Talking Mobile // Tablet // Web Development

And now, the rest of the news…

Friday humor

• xkcd: Server Attention Span

You may have noticed the lack of TWIMAW.  We’ve been busy around the office, kicking off new projects, working on existing ones, and hiring a bunch of people. Let’s call this edition “The Last Few Weeks in Mobile and Web”.

Mobile World Congress

Last month, I had the chance to go to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).  While CES is typically an audio/video conference, there were plenty of ‘mobile’ announcements.  This month, Mobile World Congress (MWC) was held in Barcelona.  As the name would indicate, MWC is all about mobile.  Several manufacturers took this opportunity to announce their 2011 line-up.

HTC had a pretty big line up, not only announcing phones, but a tablet as well; The HTC Flyer.  It’s a 7″ tablet, with a 1.5GHz processor, 32GB of internal storage, with front and rear cameras.  In addition to the tablet, they announced five phones!  HTC Cha-Cha, HTC Salsa, HTC Incredible S, HTC Desire S, and HTC Wildfire S.  The Cha-Cha, Salsa and Wildfire S are entry level phones, with smaller screens, 600MHz processors and very little internal storage.  The Cha-Cha and Salsa are unique in that they have a Facebook button that allows for instant access to publishing photos & videos, reading updates and even Facebook Chat.  The Incredible S and Desire S are mid-grade devices, with 1GHz processors, ~1GB internal storage and 4″ and 3.7″ screens respectively.  Throw the HTC Thunderbolt and HTC Inspire — announced at CES — and you have to wonder where HTC’s dual-core offerings are.

Other MWC Links

• Fun at the Google Android Booth at Mobile World Congress 2011
• Google Demos Movie Studio On XOOM at MWC
• Samsung Galaxy S II and 10-inch Galaxy Tab emerge in official shots
• Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 preview
• Samsung Galaxy Mini, Fit, Gio, Ace: Hands-On at MWC

Development

• Riding Rails: New Releases: 2.3.11 and 3.0.4
• Chromium Blog: Native Client: Getting Ready for Takeoff

The Web

• You May Kiss The Bride, Thanks To Google Weddings
• 12 new file formats in the Google Docs Viewer

Apps

• Incredibly Fast Firefox 4 Beta Released, Features Nearly 100 Add-Ons [Android]
• Foursquare Saw Over 200,000 Super Bowl Check-Ins — A Record; Packers Fans Dominated
• Wired magazine for Android
• Updates to the Google Reader app for Android

Carrier News

• Sprint Looks Poised to Enter an LTE Future
• Sprint partners with Good Technology to provide Android based business solutions
• T-Mobile Announces Fourth Straight Highest Ranking in JD Power & Associates’ Customer Satisfaction Study

Device Central

• LG’s VL600 LTE modem for Verizon now officially Mac-compatible
• Samsung releases Froyo source code for Epic and Vibrant
• Lenovo LePad Launching In China Next Month, World In June
• Motorola Details the Various Versions of XOOM
• Sprint: Samsung Epic 4G Android 2.2 update begins February 21st

Friday Humor/Infographic

• The Real Figures Behind Cell Phone Usage (OR How to Debunk an Infographic)

Good morning!  Google had a busy week, so we dedicated a whole section to them.

Google, Google, and more Google…

The big news is the release of the Nexus S and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).  Leaks and rumors have been circulating about this phone for quite some time.  What makes the Nexus S different from the rest of the Android lineup?  For starters, it’s the only phone with the aforementioned Gingerbread…but that won’t last long.  The real difference is that it has a curved display and includes a Near Field Communications chip.  This will allow a user to tap their phone on a pay station to pay for parking, or tap it on an advertisement to go to a website, or tap it on a map to get directions.  Imagine checking into a restaurant, on Foursquare, simply by placing your phone on the menu.  It will take a bit for developers to add the features to their apps as well as marketing folks to start including NFC technology into their ad campaigns.  But we’re now one step closer to having our digital identity live in our pocket.

• Android Developers Blog: Android 2.3 Platform and Updated SDK Tools
• Official Google Blog: Introducing Nexus S with Gingerbread
  • Nexus S – The new Android phone from Google
  • YouTube – googlenexus’s Channel
  • Google Nexus S (at BestBuy.com)
• Google launches largest ebook marketplace; threatens book giants like Barnes and Noble, Borders
• Google Announces Chrome OS Pilot Program, 12.1 Inch Notebook Cr-48

Development

• Where Should Mobile Developers Focus?
• Salesforce.com Buys Heroku For $212 Million In Cash

Devices

• Samsung Galaxy Tab [Verizon]; The good, bad and ugly
• iPad 2 to Ship by End of February 2011?
• iPhone 3GS goes free at Best Buy on December 10th
• Notion Ink Adam tablet available for preorder later today

The OS Battle

• Andy Rubin: 300,000 Android phones activated every day

Apps

• Appletell exclusive: Mac App Store to open December 13th?
• YouTube 2.1 for Android Brings Revamped UI & Smoother Interaction
• Is Foursquare About to Add Photo Sharing?
• Tascam Portastudio for iPad could make you a four-track superstar all over again

Carrier News

• Breon’s experience with Verizon Wireless 4G LTE
• Sprint: “Customers Will Pay a Premium for Simplicity”; No Tiered/Non-Unlimited Data for the Foreseeable Future

Friday Infographic

(click for larger view)

Source: DVICE