• T-Mobile exec talks Nexus One issues, Android OS updates – Cole Brodman was talking at Mobile World Congress last week and he shared a few details about Android updates. He said the G1 and myTouch 3G would receive updates together (2.1?), while other devices would follow a less regular schedule. Devices like the Motorola CLIQ will till longer to receive updates because of “integration issues” caused by the manufacturer-specific interface Motoblur.
• Android Developer (Java) at Barnes & Noble.com – Barnes & Noble new mantra is: “any book, any time, anywhere”. This includes devices like the Nook and now an eReader application for Android. The company is now looking for an Android developer to help build the best eReader for Android devices.
• Hands-on and under the hood: Ars tests Firefox on Android – Remember the sneak peek of Firefox running on the Nexus One? The guys from Ars have compiled the desktop Firefox using the Android NDK for a closer look. If you want to attempt building your own browser (or just see their results) head over for a detailed report.
• Video hands-on: New HTC Sense ported to the Nexus One – with Flash 10.1! – Phil Nickinson from Android Central took the leaked Desire ROM and flashed it on a Nexus One. He has an 8 minute video up that gives a nice walkthrough of the new Sense UI. The leaked ROM is said to include a version of Flash, but some of the other components (like Maps) are older than ones found on the N1.

Today’s Android Events

AndroidGuys Podcast – Every Monday night is the AndroidGuys podcast hosted by Scott Webster. Tune in live and come join the chat room. If you can’t make the show, be sure to subscribe using Google Listen or your favorite podcast application.

We have listened to your feedback and found the number one request to be “more”. That demand will be filled with more contributors, more reviews, more videos, more interviews, more giveaways, more network sites, and several other special projects that will be revealed over the coming months.

One of our top priorities this year is to continue to build the And Me Network. This is a collection of independent sites that serve different needs of the Android community. We have an open invitation to all the Android related sites out there and are looking to make new partnerships to help grow the community. Be on the lookout for a dedicated site soon that will serve as the hub of this network.

Another area that we want to improve is providing Android news in different languages for our many readers around the globe.

Welcome And.roid.es

We are proud to announce that And.roid.es has joined the And Me Network to provide Android news in Spanish. Users can currently reach the site by visiting http://and.roid.es or http://es.androidandme.com. Our site navigation is being overhauled and will soon provide easy access for jumping between the different languages. And.roid.es will help translate our stories to Spanish, share hot news from other countries, and provide reporting from overseas events like Mobile World Congress.

Please join me in giving a big welcome to our new friends And.roid.es.

For the most part I will admit we are still a little unorganized at times, but things are going to change in 2010. Check back mid-January for details on some paid positions we will be offering (Yes, we are in big need of help and that’s a good thing).

What stories captured your attention this year? Here are the Top 10 posts of 2009, by unique pageviews:

1. Beginners Guide For Rooting Your Android G1 To Install Cupcake – This was the first hacking guide I attempted to write. Back in the day, it was not as easy to root your phone and the information was spread across 100 page threads on XDA. I tried my best to simplify the process and shared my experiences I ran into when I first hacked my G1.

2. How to root a T-Mobile G1 and myTouch 3G Android phone – Three months later I saw the original guide was outdated so I attempted to re-write the entire thing and I added more pictures. The post was well received, but it also eventually became outdated. I now suggest that newcomers follow the CyanogenMod Wiki when first attempting to root their G1 or myTouch 3G.

3. Motorola Sholes for Verizon: New predictions and CPU specs – Over the summer, the Motorola Sholes became the hottest topic in Android land. In this post, I was the first to reveal that the Sholes (which became the Droid) would feature a TI OMAP3430 processor. I also speculated the Droid would launch with Android 2.0 and retail for $199, which both turned out to be true.

4. How to manually partition your SD card for Android Apps2SD – Noticing that hacking guides were becoming popular, I wrote another one to explain how to manually partition your SD card. It was a good learning experience, but I now suggest people use the Amon_RA recovery image which can automatically partition your SD card.

5. Google fails to address app storage issue with Droid and Android 2.0 – When the Droid specs were officially announced, I pointed out the device only featured 256 MB of space for users to store their apps. This post became popular when several iPhone blogs linked to it in order to bash the Droid. The upcoming Nexus One also features the same size onboard storage of the Droid, so either Google is not concerned with the issue or they have a solution in the works.

6. Robo Defense: 120 Levels of Tower Defense Madness – This one was quite a surprise. Robo Defense became one of the best selling games on Android and this was the only time we touched on the topic. The post was written by one of our early contributors Christopher Earle (who was awesome).

7. Root a T-Mobile myTouch 3G or G1 in 6 minutes and flash Cyanogen’s rom with Donut crumbs – I like to make videos, but we did not film too many this year. This video was shot the day the 1-click root hack came out and I wanted to demonstrate how easy the process had become. We filmed this video right before Clark smashed his phone.

8. HTC’s 2010 Android lineup revealed – When XDA user B3ler3fonte leaked the HTC 2010 roadmap, we received our biggest spike in traffic ever. All I did was take the images he uploaded and cropped them to fit on our site. We were the first blog to get the images up, which led to a lot of other sites linking back to us. We are still waiting to see if any of these prototype phones actually turn into real products that get launched.

9. Android 2.0 coming to T-Mobile – I hammered T-Mobile a lot asking if they would update their existing phones like the G1 and myTouch 3G to Android 2.0. They finally responded that they were “coordinating with Google to deliver Android 2.0″, but did not mention any specific devices. Maybe they were referring to the Nexus One or maybe the older phones will still get updated. We are still waiting to find out.

10. How to install Android SDK and play with Android 2.0 in the emulator – Another one of our contributors Justin Shapcott called out Google for not releasing the Android 2.0 SDK and then it magically appeared the next day. After the new SDK was out, it didn’t take Justin long to write a short guide explaining how to install it and run the emulator.

Conclusion

We broke a lot of exclusive stories in 2009, but many of our guides ended up being the top posts of the year. Look for expanded hacking guides and tutorials in 2010. This site will continue to shift into being a helpful resource for all levels of Android users.

Only one video post was ranked near the top, but we will be greatly expanding the use of our YouTube channel (subscribe now for lots of CES footage).

When it came to app and game reviews, we were sorely lacking. Additional resources will be brought on board to address those needs.

Finally, I have to give a huge thank you to all the loyal readers we have. I remember running contests when we first reached 100 RSS subscribers and now we have over 10,000. Over 11,500 comments were posted on the site and I personally read most of them. We love all the feedback, both positive and negative. Be on the lookout in 2010 for new and exciting giveaways across our network of social sites.

If you want to help us out, please tell us the areas we suck and your feedback will go into our 2010 roadmap (which I’m going to publicly reveal sometime after CES).

Thank you to everyone who made 2009 an awesome year for Android fans.

Then I downloaded the NubiNews reader. NubiNews aggregates most of my favorite news sites into a single place. The stories load quickly and are very easy to read and scroll through. NubiNews articles are the full articles and are available with the original images and illustrations. It supports sites in English, Chinese and Japanese. English sites supported by the reader are as follows:

• BBC
• CNN
• Fox News
• Los Angeles Times
• New York Daily News
• The New York Times
• Reuters
• Yahoo! News
• H1N1 Flu News Via Google
• CNNMoney.com
• Yahoo! Finance
• Android Phone Fans
• Engadget
• Gizmodo
• LinuxDevices
• The Register
• BBC Sports
• Yahoo! Sports
• BusinessWeek
• Car and Driver
• The Economist
• The Weather Channel

The speed and responsiveness of the reader is really good. Before downloading the app, it would take me most of a 30 minute train ride to get through The New York Times. Because the articles load so quickly, I get through The New York Times, BBC and parts of The Economist or LinuxDevices.

The price of NubiNews is outstanding. It is free. For news junkies who read a number of different news sources, NubiNews is an excellent reader at an excellent price. One of the highest compliments that I can pay an app is to simply say that it works. NubiNews works consistently and quickly, every time, and for every news source.

NubiNews Reader for Android
Version: 2.8
Developed By: NubiNews
Price: FREE
Filesize: 337KB

So we know that the Samsung i7500 will be available for o2 Germany in June, but what about an American release date?  Samsung said they were coming to T-Mobile, but I did not expect it to happen this soon.  I think the only thing holding up an announcement from T-Mobile is the launch of the HTC Magic.  Once they can get the 2nd HTC phone out the door, there should be room to release the Samsung i7500 later this summer(July-August?).

How long do we have to wait T-Mobile?

I really see no reason for T-Mobile not to release this phone.  They have put their full force behind Android and it makes sense to give customers more choice.  Samsung’s i7500 is not drastically different from the HTC Magic, but it does have some advantages.  The main plus is the display which uses an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode which promises to improve the battery performance.

Other advantages of the i7500 over the G1 include:

• Larger storage space:  8GB vs 192MB
• More megapixel camera:  5MP vs 3MP
• Higher capacity battery: 1500 mAh vs 1150 mAh

Check out the following YouTube video for a close up look of the I7500.

For more hands on photos, visit this Vietnamese website (translated to English).

Would anyone else like to see this Samsung phone come to T-Mobile?  Half of the phones I have purchased over the years were Samsung and I would gladly give up my physical keyboard to give this phone a spin.  Even if T-Mobile passes up this phone, it will most likely be available on Amazon like other Samsung phones.

Update:  I found the phone available for preorder on celuloco.com for $798.88 USD.  They have a release date of June 17th, 2009.

p.s. hey t-mobile and samsung, if you guys lost my mailing address just contact me and i’ll send it over.

Last week, LG accidentally leaked pictures of their new Viewty Smart (GC 900) phone on their German blog.  The phone is an upgrade to the original Viewty and we think it would be a perfect fit for Android.  Notable features of the original Viewty included a Schneider lens and was capable of capturing video at 120 frames a second.  Updated features of the new phone include:

• 12.4mm thickness
• Weight of only 90g
• 8-megapixel camera with Xenon flash
• 32GB storage space
• Video recording at up to 720×480 pixels resolution
• 3in touch screen WVGA display
• GPS, WiFi, HSDPA connectivity

The leaked images include an Orange carrier logo who is rumored to be releasing multiple Android handsets in 2009.  Right now, it looks like the phone will be released to the UK in June so it is unlikely that Android would be used.  However, we could see a refreshed device on another carrier later this year.  The Viewty Smart supports HSDPA connectivity which is also used around the world by OHA carriers T-Mobile, Vodafone, and NTT DoCoMo.

Check out this video of the original Viewty to learn more about the features included.

I really wish the G1 had a better camera and the Viewty gives me hope for my next phone purchase.  If LG ever releases an Android phone in the US, I think Sprint would be the most likely carrier.  AT&T and Verizon both have exclusive LG phones, but I doubt we will see any Android devices from them soon.

Has anyone out there owned a newer LG phone and been happy with it?  I had one of their sliders with Sprint, but I cracked the screen before I used it much.  I would really like to see LG release an Android device because they make so many other quality consumer electronics.  My washer and dryer are LG brand and I can imagine how cool it would be to check the status of a load from my phone.

LG, where are the Android announcements?

I wanted to give a special thanks to pixeladdikt who submitted the first question.  Flash isn’t available for Android yet so we can’t answer your question, but we want to show our thanks for participating.  We are sending you a $25 Amazon.com Gift Card.  Keep submitting your questions via Twitter because we will be giving out more Amazon.com Gift Cards each week to those who ask questions.

If you would like to participate, you can search the #AskAndy tag on Twitter to see if there are any questions you might be able to answer.  We are working on a dedicated Ask Andy section for the site, but in the mean time you can send responses from the contact page or send email to andy (at) androidandme.com

Anyone that submits a response to a question will receive full credit with a link back to your site.

1. foebea: @androidandme pspdev has great noob dev tutorials like http://is.gd/tbmJ Is there anything like this for droid? #askandy

I would suggest Android Programming Tutorials from CommonsWare.  You can get a year’s access to their full library of Android books for only $35.  Check out the table of contents for what tutorials are currently offered.  We will also be offering some tutorials of our own including building web applications for Android.

2. Whoisnick: @androidandme Are there any good document readers (doc, pdf…) or ebook reader apps? #askandy

• Office: For Microsoft Office documents your best and only choice is
  Documents-To-Go. It allows viewing and editing of Office 2007 & 2008
  Word and Excel files. It’s a bit pricey at $19.99 though.
• PDF Reader: I have had great success with RepliGo Reader. It’s a
  little slow but flawless in its presentation. No complaints.
• EBook: FBReaderJ is the best I have found although it isn’t available
  on the Market. Download it at http://www.fbreader.org/FBReaderJ/.

See our full reviews of FBReaderJ and Documents to Go for more information.

3. antoniothonis: @androidandme For which andoid phone should I wait and when is it released? What is holding up the G2 release? :S #askandy

Vodaphone will release the HTC Magic on May 5th.  There is no release date for the US but T-Mobile is expected to launch the phone this summer.  The new HTC phone lacks a keyboard, but it’s the only new phone we may see for months.  The rumors said the Magic was pushed back for a last second hardware change which included rounded buttons.

4. mattandmeagen: @androidandme Just curious what you think it will take to get more iPhone developers to port their apps to Android? #askandy

The main thing preventing larger developers from porting their applications to Android is lack of money.  Look at the top 10 applications for Android and most of them have less than 5k units sold.  Compare that to the millions that some iPhone apps get and you can see why devs choose Apple.  As Android begins to expand its numbers, we should see more apps targeted at the platform.

5. kissmyapocalyps: @androidandme #askandy are there any apps with an on-screen T9-style keyboard with predictive text? I miss texting with 1 hand. i will pay $

The looming Android 1.5 update has a new Input Method framework which includes a text prediction engine. The next release of chompSMS will most likely include a T9 keypad so you can text while driving text with one hand.

Handcent SMS also includes a t9 soft keyboard.

The wait for T9 texting is almost over.

6. MrHyrne: @androidandme I like the #askandy idea, but which G1 app can track hashtags?

I have not seen a Twitter application with this feature, but you have several other options.  You can follow any hash tag from the Twitter search page by RSS.  Here is our short article about using RSS with Android.  You could also choose to setup email alerts using a service like TweetBeep.

7. QDOG8: Will the G1 ever get an update to support flash in the browser, or will it only be in newer devices? #askandy

Adobe has confirmed that Flash 10 will come to Android, but you might have to wait till 2010.  It was also announced that BSQUARE will be porting a version of the Flash player to Android.  When either of these solutions makes their way to Android, we should see an update released for the G1.

8. JaeRobinson: @androidandme Is there any free software that I can use to partition my memory card for my android phone. #askandy

Most people suggest Paragon Partition Manager, but work has begun on an application that will run from your phone.  If you would like to encourage Google to implement this feature into Android, you could visit issue 1151 on their discussion boards and make your voice heard.

Our Twitter Profile when we had 70 followers.

9. MrHyrne: Anyone using @Twidroid 2.0 for #Android? I was waiting for this version, but Market reviews are kinda bad so far. #AskAndy

Yes I have been using Twidroid 2.0 and the performance is greatly enhanced.  Some people had issues with the upgrade, but a uninstall/reinstall should take care of most problems.  Check out their release notes for the latest fixes and new features.

10. bob0mb: @androidandme . people keep talking about contact groups (ie: family, work. etc) . i can’t seem to figure out how to do this #askandy

The default dialer and Gmail application do not currently support contact groups.  This should be included in a future update, but you can manage contact groups from the desktop version of the Gmail site.  Navigate your browser to http://gmail.com and select contacts on the left side navigation menu.  Here you will be able to create and manage your groups.

Applications Mentioned in this Article:

chompSMS for Android
Version: 1.18
Developed By: chompSMS
Price: FREE
Filesize: 809KB

Documents To Go for Android
Version: 1.001
Developed By: DataViz
Price: $19.99
Filesize: 3.03MB

RepliGo for Android
Version: 1.0.1
Developed By: Cerience Corporation
Price: $4.95
Filesize: 1.16MB

Twidroid for Android
Version: 2.0.2
Developed By: Ralph Zimmermann & Thomas Marban
Price: FREE
Filesize: 336KB

Back in 2007, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said it made sense to get behind Android. “We’re planning on using Android,” McAdam told BusinessWeek. “Android is an enabler of what we do.”  Since then, Verizon has shown a fear of Google’s intentions and been reluctant to jump on the Android bandwagon.  Without a killer consumer smartphone, they may soon be forced into submission in order to compete with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint.

Network

Verizon’s network runs on the same CDMA technology as Sprint.  If manufacturers like Samsung are already making Android devices for CDMA, it would be easy to bring them over to Verizon.  Starting in late 2009, Verizon will begin to roll out its 4G networking which uses Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology.

LTE has become a global standard and many of the OHA members are working with the technology including Motorola, Ericson, LG, and NTT docomo.  It would make sense if a manufacturer like Motorola or Fujitsu releases a LTE device that it would find its way to Verizon.

Verizon claims to have the nation's largest 3G network.

Data Plans

The minute plans offered by Verizon Wireless are comparable to T-Mobile and Sprint.  However, their data and text options appear to be more expensive than the rest.  Verizon does not offer an unlimited text plan, but does have several tiers to choose from:

• $5/month – 250 messages
• $10/month – 500 messages PLUS unlimited in network texting
• $15/month – 1500 messages PLUS unlimited in networking texting
• $20/month – 5000 messages PLUS unlimited in networking texting

For data plans we have two options:

• $29.99/month – Email and web for smartphone
• $44.99/month – Unlimited data usage

I’m not sure of the differences in the data plans, but even the cheapest data plan and 500 messages is more than T-Mobile or Sprint.  Hopefully we will see new packaged deals that are more competitive with the competition.

Update from reader Steve:  “The first (lesser) of the two is the basic plan required to use any phone that sends pix/flix messages and uses e-mail (including Blackberry). The unlimited data plan is for corporate users who require a constant connection for a smartphone. For example, one who uses an Exchange server with direct push, would need an unlimited data plan.”

Possible Phones

There are many possible hardware partners for Verizon but the most likely are HTC, LG, Samsung, Motorola, and Acer.  We know Samsung is making a CDMA phone for Sprint and I believe they are most likely to release a phone for Verizon first.  HTC is currently making GSM/Edge phones for Android and a CDMA phone is most likely a long shot at this time.  LG and Motorola have not revealed their Android phones, but more details should be leaking over the next few months.

Acer announced a new smartphone lineup at the recent Mobile World Congress and is experimenting with Android on desktop PCs.  They also hinted at a netbook coming to Verizon, but it is unlikely to run Android.  Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci said, “For a Netbook, you really need to be able to view a full Web for the total Internet experience,” Wong said. “And Android is not that yet.”

New Acer F900 phone running Windows Mobile, but Android is on the way.

Release Date/Conclusion

With their recent acquisition of Alltel Wireless, Verizon solidified their position as the largest United States wireless carrier.  Since they are number one in subscribers, they are taking a wait and see approach with Android.  T-Mobile took a gamble on Android hoping to gain market share and it looks like their decision is paying off.  Unless Verizon tries to beat Sprint to the punch, I would not expect any Android devices from them until 2010.

If you are a current Verizon subscribers, what are your thoughts about Android coming to your carrier?  Are you content to wait another year?  Would you purchase an Android netbook from Verizon?

Can you hear us now? We want Android.