Google Voice Actions – Another Superb Freebie from Google

Friday, August 13, 2010

Google has just announced Google Voice Actions, an add-on for Google Search by Voice for Android FroYo 2.2. This adds yet another great piece of technology to the already stunning Android portfolio. So what is Google Voice Actions? Well the video below gives a run through of its features.

Basically, Voice Actions lets you give instructions to your device by voice. It does require Android 2.2 FroYo (or higher) to work. With Google Voice Actions, you will be able to tell your device to:

    • Send text messages
    • Listen to music
    • Get directions
    • Call businesses
    • Call contacts
    • Send email
    • View a map
    • Go to websites
    • Write a note
    • Search Google

Currently the HTC Desire (and Nexus One) are the only devices available with Android 2.2 FroYo in the UK. However, updates are on the way for the Samsung Galaxy S, HTC Legend and other devices.


Google App Inventor for Android

Monday, July 12, 2010

Wanted to create applications for smartphones but never known where to start?  Got no idea of programming or code, but had a great idea?

If the answer is yes, then Google’s latest creation may be of interest to you.

Named ‘App Inventor’ this programme has been a year in the making and is designed to make application creation and development for Android smartphones easy for everyone.

Screengrab of App Inventor, GoogleAble to build almost any application, the limitations will be your time and creativity. 

Using visual design to build applications there is no need for long complicated code.  A series of pre-programmed blocks can be manipulated to develop the programmes operation.

There are lots of guides and tutorials online to help you through the initial stages if it is not clear!

You can find out more information and begin developing by CLICKING HERE.

Let us know what you think and if you create an application let us know too and we shall test it.

VIA: BBC


Google Android 2.2 (Froyo) Officially Announced

Friday, May 21, 2010

Google have been holding their I/O conference over he last few days and yesterday they officially announced Google Android 2.2, otherwise known as Froyo.

Android 2.2 is the latest version of the Android smartphone operating system and has many improvements.

If you just like Android want your device to work then the standout feature is improved operation and web browsing speeds.

The more technical or avid Android fans will be pleased to hear about some of the developments. which include:

Web Browser – Browser is now 2x-3x faster with V8 for Android. Changes to Javascript have enabled internet browsing results that enables pages to render twice as quick as before to give a much faster browsing experience.

JIT – Just in Time compiler gives apps a 2x-5x increase in speed. This ensures that the FPS rate does not drop and cause poor user experience.  A demonstration of Replica Island was shown side by side on the Éclair (Android 2.1) and Froyo (2.2) operating system to show how they handle it differently. Éclair often fell below 30 frames per second, but Froyo didn’t come close to falling

Portable Hotspot – With Android 2.2 your smartphone can become a hotspot for other devices to connect to and use your internet connection.

Enterprise – New API controls and much more, Google announced 20 new enterprise features from New Exchange auto-discovery, and security polices. Also added Device Admin API’s for task such as remote wiping. A great number of changes that for the IT manager makes Android a more potential replacement to Windows Mobile, Symbian and RIM smartphones.

Application Data Backup API – Allows in-app data to be saved and restored. Therefore if you switch from one device to another, all your data like results, high scores and other settings from the app will be saved.  Just a small tweak that makes changing devices that bit more tolerable.

Cloud to app communication – This update allows you to communicate from desktop to mobile. In the video demonstration below, an example shows how from your desktop PC you can plan a route on Google Maps and send it direct to your phone.  Not just a link it will automatically open the Google Maps application on your device and start navigation mode.

Apps on SD – With Froyo, you will be able to move applications from your phone memory to the microSD memory card and back again should you wish.  This added functionality allows for you to retain phone memory and install more applications to the larger memory available on an inserted memory card.

A video presentation of the main updates has been released by Google.  It is aimed a little more at developers but it is very clear and easy to understand and worth a watch to summarise the enhancements.

If you have an Android smartphone it will be down to the discretion of the manufacturer as to whether the update is made available.  Nexus One owners will get the update and information suggests that owners of HTC Android devices released in 2010 will get the update too.  We will bring you more information as we have it.


HTC Wildfire – Now available for order

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

image

Earlier this week HTC announced the Wildfire.  A compact Google Android smartphone it will compete the just announced Samsung Galaxy i5700 but has the well established Sense user interface and the HTC styling and build quality.

We are please to confirm that we are now taking pre-orders for the Wildfire which is expected to arrive in late June at a price of approx £210.

You can register your interest or pre-order one now by CLICKING HERE.

A brief video from HTC explains the Wildfire and what it has to offer:


HTC Wildfire

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

HTC yesterday announced the HTC Wildfire.  A replacement to the Tattoo, the Wildfire takes some of the character traits of the Desire to offer a smaller and more affordable smartphone solution.

Keep Your Friends Close With HTC WildfireTM

Share apps, updates and experiences with the latest social powerhouse from HTC

LONDON – 17 May, 2010 HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today introduced HTC Wildfire™, a new HTC Sense-based Android phone that integrates the most popular social networks to help bring your friends closer to you. HTC Wildfire closely follows the success of the acclaimed HTC Desire and makes the company’s signature HTC Sense experience accessible to a younger audience.

“Today’s social networks provide an essential forum for friendship with more than 400 million users* – many of whom are young adults – actively sharing their lives with their friends through Facebook,” said Florian Seiche, Vice President, HTC EMEA. “HTC Wildfire makes the HTC Sense experience available to young mobile users for the first time. It brings all your communications into one place, whether it’s through Facebook, Twitter, text messages, images or email, ensuring that you are never far away from the conversation and always close to your friends.”

HTC Wildfire helps you stay connected with those who are most important to you through HTC Sense, a user experience focused on putting people at the centre by making phones work in a more simple and natural way. You won’t miss out on the fun as HTC’s Friend Stream application seamlessly gathers and displays content from social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr into one organised stream of updates. HTC Wildfire enables you to stay up to date with your friends’ posts, comments, alerts and photos, wherever you are.

In addition, each contact viewed in HTC Wildfire’s address book includes a thread of recent communications with that person, including when you last spoke, recent text messages and emails, and social network updates. When your friend calls, HTC Caller ID displays their Facebook profile photo and latest update, as well as a reminder if their birthday is fast approaching.

Thanks to a new app sharing widget, HTC Wildfire enables you to recommend an application by email, text message or over social networks. Your friends will receive a link allowing them to find the application on the Android Market with a single click and download it to their phone.

Florian Seiche continued, “We understand that people need a better way to navigate their way through the tens of thousands of applications that are currently available on the Android Market. In fact, our own independent research found that consumers are not only hungry for the latest and most popular applications that their friends are using, they want an easier way to find and download them. For the first time ever, you can recommend the newest and coolest apps to a friend or group of friends with HTC Wildfire. With so many applications to choose from, there’s a world of content to discover and pass along to your friends.”

HTC’s latest advanced smartphone is great for viewing and sharing photos on Flickr and for surfing the internet thanks to its 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen. A five-megapixel camera with auto focus and LED flash allows you to capture special moments, while a 3.5mm audio jack and micro SD card slot mean you are never without your favourite songs.

Availability
The new HTC Wildfire will be broadly available to customers across major European and Asian markets from Q3 2010.


Motorola Milestone Android 2.1 Update

Friday, May 7, 2010

imageIf you are an owner of the Motorola Milestone or an avid lover of the Google Android operating system then we are sure you will be pleased to hear of this news –

Motorola have released a FREE update from Google Android 2.0 to 2.1 for the Motorola Milestone.

All you need do is CLICK HERE and download the update.

What does the update bring?

  • Speech to Text – You can now speak in plain English instead of typing, whenever a text-entry box appears on your Android device. Simply press the microphone key on the virtual keyboard and dictate your phrase.
  • Animated Wallpapers and multiple home screens.
  • Facebook App and Widget
  • Google Maps Updates

You can read more details on what the update brings here.

If you have been thinking about getting a Milestone then now is as good a time as any with this news. Plus you get a FREE media station worth £37 included!

The only Android 2.1 device with a slide out keyboard.  Read more on the Motorola Milestone HERE.


Android Applications – Five Free

Friday, March 5, 2010

ITPRO put together a regular top business applications article each week (every Friday) and here are what they consider to be at the top this week.

imageTop Free 

Voice Recorder Does what it says on the tin, with data recorded to the handset’s SD card.

Battery Widget Keeps an eye on juice levels so they don’t let you down at a critical moment.

OI Notepad This simple notepad lets you create a list of editable and sendable notes.

Astrid Task/Todo List An open source task list to help you keep track of what needs to get done.

OI File Manager This file manager tool lets you he create directories, rename, move, and delete files – all while on the move.

Top paid

Power Manager (price TBC) An easy way to help manage the power of your Android-based handset, by changing settings to conserve energy for other tasks.

Open Home An app to help you make your home screen more individual with customisation for font, colours, icons and themes.

My Backup Pro ($4.99) An easy way to back-up applications, bookmarks, shortcuts, texts and more so you can easily port this data to a new device if your current one is lost of stolen.

Advanced Task Manager ($0.99) At a glance snapshot of all the tasks running on your Android phone quickly and easily.

Source: ITPRO


Google backs HTC in Apple lawsuit

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

We and many other have brought you news of the Apple v HTC lawsuit that is going on at the moment and it seems Google are stepping in to add weight to the whole case.

This comes via TechCrunch

We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it,” a Google spokesperson emailed us.

According to TechCrunch, Google have proactively sent them a statement for something they’re not technically involved in. But, as we’re all well aware, this suit is much more about Google’s Android operating system than HTC. And it seems that Google is well aware of that too.

The suit centres around the HTC devices that are Android-based, including the Nexus One, the Magic/myTouch 3G, the Dream/G1, the Hero, and the Droid Eris.

Still, for whatever reason, Google is not named in the suit — at least not yet. You’ll recall that exactly one month ago, Google decided to turn on multi-touch support for Android users with Nexus Ones. As we noted at the time, Apple was probably not going to be too happy about that. After all, it had been previously reported that the reason Android phones in the U.S. didn’t support multi-touch up until that point was a gentleman’s agreement between Apple and Google when the two were still all buddy-buddy. And now we’re starting to see the fall-out.

What’s odd is that these HTC phones have actually supported multi-touch (only one of the many patents Apple is disputing here), but it’s only now after Google just enabled it (specifically pinch-to-zoom) in the software that we’re seeing the lawsuit — of the hardware company involved. Still, this looks to be Apple multi-punching back. And Google doesn’t sound like it will back down.

SOURCE: TechCrunch


HTC Tattoo – Price Drop

Friday, February 26, 2010

The HTC Tattoo, is an entry level Google Android device that fits comfortably in the palm of the hand and has received good reviews since its release back in 2009.

Easily personalised with home screen widgets, customisable device covers and downloadable applications, the Tattoo will after only a few hours use, fit into your lifestyle and be your means of connection to people and the internet when away from home or the office.

With a 2.8" inch touch screen display, the physical size of the Tattoo is smaller than some of the newer Google Android devices, making it not only more pocket-able, but lighter and more polite to carry and use.

HSDPA connectivity ensures fast connection to the internet, whilst the in built GPS antenna and Google maps can assist you in navigating from point A to B.

In stock now, we are currently running a very special offer on the HTC Tattoo.   A SIM FREE, unlocked unit is just £145 + VAT £170.38 inc VAT).

This is an excellent offer – stock is limited so do not delay.

ORDER YOURS HERE


TouchType – More accurate text imput

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Android phone showing SwiftKey software

Text entry into your Google Android smartphone may not be a problem for you; but you may find that the screen size of smartphones paired with your fingers does not make  good combination and you in fact end up making a few mistakes when entering data.

Most of the newest Android smartphones will have predictive text which guesses what you are typing and should make speed of entry better.

London based TouchType have announced a new predictive text technology known as FluencyMobile which the company says will enable users to write 50% more efficiently than if using other solutions.

Predicting a third of words without a button being presses and nearly 85% of words within two characters according to TouchType CEO, Jonathan Reynolds.

It also corrects typing errors and reduces high input error rates made on small mobile keyboards.  It even goes as far as adding in apostrophes and inserts accents for non-English character entries.

Due to be released for Android very soon, you can read more HERE or register to test it HERE.

VIA: Mobile Magazine