AllThingsD » Android Feature

Honeycomb Tablet Has 4G and 3-D But Is No iPad

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:02:00 +0000

For the many companies designing tablets based on Google’s Android operating system to compete with Apple’s dominant iPad, there are twin challenges. The obvious one is to convince consumers to buy something other than the iPad 2. The less obvious one is to differentiate their products from all the other slates based on Android.

[ See post to watch video ]

Last week, a new Android contender arrived in the U.S. market that aims to be different in three major ways. It’s the G-Slate, built by Korean electronics giant LG and sold by T-Mobile.

The G-Slate uses Google’s standard Honeycomb software—the version of Android especially created for tablets—and is the first Honeycomb tablet in the U.S. to offer 4G cellular data speeds and 3-D video creation and viewing. It sports a screen size—8.9 inches—that falls between the 10-inch dimension of the iPad and the Motorola Xoom, and the 7-inch dimension used by the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Research in Motion PlayBook.

I’ve been testing the G-Slate, and in my view, it performs pretty well overall—about as well as the first Honeycomb tablet, the Xoom. But it isn’t nearly as good a choice as the iPad 2.

Of its three big differentiators, the only clear winner is the 4G cellular capability, which is much speedier than cellular data on the iPad, or on any other Honeycomb tablet I know of. The 3-D feature, which requires the use of 1950s-style colored glasses, seems like a parlor trick to me. And the in-between size, while potentially attractive for one-handed use, is undercut by the fact that, somehow, despite being smaller, the G-Slate is actually a bit heavier than the iPad 2, and a third thicker.

Then there is the price. One reason for the iPad juggernaut is that the base, Wi-Fi-only, 16-gigabyte model costs just $499.

The G-Slate uses twin rear cameras to create 3-D video.

If you buy the G-Slate without a phone contract, it costs $750. The comparable iPad 2, with the same 32 gigabytes of memory offered by the G-Slate, both Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, plus its bigger screen, is $729.

The least you can pay for the G-Slate is $530. But that price requires a two-year cellular data contract at a minimum of $30 a month, which boosts the total cost to $1,250. And that’s after a $100 mail-in rebate. The iPad 2 isn’t sold with a contract and doesn’t require a mail-in rebate.

Another drawback to the G-Slate, and to all other Honeycomb tablets so far, is a paucity of tablet-optimized third-party apps. There are so few that a Google spokeswoman declined to even quote me a figure. Apple claims 65,000 tablet apps.

This isn’t to say the G-Slate has no pluses. I continue to believe that Honeycomb removes many of the rough edges and extra steps that characterize the phone versions of Android. The Honeycomb browser, unlike the iPad’s, has tabs, like a PC browser.

Also, unlike the iPad, the G-Slate can handle Flash video, though not in every case I tried. It comes with a free hot-spot feature, which allows it to create a Wi-Fi signal that can power other devices, like laptops.

Its front and rear cameras are much better for still photos than the iPad’s. It has stereo speakers, which the iPad 2 lacks, and another feature missing on Apple’s tablet—a built-in port, called HDMI, for connection to high-definition TVs.

And then there is that 4G speed. In my tests, with Wi-Fi turned off, the G-Slate averaged 5.79 megabits per second for downloads and 1.28 mbps for uploads. By comparison, an iPad 2 with Verizon 3G built in managed only about a fourth, or less, of those speeds over its cellular network.

The G-Slate generally performed smoothly and speedily in my tests, and handled well every app I tested. Video was smooth and vivid, though audio seemed a bit tinny and soft, despite the stereo speakers.

However, this tablet did crash on me once in five days, requiring me to use the hidden reset button. Another time, the audio control got stuck at 7% while playing a video and no sound was audible.

I like the idea of the 8.9-inch screen, which made one-handed operation easier than on a 10-inch tablet. But the G-Slate was clumsy to use in portrait mode because it is long and skinny. It’s about 20% narrower than the iPad 2, but is actually a tiny bit longer, making for an odd shape.

The G-Slate, which uses the Honeycomb version of Google’s Android operating system, generally performed smoothly and speedily.

T-Mobile and LG listed different, and inaccurate, weight specifications for the device on their websites and press materials. But when I pointed this out, T-Mobile responded with what it said was the accurate weight: 1.37 pounds. The heaviest iPad 2 is 1.35 pounds.

In my tablet battery test, where I play videos continuously with the wireless features turned on and the screen brightness at about 75%, the G-Slate lasted 7 hours and 39 minutes. That’s much less than the 10 hours and 9 minutes the iPad 2 delivered in the same test. T-Mobile claims 9 hours of continuous “mixed use” of various functions. I couldn’t replicate this vague type of test, but found that in light, intermittent, mixed use, the G-Slate lasted a couple of days between charges, though its screen was off much of that time.

And what about the 3-D feature, which is enabled by twin cameras on the back?

Well, it worked for me. But I had to use an included pair of glasses with one red and one blue lens to see these videos, and they made me a bit queasy.

Emailing the videos to a standard computer didn’t preserve the 3-D effect, even with the glasses on. T-Mobile says a 3-D TV can display the 3-D videos, but I wasn’t able to test this. Because of the glasses and the sharing limitations, I feel that this 3-D feature is mostly a marketing tool.

Bottom line: The G-Slate isn’t as good a tablet as the iPad 2. I’d only recommend it for people who want the higher cellular speeds, or who prefer Android.

Watch a video of Walt Mossberg on T-Mobile’s new G-Slate at WSJ.com/PersonalTech. Find all of his columns and videos at the All Things Digital website, walt.allthingsd.com. Email mossberg@wsj.com.

The Echo Doubles Up on Touch Screens

Katherine Boehret — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 04:03:24 +0000

There’s nothing special about a smartphone with a slide-out keyboard, but a smartphone with two touch screens is enough to turn heads.

[ See post to watch video ]

At first glance, the Kyocera Echo from Sprint looks like a normal Android touch-screen smartphone—albeit a chunky one. But a special hinge allows the Echo’s top screen to shift up, over and snap down beside a second screen hidden beneath. The two screens correspond with each other to create what looks like one large screen, but one that also allows a different app to run on each screen, or display two activities from the same app on each screen.

For the past week, I’ve been testing the first dual touch-screen phone, the Kyocera Echo from Sprint, which will be available on Sunday for $200 with a two-year contract.

Using two screens at once makes sense from a productivity standpoint. I enjoyed flipping through a list of emails on one screen while reading an email on the other screen, or browsing Facebook on one screen with text messages opened on the other. I liked turning the Echo sideways to see a large, landscape view of a Web page spilled across its two 3.5-inch screens, which combine to create a 4.7-inch screen. (The recently released HTC ThunderBolt’s screen measures 4.3 inches; the iPhone 4 screen is 3.5 inches.)

The Echo’s two touch screens allow two apps to run at the same time on different screens.

But the Kyocera Echo may turn out to be a niche product. I’d wager many people will use just one screen most of the time, since revealing the second screen requires the clunky step of folding back the top screen with an awkward hinge.

The hinge also protrudes from the back of the Echo and keeps it from lying flat on a table in its two-screen view. The large, two-screen image is broken up by each screen’s black frame, which forms an unsightly line smack in the middle of the image.

What’s more, only seven of the phone’s apps work in the mode that runs an app on each screen.

At 6.8 ounces, the 3G Echo is noticeably heavier than both the 4.8-ounce Apple iPhone 4 and Research in Motion’s 4.3-ounce BlackBerry Bold 9700. When held up to an ear in its closed position for phone calls, this 0.68-inch thick phone felt bulky. (Calls sounded fine.)

It has a five-megapixel camera with a flash, built-in GPS, one gigabyte of on-board memory and an eight-gigabyte microSD card that comes with the phone. It runs Android 2.2, though a Sprint spokeswoman said the Echo will be upgraded over-the-air to the newer 2.3 Android operating system before the end of the year.

At first glance, the Kyocera Echo looks like a normal Android touch-screen smartphone—albeit a chunky one.

The Echo must be used with one of Sprint’s Everything Data plans, which start at $70 a month, plus a $10 required Premium Data add-on charge. The Echo also functions as a Wi-Fi hot spot for up to five devices for an extra $30 a month.

Users might worry about the Kyocera Echo’s battery life since it has two screens.

Sprint estimates the phone’s talk time battery life to be about seven hours, and I usually made it through the day without charging my Echo. The phone comes with a spare battery, which can be swapped out for your original battery or can act as a power source if used with a portable charger that plugs into the phone.

The seven apps that can run in what Kyocera calls Simul-Task Mode—a different app on each screen—include email, Web browsing, contacts, gallery, phone, messaging and VueQue—a way of showing YouTube videos on one screen and a queue of upcoming videos on the other. For Simul-Task, users must simultaneously tap a finger on each screen, which displays a menu on both screens showing the seven apps. Each screen will run the app that’s selected on it.

One large image can be shown on the two screens together, but their frames break up the image.

On Sunday, about 30 apps (including the seven Simul-Task ones) will run in Optimized Mode, which refers to any app that has been tailored to use the two screens in a complimentary fashion. Examples include email, which will show an on-screen keyboard on one screen and the email’s text on the other. A gallery of several thumbnail images will appear on one screen with a large view of one image on the other. Sims 3, which comes preloaded, will show game play on one screen and the game controls on the other.

Tablet Mode lets certain apps run across both screens, and some of these will only work after a Tablet Mode Extension is downloaded. One app that runs in Tablet Mode is Amazon’s Kindle app, which spreads an eBook’s text across both screens. But even here, the black line created by each screen’s frame got in the way. Though reading Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” in Tablet Mode wasn’t so bad if I held the Echo in landscape view and the text was broken up with a horizontal black line rather than a vertical one down the middle.

The Kyocera Echo has some useful capability and its combined screens create a roomy display for scrolling through websites, reading emails or looking at maps. But unfolding the phone to reveal its second screen isn’t a smooth step, and the limited number of apps that can take advantage of the dual-screen functionality will frustrate people. For now, one-screen phones will do just fine.

Email Katherine Boehret at katie.boehret@wsj.com.

Verizon's ThunderBolt Moves Like Lightning

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 01:19:14 +0000

Amid all the mergers and maneuvering of U.S. wireless carriers, they continue a steady rollout of faster cellular-data networks, dubbed “4G,” for fourth generation. While the companies all use that term for marketing, the actual technologies they’ve adopted to deliver 4G differ, and so does the performance.

[ See post to watch video ]

Last week, Verizon Wireless, which is deploying a flavor of 4G called LTE, or Long Term Evolution, started selling its first phone compatible with this new, speedier network: the $250 ThunderBolt. Previously, its only LTE devices were data modems for laptops. Its other phones, including its much-touted Droids and iPhone, can only use slower 3G networks.

I have been trying out the ThunderBolt and I have found it to be a speed demon. Simply put, when used on Verizon’s LTE network—which isn’t yet available everywhere—the ThunderBolt delivered by far the fastest cellular data speeds I have ever experienced on a wireless phone. In my tests, it blew away not only common 3G phone speeds, but the 4G speeds offered by rival carriers. In fact, it was faster than many home land-line Internet connections.

In dozens of cellular-data tests I conducted in two metro areas—Washington and Orlando, FL—the ThunderBolt averaged 12.6 megabits per second when downloading data and 4.7 Mbps when uploading data. That is about eight times as fast as a Verizon 3G phone I tested in the same locations, and faster than many public Wi-Fi connections. Cellular-data speeds can differ due to factors such as location and time of day, so your experience with the ThunderBolt might vary. However, based on my tests, and assuming future Verizon LTE phones perform as well, I’d have to say Verizon is firmly ahead in the race for the fastest 4G network.

Of course, its competitors aren’t standing still. Sprint was first with 4G and continues to expand its network and add devices. T-Mobile, which agreed to be acquired by AT&T, has a rapidly growing 4G network, though it really is based on a souped-up version of 3G. AT&T has lagged behind, but it claims it will step up its 4G rollout this year.

Verizon’s ThunderBolt

I compared the ThunderBolt to recent phones running on each of the other carriers’ 4G networks, and none could touch the speeds of the Verizon device. In multiple tests in a spot in the D.C. suburbs where all the carriers offer 4G service, Sprint’s EVO Shift 4G and AT&T’s Inspire 4G had an average of just over 2 Mbps in download speed, and much less than 1 Mbps in upload speed. T-Mobile’s myTouch 4G did much better, logging 5.52 Mbps downstream and 1.77 Mbps upstream. But even that was less than half the speed of the ThunderBolt.

Sprint and AT&T attributed their poor performance in my tests to my location. But even Sprint’s maximum claims for average performance don’t match what my Verizon tests yielded. (AT&T doesn’t offer such claims.)

You pay a price: The ThunderBolt is 25 percent more up front than most rival smartphones, which tend to sell for $200. Its battery life, while much better than some other early 4G phones I’ve tested, isn’t as good as on some 3G phones. And, the ThunderBolt is a relatively heavy and bulky device.

Verizon hasn’t jacked up the monthly data fees, continuing to offer the same unlimited $30 monthly data plan for this 4G phone that it does for, say, its pokier 3G iPhone. It is also giving away—through May 15—one extra-cost feature: the ability to use the phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot to power laptops and other devices. This feature has cost $20 a month on 3G phones. Verizon wouldn’t say the cost for ThunderBolt.

The ThunderBolt is built by HTC of Taiwan, and runs on Google’s Android operating system. HTC concedes that, beyond LTE, this phone doesn’t offer any significant hardware or software features that can’t be found on some of the company’s other models. It has a 4.3-inch screen, front and rear cameras, 8 gigabytes of internal memory and a 32GB removable memory card.

Battery life has been a concern on some 4G phones. The HTC EVO, which was Sprint’s first 4G phone, drained its battery quickly while using the faster network. In my tests, the ThunderBolt’s battery lasted about seven hours in mixed, typical use on 4G, which is fair, but not great.

Voice calls on the ThunderBolt were generally good, and it didn’t drop any calls in my tests. That may be because Verizon is still routing its voice traffic through its older networks, which have been very reliable. The LTE network is for data only. This distinction is invisible to the user.

I also tested it as a Wi-Fi hotspot and got download speeds on my laptop of 7 to 10 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 3 Mbps. But the hotspot signal occasionally dropped out. I also saw repeated crashes of an Android app I couldn’t identify, though the phone kept working.

The Verizon 4G network currently is available in around 40 metro areas. If you don’t live in an area covered by Verizon LTE, the ThunderBolt will still work on the carrier’s 3G network. You can see if you’re covered by checking this Web page. Verizon is promising to extend LTE to another 140 markets this year. It has announced plans for several more LTE phones and LTE tablets and laptops.

Bottom line: If you live in a Verizon LTE city and you want the fastest possible cellular-data speeds in a phone, the ThunderBolt is the answer.

Come see Walt Mossberg at New York’s Carnegie Hall at the JapanNYC festival, in a conversation with Sony Chairman Howard Stringer about where consumer technology is headed and the fallout from the earthquake. Friday, April 1 at 6:30 p.m. For tickets, call (212) 247-7800 or go to carnegiehall.org. Find all Walt’s columns and videos at the All Things Digital website, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

The Sidekick Is Dead. Long Live the Sidekick. T-Mobile Aims to Reinvent the Original Smartphone.

Erik Silk — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 04:00:28 +0000

Just a couple weeks after announcing plans to kill off the old Danger-based Sidekick service, T-Mobile is ready with some details on its first Android-based model.

The Sidekick 4G, which looks a whole lot like the Sidekicks of old, is being made by Samsung and should be out “later this spring.” Unlike the Danger-based models, though, this Sidekick has a touch screen. Plus, since it is Android inside, there are access to all the usual apps and services that one would expect. T-Mobile didn’t announce how much people can expect to pay for the new Sidekick.

Although the T-Mobile’s support of the Danger-based Sidekicks has been waning for years–and dropped precipitously after a major server failure in 2009, the company said the brand has remained strong and kept a loyal following.

“It was kind of a no-brainer for us to bring it back,” said Joe Fernandez, the product manager for the new Sidekick.

T-Mobile said it spent a long time researching what attributes defined the Sidekick as well as which of its quirks were just a bit too quirky. As with past Sidekicks, the device features a unique pop-open screen and large five-line Qwerty keyboard. Also retained, though tweaked a bit for Android is the dedicated “jump” button for moving between applications. Out, though, is the color-changing mood-light scroll wheel that cycled through different colors when a call came in.

As with past Sidekicks, a key feature is the device’s messaging capabilities. While early Sidekicks focused on instant messaging, this time around, the focus is on social networks and text messaging–including built-in Twitter and Facebook connections and group text messaging added to the main texting program. Although this Sidekick has far fewer cloud services than the Danger-based models, T-Mobile does plan to offer a program for viewing and sending text messages on the Web.

From a hardware perspective, the Sidekick 4G is similar to Samsung’s Galaxy S models, paking a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor along with a front-facing VGA camera for video chat and a 3 megapixel rear camera. (For those that can remember all the way back to the original Sidekick, it had no built-in camera and an optional camera attachment could create photos about the size of a postage stamp.) The interface is similar to Samsung’s TouchWiz Android UI, but has some Sidekick-specific tweaks including keyboard shortcuts, custom ringtones and wallpapers.

T-Mobile is clearly aiming at the same younger demographic as were targeted by earlier Sidekicks, albeit with different features and services than in the past. In addition to building in apps for Twitter and Facebook, the Sidekick 4G has a means for updating social network status right from the notification screen and also integrates social contacts into the address book. The Sidekick will come in two colors, black and a pearl magenta and T-Mobile said it was too soon to say if this would be only the first in a new family of devices. Rather, T-Mobile said it wants to see how this initial Android model does before committing to future products.

The Sidekick 4G will also include T-Mobile’s DriveSmart and optional DriveSmart Plus software aimed at discouraging users from accessing their phones while driving.

While T-Mobile won’t guarantee it, officials say the company is hoping to have the Sidekick 4G ready for customers before it flips the lights off on the Danger servers at the end of May.

Below is a photo timeline of T-Mobile’s Sidekick line from the original black and white model from 2002 through the new 4G Android device announced on Monday. (Special thanks to ATD intern Erik Silk for putting this slideshow together.)

Motorola's Xoom Starts Tablet Wars With iPad

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 02:01:36 +0000

After months of speculation, the tablet wars begin in earnest this week. Motorola is releasing its Xoom tablet on Feb. 24, and I consider it the first truly comparable competitor to Apple’s hit iPad. That is partly because it is the first iPad challenger to run Honeycomb, an elegant new version of Google’s Android operating system designed especially for tablets.

[ See post to watch video ]

Both Motorola’s hardware and Google’s new software are impressive and, after testing it for about a week, I believe the Xoom beats the first-generation iPad in certain respects, though it lags in others. Like the iPad, the Xoom has a roomy 10-inch screen, and it’s about the same thickness and weight as the iPad, albeit narrower and longer. And, like the iPad’s operating system, Honeycomb gives software the ability to make good use of that screen real estate, with apps that are more computer-like than those on a smartphone.

The Xoom has a more potent processor than the current iPad; front and rear cameras versus none for the iPad; better speakers; and higher screen resolution. It also can be upgraded free later this year to support Verizon’s faster 4G cellular data network (though monthly fees may rise.)

Motorola is taking aim at the iPad just as Apple is expected to announce, next week, a second-generation of its tablet. Little is known about this second iPad, but it’s widely expected to take away at least one of the Xoom’s advantages over the original iPad—cameras—and is rumored to be thinner and lighter, since weight was one of the most common complaints about the generally praised first iPad.

The iPad has way more tablet-specific apps—around 60,000 versus a handful—and, in my tests, much better battery life. Plus, whatever the specs say, it’s a fast device with a beautiful screen that delights people daily. But, overall, the Xoom with Honeycomb is a strong alternative to the original iPad, and one that will only improve over time.

The Xoom’s screen is long and narrow, good for widescreen video.

Unfortunately for consumers looking for iPad alternatives, the Xoom has an Achilles’ heel: price. While iPads come in a range of models priced all the way up to $829—none of which requires a cellphone contract—Apple’s entry price for the iPad is just $499. By contrast, the base price of a Xoom without a cellphone contract is $800—60% more. And even with a Verizon two-year contract at $20 to $80 a month—depending on the data limit you choose—the least you can pay for a Xoom is $600, or 20% more before counting the contract costs.

In fairness, the iPad model with the same memory as the Xoom and a 3G cellular modem like the Xoom’s is $729, which is a closer comparison. But it is still less than $800, and consumers still focus on that $499 iPad entry price (for a Wi-Fi-only model.)

As much as I like the Xoom and Honeycomb, I’d advise consumers to wait to see what Apple has up its sleeve next before committing to a higher price for the Motorola product.

Meanwhile, here’s what I found in testing the Xoom.

Hardware

Though it works fine in portrait, or vertical, mode, the Xoom is mainly designed as a landscape, or horizontal, device. The screen is long and narrow, proportioned to best fit widescreen video. The HD screen boasts a resolution of 1280 by 800, versus 1024 by 768 for the iPad.

It felt heavier than the iPad, though the weight of 1.6 pounds is the same as on the cellular version of the Apple product. Overall, it has a solid, high-quality feel. There aren’t any physical buttons except for an on-off switch at the rear and volume controls on an edge. The common Android home, back and other buttons are rendered in the software. The glass on the front is surrounded by a relatively thin black border.

I found it generally comfortable to hold, except when I was reading for long periods in vertical mode, where the long, thin shape and weight made it feel a bit unbalanced.

I performed the same battery test on the Xoom as I have on other tablets. I played video constantly with the connectivity turned on and the screen at almost full brightness until the battery died. Alas, while the Xoom claims up to 10 hours of video playback, I got just 7 hours and 32 minutes. By contrast, on the same test, the iPad, which also claims 10 hours, logged 11.5 hours, or four hours more.

I also tested the Xoom’s front-facing 2-megapixel camera by performing a video chat with a Motorola employee using Google Talk software. The chat broke up or froze several times over Verizon’s network, but we eventually got it to work pretty well on Wi-Fi.

The Xoom’s battery is sealed, and it only comes with 32 gigabytes of memory, versus a range of between 16 and 64 GB for various models of the iPad. However, it has a slot for a memory card that Motorola says will work after a software upgrade to add more memory. There is also a removable back and a SIM card slot that would be used only if you chose to upgrade to 4G in the second quarter of this year.

Software

Perhaps even more impressive than the hardware is the Honeycomb software, which, for now, Google won’t offer on cellphones, only tablets, of which the Xoom is the first.

I’ve always felt that Android had a rough-around-the edges, geeky feel, with too many steps to do things and too much reliance on menus. But Honeycomb eliminates much of that. Actions like composing emails, or changing settings are much more obvious and quicker. The smart but cluttered notification bar has been moved to the lower right and simplified. A tap on it pops up relevant information.

There is still a separate email app for Gmail, as opposed to other email services you may use. But, now, as on the iPad, email is presented in multiple columns and is more attractive and easier to use.

The browser is especially impressive, with PC-like features, such as visible tabs for open pages and the ability to open a private browsing session. Apps like Maps and YouTube have 3-D views. There’s a movie-editing app and live widgets for the home screens that show email previews or video frames.

There are some downsides. The ability to play Flash video—a big Android selling point—won’t work on the Xoom at launch. It will take some weeks to appear. And I found numerous apps in the Android Market that wouldn’t work with the Xoom. I couldn’t locate a working video download or rental service, though Google says these will be available soon.

Some apps for phones, like the popular game Angry Birds, filled the screen beautifully and worked fine.

Bottom line: The Xoom and Honeycomb are a promising pair that should give the iPad its stiffest competition. But price will be an obstacle, and Apple isn’t standing still.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos at the All Things Digital website, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Buyer's Remorse: 16 Percent of Galaxy Tabs Are Returned

John Paczkowski — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:15:41 +0000

No wonder sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab to date haven’t been what the company expected. Not only are consumers buying fewer of them than previously thought–they’re also returning them more frequently.

ITG Investment Research tracked point-of-sale data from nearly 6,000 wireless stores in the U.S. from the Galaxy Tab’s November debut through Jan. 15 and found the device to have an unusually high return rate. According to its estimates, cumulative return rates for the Galaxy Tab through December of 2010 were about 13 percent. Worse, that percentage is growing as holiday purchases are returned. ITG figures cumulative Galaxy Tab return rates through January 15 were 16 percent. Ugly, considering the return rate for the iPad at Verizon since its debut on the carrier is just 2 percent.

But perhaps to be expected given Google’s own admonishments about Android Froyo’s tablet suitability. As Hugo Barra, director of products for mobile at Google, said last fall: Froyo is not optimised for use on tablets. If you want Android market on that platform, the apps just wouldn’t run, [Froyo] is just not designed for that form factor.”

[Image Credit: David Lyle/Wooster Collective]

Exclusive: Google's Android Design Expert Outlines the Vision Behind Honeycomb

Ina Fried — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:02:16 +0000

Although the immediate focus of Honeycomb was to get Android ready for tablets, the operating system is really designed to enable Google’s software to power all manner of mobile devices.

“Tablet was the focus, but the changes we did also free it up to be more flexible for other contexts as well,” Honeycomb lead designer Matias Duarte told Mobilized. “It’s about really eliminating all the barriers to all the different kinds of form factors that people might want to interact with.”

Google plans to show off its work with Honeycomb, also known as Android 3.0, at an event on Wednesday. There, it will talk about the specific changes it has made, as well as the vision behind the shift.

Duarte, who joined Google from Palm last year, said there were really three major areas of focus. Clearly one was to change the way Android worked so that it was suited to devices larger than a phone. But beyond that, Duarte said, Honeycomb was about evolving Android to be better overall at mobile computing tasks. Finally, Duarte said, Honeycomb is designed to make the operating system more usable.

“All of those are works in progress,” he said. “Our work is far from done in any of those.”

One of the most notable changes in Honeycomb is the fact that it no longer has a reliance on physical hardware buttons. That paves the way for all kinds of devices, Duarte said.

“Some of them might look more like a laptop…some of them might not even have soft buttons,” Duarte said. “They might be purely gesturally driven.”

The first Honeycomb devices, however, will all be tablets, starting with the Motorola Xoom, which is headed to Verizon in February.

But, if he has done his job right, Duarte said that hardware makers will be able to create devices that Google never even contemplated. “Whatever they come up with, the most important thing is that we have given that flexibility.”

That could range to attaching Android to a refrigerator or creating products aimed at a specific demographic, such as young kids or the elderly. Heck, someone could even use Android to build a big table computer to take on Microsoft’s Surface. “I can’t see why not,” Duarte said. “I can imagine that.”

As for the potential tablets in particular, Duarte notes that those who initially brushed aside Apple’s iPad when it debuted a year ago underestimated the impact of what Apple did in bringing the multi-touch screen to a larger-size device.

“I think those skeptics were short-sighted,” Duarte said. “That’s the genius of what Apple achieved with that iPad.”

The tablet experience, he said, is largely about the touch interface, which changes people’s relationship with the content they are viewing. In moving the content into a closer and more comfortable position, people relate more and have more emotional experiences, he said.

“People have seen screens that size and have been taking screens that size to bed with them and to their coffee shops with them. They’ve been sitting with them hunched over and in all kinds of contorted positions” Duarte said. “But having that touch interface means that you can interact with the Internet or with a book or with a video player in a totally different posture, in a totally different way. It changes how you engage with the content, how long you engage with the content and even how emotionally close you are to it.”

With Honeycomb, Duarte said, he wanted to make sure that Google was opening Android up to enable those kinds of experiences, but also improving the underpinnings of the operating system to be a more powerful computing experience.

One of the changes, he said, is recognizing that people use tablets differently than they use their phone, even if they are running many of the same types of programs.

“It used to be that Android was something that you held in your hand and you would use in these relatively fine slices of time throughout the day, and then when you sit down at a table or a desk or you go home, that Android stays in your pocket or goes in a charger,” he said. “Now your experience with Android is alternating between these fine slices and these longer periods….So we need to think of Android as an experience that you have 24/7, throughout the entire day. What that means is that you are doing a lot more and you are doing a lot more for longer periods of time.”

That shift, he said, means that the operating system needs to do a better job of shifting between tasks and notifying users of what things are going on in the background. With Honeycomb, Duarte said, Google is improving its recent application switching feature that lets users easily see the places they have been working and point to them, while at the same time getting better notifications from background activities without being constantly interrupted.

Duarte characterized Honeycomb as the biggest change since the debut of Android, but it is also the latest in a series of updates that have come in rapid succession. In many cases, both device makers and wireless carriers have struggled to keep pace with Google, often failing to allow their devices to stay updated with Google’s latest and greatest, even if the phones themselves were capable of being upgraded.

But while others wonder whether Google is moving too quickly in evolving Android, Duarte said he wonders why the rest of the industry is moving so slowly, and promises even faster change to come.

“Using computers suck, to this day,” Duarte said. “It’s one of my daily frustrations that the rate of change in computing experiences is so slow.”

In particular, Duarte said that the basic interaction with programs and files hasn’t changed much. “It’s the same way I did [things] in high school on a Mac Plus.”

One piece of that shift, Durate said, is evolving our expectations of computing devices from a world in which computer users put in information and turn a crank to get a result to one that more resembles an ongoing dialogue.

“What I am looking for is that sense that you get when jazz musicians improvise together,” he said. “The computer should be doing things in concert with you, in support [of] you, not acting like a servant waiting for commands and then returning with results. That’s a little aspirational, I know.”

Honeycomb will get the company partway to that vision, but Duarte said much of that work will reveal itself over time. But make no mistake, he said–although they don’t appear to be the stuff of science fiction, computers are starting to become extensions of the human brain.

“People always think of cybernetics with computers as being this thing that happens far in the future, and you have Star Trek, Borg-like scary things” Duarte said. “But the way computers are used today through social networking, through email, through accessing information like Google–they are already becoming [those] cybernetic parts of our mind.”

Samsung Galaxy Tab Sells Well to Retailers–Consumers, Not So Much

John Paczkowski — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:01:15 +0000

Samsung may have shipped two million Galaxy Tabs in its fourth quarter, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it sold them all. Because evidently, it didn’t. In truth, sales to date haven’t been as fast as the company expected, according to Lee Young-hee, senior vice president of the company’s mobile communications business.

“As you heard, our sell-in was quite aggressive and this first quarterly result was quite, you know, fourth-quarter unit [figure] was around two million,” she said during the company’s recent earnings call. “Then, in terms of sell-out, we also believe it was quite smooth*. We believe, as the introduction of new device, it was required to have consumers invest in the device. So therefore, even though sell-out wasn’t as fast as we expected, we still believe sell-out was quite okay.”

A bit of a paper tiger, then, that two million Galaxy Tabs sold in three months. And the true number? Well, Samsung isn’t even willing to disclose that yet. Said Young-hee, “As you know, the tablet is relatively new and we need to see how the market develops before we give any firm numbers.”

Another reason to look askance at recent predictions that Apple will cede a significant portion of the tablet market to Android rivals in the years ahead.

*It was originally reported that Youg-hee described Galaxy Tab sales as “quite small.” She actually described them as “quite smooth,” as you can hear here.

What's on the Table for Tablets This Year

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 02:09:57 +0000

Lots of consumers are planning to buy tablet computers this year, and lots of companies are hoping to sell them. Apple managed to sell around 15 million of its ground-breaking iPads last year in only nine months, and, for many users, the iPad has replaced the laptop, at least for some uses. So it’s no surprise that consumer appetites for tablets have been growing and tech companies are planning to roll out as many as 80 iPad competitors in 2011, by some estimates.

[ See post to watch video ]

But the tablet mania can be confusing. The coming devices will be heavily defined by a variety of operating systems they’ll use. They will be offered in different screen sizes, with attendant pluses and minuses. And they’ll come from very different kinds of companies—major computer makers like Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Acer, Lenovo and Dell; phone makers like Motorola and Research in Motion; multi-faceted electronics giants like Samsung; and even Vizio, which is largely a TV manufacturer.

And, of course, a second generation of the iPad is expected to be announced in the next few months.

So here’s a guide to what to expect in the tablet market in 2011, and some key factors that could affect your choices. As it’s early in the year, the road map is necessarily incomplete. For instance, prices aren’t generally known, though many rivals will be trying to undercut the iPad’s $499 base price. Some will be sold on a subsidized basis through phone carriers, others won’t. And there will surely be surprises as companies adjust their strategies.

Apple’s Next Move

Given the quality and success of the iPad, it makes sense for tablet buyers to hold off until they see what Apple has up its sleeve for the second version. One big reason: The iPad has a huge head start in third-party apps designed for tablets—more than 60,000 of them, plus the 350,000 or so iPhone apps that the iPad can run.

The Motorola Xoom

But Apple is more secretive than the CIA, so we know little about this product. I believe it will almost certainly have one or two cameras, and be able to make video calls. And there’s widespread speculation that it will be thinner and lighter, since even the original’s 1.5-pound weight was a bit too heavy for extended use for some people. There’s some evidence it will have at least one added port, perhaps for a camera memory card or connection to a bigger display.

The Android Army

Just as in the smart-phone market, the bulk of Apple’s tablet competitors will rely on Google’s Android operating system, which is provided free to hardware makers. Most of the hardware companies mentioned above are counting on Android to allow them to undercut the iPad on price, add different features, and attract third-party apps.

The big question mark here is the tablet-specific version of Android that’s code-named Honeycomb, which hasn’t been publicly unveiled. The first Honeycomb tablet is likely to be a 10″ model called the Motorola Xoom, which is expected to show up in the early spring. The others will mostly emerge in the summer. If Honeycomb succeeds, the Android tablets could be a very attractive alternative, though it will take awhile for large numbers of third-party tablet apps to become available. Honeycomb will support Flash video on the Web, while the iPad doesn’t.

One big issue will be how these Honeycomb-powered products will be differentiated from each other. Here, price and hardware features could be decisive. Speed, size, screen quality, connections to TVs, and support for fast, 4G wireless networks are all possibilities. For instance, the Xoom will work with “smart dock” accessories, and will eventually support 4G. The Vizio Via will have a big speaker and a built-in TV remote control.

BlackBerry PlayBook

RIM and H-P

BlackBerry maker RIM plans a light, thin, 7″ tablet called the PlayBook, likely in the next few months. In demos, it looks handsome and colorful—nothing like a BlackBerry phone. That’s because it runs on an entirely different operating system.

One unusual feature of the PlayBook is that, in key respects, it’s more of a companion to a BlackBerry phone than a standalone tablet. It draws its cellular connectivity from a BlackBerry, rather than having it built in. The first model will lack its own email, calendar and contact apps, and instead merely view and interact with those in a user’s BlackBerry. This reliance on a BlackBerry could be a plus for BlackBerry users. But it could be seen as a downside for users of other phones.

H-P plans to unveil a 10″ tablet on Feb. 9 based on Palm’s sleek webOS operating system, which H-P now owns. Based on trademark filings, it’s likely to be called the HP TouchPad. While the computer giant has said little or nothing about the device, it’s likely to ship this summer and feature, out of the box, integrated video calling and document editing. A big question is whether the software scales well to a tablet size and whether third-party developers, who mostly shunned webOS when Palm launched it, will write enough apps for the HP tablet.

Windows Tablets

Unlike the other players, Microsoft seems to be planning to cram a full PC operating system into a multi-touch tablet. The first Windows tablets, which will be out soon, will be based on Windows 7, use styluses, and be aimed mainly at corporations, not consumers. Even their makers privately express little enthusiasm for them. However, later in the year, Microsoft is expected to roll out a new Windows-based multi-touch tablet platform better designed to go head-to-head with the iPad and Android tablets.

Size Matters

One big decision for consumers will be whether they like the 10″ size of the iPad, and of many of the new Android tablets, or the smaller 7″ size of some other models. A 7″ screen actually has less than half the surface area of the iPad’s display. But 7″ tablets—like the existing Samsung Galaxy Tab—are lighter and easier to hold in one hand than 10″ models. They also can cost less. Some companies will be trying even smaller tablets, despite the poor sales of Dell’s 5″ Streak tablet in 2010. One big-name PC maker has been working on a 4.8″ tablet.

Keyboards and Ports

Since the iPad lacks a built-in physical keyboard, and common PC ports like USB connectors, many of the competitors will try to outdo it with these things. Lots of them will have some form of USB port, and a few will come with hidden keyboards that slide out or fold out somehow. Lenovo plans to ship an Android tablet that can optionally be used as a slide-in screen for a Windows laptop.

All this tablet competition is good news for consumers, but I urge you to study the landscape carefully and weigh your options before plunging into the new category.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos at the All Things Digital website, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Mossberg’s Best and Worst Products of 2010

Walt Mossberg — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 16:00:53 +0000

This week on WSJ Digits, Walt shared his thoughts on his best and worst reviewed products for 2010.

[ See post to watch video ]

Taking Walt’s top spot this year was none other than Apple’s iPad. For a 1.0 product, the iPad was amazing. With the new iOS 4.2 operating system and its huge selection of apps, the iPad continues to stay ahead of the competition.

High-speed 4G networks in the United States took the second spot. As the world goes more mobile, the availability of faster networks is critical. Today, 3G networks are bursting at the seams, and the promise of these networks will be something to watch closely in 2011.

Tied for third were the Samsung Galaxy S and the Apple iPhone 4. The Galaxy S is representative of the powerful force that Android has become within the smartphone marketplace. Despite no longer being the only game in town and all the initial controversy over its antenna, the iPhone 4 is still the best overall smartphone, according to Walt.

Turning his attention to his worst reviewed products for 2010, Walt gave the Dell Streak tablet a thumbs-down. Calling the Streak a tweener, he believed this Android device was too big to be a phone yet too small to be a tablet.

While no company got it right when it came to integrating the Internet with the television, Google TV was certainly not ready for prime time. Walt felt that it was basically a geek product, with a confusing user interface and clumsy keyboard options. Finally, the TiVo Premiere was another product that failed to meet Walt’s expectations. As a TiVo fan and user, he felt TiVo Premiere, with its cluttered interface, shared Google TV’s shortcomings. Simply put, the execution was not there, and the price was too high.

Walt did stress that these products might be great someday, but 2010 was not their year.

Walt’s Best Products of 2010

Walt’s Worst Products of 2010

Using Phones Globally

Walter S. Mossberg — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 22:40:27 +0000

My Motorola Android phone does not work outside of the U.S. Does the Samsung Galaxy have the same problem? Will the forthcoming Verizon iPhone work in Europe?

I combined two reader questions here, because they both touch on a common source of confusion. I presume that the Motorola Android phone that only works in the U.S. is sold by either Verizon or Sprint, because they use network technology that is primarily found in the U.S., and not, say, in Europe. Thus, phone makers like Motorola and Samsung tailor their Verizon and Sprint models to this U.S.-centric technology, called CDMA.

However, both Motorola and Samsung also make Android phones for AT&T and T-Mobile, which use a network technology called GSM that is standard in most of the rest of the world. These models should work outside of the U.S. There are a few “world phones” sold by Verizon and Sprint, which include both network technologies. For instance, Verizon sells two Android phones, the Droid Pro and the Droid 2 Global, which fall into that category.

As for the reported forthcoming Verizon iPhone, I don’t know if it will be limited to CDMA, which would make it essentially a U.S.-only device, or whether it will also be compatible with GSM, which would make it a world phone.

I live in South Africa, and want to buy the Samsung Tab to make my job easier, but to do that I must be able to work with Microsoft Excel documents. Editing and using dropdown boxes is essential. Can this be done?

The Tab, and other Android devices, can view and edit Excel documents using either a built-in mobile office suite (ThinkFree was pre-installed on the Tab I tested) or one you can obtain through the Android Market, like Quickoffice. You can also use online spreadsheet apps.

However, as with the same or similar apps for the iPad, these are limited compared to using Excel on a PC or Mac, and I cannot say whether they’d have the features and two-way document fidelity you personally might require. I didn’t test editing Excel documents on the Tab.

I am considering purchasing the iPad but have learned that it does not allow users to create folders in which documents can be stored. This would be incredibly useful for me for business purposes while I travel (i.e., separate client folders with client-specific documents in each). I have heard that Apple’s new operating system upgrade might make this possible, but I haven’t been able to confirm it. Do you happen to know whether that is the case?

The new folder feature coming to the iPad is meant for grouping apps, not documents. Apple’s operating system for its mobile devices, called iOS, doesn’t have a global document folder capability.

However, individual iPad apps, such as the very powerful GoodReader, do allow you to create folders that can hold all manner of documents, and you can name and organize these folders as you wish. But these folders are only accessible from within the app that creates them.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns at the All Things Digital website, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Motorola Earnings: Droid Most Definitely Does

John Paczkowski — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:58:05 +0000

Motorola’s big bet on Android is starting to pay off.

Posting third-quarter financials this morning, the company reported growth in sales and profit for the period on strong demand for its Android smartphones. Earnings were $109 million, or 5 cents per share, on revenue of $5.8 billion. On an adjusted basis, they were 17 cents per share compared with the Street’s expectation of 11 cents.

In the quarter, Motorola shipped 3.8 million smartphones–enough for its Mobile Devices division to show an operating profit for the first time in over three and a half years. Great news for Motorola, which plans to divide itself into two independent companies early next year–one to handle its mobile devices and home businesses, and the other to handle enterprise mobility.

Here an App, There an App, Where's the App for You?

Katherine Boehret — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 21:50:50 +0000

App stores can’t catch a break. When these virtual marketplaces don’t offer enough mobile apps, they’re viewed as too small (see Palm’s App Catalog and RIM’s BlackBerry App World). If they host a large number of apps, they can get criticized for being too overwhelming (see Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market).

[ See post to watch video ]

Whatever the size of their smartphone’s app universe, many people just want a way to find the apps they can really use. This week, I tested two free tools that offer ways of sorting through hundreds of thousands of apps to show you some you might actually like and some you might find useful. (Never mind the fact that these tools are apps themselves.) I tested Chomp, which works on the iPhone, and Appolicious, which works on the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Appolicious also has its own website and a partnership with Yahoo (YHOO) so that its app reviews, which are written by a 15-person editorial staff and regular users, are promoted in relevant articles on Yahoo’s websites.

If you turn on the Genius feature of Apple’s (AAPL) App Store, it will make recommendations based on apps you already own and let you choose a “Not Interested” option, which guarantees an app won’t be suggested again. The Android Market doesn’t currently offer suggestions of apps you might like but a Google (GOOG) spokesman said a feature like this is coming.

Both Chomp and Appolicious have a community of users who are reviewing apps, and you can follow all, some or none of these people. Appolicious reviews are in-depth and more hands-on than Chomp’s. An Appolicious review of the $4.99 FlightTrack app for iPhone and iPad included a YouTube video explaining the app, a scale rating, a list of other Appolicious users who own the app and an Appolicious Advisor review, written by someone who works for Appolicious Inc.

Here’s how these app-finding tools work: The Chomp app starts with a home page that shows two recommendations; two apps liked by people you follow; two apps that are on sale (like one that was $1.99 but is now free); two apps that were recently reviewed and two newly released apps. It makes recommendations by suggesting apps that are similar to those you reviewed and liked. But Chomp has a loose definition of a review: Selecting a heart beside each app’s description means you reviewed the app and liked it; tapping a broken heart means you didn’t like it. (There’s room to write a brief explanation of why you liked or disliked an app.)

Chomp’s co-founder and chief executive, Ben Keighran, says the company is working on iPhone and Android versions to release before the end of the year. Because it’s an Apple affiliate, when someone buys an app using Chomp, 5% of Apple’s usual 30% profit from the app goes to Chomp (the developer typically gets 70%).

Appolicious takes a different tack for suggesting apps. It scans the titles of apps you’ve downloaded, saves the names of those apps in your Web-based Appolicious library and suggests apps that are similar.

I tried this on a Motorola Droid X Android device, and it worked—with my permission—just seconds after I opened Appolicious for the first time, spitting back a list of related apps. These can be conveniently downloaded from within Appolicious rather than leaving the site for the Android Market.

Chomp is an iPhone app that suggests apps according to other apps you’ve reviewed.

The iPhone and iPad’s iOS operating system doesn’t allow this, so you’ll have to open the Appolicious.com site on your Mac or Windows PC and opt to use the App Library Builder tool, which opens a computer folder containing copies of your apps stored by iTunes. I did this on my MacBook and, though it was a little clumsy, Appolicious imported 44 titles of my apps in just a few seconds.

(Chomp doesn’t offer an option to scan your own apps. Mr. Keighran said people could have hundreds of apps but that doesn’t confirm whether the user actually likes them, so this method could lead to bad recommendations.)

If you aren’t cool with the idea of Appolicious scanning all of your apps to suggest new ones, you can edit your profile to check boxes that describe your app personality. Some suggestions include Social Butterfly, Foodie, Parent, Shopaholic and Book Reader. Here, you can also check off the devices that you own, so Appolicious will suggest apps that work on them.

Appolicious, like Chomp, makes money—5% of paid apps—when it recommends apps people buy because it’s an Apple affiliate. Appolicious.com also runs ads that are strictly unrelated to any recommendations.

In the end, it was hard to tell whether I was really getting apps that were a good fit for me or just a random bunch of new app suggestions.

Appolicious installs on Android devices and scans the phone’s apps to suggest new ones.

The Appolicious methods for determining what kinds of apps I’d like seemed to return many apps I wanted to download, but it also recommended some I didn’t want, including a game called “SceneIt? Comedy Movies HD” that was recommended to me before I created a profile or allowed the program to scan my personal app library.

Chomp’s reviews seem more like yes or no lists—people either do or don’t like apps, and many reviews I read didn’t explain why they liked or disliked an app. One reviewer is Kevin Rose, the founder of Digg.com and an adviser to Chomp. I did like the way Chomp spotlighted apps that were for sale, many of which I wouldn’t have known about otherwise.

While Chomp’s site is a bit on the meager side, Appolicious gives you a meatier selection of app recommendations. The more information you tell Appolicious, the better your results will be.

See a video with Katherine Boehret on Chomp and Appolicious at WSJ.com/PersonalTech. Write to her at mossbergsolution@wsj.com

Dell Starts Selling First U.S. Smartphone

Ian Sherr — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:39:20 +0000

Dell Inc. put its first U.S. smartphone on sale on Tuesday, making the computer maker the latest technology manufacturer to enter the competitive mobile handset market.

The Round Rock, Texas, company said its 3.5-inch touchscreen phone, dubbed the “Aero,” runs on Google Inc.’s (GOOG) Android operating system and is available for $99.99 with a new two-year contract from AT&T Inc. (T) and $299.99 without. It can be ordered via Dell’s (DELL) website.

The move comes as the manufacturers jockey for position in the increasingly competitive smartphone market ahead of the critical holiday shopping season.

Energized by the release of Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhone in 2007, sales of smartphones have become increasingly popular and a driver of sales for many hardware makers. Global smartphone sales are expected to double to 506 million units within four years, industry tracker iSuppli said earlier this summer.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Google to Nexus One Devs: Where the Hell Were You Three Months Ago?

John Paczkowski — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:35:42 +0000

Consumers didn’t much care for Google’s Nexus One, but Android developers are evidently crazy for it. A few weeks after discontinuing consumer sales of the Nexus One, Google has exhausted its supply of developer-only handsets.

“A couple of weeks ago, we arranged that registered developers could buy an unlocked Nexus One via their publisher page in Android Market,” Android developer advocate Tim Bray wrote in blog post this week. “We think it’s a good development platform and a nice phone. Apparently, you agree. Somewhat too many of you, in fact; we blew through the (substantial) initial inventory in almost no time, and they’re back-ordered from HTC, who are doing a pretty good job of managing runaway success amid a worldwide AMOLED shortage. Everyone appreciates that it’s important to the platform to get phones in the hands of developers, so we’re working hard on re-stocking the shelves; stand by.”

Ironic, isn’t it, that now that there’s actually demand for the Nexus One, Google’s unable to meet it?

Google Voice Actions and Chrome to Phone Videos and Screenshots

Kara Swisher — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:07:02 +0000

Here are some videos and screenshots from Google’s two mobile product announcements today: Voice Actions and Chrome to Phone.

The first lets you speak a variety of requests and commands into the mobile phone and get a wide range of results; the latter is a way to send information from the Silicon Valley search giant’s browser to a mobile phone app on an Android smartphone.

Here is a video on Voice Actions and two screenshots, and you can read more on the Google (GOOG) blog about it, in a post titled “Just Speak It.”

And here is the Chrome to Phone video (and you can see the Google blog post on it here):

Android Army Continues Relentless Advance

Voices — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:09:43 +0000

Quite a few interesting numbers in Gartner’s latest look at the global mobile device market–unit sales in Q2 were up 13.8 percent year over year; smartphone sales, up 50 percent, rose to one-fifth of the market; margins and average selling prices were pushed down by intense competition. But one line really jumped out: A year ago, Google’s (GOOG) Android OS had a worldwide market share of 1.8 percent; this year–17.2 percent, climbing past Apple’s (AAPL) iOS into third place, behind Research in Motion (RIMM) and Symbian. Gartner credits Google’s master plan: Lots of manufacturers, lots of carriers, lots of devices, lots of price points.

Dell's Streak: a Tiny Tablet That Takes Calls, Too

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:02:23 +0000

In just a few months, Apple’s iPad has established that there is indeed a consumer market for a multitouch tablet computer.

The 1.5-pound slate with a 10-inch screen has already sold more than 3 million units, even though it costs $499 for the cheapest model, surprising many analysts. And Apple (AAPL) says over 20,000 third-party apps have been written especially for the iPad’s large screen and features, in addition to the more than 200,000 iPhone apps it can also run.

[ See post to watch video ]

As a result, other companies, big and small, are racing to produce multitouch tablets that go beyond the narrow functions of e-readers such as Amazon’s (AMZN) Kindle. Like the iPad, they are meant for a wide variety of uses, including Web surfing, social networking, email, games, productivity, navigation, book reading, and playing music and videos. And, like the iPad, they will pose a threat to the primacy of the laptop for portable computing, and especially to the smallest laptops, the netbooks.

This week, a second big computer company, Dell (DELL), is joining the new tablet war in the U.S. But Dell’s first offering in the category, called the Streak—first introduced in the U.K.—is very different from the iPad, and somewhat peculiar. It’s much smaller—with just a 5-inch screen—and makes cellular voice calls, something the iPad can’t do.

It is really a tweener device, a design compromise. Depending on how you use it, the Streak can be considered a giant smartphone or a minitablet. Dell is positioning it as a tablet, but, to me, it’s more of a very large smartphone, but one that, for many, will be too large to carry around comfortably.

Depending on how you buy it, the Streak can cost either less or more than the base $499 iPad. It goes on sale Aug. 13 at $300 if you sign up for a new two-year AT&T (T) contract, which must include a data plan. (The cheapest iPad with cellular data connectivity is $629.) Or, you can get a Streak for $550 without an AT&T contract. Dell says neither U.S. version can be used with any other phone carrier, though the $550 model can be used as a Wi-Fi-only device, just like the $499 iPad.

Dell’s Streak runs on Google’s Android operating system, with access to some 70,000 thirdparty apps available in the Android Market store.

The Streak will be available only through Dell’s website, not at any stores, not even AT&T’s.

The Streak runs on Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system, and has access to the 70,000 or so third-party apps available in the Android Market app store. But I couldn’t find, and Dell couldn’t identify, any apps written especially for its larger screen. In fact, a few Android apps I tested seemed to crowd all their icons into just a portion of the Streak’s screen, especially when the device was held vertically, leaving lots of white space.

The Streak’s 5-inch screen is much larger than the iPhone’s 3.5-inch display, or the 3.2-inch screen on the new BlackBerry Torch. But it didn’t feel radically larger to me than the 4.3-inch display on some of the newer Android smartphones, such as the HTC EVO, which, while bulky for a phone, is still much easier to fit in a pocket than the Streak is.

The Streak is a long, skinny device. It’s 6 inches long and 3.11 inches wide, about a fourth the footprint of the iPad, which isn’t meant to go in a pocket, but considerably longer and somewhat wider than the EVO, which is. It’s much lighter than the iPad, at just under half a pound, but heavier than many smartphones.

In my tests, I found I could carry the Streak comfortably in the pocket of loose jeans, or in a suit jacket’s inner pocket, but not in a shirt pocket or the pocket of more fitted pants. It would take up a lot of room in a small or medium-size woman’s handbag. And it looks somewhat ridiculous when held up to the ear to make a phone call.

And, despite the larger physical size of the Streak’s display, its screen resolution, which governs sharpness and how much content can fit on a screen, is lower than even the iPhone 4′s much smaller screen, and is too low to display high-resolution video (though an optional dock can output hi-res video to a TV.)

Also, the Streak comes with the outdated 1.6 version of Android, though Dell says it will eventually be upgradeable to the latest edition.

In my tests, the Streak delivered both moments of pleasure and moments of frustration. When held horizontally, the screen felt luxurious, with lots of room, and good sharpness and color, for playing video or viewing photos. Even in portrait mode, reading books using the Amazon Kindle app was a much better experience than on any smartphone I’ve tested, though not nearly as good as on the iPad or Kindle e-reader.

The screen also holds plenty of app icons and more large widgets than other Android phones I’ve tested. And there are convenient bars at the top for quickly checking notifications, adjusting wireless settings, managing screens and accessing apps that aren’t on the main screens.

The Streak also has generous memory for an Android phone. It comes with 19 gigabytes of total memory, including a removable 16 gigabyte memory card. Two gigabytes of the internal memory can be used to store apps—excellent for an Android phone, but much less than on the iPad.

Its 5-megapixel rear camera took sharp photos and fair videos, and phone calls sounded clear. The large screen was a big plus for Google’s free voice-prompted navigation app. Battery life was very good, easily lasting a full day, and the battery is removable.

But the Streak also crashed on me several times. On one occasion, it started vibrating endlessly, only stopping when I removed and replaced the battery.

The device has a front-facing camera—unlike the iPad, which has no camera at all. But video calling isn’t integrated, unlike on the new iPhone, and requires you to sign up for a third-party service.

Twice the device proclaimed it couldn’t find the memory card and had to be restarted before it could. Twice, the YouTube app failed to load any content.

Also, the buttons on the top edge for turning the Streak on and off and for taking pictures are very close together and easily confused for each other. And the camera button eventually stopped working for me altogether. The speaker, located on the back, sounded tinny when playing music. And it was too easy to block the rear camera with a thumb or finger when holding the Streak naturally.

Dell sees the Streak as a tablet first, with phone calling as a secondary function. It may well appeal to people for whom the iPad is too large to carry around, yet want some of the tablet experience coupled with a phone. But tweener devices can be hard to love and Streak buyers will have to overlook some of the shortcomings I encountered.

Find Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Video Calling on the iPhone 4, Windows 7 Upgrade and Android Apps

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:24:10 +0000

I marvel at the FaceTime video-calling feature on the new iPhone 4. Is this the only cellphone with this feature?

The FaceTime video-calling feature on the iPhone 4

No. Some other phones have it, most recently the HTC EVO 4G from Sprint (S) and, soon, the Samsung Epic 4G, also from Sprint. But, in my view, Apple’s implementation is much smoother. Instead of requiring you to run an app, set up an account, or have a special user name, on the iPhone 4 video calling is integrated right into the phone-calling and contacts features. You merely have to tap on a camera icon to turn a regular voice call into a video call, or you can initiate a FaceTime call by tapping a button in a contact listing.

The two downsides of FaceTime are that, at the moment, it only works over Wi-Fi and it only works between two iPhone 4s. Apple (AAPL) says, however, it has made the necessary software open source, so others can adopt it, and claims that millions of devices will be compatible eventually.

I am running a two-year-old H-P PC with 3 gigabytes of memory. I use Vista Home Premium and only occasionally detect system slowness necessitating a reboot. Is an upgrade to Windows 7 really going to speed up my computer performance? Also, I assume that an upgrade from Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Home Premium can be done without a clean install, correct?

If you are happy with the performance of Vista, I wouldn’t go through the expense and time of an upgrade.

However, based on extensive testing and continued regular use, I believe strongly that Windows 7 is noticeably faster than Vista, with fewer delays during daily use and faster booting and rebooting. And, yes, you can do the upgrade you describe right over your current Vista installation—provided you aren’t trying to switch to a 64-bit version of the operating system from 32-bit, or vice versa. You can find Microsoft’s (MSFT) official chart of the various upgrade paths to Windows 7 at http://bit.ly/pbStQ.

Could you please speak to the warnings on the Android phones that one receives when downloading an app? Some of the warnings suggest worrisome intrusions. For example, one I saw warns that it “Intercepts outgoing calls, formats external storage, creates Bluetooth connections, edits SMS or MMS, reads and writes contact history” etc. Are these malicious functions or am I over-reading the implications?

In Google’s Android Market, unlike in Apple’s App Store, apps aren’t “curated” in advance—that is, they aren’t screened before being made available. To help compensate, Google (GOOG) requires a page of such warnings with each app. In most cases, these warnings don’t indicate any malicious intent on the part of the app creator, merely a list of the data and functions the app will need to access on the phone.

However, in a non-curated environment, there is a greater chance that malicious software will slip through and use this access for illegitimate purposes. On the other hand, there were a number of cases where Apple’s curated model wound up barring harmless apps under rules that weren’t well understood. Those apps would almost surely have made it into the Android market.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns at the All Things Digital website, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at walt.mossberg@wsj.com

What New Features Will Google Reveal at Mobile Event Thursday? Some Think It Should Be Integrated Video Calling.

Kara Swisher — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:00:23 +0000

Today, Google sent out a notice that it would be holding a press event Thursday morning at its San Francisco offices, where the search giant would be “unveiling a couple of cool new mobile features.”

Google mobile product management director Hugo Barra will demo the additions, which some think should include integrated video calling in the Android mobile operating system.

That’s not going to be the case, according to sources with knowledge of the announcements, who said the event will be more of a low-key show-and-tell of some slick features. A move like integrated video calling would likely get a lot more fanfare, too.

But many think Google (GOOG) should aim higher sooner, since it is critical that Android get off the stick in the video calling arena, especially given that Apple (AAPL) is reportedly planning an aggressive expansion of its FaceTime software in its many devices.

Who will dominate video calling in the mobile space is sure to be yet another point of contention between the two Silicon Valley superpowers, once allies and now, well, not so much.

Apple introduced FaceTime in June when it launched the iPhone 4, which allows picture-in-picture chat via Wi-Fi.

In addition, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at the launch that the company would release the FaceTime protocol as a open industry standard.

With the surge in smartphone sales and the growing race between Google and Apple to attract customers to their offerings, key product differentiators such as seamless video calling will be critical.

While there are several Android phones and also apps that do live video, such as Qik, they are not integrated into the operating system, as Apple’s FaceTime is, and therefore are not under complete Google control.

Dropped phone calls are irksome, but glitchy video chat is going to be right up there as a consumer annoyance.

Other than integrated video calling, another feature that should be on Android users’ wish lists to match Apple might be a “find my phone” offering directly from Google, rather than from app providers, that can be used to retrieve lost or stolen mobile devices, as well as lock and wipe them.

Also sorely needed: Better wireless synchronization for music and other media.

(Personally, BoomTown–who is attending the event–is hoping it’s the Schminternet.)

Android Is Outselling the iPhone and the BlackBerry Too?

John Paczkowski — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:31:37 +0000

We heard in May that Android is outselling the iPhone in the United States. Now it’s outselling the BlackBerry as well.

Research outfit NPD says handsets running Google’s (GOOG) mobile OS accounted for 33 percent of all smartphones purchased in the second quarter in the States, compared with 28 percent for the RIM’s (RIMM) BlackBerry and 22 percent for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone (Caveat: NPD’s numbers do not include corporate/enterprise mobile phone purchases and include just seven days of iPhone 4 sales). Notably, the BlackBerry’s Q2 market share was down 8 percent from the prior quarter, while Android’s was up 6 percent and the iPhone’s remained relatively flat. So the gains here–which were driven by a handful of slick Android phones like the Droid, EVO 4G and Hero–came largely at the BlackBerry’s expense.

Another unfortunate data point for RIM, which has been gathering quite a few of them lately. Just a few days ago Nielsen released a survey showing that 50 percent of current BlackBerry owners would rather have an iPhone or Android device.

[Image credit: NPD]

57 Percent of US BlackBerry Owners Would Rather Not Be

John Paczkowski — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:56:39 +0000

Given the number of Android smartphones currently available in the United States and the number of carriers peddling them, is it really all that surprising that they outsold Apple’s iPhone in the last quarter? Far more surprising is the fact that this is the first time they’ve done so to date–after all, the iPhone is available in the States in just two models on a single carrier.

So as revelations go, Nielsen’s announcement this morning that Android now represents 27 percent of new U.S. smartphone purchases, ahead of the iPhone’s 23 percent, is more of a “what took so long” than a “Breaking Away”-style victory. More interesting are the research house’s observations on user loyalty, particularly with regard to Research in Motion (click image to enlarge).

Among current iPhone owners, 89 percent say their next handset will be another iPhone, six percent say it will be an Android device and two percent claim it will be a BlackBerry.

Among current Android device owners, 71 percent say their next handset will also run Android, 21 percent say it will be an iPhone, and three percent say it will be a BlackBerry.

Obviously, quite a bit of loyalty in the market for both. But what about for the BlackBerry, which claims a 35 percent share of the U.S. smartphone market–greater than iPhone or Android?

Not even close. Only 42 percent of current BlackBerry owners are loyal to the device–29 percent say their next smartphone will be an iPhone; 21 percent say it will be an Android device; and seven percent say it won’t be either of those three.

So more than half of the BlackBerry’s current U.S. user base plans to dump it for a rival device first chance it gets. A troubling metric for RIM, but one that may begin to change this week if the company debuts BlackBerry OS 6 and the BlackBerry 9800, as expected.

Droid Sales Boost Motorola Profits

John Paczkowski — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:30:16 +0000

Motorola’s decision to “double down” on Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system was clearly a wise one. Though the company’s mobile-phone unit reported an operating loss for its second quarter, it shipped 2.7 million smartphones, up from 2.3 million in the quarter prior and in line with analyst estimates.

A respectable showing and one that has co-Chief Executive Sanjay Jha predicting a return to sales growth in the third quarter, with profitability in the fourth quarter. “Demand is outstripping supply,” he said of the company’s new Droid X Android smartphone during a conference call with analysts this morning. “We have momentum going into the third quarter and fourth quarter.”

For its second quarter, Motorola (MOT) reported a profit of nine cents a share excluding costs. That was a penny ahead of expectations and three cents per share better than the profit the company posted in the year-ago quarter. Revenue was $5.41 billion, above the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion, but down slightly from the $5.497 billion the company made during the same period a year ago.

Galaxy Phones From Samsung Are Worthy iPhone Rivals

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:03:30 +0000

The war of the super-smartphones continues to heat up, and, at the moment, most of the combat seems to be between Apple’s iPhone and the multiplying array of competitors running Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system.

[ See post to watch video ]

Despite the weak economy, consumers seem to crave these hand-held computers, which typically cost around $200. Apple (AAPL) this week said it can’t make enough of its new iPhone 4 models to meet strong demand. HTC, the Taiwanese-based manufacturer behind many of the better-known Android phones, also is struggling to meet demand for models like the Droid Incredible on Verizon (VZ) and the Evo 4G on Sprint (S).

Now, the Korean electronics giant, Samsung, has begun rolling out an impressive new line of iPhone competitors that run on Android. These new super-smartphones are called the Galaxy S Series, and Samsung has managed to get all four top U.S. wireless carriers to agree to start selling them this summer. They share most of the same guts, but carry different model names and exterior designs.

I’ve been testing the first two Galaxy S phones, the T-Mobile Vibrant and the AT&T (T) Captivate, both of which cost $200 with a two-year contract. Neither has all the features of Apple’s latest model, like a front-facing camera for video calls or an ultra–high resolution screen, but they are worthy competitors. They have some attributes the iPhone lacks, like bigger screens and better integration of social networking.

The AT&T Captivate and T-Mobile Vibrant have bigger screens than the iPhone but lack frontfacing cameras.

The T-Mobile Vibrant has rounded corners and a prominent border that make it look very much like last year’s iPhone 3GS model. The AT&T Captivate is more angular and, to my taste, looks sleeker. Though the two phones share the same battery, the Vibrant claims better battery life. The Vibrant is longer but a bit lighter.

Both phones are multi-touch models which lack physical keyboards, though the upcoming Sprint version, the Epic, will have a slide-out physical keyboard and a front-facing camera.

For Android phone makers, a key challenge is to differentiate their models from others offering the same operating system. Samsung has chosen to do so by combining a design that’s almost as thin as the iPhone 4 with a generous, four-inch screen. That’s significantly bigger than the iPhone’s 3.5-inch display, but smaller than the huge 4.3-inch screen on the Evo and the new Motorola (MOT) Droid X, which would force the phones to be larger.

In my tests, phone calls on both models were crisp and clear. Reception on the AT&T model was about the same as on the iPhone 4, which only works on AT&T. The five-megapixel camera took sharp pictures. The camera also did a fine job with video, which is high definition. Battery life was good, though not exceptional. The phones lasted through an average day of varied use.

The screen on the Galaxy S is based on a different technology than those on most other smartphones. It’s called Super AMOLED, and Samsung claims it has better color reproduction, contrast, outdoor visibility and brightness. To my eye, the Galaxy S screens did look very good, but seemed no better, indoors or outdoors, than the iPhone 4′s screen and were slightly less sharp.

Samsung has also added some of its own touches to Android. Users can add Samsung “widgets,” such as a Buddies Now module that quickly allows access to your closest contacts. There’s also something called the Social Hub, which integrates social-networking updates and media with contact entries. This is a common feature on Android and Palm phones, but isn’t present on the iPhone.

While it’s improving rapidly, Android still isn’t quite as smooth as the iPhone’s software, and on some Android models I’ve tested, it can slow down or have a jerky quality. Not so on these Samsung models. Performance in every function I tested was snappy.

Another nice touch on the Samsung models is a generous amount of internal memory—16 gigabytes—in addition to the common removable memory card, which in this case holds two gigabytes but can be replaced at extra cost with a roomier card.

The T-Mobile Vibrant.

Also, Samsung says the new phones can hold up to two gigabytes of third-party apps, the most I’ve seen on an Android phone, which, unlike the iPhone, places limits on total app storage.

Like other Android phones, the two Samsung models offer around 65,000 third-party apps, including popular titles like the Kindle e-book reader and Facebook. That’s far fewer than the iPhone’s 225,000 available apps, but well above the measly 7,000 or so apps available for the BlackBerry.

There are some drawbacks. Like other Android phones, the Galaxy S models don’t come with a program like iTunes, which allows easy synchronization with content on a PC or Mac. You can plug the phones into a computer for manual transfer of files, but this only works smoothly on Windows PCs. On Macs, you must turn on something called “USB debugging” to make this work.

I also wasn’t crazy about the home, search and other buttons on these phones, which are found on a panel below the screen but not easily visible until you touch the panel and light the buttons up. That, in effect, means you have to touch twice to use them.

Still, for consumers who prefer Android, or who—in the case of the Vibrant and the coming Sprint and Verizon versions—would rather not be on AT&T, the Galaxy S phones present an appealing alternative to the iPhone.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Guess This Makes Google’s Nexus One the Kin of "Superphones"

John Paczkowski — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:47:10 +0000

Google has nixed its Nexus One “superphone.” In a short announcement quietly posted to the Nexus One blog Friday (when the tech media’s attention was largely focused elsewhere), the company said its most recent shipment of the phone was also its last.

“Once we sell these devices, the Nexus One will no longer be available online from Google,” Google (GOOG) explained.

Not much of an obituary for a phone so highly touted at its launch, but then its time on this earth was so short. In the end, Google’s first–and perhaps only–venture into the handset world ended in less than a year.