Android Dose

My bags are packed, I’m ready to go! @pavilioncrew and I are heading out this afternoon from sunny Florida (yes the east coast is getting rained on by Nicole but the west coast is dry!). The Big Android BBQ is a huge grassroots, community driven event celebrating all things Android! Sponsors from across the industry have committed to making this a wonderful event for all that are attending! For everyone that is coming to the event, from 4:15-5:20 Saturday please stop by the Android Alliance Panel with Android & Me, Android Guys, The Droid Guy, AndroidSPIN, The Android Blog & Android Dose taking place at the Staybridge Suites (our host hotel). I hope to see you all there!

For those that are unable to attend please keep your eyes peeled to this website and our twitter account we will be live blogging and tweeting all weekend!

Look for the Dose Wagon on I-10 heading West!

Today is a big day for Android OTA updates. Samsung, HTC and Motorola all roll out OTA updates for some of their premier handsets.

Samsung and AT&T have announced an OTA update to correct GPS issues as well as media scanning and including a full version of Quick Office as well as correcting some Microsoft Exchange 2003 policy support issues. Verizon announced that it would begin rolling out the official Android 2.2 (FroYo) update to Droid X customers today at Noon (12pm) EST though it has been available to pull and install OTA since Midnight. As far as the HTC Evo 4G update, The update is said to fix a few minor bugs including issues not allowing multiple Gmail accounts to sync properly as well as Calender event editing issues.

Google announced today that they have updated the Gmail App for Android, now it updates will no longer be tied to Android OS updates! This means we will be getting the newest best features of Gmail on our Android mobile devices quicker! a quick list of improvements includes message replies and better access to quoted text, Actions now stick to the top of the screen no matter how long the email conversation is. Gmail is also introducing limited support for priority inbox, Once you have enabled priority inbox as part of the Gmail web interface you will see an “Important” label and you are also able to add an “Important” shortcut to the home screen.Unfortunantley the update for Gmail requires Android 2.2 so its only officially avaialabe to Nexux One, Droid, Droid 2, and HTC EVO users at this point. If you happen to be one of the lucky 2.2 users out there hit the QR code below to download now!

Before starting to work on the Adam, Rohan Shravan (CEO of Notion Ink) contemplated how the design and engineering process was actually done by so many different people from so many different backgrounds both technically and culturally. In explaining the design of the Adam tablet he goes over the aspects of the design that set it apart. Continue reading “Notion Ink CEO talks design, Hitting FCC Early?” »

Kineto Wireless has announced that they are working closely with manufacturers and carriers to preload its software on up coming handsets. For those unfamiliar with UMA technology, UMA is Unlicensed Mobile Access which allows you to use an existing broadband/WiFi connection to make voice calls as well as send and receive SMS messages when you don’t have a signal from your carrier. The technology is used in the increasingly popular Femtocell units T-Moble, AT&T, Rogers and many other carriers are starting to market to customers. Kineto Wireless stepping up and developing an Android application for a technology that is still in its infancy is a big step in the right direction. Kineto is also being very smart in how they are marketing the application. They are actively working with handset manufacturers and carriers to bring this service to us. Many people don’t understand what the point of UMA is or why its a big deal. Think about it this way, If you were able to use your mobile phone at home or at the office attached to WiFi not using the carriers towers there are 2 advantages, first you aren’t saturating the carriers towers and depending on the carrier agreement you may not be using your cellular minutes while making these calls! What this means is you could conceivably reduce the minutes on your plan and possibly even get a better quality call with less chance of a dropped call depending on the carrier and location. See the full press release after the break.

Continue reading “Kineto Wireless brings UMA to Android 2.2” »