Posted 07/01/09 at 09:19:38 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Last week, Google rolled out a native development kit for Android developers. Developers can now create Android apps using native-code languages such as C and C++. Prior to the release of the Android Native Development Kit, applications for the platform could only be written in Java and run using Google’s Dalvik Java virtual machine.

The NDK has elicited some interest among software developers, with Mozilla being the most prominent of the lot. Mozilla is now giving serious thought to bringing Fennec, the mobile version of its Firefox web browser, to the Android platform.

"Developers are taking a look at the NDK to see if it provides the capabilities we need to bring Fennec to Android. If it's possible, I think our community would be interested in doing it, because Android will be appearing on more smartphones with the capabilities to provide a good browsing experience," Mozilla’s VP of mobile Jay Sullivan said.

Although running software natively can aid performance, there are other factors to offset that advantage. "Your application will be more complicated, have reduced compatibility, have no access to framework APIs, and be harder to debug,” Android engineer David Turner warned in a blog post announcing the release of the NDK.

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Posted 10/22/08 at 07:35:35 AM by Pulkit Chandna

A Los Angeles-based manufacturer IMOVIO has announced an avant garde mobile messaging device called iKIT. The diminutive iKIT runs Linux and is as small as a Nintendo DS. IMOVIO is touting the iKIT as an affordable alternative to both smart phones and netbooks.

The device includes a 312MHz Marvell PXA270 processor, Linux 2.4.19, full QWERTY/AZERTY keyboard, an 8GB SD card slot ,Opera Mini 4.1 internet browser and 2.8 inch screen. The iKIT has inbuilt WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities, and supports HSDPA over USB. It has a standby time of 250 hours and power-up time of up to 3 hours.

The suggested retail price of roughly $170 makes it far more affordable than an Apple iPhone – a fact specifically called to attention by IMOVIO. However, practicality of such a product is just as important as the price, if not more, and will play a vital role in iKIT’s case as well.

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Posted 10/20/08 at 06:44:20 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Corporate honchos often abuse earnings calls – and other similar events - for making grandiloquent claims and promises. Google co-founder Sergey Brin used Google’s third quarter earnings calls to broadcast his partisan review of the T-Mobile G1. He went gaga over the G1.

Brin said that he has been using a G1 as his primary phone for a few months now. He pointed out a few of the endearing qualities of the G1, while omitting any possible shortcomings. “I'm able to search and browse through my Gmail just as if I was at my desktop,” said Brin. He also praised its web browser and, finally, encouraged people to try the first Android phone themselves.

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Posted 10/05/08 at 05:09:19 AM by Pulkit Chandna

For Android to be a force to be reckoned with, the first Android-based phone has to be a success. T-Mobile is very optimistic about the sales prospects of its upcoming G1 - the maiden Android phone - which will become available on October 22, 2008.  The service provider expects the Android-based G1 to take the market by storm.

It plans to order between 1.5 and 2 million G1 phones from Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, according to a report by Taiwanese news portal CENS.

The report goes further to reveal that T-Mobile expects to sell 400-500 K phones this year itself. According to crude analysis and extrapolation, T-Mobile is going to subsidize the phone by $300.

If the company can actually sell the G1 at the gait it hopes it can, Android would certainly become mobile OS to be reckoned with.

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Posted 10/04/08 at 07:05:07 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Hewlett-Packard is going to make an addition to its iPaq range of smart phones, according to unidentified people intimated about the company’s plan. The new iPaq smart phone is not going to be restricted just to business users, but will target ordinary consumers.

The phone is rumored to be headed to European store shelves first and might make an appearance there in about two month’s time. The new iPaq will feature a touchscreen, keypad and Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1.

A phone aimed at ordinary consumers might increase the popularity of the iPaq brand amongst plebeians, which in turn might have a positive impact on its market share. 

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