The Astonishing Tribe aka TAT is working on Recognizr an application for Android that would allow a user to snap a quick picture of someone and instantly be linked to their social networking accounts. Now I’m all for social networking, in fact I’ve met some very good friends via different social networks Facebook and Twitter for example. But for a complete stranger to be able to snap a picture of me on the street and find out everything about me or view my pictures and videos on YouTube, Flickr or Picasa is a little disturbing. Where does networking end and stalking begin?
Dan Gärdenfors, head of user experience research at TAT said:
“It’s taking social networking to the next level.” “We thought the idea of bridging the way people used to meet, in the real world, and the new Internet-based ways of congregating would be really interesting.”
Looking at the recent PC World wireless carrier speed test results it clearly shows that AT&T leads the way with fastest network. That’s good for AT&T and it’s no wonder they’re focusing on the speed side of things. However, if you look at the column to the right labeled “reliability” the real truth comes out.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; when it comes to choosing a wireless carrier one should always look at coverage, reliability, price and equipment selection before signing on the dotted line. Selecting your carrier based on equipment selection only typically leads to a less than pleasurable experience.
While having a zippy network is great, what good is it if you can’t rely on your network to get the job done?
Have you been considering picking up a Droid Eris for Verizon? Now is you chance to score a Verizon Droid Eris free with a new two year agreement. Best Buy is offering the Droid Eris free for new and existing customers who sign a two year agreement.
Running Google’s Androidoperating system and HTC Sense, the Droid Eris is intuitive and integrates programs and apps seamlessly. For example, the GPS is used not only for mapping but also geo-tagging photos, local searches, social networking and more.
Snap a photo or record a video with the advanced 5.0 megapixel camera, and then easily upload your images to your favorite sites with notes and geo-tags. Or send images via multimedia messaging or email to all your friends using the universal phonebook that draws your friends contact information from existing address books and Facebook. Your favorite Google, HTC, and socialnetworking apps are pre-installed, and thousands more are available to download from the Android Market. With an update to Android 2.1 on the horizon the Droid Eris is one smart smartphone that will take customization to a whole new level.
Boy Genius Report and a host of other Android sites are reporting that the HTC Legend may be headed to Sprint. Here’s what we’ve been able to ascertain from the FCC filings. Yesterday the HTC Legend garnered FCC approval, we see quad band GSM support but no 3G frequencies listed. This means that we don’t know which carrier it’s going to land on.
According to BGR they received word from a source close to HTC that a slightly modified Legend is in fact coming to Sprint. BGR’s source also claims that the HTC Desire will be landing on AT&T some time in May or June. If you recall the HTC Desire is basically the Nexus One running HTC’s Sense UI.
Contrary to what we heard from HTC about the Legend and Desire not coming to the US during the Mobile World Conference, the Legend is in fact headed our way.
Already supported on the iPhone and BlackBerry platforms Slacker Radio announced today that station caching is coming to Android with the release of Slacker Radio version 2.0.
In order to take advantage of caching you’ll need the Radio Plus subscription $47.88 per year or $4.99 per month. For a limited time you can try out caching with their free service for up to 14 days so you can an make informed decision.
You’re in control of the number of stations you cache, it all depends on the amount of storage space you have available on your device. To select the stations you’d like to cache simply long press your preferred station, it’s that easy. Once you’ve cached your favorite stations over WiFi or your carriers 3G network there’s no internet connectivity required to listen to your Slacker favorites.
With a paid subscription Slacker Radio Plus gives you more than just station caching, you get ad-free listening, song lyrics, unlimited song skipping, unlimited song requests and more.
Today Mobile Roadie or MoRo as its come to be known announced via their official blog that Mobile Roadie is coming to Android. What’s Mobile Roadie you ask?
Originally used to create iPhone applications Mobile Roadie is a popular do-it-yourself platform that allows anyone to create and manage their own Android application in minutes without knowing how to program. Mobile Roadie is used by four of the most recognizable names in the entertainment business to power their online appearance. That’s right Madonna, Ashton Kutcher, and Dolly Parton all use Mobile Roadie (follow the links to get a copy of their free applications for your Android device), Taylor Swift’s app is coming soon.
Smartphones based on the Google Android Operating System saw growth last year, increasing their market share in 2009 by 3.5 percentage points. Sales of Android phones should continue to surge, though confusion over Google’s presence in the market could put a damper on growth, according to Gartner.
Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner said:
“Android’s success experienced in the fourth quarter of 2009 should continue into 2010 as more manufacturers launch Android products, but some CSPs (communications service providers) and manufacturers have expressed growing concern about Google’s intentions in the mobile market.” ”If such concerns cause manufacturers to change their product strategies or CSPs to change which devices they stock, this might hinder Android’s growth in 2010.”
Last week we told about about a few Verizon customers receiving Android 2.1 updates to their Droid Eris, today we bring a video of the Eris running Android 2.1. Last week Verizon claimed that the update had not been released and was still in being tested, which begs the question is this an official release or is the person testing Android 2.1 for Verizon. Either way this bodes well for Verizon Eris customers and points to a sooner rather than later release.
We say sooner rather than later because it appears from the video below that Android 2.1 is running smoothly on on the Eris. What do you think is a release imminent? Sound off in the comments.
Scheduled to be release this Thursday and available already for pre-sale at Best Buy, today Motorola released an informative Devour video via their YouTube channel.
The Motorola Phone Portal which allows you to connect your phone via WiFi and view the content (photos, messages, e-mails, call list, and contacts, etc), of your phone from your computer. Very exciting stuff.
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