BlackBerry Testing Android Apps on Its Devices

Last month, BGR presented an exclusive report on Android apps being tested on the Blackberry PlayBook tablet. BlackBerry has done some considerable work over the last one month and ShopSavvy has seen its app running on three more BlackBerry devices. The data was available to them through the Flurry analytics service.

*The devices running this app were:

BlackBerry 8300 ran Shop Savvy on January 31, 2011
BlackBerry 8600 ran Shop Savvy on January 17 and 24, 2011
BlackBerry 8520 ran Shop Savvy on February 7, 2011

The access was made from Waterloo, Ontario in Canada where RIM headquarters lie. The blackberry OS has support for a JVM and this is probably being made use of to run these apps on BlackBerry devices. Shop Savvy has also presented the analytics for some apprehensive users.

According to some rumors, BlackBerry was planning to use the Dalvik Virtual Machine to run these apps. However, it dropped the plan later, to develop an internal solution.

With Android having a considerably large number of apps in the market and growing faster than any other mobile OS, BlackBerry has every reason to hook on to the Android ecosystem. This will be a groundbreaking development, thereby bringing cross-platform app support for Android. Android app developers will have better scope for revenues and BlackBerry will emerge stronger in this competition where it is pitted against platforms from Android and Apple.

Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread Update Rolling Out To Nexus One And Nexus S Handsets

Google has kept its words and has finally started rolling out the Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread update for the Nexus One and Nexus S owners, alike. When Google announced the Nexus S and the next version of Android – Gingerbread, the company stated that they will release the Gingerbread update for the Nexus One within “few weeks”.

However, nearly 2 months later, the company has finally started rolling out the OTA update for the N1 (Nexus One). Android 2.3.3 contains some major changes as well, including API level 10, NFC enhancements, improvements to the graphics department of the handset and bug fixes.


Nexus S users should also keep in mind that updating their handset to Android 2.3.3 will disable Facebook contact sync on their phone. The reason behind this as stated by Google is –:

We believe it is very important that users are able to control their data. So in the over-the-air update for Nexus S, we have a small change to how Facebook contacts appear on the device. For Nexus S users who downloaded the Facebook app from Android Market, Facebook contacts will no longer appear to be integrated with the Android Contacts app. Since Facebook contacts cannot be exported from the device, the appearance of integration created a false sense of data portability. Facebook contact data will continue to appear within the Facebook app. Like all developers on Android, Facebook is free to use the Android contacts API to truly integrate contacts on the device, which would allow users to have more control over their data. We are removing the special-case handling of Facebook contacts on Nexus S and future lead devices. We continue to believe that reciprocity (the expectation that if information can be imported into a service it should be able to be exported) is an important step toward creating a world of true data liberation — and encourage other websites and app developers to allow users to export their contacts as well.

Hopefully, Facebook will soon update its Android app to use the Contacts API.

The Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread OTA update will take a “few weeks” to complete so N1 owners need to wait patiently for the update to be pushed to their handset.

Google Gets A Sweet Tooth for Honeycomb

The newest Google mobile operating system was released to developers at the beginning of this month. The OS, called Android 3.o and nicknamed “Honeycomb”, is geared towards securing a hefty portion of the tablet pc market, which has been dominated by the Apple iPad as of late.

Unlike earlier versions of the Android OS, Honeycomb does not produce a mixed experience by being magnified by the tablet device. On the official Google blog, the new OS was designed from the ground to be used on mobile devices with bigger screens. The devices fitted with Honeycomb will be able to use tabbed browsing, auto-fill forms, sync with Google Chrome bookmarks, and private browsing. The OS also features the latest Google Mobile Maps 5 and Google Talk, supporting both video and voice chat.



The Android software development kit, or SDK, has already been released. This allows developers to already begin tinkering with the first tablet-only Android operating system. Still the SDK doesn’t have any finalized APIs and is for testing only for the time being.

After some playing around with the SDK, the new features in the developer realm are clear:

• UI great for creating new apps for larger screen wireless devices
• 3D graphics: Renderscript
• Dual-core processor capability
• HTTP Live streaming support, DRM framework, and file transfer ease for rich content development
• Audio streaming and headset control through Bluetooth A2DP and HSP
• Encrypted storage and password expiration

End users will enjoy:

• Customizing home screens
• Menu area from the phone now become the Honeycomb Action Bar
• Notification bar from the phone now become the Honeycomb System Bar
• A Recent Apps button
• New keyboard features like reshaped buttons for better targeting as well as the addition of a Tab button
• Copy-&-Paste upgrades with a press and hold option, drag and resize, as well as web search and find with the Action Bar
• Media/Photo Transfer Protocol support
• Google sites auto-sign in & bookmark sync with Chrome
• Camera with front-facing option for video conference
• Card-like contacts
• Two-panel email app with multi-select as well as home screen widget

The technical lead for Google’s SDK team, Xavier Ducrohet, stated in a blog post that, “Besides the user-facing features it offers, Android 3.0 is also specifically designed to give developers the tools and capabilities they need to create great applications for tablets and similar devices, together with the flexibility to adapt existing apps to the new UI while maintaining compatibility with earlier platform versions and other form-factors.”

Though the tablet market is the seemingly new frontier in mobile devices and the market will soon be saturated, Honeycomb tablets will be a huge step in the way of tablet computing. It stands to correct a number of issues (i.e. lack of USB) the 15 million iPad buyers stood to overlook.

==== About the author ====

Jon Ryan is the Marketing Manager for CellPhoneNumber.com, a site that helps users find facts and ask questions about cell phone numbers. He has a background in copywriting, journalism, promotions, blogging, design work, drafting, website design/coding, ad design, and creative directing.

How I Nearly Doubled The Battery Life Of My Android Phones

Last year, I purchased my first Android phone – the Samsung Galaxy S. Before the Galaxy S, I had no previous experience with the Android OS. However, after I got the Galaxy S, my love for the OS and its ‘openness’ grew. Since the Galaxy S, I tried many other Android based devices including a HTC Legend, a HTC Desire and the Samsung Galaxy 5. Recently, I got the HTC Desire Z.

On my suggestion, many of my friends also purchased an Android based phone and they have been simply loving the OS. However, one complaint all my friends have is the poor battery life of their Android phone.* In fact, the majority of Android owners complain about the poor battery life of their handset. Until late last year, the battery life of even my Galaxy S was very poor. If I used the phone heavily, it would be totally out of power by evening.

I tried many tips, found all over the Internet, but the increase in battery life was hardly noticeable. Then one day, I came across an application on the Android market called Juice Defender. The description of the app says that it will help ‘Reclaim your battery’. Out of pure curiosity about the efficiency of these kind of apps, I installed Juice Defender on my phone. I ran the app on my phone and was surprised to see that the app checks if your phone is rooted or not. After that, I enabled the app and used the ‘Aggressive’ profile.

Since then, the battery life of my Samsung Galaxy S has improved considerably! Before using Juice Defender, the battery of my phone would go down to 30% by night on moderate usage. My ‘Moderate’ usage scenario includes an hour of phone calls, 30-40mins of fiddling around with the phone, around 30 messages and some tweeting via TweetDeck with Auto Sync enabled for my FB, GMail and Twitter account.

After installing the app, I can squeeze out nearly a full day and a half of battery life from my Galaxy S with the usage pattern defined above. Even under heavy usage, I can get a full day of battery life from my phone. I seriously never expected this app to have such a big impact on the battery life of my phone. I installed this app on the Android phones of all my friends and relatives. After a week of using the phone with the app running in the background, even they reported substantial improvements in the battery life.

When I shifted to the HTC Desire Z, I did not install Juice Defender for a couple of days. The battery life of the phone was pathetic. Even on light usage, the battery of the phone hardly lasted me a single day. However, after I installed Juice Defender, the scenario again changed. The battery life of my Z increased substantially.

For people who think that this app may slow down your phone or may disable some features of the phone, I am pleased to say that this is not the case. There is absolutely no performance hit or anything. Your Android phone will continue to function as it was.

For all Android phone owners with poor battery life, I will highly recommend you to try out Juice Defender on their phone. Users always have the option to uninstall the app if they don’t like it.

Samsung Galaxy Indulge LTE Android Smartphone Coming to MetroPCS

Remember the Samsung Forte, the phone which we posted some leaked information about, a few weeks back? Well, it’s actually called the Samsung Galaxy Indulge, and it will be launching in a week.

It was leaked again on the MetroPCS website, and is priced at $399 for the contract free version. It is one of the first LTE devices which will be launched in the US. It comes with two plans – the $50 plan offers 1 GB data while the $60 plan offers unlimited data. Both plans offer unlimited calls and text messages.

The Galaxy Indulge seems to be a smaller version of the Epic 4G. It has a smaller 3.5 inch touchscreen HVGA display and comes with a sliding keyboard. It also has a 3 MP camera and comes with Android 2.2 Froyo with the TouchWiz 3.0 UI. It is powered by a 1 GHz processor and will have 512 MB RAM. It comes loaded with the Iron Man 2 movie on a 4 GB microSD card. It also has all the basics in place – Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS.

The Galaxy Indulge seems to be a nice LTE smartphone option for Android fans. It will likely launch by the end of this week, and might beat the Verizon HTC Thunderbolt to become the first LTE smartphone in the US.

Apple Claims Android Device Counts Include Chinese Knockoffs

Every time someone releases stats on Android, Apple is owned and fires back with some excuse. The last time Google released stats on Android device activations, Apple claimed it included upgrades. This time, when Android has swept past Nokia and amounts for as many Apple and Blackberry phones, Apple claims that the figures includes Chinese variants of Android.

In short, Apple just cannot stand the Android growth and wants to take every chance to speak against it. Android, now accounts for a third of the global handset population and the situation in the fourth quarter reports are reversed from last year. In Q4 this year, Android accounts for double of Apple’s sales and has pissed off Apple.

Apple has claimed that it includes OPhone devices based on the Android variant OMS developed for use in China. OMS was originally developed for CDMA connections in China. Now, it has made it incompatible for Android apps but compatible with Symbian apps. In short, the app is nothing related to Android but has been included in the stats. Another Android fork, Tapas OS has been seen in China that focuses on Chinese social networks and software especially built for use in China.

Apple insider reports this as, That suggests most the growth in “Android” numbers is coming from no-name vendors selling devices in countries such as China, using devices that don’t support Google’s development of the OS (via ads or search services) nor even expand the platform in any meaningful way that could benefit Android users.


As pointed out at Daring Fireball, it would be interesting to know how many of those devices are from Chinese forks.

Android 3.0 Honeycomb Platform Highlights Release

During the CES 2011, Google’s latest version of Android meant for tablets – Honeycomb – grabbed the limelight with its awesome UI and features. Now, today Google has released an Android 3.0 Honeycomb platform preview which lists some of the major changes which will be brought about by the OS.

First and foremost, the UI of Honeycomb has been developed from the ground up for tablets unlike iOS, where the OS was ported from the iPhone to the iPad. The highly appreciated and loved ‘Notification bar’ has been re-vamped to ‘System bar’ in Honeycomb and is now located at the bottom of the screen.

Along with this, the internal applications like the Browser, Gallery, Camera and Email have been updated to sport new features and to take full advantage of the bigger screen. The text selection, copy and paste method along with the Keyboard have been improved in Honeycomb as well.

For developers, Honeycomb includes a new animation framework that will easily allow animating the various UI elements. It also includes a new DRM framework, support for HTTP Live streaming and support for digital media transfer. One major change in Android 3.0 is that the 2D graphics will be hardware accelerated. This will not only help in improving the system performance but will also help the developers to create much better graphics intensive applications.

Android 3.0 will also bring in support for multi-core processors and support for new enterprise policies like encrypted storage, password expiration and password history etc. Readers can read the whole Android 3.0 Honeycomb platform highlights here.

I hope that some of these changes will be incorporated in the future version of Android for mobiles as well especially the hardware accelerated 2D graphics feature.

Along with this, Google has also released a new version of their SDK which includes the new API for Android 3.0 and other enhancements. This will allow developers to make sure that their apps are compatible with the latest tablets running on Honeycomb.