel shown in the emulator is a "placeholder" that will change by the time Android phones ship in the second half of 2008, Google said.

Credit: Google

This emulator screenshot shows applications available on an Android phone. Google is offering $10 million in contest prizes to encourage programmers to build new software for the phones.

Credit: Google

Google Android Emulator Demo

Below is a screencast of the gPhone emulator.

Android for European Mobile Developers

Dave Burke, an engineering manager within Google’s mobile team, stood up today at the Future of Mobile conference in London to talk about Android and the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), the new open mobile platform initiative from Google. This is the the first conference presentation in Europe on the subject since Google’s announcement on November 5th, and was live blogged by TechCrunch UK.

But if you were expecting much new information on all this you would probably have been disappointed. Burke introduce the OHA, outlined how it has 30+ industry leaders on board and how there is no gPhone, just a phone built by partners using the Android platform - this we already know. There was a run-down of what the platform will be capable of and a reminder that the SDK is a only a few days old and that we will probably not see handsets until the second half of next year when the full open source platform will be released.

He also did a fairly impressive demonstration of coding an application (in this case a mobile browser).

Burke did say: “We’re really serious. We want to see serious innovation. We want operators and application developers to spend less time on little silos and more time building great stuff.” At the end he added an advert: “we’re hiring in Europe”.

During Q&A he said he hadn’t “heard” if Android will support Flash Lite, but he did say the Webkit would support Netscape style plugins.

How come Google is only releasing the full source code when the handsets hit the market next year? He said Google wanted to wait until it really worked on handsets before releasing the code.

What about the difference with the OpenMoko project, an open source mobile platform? “The difference with Moko is this [Android] is real,” he said “We have a lot of momentum with key partners. We are not talking about specifications, we’re just building it and trying to get support.”

One questioner asked if Google would be subject to anti-trust allegations given that a lot of Google applications will come default with the handsets, but Burke gave the impression that this would be unlikely as handset makers could “swap out applications.” We’ll see I guess.

So what’s the upshot of all this? In terms of content perhaps not a great deal. If one were to be cynical, one would say that this was mainly about a Google guy appearing in London (which has a big mobile community) at a conference aimed at mobile developers, and was in hiring mode…

Source: TechCrunch

What is Android?

What is Android?

Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications. This early look at the Android SDK provides the tools and APIs necessary to begin developing applications on the Android platform using the Java programming language.

Features

• Application framework enabling reuse and replacement of components
• Dalvik virtual machine optimized for mobile devices
• Integrated browser based on the open source WebKit engine
• Optimized graphics powered by a custom 2D graphics library; 3D graphics based on the OpenGL ES 1.0 specification (hardware acceleration optional)
• SQLite for structured data storage
• Media support for common audio, video, and still image formats (MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG, GIF)
• GSM Telephony (hardware dependent)
• Bluetooth, EDGE, 3G, and WiFi (hardware dependent)
• Camera, GPS, compass, and accelerometer (hardware dependent)
• Rich development environment including a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling, and a plugin for the Eclipse IDE

Android Architecture

The following diagram shows the major components of the Android operating system. Each section is described in more detail below.

Applications

Android will ship with a set of core applications including an email client, SMS program, calendar, maps, browser, contacts, and others. All applications are written using the Java programming language.

Application Framework

Developers have full access to the same framework APIs used by the core applications. The application architecture is designed to simplify the reuse of components; any application can publish its capabilities and any other application may then make use of those capabilities (subject to security constraints enforced by the framework). This same mechanism allows components to be replaced by the user.

Underlying all applications is a set of services and systems, including:

• A rich and extensible set of Views that can be used to build an application, including lists, grids, text boxes, buttons, and even an embeddable web browser
• Content Providers that enable applications to access data from other applications (such as Contacts), or to share their own data
• A Resource Manager, providing access to non-code resources such as localized strings, graphics, and layout files
• A Notification Manager that enables all applications to display custom alerts in the status bar
• An Activity Manager that manages the lifecycle of applications and provides a common navigation backstack

For more details and a walkthrough of an application, see Writing an Android Application.

Libraries

Android includes a set of C/C++ libraries used by various components of the Android system. These capabilities are exposed to developers through the Android application framework. Some of the core libraries are listed below:

• System C library - a BSD-derived implementation of the standard C system library (libc), tuned for embedded Linux-based devices
• Media Libraries - based on PacketVideo's OpenCORE; the libraries support playback and recording of many popular audio and video formats, as well as static image files, including MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, and PNG
• Surface Manager - manages access to the display subsystem and seamlessly composites 2D and 3D graphic layers from multiple applications
• LibWebCore - a modern web browser engine which powers both the Android browser and an embeddable web view
• SGL - the underlying 2D graphics engine
• 3D libraries - an implementation based on OpenGL ES 1.0 APIs; the libraries use either hardware 3D acceleration (where available) or the included, highly optimized 3D software rasterizer
• FreeType - bitmap and vector font rendering
• SQLite - a powerful and lightweight relational database engine available to all applications

Android Runtime

Android includes a set of core libraries that provides most of the functionality available in the core libraries of the Java programming language.

Every Android application runs in its own process, with its own instance of the Dalvik virtual machine. Dalvik has been written so that a device can run multiple VMs efficiently. The Dalvik VM executes files in the Dalvik Executable (.dex) format which is optimized for minimal memory footprint. The VM is register-based, and runs classes compiled by a Java language compiler that have been transformed into the .dex format by the included "dx" tool.

The Dalvik VM relies on the Linux kernel for underlying functionality such as threading and low-level memory management.

Linux Kernel

Android relies on Linux version 2.6 for core system services such as security, memory management, process management, network stack, and driver model. The kernel also acts as an abstraction layer between the hardware and the rest of the software stack.

Android Emulator

The Android SDK includes a mobile device emulator — a virtual device that runs on your computer. The emulator lets you prototype, develop, and test Android applications without using a physical device.

The Android emulator mimics all of the typical functions and behaviors of a mobile device, except that it can not receive or place phone calls. As shown at right, the emulator provides a variety of navigation and control keys, which you can "press" using your mouse or keyboard to generate events for your application. It also provides a screen in which your application is displayed, together with any other Android applications running.

To help you model and test your application, the emulator lets your application use the services of the Android platform to invoke other applications, access the network, play audio and video, store and retrieve data, notify the user, and render graphical transitions and themes.

The emulator also includes a variety of debug capabilities, such as a console from which you can log kernel output, simulate application interrupts (such as arriving SMS messages or phone calls), and simulate latency effects and dropouts on the data channel.

Source: Google

Dalvik VM (Virtual Machine)

The development process is a standard one for Java developers: Java code is compiled into .JAR and .CLASS files. Google built a custom virtual machine to run these programs; it is called DALVIK (after one engineer's favorite location in Iceland.) The DALVIK VM is designed especially for Android to run on embedded systems and work well in low power situations; it's also tuned to the CPU attributes. The DALVIK VM creates a special file format (.DEX) that is created through build time post processing. The DEX files can be downloaded onto the mobile handsets and run.

Every Android application runs in its own process, with its own instance of the Dalvik virtual machine. Dalvik has been written so that a device can run multiple VMs efficiently. The Dalvik VM executes files in the Dalvik Executable (.dex) format which is optimized for minimal memory footprint. The VM is register-based, and runs classes compiled by a Java language compiler that have been transformed into the .dex format by the included "dx" tool.

The Dalvik VM relies on the Linux kernel for underlying functionality such as threading and low-level memory management.

Source: Open Handset Alliance, OnLamp

Android Applications

With Google's $10 million mobile application contest, there could be thousands of Android applications on the market before the first Android-powered phone ships next year. I wouldn't even be surprised if some industrious hackers start releasing existing cell phones hacked with Android, and not the factory installed OS. Perhaps some hackers will even try to install Android on an iPhone. The possibilities are nearly limitless.

Source: InformationWeek

$10 million on the table for Android apps

Understanding that developers need to be bribed to create applications for a new mobile platform, Google has put up $10m in prizes for the best Android apps.

The Android Developer Challenge comes in two parts: the first runs until March 2008 and awards $25K apiece to the best 50 applications. The second leg kicks off only when some Android handsets available - which should be some time in the second half of 2008. This will see ten winners walking away with $257,000 with ten runners-up getting $100,000.

Putting up prizes to drive mobile development is nothing new, and while the Android Developer Challenge might offer more money, it comes without the promise of marketing and licensing assistance that normally accompanies such promotions (though the value of that varies widely).

Android is, in theory, the child of the newly-formed Open Handset Alliance, but Google is hosting the SDK (software developer's kit) and Google is putting up the money.

The competition comes as the Android SDK is also launched, so developers can download and start coding (using an emulated device) immediately.

Source: TheRegister

Android Developers Blog: This is the droid you're looking for

Android Developers Blog: This is the droid you're looking for

Android Videos

Sergey Brin and Steve Horowitz discuss the availability of the SDK, that it will be open source in the future, and demo some applications.



Three part overview of the Android architecture and APIs






A first hand look at building an Android application





Open

Android allows you to access core mobile device functionality through standard API calls.

All applications are equal

Android does not differentiate between the phone's basic and third-party applications -- even the dialer or home screen can be replaced.

Breaking down boundaries

Combine information from the web with data on the phone -- such as contacts or geographic location -- to create new user experiences.

Fast & easy development

The SDK contains what you need to build and run Android applications, including a true device emulator and advanced debugging tools.

Android SDK is now open to Developers

Open Handset Alliance

Developers

Learn more about the Android Platform.

Download the early look SDK.

Participate in the Android Developer Challenge, which will give away $10 million to developers who build apps on the platform. Learn more

Win $10 Million Dollars!!!!

Download the Android SDK - Android

Download the Android SDK - Android

Android Software Development Kit is now available.

Download it HERE.

Features

* Application framework enabling reuse and replacement of components
* Dalvik virtual machine optimized for mobile devices
* Integrated browser based on the open source WebKit engine
* Optimized graphics powered by a custom 2D graphics library; 3D graphics based on the OpenGL ES 1.0 specification (hardware acceleration optional)
* SQLite for structured data storage
* Media support for common audio, video, and still image formats (MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG, GIF)
* GSM Telephony (hardware dependent)
* Bluetooth, EDGE, 3G, and WiFi (hardware dependent)
* Camera, GPS, compass, and accelerometer (hardware dependent)
* Rich development environment including a device emulator, tools for debugging, memory and performance profiling, and a plugin for the Eclipse IDE

Android Architecture

The following diagram shows the major components of the Android operating system. Each section is described in more detail below.

Android System Architecture

Applications

Android will ship with a set of core applications including an email client, SMS program, calendar, maps, browser, contacts, and others. All applications are written using the Java programming language.

Application Framework

Developers have full access to the same framework APIs used by the core applications. The application architecture is designed to simplify the reuse of components; any application can publish its capabilities and any other application may then make use of those capabilities (subject to security constraints enforced by the framework). This same mechanism allows components to be replaced by the user.

Underlying all applications is a set of services and systems, including:

* A rich and extensible set of Views that can be used to build an application, including lists, grids, text boxes, buttons, and even an embeddable web browser
* Content Providers that enable applications to access data from other applications (such as Contacts), or to share their own data
* A Resource Manager, providing access to non-code resources such as localized strings, graphics, and layout files
* A Notification Manager that enables all applications to display custom alerts in the status bar
* An Activity Manager that manages the lifecycle of applications and provides a common navigation backstack

For more details and a walkthrough of an application, see Writing an Android Application.

Libraries

Android includes a set of C/C++ libraries used by various components of the Android system. These capabilities are exposed to developers through the Android application framework. Some of the core libraries are listed below:

* System C library - a BSD-derived implementation of the standard C system library (libc), tuned for embedded Linux-based devices
* Media Libraries - based on PacketVideo's OpenCORE; the libraries support playback and recording of many popular audio and video formats, as well as static image files, including MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, and PNG
* Surface Manager - manages access to the display subsystem and seamlessly composites 2D and 3D graphic layers from multiple applications
* LibWebCore - a modern web browser engine which powers both the Android browser and an embeddable web view
* SGL - the underlying 2D graphics engine
* 3D libraries - an implementation based on OpenGL ES 1.0 APIs; the libraries use either hardware 3D acceleration (where available) or the included, highly optimized 3D software rasterizer
* FreeType - bitmap and vector font rendering
* SQLite - a powerful and lightweight relational database engine available to all applications

Android Runtime

Android includes a set of core libraries that provides most of the functionality available in the core libraries of the Java programming language.

Every Android application runs in its own process, with its own instance of the Dalvik virtual machine. Dalvik has been written so that a device can run multiple VMs efficiently. The Dalvik VM executes files in the Dalvik Executable (.dex) format which is optimized for minimal memory footprint. The VM is register-based, and runs classes compiled by a Java language compiler that have been transformed into the .dex format by the included "dx" tool.

The Dalvik VM relies on the Linux kernel for underlying functionality such as threading and low-level memory management.

Linux Kernel

Android relies on Linux version 2.6 for core system services such as security, memory management, process management, network stack, and driver model. The kernel also acts as an abstraction layer between the hardware and the rest of the software stack.

Source: Open Handset Alliance

Checking in with the pundits on Android

It already seems like an eternity ago, but Google's big Open Handset Alliance / Android announcement was arguably the biggest news of the week, and it inspired a number of tech pundits and bloggers to weigh in -- and Steve Ballmer to talk some major smack. Since no one really knows how any of this is going to play out, we thought we'd round up some of the more interesting viewpoints for easy reference -- and maybe some easy laughs -- when we get our hands on the first "GPhone" in late 2008.

We gotta start with John Dvorak, who cut straight to the point and said "The Google phone is doomed." Additional money quotes include "Google is actually not a charismatic company that can make this new platform happen in a big way," and "When I see a bunch of joiners jumping on some unknown, unreleased unfinished pipe dream, I actually laugh." He even roped in the iPhone, calling it more of a "photo album than a phone." Actually, Dvorak's whole column is a great read even if just to experience the man's naked anger towards every phone ever made.

Not to be outdone at the contrarian game, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer came out swinging as well, saying "Their efforts are just some words on paper right now." Actually, he does have a point there -- although Google and HTC may have been developing that "Dream" prototype, the real news will come in late 2008 when Android devices start shipping. How does that compare to WinMo, Steve? "They have a press release, we have many, many millions of customers, great software, many hardware devices and they're welcome in our world."

Other media members seemed just as skeptical, if not as openly hostile: Robert Scoble was pumped about the open source angle, but wanted to know how Android was going to integrate with his car, saying that Microsoft's Sync was way ahead in that department. Om Malik started out calling Android "a massive PR move" and started asking why all the OHA partners seemed to be hedging their bets -- specifically HTC, which is a huge WinMo shop but also a big part of OHA.

Way on the other side of things is the always-controversial Rob Enderle, who called the smartphone market a "horserace" with Google in possession of the fastest horse: "Unless someone else figures out how to do this as well or better, Google ends up as one of the most powerful companies ever." That's a lot of assumptions, but Enderle doesn't really do it any other way.

Of course, it's lonely at the top, and apart from Enderle and Google and the OHA partners themselves, there's doesn't seem to be a lot of faith that Android will deliver. The going consensus seems to be optimistic hope tempered by a long history with committee-based projects that seem to die on the vine -- as Steven Frank put it, "A 34-company committee couldn't create a successful ham sandwich, much less a mobile application suite." Ouch.

We'd be remiss if we didn't include our own take, which, as usual, took the form of an open plea to Palm to save itself anyway it can -- which it gently ignored. Apart from that, we definitely got the press release vibe from the whole thing -- and we really, really want to see a device soon, even if just in prototype form. It seems like it'll be a long year of speculation until then.

Source: Engadget

Rumor: WhatsOpen.com to release first Android App

Google's Android SDK, the company’s new mobile platform, isn't due for release until later this month, but Valleywag has some leaked screenshots of a site that could end up offering the first Android app. The rumor is that these shots are from WhatsOpen.com, a startup that mashes geodata with store operating hours to tell you, as the name implies, what's open near you.

There is of course no guarantee that these are real, but Valleywag’s source claims that, along with the screens of the soon-to-launch site, there’s an Android-ready app to go along with it.

At first glance the results are a bit underwhelming, but having wasted half an hour yesterday waiting for the local DMV office to re-open after its lunch break, I can personally attest to the potential usefulness of a service like WhatsOpen.com (assuming of course that Valleywag’s source is correct about what it is).

Hopefully, since a fully-functional Android-based phone is still a considerable way off, WhatsOpen will at least unveil the site sometime soon.

Source: Wired

Android SDK

An early preview of Google's Android SDK will be available to download on Monday, November 12, 2007. Google has been very secretive about the details of Android so it will be interesting to see if this is something that could really make a serious impact on the mobile market.

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.

Google 'Dream' Phone by HTC

Google likes software, particularly the kind that puts ads on Web pages, making Google rich. The realities of a phone business--running a supply chain, keeping inventory and managing distribution--were never something Google wanted from its phone initiative. But it has built about five prototype phones based on the Open Handset Alliance software kit that it has used to demonstrate what an open-source phone could do--and to woo companies to join its team.



The phone, code-named "Dream" inside Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ), looks somewhat like Apple's (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) iPhone: It is thin, about 3 inches wide and 5 inches long, and features a touch-sensitive, rectangular screen. Unlike the iPhone, the screen is also time-sensitive: Hold down your finger longer, and the area you're controlling expands. The bottom end of the handset, near the navigational controls, is slightly beveled so it nestles in the palm. The screen also swivels to one side, revealing a full keyboard beneath. (The screen display changes from a vertical portrait mode to a horizontal display when someone uses the keyboard.)

The Dream design makes the core functions--e-mail, text documents and YouTube--readily available by putting icons that open those applications along the top of the screen. In its guts, the phone runs a virtual machine so that applications, like the browser, can launch once during a session, then reside in the background. That way, if someone sends you, say, a YouTube video link, you can run it immediately, without restarting the browser. The browser also downloads large files in stages to cut the time it seems to take to bring them onto the phone.

Taiwan's HTC is already considering manufacturing a commercial version of Dream, which Chief Executive Peter Chou says could be available as early as the second half of 2008. "We've been working on [Open Handset Alliance] designs for almost two years," he says. "This is the best one we've seen." ( See list of the alliance members.)

He would not comment on price or which service provider would offer the phone. T-Mobile, however, is scheduled to play a large role at Monday's announcement.

Other phone designs, said Chou, might include "sizes from small to large, personal models and phones for business productivity. This is about extending the portfolio to make it a better consumer experience--one size does not fit all."

"There are twice as many phones as there are Internet users in the world," says Google's Andy Rubin, who led the Open Handset Alliance initiative. "This platform is a means of correcting this." An added benefit, he suggests, is that the software can be used in any other type of mobile device, such as wireless-enabled cars.

Google "wants to deliver the best platform they can to get click-throughs" on the Internet, says Sanjay Jha, Qualcomm's (nasdaq: QCOM - news - people ) chief operating officer and head of its chip-set division. For its part, Qualcomm is turning over to the open-source community "some low-level device drivers" that will allow Google's Linux platform to work with Qualcomm's air interface chips.

Once the Open Handset Alliance software kit is made openly available--probably sometime in the second half of 2008 when the first OHA-based handset ships--Google will become a hub for future OHA phone developments, including changes to the operating system or browser, or even the applications people are building for the phone.

"Google is committed to keeping it updated--they will continue to invest resources," Jha says. "The problem with open source for phones has been who is behind it. Microsoft backs development of Windows Mobile. Nokia backs their phone. Suddenly, someone is backing open-source mobile Linux with a big checkbook."

That hardly means the end for service providers, however, says Qualcomm's Jha. "We'll work with carriers and developers too, write code for our chips. Every carrier will still have their own needs."

Source: Forbes