The Future of Android is Frozen Yoghurt (Froyo)?

This week Google took another step towards world dominance. Well, ok, maybe not but they put Apple on notice that their one man show can't expect to just do whatever they want anymore.

With the revelation of version 2.2 of the Android OS (AKA Froyo), Google is stepping up to the plate in more than one way and are showing that Apple are not the only ones that can innovate and get a crowd excited.

The features of Froyo were known to some extent before this week but for those that may have missed it, here's a quick peek at some of the highlights:

• Flash 10.1 support - this is easily the most talked about feature of Froyo. With Apple telling Adobe to go take a hike, Adobe turned to Google and Apple now faces a tag team of two powerful companies, both out to eat Apple's lunch in one way or another. Although much can be said about Flash and it's image as a resource hog, Froyo has been optimized to such an extent that Flash seems to run just fine. Let's not forget that Adobe AIR is also part of this whole scheme of pushing Flash onto the Android.
• Performance boost - the OS has been optimized quite a bit, with a JIT compiler and Javascript optimization. Some reports have put the performance of Froyo at hundreds of percent above Android 2.1. Any Android phone should be a dream to use with 2.2.
• New market place - the Market has always been one of my gripes. On 1.5, it doesn't look very good and it lacks good organization. 2.1 has an updated Market already and it can only get better.
• Speech recognition - although I'm not a huge speech feature user, I know that many are. The older versions of Android lacks in this aspect and it will be good to see some improvement on such a basic functionality. It really shouldn't have taken them this long anyway.
• Exchange integration - my Hero already has this courtesy of HTC and I'm surprised Android is still behind on this. For wider enterprise adoption, Exchange support is a must have and they really need to get with the program on that one.
• Installing apps on SD card - most app addicts will without doubt recount the many times they've had to uninstall or backup an app just to clear up space. Installing apps on an SD card is something Windows Mobile has been able to do for year and it's really about time that Android adds the same functionality.
• OTA music sync - by launching what will without a doubt be a direct competitor to any online service Apple launches with iTunes, Google is first out of the gate with this kind of service. 

There are naturally quite a few more but the above ones are the ones that caught my eye. Google is showing that they can innovate just as much as Apple can and with 2.2 they have really become a real challenger to the iPhone brand.

Questions still remain for me though. Yes version 2.2 is awesome and will without a doubt kick butt but many current Android users will never be able to partake of the frozen feast because their phones are too old and won't be supported by the manufacturers. HTC has said that phones released this year will get the upgrade but that leaves the Eris, the Hero and others from last year and before stuck at 2.1 or less.

The other thing that always strikes me about Google is when they talk about how closed Apple is and how dictatorial they seem, Google is quite big themselves and have done some pretty silly things themselves. We may not like Apple and their iPhone dominance but we need to be careful what we wish for. Android and Apple is good competition but a super-dominant Android isn't necessarily good either.

Regardless, Android 2.2 is coming and it's great! For now, Google is the white (or green) knight fighting against the Apple dragon.

HTC Hero 2.1 Update Delayed In Alaska

The last week, the news have leaked out around the country that the Android 2.1 upgrade for the HTC Hero for various carriers has been delayed. Sprint seems to have taken the most public step back by announcing that the update will now be available in Q2 2010 as opposed to this month.

How does this affect those of us that live in Alaska? Well, not surprisingly, both ACS and GCI has announced on their Facebook pages that the upgrade has been delayed for their customers as well. Although this is certainly a disappointment since it seemed to be right around the corner, at least it's reassuring to know that all the bugs are being worked out first.

Of course, if you want more of Android 2.1 for your Hero right now (being the impatient society that we are), check out this review of a leaked 2.1 ROM over at Android Police. With a walk-through of the new features and a ton of screenshots, it will only get you more excited about something you don't have yet.

On a side note, the delay does bring up an interesting question. Does this delay have anything to do with the coming release of Android 2.2?

iPhone Moving to Verizon?

It has long been rumored that the iPhone is finding its way to Verizon Wireless. The iPad announcement was for a long time thought to also be the time when this would be announced. As we all know, this didn't happen and we were all left scratching our heads wondering what the industry spies got wrong.

Now in March, the rumor has surfaced once again in the Wall Street Journal, now saying that a Verizon version of the iPhone will be introduced this summer. Is it true? With Apple, how can you really know anything for sure?

ZDNet has a very interesting take on this though: if this rumor is indeed true, new iPhone signups and upgrades on the AT&T network could grind to a halt.

Why?

Well, we've all seen the commercials and I think most would agree that Verizon indeed has the larger 3G network, and details such as whether you can surf and talk on the same phone are minor. The very unscientific poll ZDNet has attached to this article asks the question whether a cellphone user would stay with AT&T or switch to Verizon. At the time that I read this article, there were only 18 votes and 83% of those were in favor of switching to Verizon. Naturally, the sample is too small at this point but it will be interesting to see what it says tomorrow.

I think this could be a real danger. Whether the rumor is true or not, AT&T stands to miss out on upgrades and new activations while those that hate the AT&T network eagerly await the same experience on Verizon's network. Of course, it could go the other way as well. People may wait to renew contracts or sign up in anticipation of the CDMA iPhone.

Ultimately, the question is how many leaks Apple will let leak out. In the end, they're the ones that really will benefit.

Who knows what will happen in Alaska. Will the CDMA iPhone be exclusive to Verizon or will it be usable on CDMA carries up here, like ACS, MTA and Digitel? What will that mean for AT&T's customer base up here? Quite an interesting question...time will tell.

Empathy 2.30 Released

Version 2.30 of the GNOME IM client Empathy has been released today. Love it or hate it (and I certainly had my moments when it first replaced Pidgin as the default Ubuntu IM client), Empathy has come a long way and is constantly improving. How these latest changes stack up we'll see but here's a summary of the new features:

• Improved accounts dialogue, including a new Facebook account widget and first-run wizards
• Better chatroom support
• Better error reporting
• Drag and drop file sharing

There are naturally a number of other things I'd like to see in Empathy but any improvements are good and the above definitely helps with overall usability and easy of use and considering that Empathy is the main IM client of Ubuntu, that's pretty important.

For the full release info, check out the following page.

Blackberry Beta Zone

RIM has announced the launch of the Blackberry Beta Zone this week. Here's what they say on the beta site:

BlackBerry® Beta Zone is the place where Research In Motion (RIM) communicates with and receives feedback from beta participants. As a member of BlackBerry Beta Zone, you'll have the opportunity to sign up for beta programs and be among the first to try out new BlackBerry software before it's released to the general public. Your feedback will be an important part of ensuring future BlackBerry products meet the needs of customers like you.

If you have a Blackberry and like to try out the latest, don't be foolish: sign up today!

An Unexpected Discovery - HTC Hero as a Modem Using Wifi

Those that own the HTC Hero and have done just some brief digging around in the wireless settings have without a doubt found the Mobile Network Sharing option. For those unfamiliar with this option, it essentially allows you to use your Hero as a modem for your computer. Simply connect your phone to your computer, check the check box next to the Mobile Network Sharing option and enjoy. It works great on my Ubuntu based laptop and on my XP laptop.

The other day I noticed something unexpected. I can tether my Hero using USB with a Wifi hotspot instead of the 3G connection.

It all happened by chance. I was trying to access a hotspot but for some reason my laptop just refused to connect.  I figured I'd just connect my phone and computer and just use the 3G network. As it turned out, the 3G connection was unstable that one day so I still couldn't get online. 

By complete chance, I was hitting some settings in the phone and happened to enable Wifi and Internet Sharing stayed on (typically this option is grayed out unless mobile network data is enabled). To my surprise, the Hero let me use the Wifi connection with my computer. It was as if my 3G modem had turned into a Wifi card.

Tonight, I tried to reproduce this again and found something curious. As I mentioned above, the Mobile Sharing option is not available if the mobile data connection is disabled. It can however be done.

1) Connect to a hotspot using the Wifi connect

2) Enable mobile network data

3) Enable mobile sharing

At this point, something interesting happens. With the Wifi connection active, the mobile network data connection remains in standby. Since it's checked to be on, mobile sharing is also available to check in step 3 but the actual connection being used is the Wifi connection. Once you disconnect the Wifi connection, the mobile connection picks right up.

Anyway, I'm not sure if this is useful to anyone else. Typically, all laptops have Wifi already but should you need to connect a computer to a Wifi network and you happen to have a HTC Hero handy that doesn't have a 3G connection at the moment, it can double as your Wifi connection as well.

Interesting...

Swype - A Revolutionary Touchscreen Input Method?

Having joined the horde of Android users with my HTC Hero, I have never had much of an issue using the default on-screen keyboard for the Hero. I do know that others hate it, some dislike it and others are just like me. They don't mind.

However, the other day I was made aware of Swype. No, it's no typo, it's not supposed to be Skype although it could potentially help Skype users at some point.

So, what is Swype? In a nutshell, it's a new input method for touch-screen devices. Let me explain.

Normally on the Hero and many other touch-screen phones, a keyboard is produced on screen and you enter your message by punching the keys on the screen. Sometimes this works well, sometimes it doesn't. Combine it with predictive text and it's usually not too bad. Still, it's not ideal.

Swype takes the on screen keyboard to the next level. Instead of forcing you to hit each button, you simply "swype" all the characters of the word you're typing. On screen, it looks like you're drawing a continuous line on the keyboard and essentially, this is exactly what you do. To enter the word "swype" you start on the letter "s" and then just play connect the dots with all your letters, basically drawing a line from "s" to "w" and so on. The software then predicts what word you're trying to type.

I know, it sounds a little hard to believe and once you start using it, it almost seems like magic. That's how well it works! I've found that using Swype, my text input speed has increased significantly and there are rarely errors either.

So, if you're an Android user, do yourself a favor and try the beta over at http://www.swypeinc.com.