Hasta La Gadget!

A gaggle of happy Google I/O attendees listens to the latest Android platform updates. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

SAN FRANCISCO — Many Android customers know the frustration of buying a new phone, only to find out that they can’t get the latest version of Android on it.

Google has heard their cries, and replied with a plan to get the most-recent updates onto more people’s phones.

At its I/O conference here Tuesday, Google announced a new initiative to fight against software version fragmentation across Android devices. In a partnership with manufacturers and wireless carriers, Google is developing guidelines for how quickly device owners will receive updates to their software.

Beginning today, any new Android smartphones or tablets you buy from participating partners and carriers will receive the most-current version of the Android software, for up to 18 months after the device’s initial release.

Essentially, this means that your phone won’t be made irrelevant through lack of software updates, even when the next generation of smartphones hits the market.

“It’s essentially a logistics problem,” said Android head honcho Andy Rubin at a press conference Tuesday. “We’re not just building one phone, there are over 100 different devices based on Android. And all the operators have different product specs and qualifications.”

Initial partners include major Android-device manufacturers HTC, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and LG. Also included are the big four U.S. carriers: Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile. Rubin says that Google is open to as many more partners as want to join.

Fragmentation has been a side effect of Android’s success in the marketplace. The more phones that use the operating system, the more different versions of the OS are out there. Because of the way a phone’s OS dovetails with its underlying circuitry, it’s not always easy to deliver OS upgrades. On top of that, carriers and manufacturers have an incentive to encourage you to buy the latest models rather than indefinitely upgrading your old phone.

While fragmentation among Android phones declined last year, it’s still a concern for many customers and for developers.

Rubin and other Google employees didn’t announce any specific details on how manufacturers and carriers would be held to the agreement. Instead, Rubin colored the announcement as “getting [manufacturers and carriers] to the table” to discuss the problem of fragmentation. “Before we could get people to the table, it was impossible to achieve anything.”

Now that the partners are sitting at the table, Rubin claims the work can be done. But with so few details provided thus far, it’s difficult to say how Google and its partners will be able to keep a plethora of new devices current. If you take into account manufacturers with custom interfaces — like HTC’s Sense or Motorola’s Motoblur — things get even trickier.

And it’s difficult to imagine the incentive manufacturers have to keep old hardware current. As technology improves at a faster pace, more handsets are released with beefier hardware specs, like the spate of dual-core phones and tablets hitting the market this year. With more and more devices being churned out at a faster pace, manufacturers more than likely want you to throw your old handsets away and buy the latest and greatest.

Sprint may be delaying the release of the PlayBook on its network, according to a recently leaked internal memo. Photo courtesy of Sprint

Yet another bit of bad news for BlackBerry PlayBook enthusiasts: The launch of the device on Sprint’s network may be delayed indefinitely.

A leaked internal Sprint memo sent out to the company’s many retail stores announces the delay of the PlayBook, with the official release date “to be communicated as soon as it is available.” First reported by BriefMobile, the memo gives no reason for the delay.

It may not be the first time the PlayBook has been delayed on the network. According to another leaked internal memo, the product was slated to roll out on Sprint’s network in April, but was pushed back until May 8th.

Sprint declined to comment on the veracity of the memo, instead issuing the following statement: “We have said we would offer BlackBerry 4G PlayBook this summer, but have not announced a specific date as of yet.”

The news comes in the wake of uncertainty from at least one other carrier. Although RIM had announced that it planned to release the PlayBook on the big three U.S. carriers (Verizon, AT&T and Sprint), a Verizon company spokesperson recently said the company has yet to decide whether or not it will carry the tablet. AT&T did not immediately return a Thursday morning request for comment, but as of April 21 had confirmed to Wired.com that the PlayBook will be released on its HSPA+ network.

Early critical reception of the PlayBook has been lukewarm at best, as reviewers were disappointed with its lack of certain features like native e-mail and contacts applications. But at its BlackBerry World conference in Orlando this week, manufacturer Research in Motion is demoing a number of the missing apps users have asked for, with promises to launch the features this summer.

With the prospect of these software updates coming to the PlayBook sooner rather than later, we’ll see if the carriers begin to change their tune.

Having spent a good part of our day yesterday negotiating with iTunes and downloading a whopping 666.2MB file to update our iPhone to version 4.3.3 — a version, we might add, whose sole claim to fame is the removal of things — we know well the pains of updating Apple’s mobile software. Those aches, however, may soon be coming to an end. 9to5Mac has multiple sources informing it that Apple and Verizon are scheming to start delivering iOS updates over the air from this fall, or just as soon as iOS 5 is made available. Untethered OS updates are a familiar feature to users of other smartphone operating systems and even the iOS-infused Apple TV, but getting Apple’s mobile devices up to date has so far always required going through the company’s own cable and software.

There’s no reason to believe this wireless update feature will be limited to Verizon, mind you — that’s just where the informants are coming from in this instance — though Apple will almost certainly have to alter the file sizes of its updates. We can’t think of many carriers who’ll be happy to push more than half a gigabyte of data per user per update. Additionally, since iTunes currently acts as the major backup hub, 9to5Mac speculates Cupertino must be working on a cloud backup service as well, which would seem a very sensible idea. Of course, that doesn’t paint a very happy or busy future for iTunes, but so what?

iOS 5 updates expected to be carried over-the-air, at least for the Verizon iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 May 2011 04:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. carriers have started blocking an app that allows Android smartphone users free wireless tethering for other web-ready devices.

The application, “Wireless Tether for Root Users,” is still available on the Android Market. But if you have a phone that’s on the Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile networks, you won’t be able to download or install it.

Try and access the app from the Android Market, and when prompted to choose a device on which to install it, you’ll only be able to select Sprint-carried devices or Wi-Fi–only products.

Wired.com attempted to install the application on a number of devices, and was able to do so only on a Sprint-carried Evo 4G and Galaxy Tab, as well as Wi-Fi–only products. Our Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T devices were unable to receive the app for installation.

A spokesperson from Verizon confirmed the application is not available to Verizon Wireless customers. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Screenshot: What we saw when trying to download the Wireless Tether app from Android Market.

If you’ve rooted your Android phone, using it as an internet hotspot for your other devices is one of its biggest perks. When nary an internet-enabled cafe is nearby, apps like Wireless Tether allow you to use your phone’s 4G, 3G or 2G data connection to access the web from another connected (or “tethered”) device, like your laptop or Wi-Fi–only tablet.

The best part: You bypass the monthly fee that most carriers charge for wireless tethering on devices (standard monthly charge for wireless tethering on the big four U.S. carriers is $30).

That’s why blocking the application makes sense in terms of a carrier’s bottom line. Missing out on that extra cash while its customers consume its precious bandwidth for free isn’t attractive to carriers.

This sort of interference isn’t anything new. After being fed up with jailbreaking iPhone owners who used similar apps to tether for free, AT&T decided to call their bluff. In March, the company started sending warning messages and then automatically billing customers who were suspected of using unofficial tethering apps. AT&T said it would charge for the service unless a customer immediately stopped using his or her unofficial tethering app.

To the resourceful Android phone owner, these carrier actions won’t be a huge problem. Although the app won’t be available through the official Android Market, you can go directly to the developers’ site and sideload the program onto your device. And if you’ve rooted your device and have a mod like Cyanogen 7.0 installed, there’s already a wireless-tethering option built into the program interface, eliminating the need to download another app.

We’re still shaking our heads and sighing longingly at the performance of Samsung’s Galaxy S II, a phone that wowed us in Europe but likely won’t be coming to American shores for some time — and who knows what it’ll look like when it does. But don’t get too down, dear reader, because here comes another slice of Samsung and this slab has that same 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display tucked in there. It’s a little less slim, a little less classy, and a little less quick than Sammy’s latest world-conquering wunderphone, but the LTE-equipped Charge is a proper contender in its own right. Read on to see why.

Continue reading Droid Charge review

Droid Charge review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 May 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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