Famous for breathing new life into obsolete devices, those mad scientists over at xda-developers.com and ppcgeeks.com have overcome a major hurdle in bringing the Android operating system one step closer to working properly on the HTC Rhodium (commonly known as the Touch Pro 2)… SOUND.
Porting Android to older Windows Mobile devices isn’t anything new… Fans of the original HTC Vogue (Touch) have been running fully functional Android ports for quite some time now, often flashing it to local memory and obliterating Windows Mobile completely from their devices.
Other popular HTC devices such as the HD2 (HTC Leo) and the Touch Pro (HTC Raphael) have had similar ports released relatively quickly, however something about the sound hardware in the Rhodium/Touch Pro 2 made it completely unresponsive to normal system commands that have worked for every other device so far.

Critics of the project called it hopeless- The time required to determine and fix the sound problem could very well take longer than the expected end-of-life of the unit (Side Note: According to certain US carriers, the Touch Pro 2 has already reached its EOL). In other words, by the time they figure it out, no one will have the device anymore to care.

Thankfully that is not the case, and sound is now enabled on the latest release of XDANDROID as of this morning!

You may be wondering why anyone cares about this particular project now that there has been a flood of new Android handsets to the market.

The answer is rather simple: The Rhodium happens to be a pretty decent handset with some impressively functional hardware features, even compared to newer handsets. In fact, I’ve been hard pressed to find another handset that can rival the features available to it…
Even critics of Windows Mobile will admit that the Touch Pro 2 has a gorgeous QWERTY keyboard worthy of their envy.
The upcoming Samsung Epic 4G looks like it will come close as far as keyboard design, but even that behemoth lacks some of the functions Rhodium owners take for granted:
A tilting display, better battery life than most current smartphones, directional microphone conference call system, and certain models contain both CDMA and GSM radios, meaning you can swap carriers on a whim.

Now, I’m not saying the Rhodium is BETTER than the Samsung Epic, with its 4G radio support and AMOLED display… but I am saying that the Rhodium’s usable life is far from over, and there is plenty of reason to still be interested in this handset.

If nothing else, being able to dual-boot Windows and Android is quite an incentive to keep one of these around… However make no mistake, the Android port is still far from complete (still need to get the Bluetooth and camera working, among other things). However this time there is a definite light at the end of the tunnel, and it is only a matter of time…

Wired reports that DC Comics is joining the (legal) digital comics revolution, and teaming with Comixology to bring their comics to iPad and even PSP. Comixology also powers Marvel’s iPhone/iPad app.

DC’s initial foray into digital comics, while big news, is very conservative, with a smattering of “about 100 titles,” according to Jim Lee. Then again, the percentage of Marvel comics available in their own app is hardly huge. Still, DC’s very late to this game, with Marvel already having an established relationship with Apple and the iPad.

What’s interesting about the future of digital comics is how iPad-centric it looks. There’s a ton of people who want digital comics (as any torrent search would tell you, assuming you’re naughty), and the digital experience is a heck of a lot better on a tablet than on a desktop (and yes, Comixology does have a desktop reader last I checked, so I’m not just talking illegal downloads) and let’s be honest – when you talk tablets to a general member of the public, you mean the iPad. It’s huge. If I were a developer, I would absolutely focused on that. Except…

One of my big beefs (with not just the iPad, but products like the Nook and the Sony e-reader line) is how content is becoming chained to devices. Buy a copy of “The Dark Knight Returns” for my an iPad, and then want to read it on a desktop? You can’t. Want to switch from the iPad to one of Dell’s upcoming Streak tablets (or to a future Windows Mobile or WebOS device), and want to take your content with you? Again, you can’t… not without buying the same content again.

It’s a problem with a lot of devices these days, with differing devices, formats and providers.

On the topic of formats: Even on the iPad, one has multiple comic readers to chose from, each with a different batch of content. None of those apps can open the other apps format. Imagine if Microsoft never made a plugin for WordPerfect, and the only way to open a WordPerfect file in Word was to buy WordPerfect, in addition to already paying for Word, and vice versa. It’d be madness. Sony’s lame attempts at their own digital music format failed for this very reason.

I’m intriguer by Digital Longbox’s product, especially with their sub-account focus, openness to indie creators, and the idea that your comics can live on your device or in the cloud, and be accessed by their client on multiple devices… but that still leaves someone switching from another provider without their old content. Still, I’ll be watching them (and hopefully at NY Comic Con for their product launch)

I absolutely think tablets are the future of digital comics, and that digital comics are the future of monthly “pamphlet style” comics (practically a loss-leader for collections sold at bookstores by now). I like that creators don’t have to deal with minimum orders, and that it gives smaller companies a level field with the big boys. I love that non-superhero stories get a big chance to shine with these.

I just don’t like how it’s shaping up to be a platform/provider issue.

File this under “Wait, what?”: HTC, makers of such awesome phones as the Incredible, Hero, HD2, and Touch Pro2, will now be paying a company that owns one OS they use, for the rights to use another OS that the first company has no claim on. This kinda seems like paying taxes in Virginia for a house in New Jersey, because both have suburbs.

Whatever legal wrangling happened behind the scenes, this likely has something to do with Apple suing HTC over patents. My not-a-lawyer guess would be that by having licensed patents from a company with prior art, HTC is building a defense against Apple’s claims. Indeed, it does seem like most of Apple’s IP infringement claims are for items that were implemented in Windows Mobile (and Palm OS, even), way before iPhone OS existed.

If it’s something along those lines, it’s a win-win for both of them. HTC gets some protection, and MS gets some money for nothing (and their checks for free). If it’s not, then I honestly got nothin’.

This’ll teach me to go to bed at night – turns out the delightfully spec’ed Dell Lightning (the first Windows7 phone I can honestly say I’d like to try on a day-to-day basis) is just the tip of a very cool iceberg.

Next up, there’s the Thunder (Anyone else seeing a theme here? Too bad Blackberry already snatched “Storm”). It’s a GSM Android 2.1 device with a custom UI called “Stage” (which includes Facebook integration, apparently). There’s no slide-down portrait keyboard like on the Lightning, but there is allegedly full Flash support including a Hulu player. Now that’s a heck of a selling point. There’s also an 8 MP camera, as opposed to the Lightning’s 5 MP.

Wait, we’re not done yet! Dell has more Android sets to leak out. There’s the “Flash” (It’ll save every one of us!), with a smaller 3.5 screen than the Lightning or Thunder’s 4.1, more “Stage UI” goodness and probably most interesting to the techs out there, a Qualcomm MSM7230. This is Qualcomm’s “snapdragon” class device, and I can’t wait to see how this thing handles the demands of an “always on” OS like Android. Of the devices leaked so far, this seems more like the “fashionable” device. Unless you count…

…the Dell Smoke. With only a 2.8 QVGA screen, a dedicated hardware keyboard, Dell’s leaked documents indicate this is going to be more “corporate” targeted, but if this thing is a “suit and tie” phone, it’s a designer suit and tie. Simply stunning to look at.

The final phone leaked is the US version of the Areo. It’s got a comparatively anemic processor, and not a ton that catches my eye. Yes, it’s got handwriting recognition and a “special” capacitive stylus… but surely I’m not the only one who far prefers a stylus free device? Yes, there’ll be a Webkit browser and some kind of Flash support, but I can’t say I have any interest in this, knowing that the Lighting, Thunder, and Smoke are coming down the pipe. The Areo does have the advantage of launching first, so expect people who don’t follow tech blogs to plunk down a pretty penny, and then later be upset that they used up their upgrade.

While I’m done with phones, that’s not all Dell has slated (sorry for the pun). They’ve given more info on their “Streak” tablet. It’s now launching with Android 2.1 and still coming “this summer” but the big deal is what it’s being compared to, which is the Dell “Looking Glass”. I fell in love with the name right away. While at the surface the LG is just a “blown up” 7” Streak (Dell – there’s no excuse for putting a mere 800×480 resolution on this thing, or an anemic 1.3 megapixel camera!). Crack it open and you’ll find a Tegra2 chip inside. Throw in the fact that it has actual expandable RAM and you have the first Android tablet I’m interested in trying out.

Those are the devices – and you can get more details at Engadget – and now here’s the commentary: Dell is a powerhouse brand, with tons of presence in every segment of the computer market. The one notable exception has been handhelds. There was a time when the Dell Axim was a great device line – I had an X5 and it was one of the first “pocketable” PocketPCs. Sure, you needed a big pocket, but it was pocketable. However, that line faded into obscurity, and they’ve had a small hole in their lineup since. With this sudden spate of phones and tablets, running multiple OSes and targeted at multiple market segments, Dell seems ready to make a serious attempt at the one area where Apple and “upstarts” like HTC and others are firmly entrenched. Nothing here screams “iPhone/iPad killer!”, but on paper they certainly seem like viable alternatives to it, and they certainly have the market presence to leverage these devices. I look forward to seeing how this plays out.

About a month ago, the NY Times printed a fascinating article about the now infamous tension growing between Google and Apple.
Apple has claimed that Google stole ideas and concepts from the iPhone to fuel Android’s success. Not only that, but Google’s presence on the iPhone may continue to be a liability.

Since Google is the default search engine for the iPhone, they can collect data on the search habits of users. This means they’ll know what iPhone users search for, what they want and what they like, and even know where they do it using Google Maps. This, according to sources, can give Google a competitive edge to use that data and create solutions before Apple can.

The solution? Remove Google from the iPhone.
There has been speculation that Apple will consider using Microsoft’s Bing, since they offer a competitive search and mapping engine to Google. Oh, the irony!
Once upon a time (back in the glorious Bill Gates days of Microsoft), one of the big reasons Apple and Google became allies was to rise up against monopolistic companies such as Microsoft. However, it was immediately apparent that there is a considerable difference in their philosophies. Google is famous for being open and pushing for standards, whereas Apple has always pushed for proprietary and closed models to protect their user experience. The only way these two could possibly work together was to unite against a common enemy. However, what happens when your ally appears to be more of an enemy than your common one? Partner with the “other” enemy?

All this has been met with a considerable amount of speculation from analysts and fanboys alike.
There is a second, more far-fetched theory however. According to Business Insider, top Apple analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray says that there is a 70% chance Apple will create their own search engine in the next 5 years.
That’s a bold prediction. Does anyone think this would be a good idea? I mean, Apple has ZERO experience in search engines, and the market has evolved so much, it would be kind of late for a newcomer to enter the area. Even if Apple makes their own search default, why wouldn’t users just switch to the familiar Google to do their searching (just as a majority of Windows users don’t use the default Bing)?

Unless… Perhaps Apple is really so driven to keep Google off the platform that they actually actively BLOCK access to it.
Would Apple do that? I would like to say no, but then again this is the same company who enforces the rigidly ruled App store. Apple is all about control, and I’m not sure I can say this is beneath them. On top of that, what if Apple decides to enforce a similar set of rules to filter your web searches?
Apple has famously denied App submissions as harmless as a dictionary due to objectionable content (curse words included in the definitions). Can you imagine a search engine that only showed you results pre-approved by Apple?

Ok, perhaps that is going too far. Apple can not be that controlling, can they?

My personal opinion in all this?
Let it go, Mr. Jobs. Competition is good, as we all know, since it drives innovation and keeps technology affordable. Stop being so defensive about your products and go back to innovating like the Apple days of old. I miss the Apple of the 1980’s.

Yesterday Sprint announced that they too will carry the Google Nexus One. This makes it one of the few smartphones you can get on all 4 US networks with no real variation (and maybe the only one that’s not a Blackberry). There’s no announced date and price, so we’re going to have to wait and see.

(more…)

If you haven’t heard of Grooveshark yet, you really should check it out- Unlike other streaming music services such as Pandora and Slacker Radio, Grooveshark will let you pick any songs you like in their extremely extensive database, and create your own playlists. Since there is no restriction on playback, its like having a limitless library of MP3’s at your disposal!

The advantages of a mobile version are obviously appealing. Imagine being able to play any song you want, any time you feel like it, wherever you are, and without worrying about the limits of your storage space… as long as you have a data connection, that is.

Enter Grooveshark Mobile, the official application for Android, WebOS and Blackberry phones. Grooveshark, however, was denied access to Apple’s App store, so there will be no official iPhone version (unless you wish to Jailbreak, in which case they DO supply an at-your-own-risk version to show Apple what you think of their policies). Also glaringly absent is Microsoft’s platform, Windows Mobile.

Not to fear, all you WinMo fans out there. The development community has stepped up to the challenge and created their own Grooveshark applications to fill the need. The best of the bunch is undoubtedly Nanogroove, which has playlist support and album art.

The best bit of NanoGroove? Its free! Well, sort of- they offer 5 minutes of use each time you run it if you don’t register. Registration costs a one time fee of $5, and after that you are free to use it as much as you want. A worthwhile investment for unlimited music, if you ask me.

But wait, isn’t GrooveShark also free?

Yes, technically, however they reserve their latest-and-greatest features for VIPs only, which costs $3 a month for membership to. All the mobile apps are VIP access only, which means your unlimited music is going to cost a monthly subscription. Three bucks a month isn’t anything major, however compared to nanogroove’s $5 one time fee to register, it seems like Windows Mobile users come out on top this time!

In case you haven’t been paying attention to the mountains of coverage, Google has announced the “real” GooglePhone, the NexusOne. A Snapdragon sporting, AMOLED adorned, Android 2.1 touched smartphone, the NexusOne is taking the tech sites by storm. Several people have asked me my thoughts on the new phone, and I decided to put them here.

Well, after the break anyway.
(more…)

FlyScreen adds support for Google Reader! – FlyScreen Blog

Actually I have been looking for a good Google Reader for the Android. I’m going to sent up my blog-post-by email account up on word press so I can (to use an old term) Moblog!