Archive for January, 2010
Google at the crossroads: a review of the Nexus One
Jan 15th
Arstechnica has an insteresting review by Wayne Lau of the Nexus One. Wayne says; “The Nexus One is the best smartphone on the market at this point for general use. Its speedy specifications, excellent hardware design, marketplace full of applications, and direct Google support ensures that there are no other phones currently out there that match it overall. While there are some devices for particular needs, such as more robust push email from Exchange, or having a hardware keyboard, or a more integrated overall experience, the Nexus One is the standard that other devices should be measured by.”
Speaking of standards, I noticed a nice little graph comparing performance of a couple of phones:
Wonder where he got that app? 
3G Quick Fix for Nexus One
Jan 13th
For those Nexus One users, let me know if this works for you. Found this on a comment in the TmoNews forum, looks like it should work:
“Download the anycut app, create a new shortcut, actions activity, phone info, go to the shortcut on the home screen, change from WCDMA preferred to WCDMA only this will lock the phone to 3g only…leave a 3g area and you will have to change it back, inconvenient but functional.”
I’m keeping the Phone Info shortcut on my G1. It has a lot of cool info even if I don’t need to fix the 3G problem.
Finally the 2.1 SDK
Jan 12th
Google finally release the 2.1 SDK yesterday. Details can be found at developer.android.com.
There is not a whole lot of new stuff in 2.1 over the 2.0.1 release, but there are a few tidbits:
Live Wallpapers
The following additions provide APIs for you to develop animated wallpapers:
* New android.service.wallpaper package.
* New WallpaperInfo class.
* Updated WallpaperManager.
Telephony
* New SignalStrength class provides information about the device’s current network signal. This can be acquired from the new onSignalStrengthsChanged(SignalStrength) callback.
* New onDataConnectionStateChanged(int, int) callback.
Views
* New View methods isOpaque() and onDrawScrollBars(Canvas).
* New RemoteViews methods addView(int, RemoteViews) and removeAllViews(int).
* New ViewGroup methods isChildrenDrawingOrderEnabled() and setChildrenDrawingOrderEnabled(boolean).
WebKit
* New WebStorage methods to manipulate web storage databases.
* New GeolocationPermissions methods to get Geolocation permissions from, and set them on the WebView.
* New WebSettings methods to manage settings for app cache, web storage, and zooming based on screen density.
* New WebChromeClient methods for handling video, browsing history, custom Views, app cache limits, and more.
API differences report
For a detailed view of all API changes in Android 2.1 (API Level 7), as compared to API Level 6, see the API Differences Report.
Nexus One User’s Getting Frustrated
Jan 11th
It started as a rumbling… “my 3G is acting funny”, now it’s “Users complain of phone service problems and lack of customer service“, “Google’s Nexus One Phone Attracts Customer Complaints“
So what is Google doing to fix it? The most popular post in their support forum is “Spotty 3g?” and it’s not even pinned as an important topic!??
The Google given response was “We are investigating this issue and hope to have more information for you soon. We understand your concern and appreciate your patience.”
Google better act fast and not get into the mentality of just get it out the door and fix it later. They’ve had a nice buzz about Android and Nexus One up until now, just don’t blow it.
WiFi Hotspot Power Harvester
Jan 11th
Since this is a website called GreeneComputing, I thought I ought to have something related to “green” computing. So, I did find this interesting account at OhGizmo of a new battery charger that gets it’s power from capturing WiFi signals. It’s from RCA and it’s called the Airnergy Charger. “The Airnergy has a battery inside it, so you can just carry it around and as long as you’re near some WiFi, it charges itself. Unlike a solar charger, it works at night and you can keep it in your pocket. Of course, proximity to the WiFi source and the number of WiFi sources is important, but at the rate it charges, if you have a home wireless network you could probably just leave anywhere in your house overnight and it would be pretty close to full in the morning.”
Sounds pretty darn cool to me and it’s supposed to cost around $40.