Android Dose

OpenFeint is releasing 11 new titles for Android today! Downloading an OpenFeint game between December 23rd-25th will get you an entry into a drawing to win a gift card or a Nook Color! To date OpenFeint has brought 158 games to Android this year and according to their press release they have another 300 in development!!! OpenFeint is one of the largest Android game publishing firms, OpenFeint has seen a 50% growth rate in just the last 30 days. Continue reading “OpenFeint says Happy Holidays – 11 New Games for Android & a chance to win!” »

Google rolled out an update to the Voice Search Application. Of course if your still stuck on Eclair (Version 2.1) or worse Donut (1.6) you unfortunantly wont see this, Froyo (Version 2.2 or higher is required). I don’t know about you but I LOVE Voice Search and use it daily, from simply making calls to searching the web, to tweeting or texting while I’m on the go. Voice Search and the associated Voice actions make my life so much easier and its hands down one of my favorite features of Android. So what could be better? Personalizing it to your own voice and hopefully in time giving you a more natural speech pattern when “communicating” with your phone! Of course this is just the first step in that direction but we’ll see! Also of note is that this is an opt-in/out service so you can enable/disable it by starting voice search and hitting the menu button then selecting “Personalized Recognition”

Image Credit: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Discover Financial Services has over the last few years conducted consumer holiday shopping surveys to gauge interest in what is being purchased and spending habits. This year has proven to show some interesting results from what I read in their report. Some 38% of respondents said they would be spending less this year which is a 5% drop from last years 43%.

“Consumers are beginning to feel more confident, and hopefully, that should bring some holiday cheer to retailers,” said Dana Traci, vice president of rewards and product management from Discover. “We’re seeing stronger confidence in shopping, but consumers are still looking for great deals and continue to be mindful of their budgets.”

The trend continues where shoppers determine what brands they are shopping for this year as well, in 2009 57% of those surveyed said they would be shopping for cheaper brands as opposed to this years 31%. Thats a pretty significant drop but what that doesn’t tell you is that quite possibly there will be less money available to retailers and OEM’s, for instance if a consumer spent $2000 on gifts in 2009 and primarily shopped inexpensive brands they would have gotten more compared to spending $2000 in 2010 on the high end or more expensive brands meaning less total items being purchased even though the same amount of money is involved! Is this a good trend? I’m not going to speculate on that, just that its happening and could actually mean fewer purchases in the larger scheme of things. What really surprises me is the comparison of 2009 vs 2010 6% of those surveyed said they planned to re-gift items this year down from a whopping 17% last year! There was also a 12% drop in those that planned to wait until the last minute for deals down to 23% from 35%.

Now where actual purchase intentions and what consumers want shows some very interesting data in my opinion, When purchasers were considering smartphones 44% advised they were looking to purchase an iPhone, 42% an Android powered smartphone and third at 34% was Blackberry. Consumer Electronics topped peoples wish lists at 44% while only 32% of those surveyed said they would be purchasing them as gifts, what was tops for purchasers? You guessed it Apparel, I guess Aunt Louise is getting everyone scarves and socks again this year! Take a more in depth look at the data after the break. Continue reading “Discover Holiday Shopping Survey Shows Surprising Results” »

SAMSUNG AND GOOGLE TO DELIVER NEXUS S, THE FIRST MOBILE PHONE IN THE WORLD POWERED BY ANDROID 2.3

Nexus S offers the latest version of the Android platform, Gingerbread, 4” Super AMOLED touch screen with curved design, Near Field Communication (NFC), front and rear-facing cameras and 1GHz application processor

SEOUL, Korea,  and DALLAS, US December 6, 2010 — Samsung Electronics,  a leading mobile phone provider and the  No. 1 mobile phone provider¹ in the U.S., and Google™ today announced Nexus S™, the world’s first handset to feature the latest version of Google’s Android™ platform. Powered by Android 2.3, Samsung and Google have packed Nexus S with powerful technology and the latest in hardware features.

JK Shin, President and Head of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics, said, “Samsung and Google have worked together closely to deliver the best Android smart phone experience for consumers. It has been our ambition in working with Google to continue to push the Android platform forward and create a smart phone that has both superior functionality and a stunning user-experience. It is extremely satisfying to see this partnership again bear tremendous fruit.”

“Samsung was thrilled to work with Google to create the first device featuring the much anticipated Android 2.3 OS. Nexus S is powerful proof of Samsung and Google’s commitment to bringing technology firsts to market and launching products that utilize the open and innovative Android operating system,” said Omar Khan, chief strategy officer of Samsung Telecommunications America. “Nexus S integrates Samsung’s best-in-class hardware and technology with the exciting new features and upgrades of Android 2.3 Gingerbread to give consumers a breakthrough smartphone experience.”

“Google is excited to co-develop Nexus S with Samsung, ensuring solid integration of hardware and software to deliver the lead device for the latest version of Android, Gingerbread,” said Andy Rubin, Vice President of Engineering at Google.

Nexus S is designed with Samsung’s brilliant Super AMOLED touch screen technology providing a premium viewing experience. The 4-inch Contour Display features a curved design for a more ergonomic style and feel when held to the user’s face.  Nexus S also features Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which allows you to read information off of everyday objects like stickers and posters that are embedded with NFC chips. Powered by a 1 GHz Samsung application processor, Nexus S produces rich 3D graphics, faster upload and download times and supports HD-like multimedia content.

Nexus S is equipped with a 5 megapixel rear facing camera and camcorder, as well as a VGA front facing camera. In addition, Nexus S features a gyroscope sensor to provide a smooth, fluid gaming experience when the user is tilting the device up or down or panning the phone to the left or right. Nexus S also comes with 16 GB of internal memory.

Android 2.3, Gingerbread, is the fastest version of Android yet. It features support for Near Field Communication (NFC), a new and improved keyboard with multi-touch support, Internet calling (VoIP/SIP support), and a clean new user interface. Nexus S also includes popular Android features such as portable Wi-Fi hotspot, true multitasking, access to Google mobile services such as Google Search™, Gmail™, Google Maps™ with Navigation, Voice Actions, Google Voice™ and YouTube™, and access to over 100,000 apps and widgets on Android Market™.

Nexus S can be purchased (unlocked) online and in-store from Best Buy retailers in the U.S. starting after December 16 and at Carphone Warehouse retailers in the U.K. after December 20.

Nexus S specifications

Network	2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE) : 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz 3G (HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps) : 900 / 1700 / 2100 MHz
OS	Android 2.3 / Gingerbread
Display	4.0” WVGA SUPER AMOLED (800×480)
Camera	5.0 mega-pixel Camera + VGA front Camera,  Auto Focus, Self shot
Video	HD(720p@30fps) video playing, Video recording D1 (720×480)@30fps mpeg4, H.264, H.263
Audio	MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR, AMR-NB,
Value-added Features	NFC (Near Field Communications) capability
	Android Market for more applications and contents
	A-GPS
	Gyroscope Sensor, Accelerometer, Digital compass, Proximity, Light
Connectivity	Bluetooth technology v 2.1 + EDR USB v2.0 (High-Speed) Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Memory	16GB iNAND
Size	63 x 123.9 x 10.9 mm
Battery	1500 mAh

All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

¹ Number one mobile phone provider in the U.S claim for Samsung Mobile based upon reported shipment data, according to Strategy Analytics, Q3 2010 U.S. Market Share Handset Shipments Reports.

Google, Nexus S, Android, Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Voice, YouTube, and Android Market are trademarks of Google, Inc.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2009 consolidated sales of US$116.8 billion. Employing approximately 174,000 people in 193 offices across 66 countries, the company consists of eight independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Semiconductor and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visitwww.samsung.com.

Acer held a press conference today and showed off a few new Android based products, 2 Tablets and a new phone. It looks like sometime in April we can expect Acer to deliver a 10-inch Android tablet, hardware specs include a Dual Core 1GHz processor, Flash 10.1 Support, HDMI out and 1280c800 resolution which tops the current offerings in the Android Tablet world (Samsung’s Galaxy Tab being 1024×600).

Also in April Acer expects to release a 7-inch version of the above tablet sporting a slight tweak in hardware in the form of a 1.2GHz Dual Core processor as well as the 1280×800 resolution and Flash support. Continue reading “Acer shows off 2 Android Tablets and a Phone!” »