Blog Feed: This Android Life

Motorola Milestone (DROID) review

Published on 2010-01-18 06:01:00

I have a confession - my name's Martin and I'm an adulterer. I've cheated on my HTC Hero. I spent the last few days playing around with a Motorola Milestone (kindly supplied by Motorola's PR people), and I'm impressed. This is a really slick phone.Upon taking receipt of the review unit, I wasn't exactly overwhelmed by the Milestone's looks when I opened the box. I'm not a big fan of the Milestone's look; it's all angles and hard edges. Picking it up, it's got a good, heavy feel to it and it [..] > read more

Slowhand appears in MyTouch 3G Fender phone ads

Published on 2010-01-15 12:09:00

Now that the limited edition, guitar styled MyTouch 3G Fender is out (Stateside anyway), the T-Mobile ad campaign for the phone has kicked off, with the Slowhand himself, Eric Clapton as the face of the campaign.If you're a fan, then you'll be glad to hear that, as well as guitar sound app, there will be some Clapton musical content pre-loaded on the phone, as well as content from other musical luminaries such as Wyclef Jean, Avril Lavigne and Brad Paisley (who???). If you're not a fan...well, [..] > read more

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is a Nexus One user

Published on 2010-01-15 11:29:00

Some news that's sure to raise a few eyebrows among the Apple fanboy fraternity - In an interview with NBC Bay Area, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has admitted that he bought a Nexus One on the day of it's release. Ok, perhaps admitted is a strong word, more like he dropped a huge hint that he'd purchased an N1. When asked about his favourite gadget, the day after the Nexus One's release, he said:"Well, it's the latest one. It's a non-Apple product, but it's a gadget that just came out yester [..] > read more

Nexus One first week sales estimated at just 20,000 units

Published on 2010-01-13 04:46:00

According to market analysts, Flurry, Android new boy, the Nexus One's first week sales were a disappointingly low 20,000 units. The Nexus One is receiving a lot of attention in the media at the moment, but if this estimate is even remotely close to the mark, then the media hype hasn't converted to sales. Google have yet to confirm or dispute this estimate, and I doubt they'll bother.The DROID, by comparison, sold 250,000 unts in it's first week, but it was backed by Verizon's $100 million DRO [..] > read more

Android 2.1 SDK released

Published on 2010-01-12 03:11:00

Now that the Nexus One is out there and growing in popularity, Google have released the 2.1 SDK so that eager devs can tap in to the influx of new Android users that Google's phone will no doubt generate. The SDK is available here, or, if you already have an earlier version of the Android SDK running, you can simply update using the Android SDK and AVD Manager (see instructions below, from the official Android dev site):-You can launch the SDK and AVD Manager in one of these ways:Execute the an [..] > read more

Another custom HTC Hero ROM from MoDaCo

Published on 2010-01-11 09:13:00

Just a quick heads up to let you know that Paul at MoDaCo has released yet another custom ROM for the HTC Hero. You can find out more here. As usual, read through the later posts in the thread so that you're aware of any potential issues and fixes prior to updating. And, obviously, make sure you backup first.Here's the changelog:-Changelog3.1Based on shipping 2.73.405.66Includes Teknologist's kernel 1.91Built with my new MCR build process which reduces size and boost speed of the ROMUpdated B [..] > read more

Android phishing app removed from Android Marketplace

Published on 2010-01-11 07:20:00

First Tech Credit Union are reporting that a number of dodgy Android apps have been found on, and subsequently removed from, the Android Marketplace. The apps, which used a shell of a few mobile banking apps to harvest bank details, were uploaded by a user called Droid09, who has since been banned.We've discussed the potential for abuse of the Android Market a few times on this site in the past, so the news is no huge surprise, but, as has also been discussed here before, perhaps there should b [..] > read more

Google support for the Nexus One is more than a little flawed

Published on 2010-01-11 04:15:00

Anyone who has been perusing the Google support forums lately will know that, despite the media's lovefest for the Nexus One, there are a growing number of users who are not so pleased with the phone. Or at least, with Google's after-sale support for it. Google are selling the phone directly to customers, but they haven't got a dedicated customer services/support department for the phone in their infrastructure, an oversight that is causing consternation for many users, particularly in light o [..] > read more

Google Open Source Program Manager Chris DiBona grilled on CrankyGeeks

Published on 2010-01-08 05:43:00

This week's CrankyGeeks episode features, among other guests, Google Open source boss, Chris DiBona. The guests discuss some new phone that's just been released which you may not have heard about, called the Nexus One, but more importantly, the journos present also took the opportunity to press DiBona about two of the more talked about issues surrounding Android at the moment: how must Motorola feel following the release of the Android 2.1-powered Nexus One? And, what are Google's thoughts on [..] > read more

Viliv's Android-powered media player to be previewed at CES

Published on 2010-01-08 03:46:00

Viliv will be showcasing their latest portable media player at CES this week, the Viliv P3. As you can see from the official spec sheet above, this PMP can dual-boot between Windows CE and Android. Word from those on the CES floor is that this is a very nice looking device, it's well designed in a way not dissimilar to the iPod Touch, with a single button under the gorgeous looking AMOLED. Unlike the Touch though, this phone will have both internal storage (in 8GB, 16GB or 32GB flavours) and [..] > read more