Odds seem pretty good that, if you’re a Linux user who’s been aching to give Google Music a spin, you haven’t been sitting idly by, waiting to upload your content through official channels. If you have, in fact, been waiting Google’s blessing, however, the time is now. The software giant has released the official Linux version of its Music Manager application for your cloud-listening pleasure. You’ll still need an invite, of course, but once that’s squared away, the sky (and upload cap) is the limit.
How to honor the life’s work of an artist who has been dead for more than a quarter-century? Why, an HTML5 doodle on the Google homepage, of course. The search giant paid homage to Alexander Calder, the celebrated inventor of the mobile sculpture with its first doodle created entirely in HTML5 canvas. Those using a laptop with an accelerometer and an updated browser can move the coded sculpture around with their curser. Ironically, we had some difficulty playing around with the image on our mobile devices.
Its evil cousin the Bionic may be lurking just around the bend, with its too-long sideburns and its crazy eyes, but that doesn’t mean the Atrix 4G is ready to hang up its hat just yet. AT&T’s wunderphone with the woven back is just now receiving a 2.3.4 update, bringing it all the sensuous flavors of Gingerbread and finally, finally, the ability to sideload apps. First, though, you’ll need to download the 161MB update, which is waiting for you at the other end of the source link below. No, really, it is — but it’s getting impatient. Go on, go say hello.
This isn’t the first time Toshiba has showed up fashionably late to a party. Back in 2009, long after most every other consumer electronics maker big and small had jumped on the netbook bandwagon, the company belatedly released its first mini, the NB205. And it was fantastic. So we were optimistic when the outfit finally got around to releasing the Thrive, its first Android tablet for the US market. Surely, we thought, it’s learned a thing or two from everybody else’s mistakes.
And in that regard, at least, this 10-inch tablet doesn’t disappoint. It has full-sized USB and HDMI ports, an SD card slot, and a removable battery — all features you’d sooner find on a laptop. It comes with a raft of practical apps already installed, so that you don’t have to go hunting for them in Android Market. It’s one of the first out of the gate with Android 3.1, an undeniably improved version of Honeycomb. Oh, and it starts at $429, undercutting many of its competitors. Right there, in less than a paragraph, we’ve laid out why you might want this over any of the other umpteen tabs crowding the market. But should you get one? Well, folks, we’ll need more than a paragraph to tackle that. Join us after the break, won’t you?
Here at Engadget, and here on the Engadget Podcast in particular, we’re all about customer service. OK, maybe not all about customer service, but on this episode we’ve dedicated twenty percent of our breath to answering your questions! If you happen to enjoy a bunch of Apple news too — which we heard you do you — then we’re at about fifty percent on-track to serving you completely. If you like Apple news, having your questions answered, and a healthy dose of other up-to-the-minute information in the spacecraft, e-reader, and digital camera realms…well, let’s just say we got this.
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20th Century Fox is dipping its downloading toes into the 21st century’s waters, releasing movies on Android in addition to good, old-fashioned Blu-ray. According to the Financial Times, retail discs of X-Men: First Class will direct owners to a website where they can sideload a digital version of the film onto their Android device of choice. Apparently some of the suits over at Fox caught wind of how popular Android tablets are getting, and now see them as complementary, not cannibalistic (remember that industry buzz kill?) Sure, right now you shouldn’t expect any Netflix-sized library of titles, but perhaps we can all agree this is a step in the right download-to-own direction. Residents of the US, UK, Germany, and France will get the first crack at downloading the films. The rest of you can just stream and wait.
Look at the chart above and you’ll see two things happening. First, Apple has overtaken Symbian to become the top smartphone platform in the UK (with a 27 percent market share). And secondly, Android has grown 634 percent year-over-year to shoot into second place, with less than half a percentage point keeping it from the top spot (other reports already place it ahead). As you might expect, much of that growth isn’t coming from folks switching from one smartphone to the other, but from new smartphone users — Comscore found that 42 percent of all mobile users in the UK used a smartphone in May of this year, compared to just 27 percent a year ago. Of course, that also means that 58 percent of UK cellphone users are still potential smartphone users (to say nothing of those that still don’t have a cellphone at all), so there’s certainly still plenty up for grabs for all involved.
“Plant a photo, watch it grow.” Photovine’s tagline is just as catchy as the concept behind its launch — a mobile app-based picture sharing service that groups images together using common photo-driven themes. These groupings, called vines, let you connect with strangers while sharing photos of everyday items that you wouldn’t otherwise have any interest in photographing. You can have a vine focused on Swingline staplers, or magazine covers, or bottle caps. But as clever as this concept may seem, it’s difficult to ignore Piictu, which budded several months before the Google app. It’s certainly not uncommon for duplicate services to sprout, all based on the same underlying concept. But Photovine doesn’t stop there — the app’s design is also remarkably similar to Piictu, down to page layouts and even main category tabs. For Piictu’s “Following” tab, Photovine has “Watching.” Piictu’s “Latest” section is matched with “Fresh,” and Photovine didn’t even bother searching for a synonym for “Popular,” which you’ll find in both apps. Jump past the break for a deeper look, along with statements from the makers of both apps.
For many smartphone users, a quality keyboard is the only feature that truly matters. These passionate devotees will proudly live and die with their thumbs blazing, and for of all RIM’s recent troubles, it’s currently floating on a life preserver: a compelling handset with a portrait QWERTY keyboard doesn’t exist for Android. The HTC Status ($50 on contract) attempts to succeed where others have failed, and — if it’s any good — could entice many BlackBerry-toting teens that want a new handheld fixation. They rarely bother with email, as text messages and Facebook reign supreme for communication. To that end, the Status promotes itself as the perfect phone for Facebook users, but is the integration truly useful, or simply a chintzy add-on? More so, can HTC successfully marry Gingerbread with an upright keyboard? Join us after the break to learn whether we “Like” the HTC Status.
A leaked version of RIM's Android app player running on a BlackBerry PlayBook. Photo: N4BB.com
RIM can’t seem to get its act together. First, it rushed the release of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, a product that many agreed felt unfinished. And this morning, the company accidentally released an incomplete version of its app player for running Android software.
PlayBook makers Research in Motion posted the Android application player to its website, allowing eager BlackBerry fans to download the app before its official release. The player was quickly taken down shortly thereafter, but not before a number of users downloaded the application. The N4BB website first reported the app player’s appearance.
A RIM spokesperson confirmed to Wired.com that the app player was posted in error, and that the version available isn’t what we’re going to see after its official release.
“We recommend that users refrain from downloading and installing this software since it is outdated and non-functional in many respects,” a RIM spokesperson said in a statement provided to Wired.com.
The BlackBerry PlayBook needs a Hail Mary to survive in today’s crowded tablet market. Dozens of newAndroid-poweredtablets have debuted this year, all of which are competing for customers who want an alternative to Apple’s tablet device. HP’s recent release of the TouchPad touts webOS, an underdog operating system still espoused by Palm evangelists. The iPad 2, of course, continues to dominate the industry, representing approximately 83 percent of all tablets shipped in 2010, according to research firm IDC.
The PlayBook also faces challenges on the application front. The PlayBook launched with over 3,000 apps, far more than Google’s current number of tablet-optimized apps (around 250), as well as HP’s (about 300). Apple’s tablet app selection remains far ahead of the pack at around 100,000.
So instead of putting all its eggs in bolstering BlackBerry App World — RIM’s app download store — RIM expects to boost its user base by attracting Android lovers with the Android app player.
Today’s accidental leak is the first we’ve seen of the Android app player since the company demoed a version at its BlackBerry App World in May. RIM recommended against downloading the Android app player.
Despite RIM’s pleas, many have already uploaded copies of the leaked application to file sharing web sites, allowing those who missed out to test the early version.
“I think they realize that their app store hasn’t really taken off,” said BlackBerry app developer Gurbir Sidhu in an interview with Wired.com. ”More developers are interested in Android apps, and there is more effort being put into Android development.”
Some say, however, that the Android application player may not be enough to save the PlayBook.
“Even with the Android app player, it does not support every app out there, and most apps still need to be ported over to work well,” Gartner mobile analyst Phillip Redman told Wired.com. “So though the intent is to open up [the PlayBook] to a wider variety of mobile apps, it will still be limited.”
Redman speaks to a larger issue in application development: Native versus ported apps. When an application is written in a native language — or a coding language created specifically for a particular operating system — the programs generally run smoother, faster and with less system hiccups. When an application is ported over to a non-native environment, reliability and performance isn’t always up to par.
“In the end, native apps work best on each device and I think this will have limited impact overall,” said Redman. “There are very nice Android tablets out there if a user wants to go that direction and get the best performance and choice.
Of course, the PlayBook has other issues to deal with in its uphill battle. The device still doesn’t have native e-mail, calendar and contacts applications — three items we’ve been promised would be coming since the PlayBook’s debut three months ago.
Whether or not the Android player attracts more users for RIM is a lingering question for after the program’s official release.
Hope, however, remains. Some who have downloaded the program early seem to enjoy the Android app player experience on the PlayBook, even using the early version.
“It’s a little early to make a judgement based on an early beta but it’s not bad,” wrote one early user on a BlackBerry enthusiast forum. “I’m actually surprised that any apps worked, pleasantly surprised too as it bodes well for sideloading apps in the future,” the user wrote.
The official beta release of the Android App Player for the BlackBerry PlayBook is scheduled for release later this summer, according to RIM.
Check out the video below for a demo of the Android app player running on the PlayBook.
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