Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0

Google has stepped into the smartphone navigation app market with Maps Navigation, which is based on its Maps for mobile app and gives the user live turn-by-turn directions, among other features. Though Maps for mobile is available on many smartphone platforms, for the time being, only Android 2.0 phones like the upcoming Droid will be able to use Maps Navigation.

Google  on Wednesday announced the beta release of a GPS navigation application for Android 2.0 devices.



Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0

The application is part of Google Maps for mobile. Android version 2.0 will appear on the upcoming Droid handset from Motorola (NYSE: MOT) and Verizon, and other manufacturers also plan to release handsets carrying the updated, Google-backed mobile OS.

Although Google makes other mobile applications that work on a variety of mobile platforms, it's unclear when or if its new nav app will make its way to Android rivals like the iPhone or Research In Motion's (Nasdaq: RIMM) BlackBerry devices.

About Google Map Navigation

Built to leverage a smartphone's Internet connection, Google Maps Navigation provides users with up-to-date maps and business listings from Google Maps. The updates are free; GPS system vendors such as TomTom and Garmin (Nasdaq: GRMN) often charge for their updates.

To search, users have the option of entering the name of a business or landmark into the search box instead of the exact address of a location.

Travelers may like the following features, which leverage their smartphones' Internet access: Live traffic data; satellite view; street view; and search along route.

A blinking light in the corner of the smartphone's screen will glow green, yellow or red depending on traffic conditions along the user's route. Users can get more details by zooming out to an aerial view. Like other GPS systems, Google Map Navigation lets users choose alternate routes.

While driving, users can search for a business by name or type, or they can locate gas stations, restaurants or parking by activating pre-installed layers on the map. Double-tapping the map takes users into Street View. Google Maps Navigation can also show travelers a picture of their destination so they know what to look for when they arrive.

Doing It by Voice

Google Maps Navigation also has a search-by-voice function that lets users navigate through voice commands. That sounds like it could be helpful when driving a car and typing in commands may present a dangerous distraction, but it might not be quite as useful as it sounds, according to Allen Nogee, a principal analyst at In-Stat. "I've been using voice recognition for many years," he told TechNewsWorld. "It's not so easy in the best of conditions, and it's going to be even worse in your car because there's lots of ambient noise."

Voice recognition issues are common and should eventually be resolved, according to Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. "This is a technology in progress across all devices, and it will likely take five or more years to fully refine it," he told TechNewsWorld.

Beating the Tom-Toms

Although the idea of using a smartphone for navigation is interesting, for now, users may still prefer standalone GPS systems such as those from TomTom and Garmin, Enderle said. "Standalone GPS systems are preferred because they are relatively inexpensive, they have larger displays than smartphones, and they don't interfere with phone use," he explained.

Eventually, users might opt for smartphones instead. However, the smartphones must be better integrated with car screens and sound systems. "These changes haven't been made yet," Enderle pointed out.

Smartphones may have to make a technological quantum leap before they can replace standalone GPS devices. "Navigation is old hat," In-Stat's Nogee said. "The next stage will be incorporating your location in the rest of your life. Say you're traveling to the airport, and your device will know that and warn you ahead of time that traffic is heavy and you need to leave earlier."

Spreading the Navigation Love

Google describes its Maps Navigation app as "part of Google Maps for mobile." Maps for mobile is a general mapping application available for a wide variety of smartphones, though as a standalone program, it does not offer the same features as Maps Navigation. As far as Google Maps Navigation is concerned, the company has only promised that it will be available for Android 2.0 devices.

Whether the nav application makes its way to other mobile platforms will depend on whether Google will develop versions for those platforms and whether the controllers of those platforms will approve.

For example, Google Maps Navigation may be delayed on the iPhone since the software will have to gain the favor of Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) App Store managers. Though iPhones are sold with preinstalled Google apps like Maps for mobile and a YouTube portal, not every Google application gets an automatic Apple rubber stamp -- a Google Voice app, for instance, has still not been approved by the App Store. Google did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

On the other hand, Google may extend the navigation app beyond just Android phones. "Android is being put on e-books and other devices which actually might be better for navigation, depending on the display size and primary use of the device," Enderle explained.

This article is from www.technewsworld.com

Verizon's Motorola Droid sells for 200 USD

Today is the official unveiling of Verizon's first Android-based smartphone. The Motorola Droid, scheduled for release next week, will be packed with high-end features, like a WVGA+ touchscreen, hardware keyboard, mobile broadband, Wi-Fi, and much more.

Verizon has been aggressively advertising this model -- it has been the subject of a TV ad campaign for the last several weeks that seeks to highlight its advantages over Apple's iPhone.

An Overview of the Motorola Droid

This smartphone will be a slider, with a landscape-oriented QWERTY keyboard. It is going to have a 3.7-inch, 854-by-480-pixel (WVGA+) capacitive Touchscreen with haptic feedback.

It will run Google Android 2.0 on a 550 MHz processor, and will come with a suite of applications that can wirelessly synchronize with this company's services, including Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, and Maps.

Verizon is promising advanced speech recognition to allow user to make calls and search the Web with voice commands.

For professionals, the Droid will offer Exchange ActiveSync and a Microsoft Office file viewer. For everyone, it will have video and audio software.

Android is known for its very powerful WebKit-based web browser, and the newest version is going to support HTML5, plus Adobe Flash 10.1 when it's released in 2010.

Verizon is going to bundle a 16 GB microSD card, and users will have the option of switching this out with a 32 GB card when these come on the market next year.

More Hardware Features

This smartphone will support Verizon's high-speed mobile broadband EV-DO Rev. A service. It will also include Wi-Fi b/g and Bluetooth for short range connections to the Internet and accessories.

The Droid will have a 5 megapixel camera, with auto-focus and dual LED flash. This will be able to handle high-resolution images and 720-by-480-pixel video at up to 24 fps.

It is also going to include a 3.5 mm headset jack, a GPS receiver, and an accelerometer.

This Motorola model will have a 1400 mAh battery, which Verizon says will be good for either 385 minutes of talk time or up to 270 hours of stand-by time.

Overall, this device will be 4.6 inches wide, 2.4 inches wide, and 0.5 inches thick (116 x 60 x 14 mm).

Additional details on the Motorola Droid can be found in the official datasheet (PDF)

Pricing & Availability

Those who are interested in the Droid won't have to wait much longer; Verizon promised today that this cutting-edge cell phone will debut next Friday, Nov. 6. It will be available exclusively at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online.

This high-end cell phone is going to sell for $200 with a new two-year customer agreement after a $100 mail-in rebate.

This article is from www.brighthand.com

All about BlackBerry Storm2

Less than 12 months have gone by since Verizon debuted the original, much-anticipated BlackBerry Storm. This was to be the ground-breaking, iPhone-killing hybrid boasting all the best qualities of a BlackBerry with a large touchscreen borrowed from RIM's Cupertino counterpart. In reality, this smartphone offered slow performance and crashed frequently.

The BlackBerry Storm2, slated for release later this week, seeks address many of the problems Verizon and RIM experienced with the first Storm, and I was optimistic as I opened my demo unit box. Unfortunately, my initial impressions are that this device fails to deliver on all the promises. Though the Storm2 fixes a lot of problems, there are still areas seriously lacking.

I've only been playing with the Storm for a little more than a day -- check back early this week for a complete review.


BUILD & DESIGN

Hardware-wise the device looks pretty much like the first generation, minus the chrome trim on the sides and the four physical keys (the talk, hang up, return, and BlackBerry keys). These are now an extended part of the screen, with sensors beneath them.

The Storm 2 also boasts its "SurePress" clickable display. This new clickable screen is more responsive than the first generation Storm, and seems to support multi-touch recognition.

Though more responsive, the new screen still has some misses, which at times has left me wondering if there bottom four keys are broken due to my inability to click them. Additionally I've noticed the phone refuses to switch from landscape to portrait when it's laying on my desk.

Like the original, the Storm2 lacks a physical keyboard, instead offering an on-screen one. While this generally works fine, there are still issues. After pulling up a page that requires typing it's not always apparent how to hide the keyboard. Similar problems calling up the keyboard are apparent when trying to enter numbers during a call.


PERFORMANCE

The BlackBerry Storm2 9550 does indeed correct many of the issues that plagued the old Storm. The original was lag-laden and screens froze regularly. The Storm2 answers back with what seems like plenty more horsepower to make portrait-to-landscape switches, menu scrolling, screen switching faster, more responsive, and the new OS even adds some visual pizazz to the process.

The Storm2 also boasts Wi-Fi (b/g), whose lack was a major detraction from Verizon's first Storm.

BlackBerry OS 5
Perhaps one saving grace of the device however, is BlackBerry OS 5.0, which gives us a peek at what's to be the new standard for RIM's smartphone.

The latest version of this operating system provides a lot of nice features for the new device. Chief among these are the ability to sync contacts over the air with a service like Google's contacts, the option to choose one of three keyboards in portrait mode -- multi-tap, sure-type, or full qwerty (like the first generation iPhone) -- an enhanced ability to customize notifications, and tweaks that improve the overall user interface.

A BlackBerry OS 5.0 upgrade is expected to be available for current Storm users later today (Sunday October 25) or tomorrow -- and will be a welcome addition for all of you users.

The new operating system version will be covered more extensively in the full review, along with the other features of this smartphone.

This article is from www.brighthand.com

Samsung 360 H1 to be released on October 30

Vodaphone's specially created Samsung 360 H1 handset to be released on October 30, free on £35, 24-month contracts. Network also launches website for parents to understand 'Twitter' generation

Vodafone has announced that its 360 Samsung H1 handset can be pre-ordered today online.

The handset will be out on October 30.

Tailor made for Vodafone, the device is the first in a range which delivers Vodafone's new 360 web portal proposition.

The 360 Samsung H1 has a touchscreen, 16GB memory, Wi-Fi, GPS, and a 5 megapixel camera. It also features a 3D display that displays a user's contact list in a gallery-style card stack, with the most frequently contacted friends and family at the front.

Vodafone 360 automatically syncs all contacts from a user's phone, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk, and will soon also include Twitter. It also automatically backs up all phone content to the internet

The 360 Samsung H1 will be free on 24 month contracts of £35 and above, including unlimited data.

Meanwhile, the network has also launched a website aimed at parents to help them understand and support their children's online activities.

The website aims to help parents play an active role in their children's digital world and to understand how they use their mobile phones, and online social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

Vodafone global head of standards content Annie Mullins said: "Many parents tell us that they are baffled by what their children are doing be it on their on their mobile, on Facebook or via their iphones. They say it's hard to keep up with the pace of change.

"Their desire is to get simple, clear information on everyday matters, such as knowing what age a child should be given a mobile or setting the rules for using Facebook, and very practical advice about what to do."

This article is from mobilenewscwp.co.uk

Blackberry Storm2 Smartphone

Waterloo, Ontario -- Vodafone and Research In Motion today introduced the BlackBerry Storm2(TM) smartphone for customers in seven European countries as well as South Africa.

The second generation of RIM's innovative and award-winning touch-screen smartphone, the BlackBerry Storm2 significantly improves the BlackBerry touch-screen platform with new technology and new features to let customers stay easily connected to the people, places and things that matter most.

In the busy holiday gift buying period, customers in the UK and Ireland will be able to get the new smartphone first through Vodafone, and it will be offered exclusively by Vodafone in Germany, Netherlands and Spain. It will also be made available in France, Italy and South Africa in time for Christmas.

The BlackBerry Storm2 with BlackBerry OS 5 evolves the BlackBerry touch-screen platform with hundreds of hardware and software enhancements.

The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone (model 9520) from Vodafone features:

New SurePress Technology

The BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone introduces a new SurePress(TM) technology based on an electronic system that provides the user with tactile feedback when the touch-screen is pressed. The new system responds equally to gentle pressure applied anywhere on the surface of the screen and makes clicking the display practically effortless. Typing on the smartphone's virtual keyboards is easier, more comfortable and more accurate. The new SurePress technology also allows the user to type a letter with one thumb even while their other thumb may still be touching or resting on another letter, enabling faster typing and multi-key actions such as Shift or Alt -key combinations.

Hardware Features

- Smooth design and premium finish with sloped edges, chrome accents, glass lens and stainless steel backplate

- Large (3.25"), dazzling, high resolution 360 x 480 display at 184 ppi

- Capacitive touch-screen with integrated functions (Send, End, Menu, Escape) and new SurePress technology that makes clicking the display practically effortless

- Global connectivity support: UMTS/HSPA (2100Mhz), quad-band EDGE/GPRS/GSM and Wi-Fi? (802.11 b/g) networks

- 3.2 MP camera with variable zoom, autofocus, flash and video recording

- 256 MB of Flash memory

- 2 GB of onboard memory storage and a microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 16 GB cards today and is expected to support 32 GB cards when available

- Premium and easy-to-access phone features, background noise suppression technology, loud distortion-free speakerphone and face detection (proximity sensor) that prevents accidental clicks and blanks the screen while the user is on the phone

- Media player for videos, pictures and music, plus BlackBerry Desktop Manager for both PCs and Macs, and BlackBerry Media Sync for easily syncing iTunes and Windows Media Player music with the smartphone(i)

- Vodafone's music client pre-installed, giving access to an extensive catalogue of artists

- A 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and dedicated volume controls

- Bluetooth (2.1) with support for Secure Simple Pairing, hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals

- Built-in GPS for maps and other location-based applications, as well as photo geotagging

- Access to BlackBerry App World(TM), featuring a broad and growing catalog of mobile applications developed specifically for BlackBerry smartphones. Categories include games, entertainment, IM and social networking, news, weather, productivity and more. Applications developed for the original BlackBerry Storm are fully compatible with the BlackBerry Storm2

- BlackBerry Internet Service and BlackBerry Enterprise Server support

- Removable, rechargeable 1400 mAhr battery that provides approximately 6 hours of talk time on 3G networks and 280 hours of standby time

BlackBerry OS 5

- More responsive experience and includes usability and visual enhancements such as inertial scrolling, spin boxes that make it easier to set dates and times, gradient shading on buttons and more use of animation

- Typing accuracy and selection have been significantly refined

- BlackBerry Browser improved with faster JavaScript and CSS processing as well as support for Gears and BlackBerry Widgets

- Customers running BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5 will gain the ability to:

-- Set follow-up Flags on the handset like they can in Microsoft Office Outlook

-- Manage Microsoft Exchange email folders (Add, Rename, Move, Delete) on the handset

-- Access remote files shares (Windows Shares); Save, View, Edit, and Email documents from remote file shares

-- Forward appointments and view calendar attachments on the handset

-- Benefit from wireless sync improvements for Contacts, including sync for multiple contact folders, personal Distribution Lists and contacts in Public/Shared folders

(i) Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies.

Pricing

Pricing will be announced by the individual in-country operating companies. As an indication, Vodafone UK will be offering the BlackBerry Storm2 free from GBP 35 per month on a 24-month contract that includes 600 minutes talk-time, unlimited BlackBerry Internet Service, unlimited text messaging, as well as unlimited access to VMI (Vodafone Mobile Internet) and broadband.

This article is from www.mobiletechnews.com

New Products from Acer: Liquid A1 touchscreen smartphone and Aspire One netbook (349.99USD)

Acer has unveiled two new Android products: a dual-OS netbook and a touchscreen smartphone. Acer is a "fast follower and is probably going into where it sees other significant activity," observed Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney. Android has become the mobile platform to watch, with a slew of smartphones hitting the market this fall. More netbooks are sure to follow.

Acer has announced details surrounding two hotly anticipated mobile devices running Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android mobile operating system: the Liquid A1 touchscreen smartphone, which Acer first said it was developing when it joined the Open Handset Alliance earlier this year; and the Aspire One netbook, which is available for preorder at Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) for US$349.99.

Aspire One will run both Android and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows 7; users can toggle back and forth between the two operating systems. It has a 10.1 inch screen and nine hours of battery life, according to specs on Amazon. It runs on a 1.66 GHz Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) N280 Atom Processor and weighs 2.8 pounds.


Besides joining a select -- but growing -- universe of Android-based smartphones, the Liquid A1 is among the few built with a Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) Snapdragon processor. Qualcomm demoed Snapdragon chipsets powering Android at the International Consumer Electronics Show this January, highlighting the graphics support, tight integration, low power consumption and connectivity capabilities.

Acer did not respond to LinuxInsider's request for comment in time for publication.

Android Fever

The Liquid A1 and Aspire One join the growing number of mobile devices -- particularly smartphones -- that are using Android as the platform. In fact, Android is expected to be the No. 2 mobile platform within just a few years, according to Gartner (NYSE: IT) .

By 2012, the expected rank order will be Symbian, Android, iPhone OS, Windows Mobile, RIM OS, Linux and webOS, the research firm predicted.

Acer's enthusiasm for Android comes as a bit of a surprise, Gartner's Ken Dulaney told LinuxInsider. However, it "is a fast follower and is probably going into where it sees other significant activity."

Eventually, he predicted, Acer will be a very minor player. "They have not yet established themselves in the smartphone area and have to build many relationships with carriers -- and they are up against some very big players, such as Samsung and LG ."

Indeed, in many ways this is a story about Android -- not Acer.

Android has become the platform to watch, Patrick Gilbert, president and CEO of 4SmartPhone, told LinuxInsider. "As far the other players are concerned, such as RIM or Nokia (NYSE: NOK) , I think it will certainly eat into their markeshare -- and likely slowdown growth of popular phones like the BlackBerry."

Besting Apple

Android's open platform could possibly best Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) with its closed, proprietary approach to the iPhone -- and presumably whatever netbook product it eventually rolls out, Charles King, principal with Pund-IT, told LinuxInsider.

Acer A1 Liquid Android-powered smartphone

"We are starting to see increasing demand for smartphone and mediaphone devices built on Android," he said. "Google's decision to move forward with open source technology -- that is, making it available to a wide variety of manufacturers -- is beginning to pay off."

For a while, the market believed that Android would only gain traction through the HTC line of smartphones provided by T-Mobile (the Dream, aka "G1," and the Magic, aka "G2")," said King -- "but that view is definitely passé now. The market sees Android as having great potential no matter who the carrier."

Its openness will be a competitive differentiator against the iPhone in the medium term, he predicted.

Acer's Liquid A1 will be joining a lineup of competing phones: There will be Verizon and Google's Android product rollout, announced earlier this month; Sprint's (NYSE: S) two Android phones, including its forthcoming Moment; and possibly a Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) smartphone built on the Android for AT&T (NYSE: T) Wireless.

Examples of Android based netbooks are fewer, but if demand and recent history are any guide, they are bound to proliferate as well.

This article is from www.technewsworld.com

Motorola CLIQ (T-Mobile)

The Motorola CLIQ is the company's first Android-powered smartphone. It's also a stellar device for the socially inclined. It aggregates updates from social networking sites, photo sharing sites, and Web-based e-mail. It could easily serve as the center of your connected universe. For a change, that's not hyperbole. Despite a few stumbles, the innovative and effective CLIQ easily wins our Editors' Choice award for T-Mobile smartphones.

Design and Call Quality

You'll like the phone least when it's off, because the CLIQ is a briq. It measures 4.5 by 2.3 by 0.6 inches and weighs a hefty 5.7 ounces. It's made of black plastic, glass (on the front panel), and darkened chrome accents around the curved sides. The bright 3.1-inch, 320-by-480-pixel touch screen is a little small, compared to the HTC Touch Pro2's 3.6-inch, 800-by-480-pixel panel, and the T-Mobile G1 and myTouch 3G's 3.2-inch screens. That said, touch response was stellar on the capacitive screen. There's a built-in four-way accelerometer and proximity and ambient light sensors for the display. The slider mechanism felt solid. Sliding the front panel out reveals a four-row plastic QWERTY keyboard with a five-way control pad on the left. Typing was quiet, comfortable, and totally accurate; I made few mistakes.

The CLIQ is a top-notch phone. It's a quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) and tri-band HSDPA 7.2 (900/1700/2100 MHz) device with Wi-Fi (but no Wi-Fi-enabled T-Mobile @Home calling). Voice calls sounded excellent in both directions, thanks in part to the powerful earpiece speaker and dual-mic setup. Reception was average, and generally matched a T-Mobile G1 I had on hand. Calls also sounded clear through a Plantronics Voyager Pro Bluetooth headset. The speakerphone was loud and powerful. Battery life was average at 9 hours and 28 minutes in EDGE mode.

Social Networking and MotoBlur

The CLIQ integrates social networking and messaging more deeply than any other phone we've ever seen, and it's the most heavily customized Android phone ever. Motorola's MotoBlur service is something many software and hardware vendors have tried to create but haven't been able to: an integrated, cloud-based interface for all of your online communications. If you're into Facebook or its ilk, MotoBlur is a real eye-opener.

MotoBlur brings together social networking updates, contacts, and other information from various sources, including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Last.fm (yep, the streaming radio site), plus the usual news, weather, and other bits of info. In addition to all this, MotoBlur backs up your contact, calendar, and other phone data online, and offers an import tool from Outlook, Outlook Express, Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, and Thunderbird. You can add additional accounts easily with the Accounts icon in the Applications menu.

MotoBlur displays all of this data in a colorful array of widgets on the CLIQ's five home screen panels. The Social Status widget updates your status on any or all social networks, and displays recent status updates. The Messages widget handles text messages, e-mail, and social networking direct messaging. Happenings displays recently uploaded photos, events, and other items from your contacts. A separate Happenings icon in the Applications menu displays all photos and events (not just unread ones like the Happenings widget). MotoBlur is also plumbed into the phone's built-in PIM apps; for example, if a contact changes their phone number on their Facebook profile, the CLIQ picks it up and changes it in the phone's address book.

With few exceptions, it all works like a charm. In my tests, it picked up my Facebook e-mail inbox and let me send and receive messages; Twitter and Facebook updates showed up quickly as well, showing photos of each person. The widgets' design wasn't always ideal; seeing one update at a time on the home screen, with half of someone's Facebook photo, looked a little silly sometimes. I located my handset within a few moments using the desktop MotoBlur location tool, which finds lost CLIQs via GPS, and was treated to an on-screen map. Sadly, the tool doesn't ring the phone; forget using it to find a misplaced CLIQ behind the couch. On the plus side, if the phone really is lost, you can remotely wipe its data. I did run into the occasional bug; the "Home" app crashed several times with an error dialog, though the handset never seemed deeply affected as a result.

Those that are concerned about cloud-based MotoBlur falling victim to the same problem the T-Mobile Sidekick did during its well-publicized data-loss fiasco have no need to worry. MotoBlur doesn't have the same problem the Sidekick does, because the CLIQ stores data locally (just like all other smartphones). The Sidekick has a constant two-way sync constantly and keeps some data local and other data in the cloud, which is why some contacts and info disappeared when Danger's server died.

Messaging, Web Browsing, and Apps

The CLIQ is a capable all-purpose smartphone as well. Like the G1 and MyTouch, the CLIQ has a 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A processor, with 256MB RAM and 256MB of internal storage. I would have preferred a faster processor. The CLIQ felt responsive in most situations, but there was occasional UI lag.

For e-mail, the CLIQ hooks into Gmail, Yahoo, and Windows Live Hotmail, and integrates with Microsoft Exchange servers for corporate e-mail. All messages appear in the CLIQ's universal inbox. It also syncs Google and Exchange calendar and contact information, and comes with a Microsoft Office document viewer. Plus, all PIM data is backed up in your MotoBlur account. For instant messaging, the CLIQ includes one app for AIM, Yahoo Messenger, and Windows Live Messenger accounts, while another app handles Google Talk separately.

Android's stock WebKit browser rendered Web pages accurately, with the exception of the usual gaping holes instead of Flash content, and the zoom controls were easy to manipulate. Download speeds in 3G mode averaged 810 to 850 kbps, which is good for a smartphone on an HSDPA 3.6 network.

Plenty of location-based services are also on board, including TeleNav-powered voice-enabled turn-by-turn directions, Google Maps with Street View, and Google Latitude for locating friends, along with the aforementioned location and remote wipe features. TeleNav had trouble understanding my voice specifying a destination, but it locked onto my location in about two minutes and delivered crisp, loud, accurate driving directions.

As with all Android phones, you can browse, buy, and download from a selection of over 7,000 apps in Android Market. Motorola may also introduce new widgets in the future as new services become popular.

But while Motorola insists the highly-customized CLIQ is compatible with all third-party programs, the CLIQ can't handle Google's standard OS updates. The CLIQ comes with Android 1.5, and can't be updated to Android 1.6 ("Donut") at the time of this review. CLIQ owners who want the integrated camcorder app and improved Android Market must wait for Motorola to issue its own package.

Media, Photos, and Conclusions

The standard-size 3.5mm headphone jack makes using your favorite earbuds a snap. MP3 and AAC tracks sounded clear and crisp over Motorola S9-HD Bluetooth headphones. The CLIQ displayed large album art thumbnails, and you can buy new music tracks over the air from Amazon MP3. You can also discover new music through imeem or Last.fm and stream it through the handset.

Video playback is especially attractive: a 3D wall indexes all your videos, and there's a timeline you can swipe with your finger. It wouldn't downscale a 720p HD video for the CLIQ's LCD, but it played other 3GP and MP4 videos, as well as YouTube, smoothly in full screen mode.

The 5-megapixel camera includes auto-focus, but lacks an LED flash. Test photos had a slight haze over them that's typical of tiny cell phone lenses. But overall, the CLIQ's camera performed well both outdoors and indoors without excessive noise. You can send photos straight to Picassa, Photobucket, Facebook, and MySpace. Recorded 352-by-288 videos played smoothly at 22 frames per second, and were well lit. I would have liked to see a VGA recording mode to match the iPhone and HTC Touch Pro 2, though. There's a microSD card slot hidden underneath the battery cover. My 16GB SanDisk card worked fine, and Motorola throws a 2GB card in the box to get you started.

The Motorola CLIQ's MotoBlur service truly sets it apart. If you use Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter at all, there's nothing quite like the CLIQ for you. If you don't intend to use MotoBlur, what's left is a solid Android smartphone that's a little more stylish than the T-Mobile G1. Our previous Editor's Choice, the BlackBerry 8900 is still a good pick for simple, no-nonsense mobile computing and e-mail. The HTC Touch Pro2 will still appeal to Microsoft loyalists who want a huge keyboard and high-res screen. But for anyone with a social networking account, pit the MOTOBLUR-enhanced Android against the TouchFLO 3D-enhanced Windows Mobile and it's no contest: Motorola's combination just works better.

This article is from www.pcmag.com

Upgraded Blackberry

The Storm was supposed to be the smartphone that would keep Verizon Wireless customers from deserting to Apple’s iPhone, which runs on AT&T’s network.

Research In Motion, the company that created the BlackBerry phones that business users find so addictive, gave Verizon exclusive rights to sell its first touch-screen phone in order to reach the vast consumer market.

But the Storm failed to live up to its name. About a million devices were sold, so it was not a flop. But many customers and some reviewers found it buggy and hard to use.

Meanwhile, the iPhone’s allure grew with new versions and a rapidly growing catalog of applications.

This week, Verizon and R.I.M. are trying again with a Storm do-over, the Storm 2. Among its many improvements, the new phone gives the user the sensation of pushing a physical button when pressing a number on the glass touch screen.

Lowell C. McAdam, the chief executive of Verizon Wireless, has been carrying the revamped device for a few weeks, looking for any evidence that this time it will catch on. Mr. McAdam said that while he was recently visiting the Verizon store in New York’s SoHo district, he started talking to a couple of students from New York University who were shopping for cellphones.

“I let them play with the second-generation Storm device,” he said. “They came back and said ‘Oh, my gosh.’ They were very excited. This is what they hoped the original Storm should be.”

If enough people share that opinion, R.I.M. could finally have the hit with consumers it has long sought. The Canadian company remains the top seller of smartphones in North America (and second to Nokia worldwide). But Apple is catching up quickly, and a huge crop of new smartphones is heading to stores based on new operating systems from Microsoft and Google. Even Verizon is hedging its smartphone bets with a major deal to develop handsets based on Google’s Android operating system.

R.I.M. has been slow to develop touch-screen technology, and its BlackBerrys are sluggish at browsing the Internet, industry analysts say. And developers have written only about 2,000 applications to run on BlackBerrys, compared with 85,000 for the iPhone and 10,000 for Android phones.

Investors are increasingly worried that R.I.M. cannot keep up with the pace of innovation. R.I.M.’s shares plunged 17 percent in one day last month after the company reported slightly less revenue than analysts expected for the quarter that ended in August.

Analysts were also alarmed because the company said the average price it expected to get from phones sold to wireless carriers would fall to $320, from $350.

“Times are getting tougher for R.I.M. as they move more into the consumer space,” said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst for the Gartner Group. “There is a lot more competition, and consumers don’t care much about the security and other things they sell to enterprises.”

Jim Balsillie, R.I.M.’s co-chief executive, said in a recent interview that investors were misreading the most recent financial results. Prices are falling largely because the company is moving out its inventory of old models in preparation for the new versions of the Storm and the Bold, its top-of-the line, keyboard-based phone.

Moreover, since R.I.M.’s component costs are falling, profit margins are holding steady. “I have never felt more enthusiastic about our business,” he said.

Despite its consumer push, much of R.I.M.’s effort is still tilted to pleasing business customers. Mr. Balsillie said the company planned to shake up the market in November when it will open its private communication network, which will allow BlackBerry users to receive their e-mail and a constant flow of social network updates and entertainment content from other sources.

“The way people love the BlackBerry, e-mail is the way they will love doing a lot more with it,” Mr. Balsillie said.

R.I.M. has been written off many times before. Skeptics said that its first gadgets, which were little more than glorified pagers with keyboards, could not survive in a world of cellphones. Instead of failing, R.I.M. was the fastest-growing company in the world from 2006 through 2008, according to calculations by Fortune magazine.

R.I.M. was not hard hit by the recession, which has forced some of the big companies that have been the heart of its market to lay off workers. And R.I.M. was helped because BlackBerrys have started to become a family phone, too.

The company has also cut the manufacturing cost of BlackBerrys by using variations on its existing designs that have allowed retailers to sell the devices at prices matching much simpler phones. For example, the BlackBerry Curve, R.I.M.’s most popular phone, is offered at Wal-Mart for about $50 with a contract. About 80 percent of R.I.M.’s sales this year have been to consumers, not to employers.

Mike Lazaridis, R.I.M’s other co-chief executive, says that the low cost of BlackBerrys allows cellular carriers to make more profit from the BlackBerrys than from other touch-screen handsets.

“We help carriers be profitable,” he said. “We gave them a way to get into the data business. Now we are giving them a way to manage their costs when they are worried that all they have to sell is highly subsidized smartphones.”

Mr. Lazaridis said that R.I.M. was about to release version 5.0 of its BlackBerry software, which promises to be easier to use, with a better Internet browser and longer battery life.

Applications remain a weak point. Developers say it is harder to write programs for the BlackBerry, especially ones with spiffy graphics and multimedia features. “When you create an application for R.I.M., you have to put in 30 to 40 percent more effort to make it look like what it would look like on the Android or the iPhone,” said Walter Doyle, the chief executive of uLocate Communications, which makes applications to locate businesses on maps.

“Yes, it is a little more difficult to develop on R.I.M.,” Mr. Lazaridis said. The company is working on new tools that will speed the work of applications programmers. But to serve the needs of its big corporate clients, he said, applications will still have to comply with sometimes cumbersome security procedures.

“It’s not a free-for-all,” he said.

That security is a crucial selling point for many customers, including President Obama, probably the best-known BlackBerry user. Mr. Lazaridis says R.I.M.’s precautions protect everyone.

“You’re starting to do banking on your handset,” he said. “Which would you rather use: something that can be hacked in five minutes or something the F.B.I. uses?”

This article is from www.nytimes.com

Giorgio Armani Smartphone

Italian luxury label Armani has introduced its newest gadget, "personally" designed by Giorgio himself.

Explaining that the phone -- his third phone for Samsung -- was supposed to be "functional" yet "elegant" at the same time, Armani said: "I simply aim to create a smartphone which is not only an elegant tool but also functional and useful, perfect for today's managers."

"People want more than just a useful device," said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, which produced the Windows-operated user software for the new Armani phone. "They want a phone that offers design qualities that match their personality and lifestyle."

The phone's new and improved features include a better operating system (Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5), and a sliding function that reveals a full touch screen and a keyboard. It also comes with a 5-megapixel camera, a music and video player and 8 GB of internal memory that can be extended through an additional microSD slot.

In the fashion world however, it might be most important to know that the phone has a "bronze color, which coordinates perfectly with Giorgio Armani's suits."

The new gadget will launch in Italy in early November with other official dates not yet known, Relaxnews was told. Prices will depend on the mobile operator, but past Armani phones cost around €700 without a contract.

Armani's announcement follows the news that sportswear brand Puma will launch its first mobile handset in Europe next year.

Prada launched one of the most successful fashion phones together with electronics company LG in 2007, while Samsung collaborated with various clothes brands previously, such as Anna Sui, Betsey Johnson, Versace's Versus branch or Diane von Furstenberg. LG and Samsung rival Sony Ericsson teamed up with Italian design duo Dolce & Gabbana earlier this year for a gold-plated edition of one of its clamshell phones, called Jalou.

Other designers, most recently Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger or Donna Karan, are increasingly discovering the mobile device through iPhone applications.

Site: www.armanisamsungphone.com

iPhone Tops Study on Customer Satisfaction

J.D. Power and Associates release latest studies on cell phone market

While most of the technology world finds itself in decline, a few product categories are growing. Two of the most notable are the netbook and smartphone markets. J.D. Power & Associates have released three new studies of the mobile phone industry that each ranks a different type of handset or user group.

The studies include the 2009 Wireless Consumer Smartphone Customers Satisfaction Study, Vol. 2.; the 2009 Wireless Business Smartphone Satisfaction Study; and the 2009 Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Satisfaction Study, Vol. 2. The studies rank devices on a 1000-point scale.

The study found that overall satisfaction with devices in the smartphone market is growing with a gain of 14 points on the 1,000-point scale compared to six months ago. At the same time, satisfaction among business smartphone users has grown more robustly with a 43-point gain since 2008. While smartphone satisfaction grew with consumers and business users, satisfaction with traditional mobile phone owners has declined by 6 points since April.

EWeek reports that this is likely due to increasing frustration by users who realize what features their phones lack. The study found one point where satisfaction tends to falter for traditional phone users -- whether or not the device is free. Users who participated in the study and had free phones were less happy with their device than those who paid money for their handsets. This is due to the stripped down phone that most mobile carriers offer for free.

J.D. Power's Kirk Parsons said, "Satisfaction is notably lower among owners who receive their handsets for free because these phones often do not offer the full suite of features that owner's desire. When fewer features are available, usage rates also decline, which translates into lower brand loyalty."

According to consumer smartphone users, key factors affecting satisfaction include ease of operation according to 30% of participants, operating system according to 22%, features according to 21%, physical design according to 18%, and 9% say battery function. The smartphone class leader was the Apple iPhone with 811 points, second place was LG with 776 points, third went to the Blackberry with 759 points. The industry average was 765 points.
It is interesting that with the widely publicized 30% dropped call rate for the AT&T network that carriers the iPhone, the device still tops the list.

Business smartphone users have slightly different priorities reports eWeek with 29% saying ease of operation was most important, 23% saying the OS, 21% saying physical design, and 16% citing features. Traditional wireless handset users pegged operation as most important (30%), 30% pegged physical design, 20% picked features, and 20% chose battery function. In traditional wireless handsets, LG came out on top with 723 points, Motorola was second with 700 points, and Sanyo was third with 699.

Parsons said, "Attractive rebates or discounts offered to current smartphone owners, as well as incentives given to traditional handset owners to upgrade to smartphones, are effective ways for wireless carriers to generate revenue and increase market share. It is important, however, that manufacturers meet the expectations of those taking advantage of such offers by ensuring the features are intuitive and ultimately rewarding to them in the long run. Providing an easy-to-use, yet powerful operating system with the ability to customize applications to suit owners’ individual needs is essential to providing a high-quality and rewarding wireless experience."

This article is from www.dailytech.com

T-Mobile's Smartphone: Sidekick and Its Problems

T-Mobile's Sidekick customers have lost an incalculable wealth of data due to a server failure at Microsoft subsidiary Danger. Total fallout from the incident can't be assessed at this point, as the companies scramble to see if any of the content can be restored. However, it has rattled the nerves of many consumers of cloud-based services, who worry that another shoe might drop.

Users of T-Mobile's  smartphone, the Sidekick, suddenly found themselves without address books, calendars, to-do lists and photos -- data that the carrier had been maintaining through a subsidiary of Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT)   called "Danger," which hosts back-end services for mobile companies.

T-Mobile is assessing the situation to see what content, if any, can be retrieved, according to a statement on its Web site -- but that likelihood is very low unless the data was also stored on the device itself. The loss was due to a server failure at Danger Microsoft, Krista Berlincourt of Waggener Edstrom, speaking on behalf of T-Mobile, told TechNewsWorld.

Danger did not return a call from TechNewsWorld by publication time.

A FAQ page on T-Mobile's site offers guidance to users while service is being restored. Among other things, it advises users not to reset their phones or remove their batteries.


Irreplaceable Loss

In addition to the possibility of losing irreplaceable content such as photos, Sidekick users are likely to face a multi-step hassle when reconnecting, depending on how many of the Danger-provided services they used.

For example, those who want to reconnect to third-party email providers will have to delete all email accounts installed prior to the data disruption and then add them back again.

There are also instructions for users who want to copy address book entries to a SIM card, as well as transferring entries from a SIM card to the device.

One FAQ asks the obvious: Will this happen again? Answer: We hope not.

"We are working very closely with Danger/Microsoft to restore services at this time, once Sidekick customers have services restored we will be partnering to ensure that we can prevent this type of service disruption from happening," reads the reply.

Sidekick users cannot be blamed for being irate -- one of the Sidekick's selling points was that it could automatically retrieve data from the cloud after a phone reset. There was no need, theoretically, to back up manually.

Smartphones in the Cloud

This argument is also a selling point for cloud computing  -- apart from the lack of a backup system, which is never recommended. It is doubtful that enterprise applications and other services provided through the cloud will experience backlash from this episode.

Other smartphones that offer services through the cloud, though, just might.

The failure of Danger's servers may wind up being one of the worst incidents in cloud computing's young history, Andrew Michael, CEO of Livedrive, told TechNewsWorld.

"There is little that Sidekick users can do," he said. "Photos can be saved to a memory card and then copied to a computer, but the rest of the data is online."

Sidekick appears to be among the heaviest users of cloud computing services. It differs from other smartphones in that respect, Allen Nogee, principal analyst with In-Stat, told TechNewsWorld.

Not that other carriers shun the cloud -- most networks do leverage it in some manner, he added.

However, there are signs that mobile operators have been increasing their reliance on cloud computing for various reasons. Whether this event will reverse that trend is unclear.

"We are seeing more operators storing personal data for customers in the cloud -- largely because they are trying to create sticky relationships with their customers," said Dan Shey, practice director of mobile services at ABI Research.

Especially in the enterprise that tends to use complex mobile device management services, "issues like having to transfer contacts could be a huge pain," Shey told TechNewsWorld.

The Sidekick was primarily a consumer play, of course, but Shey said it appeared T-Mobile was positioning it to pick up some business use if it could.

It was beefed up to become more messaging-centric, with IM and mobile email making the device a candidate for business customer adoption, he pointed out.

"Regardless of business or consumer use, loss of personal information is not good and will not help T-Mobile's efforts of pulling in the small mobile business customer who would use it for personal and business reasons," he said.

Finally, this event does not help any carrier that is trying to build stickiness with customers by storing their personal information in the cloud, he added.

Indeed, the potential for such failure is one reason Livedrive keeps data locally on the user's PC as well as on its servers, Michael said.

"Our infrastructure is very secure," he maintained, "but we want our users to have the reassurance of knowing that they can get at their files even if they can't connect to the Internet for any reason."

SOURCE: www.technewsworld.com

LG e-reader (uses thin-film solar cell technology)

LG has showed off a prototype e-reader that runs on solar energy. The concept uses thin-film solar cell technology, but LG says it wants to increase the design's efficiency before applying it to actual e-readers. In general, e-readers use little electricity, so running one off sun rays may be a smart alternative to batteries that must be recharged via wall socket.


Korean device manufacturer LG, which makes everything from smartphones to washers and dryers, has unveiled a prototype solar-powered e-reader.

The unit is 10 cm wide and 10 cm long, weighting in at about 20 grams. It was designed to fit the e-reader display panels LG now makes.

Talking Tech


LG's thin-film solar cell technology uses electrodes applied in a thin film onto glass or plastic instead of silicon wafers.


This would be second-generation solar cell technology. Solar cell tech can be roughly divided into three generations, all of which are under research simultaneously.


First-generation cells consist of large-area devices which involve high energy and labor input. Second-generation, or thin-film cell, technology was developed for energy efficiency and cost management. Third-generation technologies aim to enhance the poor electrical performance of second-generation technologies while keeping production costs very low.


Since the related technology is similar to  TFT-LCD, the entry barrier is relatively low for LCDmanufacturers such as LG Display, the company said. TFT-LCDs are made from a thin film of silicon deposited on a glass panel. LG is one of the major manufacturers of TFT-LCD, or thin film transistor liquid crystal display, screens. These are used in television sets, monitors, PCs and mobile products.




"Solar cells on glass are a cool idea," Carl Howe, director of anywhere research at the  Yankee Group and an electrical engineer, told TechNewsWorld. "Getting away from using silicon as the base means these solar cells could be used in more places. The entire LCD industry today exists because manufacturers decided to etch transistors onto glass."


LG will showcase its solar-powered e-reader prototype and its latest display technologies at the International Meeting on Information Display 2009, being held in Seoul, Korea, through Friday.
The company did not respond to requests for comment by press time.


Here Comes the Sun


Power requirements for e-book readers are very low, and that could make solar power a good fit for an e-reader."Most e-readers today use the E-ink technology for their displays, and that technology is very low in power consumption," Yankee Group's Howe said. "Solar cells could actually provide much of the power needed to keep an e-reader going."


Will LG be able to take on established e-reader manufacturers like Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN)  and Sony (NYSE: SNE) ? Competition in this market is fierce, and LG's role has been restricted to only providing displays.


"LG already makes everything from washing machines to mobile phones, and e-readers would just be another device in their electronics lines," Howe said. "Their experience in building very low-power mobile phones would be a definite plus."


Green Is In


By getting into solar-powered e-readers, LG would be tapping into two hot markets: The green energy sector and electronic books.


Competition in the e-reader market is fierce, with  Fujitsu  unveiling its color screen FLEPia in March; Sony offering two new devices earlier this month and planning to launch a third in December; Amazon launching an international version of its Kindle 2 and cutting prices on the regular Kindle 2; and Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS)  planning to offer under its own brand an e-reader from Plastic Logic.


LG sees the money in the market. "E-books are attracting a lot of attention because they offer the advantage of storing thousands of books' worth of contents in an easy-to-carry device," said Ki Yong Kim, head of LG Display's Solar Cell Office.


LG Display also plans to nurture its thin-film solar cell business as a future growth driver. The energy conversion efficiency rate of its thin-film solar cell is 9.6 percent. LG plans to increase this to 14 percent in 2012 to commercialize the technology.


Solar-powered e-readers could ultimately catch on. "I think they have the potential to be as popular as solar-powered calculators," Yankee Group's Howe said. "Your device is more useful to you when you don't have to always keep recharging it."




SOURCE: www.technewsworld.com