NAVIGON is a well known car navigation manufacturer and has now released Mobile Navigator for Android. NAVIGON Mobile Navigator was released before also for the IPhone and Windows Mobile smart-phones. There are several navigation applications out now for Android but none of them can be used on a regular basis. From the optical impression NAVIGON could be the first software for serious or semi-professional purposes.
There are special promotional prices for the market release: The regional version for Germany, Austria and Switzerland costs 49,95 Euros and the europe edition 74,95 Euro. You can use the “Try & Buy” option, which allows you to test the product for 30 days without obligations.
Recently the new version of Google Maps show up in the Android Market and asks for an update. The current version is called 3.4 and includes Multi-touch as amazing new feature for Map navigation. Now it is really convenient to browse the map using following functions and gestures:
double tap to zoom in
+/- buttons for zoom in and out
tap & move for pan
2 finger pinch for zooming
Multi-touch should work on all devices. So not only on the Nexus One or Motorola Droid/Milestone but also on older devices such as Samsung Galaxy, HTC Magic, HTC G1 or HTC Hero (at least with custom Roms).
It really seems Google will no longer consider Apples “claim” for Multi-touch. In the near future it is expected that Google and 3rd party developers of Android will provide a lot of apps with Multi-touch capabilities (some examples like the browser are seen in the video). Reasons for buying an iPhone are smelting like snow in the sun.
Other new features for Android Maps are extended Lab functions. Following “experimental” functions are available:
Map scale
Terrain view
Favorite categories
Button for switching themes
Direction arrow for current position
Traffic layer including lables
Button for my location
Address info buttons
Directions and distance
Measurement tool
With the new version it should be also possible to use your Google My Maps Account.
Version 1.3.3 is out now (no wipe required for update). Watch this video to see ctso’s Intension ROM in action:
What is the best Android 2.0 or 2.1 custom ROM for a HTC Magic 32B phone? In my opinion it is the compilation called Intension. The latest release, with the Nexus One look currently is version 1.3.1 which can be downloaded here - http://bit.ly/8QQmTN. The main advantage over other Eclair version for HTC Magic is its enormous speed. With makes handling on a daily basis smooth and comfortable.
Google has decided to name different versions of Android according to sweet pastries. According to a recent interview by Erick Tseng Android’s next big interation will be known as FroYo. Froyo is the Short Term for “frozen yogurt” and another creative name in the Android version history:
Initial Version = Android 1.1 – Release Date: 10.02.2009
So it will not be Flan for the “F” version of Android (alphabetical order), as most of you thought. So we will see when Froyo actually is officially released and what the “G” version of Android might be. Any suggestions for G? I think Android will success its sweet journey in 2010 at least until H. I think we will see a lot of usability improvements for the next versions.
With the official release of the Google Phone Nexus One, also more software details can be discovered. There where a lot of rumours before the official press release from Google for the Nexus One. Most of them cover Hardware issues of the phone manufactured by HTC. Even though the hardware and form factor of the handset is stunning, I’ll talk only about the map software provided with Android 2.1.
First it can be discovered that Google Earth is now also available for Android. So beside the iPhone OS, Android is the second mobile platform, were Google Earth was ported. It is no surprise that tries to bring all their software and services on their promoted platform. A glimpse of the software can be seen in following promotion video (stating at 1:05 min)
Google Maps Mobile for Android is becoming Google Maps Navigation. The new version enhances navigation features and is pre-installed on the Nexus One. It can be assumed that this version will appear in the Android Market soon. View the video so see the new possibilities with Google Maps Navigation. Some highlights are:
turn-by-turn navigation at street view level
direction location can be various search terminologies
Of course this version includes all the other new features Google has launched in the past year, such as Google Latitude, layers, and labs.
Location based applications (LBS) or mapping applications are very useful especially if you are abroad or in a foreign country. Unfortunately roaming costs are still very expensive and most of these “travel” or mapping applications require Internet connection to download cartographic information. Nearly all Android applications which make use of street maps include the Google Maps related “Map View”. This means you have to enable your devices network connection through a GPSRS or WiFi connection (and current international roaming costs are expensive).
The obvious solution is to cache your map tiles before and save them on your SD card, then these tiles can be used later on without having an active Internet connection. Fortunately there are several applications which allow to download map data for later offline use.
One of the most famous application for offline mapping, OffMaps, is not available for Android phones but in this post I will describe two of them in more detail:
MapDroyd:
MapDroyd allows to download maps from different countries with a kind of download manager. All downloaded maps can be used in the mapping application offline. MapDroyd does not store cached maps like most other applications, it allows to download vector data in a special format called MicroMap. The compressed MicroMap format in theory is fully navigable. Map data source is OpenStreetMap (OSM), which represents detailed user generated street maps for most countries. Depending on the size of the country and the OSM detail level a downloaded map has a size from few 10 MBs to several 100 MBs. In the download manager it is also possible to set the zoom level, for the country to download.
List of features (from the Homepage):
MapDroyd provides a built-in remote map browser that allows you to explore and download selected map files from our map server. The hierarchically organized map repository is checked against your locally stored map files and updateable maps are indicated with a yellow arrow sign. Files marked with a green check sign already exist in the newest version on your local storage card. You can either download maps directly to your device, or optionally just copy an external download link to your desktop computer.
MapDroyd allows to rotate maps smoothly in any direction you want. Since we do not use pre-rendered images or (cached) map tiles like Google Maps or others do, MapDroyd can turn the map view into any angle required. MapDroyd does not rotate images - it renders maps on the fly! This is a very important feature for e.g. navigation applications. And MapDrowd draws all labels (city names, streets names, places, etc.) properly depending on your device’s orientation. MapDroyd includes an optional “auto-rotate” function that turns the map direction according to your real orientation (“head-up”).
MapDroyd marks your last known location with a red cross sign and a circle indicating the accuracy of the last positioning method. The smaller the circle is the better your positioning accuracy is/was. Your position is updated whenever you change your location (“tracking feature”).
You can choose between two different navigation modes: In the drag mode (default) you can pull the map in any direction you want by simply dragging the screen. In order to zoom in or out smoothly you have to click on the zoom buttons on the left and right bottom area, or, just roll your trackball up or down. In the rubber-band mode you simply tap the screen to reposition the map center. In order to zoom into a given region you draw a rectangle from the upper left to lower right screen corner. In order to zoom out you draw the rectangle in the opposite way, from the lower right to the upper left screen corner. In both modes you can roll the trackball to the left or right in order to rotate the map counter / clockwise. You can reset the map orientation to north using the main menu bar.
BigPlanet is an map application, which allows to download cache tiles from various map services like Google Maps, OpenStreetMap or Yandex Maps.
List of features (from their Homepage):
supports different map sources: Google Maps, OpenStreet, Yandex Maps
cache of loaded maps – map tile is loaded only once and than saves in local file cache(so you can use app even without any network connection!). This feature allows you to save a lot of money(app don’t use expensive GPRS connection).
bookmarks – just add you favourite places to bookmarks if you don’t want to find it each time when you use app
zoom in by double tap (like in iPhone): You don’t need to use zoom controls from zooming – you can just double tap place you need.
save map in given radius. Allows to save map around selected place. For example, you can save map around your home using cheap wifi connection and then use map offline.
Following pictures show an in-official selection of HTC Android phones coming to market first half of 2010. According to Androidpit.de the pictures including specifications were released during an internal presentation in Vienna. These 5 prototypes were introduced:
Camera: 5.0 megapixel with auto focus with camera flash
Internal Memory: 512 MB flash, 256 MB RAM
Memory Card: microSD
WLAN: 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth: 2.1 with EDR
GPS: GPS/AGPS
Battery: 1300 mAh
Special Features: Compass, G-Sensor, 3.5 mm audio jack, MicroUSB, FM radio, optical mouse, Microsoft exchange e-mail, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and Friendsteam build-in, Google Services
Special Features: Ambient Light Sensor, 3.5 mm audio jack, FM radio, 4-row Querty, Microsoft exchange e-mail, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and Friendsteam build-in, Google Services
Special Features: G-Sensor, 3.5 mm audio jack, 12 keypad, Foodprints, HTC Widgets, Microsoft exchange e-mail, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and Friendsteam build-in, Google Services
Camera: 5.0 megapixel with auto focus with camera flash and face tagging
Internal Memory: 512 MB flash, 256 MB RAM
Memory Card: microSD
WLAN: 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth: 2.1 with EDR
GPS: GPS/AGPS
Battery: 1200 mAh
Special Features: Application Sharing, G-Sensor, 3.5 mm audio jack, FM radio, Microsoft exchange e-mail, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and Friendsteam build-in, Google Services
Special Features: Compass, Proximity Sensor, MicroUSB, Search Button, Optical Joystick, DivX, Dolby, 3.5 mm audio jack, FM radio, Microsoft exchange e-mail, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and Friendsteam build-in, Google Services
… this question asks Motorola and Verizon in their newest Droid marketing campaign. As Droid spots before it is a site blow against Apples iPhone and their AT&T service with following sogan:
Its not a princess, its a robot. A phone that trades hair-do for can-do. In a world of doesnt. Droid Does. http://droiddoes.com
Can anyone tell a non-native English speaking guy what “Racehorse duct-taped to a Scud missile fast” means?
Droid Marketing:
It was estimated that 250,000 Motorola Droid phones were sold in the United States, during the phone’s first week in stores. That statement’s estimation was questioned later , as some said Verizon paid for this headline to make the claim to help sell the Droid. Although the number of phones sold wasn’t confirmed , it was confirmed that , 20,000 phones have been returned because of defaulting features and technical issues.
Verizon explicitly promoted the Droid as an AppleiPhone-alternative. Launched on October 17, 2009 TV spots and an associated website made “entertainingly combative” claims listing features lacking on the iPhone, e.g. “iDon’t multitask,” only mentioning the name of the Droid in the final frame, reading “Droid Does.” At the official launch event on October 28, 2009 Verizon’s Chief Marketing Officer John Stratton described the campaign as a spoof of Apple’s iPhone ads, intended to “wake up the market.”
The American launch included an interactive experience called “Droid Does Times Square“ that allows people to control the Nasdaq and Reuters electronic billboards in Times Square by using voice commands (searching by voice is a primary Android feature). The experience is available in Times Square or via the Droid Does Web site.
The November 6, 2009 release date of the Droid came just under a month after Verizon and Google announced that they had entered into an agreement to jointly develop wireless devices based on the Android mobile platform. Verizon said at the time that it planned to have two Android-based handsets on the market by year-end with more to come in 2010. The other handset is the HTC Droid Eris, a modification to the HTC Hero, seen in shots of Google CEO Eric Schmidt holding one in a Verizon/Google press conference.
American exclusive software for the Droid includes Google Maps Navigation, an Amazon MP3 Store applet, and Verizon Wireless Visual Voice Mail management. [source Wikipedia]
Google Navigation was announced to push location aware applications on Android one step further. Beside Google Navigation Google Maps Mobile is still the major location based application on Android (also because of the lack of Google Earth for Android).
The new version of Google Maps mobile is called 3.2 and include several new features like layers. Layers allows to add traffic, satellite, latitude, wikipedia, public transport or my maps on top of the basemap. Google maps 3.2 is part of Android Eclair and can only be used on HTC G1 or Magic via a custom rom (yet). You can download a custom rom including some instructions here.
An update via the Android Market should be available soon.
Recently the SDK for Android 2.0 was published. Developers can now adapt their applications to Android 2.0. Watch the video to get an impression about new features.
I assume someone will generate an updateable ROM for actual phones very soon. So stay tuned for an Android 2.0 update.
Multiple accounts can be added to a device for email and contact synchronization, including Exchange accounts. (Handset manufacturers can choose whether to include Exchange support in their devices.)
Developers can create sync adapters that provide synchronization with additional data sources.
Quick Contact for Android provides instant access to a contact’s information and communication modes. For example, a user can tap a contact photo and select to call, SMS, or email the person. Other applications such as Email, Messaging, and Calendar can also reveal the Quick Contact widget when you touch a contact photo or status icon.
Email
Exchange support.
Combined inbox to browse email from multiple accounts in one page.
Messaging
Search functionality for all saved SMS and MMS messages.
Auto delete the oldest messages in a conversation when a defined limit is reached.
Camera
Built-in flash support
Digital zoom
Scene mode
White balance
Color effect
Macro focus
Android virtual keyboard
An improved keyboard layout to makes it easier to hit the correct characters and improve typing speed.
The framework’s multi-touch support ensures that key presses aren’t missed while typing rapidly with two fingers.
A smarter dictionary learns from word usage and automatically includes contact names as suggestions.
Browser
Refreshed UI with actionable browser URL bar enables users to directly tap the address bar for instant searches and navigation.
Bookmarks with web page thumbnails.
Support for double-tap zoom.
Support for HTML5:
Database API support, for client-side databases using SQL.
Application cache support, for offline applications.
Geolocation API support, to provide location information about the device.
<video> tag support in fullscreen mode.
Calendar
Agenda view provides infinite scrolling.
Events indicate the attending status for each invitee.
Invite new guests to events.
New Platform Technologies
Media Framework
Revamped graphics architecture for improved performance that enables better hardware acceleration.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 2.1
New BT profiles: Object Push Profile (OPP) and Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP)
New Framework APIs
Android 2.0 includes several new developer APIs. For an overview of new APIs, see the Android 2.0 version notes.
