Hasta La Gadget!

Google is taking a hard line on the latest version of Android. Honeycomb, it turns out, is not for phones. Asked when a version of Android 3.0 would launch for smartphones after the event, a Google spokesman told the crowd that the last version of the operating system is intended to be tablet-only. “Features will arrive on phones over time,” he told the press.

The answer isn’t entirely surprising. After all, Google insisted that Android 2.2 wasn’t optimized for tablets–not that everyone listened, of course. We saw a number of Android tablets flood the market prior to the soon-to-be unreleased Honeycomb.

Now, such a proclamation raises questions–for starters, what does that mean for the numbering system? Before Honeycomb, every Android upgrade was tailored for smartphones–now that 3.0 is tablet-only?

Google’s in a bit of a precarious position at the moment. The company is still preaching the openness of the software, but it’s beginning to insist on more concrete rules, to help avoid risking further potential fragmentation for the OS.

EyeSight has been bringing its hand-waving UI to all sorts of mobile devices for some time now, and it’s now expanded things yet again. Following up its launch on Android last summer, the company has announced that its gesture recognition software has now also been tailored specifically for Android tablets and other “computer-based” Android platforms, and it’s announced that it’s now available for Windows-based devices as well. As before, the software is able to work with just about any built-in camera, and the company says that it has been “highly optimized” for mobile platforms, with low CPU and memory requirements. It’s not something available directly to users, though — it’s up to developers to license it and include the functionality in their applications. Head on past the break for an idea of how it works — just try to ignore that conspicuously out of place iPad at the beginning of the video.

Continue reading EyeSight brings its gesture controls to Android tablets, Windows-based devices

EyeSight brings its gesture controls to Android tablets, Windows-based devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 04:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Sprint got a 4G-capable, 4.3-inch Android phone from HTC, then this January AT&T (Inspire 4G) and Verizon (Thunderbolt) received promises of the same. Is T-Mobile feeling left out? It might not be for long, as the rumor mill has just churned out a rather mighty 1.2GHz dual-core beast of a handset and is ascribing it to the Magenta network for a launch some time around May or June. We’re hearing it’ll come with qHD resolution (960 x 540, just like the Atrix 4G) and the SOC within will be that famed Snapdragon MSM8260 that Qualcomm teased briefly at CES a couple of weeks ago. Lending credence to this scuttlebutt is the fact that both TmoNews and Android and Me found sources affirming the Pyramid’s existence, leaving us only to wait and wonder about what we can do with a device of its kind.

{Image credit: Nina Aldin Thune]

HTC Pyramid emerges from the mists of speculation with a 1.2GHz dual-core, 4.3-inch screen, T-Mobile 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 03:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There was plenty about yesterday’s Android event that didn’t make headlines but was worth noting. Hardware acceleration of both 2D and 3D UI elements — shown off to great effect by Google’s Hugo Barra, who managed to scroll through three lists simultaneously without inducing any lag on the Motorola Xoom — should make Honeycomb as delicious to look at as it sounds, while our personal favorite, the new tablet-specific email interface, should be part of Gmail yesterday. The email UI is built out of elements Google calls fragments, which will supposedly be easy to transition down to smartphones, so thumbs up all around. The video above also runs you through the big news of the day, namely that Android Market can now be accessed via a dedicated website and apps downloaded to your device remotely, along with the equally important (for devs) addition of in-app purchases. Finally, Cee-Lo Green pops in for a video chat session from wherever he is on the internets, and we’re all treated to an exhibition of lag-afflicted, awkward conversation. What’s not to love?

Watch Google’s Android event in full: Honeycomb on the Xoom, Android Market website, in-app purchases, and Cee-Lo Green originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 02:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, California — Google is tired of Apple luring all the mobile developers away.

To fight back, the company is trying to make it easier for customers to purchase and install Android apps.

At company headquarters here this morning, Google unveiled its Android Market web store, a web portal that lets users browse and purchase apps from the Android Market without requiring a smartphone.

Google announced the new web site in an on-campus event showcasing the new Android version 3.0, aka Honeycomb, which is yet to be released.

Previously only accessible by using an Android smartphone, you can now access the Android Market site through a web browser on other devices, such as desktop computers, laptops, netbooks or — as we saw today on the Honeycomb-fueled Motorola Xoom — tablet. After accessing the site and signing in to your Google account, you can search the 200,000-plus apps featured on the official Android Market, and make app purchases on your browser.

After purchasing, apps will install directly to the specified smartphone device of your choosing via Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity.

In other words, you still need an Android device to run the apps, but you can “push” them to your device, using a browser.

Google also announced improved payment options as a supplement to the web-store launch. Credit card numbers and other personal payment information is stored in your individual Google account. After choosing an app, you can make a payment using a one-click purchase system.

Google is also giving developers more control on the backend. In the developer console, Android app developers will now be able to set the price of an app in different currencies specifically supported by the Android Market. So what may cost an American user $5, a developer can also specify the cost of the app to a European user paying with the euro.

Finally, in-app payments will soon be coming to the Android Market, letting users purchase things like virtual currency, additional levels or in-game consumables without leaving the app environment. The developer documentation for in-app payments is being released today. Google expects in-app payments to be available to Android users before the end of spring.

It’s a long overdue move by Google, as Apple has had app-store-directory access available to customers by browser since 2007. And Android Market users have complained about payment systems.

Apple’s app store contains 400,000-plus applications, over twice that of Android’s.

“I think Android has a history of performing well despite having a late start,” user interface director Matias Duarte told Wired.com in an interview. “We’re pretty excited about it.”

Although Google showed all the new Android Market developments on its new new Honeycomb Android update, the company gave no details as to when the update will be launched.

Photo: Andy Rubin, Google VP of Engineering (Mike Isaac/Wired.com)

See Also:

• What We Know About Honeycomb, the Android for Tablets
• Google Unveils Graphics, Other Enhancements to Honeycomb
• Upcoming Asus Tablets Will Run Android Honeycomb
• Video: Android 'Honeycomb' Tablet OS Revealed
• App Sales Sluggish, Despite Android's Popularity
• Malware Sneaks Into Android Market
• Independent App Stores Take On Google's Android Market
• Android OS Now World's Leading Smartphone Platform
• Google Removes Flash App From Android Market