Verizon Wireless and HTC announced that the ThunderBolt™ by HTC, exclusively from Verizon Wireless, is available on March 17 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $249.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
Powered by Android™ 2.2, the ThunderBolt by HTC is the first smartphone to take advantage of Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network. The ThunderBolt by HTC features the latest version of the HTC Sense™ experience, which offers enhancements including new personalization options, a consolidated e-mail inbox, and unique camera effects and filters. The ThunderBolt by HTC is equipped with support for Google Mobile Services, including Gmail™, YouTube™ and Android Market™ with thousands of free apps. Additionally, the ThunderBolt by HTC will feature 4G LTE optimized apps such as EA’s Rock Band, Gameloft’s Let’s Golf, Tunewiki and Bitbop.
Additional features:
4G LTE – customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage area
4.3″ WVGA display
8- megapixel rear facing camera and HD (720p) video recording
1.3- megapixel front facing camera with video chatting capabilities
Newest generation of the 1GHz Snapdragon processor
Mobile Hotspot capability – share 4G connection with up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices
8 GB of onboard memory and a pre-installed 32 GB microSD card (Actual formatted capacity will be less)
Built-in kickstand for easy media viewing
With the ThunderBolt by HTC, customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a 4G LTE data package. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access and an unlimited 4G LTE data plan is $29.99 monthly access.
Mobile Hotspot allows users to connect up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the nation’s fastest wireless network via an application available on the ThunderBolt by HTC. Mobile Hotspot will be included through May 15 for no additional charge. After May 15, customers may choose to activate Mobile Hotspot for $20 for 2 GB of data per month. Customers can track their data usage by downloading the My Verizon app available in Android Market or by logging on to their My Verizon accounts online at www.verizonwireless.com/myverizon.
For additional information on Verizon Wireless 4G LTE visit www.verizonwireless.com/4glte. For more information about the ThunderBolt by HTC please visit www.verizonwireless.com/thunderbolt. For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
Android
Thursday, March 17, 2011
HTC Desire HD – USB Host Drivers Ported
This is a hack that many could find useful. By porting the USB Host Drivers to your device you could be able to connect a variety of devices to your HTC Desire HD, such as a keyboard, external monitor, USB mass storage. This was also accomplished for the Nexus One. Isn’t it great to see what some of these XDA members come up with? But there is a small downside to taking the steps to do this to your Desire HD. If you give this a try, let us know in the comments, your thoughts, and how it worked for you.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
ATT Puts the Brakes on Upload Speeds for Non-iPhone devices
Is AT&T showing more favoritism to the iPhone? Surprised? Sure the iPhone is loved by millions. But, come on! Not every one wants it, for one reason or another.
So it looks like the proof has shown that AT&T may have set an upload cap on everything but the iPhone. Take a look at the specs of the Atrix 4G. By all accounts, it should be a peppy ANDROID device, and actually fater than the iPhone due to its HSPA+ 14.4 modem, when the iPhone only sports a HSPA 7.2 modem. Unfortunately though, as we can see in the upload speed tests conducted by PC Mag, results suggest that AT&T is throttling back the Atrix 4G, and possible other devices
The9 and OpenFeint Look to Boost Android Gaming
Obviously, developing games for Android is a smart business move. Android has the largest portion of the smartphone marketshare, and it has been proven as a profitable platform to develop for. However, that doesn’t mean it’s easy for any company that already has games on iOS to just rebuild it to run on Android OS. It takes time, and it takes resources — resources that a lot of the smaller dev studios just don’t have.
Enter OpenFeint and The9. OpenFeint’s social gaming platform gives them a reason to want to help developers: To get more games in their network. Couple this with The9’s “Fund9″ program to invest $100 million in internet projects, and you have an awesome support system for independent devs who might be considering porting their existing projects.
OpenFeint and The9 will choose which projects to fund based on the strength of the developer, the quality of the app, and its success in other app markets. They are scouring the Apple App store to find the best candidates. Eros Resimi, marketing VP for Open Feint, stated that “There’s a treasure trove of great games on iOS waiting for the rest of the world to discover…This fund will help make that possible for indie game developers.”
While they are actively seeking projects out, developers can also submit a request for consideration by sending an email to androidfund@openfeint.com. (We’re looking at YOU, Tiny Wings developer Andreas Illiger!) With a project like this in the works, the Android gaming landscape is about to change, drastically.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Who's winning the smartphone race?
Viewed by operating system, Google's (GOOG) Android appears to be pulling ahead in the U.S. smartphone race, with a 29% share of sales over the past two months compared with Research in Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry and Apple's (AAPL) iOS -- neck and neck with 27% each.
But from the manufacturers' point of view, the race looks very different:
"An analysis by manufacturer shows RIM and Apple to be the winners compared to other device makers since they are the only ones creating and selling smartphones with their respective operating systems."
Friday, January 28, 2011
Android growth will double competition in 2011
In a report today, Canalys remained rosy on Google's (GOOG) Android. According to its Q3 2010 estimates, the Google-backed platform already claims 25% of the worldwide smart phone market. Those numbers are expected to grow significantly in 2011.
"The growth of Android has been phenomenal, but so too has the number of related devices launched with different hardware and software specifications," said Canalys principal analyst Chris Jones. "This has led to the market perception of it as a fragmented platform, though we believe that growth will continue as the pace of Android OS upgrades slows."
According to Canalys, vendors working on Android have taken advantage of the open source platform to push prices down and bring smart phones to the mass market. As a result, Android shipments grew more than 1,000% through the first three quarters of 2010 over the same period in 2009.
Hardware manufacturers are cutting prices, which means that a lot more people on feature phones with cheap plans will be able to make the leap to smartphones without incurring many additional charges.
"The growth of Android has been phenomenal, but so too has the number of related devices launched with different hardware and software specifications," said Canalys principal analyst Chris Jones. "This has led to the market perception of it as a fragmented platform, though we believe that growth will continue as the pace of Android OS upgrades slows."
According to Canalys, vendors working on Android have taken advantage of the open source platform to push prices down and bring smart phones to the mass market. As a result, Android shipments grew more than 1,000% through the first three quarters of 2010 over the same period in 2009.
Hardware manufacturers are cutting prices, which means that a lot more people on feature phones with cheap plans will be able to make the leap to smartphones without incurring many additional charges.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Google is approaching a quarter million Android activations a day..!!!
In an excellent story on the Android Invasion, Newsweek's Dan Lyons get's some new activation numbers from Android Chief, Andy Rubin. Rubin says that Google has recently passed the 250,000 activations/day mark, though only once, yet the numbers continue to rise overall.That rate is 1 million every four days, just under 8 million a month and close to 100 million activations/year. Will Google have sold 100 million more Android handsets by this time next year? It seems pretty likely.
Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt announced that they were activating 200,000 devices/day just two months ago at the Techonomy conference in Aspen. That's up from 100,000/day in May at Google I/O and 160,000/day announced at Google's June earnings conference.
The numbers have even baffled rival CEOs like Apple's (AAPL) Steve Jobs. Jobs said there must be something wrong with the numbers at a recent Apple event, "we think our friends are counting upgrades". At the same time, he announced Apple was activating 230,000 iOS devices/day. Google retorted saying, "The Android activation numbers do not include upgrades and are, in fact, only a portion of the Android devices in the market since we only include devices that have Google services."
Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt announced that they were activating 200,000 devices/day just two months ago at the Techonomy conference in Aspen. That's up from 100,000/day in May at Google I/O and 160,000/day announced at Google's June earnings conference.
The numbers have even baffled rival CEOs like Apple's (AAPL) Steve Jobs. Jobs said there must be something wrong with the numbers at a recent Apple event, "we think our friends are counting upgrades". At the same time, he announced Apple was activating 230,000 iOS devices/day. Google retorted saying, "The Android activation numbers do not include upgrades and are, in fact, only a portion of the Android devices in the market since we only include devices that have Google services."
T-Mobile opens orders for pure Android experience
Everyone hate those skins that manufacturers put on top of Android to try to differentiate their product. Unfortunately, fewer and fewer phones are coming out without some sort of manufacturer overlay to dilute that experience.
Thankfully, T-Mobile, the carrier that originally took a chance with Android, offering the G1 almost two years ago, is now offering the follow-up to that phone, the G2, for pre-order today and delivery by the first week in October. As you can see (right), it is stock Android 2.2, pure and simple. For those customers who bought the G1 at launch in October 2008, the G2 will make for a natural upgrade. Off topic:, it is hard to believe Android isn't yet two years old.The bigger question is: Why does Google (GOOG) allow manufacturers to muck up Android with their overlays without bringing much improvement with them? Danny Sullivan talked to Google CEO Eric Schmidt about just that very topic.
Schmidt's answer: Google's interpretation of Open Source requires them to let carriers/manufacturers do whatever they want with the Android OS as long as it doesn't alter the experience to a certain level. With Bing all over the Verizon Fascinate and alternative Android Markets planned, you have to wonder where that line is drawn. At the same time Schmidt mentioned that Android was selling like crazy and that the market would force the carriers to give people what they want -- if a pure Android experience was in fact, what customers were after.
Thankfully, T-Mobile, the carrier that originally took a chance with Android, offering the G1 almost two years ago, is now offering the follow-up to that phone, the G2, for pre-order today and delivery by the first week in October. As you can see (right), it is stock Android 2.2, pure and simple. For those customers who bought the G1 at launch in October 2008, the G2 will make for a natural upgrade. Off topic:, it is hard to believe Android isn't yet two years old.The bigger question is: Why does Google (GOOG) allow manufacturers to muck up Android with their overlays without bringing much improvement with them? Danny Sullivan talked to Google CEO Eric Schmidt about just that very topic.
Schmidt's answer: Google's interpretation of Open Source requires them to let carriers/manufacturers do whatever they want with the Android OS as long as it doesn't alter the experience to a certain level. With Bing all over the Verizon Fascinate and alternative Android Markets planned, you have to wonder where that line is drawn. At the same time Schmidt mentioned that Android was selling like crazy and that the market would force the carriers to give people what they want -- if a pure Android experience was in fact, what customers were after.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
L&T Infotech Joins Open Handset Alliance (OHA)
L&T Infotech, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the USD 9.8 Billion Larsen & Toubro, announced here today that it has joined the Open Handset Alliance™ (OHA). The OHA has developed Android™, the first open and free Mobile Platform. OHA is a partnership of more than 65 global mobile industry leaders who have come together to accelerate innovation in mobile technology and to offer consumers a unique, simplified, less expensive and better mobile experience. L&T Infotech is a leading provider of IT & engineering services offerings, solutions and Intellectual Property components in the Telecom Domain. L&T Infotech provides services to handset OEMs, ODMs, telecom service providers and platform vendors. L&T Infotech‟s services portfolio includes platform & application development; middleware solutions; device testing and support services.
L&T Infotech‟s expertise on various Android releases has been instrumental in
assisting handset OEMs to launch their Android-based devices in a short span of time.
L&T Infotech has also demonstrated solutions on various convergent and
entertainment devices, enabling proliferation of Android into multiple device
segments. L&T Infotech will strongly advocate for the Android Platform to become
the platform of choice for the enterprise segment in their mobility strategy, by
developing value adding enterprise solutions. “We are very excited to join the OHA. We have a very strong engineering team that adds value to our clients in the Telecom domain on a continuous basis. By joining OHA, we will continue to demonstrate our focus and commitment towards the Android platform.” said Mr. Sudip Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer of L&T Infotech.
L&T Infotech‟s expertise on various Android releases has been instrumental in
assisting handset OEMs to launch their Android-based devices in a short span of time.
L&T Infotech has also demonstrated solutions on various convergent and
entertainment devices, enabling proliferation of Android into multiple device
segments. L&T Infotech will strongly advocate for the Android Platform to become
the platform of choice for the enterprise segment in their mobility strategy, by
developing value adding enterprise solutions. “We are very excited to join the OHA. We have a very strong engineering team that adds value to our clients in the Telecom domain on a continuous basis. By joining OHA, we will continue to demonstrate our focus and commitment towards the Android platform.” said Mr. Sudip Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer of L&T Infotech.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
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