G1 News

Phone Dog does a great review of Shazam for the Android. Shazam is a application that first appeared on the iPhone and identifies any song that is being played simply by holding your phone up to listen the music. Shazam then records the song and compares the information it received from that recording with that stored in its database it then returns song title, artist, links to YouTube, MySpace, FaceBook and Amazon if you want to buy the song.

The guy from Phone Dog is impressed with Shazam but points out it works out much better in quiet environments. For instance he went to a discount clothing store but Shazam was unable to identify the song that was playing there. There is about a 90% success rate in the video but it is in a quiet room and he is sitting next to the speakers. Would it work so well in a noisy nightclub for instance?

Unfortunately the video doesn’t compare Shazam on an iPhone compared to a G1? Has anyone used Shazam on an iPhone or the G1, comments please.

PhoneDog

Well, the title says it all really. Although the HTC Magic is released through Vodafone worldwide, it may be that T-Mobile that gets the US release. This would entail a bit of a name change. How doe G2 sound to everyone? Picture courtesy of Engadget.com

TalkAndroid

When not singlehandedly inventing and implementing an App Store before Apple on the iPhone with Cydia, the insanely talented developer Jay Freeman (who is known in CyberSpace as ’saurik’) has made a great way to explore the Android Marketplace from a computer with Cyrket.

Cyrket not only allows you to see what’s new in every category, the ratings and prices of every single app, but even enables the use of QR codes! So using the barcode scanning Android app and pointing your phone’s camera at the squiggly square code off your monitor, it sends your G1 (or any Android phone for that matter) to the relevant page immediately!

Makes browsing the otherwise slightly cramped feeling Marketplace clear and breezy, thanks saurik!

Mobile gaming publisher Gameloft was itching to get some cash money from the Android platform, and unsurprisingly as soon as the floodgates opened on paid apps into the Marketplace, they have no less than 20 titles coming out for the T-Mobile G1.

About time too, the lack of decent games was annoying! Only so many times you can play Pac-Man…

There is a good mix of some big licences, arguably what Gameloft do best. CSI: Miami (complete with a virtual moody and caring Horatio, with glasses!) and dating legend (Adriana Lima, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, Mariah Carey and Jessica Biel…come on!) Derek Jeter in Pro Baseball ‘09 are the highlights, with many more games for Android handsets to follow…

“With digital distribution being the platform of the future, Android Market continues the momentum by providing new channels for consumers to find, buy and download games,” said Gonzague de Vallois, senior vice president of publishing at Gameloft. “We believe in the potential of Android Market, both in terms of content and accessibility. We will continue to support this platform any way we can.”

“Plus, when other devices like the HTC Magic come out…cha-ching!” he did not go on to add.

Remember that awesome decaled developer-spec T-Mobile G1 that Google was selling for $399?

Yeah, turns out it isn’t so awesome now that paid apps are available on the Android Marketplace. The free-wheeling nature of the Android Dev Phone 1 means that you would be easily able to roam around in the secret compartment where all the downloaded paid applications reside.

So if you were savvy enough to dip in there, fish out the app and ping it to your friends, then you end up in a crazy “free love and apps” world…and Google does not want that.

So for you, loyal fan of the G1 who shelled out the 400 bones, plus a $25 registration fee, there is no paid apps. Consider it a reward for your devotion and service. Come on, Google, surely we can reach some sort of solution that doesn’t involve shutting out the people you need most!