I haven’t seen pre-ordering available anywhere else yet, so at the moment this is the only [...]]]> If the little monthly pricing hiccup didn’t diminish your fondness for the Evo 4G too much then you are going to want to run not walk to your nearest Best Buy as in-store pre-ordering is now available.

I haven’t seen pre-ordering available anywhere else yet, so at the moment this is the only way to be certain you will have the Evo in your hot little hands on launch day.

As a quick reminder, although I suspect you don’t need it, the Evo 4G is dropping on June 4th and will run you $199.

Anyone heading out to the blue and gold to stake their claim on 4.3″ of Android goodness?

Update: The Shack (a.k.a. Radio Shack) will also be willing to take your money for a shiny new Evo starting tomorrow. This is also an in store only thing, but reportedly like Best Buy they will waive the mail-in rebate and they are sweetening the deal a little more by throwing in a $20 gift certificate for accessories if you plunk down a $50 deposit.

To be clear this isn’t exclusively related to Android; Google did just buy a multi-platform game developer last [...]]]> Last month we saw Google hire a Developer Advocate for Games and now they are looking to further bolster their games division by casting their net for a Product Management Leader for Games.

To be clear this isn’t exclusively related to Android; Google did just buy a multi-platform game developer last month (LabPixies) and I’m sure Google is going to leverage them for more than just Android game development. LabPixies strength appeared to be puzzle games though and hopefully with Froyo’s newfound might, the boost from the NDK (r3) and the raw power that many Android handsets are wielding these days Google has more ambitious gaming goals in mind as well.

Beyond in-house development one of the listed responsibilities for this position is to, “Establish partnerships as necessary to drive the growth of Google’s products.” So working in tandem with the Developer Advocate we may finally see some of the larger game development houses pulled into the Android fold.

Gaming in general and specifically 3D gaming has been an acknowledged weakness of the Android platform for awhile now so watching Google take some positive steps toward correcting the issue is gratifying. Here’s hoping we will see the fruits of their labor sooner rather than later.

What game or genre of game are you most looking forward to seeing receive some Android love?

Google and Verizon have certainly had a lucrative partnership with Android thus far and Verizon’s advertising for the Motorola Droid is all the average consumer knows of the Android platform. Beyond that [...]]]> Verizon Wireless CEO, Lowell McAdam confirmed in an interview today that they are working on an Android powered tablet computer with Google.

Google and Verizon have certainly had a lucrative partnership with Android thus far and Verizon’s advertising for the Motorola Droid is all the average consumer knows of the Android platform. Beyond that Verizon is of course the largest carrier in the U.S. so for a whole host of reasons they are the logical partner for a 3G powered Google tablet.

Unfortunately no details regarding a release date, manufacturer or specifications were forthcoming at the moment so we are left to speculate on our own.

As we discussed in the post on Google Editions; Google has been making a lot of moves that will be critical for the success of an Android tablet including their streaming video options, e-reader solutions, a touch friendly OS skin in BumpTop, and Flash and Air support to offer a complete web experience.

That just leaves us the hardware to speculate on; so what does your dream Android tablet look like and what does it have going on under the hood?

Update: A spokesman for Verizon, Marquett Smith, stated in a phone interview today that they will be releasing additional details regarding the tablet later this week. That places an announcement just days prior to Google I/O which may mean that we are finally going to see some tablet talk from the big G themselves (perhaps one of those TBA mystery sessions).

We’re looking at all the things Google has in its archives that we could put on a tablet to make it a great experience. Lowell McAdamCEO Verizon Wireless

Japan Today is reporting that Google has managed to secure more than 25,000 authors and publishers to participate [...]]]> We already knew that Google was planning to launch a digital book distribution network this Summer, but recent comments from Google officials suggest that this is a far more significant effort than was previously expected.

Japan Today is reporting that Google has managed to secure more than 25,000 authors and publishers to participate in the service at launch, which, if you are to include the existing Google Books library will give users access to over 4 million titles.

To put that in perspective the current number of titles available through iBooks has been reported as about 60,000, Amazon for Kindle is approximately 500,000 and Barnes and Noble boasts of over 1 million “ebooks, newspapers, and magazines.”

If Google manages to support all of this material with apps and software released across all major platforms, a feat which they are certainly capable of, then they could certainly put themselves in a position to control this market in short order.

Ignoring the implications for the market as a whole this is also another piece of the Android tablet puzzle falling into place. So now we have books, we have streaming video, and we at least have someone advocating for games.

What else do you think Google needs to get in place before the tabletpalooza hits in the second half of the year?

This figure dwarfs the user counts for the current check-in front runners, Foursquare (1 million) and [...]]]> During a panel discussion at the Web 2.0 Expo yesterday, Steve Lee, a Group Product Manager at Google, boasted some surprising figures for Google’s Latitude. At present they have 3 million active users and 8 million total registered users.

This figure dwarfs the user counts for the current check-in front runners, Foursquare (1 million) and the iPhone’s MyTown (2 million). Android is largely responsible for the healthy Latitude membership as according to Lee over 10% of all Android owners are active Latitude users.

The release of iPhone OS 4.0 will finally offer the ability for location apps to run in the background on the iPhone and so Google may see another substantial jump in Latitude use if they decide to offer a native iPhone app, but I’m not going to delve any further into that other than to say Latitude may see its already large lead grow.

So why aren’t Foursquare and MyTown quaking in their boots? Well Latitude in its current form just basically allows you to track your designated friends and has never implemented any kind of check-in function so at the moment they aren’t in direct competition. However, Lee indicated yesterday that he definitely saw them moving toward a check-in model while still retaining the existing functionality of Latitude.

If Google really decides to throw their weight behind this effort it could spell disaster for existing check-ins. I’m sure the two mentioned above would weather the storm alright, but some of the smaller apps may be operating on borrowed time.

Check-in seems to be a different kind of animal than the seemingly endless number of twitter apps that are around at the moment. No one is going to want to run multiple check-in apps for any lengthy period of time and yes I know check.in is trying to find a way to integrate a number of check-in services in one app, but it doesn’t seem particularly feasible. I’m willing to believe that there can be 2-3 options all surviving in harmony when the dust settles, but any more than that seems unlikely.

Not knowing exactly how Google is planning on implementing check-in there isn’t a lot more to say on this right now; so to spark a bit of debate on a Friday afternoon lets imagine that they are going to pull a Twitter and just buy one of the existing check-in apps to integrate with Latitude. Which app do you think they should be gunning for and why?

The text of [...]]]> No huge surprise here as the folks from Sling Media were touting a summer launch of SlingPlayer Mobile for Android when we caught up with them at the gdgt live event in Austin, but according to information received by Phandroid earlier today the app is entering private beta right now.

The text of the email suggests that they are trying to fly under the radar with this one, but obviously that was an exercise in futility.

Hi ,

The wait is finally over! A new private beta is available for the SlingPlayer Mobile for Android. Since your beta profile is a good match for testing, you have the opportunity to join the new beta program.

Please note this is a special invitation so do not share this email or the below URL with anyone else. Also, do not mention you received an invitation, that the beta is starting, or anything that’s related. Due to the overwhelming demand for this program, we’d like to keep things as quiet as possible. Just think of it as a secret club! ;) SlingPlayer Mobile for Android Beta Invite

Sling’s ability to basically serve up all the services from your home system is certainly unique and I was a big fan and user on my old HTC Touch, but it will be interesting to see if the need to purchase separate hardware will prove too much of a deterrent for potential users considering all the streaming competition coming to Android this year.

A simple description for those that haven’t heard of Dropbox, is that it is a file syncing, sharing and backup service. For [...]]]> The title kind of says it all, but the much anticipated Dropbox Android app is now available for download in the market. You can just scan the QR code to download it immediately.

A simple description for those that haven’t heard of Dropbox, is that it is a file syncing, sharing and backup service. For further details on the service and the Android app specifically you can hit up our own Matt Demers hands on review of the beta from just a few days ago. I believe this quote says it best; “I really don’t have any complaints about Dropbox; the app simply works, and does exactly what I need it to.”

One complaint that I know arose during the beta was that the app doesn’t actually allow for syncing; hopefully they will figure out a way to handle that in a future update.

If you like accessing your files on the go this is a great solution and considering its free there is no reason not to give it a shot.

Previously the service (which costs $100 a year) offered the ability to remotely monitor call, SMS, browser and GPS logging.

Apparently that level of observation just wasn’t cutting it as the [...]]]> Retina-X Studios studios announced an update to their Mobile Spy software today which now offers a complete monitoring solution geared towards parents and employers.

Previously the service (which costs $100 a year) offered the ability to remotely monitor call, SMS, browser and GPS logging.

Apparently that level of observation just wasn’t cutting it as the most recent version has added several new features for tracking whoever it is that you don’t trust. The new additions allow the subscriber to read the full text of all emails sent and received as well as the ability to view every photo and video captured by the device.

The software is loaded onto the Android device via an .apk install and Retina-X assures subscribers that it is a “full stealth install” and that once installed it cannot be detected by the user.

I can appreciate that parents are worried about their children and what they are doing and to a lesser degree I get that employers have an interest in the whereabouts and activities of their employees, but this latest update seems like it is pushing into creepy territory.

Any opinions on whether this is going too far for either parents or employers?

Update: Tim Strazzere has a report on the “full stealth” mode.