Those hankering for as bit of acoustic action from their Android phone can rejoice as music download service Mewbox launches today.
The first European music download service for phones running Google’s operating system, Mewbox has 4 million tracks available to buy from over 23,000 labels, all free from DRM.
Whilst not quite catering for as broad a range of tastes as Apple’s iTunes, Mewbox has a decent mix of the biggest names and most popular albums present and correct.
With 7Digital — the company enabling MP3 purchases from streaming site Spotify — doing the heavy lifting, Mewbox is for all Android phones from the spanking new HTC Hero to the original T-Mobile G1.
Available as a download from the Mewbox site (no sign of the app on the Android Market just yet), the ‘vanilla’ version of the software can then be installed to a handset via USB.
An all-singing version of the platform is available for the Archos 5 internet tablet — the original home of Mewbox — with both versions offering a clean and clear browsing interface by track, album and artist, as well as the ability for the technology to scale to any Google-driven device.
As a celebration of the Mewbox service launch, there’s a bundle of free tunes available from the site as a taster of what to expect. Get it now, and enjoy the music!
Just as we thought the plucky T-Mobile G1 was being left to languish in the ‘old phone’ drawer as the Motorola DROID grabs the world’s attention with Google Maps, a man named Akira Harada has given us all hope by porting the latest Android 2.0 update 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 many will be willing to take for Android awesomeness.
Expect to see it on XDA Developers any time from now, and links to it from all over the internet about 3 minutes later.
Seems like the G1 has managed to steal a march on the iPhone in an important category – turn-by-turn satellite navigation.
Co-Pilot Live app has recently rolled out on the Android Marketplace, offering GPS guidance, lane indicators, speed camera locations and voice directions on your mobile for the princely sum of £25.99 for UK/Ireland maps and £59.99 for all of Europe.
Supported by the holy trinity of Android phones, the T-Mobile G1, HTC Magic and HTC Hero/T-Mobile G1 Touch will even allow you to divulge and share your location to your mates, Google Latitude-style.
With no monthly charge or extra costs outside of your 3G usage for services like live traffic, fuel prices or weather updates, Co-Pilot Live seems like a great, cost-effective way to get you going in the right direction!
In an expected and welcome move, HTC has stepped up the Android ante by releasing their latest handset to an expectant crowd in London this morning.
The newHTC Hero takes visual cues from the HTC Touch Diamond 2, sporting a more demure ‘chin’ than the T-Mobile G1 and a new interface based on Google’s ‘Android’ operating system called ‘HTC Sense’.
Focused on people rather than features, the Sense interface allows you to view loads of your most used widgets directly on the home screen placing messages, contacts, Facebook updates and even Twitter feeds within easy reach.
With a 3.2″ touchscreen, a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, GPS with a digital compass and a 3.5mm headset jack, the HTC Hero has the technical specs to turn heads. With 512MB of memory, the SD card slot lets you boost your memory to up to 16GB, whilst a trackball supplements navigating the touch screen, and compensates for the lack of a physical keyboard.
Get a glance on what it looks like, and what it can do, on this video.
The ease of switching between menus, clean and simple user interface and arresting looks on the HTC Hero show that some competitors know how that software is equally as important as hardware in challenging the iPhone.
With a July release on T-Mobile and Orange (the network’s first Android handset), the important thing for the HTC Hero to do is persuade those not yet swayed by the iPhone’s luxurious charms that impressive form and function is now more affordable…if you are prepared to wait a little while.
Android has been out for going on 8 months now, and it’s surprising that the number of phones actually in shops running it can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Even if that hand has only two fingers on it.
Well, the manufacturers are really going to fix that if Andy Rubin’s words are anything to go by.
The Boss of Google’s Mobile Stuff (probably not on his business card) stated that at least 18 mobiles from 8 or 9 manufacturers running on Android will be out and about by year end, and that the US lags behind European adoption of the platform as providers attempt to inject individuality into their devices.
He was also kind enough to illuminate us on the ‘with Google’ experience, and the different forms Android may take in these forthcoming devices:
- Google for free: Free (to download) version of Android, without Google applications like Gmail or Google Calendar. Access to Android market etc. is at the manufacturer’s discretion.
- Google, with caveats: Same as above but manufacturers sign a distribution agreement with Google, on the condition Google applications are installed. Most of the new handsets for ’09 will be this type.
– The ‘with Google’ factor: Phones emblazoned with the Google logo (T-Mobile G1, HTC Magic on Vodafone) have all the Google apps installed, including unrestricted access (neither the network or manufacturer can block applications they find objectionable) to the Android market. There will still be 5 or so handsets offering the ‘full fat’ Google experience.
Well, we have seen the first of Samsung’s output with the i7500/Galaxy getting plenty of exposure in recent weeks, and Motorola are BFF’s with Google at the moment so we know they are on board…what of Sony Ericsson and the rest?
Well, S-E admitted to be using the v2.0 or ‘Donut’ version of Android for their forthcoming handsets, will we be seeing it in 2009, however?
Shaquille O’Neal, NBA star and literal man-mountain, loves his Twitter, and his phones. He talks about the two non-stop. The ultimate object of his affection; his G1 phone. It’s what he uses to access Twitter.
Lots of famous faces are using the micro blogging site to chat about how much they love their phones.
John Mayer, his BlackBerry Bold and Twitter. It’s a beautiful combination. Mayer’s huge in the States but he’s better know over here via the gossip mags and for his affiliation with one Miss Jennifer Aniston. He’s also a huge gadget fan. He had a Bold way, way before anyone else did in the States and BlackBerry went as far as to sponsor his last tour.
Did I mention he’s also a pretty successful singer/song writer?
Mayer’s twittering habit got so excessive that Aniston and him almost split up over it, allegedly.
The man, the legend, MC Hammer. What is there to say, really. Aswell as having an iPhone app in his own incarnation, “Hammer Time”, he is the proud owner of 3 phones and an avid “Tweeter”.
The great and good are sending their random thoughts and musings out into Twitter land but there are some faces you wouldn’t expect to see doing that kind of self promotion on the site.
Even after 14 reincarnations the Dalai Lama is a big Twitter user. His Holiness (HH) likes the new medium a lot apparently. David Lynch has an account too. There have been shouts that it’s an impersonator but his tweets are too odd, not be him. He’s not walking backwards into velvet-clad rooms or anything but he often delights his followers about his thoughts on the transience of the clouds or how he hates republicans.
Vodafone UK has cemented the release date for the HTC Magic, proclaiming an April release loud and proud from their shop page.
Revealed at this year’s Mobile World Congress, the HTC Magic is the second high-profile handset to run Google’s Android operating system.
Armed with a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen and connectivity including 3G, HSDPA, wi-fi and Bluetooth, the Magic also has a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus, and a virtual QWERTY keypad to replace the T-Mobile G1‘s flippy physical one.
You can find out how the new HTC Magic weighs up alongside the original G1 using our mobile phone comparison page, just like they did on AIsForAndroid!
Today, Vodafone and HTC announced their HTC Magic smartphone, available from spring of 2009 and an exclusive to the Vodafone network.
The device is the second handset powered by Google’s Android interface and offers a similar, yet more refined experience than the T-Mobile G1, with a 3.2 inch QVGA touchscreen whilst losing the slide out QWERTY keypad that made the G1 such a striking device.
A 3.2 megapixel camera, MP3 player and scrolling trackball are all present and correct, and yet all carry-overs from the G1 device it so closely resembles…
The user interface however, is an major advancement over the original Android device, offering many Google powered applications including Maps and Search, as well as many touted features like a virtual QWERTY keypad for typing (a necessity now that the physical one is no more!), as well as access to Vodafone-specific online services.
Some of the odd shortcomings like a lack of video recording are thankfully no longer present, but there is a multi-purpose HTC ExtUSB port instead of a normal old 3.5 mm audio jack. Weird.
This video offers a much closer look at what the HTC Magic can do for Vodafone, and you!
The only question that no-one seems to be asking is why on Earth is this not the T-Mobile G2? It looks like the G1, works like G1, is a network exclusive like the G1, was even called the G2 on the leaked HTC roadmap, what gives?
Perhaps the G1 underperformed, perhaps HTC wanted too much money this time. Whatever it was, T-Mobile’s loss is Vodafone’s gain as the HTC Magic looks to be the one to watch this quarter!
Groundbreaking new casino software that’s Android compatible takes our expectations of mobile gaming and blows them out of the water. A bit like Arnie, Sly or Van Damme.
The games, from gaming solutions company Spin3, are fully interactive and powered by Micro Gaming software. Favourites like Blackjack, Rouletter and 3 Card Poker all operate on web-based applications. So there’s no awkward software downloading.
These new interactive games are Android G1 compatible, another first. The better picture quality on Google’s mobile internet along with the touch-screen capabilites of the G1 make for a gaming experience that’s second to none.
The games range from the Java formats; used to run the roulette and 3 card poker table games.
The casino experience is made all the more authentic by the inclusion of slot machine games. The Treasure Nile game for instance lets you play for real money on your handset. The first development of its kind. The starting jackpot of £40,000 is accumulated from player deposits.
The play for money button, inherent with this new breed of casino games, has an obvious danger. You could get carried away whilst in the gambling zone and run up a steep set of bills. Kids, unaware of the real money involved, could inadvertently gamble away all of mummy and daddy’s money at the roulette table.
Remember folks, the house always wins.
Check out the Spin3 website for full video footage of the gambling action.
Upon the initial unveiling of the apps being created on Android, there didn’t seem to be that much cause to loosen my kung-fu grip on the iPhone, until I saw a demo of one in particular…
GoCart. Just the potential of having such a robust shopping comparison system in my pocket when pottering around the shops rocked my world. Check it.
Specifically built for Android, GoCart allowed users to scan the barcode of any product using the phone’s camera, subsequently searching both online and local stores (using GPS to figure out your location) for the best prices.
Built by Texas-based mobile application devs Big In Japan, GoCart was good enough to earn $250,000 as a Android Developer Challenge winner for their efforts, and are currently seen as a standard bearer for the benefits and flexibility of creating for an open-source platform.
A name change to ShopSavvy and many cosmetic as well as technical updates later, it has become one of the most downloaded programs on the Android Market. This video depicting 2 minutes of scanning best illustrates how successful (and useful) the service has become!
Since the success in the US, a localised version of Shop Savvy for European currencies and stores was released on January 15th, making the app a truly transatlantic success.
- improved location data (i.e. combining wifi/gps/celltower) to determine your exact location.
- ability to include easter eggs for certain items (retailers can offer specials to ShopSavvy users) when scanned in certain stores.
- we will be including the ability to instantly pay for items with ShopSavvy.
- we will be allowing users to submit prices, retailers, pictures and reviews.
- our iPhone version will be released (US only for now).
- additional product information will be included for items (i.e. food allergy and health info).
Wait, what? Instantly pay for items? Easter Eggs? iPhone version? Believe it or not, this only takes us to March 2oo9 in their plans…
These are some fairly seismic changes to an already robust application! The ability to offer easter eggs and vouchers for products transforms the use of ShopSavvy into a money saving program in itself as opposed to merely a facilitator. Imagine time or location specific offers causing hordes of T-Mobile G1 owners pouring into your local store to scan a bargain…ShopSavvy has the potential to make cheap deals fun!
The development of detailed product information, new merchants and user reviews will be a great weapon in the face of shop staff who are often economical with the truth when trying to make a sale…
“What? Wi-Fi? Has it got Wi-Fi? Has this one got Wi-Fi? Um…yes? Yes. Yes, yes it does.”
All these things in the palm of a shopper’s hand will make money saving a matter of course, and guaging my exact location via GPS becomes more important than ever during this recession. If I can get this thing cheaper next door, I want to know about it!
The biggest change…ShopSavvy on the iPhone. If it has seen successful thus far, then it is bound to run things on the massive stage of the App Store. However, there was word on the Big In Japan blog back in October 2008, suggesting that the iPhone’s SDK might prove difficult to work with…
I posed the question to Alexander and was met with this cryptic response:
“On the Apple stuff – you may be surprised…”
Has Apple helped them overcome the hindrances they felt would prevent them from creating the ‘REAL ShopSavvy experience’ on iPhone? Money is always a great motivator, and the potential to be a success for Big In Japan, Apple, and a victory for the consumer should be reason enough to see an excellent conversion of ShopSavvy soon enough!
The only downside is that Google must be sad to see another one of their ‘exclusive’ apps defect to the dark side…
Android has been out for going on 8 months now, and it’s surprising that the number of phones actually in shops running it can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Even if that hand has only two fingers on it.
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