Facebook Phone to use Android OS?

Facebook is making a smartphone and rumour has it that they will be using the Google Android operating system as the template.

The news may not come as a surprise to observers who have seen a tense competition forming between Google and Facebook over the years.

Facebook has attempted to take on many of Google's qualities including a similar advertising revenue system and search within Facebook.

When the owner of Wikipedia declared that he wanted his company to eventually replace Google, Wiki was quickly punished in the SERPs.

But Google would be powerless to stop Facebook adapting the Android OS. The social networking company, which now has 500 million users worldwide, wants to branch out and offer its services on a mobile platform.

Facebook liked the look of the Google Nexus One and the company realised it could not achieve what it wanted to simply through the use of an application.

Facebook mobile products head Erick Tseng, who was recently pinched from the Android mobile team, said at the MobileBeat 2010 conference: "We really see mobile as the future."

Facebook creatives Joe Hewitt, who previously worked on the Firefox browser, and Matthew Papakipos, whose experience includes Google Chrome OS, may now be turning their attentions to a Facebook phone.

Expect the Facebook phone to include a calendar based on your events and, of course, your extensive Facebook contact list. It also might make it easier to use Facebook applications such as Places.

Rather than building an operating system from scratch, Facebook will have access to one of the fastest-growing smartphone services and all of its third-party applications.

At the same time it is likely that a Facebook Phone would fragment users of the Android OS even more.

Android Mobile Awaits Froyo

To date only 43% of Android mobile users have access to the new version 2.2 of the operating system, codenamed Froyo.

The graph above shows that many Android smartphones still operate on version 2.1 with some phones stuck on 1.5 or 1.6. It is based on research by Chitika data analytics.

While users of the iPhone can all upgrade to iOS4, it is at the discretion of Android OS network providers when they will make Froyo available.
For instance Motorolla makes the Droid X and had promised customers that Froyo would be released this month but that does not look likely to happen. It is a bizarre situation considering that the Droid X is supposed to be the flagship Android OS smartphone for Motorolla. It has also sold well since it was released.

Since then Google has shipped Droid 2 with Froyo pre-installed. But the company lags behind Apple which has managed to get 68% of its users onto iOS4. Android mobile may be selling faster than the iPhone 4, but in the war between the two smartphone providers it seems that Apple has given its soldiers more up-to-date equipment.

Android Mobile Continues Ascendancy

Android mobile has continued its rapid ascendancy in smartphone market share at the expense of Blackberry and iPhone. Meanwhile the new Windows Phone 7 has not yet been released.

The report by marketing research company Comscore showed that Android mobile picked up another 5% of the smartphone user pie between April-July 2010.

Over the same three months Apple dropped 1.3% while RIM continued its recent decline and dropped by 2%.

However the smartphone market as a whole is booming (11% increase between April-July 2010) thanks to the massive popularity of the Android and iPhone.

Some industry analysts believe that one reason why iPhone is losing ground to Android OS is because it does not have as many contracts with large network providers. The main network for Apple in the US is AT&T, while Android works over Verizon Wireless and Vodafone.

However the iPhone4 has only been out for a few months, and is selling very well, despite the data showing a faster take up of Android.

The next Comscore report will provide a much clearer view of the situation; after all the iPhone4 had only been out for one month when this report was compiled.

Angry Birds Ready to Fly on Android Mobile

The full version of Angry Birds for Android mobile will be released in the next three weeks according to developers.

The beta was released at the beginning of the month, but it only allowed access to the first level of this phenomenon.

Although this engrossing game requires a lot of patience to complete as you try to find the right angles with which to catapult birds at pigs, it is safe to say that many people have completed the level and are hoping for more.

Furthermore there were some handset issues when the beta for Angry Birds was released. Because the HTC Wildfire phone uses QVGA displays these were not supported but efforts are being made to address the problem.

An Angry Birds developer called Rovio said: "We are currently working hard to ensure that Angry Birds on the Android mobile will offer best game experience for as many people as possible."

Angry Birds has been a massive success on the iOS4 where the app costs 99 cents, so expect the Android mobile to be priced competitively.

Android About Town

Another busy week for Android mobile as Google has added pedestrian friendly Google maps as an app.

That means you can get directions on foot around major world cities like London, and some smaller ones too. There is a street view feature which lets you know what your future path might look like.

Now sat nav has been around for a while, but it is good to finally get something pedestrian friendly. Many cities, admittedly in developing countries, do not cater to walkers very well.

These directions for Android mobile take no heed of one-way streets and also let you know about short cuts, for instance if you want to head through a shopping mall to get somewhere quicker. Directions can be audible or silent, with a vibrate option also possible.

The beta app is available on the Android market for versions 1.6 or above of the smartphone.

There is also some competition to the Android now that Apple has allowed Flash and Java on its phones.
Could this be a sign that Apple is taking a leaf from Google's book and becoming more relaxed about applications for its smartphone?
If so it will be interesting to see whether more developers side with the well-paid Apple apps or whether their decisions will always be made on an individual cost analysis basis.
Apple will also allow 3rd party advertisers. Watch this space.

Android Mobile Stands Out from the Crowd

A study has shown that although there is no clear leader in the smartphone market, Android mobile is the one to watch out for as far as the future is concerned.

Research firm IDC has weighed up the performances of Apple's iPhone, Google's Android-based mobile phones, Research In Motion BlackBerrys, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 operating system and Nokia Symbian operating systems.

Ramon Llamas, the senior research analyst for IDC's Mobile Trends Team, said: "Android is the wild card in the race and Android mobile technology merits close observation for the rest of this year and many years to come."

Mr Llamas added that Android success was partly because consumers could personalise their 'smartphone experience'. Ease of use and the burgeoning app store for Android were also main factors.

The Android operating system is popular on many handsets including the HTC Droid Incredible, the HTC Evo 3G/4G and Motorola Droid. Yet this popularity could mean that companies such as LG Electronics, Dell and Samsung could also produce Android handsets in the future.

Recent data has shown that the Android phones have outsold iPhones and Blackberrys in the US in the second quarter of this year. By 2014 it is predicted that Android will have 24.6 percent of the smartphone marketshare worldwide, up from 16.3 percent.

Despite the success of Android the report concluded that there is ample room for multiple smartphone players to grow with no individual OS dominating. In fact there will be enough market room for up to five OS players over the next five years.

Android Mobile has Angry Birds in Hand

Android mobile users may be glad to know that the smash hit game for iPhone, Angry Birds, is now available on their OS.
However, you can only download it from the Android market if you have version 2.0 of Android, and even some versions of Froyo are incompatible.
Furthermore the Angry Birds Lite free trial has locked some of the game levels as it has not completed testing. The developers had planned to make a closed test but in the end they bowed to intense public pressure to release Angry Birds.
Rumours are that there are some bugs in the system and CNET has even reported that game will not work at all on the HTC Evo Android mobile handset.
That is bad news for people who are trying to get their hands on one of the bestselling smartphone apps of all time.
Personally I cannot see what all the fuss is about. It's basically just a version of Tetris which involves birds catapulting themselves at pigs . Apparently this is incredibly addictive. It must be getting to grips with the precision needed to angle the catapulting correctly...

Google Tunes into Android Mobile

Google is gradually moving into Unified Communications, but it is also making a play for the digital music market.

Sales of the Android mobile OS have overtaken the iPhone this year and now the search giant is hoping to draw custom away from iTunes too.
The manoeuvre has been welcomed by record companies which want to see Apple’s grip on music for smartphones and PCs loosened. Six out of 10 iPhone users listen to music on their phones compared to four out of 10 Android users.
Apple currently controls over 80% of digital music sales through its iTunes store. Yet record companies are not all together happy with the financial terms that Apple have set.

The soaring sales for digital music are thought to be the future of the industry which has overall taken a big hit, losing $7.7 billion in 2009, according to the International Phonographic Industry Federation.
None of the companies involved can comment right now but it is thought that licences are being drawn up in time for Google's musical offering to be released with the Gingerbread for Android platform.

Offering music downloads for the Android mobile OS is a key part of the company's challenge to Apple. There are now 7.6 million Android mobile subscribers in America compared with 12.4 million iPhone users.

The question that remains is how the music will be charged - paid downloads or streaming and whether this would be incorporated into a monthly bill.
They may also use a free entry-level tier and a paid premium tier, provided that music executives are happy with this.

A music analyst with NPD Group Inc, Russ Crupnick, told the Seattle Times: “Consumers are constantly looking for new music. Music labels know that discovering that music via Google would be profitable for everyone."

Sony Ericsson to dominate Android Mobile

The handset producer Sony Ericsson is aiming to be the world’s largest Android mobile supplier.

According to a report by Business Week the statement came direct from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, which is the the mobile phone venture of Ericsson AB and Sony Corp.

They have a direct contract to produce smartphones for Google's Android OS. Rights now those include the XPERIA X10, the X10 mini pro and the X10 mini, with another Android mobile phone, the X8, soon to be released.

Based in London, Sony Ericsson controls 17% of the Android mobile market share making it one of the biggest players in the production of their smartphones.

The largest Android mobile maker controls 23% of the market share, although the company declined to mention who this was. Direct competitors for Sony Ericsson are Motaorola, HTC and Samsung.

The Chief Executive Officer of Sony Ericsson, Bert Nordberg, spoke of these grandiose plans while giving a talk in Beijing but did not mention a timeframe for achieving world domination.

No Android EAS support for Hotmail

Microsoft has now released Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) support for Hotmail. It will allow calendar and email features to be viewed from Hotmail on smartphones. Therefore you can make changes to your Hotmail account on the web or via your mobile device.

The roll-out is effective immediately instead of taking place gradually but it will not come to Android mobile users straight away.

Instead you can only get support if you have a support iPhone, Windows Phone 7 or various other Apple, Nokia or Windows phones.

A Microsoft statement said: "The Hotmail team will add Android mobile to list of supported devices in the coming months after testing is completed but Android 2.1 is not currently supported due to known issues."

Although Microsoft is not officially supporting Android 2.1 it is possible to sync Android 2.2 from Hotmail via the Touchdown application or the default application.

Some users have also had success in supporting Android with Hotmail ActiveSync.

Android Mobile goes Bing

Google may dominate the world of internet search with a design to become the premier smartphone maker through the Android, but Bing is now available on that platform.

Microsoft's Bing offering brought real time search to the internet, a fantastic idea in the world of minute-by-minute Twitter updates, and now Google is also copying the idea.

But if you don't like Google then network provider Verizon offers a Bing app for the Android mobile. The app is free and will also be pre-installed on all new Android mobiles sold by Verizon.

The app facilitates amazing Android and Bing features. That means that users of the Android OS can expect Bing's image of the day. An even neater option is being able to search by a series of voice commands - though how well this will work in practise will be interesting to see. The app will allow GPS access too with traffic information also supplementing the drectional guidance. And you can see listings of shops and restaurnats in your area.

The Bing app is also available for the iPhone. At the moment it is thought that the Bing app for Android mobile deal is exlusive to Verizon.

Android mobile is big in China

China is going crazy for the Android mobile smartphone. Three more Android handsets have been brought out to take the total for the country to 11 - all released in one year.

These MING handsets are made by Motorola and there is one for each of China's three mobile networks. The XT806 works for China Telecom's CDMA-2000 network, the MT810 is compatible with the China TD-SCDMA mobile network, and the Chinese Unicom WCDMA network can be accessed from the A1680 phone.

The Corporate VP and President of Greater China Motorola Mobility, Mr Frank Meng, said that the MING smartphones were designed to be customizable to each individual user.

He said: "With MING we have combined our engineering expertise with a deep understanding of how Chinese people use their devices to create powerful, user-friendly smartphones which feel great. The MING Android mobile will be part of a fantastic customer experience."

Part of the allure of the Android smartphone is that it has features in the Chinese language which make it easy to use. It also has touch screen and flip technology.

More than half the Android mobiles sold in China this year are Motorola devices, according to the company. Sales of MING phones have exceeded the five million mark.

Google Finance for Android Mobile is Awesome

As you may have gathered by now I am somewhat sceptical about applications for the Android mobile but I have finally come across one that I really like the sound of. Google Finance is absolutely awesome.

Now I don't know much about finance but I certainly plan to. Interest rates are awful at the moment. I feel stuck in that sort of situation where you can slave away for the next decade banging your head against a wall or take a risk that could transform your fortunes.

So I want to play the stock market and hopefully strike it big. I'm pretty good at poker so I fancy myself as a gambler, but I have none of the requisite knowledge needed to invest. I may sound naive but I am smart enough to know that you do not try to crack Wall St without doing a hell of a lot of research.

But research is tedious and it reminds me of University. Yet an application with all of the fancy features and widgets is far more appealing. And it means that you can spend what is normally dead-time travelling instead learning something important on your Android mobile phone.

Google Finance gives you all of the latest market news and allows you to keep up to date with your portfolio. You can basically keep your eye on any sector that you are interested in all the time. Real-time data is fed to you along with many up-to-the minute quotes.

I have to say that I am impressed.

Android puts Facebook app in its place

Some Android users may be miffed to find that the Facebook Places app is currently only available on the iPhone.

Personally I am not sure who in their right mind would want everyone to know where they have been. Facebook has created a sort of show-off culture where we try to get one-up on our peers by showing them that we have been to cooler places and on more expensive holidays. Unless you are part of the rich jetset I am not sure that this is good for everyone's self-esteem.

Also Facebook Places has some fairly glaring privacy issues. Facebook has come under fire regularly for its haphazard use of personal information and unless you check your settings like a hawk the constant changes could leave you vulnerable.

However the Facebook Places app is only available to those who choose to use it. It can send out a trail of your movements so that you can share your favourite restaurants, bookstores etc with friends.

If you want to use this on the Android mobile phone then visit Touch Facebook and look for the Places icon in the top right-hand corner.

Alternatively the Facebook Places app is very similar to other products on the market including Gowalla and Foursquare which are both available for the Android mobile phone, so you could just use these instead.

All of these apps have obvious commercial uses so expect plenty of promotions in the future.

StumbleUpon Android

Android mobile users can StumbleUpon their favourite websites now that an app has been created.

Like Technorati and Digg, StumbleUpon is a popular form of social media which allows internet aficionados to find new websites based on their topic of choice, and then share them easily with friends. It also allows people to vote for which websites they like the most and so is a valuable tool for the online community.

To use the app on the Android mobile you will have had to sign up to StumbleUpon beforehand. Although you may consider this to be a nuisance, doing so will carry over the original preferences that you have built up. Once you have installed the app from the Android marketplace a StumbleUpon toolbar will appear just above or below your web browser.

The website Social Beat reported a major flaw. "The one thing that faithful StumbleUponers might object to is how slow pages load over standard mobile networks."
But to compensate there are thumbnail previews of pages which let you look before you leap into a slow download. Android users have control of this setting without having to leave the app.

Cnet picked up on another potential downside, the StumbleUpon bar cannot be hidden and so will stay their throughout your browsing session unless the app is exited.

Otherwise this could be the perfect way to occupy yourself during a long train journey. The StumbleUpon app for Android is available for the iPhone too.

Android mobile hits ad up

Ad impressions for the Android mobile phone are up, taking the smartphone platform into second place against its competitors.
This data comes from Millennial Media, which is the number one independent mobile ad platform with more than 63 million users.
The iPhone is still the leading unit with 55% of all smartphone ad impressions (down 1%), yet the Android mobile is now ahead of the Blackberry with 19% of the market share, up from 11% in June.
Steve McCord, head of product development at Millennial, said: "This marks the first time that Android mobile has hit second place since Millennial began tracking the numbers in August 2009."
The figures are not surprising given the huge popularity of the Android mobile phone which has seen a vast increase in sales this year.
The most successful ad impressions handset for the Android mobile is the Motorola Droid with 5% of the impression share.
Android ad requests have been going up by 47% month-on-month while Apple ad requests increased 24 percent.