Hasta La Gadget!

There isn’t much to say about this Android-based game (of sorts): select from 1-, 2-, and 5-meter lengths via options (actually centimeters once you get on the track), then proceed to “run” your fingers across the screen until the counter hits zero. The goal is fastest time, and longer swipes will get you to the goal faster. It’s about as barebones as you can get — at least the textured track scrolls as you make your dash — but we’re sure there’s enough people out there with a competitive streak that’ll love to challenge friends and family. Besides, it’s free, and if you’re the sort who downloads a ton of apps anyway, it’s good exercise for when you need to scroll through your library. You know what? We think the video explains it best — do check it out after the break.

Continue reading App review: Finger Race (Android)

App review: Finger Race (Android) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Sep 2010 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android Market Logo via Google Android

The new batch of forthcoming Android tablets are all sporting the new version of Android (2.2, or Froyo). But Google says that this version of Android wasn’t optimized for tablets. This means three things for folks interested in buying an Android tablet this fall.

First: If your tablet is built to certain hardware specifications — specifically, those of an oversized smartphone — you’re good. Samsung’s much-anticipated Galaxy Tab fits the bill, as it really is just a Galaxy smartphone with a much larger screen. If you’re wondering (like I was) why the Galaxy Tab had phone-call capability and was laid out in portrait rather than landscape, there’s your answer.

Second: Functionally, the biggest hurdle is that most tablets won’t be able to use the Android Market, Google’s official store for Android apps. This actually makes sense, as not all of the apps on the market will work each tablet’s different hardware. But luckily, Android, unlike Apple’s iOS, is wide open. There are plenty of other ways to get Android apps onto your machine, including other app stores.

Third: Hugo Barra, Google’s director of mobile products, stopped just short of saying that the 3.0 and 3.5 versions of Android, also known as Gingerbread and Honeycomb (Android OS names make me hungry for breakfast cereal), would be optimized for tablets, and presumably there will either be a tablet version or tablet section of the Android Market at that time.

But he also didn’t quite say that. We can play Kremlinology all we want, and suppose that Google is sending subtly coded messages to consumers to wait for the next OS to buy an Android tablet, but it’s quite possible that Google just isn’t sure when or even if it can support a marketplace for everybody’s hardware.

This is the great and frustrating thing about having a wide-open gadget ecology for a platform. On the one hand, you’ve got a much wider variety of hardware options and price points; on the other, it’s much more difficult to provide an easy, unified consumer experience. That’s where we are with Android tablets, and where we’re likely to be next year, too.

See Also:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab Will Cost Over $1000
• Samsung Introduces 7-Inch Tablet to Rival iPad
• Gadget Lab Podcast: iPods, Apple TV and Samsung's Galaxy Tab …
• Archos 101 Android Tablet: iPad Rival or Giant Phone?
• First Look: ELocity's Android Tablet Makes Great Media Player …
• LG Promises Two New Android Phones, Tablet
• Apple iOS 4 vs. Google Android 2.2: How Do They Stack Up?
• From the Game|Life Mailbox: Honeycomb Cereal

Hello, obvious! Anyone who has actually used an Android-based tablet for any length of time would probably tell you that the experience is far from optimal. It works, sure, but it doesn’t take a CSC major to understand that Google’s existing builds of Android were crafted for smartphones and nothing more. Thankfully for those who are tired of arguing the point, Hugo Barra, director of products for mobile at Google, is stepping up to the plate and giving you some backing. Quoted over at Tech Radar, Hugo noted that “Android is an open platform, and we saw at IFA 2010 all sorts of devices running Android, so it’s already running on tablets; but the way Android Market works is it’s not going to be available on devices that don’t allow applications to run correctly.” He followed up by proclaiming that “Froyo is not optimized for use on tablets,” and while he wouldn’t go so far as to affirm that Gingerbread would be built for use on the aforementioned form factor, he did say that the company’s working “to ensure our users have [the] right experience.” How’s that strike you, Galaxy Tab?

Google: Android 2.2 ‘not designed’ for the tablet form factor originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile has announced the G2, the successor to the very first Android phone, the G1. The new handset loses the famous “chin” of the original, adds fast HSPA+ data and integrates Google Voice.

With so many Android handsets either blocking or replacing Google services on the “open” Google-owned operating system, it’s nice to see an Android phone as Googly as this one. In addition to Google Voice, there is Google Goggles, voice control and all the usual Google services like Gmail, maps and YouTube. All this, as you’d expect, runs on Android 2.2 Froyo and the T-Mobile press-release promises an “Adobe FlashPlayer enabled Web browsing experience” (read: stuttering video playback and reduced battery-life).

As for hardware, the CPU is an 800MHz Snapdragon and the phone will offer “4G speeds” via T-Mobile’s new HSPA+ network, if you can get it. A keyboard flips from behind the screen for a full, landscape-oriented QWERTY hardware experience, and the screen is a large 3.7-inch multitouch one.

Finally, there’s a 5MP camera with LED light, and the handset comes with 4GB memory and a microSD slot, in which you will find an 8GB card pre-loaded.

If you want the full, unfettered Googlephone experience, without weird carrier restrictions (apart from the coverage restrictions of T-Mobile, we guess) then this might just be the Android phone to go for. It has a plain and handsome design and while the computer inside isn’t the fastest, it is more than competent.

Availability and pricing have yet to be announced, but existing T-Mobile customers will get first bite “later this month.”

G2 product page [T-Mobile]

G2 press release [T-Mobile]

See Also:

• Android G2 Phone Is No Beauty
• Hands On With HTC G2 Android Phone
• T-Mobile's G1 Android Phone: Neither Open nor Exciting
• G1 Android Phone at Least $380 Cheaper Than iPhone
• Android-Powered G1 to Premiere in San Francisco

Follow us for real-time tech news: Charlie Sorrel and Gadget Lab on Twitter.

For those folks who are still clinging to their T-Mobile G1s (and I know there are a few out there) even though they’re officially end-of-life, T-Mobile announced today that its successor, the T-Mobile G2, would be available for pre-order later this month. They didn’t mention how much the new phone would cost, but T-Mobile did lay out a number of its features.

The G2 will ship with Android 2.2 “Froyo” installed, along with an 800-Mhz Snapdragon processor that’s built for longer battery life with a little less performance. The G2 will feature a slide-out keyboard and come with 4GB of internal storage and an 8GB memory card installed. The G2 will also be the first HSPA+ phone in the US, meaning it can take advantage of T-Mobile’s fastest 3G networks. You can read more about the announcement, why it may be the “Googliest phone ever,” and exactly how fast the phone may perform when it’s released over at PCMag.com!