Android and Me » html 5

Adobe to bring Flash Player for Ice Cream Sandwich before pulling the plug

Edgar Cervantes — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:05:25 +0000

Adobe Flash Player has been every Android fan’s pride since its release. We love being able to see the web as it is meant to be – with Flash. There has been conflicting opinions since Adobe announced the end of Flash for Android a couple of weeks ago. Some think that it is a great move, since HTML 5 and Adobe Air make up the future of mobile browsing, while others are starting to feel the beginning of a melancholic life, without Flash Player.

Flash Player is a very important part of the Android experience, and Adobe did specify that they would not just pull the plug on it. They will slowly transfer to HTML 5 (and Continue supporting AIR), instead. After version 11.1, Adobe will not be releasing any more successors to the Flash Player, but will continue to bring support for bug fixes and other issues.

If you happen to be planning to purchase the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (or already have it!), or any device with Ice Cream Sandwich, we have good news for you. You may have been thinking that your device would be left Flash-less, and such is not the case. Adobe has confirmed to Pocket-Lint that an update with Android 4.0 support will be coming before the end of the year.

Adobe will release one more version of the Flash Player for mobile browsing, which will provide support for Android 4.0, and one more release of the Flash Linux Porting Kit - both expected to be released before the end of this year.SpokespersonAdobe

For now, it appears that devices with Android 4.0 will be taken care of. Updates and bug fixes will keep coming, but will surely start dying off. We can be certain that we will not be seeing Flash Player support for the next version of Android, rumored to be codenamed “Jelly Bean.” Who knows, though? Stranger things have happened.

Google’s Flipboard clone, Propeller, launching next week

Dustin Earley — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:59:44 +0000

Last year, when Google tried to purchase the innovative content reader application Flipboard, they were greeted with a confident decline. With a $200 million valuation and over 4 million downloads so far, it’s clear why Flipboard thinks they can be plenty successful on their own. But that decision may come back to haunt them. Google told Flipboard that if the company didn’t sell now, Google would be coming back with a product of their own. That product is going to be called Propeller, and it should be launching next week.

Just in case you aren’t entirely familiar with Flipboard, it’s very similar to Pulse in that you can read any type of content (magazines, RSS feeds, social networks) in an interactive, social way. You flip through very minimal page designs that highlight pictures and strong headlines, giving your favorite content a more pleasing layout. You can also share anything you read, and view content from other users that you are connected with. Other companies are looking to get in on this. Yahoo and Google both have versions in the works, going by Livestand and Propeller respectively.

Propeller is an internal name for Google’s new reader, though “sources close to the situation” say the name just might stick. “Currents” is another name under consideration, but either way, the app will do the same thing. It’s going to be HTML 5 based, and will work with both Android and the iPad. There should be a healthy amount of social integration put into Propeller, especially when it comes to Google+. Just yesterday, Google announced a new feature in Google+ called What’s Hot. It’s very possible that Google could not only make What’s Hot a centerpiece for Propeller, but make all of your circles viewable in a slightly less Facebook-esque way. Propeller would also have to work with Google Reader right off the bat if they want to be competitive.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on Google next week when they should be unveiling their latest weapon in the content wars.

iPhone does Google Buzz, many Android phones do not

Taylor Wimberly — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:37:34 +0000

We were so excited about yesterday’s Google Buzz announcement that we glossed over the fact that about 80% of Android devices can not take full advantage of the service. This caused a lot of confusion for our readers because many could not access the service on their phone.

Only devices running Android 2.0+ have access to the latest Android browser and Google Maps 4.0. This allows them the full Buzz experience of using the mobile web app, posting buzz with voice commands, and buzzing on place pages. Only the Motorola Droid (2.0.1) and Google Nexus One (2.1) are running the latest version of Android in the United States.

Android fragmentation details from 1/4/2010.

The mobile site does not work in Android 1.6′s browser because it supports only Gears and not HTML5, where Buzz supports only HTML5. Only Android 2.0+ devices (21%) include the latest version of the browser with support for HTML5.

The latest version of Google Maps 4.0 requires at least Android 1.6, which leaves many Android phones (31%) with no access to Buzz from a mobile device. The Sprint Hero and Moment, T-Mobile CLIQ and Behold II, and Verizon Droid Eris are currently stuck on Android 1.5.

Buzz access for different versions of Android:

Android 1.5: No Google Maps 4.0, no mobile app
Android 1.6: Google Maps 4.0 only
Android 2.0+: Google Maps 4.0 and mobile app

Google Buzz for mobile

The iPhone has support for HTML5 so it can run Buzz and Google Maps in the browser. The iPhone also has a Google Maps app, but it is an older version that does not have access to the latest Buzz features (or Navigation).

BlackBerry users will get to join the fun when its browser gets a much needed update to the WebKit platform.

Most Android phones will eventually get updated to Android 2.1 so it is only a waiting game now. There have been hints that the update could be released early, but no carriers have provided anything more specific than 1H 2010.

Consider yourself lucky if you own a Droid or Nexus One. Enjoy your new toy.

Wave Goodbye To Native Android Apps From Google?

Taylor Wimberly — Fri, 29 May 2009 07:47:28 +0000

Today Google announced Wave – a new tool to organize all your online communications. During the demonstration, they showed off a mobile version running in the browser on Android and iPhone. I was absolutely blown away by the potential of Wave, but I was curious if we would see a native app on our phones.

Shortly after the keynote, there was a press conference and we were allowed to ask questions to the Wave team, Vic Gundotra, and Sergey Brin. Since I’m an Android fanatic, I had to ask about the possibility of seeing an official native app for Android or iPhone. To summarize their response, “No”.

Google touted that Wave was developed entirely with the Google Web Toolkit and fully utilized HTML5. They envision the web as the platform of the future and the browser is becoming more like the operating system. By creating web only apps, they can bypass all the time it takes to write native code for Android and iPhone. This also means that all their new web apps will be readily available on Palm’s WebOS.

Another advantage of focusing on mobile browser apps is choice for the end user. Several carriers have expressed interest in releasing Android phones that are free of Google. If all the apps are available on the web, the user can still access their favorite Google services directly from the browser. Carriers could always block the Google domains, but I doubt users will stand for walled gardens anymore.

So what does this mean for Android users? Will we see Google release any new native apps for Android? I have been eagerly waiting to see native apps for Adsense, Analytics, Reader, and more. After this week, it looks like I may be waiting a long time. Instead of spending time on native apps for Android, Google will create mobile browser apps that work across multiple platforms.

We have already witnessed this strategy with the recent updates to mobile Gmail. New features were first released on the mobile site, then weeks later the native app got an update. However, the mobile browser version still offers functionality not available in the Android client. Today’s unveiling of Wave just continues the same pattern.

So is all hope lost for native Google apps on Android? The answer to that question lies with the community. Either we whine to Google or we create the native apps on our own. A quick search of the Market and you will find people doing just that. Developers have already created Android versions of Adsense and Analytics.

Check out the official video of the Wave keynote and let us know what you think.