Android 3.0 Honeycomb: 10 things you need to know

Google unveiled its tablet-specific Android 3.0 OS at CES to a flurry of excitement thanks to some pretty exciting new tablet-focused additions to the already impressive OS. 

But, with a preview of the SDK only just released to developers, we won't be seeing Honeycomb on our Android tablets for a little while; in the meantime, whet your appetite with our round-up of the key new features. 

1. There'll be 3D-effect graphics

You can't swing a cat without hitting something 3D (literally) in the tech world these days, and Google knows it. Honeycomb offers developers the opportunity to use high-performance 3D graphics which should offer no noticeable lag, even with the extra rendering required.

This means we'll see 3D creeping into our apps, wallpapers and carousels as the developers get to grips with the extra dimension. 

2. The Android UI has been redesigned especially for tablets

The Android user interface had always been intended for smartphones with screens no bigger than around 4-inches – with the advent of tablet devices, displays have shot up in the size stakes. Lucky for us, they're not short of a brain cell or two over at Google and have re-designed the Android UI taking the larger screen into account. 

The updated UI isn't a million miles away from what we're used to on Android handsets – there are still multiple, customisable homescreens, universal search box and widgets galore – but the small tweaks will make it so much better to use on the larger scale. 

 

An ever-present menu bar at the bottom of the screen will hold notifications, system status updates and on-screen navigation as well as a handy clock, with a "lights out" mode to dim the bar when you're watching a film and want the full screen. 

Meanwhile, the action bar at the top of the screen is dependent on the app you're in; its look and feel are dictated by each individual app, as are the options available to compensate for the lack of dedicated menu button. 

3. Recent apps will make multi-tasking a breeze

Multi-tasking is where we expect the dual-core Android tablets to shine, and Honeycomb gives it the tools to do so. 

The 'recent apps' launcher lays out the last apps you used and the state you left them in, so you can quickly nip from one to another and straight into work. The tool lives in the system bar which is always onscreen, so there'll be no tedious navigation through menus. 

 

4. The keyboard will be tablet-friendly

Of course you could buy an external keyboard for your tablet but lugging a million accessories around defeats the object of having a sleek and handy tablet.

To save you the hassle, Google has put a bit of thought into the onscreen keyboard; the keys have been reshaped and repositioned to make typing more comfortable and the targeting more natural for the larger screen, instead of simply scaling up the keyboard.

We love the inclusion of a tab key, which makes the typing experience more akin to that of a desktop or notebook than that of a phone. 

5. Better copy and paste than ever before

Ah, copy and paste. Such a small function and yet so universally adored. While regular Android does allow text selection, copying and pasting, the Honeycomb system has had a few tweaks.

Tapping a single word will select it while the bounding arrows either end make expanding the selection super simple - simpler even than the one used in Gingerbread.

A menu in the action bar at the top of the screen then allows you to either cut, copy, copy to clipboard, share, paste, search the web for or find. 

6. Connectivity upgrades include improved Wi-Fi and Bluetooth tethering

Google has improved Android's Wi-Fi connectivity with a new scanning system; it reduces scanning time across bands and filters, so you should be up, running and connected in shorter times. 

Bluetooth connectivity has been updated too; more devices can now tether to the tablet and share its connectivity, while simple devices with no user interface (think sensors and the like) are also supported. 

7. There'll be anonymous tabbed web browsing

If you fancy a spot of private web browsing on your Android tablet, then you're in luck; the new "incognito" mode lends an air of Poirot-era respectability to your secretive searching. 

Google has also done away with the multiple-window browser, instead going for a tabbed browser system with your open web pages displayed in the action bar at the top of the screen. 

 

Google Chrome users can easily sync their bookmarks to the tablet browser too, thanks to Honeycomb's option to automatically sign in to all Google sites with one supplied account. 

8. Legacy apps will work seamlessly

Worried that you won't be able to make use of the thousands of Android apps already in the marketplace? Never fear, even though they were designed for a much smaller-screened device, Honeycomb is still compatible with apps developed for earlier Android iterations as long as devs add in a simple spot of code. 

The menu key functions from Android phones are migrated to the Action Bar menu in Honeycomb, and there's the option for developers to create dedicated layouts for larger screens and add them to existing apps. 

9. Two-pane email should mean easy inbox oraganisation

Two-paned email sounds a little familiar – oh yes, that's right. We've seen it before on the iPad where it works brilliantly. If it ain't broke, and all that. 

The ability to select multiple messages in the inbox and move or delete them mean there's no excuse for a messy, disorganised inbox, while attachments can be synced to the tablet for you to view later. 

10. Widgets are going to get interactive

Widgets saved to the home screen on Honeycomb tablets are going to have a whole new level of functionality available. Rather than passively relaying information to the user, they'll be interactive.

Gestures can be used to scroll through 3D stacks or lists of content, while touch gestures can also flip and move the widget's innards like never before. 

 

If you're still crazy for more, then check out the video Google has kicked out about the new Android 3.0 OS - it's like looking at pictures but a lot faster.

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Android 3.0 Preview

Top 10 Best Android 3.0 Features

• Battery Life/Power Management Improvements

• Homing/ Tracking Facility

• New Android Market

• Video Editing

• Real Multitasking

• Better GPS on Google Maps

• Built-in Remote Desktop

• Google Documents Integration

• IR Transmitter with Universal Remote Function

• Improved Media Player 

   

Android 3.0 Video:

Is Google is seeking to control the world? Do you afraid of that? [Video]

The Beast File: Google (HUNGRY BEAST)

Google Buzz goes after Facebook, Twitter

Google plunged into the world of social networking on Tuesday, melding pieces of Facebook and Twitter into a new feature, Google Buzz.

Buzz, which will work through the popular Gmail service, will allow users to post status updates, photos and links to members of their network -- as well as pull in their activity on other sites like Twitter, Flickr and Picasa.

Google spokesman Bradley Horowitz said the service, which was rolling out to some Gmail users Tuesday afternoon and should be available to all in the next couple of days, aims to weed out what he called the clutter of other networking sites.

With networking sites, "there's obviously value there," he said. "It's a phenomenon that's real, but it's increasingly becoming harder and harder to make sense and find the signal in the noise."

By letting users post photos, links and updates openly, the tool would mimic Twitter's micro-blogging format. But users also will be able to make their content available to "friends only," more closely following the Facebook model.

At an event at the company's Mountain View, California, headquarters, Google also seemed poised to take a poke at the AOL Instant Messenger service, saying Buzz will be offered to companies as a tool for interoffice communication.

"It will change the way businesses communicate around the world," Horowitz said.

Despite the inevitable comparisons, Google spokesmen said they didn't set out to tread on anyone else's turf.

"We try not to pay too much attention to competitors," Gmail product manager Todd Jackson said. "We try to listen to users."

Horowitz said Google Buzz will automatically make "friends" out of the people a user e-mails or chats with the most on Gmail.

Comments on posts will appear in real time. And comments by other users will be weighted, similar to how Google's search engine weighs results, to "collapse bad buzz and recommend the good buzz," Jackson said.

The hands-down leader in the search engine world, Google has been branching out on projects that include its Nexus One smartphone, the company's first foray into hardware marketing.

Late last month, Google announced that people could tweak their accounts to make results related to friends, co-workers and other members of their social networks appear above all other results.

The Social Search feature was introduced to a limited number of Google users last year and was made available to everyone in beta status on January 28.

The change came with a hint of more things to come.

"This is just a first step in our ongoing effort to ensure that Google Web search is always as social as the Web itself," the company said in an instructional video posted to its official blog.

Google Buzz probably won't be able to bring in status updates and other materials from Facebook for the same reason that Social Search doesn't.

Because most Facebook users set their information to be viewed only by friends, Google's search engine can't collect that information in the same way it can from Twitter and, obviously, Google-owned sites like YouTube.

Buzz also will have a mobile component, operating on most major wireless operating systems with features that include voice-recognition posting and a GPS-enabled ability to attach the user's location to posts.

The Web-based mobile application, which can be used by iPhones despite not going through Apple's online store, can also be set to pick up posts to Buzz being made near the user's location.

Changes to the tool could be coming quickly, too. Google officials say they're already studying possible expansions. They include allowing Buzz updates by phone, letting users post to their Twitter account through the tool and linking Buzz with the still-emerging Google Wave system.

"We're just getting started," Horowitz said. "We're not launching this today because we think we're done. We don't think that's how a product like this is built."

Original artical by cnn

Google's 'Social' Gmail: Could It Really Work?

Gmail, meet Twitter.

Google is preparing to unveil a new social networking component for its Gmail Web service, according to reports published Monday. The service, The Wall Street Journal says, would add tweet-like status updates into the Gmail interface. It could be announced as early as this week.

As generally happens anytime we get a glimpse at a new tech product, people are already rushing to label the social Gmail concept as a "Twitter-killer." (Following that same logic, by the way, I'm pretty sure the Nexus One killed the Droid, which killed the iPhone, which killed the Nintendo DS, and so on. For all this technology-killing going on, there sure seem to be an awful lot of things still out there.)

Homicidal digressions aside, could a social Gmail really work? Ultimately, it all depends upon the connections.

Gmail Gets Social

First, here's what we unofficially know so far about Google's potential social Gmail setup (Google's spokespeople have yet to comment on the reports):

• Gmail will supposedly gain a stream of "media and status updates" within its Web-based interface.

• Users would be encouraged to use the stream to "post and view messages about their day-to-day activities."

• Users would see information only from people with whom they choose to connect.

• The updates could eventually include info shared from YouTube and Picasa as well.

The reports compare the social networking concept to the status update system already present in Gmail's chat feature. As with most instant messaging platforms, the Gmail chat feature allows you to set a status that users on your friend list can see. The new social Gmail platform, The Wall Street Journal reports, will "aggregate updates from more friends" into a single stream. It's not clear if those updates would be tied directly to the Gmail chat statuses or whether they'd be something completely separate.

Gmail and Social Connections

When considering any kind of social Gmail system, I think the real question is whether the service will attempt to create something new or to centralize something old. In this case, the latter may be preferable. YouTube and Picasa integration, after all, are fine -- but would that be enough to convince you to get on-board? We're already facing a serious bout of social network overkill; there are simplyfar too many different sites to keep up with as it is, and the last thing we need is one more destination to frequent.

How a Gmail social service could fill a relevant void would be by creating a convenient way to manage the existing noise. Sure, you've got options likeTweetDeck and Ping.fm , but let's be honest: Outside of us techies, far more people are familiar with Google and Gmail than with these kinds of niche-oriented offerings.

A clean and simple service that'd integrate updates from Facebook, Twitter, and other social services into Gmail could gain some solid traction (and might actually be rather handy, too). If it could somehow leverageGmail's spam-filtering capabilities to cut through Twitter's junk -- er, sorry, "social media expertise" -- hey, that'd be icing on the cake.

Google's Social Moves

Realistically, any kind of cross-platform integration may be a long shot. Google has been slowly but steadily building its own army of social services over the past months. The company even hired a handful of social media veterans earlier this year, one of whom told CNET the social media realm was set to be one of Google's "big focuses for 2010." The goal, he said: getting there "faster and better."

So will Google's alleged Gmail social service be another Orkut, or will it give us something we'll actually use? Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets. Google has a media event scheduled for Tuesday, so odds are, we'll learn the answer very soon.

Original articl by PCworld

Nexus One Sales: Slow Month is No Surprise

Sales of Google's Nexus One didn't improve over the smartphone's first month according to Flurry, the same firm that reported limp debut week sales.

Flurry says Google sold 80,000 Nexus Ones in January, after selling 20,000 during week one, the Wall Street Journal reports. Those figures aren't official; they're based on mobile app usage by newly-detected phones, divided by the types of phones detected. The numbers suggest that Nexus One sales haven't significantly sped up or slowed down over the course of a month.

By comparison, Flurry says Apple's iPhone sold 600,000 units in its first month, and Motorola's Droid sold 575,000 units (an interesting comparison in itself).

But don't call the Nexus One a failure. There are way too many factors that make comparisons with other Android phones, and of course the iPhone, unfair.

When the iPhone debuted, the market was quite different. Yes, the iPhone cost more than today's subsidized smartphones, but it was also a unique product. Today, there are lots of consumer-friendly superphones to choose from, including Motorola's Droid and Cliq, Palm's Pre and Pixi, and of course the Nexus One. As for comparisons with the Droid, that phone also had the advantage of launching during the holiday season, a popular time to buy new phones.

That's not to say the Nexus One couldn't do anything to improve its sales. As I've said before, Nexus One marketing -- little more than an intermittent Web ad and a YouTube channel -- has nothing on the aggressive campaigns for the iPhone and the Droid, both of which have strong images that appear in television ads and billboards. There's also the issue of online-only sales, turning off anyone who wants to try before they buy. And until the Nexus One becomes subsidized through Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and Sprint instead of only T-Mobile, the potential customer base is limited.

But this is vintage Google. The company will sit on a product and let it incubate for years, making little tweaks here and there until the team is ready to take it out of beta. The Nexus One's not a beta test, but between slow initial sales and early technical problems, it seems like one. I'm still waiting for Google's mobile phone revolution, but it could take a while.

Source [ PCWORD ]