Apple stepped up its offensive against Android on Friday by apparently banning the mentioning of the competing OS in an app’s description.
The SAT Vocab app by developers Flash of Genius originally contained the incredibly offensive line ‘Finalist in Google’s Android Developer’s Challenge!’ when it was initially submitted for approval.
However Apple replied to the developers that, while it wasn’t going to reject the app, they should ‘make appropriate changes to the Application Description’, and that the line was ‘not relevant’ to the product.
It’s not certain if this is an App Store policy now, but it would appear Apple is keen to keep awareness of competing services to a minimum, especially in the case of porting software over to its system.
Considering Apple’s most recent major advertising campaign focused on how varied and extensive the App Store was, this is a shrewd move on their part.
[Via: Gizmodo]
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HTC’s newest Android 2.1 phone rather predictably leaked onto the Internet through a series of photographs of the outside and few details of what’s in store on the inside.
Currently slated for release on the Verizon network, the Incredible is a Snapdragon-powered, dual LED flash smartphone possibly with an AMOLED display. ‘Possibly’ because actual details are still a little thin on the ground at the moment.
No word on if it’ll be receiving a release outside of the US, or that it will even be called the Incredible by the time it launches, but there will undoubtedly be a few more leaks from ‘unknown sources’ (that are most definitely not HTC) over the next few weeks.
[Via Pocketnow]
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Google released the January figures for the Nexus One last week showing sluggish sales throughout the month.
Despite having sold 200,000 units at launch, the Nexus One has had a tough time getting out to consumers, with only 80,000 handsets sold last month. Currently its sales put it some way behind the pace set by both Apple’s iPhone 3GS and Motorola’s Droid.
The cause of the sluggish sales can be partially blamed on the method chosen for distribution, with Google preferring not to sell its handsets through traditional phone shops or the network operator’s site, instead relying on consumers to visit its web store directly.
Sales are expected to pick up once it launches on more networks later in the year, being currently limited to T-Mobile US, and when it launches in further territories outside North America.
[Via I4U]
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Virgin phone subscribers have a nice little bonus coming their way on April 1st – free landline to mobile calls. There is just one catch – both mobile and landline have to be on Virgin tariffs.
BBC Click wheedled the info out of a Virgin PR person and told the world via Twitter. Although there was some speculation that this may be an April Fool’s joke, the offer is apparently confirmed from the top.
From the 1st of April, all calls to Virgin Mobile from Virgin landline numbers will be free, although callers may have to redial after 60 minutes (presumably to stop you using it as a cheap baby monitor or similar).
So, not quite the free call bonanza it could have been, but still an excellent incentive if you were thinking of signing up for a Virgin Mobile/broadband/landline bundle – especially for families with several mobiles.
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It’s taken a while, but Google’s vision of mobile utopia is coming to fruition. Each month brings fresh reports of new Android-packing handsets and practically every major manufacturer now has an Android entry on the market.
LG is the latest supporter, but unlike rivals Motorola and Sony Ericsson – both of which are making bold statements with their Droid and Xperia handsets – it’s adopted a more restrained approach.
The GW620 – or InTouch Max as it’s affectionately known – is a phone aimed squarely at entry-level users. Like the equally cheap-and-cheerful HTC Tattoo and T-Mobile Pulse, this is Android for consumers on a tight budget.
However, just like those two devices, the GW620 is unexpectedly robust and has one or two pleasant surprises under its unassuming exterior.
Good things come in small packages
The first thing that strikes you about the GW620 is its size: this is the smallest Android-based QWERTY slider we’ve laid hands on.
Continue reading ‘Review: LG GW620 InTouch Max’
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I really can’t understand why smartphones that come with QWERTY keyboards barely ever have some form of Office software to use.
While writing emails and texts is slightly easier on a slide-out keyboard, it’s not really a feature worth investing in one phone over another for.
Dataviz’s DocumentsToGo sets out to correct this oversight by providing a basic suite of MS Office-like apps along with a .pdf viewer to QWERTY-owning Android users, and indeed to those suffering with software keyboards too.
It’s a pricey app though, clocking in at $14.99 (or £9.58), but if it really offers the same functionality as a portable Office, then it will seem cheap compared to the £89 Microsoft charge.
First impressions are very positive. All four of the applications included in the suite look impressively like a certain large corporation’s efforts as opposed to a cheap competitor. The menus are logically laid out and easy to access, and while the names may not be familiar, the choice of saving in Office 97-08 formats is very welcome.
The program even integrates perfectly onto the phone, making it easy to open attachments from your email and boot straight into the relevant software without any faffing around.
Continue reading ‘Review: DocumentsToGo (Android)’
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It’s the sort of app that fascinates thanks to a combination of frisson and revulsion, but The Pits [App Store link] for iPhone and iPod touch will certainly gain some attention.
Basically a fairly random selection of the arm pits of young ladies, cropped from various existing photos rather than taken especially for, it’s hardly the highest class piece of software out there.
Images are frequently repeated, but hey – it’s free – and there is an option for you to upload your own personal examples should the mood take you.
Personally though I’m still having a lot more fun with Arrested [App Store link] – images of recently arrested Americans.
[source: Krapps]
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The BBC’s excellent iPlayer service is unfortunately restricted to 3 and Vodaphone subscribers in the UK – to the frustration of all avid watchers of Eastenders and Antiques Roadshow on other networks.
The Android Market being what it is though, it hasn’t taken long for an enterprising programmer to set up shop and release an unofficial program that mirrors the iPlayer’s functionality.
Normally when these independent programs are released they tend to be lacking in either functionality or presentation – a temporary stop-gap before everyone switches to the official version when it eventually appears.
It comes as a very pleasant surprise then to find that BeebPlayer is rather excellent.
It doesn’t do anything the iPlayer service on the web can’t do, which is understandable, but what it does is wrap all the iPlayer controls into a very quick and easy menu system.
Continue reading ‘Review: BeebPlayer (Android)’
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The US Weather Channel had a surprise for its Android using viewers last week – a free app served up via their TV screen.
The free Weather Channel app – which gives quick access to weather data, video feeds and dangerous weather alerts – is up on the Android Marketplace, so the Weather Channel nerds thought it would be handy to place a QR code on screen that linked directly to the app’s download page. Users could simply point their phone camera at the screen and Android would recognise the QR code and launch the web browser.
The BBC used to do something similar back in the 1980s when it offered downloadable BBC Micro games in the end credits of Micro Live. Unlike the BBC’s method (which required you to hold a lightpen against the screen, with somewhat mixed results), the QR code system actually works and it’s nice to see this often sidelined bit of technology find a use.
Continue reading ‘Weather Channel distributes Android app via your TV’
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