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Official multitouch to appear in Android 2.0?

by Taylor Wimberly

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Developer Luke Hutch was the first to release multitouch features on the G1.

(Credit: Luke Hutch)

Google Android fans have long been waiting for official multitouch support on Android devices, but Google has yet to offer any confirmation. Even at this year's Google I/O developers conference where multitouch was a hot topic, I only heard that "we don't know when it is coming." But after doing some digging and speaking to several sources with knowledge of the situation, it looks like Android users may finally get their wish this holiday season.

When is it coming?
Allow me to start with the rumor of the day. From what I understand, Android 2.0 will ship this year and will include multitouch support similar to what's found on the iPhone and the Palm Pre.This might sound far-fetched to some readers, but there is mounting evidence to back it up.

Several blogs have reported that Android will receive two more updates this year. I believe the first will be a minor update based on the Donut branch of Android. The second update, however, is likely to be a major refresh based off the Eclair branch.

The release schedule was recently echoed in a Reuters interview with Andy Rubin, director of mobile platforms at Google. Reuters reported that Donut will become Android 1.6 and Eclair will ship as Android 2.0.

So if Android 2.0 is coming this year, when exactly will it be released? Well, if the rumors are true, Google has chosen Motorola to showcase Eclair on one of its upcoming Android phones. A Moto phone is quite plausible given the recent comments from Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha, who said that his company is "100 percent" tied with Google. He characterized Moto and Google's relationship as "very solid" and said the two are coordinating their development effort.

Jha's comments fall in line with what I've seen about an upcoming device called the Motorola Sholes. Several sources have told me that Sholes, which could launch on Verizon Wireless before year's end, will be the flagship device for Google's Eclair release.

What will it offer?
Since Google apparently has decided to use the Android 2.0 branding this year, we can expect some significant upgrades to the mobile operating system. As previously mentioned, multitouch support is one of the most requested features. Android engineers have previously squashed hopes of seeing multitouch in the Donut update, but there is evidence that the company is working on it.

Google routinely drops new code into the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) that gives us a preview of what's coming in Android. Many independent developers use this open-source code to release custom versions of Android that you can flash onto a hacked phone. Cyanogen, one of the most active developers, said there is nothing in the Donut Android code for multitouch, but there are new kernel commits to support it.

Some handset manufacturers like HTC have included their own multitouch features in phones like the Hero, but adding the feature through a software upgrade would be different because Google is directly involved.

Google, Motorola, and Verizon have been extremely quiet with the exact details of this looming launch. With Motorola set to unveil its first Android phones at the upcoming Motodev Summit, we'll finally know its secret. And if everything turns out to be true, Verizon will have a hot smartphone and Google will have a worthy device for pitting Android 2.0 against the new iPhone OS 3.0. Prepare to be surprised.

1 million HTC Magics sold

1 Million HTC Magics Have Been Sold

by Rob Jackson on August 12th, 2009

The Android Revolution keeps on picking up steam, much of it courtesy to an HTC-fueled injection of hot hardware. At an event launching the HTC Hero in Taiwan, company CEO Peter Chou announced that sales of the HTC Magic have surpassed 1 Million units! That is quite a feat for any mobile phone and considering the Android Powered Magic has only been available since the end of April, impressive is a good descriptor.

Chou also revealed that HTC will focus on mid-range smartphone costing around USD $300 the latter half of 2009, presumably before contract/rebates, noting that 50% to 60% of shipments in the 2nd half of the year will fit into this category. HTC Click anyone?

And just to add a drip of jealous delicacy, Taiwanese Phandroids who grab the HTC Hero with a 2-year contract with a monthly plan of $53 USD will get the device for free. Color me envious.

Google as a Roommate!

Android software still alive for MIDs and Netbooks

New Android MIDs from Eston break cover

Posted on 11 August 2009 by Shane McGlaun
Tags: android, Eston, MID

Worth Reading?

Android is turning out to be a popular OS for more than just smartphones. Some computer makers still have Android-powered netbooks coming and MIDs are starting to surface with the OS. As Android grows in popularity, I am sure we will see it turn up on more and more devices.

The latest MID to get Android is from Eston and it is called the MID-02 Slider. The device will be offered on French carrier SFR and is a rebadged Compaq P8860.

Under the cover is an Intel Atom Z500 at 800MHz, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of SSD storage and a slide out QWERTY keyboard. The device sports a 4.3-inch touchscreen. Apparently, the official release details are unknown and the Android MID can only be purchased in bulk right now.

Motorola's custom UI for Android

Motorola Building Custom UI For Android Called Blur

Posted on Friday, Aug 7, 2009 by Casey Chan

The new trend for Android phones: custom built UI's. The HTC Hero has the Sense UI built on top of Android, the Sony XPERIA 'Rachael' has a drool-worthy interface, and now Motorola will have 'Blur'. According to BGR:

It will combine all personal contacts and social networking sites into a clean and easy to use interface...The skin/OS is named “Blur” by Motorola and will be heavily web-connected. All Android devices will be able to upgrade different sections of the OS and interface all over the air.

That blurb on 'Blur' doesn't do much in the specifics department but we can obviously expect heavy emphasis on social networking sites (facebook, twitter) and maybe even some webOS-like features. Either way, we're very, very excited to see what Motorola can cook up with Android--HTC Sense and the 'Rachael' UI are absolutely wonderful, hopefully Motorola's Blur can be the same.

New Phones and new carriers for Android OS

Rumored Android dates for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon

Posted on 04. Aug, 2009 by Taylor Wimberly in AT&T, Carriers, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon

Many Android phones have been delayed in 2009. We have been expecting 15-20 new Android devices before year’s end and it appears most of them will launch near the end of Q4. Finally we are beginning to see some unofficial dates, so I thought it was time to review all the rumors.

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AT&T

August 3, 2009 – HTC Lancaster

AT&T fans are hoping this phone is still coming.

This phone was first leaked by Engadget back in May and was supposed to be AT&T’s first Android offering. Looking at the specs, it appears to be the same guts as all other HTC Android phones. The target availability was listed as August 3rd, but no news has surfaced since then.

Included with the leak was the following note, “Initial Lab Entry dates were based on Google Mobile Services (GMS) UI, AT&T standard UI has been requested, which puts schedule in question.” This tells me that AT&T might still be tweaking Android to their liking and this is most likely the reason for delay.

I don’t see tons of people rushing out to buy this phone, but I know many AT&T customers would like an alternative to the iPhone. With the right price point (sub $100), I think it has the potential to enjoy the success of the G1.

Q4 2009 – HTC Hero

Engadget has reported the the HTC Hero has been approved by the FCC for AT&T 3G bands. With time running out, it will be interesting to see how AT&T would launch both of these HTC phones together.

I expect we could see something similar to the way Rogers offered the HTC Dream and HTC Magic on the same day. Two similar phones, but one with the keyboard and one without.

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Sprint

October 11, 2009 – HTC Hero

T-Mobile fans were sad when they found out no Hero for them.

Most Android fans are familiar with the HTC Hero by now. The phone is currently available in the UK and has received positive reviews. T-Mobile USA chose to pass on the Hero and went with the myTouch 3G as their flagship phone for 2009.

A leak started on XDA for the American release date of October 11th way back in April, but no carrier was mentioned. The same leak revealed new information last week that led us to conclude the phone is headed to Sprint. CDMA support is already appearing in the latest Android code and should be ready by October.

Recent rumors also suggest this might be the first Android phone with WiMax support on Sprint’s new 4G network. Clearwire is working with Sprint in building the WiMax network and reported it will have service in 10 cities starting September 1. One of those 10 cities in my hometown Corpus Christi, TX so I’m really crossing my fingers that this rumor comes true.

October 11, 2009 – Samsung Q

The Samsung m850 was leaked by Invisible Shield.

The same leak that told us Hero would come to Sprint also listed the “Samsung Q” as launching the same day. CellPassion has reported that a new Samsung phone is coming with the model number M900. The device pictured above is the M850 to give you an idea of what the phone might look like.

It’s also entirely possible that Samsung Q could refer to another device. Samsung has a line of mobile internet devices called the Q-Series. It has been suggested that Sprint is also testing WiMax devices for Samsung. Check out the Mondi which was demonstrated at CTIA. The device had Windows loaded, but would it really surprise you to see Android pop up?

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T-Mobile

October 21, 2009 – Motorola Morrison/Cliq

The Morrison captured by a Phandroid tipster.

The Motorola Morrison has been making more frequent appearances. The above image leaked by Phandroid, appears to be the final hardware. I recently did a wrap up of everything we know about this phone and I think it will be named the CLIQ when it finally goes on sale.

I predicted an October launch date and now a “trusted source” from DroidDeveloper claims the phone will hit October 21st. Motorola is holding their MOTODEV Summit on October 6th and plans to preview upcoming devices. I think it is entirely possible this phone could make its rumored date.

Q4 2009 – Samsung Bigfoot & Samsung Houdini

According to Samsung, they were supposed to have Android devices for Sprint and T-Mobile by Q2 2009. That never happened, but they managed to launch the Samsung Galaxy overseas. That same phone model, the i7500, has been approved by the FCC using T-Mobile’s 3G bands.

Most of us thought we would hear something by now, but that has not been the case. T-Mobile had both phones listed on their leaked roadmap for 2009, but plans could have changed. I expect we will eventually see the i7500 in one form or another, but there is no clue what the other device will look like. There have been several leaked pics of the Bigfoot with each one looking like a different phone.

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Verizon

October, 2009 – Motorola Sholes

What CPU will power Sholes?

Verizon customers waiting for Android should keep their eye on Motorola. It appears the rumored Sholes might be their only hope this year. Motorola has confirmed they will have two devices on sale this holiday season for two major carriers. As seen above, we think the Morrison on T-Mobile will be one device and the Sholes on Verizon will be the second.

The picture should come into focus by mid September. There are no CPU specs, but I have been speculating it could be a Snapdragon based device. Anonymous readers have suggested the CPU is the Texas Instruments OMAP 3430 – Same as the Palm Pre, but I find that hard to believe.

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Bonus: Cellular South

We can’t talk about Android phones and leave Cellular South out. This regional carrier recently announced it would offer an Android phone later this year. They run a CDMA network that covers parts of Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida.

It remains to be seen what type of device they will sell. Cellular South currently offers phones from HTC, Samsung, Motorola, and LG who all have new Android phones coming. My best guess would be the CDMA version Hero or maybe the low priced HTC Click.

I believe the regional carriers will play an important role in Android’s future and we will be bringing you further updates when we get them.

Who will be the next carrier with an Android phone?

How to Root.....

How to gain root access on your HTC Hero

by Shawn Brown on August 4th, 2009

It seems these days many mobile phone owners are learning just how valuable gaining root access on their phone can be. Rooting your phone is the difference between having the same phone others have and having a phone that allows you to change various aspects such as icon, fonts and many more.

Gaining root access also opens the ability to have homebrew apps and other utilities that usually prove more useful than those commonly available. For others it is knowing that you have all the control. There are now instructions on how to go about rooting your Android-powered HTC Hero. See below for complete instructions and remember to do this at your own risk.

1. Download:
   1. http://developer.android.com/sdk/download.html?v=android-sdk-windows-1.5_r3.zip
   2. http://rapidshare.de/files/47972320/orange-htc-hero-uk-boot.img-28-july-2009.zip.html
2. Install HTC Sync from your HTC device
   1. Connect device to computer using USB cable.
   2. Mount the SD card from the HTC Alerts Menu (Drag from the top of the screen).
   3. Install the sync application from the newly discovered drive in Windows.
3. Extract the two zip files into some folder (separate folders for each zip).
4. Go to the Android SDK folder and open the tools folder.
5. Copy the two files from the boot image zip (1.b) into the tools folder:
   1. boot.img.insecure
   2. boot.img
6. Shutdown the phone.
7. Press and hold the back key and power on the phone.
   This is get you into the fastboot screen (the white screen with three androids at the bottom).

   
   

8. Connect the phone to the USB cable if it’s unplugged.
9. On Windows, open cmd.exe (Start -> Run -> cmd.exe -> Enter):
   1. Change the directory to the tools directory you’ve created earlier.

2.                  Run fastboot.exe boot boot.img.insecure from within the tools directory.

Output:

downloading 'boot.img'... OKAY

 booting... OKAY

1. 1. Now your device will start from the given image with root access.
2. Gain root access:
   1. In the phone’s alerts menu, click HTC Sync. This will popup the HTC Sync tool in Windows. Ignore it!

2.                 In cmd type: adb.exe shell

Output:
#

1. 1. From the prompt you got (#) run the following command to mount the phone’s file system in RW mode:

mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

1. Add su command to your Phone
   1. Run the the following commands in the shell (#) – Run each command separately (don’t just copy-paste all the lines!):

1.                         cat /system/bin/sh > /system/bin/su

2.                         chmod 4755 /system/bin/su

1. 1. 
      

12.       Reboot the phone by typing reboot in the shell (#).

1. The phone will restart and load the original Android ROM.
2. Enjoy the your Rooted Device