Google Me, My Best Guess at What it Will Look Like

There’s a lot of buzz and chatter in the blogosphere about Google’s upcoming social features. Starting with Kevin Rose’s infamous tweet, we’ve been referring to an amorphous “Google Me” platform. Presumably, Google Me will be designed to go toe-to-toe with Facebook. We’ve seen rumors about Zynga bringing social gaming aboard, along with a recent acquisition [Read More...]

Aug 282010
In Defense of Root [Android]

I jumped the gun. Today Android 2.2 “Froyo” was pushed by Verizon to the HTC Droid Incredible. Well, I’ve been running it since Monday. I “rooted” (gained superuser access) my phone and installed a custom ROM that allowed me to run Froyo. At first, I was reluctant to root my phone but after thinking it [Read More...]

Aug 182010
Awesome Androids Coming to Verizon

There’s no doubt that Verizon is betting heavily on Android. Although it seems like a near certainty that the iPhone will come to Verizon, perhaps as early as January, Verizon seems to have a near lock on quality Android devices. The only exception seems to be the Samsung Galaxy S, which will be available on [Read More...]

Froyo, froyo and more froyo: Android 2.2 Rollouts

Here’s the latest round up on the Android 2.2 (“Froyo”) over-the-air updates coming to Droids. Motorola Droid 1 — Froyo is rolling out now in stages. The version of Froyo being distributed is sans Adobe Flash 10.1, which will be available as a download from the Market later this summer. HTC Droid Incredible — Mashable’s [Read More...]

Latest Android Apps/Widgets/Launchers on My Phone

It’s been awhile since I last told you what’s on my Android phone (here and here). I share with you the latest additions to my app collection which now totals 99 apps.  For the full list of apps on my phone, check out my app brain page at: http://www.appbrain.com/user/mallinj/apps-on-the-phone .  Titles of the apps listed [Read More...]

Google Dumping Wave

Posted by Jon Mallin at 7:43 pm
Aug 042010
Google Dumping Wave

Google is dumping Google Wave. Here’s the official quote: Wave has not seen the user adoption we would have liked. We don’t plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product, but we will maintain the site at least through the end of the year and extend the technology for use in other Google projects. [Read More...]

The Next Big Thing: Miio

Posted by Jon Mallin at 7:31 pm
Jul 232010
The Next Big Thing: Miio

Miio is a mixture of every hot property on the web right now. It is a little like Facebook, Twitter, Buzz and FriendFeed. In other words, it is a social networking site. Do we really need another? The answer appears to be a resounding YES. Miio brings in the best of each of the hot [Read More...]

Some LEGO, an Android phone with a good camera and a skilled programmer came together to solve a 7 x 7 x 7 Rubik’s Cube.   Impressive. [via SingularityHub / only ~ 3,000 YouTube views at time of this post]

Blackberry Apps Now Available from Verizon's V Cast App Store

Today Verizon announced the launch of it V Cast App Store on Blackberry smartphones. This will go head-to-head with RIM’s own Blackberry App World and Handango. Apps purchased from V Cast are billed to a subscriber’s phone bill. The V Cast App Store is currently available on the BlackBerry Bold 9650, Storm 9550, Curve 8530 and Tour [Read More...]

Jul 142010
Droid 2 Specs Confirmed [Android/Verizon]

Boy Genius Report just posted the Verizon summer device catalog. Oddly, it lists the Droid X as “Coming Soon” (yeah, like tomorrow). The images are hard to make out but if you blow it up really big, it’s legible. Here are the specs for the Droid 2, which are somewhat underwhelming: Google Maps and Navigation [Read More...]

Blackberry OS 6 Video #2

Posted by Jon Mallin at 8:12 pm
Jul 142010
Blackberry OS 6 Video #2

RIM has released another Blackberry OS 6 video. I thought the first video and OS 6 stunk. This one, however, is pretty good and shows some features of OS 6.0 we haven’t seen before like better integration with social networks and the RSS reader (they bought Viigo, perhaps to help with this project). For video #3, [Read More...]

Google testing allowing some users to login to multiple Google accounts; Thank You!

When I started this blog in November 2009, I wrote a post entitled, “Dear Google, Please Allow Users to Merge Accounts or Build Account Switching into Chrome.” Well, chances are good that nobody read it because the blog was new. However, it appears that others had similar wishes. Google is now testing a system that [Read More...]

Google App Inventor... the Cat's Meow. [VIDEO]

Google dropped a bomb today on the mobile app market… and Apple. It made App Inventor for Android available to the public, after one year of beta testing it in classrooms. It allows people who don’t know how to code (like me) to make Android apps. It’s entirely web-based and it seems that apps can [Read More...]

Droid X Full Review [Hands On] vs. HTC Incredible -- Verizon Android Showdown

I have been using a Droid X for the last three days. I’ve read the reviews that are out in the blogosphere and want to take a different approach. I’ll simply compare the Droid X with the HTC Incredible that I’ve used since early May. I’m very satisfied with the Incredible but ultimately I conclude: [Read More...]

Poor mobile phone reception? Buy a network extender.

My office building is practically a vacuum for mobile phone signals. Nobody on any carrier can maintain a clear call for more than 30 seconds or so. I eventually gave up using my cell phone at work and relied on a landline. After a few agonizing months of missing cell phone calls and clicking on [Read More...]