ANDROID OPERATING SYSTEM

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With around 50 new Android handsets set for a 2010 release, users will have plenty of options for a new device. Choice, for the most part, represents a positive consumer development. In the mobile space, however, we see a bit of downside. This comes in the form of two-year contracts. Customers receive a discounted price on a handset, which can cost up to $500 otherwise, when they sign a two-year agreement. While this provides a cheaper handset, it also typically precludes a user from upgrading again for at least another 20 months. This two-year contract span can make it difficult to select a device. What if you choose wrong, and a better device comes out a year later? With so many Android handsets set to ship in 2010, that becomes an even bigger question. Surely we’ll see a ton of new, and better, models in 2011 as well. So do you buy now, or do you wait? If we see more promotions like the one Verizon will begin running later this week, the choice might become a bit easier. Click for larger This image, which comes from GizmoFusion , outlines the way you can not only get an early upgrade on a Verizon handset, but also wipe your contract slate clean. As long as you haven’t used a special promotion to upgrade within the last 12 months, you can select a new handset, get the two-year contract pricing, and walk away with a contract that extends only 24 months into the future. In other words, Verizon is willing to give you a discounted handset and essentially throw away your old contract. Seems like a good time to get an Incredible. Again, this acts as signing a new contract and removing your old one. Your New Every 2 clock and upgrade eligibility reset to the full 20 months, and your new contract end date is 24 months from the time of the agreement. It also means you cannot upgrade for another 12 months, even if Verizon runs this promotion again. The risk, of course, is that Verizon runs this at an earlier time next year, which would exclude anyone who took advantage of this promotion. Or they might not run it at all. But with so many high end handsets hitting the marketplace, Verizon does need to offer their customers an incentive to buy. Apparently they’re willing to go so far as to rip up your old contract and replace it with a new one. Verizon makes it easy to get an Incredible Post from: Google And Blog

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With around 50 new Android handsets set for a 2010 release, users will have plenty of options for a new device. Choice, for the most part, represents a positive consumer development. In the mobile space, however, we see a bit of downside. This comes in the form of two-year contracts. Customers receive a discounted price on a handset, which can cost up to $500 otherwise, when they sign a two-year agreement. While this provides a cheaper handset, it also typically precludes a user from upgrading again for at least another 20 months. This two-year contract span can make it difficult to select a device. What if you choose wrong, and a better device comes out a year later? With so many Android handsets set to ship in 2010, that becomes an even bigger question. Surely we’ll see a ton of new, and better, models in 2011 as well. So do you buy now, or do you wait? If we see more promotions like the one Verizon will begin running later this week, the choice might become a bit easier. Click for larger This image, which comes from GizmoFusion , outlines the way you can not only get an early upgrade on a Verizon handset, but also wipe your contract slate clean. As long as you haven’t used a special promotion to upgrade within the last 12 months, you can select a new handset, get the two-year contract pricing, and walk away with a contract that extends only 24 months into the future. In other words, Verizon is willing to give you a discounted handset and essentially throw away your old contract. Seems like a good time to get an Incredible. Again, this acts as signing a new contract and removing your old one. Your New Every 2 clock and upgrade eligibility reset to the full 20 months, and your new contract end date is 24 months from the time of the agreement. It also means you cannot upgrade for another 12 months, even if Verizon runs this promotion again. The risk, of course, is that Verizon runs this at an earlier time next year, which would exclude anyone who took advantage of this promotion. Or they might not run it at all. But with so many high end handsets hitting the marketplace, Verizon does need to offer their customers an incentive to buy. Apparently they’re willing to go so far as to rip up your old contract and replace it with a new one. Verizon makes it easy to get an Incredible Post from: Google And Blog

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When I had to choose my Android handset, the choice was clear. Nothing at the time topped the functionality of the Nexus One. It wasn’t a perfect handset, but after looking at all the others I couldn’t justify getting anything else. It miffed me a bit that I had to order it online rather than purchase it at a T-Mobile retail outlet, but whatever. Google provides free overnight shipping, so it was in my hands in no time. It looks like I would have been better off waiting. Not only has HTC announced two top-end devices (and has already released one), but now we learn that Google will eventually end online sales of the Nexus One. They want to get it into more retail stores, which is good. It will mean more people get to see it and play with it, which should increase sales. Many people won’t purchase an electronic gadget that they haven’t demo’d. That usually works, because most of the time you can go to a store and play with it before ordering online. Not so for the Nexus One. Google did make one important point in its farewell post. But, as with every innovation, some parts worked better than others. While the global adoption of the Android platform has exceeded our expectations, the web store has not. It’s remained a niche channel for early adopters , but it’s clear that many customers like a hands-on experience before buying a phone, and they also want a wide range of service plans to chose from. Emphasis mine. Now that Android has reached a higher rate of adoption, they don’t have as great a need for the Nexus One. It was a good idea, and for a few months filled a market need. Again, it was easily the best Android handset until the Incredible hit Verizon. But now that the major carriers are starting to get other high-end Android handsets, the need for the Nexus One has faded. Was it a failure in comparison to other high-end handsets? Yes. But it did succeed in its limited purpose. And who knows? Maybe, like a cult classic that fares poorly at the cinema but surges on DVD, the Nexus One will get another life in retail outlets. Google phasing out Nexus One web sales Post from: Google And Blog

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When I had to choose my Android handset, the choice was clear. Nothing at the time topped the functionality of the Nexus One. It wasn’t a perfect handset, but after looking at all the others I couldn’t justify getting anything else. It miffed me a bit that I had to order it online rather than purchase it at a T-Mobile retail outlet, but whatever. Google provides free overnight shipping, so it was in my hands in no time. It looks like I would have been better off waiting. Not only has HTC announced two top-end devices (and has already released one), but now we learn that Google will eventually end online sales of the Nexus One. They want to get it into more retail stores, which is good. It will mean more people get to see it and play with it, which should increase sales. Many people won’t purchase an electronic gadget that they haven’t demo’d. That usually works, because most of the time you can go to a store and play with it before ordering online. Not so for the Nexus One. Google did make one important point in its farewell post. But, as with every innovation, some parts worked better than others. While the global adoption of the Android platform has exceeded our expectations, the web store has not. It’s remained a niche channel for early adopters , but it’s clear that many customers like a hands-on experience before buying a phone, and they also want a wide range of service plans to chose from. Emphasis mine. Now that Android has reached a higher rate of adoption, they don’t have as great a need for the Nexus One. It was a good idea, and for a few months filled a market need. Again, it was easily the best Android handset until the Incredible hit Verizon. But now that the major carriers are starting to get other high-end Android handsets, the need for the Nexus One has faded. Was it a failure in comparison to other high-end handsets? Yes. But it did succeed in its limited purpose. And who knows? Maybe, like a cult classic that fares poorly at the cinema but surges on DVD, the Nexus One will get another life in retail outlets. Google phasing out Nexus One web sales Post from: Google And Blog

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Tablet devices and mobile broadband seem to go perfectly together. The always available connections work well with the ultra portable mini computers, allowing you to browse the web, download media, and communicate even when a WiFi connection isn’t available. We just saw the 3G iPad hit shelves, though there’s not a huge incentive to get one. You essentially have to pay Apple for the privilege of paying AT&T for a broadband connection. Verizon, though, seems to get it. They’re in talks with Google to create a carrier-exclusive tablet device. While Verizon, the party that leaked the information, didn’t provide details regarding pricing schedules, but because the device will come from a carrier, chances are it will be a bit friendlier than the iPad. In fact, the carrier partnership might be the best thing for such a device. What I’d like to see is some kind of data pricing plan that integrates with a smartphone data plan. In other words, don’t separate the plans because there are separate devices. Instead, Verizon could allow current smartphone customers to select a reasonably priced add-on data plan for the tablet. If they have to pay twice for data, well, then the appeal of the device declines. Keeping the tablet data rates tied to smartphone data would make the device more appealing because customers wouldn’t feel they’re paying twice. I have full confidence that the tablet will provide an excellent experience. It’s the pricing that causes the most concern. If Verizon gets it right, this tablet project could take off. If not, well, you have to figure that some carrier will. It just makes too much sense. Possibilities abound for Verizon Android tablet Post from: Google And Blog

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Tablet devices and mobile broadband seem to go perfectly together. The always available connections work well with the ultra portable mini computers, allowing you to browse the web, download media, and communicate even when a WiFi connection isn’t available. We just saw the 3G iPad hit shelves, though there’s not a huge incentive to get one. You essentially have to pay Apple for the privilege of paying AT&T for a broadband connection. Verizon, though, seems to get it. They’re in talks with Google to create a carrier-exclusive tablet device. While Verizon, the party that leaked the information, didn’t provide details regarding pricing schedules, but because the device will come from a carrier, chances are it will be a bit friendlier than the iPad. In fact, the carrier partnership might be the best thing for such a device. What I’d like to see is some kind of data pricing plan that integrates with a smartphone data plan. In other words, don’t separate the plans because there are separate devices. Instead, Verizon could allow current smartphone customers to select a reasonably priced add-on data plan for the tablet. If they have to pay twice for data, well, then the appeal of the device declines. Keeping the tablet data rates tied to smartphone data would make the device more appealing because customers wouldn’t feel they’re paying twice. I have full confidence that the tablet will provide an excellent experience. It’s the pricing that causes the most concern. If Verizon gets it right, this tablet project could take off. If not, well, you have to figure that some carrier will. It just makes too much sense. Possibilities abound for Verizon Android tablet Post from: Google And Blog

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One thing I’ve noticed in the month I’ve had my Nexus One — tons of web publishers have added Apps to the market. iApp Ventures has added a few news aggregators, and I’ve noticed a ton of web publisher apps from Notice Software . Today we see another publisher, this one a bit bigger, adding their app to the Android Market. That’s the New York Times, and their app is front and center. The app looks and functions just as I’d imagined it. By default the top stories get listed on the main screen, complete with snippet description. Pull down the top bar to change categories. They have pretty much every section of the newspaper here, which is quite nice. The articles are pretty much the unabridged version, same as the website, complete with pictures. This is great, at least for a reader like me who enjoys the experience the Nexus One and other touchscreen devices provide. I also enjoyed the ability to scroll left and right to read more articles, rather than navigating back to the main page. (One minor complaint: hyperlinks do not come through on the Android app. Oh well.) If you’re not the biggest fan of the mobile device reading experience, you can try to get more out of the NY Times app by adjusting the font. It looks good for me on Medium, but then I switched to Small and liked it even more. It has two larger settings as well, so it can fit the preferences of any reader. When you’re reading an article you can hit the menu button and share it through a number of channels. These include Gmail and messages, plus any social media apps you have installed. It integrates perfectly with the WordPress app, too. You can get the NY Times app for free in the market, or you can scan the QR code below. NY Times catches up, adds Android app Post from: Google And Blog

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It’s no secret that the Android OS is being included on an increasing number of handsets. It seems like nearly every manufacturer wants to try it out at least once, and a few of them, namely HTC and Motorola, have drank from that well multiple times. Via Boy Genius Report , we get a closer look at exactly how much these Android-toting companies have grown so far in 2010. Shipments are up big time overall, 56.7 percent year-over-year. That’s 54.7 million devices from January through March 2010. HTC, one of the manufacturers most commonly employing Android, grew 71 percent over the first quarter 2009. They could see even larger growth in the second quarter with the addition of the Droid Incredible, which has seen immense popularity in its limited time on shelves. We also have the EVO 4G to look forward to. Another multiple-Android manufacturer, Motorola, has shown impressive results so far. They increased shipments 91 percent. The original Droid remains popular on Verizon, and Motorola could introduce a few more Android handsets this year to help beef up its portfolio. It expects to ship 12-14 million Android handsets this year. Apple, of course, remains Android’s biggest competitor. Research In Motion actually saw a decline in BlackBerry shipments year-over-year, but it has also held back a number of its handsets for second- and third-quarter releases. Apple, however, increased its shipments 131 percent this year. That will certainly grow even more later in the year, when the company plans to introduce the iPhone 4G. It’s a great time to be a smartphone manufacturer, as Motorola, HTC, and Apple can tell you. That market has absolutely fueled wireless handset growth. The overall sector grew only 21.7 percent during the first quarter, so the 56.7 percent growth from smartphones represents a large portion of that. It makes me wonder how away we are from the majority of cell phone users owning smartphones. Android helping fuel smartphone rally Post from: Google And Blog

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