G1 News

If you’ve seen the picture of a Nokia running Android, then don’t get your hopes up… it turns out the images are a marketing mistake. Billboards in central London appeared to show a Nokia 5230 and X6 running Android and were snapped by a Posterous user (one Mauricio Reyes) last Thursday.

Nokia have since identified the mistake in no uncertain terms however, with this statement from head of Mobile Solutions, Anssi Vanjoki:

“Despite rumours to the contrary, there are no plans to introduce an Android device from Nokia”. So Nokia will be sticking with Symbian for the foreseeable future.

Well, excuse us, but we don’t see the Apple store putting up pics on an iPhone 4 32GB running a competitors OS do we? Be more careful next time!

According to two recent reports Google’s Android platform is set to overtake the Apple iPhone in terms of downloaded apps.

The first report to suggest this trend comes from AdMob, a Google-owned source. Nevertheless, AdMob’s reports states that there will more Android users than Apple iPhone users by the end of 2010.

The second report to suggest the Android’s pre-eminence is perhaps more convincing, coming from independent telecoms analyst Ovum. Ovum expect that by 2015 Android will be responsible for 26 percent of all app downloads, while iPhone will see just 22 percent. That would be a huge shift from last year’s figures of 14 percent for Android and 67 percent for iPhone.

The reason for this trend? We expect is has everything to do with the large volume of low cost Android phones out there, and with an iPhone contract recall imminent, might Google have Apple on the run?

Android 2.2 has barely made it out of the blocks and already rumors of the upcoming Android 3.0 release have already started popping up.

Speculation on Google’s next major release of Android, code-named Gingerbread, comes from Russian website Unwiredview, which has the odd scoop before, but without any official word from Google yet it’s only speculation

According to the source, Android 3.0 could arrive as soon as mid-October, with the first handsets shipping in time for the festive season, around November or December.

Android 3.0 would also set a new set of minimum hardware requirements, including a 1-GHz processor, 512MB of RAM memory, and displays no smaller than 3.5 inches. Higher resolutions of up to 1280 by 760 pixels would also be available for devices with displays larger than 4 inches.

If true, the minimum requirements won’t mean that all new Android phones will be power-horses. Word is that Google intends to split Android into two branches: high-end devices running version 3.0, and low-end devices running 2.1/2.2.

Rumours also abound that Gingerbread would bring with it a much needed UI overhaul, which if good enough could help stem the fragmentation of the platform.

There aren’t any specifics on the improvements, but the site says that the interface across the OS would be similar to the Gallery app on the Nexus One.

Exciting news! Perhaps exciting enough to defer that purchase of that Nokia N8 or iPhone 16GB? We’ll have to wait and see!

Source

Google has just updated their Google Goggles application with the addition of a new feature – text translation. To translate text, just photograph the text you want translated with your Android smartphone’s camera, then the app translates the text into English.

Google Googles is available exclusively on Android devices and with no details on whether Google plans to roll this application out to other platforms, this is another solid reason why you’ll be patting yourself on the back if you opt for Android handset.

The service currently supports a number of languages including English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. However, Google intends to expand this even further.

So, if you’re linguistically challenged and headed for a European break this summer – make sure you snap up the latest version of Google Googles!

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Like the sound of Android? Then compare the best HTC Desire deals and HTC Legend deals at Omio.com!

The Orange Wednesdays app has been around for the iPhone for some time but now it comes to Android too! With Orange Wednesdays you get 2 for 1 cinema vouchers, so this app will tell you what pictures are showing near you, allow you to read reviews, watch trailers and locate more cinemas.

The app will also let you share to a friend all the details of the movie, directly from the app.

To get it, head to the Android Market and search for “Orange Wednesdays”.
Compare the latest Android phone deals with Vodafone iPhone deals & Orange iPhone deals at Omio.com!

Motorola Droid fans rejoice!

If you want a little bit of freedom to download custom themes, application and games onto your fancy new Android device, you need to perform a little magic that goes by the name of ‘rooting’ the device.

It works on both the original Android 2.0 that the handset ships with, as well as the new Android 2.0.1 software update which was recently released as an update for the Droid.

AllDroid once again to thank for the honours…

Step 1 (Recommended): Update to the latest Android 2.0.1 (over the air) software update.

Step 2: Download the file for Android 2.0.1 OTA update for Motorola Droid posted in the AllDroid forum here.

Step 3: Rename the .zip file that you downloaded in Step 2 to update.zip.

Step 4: Move it to the SD Card on your phone.

Step 5: Turn off the DROID, then power back on while holding the X key.

Step 6: When you see a “/!\” symbol, press both the vol+ button and the camera.

Step 7: Now simply follow the onscreen menu to install update.zip file.

Step 8: Reboot your Droid phone.

Now you’re rooted! Your Droid is ready to roll if you want to do anything from adding a fancy new theme to sprucing up the browser!

Flying in the face of recent statements, Gameloft have issued a press release unveiling plans to launch High Definition gaming on the new breed of Android phones including the Motorola DROID/MILESTONE and Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, as well as cementing their support of current generation Google-powered devices.

Earlier this week, Gameloft’s finance director Alexadre de Rochefort spoke of scaling back investment for the fledgling platform, citing iPhone sales as being 400 times higher than on Android Market for their games in the last quarter, as well as a lack of assistance from Google in the promotion of titles.

Whilst the press release places a great deal of emphasis on referring to the ‘2nd generation’ of Android phones, it seems as though Gameloft are attmempting to clarify their intentions of maintaining a presence on the operating system, at present as well as in the future.

In that case, are they scaling back investment, or not?

This latest announcement does little to play down rumours that Gameloft may concentrate their efforts on iPhone in the meantime, with a view to ramping up Android development once the platform has a bigger slice of the smartphone market and a wider range of handsets available to consumers.

Today, Google announced that their new Maps Navigation system is now available for devices running the Android 1.6 operating system…provided you live in the U.S., that is.

As Android 1.6 is the build that all phones aside from the Motorola DROID (to be called Motorola MILESTONE if you call elevators by their real name, which is a ‘lift’) are running on, even the humble T-Mobile G1 and HTC Magic able to get a new lease of life and sense of direction.

Android 1.6 stops short of enabling full Droidery for Maps Navigation, leaving out the “Navigate to…” voice commands enabled by the 2.0 ‘Donut’ update.

US users can point your browsers to the Android Market, whilst UK users can make a gun using their thumb and forefinger and point at their temple in desperation…

Source: Android Release

A European version of the Motorola DROID Google phone revealed last week in the US has also arrived on retailer sites across Western Europe, now daubed with the name ‘MILESTONE’.

Available in November on the O2 and Vodafone networks in Germany and Italy respectively, the Motorola MILESTONE sports some interesting new features that separate it from the iPhone-botherer on the other side of the Atlantic.

The MILESTONE’s Android operating system seems tweaked to access features not found on the US DROID, namely pinch and zoom support.

Multi-touch is certainly a welcome function, and will certainly be put to good use when browsing the web on the 3.7″ TFT display.

However, Motorola’s new Android phone has been confirmed to not be shipping with the impressive Google Maps Navigation software that debuted on the DROID, instead opting for a proprietary MOTONAV service.

We hope that Maps Navigation for Europe is in the works and on the way!

Core features like the 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, slick slider form factor and push mail support remain intact, but the memory card included has been trimmed from 16GB to 8GB.

The price on O2’s German site is €481, but everything seems fairly quiet regarding a UK Motorola Milestone release date, let alone pricing…

What Moto giveth, Moto also taketh away. Which features would you prefer to see on the MILESTONE?

Be still my beating heart.

Just as we thought the plucky T-Mobile G1 was about to be left behind as the Motorola DROID and Android 2.0’s charms courted everyone’s attention, a man named Akira Harada has given us all hope by porting it across to the original Google phone!

Whilst the update isn’t fully optimised, and the G1 does need to be “rooted” for this to work (instructions here), the video proof shows that it is a risk I will be willing to take for Android awesomeness.

Expect to see it on XDA Developers any time from now, and a link to it from our site about 15 minutes later.