Two new Android phones
AT&T is finally carrying an Android based phone, this one is made by Dell, and called the Mini 3. This phone has been selling overseas already, so the specs are pretty well known. 3.5-inch 640×360 display, Bluetooth, 3 megapixel auto-focus camera with flash, microSD, and GPS. Two things catch my eye, no WiFi and and microSD support. So that is the bad and good points right off the bat. No WiFi was one of the major complaints about the Crackberry Storm.
The inclusion of a microSD slot is a big, big plus. The lack of an additional memory source is the biggest strike against the iPhone hardware, IMNSHO.
The other new Android phone is Google’s own Nexus 1. We’ll see how long that name lasts. The estate of Philip K. Dick is already taking legal action against the name. Otherwise, this is an impressive bit of hardware. It sports a one-gigahertz processor, a 3.7-inch display, a five-megapixel camera, light and proximity sensors, and dual microphones that allow for noise cancellation. Woot! This phone also has a removable battery! The serious road warrior can pack a spare for emergencies. The phone itself only has 512 Meg of flash memory, but it comes with a 4 Gig microSD card. The phone will support up to 32 Gig in that slot, so expansion is available.
You can buy an unlocked phone direct from Google fro $529.
Originally posted at Urbin Technology.
Bad move by Apple
Apple barred the new Google Talk App from the iTunes App Store.
The initial claim was that the app duplicated core services of the iPhone.
To get around Apple’s monopolitics ban, point your iPhone browwer to www.google.com/talk.
There has been other fallout from Apple’s ban, besides pissed off customers, the FCC is asking questions and Google CEO Eric Schmidt resigned from Apple’s Board of Directors.
Then there is also the added buzz about Google Talk this has generated. Perhaps it would have been better for Apple just to have allowed the app in the iTunes app store.
Originally posted at Urbin Technology
I called the Chrome OS back in October
Google announced an OS based on Chrome, this is supposed be a seperate OS than Android, which is already shipping on smartphones and has been ported to netbooks.
The Chrome OS is also based on open source LINUX code, and Google plans on freely distributing the OS. This can’t make Microsoft very happy.
Back in October 2008, I noticed that Chrome had the potential to be a thin layer OS.
One of the exisiting theories is that Chrome is the first componet of a Google OS. Chrome is supposed to be the interface to the applications. If you look under the hood of Chrome, it is built more like an OS than a browser.
All it will need is a thin layer to access the hardware (boot, and then interface with video/storage/audio/periferal I/O(USB for a start)/network interfaces) and it’s pretty much good to go.
This would a thin client model with most of the applications out in the cloud, and as much of the data. as well.