Official Twitter for Android app goes live, will go open source

Twitter had committed to rolling its own client for Android not long ago — and like clockwork, here it is. Looks like the OS integration goes pretty deep, too, with support for Éclair’s Quick Contact bar and tweeting straight from the Gallery app; you’ve also got a timeline widget for your home screen, and you can even see your friends’ latest tweets from your contact list and the Google Talk app. It sounds like Twitter worked pretty closely with Google to make this happen, contributing the code to Android’s trunk for open sourcing in the near future — and developers will even have access to a set of standard Twitter APIs for their own applications. The only downside appears to be that you need Android 2.1 to use it, but that’s just an excuse to run out and upgrade to a sweet new phone, right?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Official Twitter for Android app goes live, will go open source originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTwitter  | Email this | Comments

LG Ally to say ‘aloha’ to Verizon in mid-May?

Well, LG’s Moorestown-based, Moblin-running GW990 may sadly be no more, but it looks like the company will be bringing another fairly impressive-looking handset to US shores: the Android-based LG Ally. According to Android Central, it will be landing on Verizon around the middle of May and, if it looks a tad familiar, it’s because it’s apparently simply a US version of the phone we’ve known alternately as the LU2300 or Aloha (though it does seem to have undergone a few design tweaks). Details are otherwise light, but it’ll presumably pack the same 1GHz Snapdragon processor as the LU2300, along with a 3.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen, a sliding QWERTY keyboard, a 5-megapixel camera, and Android 2.1.

[Thanks, Erik]

Update: Android Central has tracked down an Iron Man 2-themed commercial on YouTube clearly suggesting the Ally is coming soon (if you recall, LG had a big tie-in with the original Iron Man, too). Viewers are encouraged to head over to lg.com/ally to check it out, but there’s nothing useful there — yet. Follow the break for the full commercial.

Continue reading LG Ally to say ‘aloha’ to Verizon in mid-May?

LG Ally to say ‘aloha’ to Verizon in mid-May? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAndroid Central, Via phonetastic1 (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

Adobe CTO says Flash 10.1 for Android in June — will Froyo follow suit?

Let’s take a break from Apple and Adobe’s back-and-forth, shall we? Instead, we’ll let the latter company talk about its work with Google, specifically the Android platform. Flash-based CTO Kevin Lynch said today in a post, “We look forward to delivering Flash Player 10.1 for Android smartphones as a public preview at Google I/O in May, and then a general release in June.” Good news, indeed, but with all this talk of Froyo having native Flash support, and this month’s conference serving as the largest gathering of Android developers, we can’t imagine a better platform (pun intended) for Andy Rubin and company to unveil its fragmentation-curbing Froyo update. Might Flash 10.1’s May preview / June release schedule line up with the OS, as well? Just some fat-free food for thought.

[Thanks, Steven]

Adobe CTO says Flash 10.1 for Android in June — will Froyo follow suit? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAdobe  | Email this | Comments

Cyanogen 5.0.7 experimentally brings Eclair to G1, myTouch 3G — caveats apply

After a brief delay, looks like CyanogenMod 5 is now out for the HTC Dream, Magic and Sapphire, also known as the T-Mobile G1 and myTouch 3G. The release is labeled as experimental, so take care not to flash it onto your work phone, and G1 owners should back up their data as they’ll need to install a little something called the DangerSPL (which has phone bricking potential) and perform a full wipe. If you’re the kind of individual who doesn’t shy away from software explicitly labeled “danger,” get cracking on that rooted Eclair at the source link.

Update: Can’t get through? That’s because the sheer willpower of Android early adopters is crushing websites hosting the CM5 ROM like so many stale pretzels. Cyanogen is retweeting alternative options if you simply can’t wait for things to quiet down.

Cyanogen 5.0.7 experimentally brings Eclair to G1, myTouch 3G — caveats apply originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 23:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceXDA-developers, @cyanogen (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments

Google, Sony, Intel & Logitech’s TV project to be unveiled next month as Dragonpoint?

The conclusion to the sudden flurry of rumors around Sony HDTVs featuring Android, Intel Atom processors and Logitech-designed QWERTY remotes may be near, as Bloomberg Businessweek reports the project will be revealed during Google I/O next month. The latest wrinkle for the supposed product is a name, “Dragonpoint,” for the new flavor of Android destined to operate on displays, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes. It’s obvious that Google wants search in the living room, Sony needs something to overcome the app (Samsung is back on the list of possible partners) and widget powered competition, and Intel needs a home for its CE4100 chips to show off their power outside of a demonstration for once, but we’ll have to wait and see what they’ve cooked up to know if we need any of that in our next HDTV.

Google, Sony, Intel & Logitech’s TV project to be unveiled next month as Dragonpoint? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmodo  |  sourceBusinessweek  | Email this | Comments

Engadget app update: iPhone app passes the 1m download mark, Android and webOS get an update!

Hey cats and kittens, here’s an exciting little piece of news we wanted to share with you. Thanks to the love and support of our readers, our iPhone app has just crossed the million downloads mark in the App Store! That is, of course, just iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users — we’re growing our numbers steadily across BlackBerry, webOS, and Android formats as well. And Speaking of Android, we’ve got a little update that’s available right now in the Market which should fix those nasty force close issues some users were seeing. If you’re still having issues, make sure you reach out to us — we really love the feedback! We’ve also just issued a webOS update, so look for that on your Pre or Pixi. We have even more stuff in the pipeline as far as apps are concerned, including a major forthcoming iPhone update, as well as updates and tweaks for the other existing apps… and we’re at work on a dedicated iPad application as we speak!

Yes, exciting times are ahead people, but for now, you can grab our current offerings right here:

Update: The Android update was released two days ago, so you may have already downloaded it (for those in comments not seeing it). If you’re not sure, the most recent version is 1.0.4.

Engadget app update: iPhone app passes the 1m download mark, Android and webOS get an update! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Giz Explains: How Multitasking Works on a Phone [Giz Explains]

Multitasking! On phones! Everybody does it now. But each smartphone platform does it differently. Here are the various tricky ways that the major platforms try to juggle multiple apps. More »

Skyfire 2.0 beta for Android video preview!

We just spent a few minutes playing with the beta version of Skyfire 2.0 for Android that was released today, and we’ll cut to the chase: this is easily the best browser we’ve used on the platform. Clearly we’ll need to spend more time with it to make sure it can handle all the typical sites you’d want to visit while you’re on the road — but loading the desktop version of Engadget is always a great barometer for this sort of thing, and this browser rocked it. Rendering is about as reasonably fast as you can expect it to be (on our Snapdragon-powered Nexus One, anyhow), and everything we saw displayed spot-on perfect (save for embedded Flash, of course), but if you’re in a situation where you don’t need to see the full page or it looks screwy, you can toggle it to send an Android user agent right from the app’s toolbar below the URL field. It works just about as well as Steel and the built-in browser on a G1 we tested, and Flash videos work just fine there as well.

The browser touts compatibility with Flash videos, too, so we headed over to YouTube to try our hand at it; it immediately detected the presence of a video and popped up the so-called “SkyBar” at the bottom of the screen, where you can press the Video button to load the video in a new window. It doesn’t work embedded in the page, but considering how small your phone’s screen is, that’s really for the best — you get the full-screen experience, and in our testing, it looked fantastic. One downside is that you don’t seem to be able to scrub videos while they’re playing, but maybe this is something these guys can get patched up for the final release. Follow the break for our full video!

Update: One annoyance we’ve noticed is that pinch-to-zoom works in “steps” — it’s not smooth, which makes it pretty weird to use, but remember that Opera Mini doesn’t support it at all.

Continue reading Skyfire 2.0 beta for Android video preview!

Skyfire 2.0 beta for Android video preview! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Skyfire 2.0 beta now ready to set Android ablaze

We’ve been seeing mobile browsers steadily raising their game lately, so it was inevitable that Skyfire would look to shock and awe us with its first release for the Android platform. Version 2.0 introduces a brand new SkyBar — which ironically sits at the bottom of the screen — providing users with a trifecta of new features. Firstly, the Video link serves as a workaround for those pesky “your phone ain’t got no Flash” missives by doing server-side conversions of Flash video into universally comprehensible formats like HTML5. If implemented well, this should be a major coup for the company, particularly in light of a potential iPhone release as well. There’s also a streamlined sharing feature for social networks, and an Explore function that suggests internet content on the basis of what’s currently on display. We’ll be testing out the usefulness of these shortly — for now, hit the source link to get your own Skyfire going.

Update: Check out our hands-on preview of the new browser right here. Hint: it’s pretty awesome.

Continue reading Skyfire 2.0 beta now ready to set Android ablaze

Skyfire 2.0 beta now ready to set Android ablaze originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSkyfire  | Email this | Comments

HTC Droid Incredible arrives as promised (Update: not yet!)

Don’t say we didn’t warn you. HTC’s impressive Droid Incredible has arrived, so if you pre-ordered one you can expect it today (if you haven’t already gotten it) — and if you didn’t, well you can pick one up at a nearby Verizon store. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our full review of the Incredible.

Update: So, a friendly tipster pointed out to us that on Verizon’s website, it actually still lists the Droid Incredible as available for pre-order. To quote: “Due to high demand, this device will ship by 5/4.”

Continue reading HTC Droid Incredible arrives as promised (Update: not yet!)

HTC Droid Incredible arrives as promised (Update: not yet!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments