Friday 26 November 2010

Android Community

Android Community

Marcus Hansson Explains What the Sony Ericsson LiveView is and How Developers Can Develop For It

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 09:32 AM PST

Since the launch of LiveView, Sony Ericsson has had some questions posted (somewhere or another) about how it works and what can be done with it. Sony Ericsson representative Marcus Hansson answers these questions and explains some plug-ins for Android apps compatible with LiveView in this informative 2-minute video. His first comment explains the baffling concept behind the design: “first of all, I want to make it clear that the LiveView is a small screen with buttons on it – it connects with BlueTooth to your phone. So it’s compatible with all Sony Ericsson Android phones with 2.0 and above – it’s also compatible with most Android phones with 2.0 and above.” Easy enough, yes?

He then speaks about how you can use the device as a watch very easily, how it attaches to all manner of wristbands, then he gets to the “techie stuff.” Developers, he says, will be able to develop applications to work on the LiveView – the two ways to do this are by using the “Announce Plug-in” for announcements or the “Sandbox Plug-in” which is a 2nd display that utilizes the buttons, vibrate, and LEDs. He then shows 2 maps which display how your application will work through the LiveView [images below.]

Hansson goes on to say that Sony Ericsson will soon be posting an SDK and documentation for developers so that they might make apps asap. He notes that the Announce plug-in is just what it sounds like, sending to your LiveView announcements from FaceBook, Twitter, text messages, etc.. The Sandbox plug-in, on the other hand, allows you to take over the whole screen – you’ll be able to send images, use the vibrator (this way of saying use the vibration function in the device gets sort of lost in translation, lol), and you can control the application on your phone using the buttons on the LiveView.

Hansson directs you to http://sonyericsson.com/developer if you plan on creating for the LiveView and appeals to everyone to ask as many questions as they’d like on the LiveView. Take a look at the full video here, and be sure to look for Hansson’s totally wild skull ring and the awesome “DE VEL OP ER WORLD” brand sound at the beginning of the video. It reminds me of the song “Television Rules the Nation” by Daft Punk. Rockin it!

Click here to view the embedded video.

[Via Sony Ericsson Developers YouTube Channel]

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Toshiba TG01 May Now Run Android

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 08:47 AM PST

According to XDA Developers Forum member Markinus, he’s got a test build working for the Toshiba TG01 allowing a run of Android/Linux. He’s been working on this for some time and continues to work on it and asks for feedback so as to improve the system as much as possible. Currently one of the bigger issues is calibrating the values which lead to accurate touchscreen tapping. You can access the first test build now and get to tappin and callin up your ol’ pal Vader!

You can access the first test build here, courtesy of Markinus: [Multiupload] – but be warned: if you do not know right away what to do with the file you’re downloading, do not use it. If you attempt to run this sort of build on your TG01 and mess up, your device might be completely broken by it. Check out full instructions over at XDA Forums and have fun!

[Via XDA Forums]

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Sony Ericsson PlayStation Phone details leak: BRAVIA screen, MWC 2011 debut

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 07:44 AM PST

New details on the so-called Sony Ericsson PlayStation Phone have emerged, with the handset tipped to use BRAVIA branding for a display that’s supposedly on-par with the iPhone 4′s Retina Display. According to MobileCrunch’s source, the handset is on track for a Mobile World Congress 2011 launch in February next year, since it is “no where near ready” for a holiday 2010 release.

What’s left unclear is how the phone will be branded; it seems Sony Ericsson will be sticking with their XPERIA name, since the PlayStation Phone most likely won’t be able to run actual downloaded PSP games. Instead, it will get custom mobile games, specially created for the platform and priced at sub-$10. The handset itself is internally expected to come in at around $500 unsubsidized, including a five game bundle.

As for “Z-System”, that’s supposedly the umbrella title for both the Sony Ericsson gaming platform and the distribution system, and it’s undecided whether games will be distributed separately to the Android Market or, as Google is apparently pushing for, in a new, custom section of the Market. The tipster – who apparently has a track record not just of successful information but with mobile gaming – reckons it’s “the best gaming experience [they've] ever had on a mobile device,” which leaves us eagerly anticipating MWC in a few months time.

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TeamViewer Beta now available for Android devices

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 07:32 AM PST

One cool feature available on many phones is the ability to control your computer from your phone via a 3rd party app. I know for that there are a lot of apps on the iPhone that can do this, but there haven’t been many apps on Android yet capable of doing this. Well, today is your lucky day because the TeamViewer application has just released a beta for Android devices.

TeamViewer will allow the user to remotely control a Windows, Linux, or mac computer from your Android device. Here is the complete list of features:

  • Support your clients and colleagues spontaneously.
  • Access your office desktop with all of its documents and installed applications.
  • Remotely administer unattended computers (e.g. servers).
  • Free for non-commercial use: support family and friends or have remote access to your own computer.

The wait is finally over after TeamViewer did lots of testing to make sure it was ready for beta release. You can download the app at the TeamViewer Mobile site or at the barcode image below. Also keep in mind that the beta will only be available for a limited time until Jan. 31 2011.

Via [TeamViewer]

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Darth Vader is Android spokesman in Japan…umm..k

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 05:23 AM PST

Star Wars has already tied up with Android in the past with R2-D2 on one of the Droid smartphones. That was a cool mash up of my childhood heroes and tech. A strange one has surfaced now in Japan.

Apparently, NTT DoCoMo has chosen Darth Vader as its spokesperson for Android in Japan. The company is the largest carrier in the country. Perhaps it sees itself as the Evil Empire. I have to wonder if Vader has different connotations in Japan than here in the US.

Yeah I don’t get the commercial, Vader is just sort of standing around and even creepier is Vader at the disco. I think the message is the evil empire is watching you. This is really weird.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Leak hints at Galaxy S 2 hardware

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 05:15 AM PST

Geeks are able to find out details of coming hardware a lot of the time by pouring through software updates that hit models already on the market. Often the software will have lines of code that are specifically for each handset and these can give insights to coming models.

A new Android smartphone has seen some of its some of its basic hardware specs leaked. The device is believed to the Galaxy S 2 and it sounds interesting. The leak points to a FM radio tuner, Bluetooth, and a few other things. All of this is firmly in rumor land right now.

It would be easy enough to speculate that the handset when/if it comes will run Gingerbread since the OS is on the horizon. The leak about the new smartphone came from the November 19 GT-I9200XXJP2 firmware.

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Woow Digital Android tablet coming soon

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 05:05 AM PST

Android tablets are coming to the market in force with new offerings coming all the time and a bunch more on the way. A new tablet running Android from a company called Woow Digital has surfaced and the thing may be one of the better tablets running Android to break cover so far.

The tablet has a 10-inch screen and will run Gingerbread when it lands. The big screen and tablet-centric OS isn't; all the thing has to wow users. It runs the Tegra 2 platform from NVIDIA too. That should give the tablet some serious performance chops.

Other than the Tegra 2 platform the tablet will also have 1GB of RAM, 16GB of flash storage, and WCDMA 3G connectivity. Other features will include WiFi and Bluetooth. Take this all with a grain of salt though; the details and photo here are all from a leak.

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NEC Smartia tablet is consumer version of Cloud Communicator [Video]

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 01:46 AM PST

NEC’s Cloud Communicator tablet has jumped over to the company’s consumer division, rebranded as the NEC Smartia and set to go on sale in Japan from December 6. The specifications for the 7-inch slate are unchanged, so you get an 800 x 480 resistive touchscreen, 600MHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor and Android 2.1, all for 42,800 yen ($510) from NEC’s comically-named BIGLOBE ISP.

There’s also GPS, WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and a 3-megapixel webcam. NEC also thrown on their own app store, Andronavi. NEC apparently has a 1GHz update in the works, complete with Android 2.2 and 3.0 updates, but there’s no timescale for their release.

Click here to view the embedded video.

[via NetbookNews]

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