Posted January 11th, 2010 by Gerry
In my opinion, one big gap that Android needs to fill in order to compete with the iPhone and become more popular is something that resembles iTunes. I love my Motorola Droid, but it does not come with media management software so I am left using various applications to keep the content updated. Of course, there are third party applications that can help fill the gap, but something doesn’t feel right when you pay hundreds of dollars for a device and have to locate a program to help transfer your media.
I previously provided my opinion on Double Twist as an excellent option for transferring music in a previous post. Double Twist provides support for synching music, photos, and videos with an excellent feature that will convert videos to the proper format for your device. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted January 8th, 2010 by Gerry
As someone who loves the latest in technology, I was very interested in the news coming from Google regarding the Nexus One earlier this week. I am a big fan of Linux and Android, as a long time Verizon Wireless customer I jumped at the opportunity to own an Android phone when the Motorola Droid was launched. Of course that means that I am locked into a two year contract with the hefty $350 early termination fee imposed by Verizon so a Nexus One is not anywhere in my future even with the announcement that it will be coming to Verizon in the Spring.
Even though I know that I will not be getting a Nexus One, I watched the Google Android Press conference on Ustream to find out more about Nexus One and more importantly what this means to smart phones in the future considering that Google has been claiming to change the landscape. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted December 14th, 2009 by Gerry
One of the great things about an Android based phone is that it imports your contact information directly from Gmail if you already have the information in Gmail. Since I started using my BlackBerry device about a year ago, I have been synching my contact information so all of my emails and phone numbers were already there. When I purchased the Motorola Droid, I entered my Gmail sign-in information and almost instantly I had all of my contact information available.
For people that are not already synching their contacts with Gmail, especially if you are not using another smart phone, that might not sound like a great thing. I will soon be adding a Droid Eris on my family plan for my daughter who currently has an LG EnV. If you purchase the new phone from a retailer they can port the contacts, but for some reason the stores make you wait for a rebate that you can get as an online discount by purchasing online through Verizon Wireless. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted December 7th, 2009 by Gerry
Android owners were treated by a new labs program from Google today called Google Goggles. The application is still in its early stages, but it offers a great deal of functionality now and can only get better as improvements are made. The software is available in the Android Market for devices running OS 1.6 or later so I was excited to try it out on my Droid.
Once the application is installed you will go through a brief tutorial that explains how to use Google Goggles.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted December 5th, 2009 by Gerry
One of the benefits of the Android mobile phone OS is that it is open source, therefore Google releases a public version for developers to create and test applications. Prior to purchasing my Droid, I installed the SDK to get an idea of how it works. Recently, a new version of Android, version 2.01 was released on the SDK and will soon be released for the Motorola Droid.
Once the SDK is installed you can automatically update new releases easily. I will explain the steps to install the SDK and check for future updates so you can always have the latest versions to try out. I should add that if you are not a developer, the SDK can be a bit disappointing compared to an actual phone running the OS. The main reason I say that is due to it not having the Android Market and ability to install applications. You basically have a phone background and some basic applications. Read the rest of this entry »
