justinlay

Android side

A video recently appeared on the Android developers' YouTube Channel that purports to depict, on a map of the world, where every single Android device has bee activated since the platform's debut in late 2008. Besides being an visually stunning presentation, the map shows how significant the 2009 debut of the Motorola Droid was for mobile OS.

The video, embedded below, shows activations via an brightly colored spike on the dark background of the map. The more phones activated, the larger the spike. Focusing on North America, spikes are slow and steady up until fall 2009, when the map becomes a kaleidescope of color upon the release of the Droid, the first phone with Android 2.0.

The launch of Samsung's Galaxy S is also timed on the map, though the effect isn't nearly so dramatic. When the video reaches the June 2010 release of the Galaxy S, there isn't much noticeable difference in the U.S., but several small spikes emerge in Asia. The Galaxy S was first launched in Singapore.

Will today's release of the Motorola Xoom, the world's first tablet to run Android 3.0 "Honeycomb," produce another huge spike in activations? We'll have to wait for an update from the developers to find out.

Details of the next version of the Android mobile operating system (2.2) are surfacing in advance of the official launch later this month, despite Google's efforts to keep things under wraps.

Code-named FroYo (from frozen yogurt), Android 2.2 is the latest iteration of Google's OS named after a desert, following Eclair (2.0/2.1), Donut (1.6), and Cupcake (1.5). Android 2.2 is expected to arrive at the Google I/O conference on May 19 and 20.

Phones running Android 2.2 will be able to tether via USB and act as a Wi-Fi hotspot for other Wi-Fi enabled devices, according to TechCrunch. The blog shows screenshots of the FroYo interface, where users can u their Android smartphone to act as a modem, and also share the phone's Internet connection with other devices via Wi-Fi.

It's unclear whether carriers will enable USB and Wi-Fi tethering on Android 2.2 for a cost, or if they will allow this to happen at all (note that AT&T hasn't enabled iPhone tethering yet). It would be interesting to though to see whether Google bundles this feature automatically with Android 2.2, without giving carriers an option.

If carriers won't enable tethering, then full Adobe Flash support will prove very useful for browsing the Web on an Android 2.2 phone. Andy Rubin, Google's VP of engineering, said in a New York Times interview that Flash will find a home in Android, after it got booted off the iPhone.

Overall, we can also expect a sizable performance boost in Android 2.2. The Android Police site claims to have benchmarked Android 2.2 on a Nexus One handset and discovered performance improvements of up to 450 per cent over Android 2.1. It's unclear how Android Police got hold of ForYo in the first place, and it can't be verified that the software they tested is legit.

It is also speculated on developer forums that Android 2.2 will let users install applications on an SD card, a popular feature request, especially from those who want to install many apps, but are limited by the small built-in memory of their phone.

What we don't know yet though, is which phones will run Android 2.2. The Nexus One is a given first candidate, as it is Google's own phone, but it could take a while for other Android smartphones running customised versions of the OS (like HTC Incredible) to receive the latest update.

Googleon Tuesday sent out invitations for a January 5 "Android pressgathering" at their Mountain View, Calif. campus. Most everyone expectsthe event will be the official unveiling of the Nexus One mobile phone, although Google didn't say as much in the invitation.
The final piece of the Nexus One puzzle (supposedly) fell into place when Gizmodo and Engadget posted leaked documents purporting to show the Nexus One's price: $529.99 "unlocked" or $179.99 with a two-year contract and a very specific, limited service plan.

I put "unlocked" in quotes because according to everything we'veseen so far, the Nexus One only works properly on T-Mobile's networkhere in the U.S. Even though you can use it on AT&T's system, itwill be restricted to 2G, which with a powerful smartphones like the Nexus One would be a little like watching famed runner Oscar Pistorius without his carbon-fiber legs.

If that is indeed the pricing, the Google narrative changes herefrom "are they going to disrupt the wireless industry?" to "do theywant to sell any of these at all?" For an unlocked, high-endsmartphone, $529.99 is pretty standard. Without a contract, the NokiaE72 is around $400, the important Motorola Droid is $559.99, and the iPhone 3GS is $599.99. None of them are big sellers at those prices.

Gizmodo says that to get a $179.99 Nexus One you'll need to sign upfor a single, specific T-Mobile plan (500 minutes, unlimited data),which makes absolutely zero sense unless Google doesn't actually wantto sell any phones.
I hope that this phone will sell with the full T-Mobile range ofplans, just like any other T-Mobile smartphone. So given that this isjust like any other T-Mobile smartphone, why is Google making so muchof a fuss over it?
I don't have a good guess, and there's no evidence to support any conclusions here. But here's a bad guess: Google is testing the waters,laying the groundwork, and deciding whether or not they want to get in to the hardware business more disruptively. Note that I'm not saying they have already decided to do so. Rather, this is a trial balloon for the power of their brand and their ability to manipulate ODMs and carriers. Can they get press to show up at a thunderously inconveniently timed announcement? What sorts of demands are carries easily willing to acceed to - and which take more work? They're learning by doing, and the information gathered by this rather modest effort will inform their future attempts.
On the other hand, they could have some sort of blockbuster surprisenext week. We just don't know, but we'll be covering the event when ithappens, from 1-4pm.

Dell has apologized for delays that in some cases will prevent from shipping products in time for the holiday, citing component shortages. Dell blogger Lionel Menchaca apologized on behalf of Dell did not identify any specific Dell desktops or laptops that wereexcessively delayed, but did identify memory and large-capacity harddrives as being in short supply.

"Especially at this time of year, we are sorry for the frustration," Menchaca wrote."The reality is that we are seeing increased demand for many of theproducts consumers want to buy and it has affected our ability tofulfill the orders. In addition, there are also some industry-wideconstraints on some components (like memory and larger-capacity harddrives) that are delaying the manufacturing of certain products forcustomers."
Dell's chief financial officer Brian Gladden warned of components shortages in its calendar third-quarter conference call,and other OEMs have expressed similar caution. "We anticipate sometightness and component cost pressure particularly from memory andLCDs," he said then. But, he added, he believed Dell was in an"advantageous position" given its negotiations.
Dell also decided to delay closing a desktop PC manufacturing plant that it had originally planned to shutter in January 2010.

If Dell can't get your PC to you or your loved ones by Christmas, buyers can order a holiday cardto place under the tree in place of a new Dell PC. U.S. customers canalso call 800-247-2076, (and choose option #2) to cancel their orderand either switch to a Dell "fast track" system, purchase an in-stockat a brick-and-mortar store, or cancel altogether.

Barnes & Noble also instituted a "holiday card" after delays pushed some shipments of its Nook well into January.
NPD said Thursday that November retail sales represented the firstmonth in 2009 when U.S. consumer technology sales actually increasedversus 2008. Sales of desktops were up 37 percent from November 2008, with an average price of $703, 7 percent higher than a year ago.Notebook PC sales didn't represent as much of a sharp increase, at 22 percent, but sales soared regardless.

DSLR cameras showed the sharpest increase, at 44 percent, followed by desktop PCs, mice (35 percent revenue), notebooks (22 percent growth) and networking devices, with a 15 percent increase in revenue, according to NPR.
"Notebook unit volumes were through the roof and despite the crashingASPs, were able to generate positive revenue again in November,"Stephen Baker, an analyst with NPD, wrote.
But that was small consolation to Dell shoppers, apparently. "Again, Iapologize to customers who are affected by these delays," Dell'sMenchaca wrote.