Google Announces its Social Network Service – Google +

Google Announces its Social Network Service, To compete with Facebook – Google +

So after a long spell of rumors and now finally Google has announced its social network service dubbed as Google+. Its looks the real competitor of Facebook is just launched but in quite different way. Google+ allows sharing with groups, like colleagues, roommates or hiking friends, not with all of one’s friends or the entire web. Google+ also offer group text messaging as well as video chat. Google+ is built on the philosophy of sharing the right thing with the right people.

Well lets see the official videos and discuss about the Google+ functionalities as its in trial mode so not everyone is allowed to join Google+ if you want to use Google+ you need an invitation from someone who is already using Google+ unlike Facebook and twitter where everyone can join and start their social activities. We have also seen this invitation barrier on Orkut early days.

+Circles: The philosophy of this functionality is share what matters, with the people who matter most. All in all circle will let you to share different things with different group of people in your specific circle.

 

+Huddle: is a like is just like a tweet to specific group of people that lets everyone know in your circle that what’s going around you.

 +Hangouts: Allows you to meet face to face video chat with your circle when you are free. This functionality by Google is like casual meet up that we do in our real life as we meet our friend in free time and hangout with group of friends.

 

 +Mobile: Lets you share what’s going happening around you. when you are taking a picture with your permission +Mobile adds your picture in private album in the cloud so it always available to be shared when you like to. +Mobile also allows you to add your location with every post if you want to share it.

 

Deva4Android

Android 3.1 Ice Cream Sandwich

Google announced the launch of Android 3.1 Ice Cream Sandwich (weird name, huh?). Here are some of the new features for the 3.1 version of Android:
USB host mode – This new neat feature enables applications to access all your input, output or storage devices via USB.
Resizeable widgets – You will now be able to resize your widgets in any way you want. Let it be horizontal, vertical or whatever you can think of.
Input device support – The new version is tweaked to support a variety of input devices, such as joysticks, keyboards, mices etc.
The new version also comes with a set of packed apps, such as Movies app, Books app, a video editing application and much, much more.
The full list of new features, along with the new SDK, can be found on the Android Developers Blog.

Android Tips and Tricks for Gingerbread

With the release of Android 2.3 it is time to talk about some cool tips and tricks for phones loaded with Gingerbread version.

Tips

• In Scrollable list when you reach the end of the list, you get an Orange hue which indicates that you have hit the end of the list.
• Notification bar icons (Wi-Fi, network coverage bars, etc.): Turn green when you have an uninhibited connection to Google, white when you don’t. Hint: if you’re in a hotel or airport using Wi-Fi, the bars won’t turn green until you launch the browser and get past the captive portal.
• Voice actions: Tell your phone what to do by pressing the microphone icon next to the search box on the home screen, or long press the magnifying glass. You can tell it to send an email or text message , call someone , navigate somewhere, or listen to music .
• Downloads are now neatly collected in a Downloads manager, which you can find in the apps drawer.
• Turn a Gallery stack into a slideshow: In Gallery, when you are looking at a stack of photos, put two fingers on the stack and spread them. The stack spreads out and the pictures flow from one finger to the other, a moving slideshow that lets you see all of the photos.
• Walk, don’t drive: Once you’ve gotten directions within Google Maps, click on the walking person icon to get walking directions.
• Easy text copy/paste from a webpage: To copy/paste from a webpage, long press some text, drag the handles around to select the text you want to copy, and press somewhere in the highlighted region. To paste, simply long press a text entry box and select paste. Gmail is a bit different: you need to go to Menu > More > Select Text.
• Turn your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot: Go to Settings > Wireless & Networks > Tethering & Portable Hotspot
• Look at Maps in 3D: With the latest Google Maps release, you can now look at 3D maps. Tilt the map by sliding two fingers vertically up/down the screen, and rotate it by placing two fingers on the map and sliding in a circular motion, e.g., from 12 and 6 o’clock to 3 and 9.
• Cool shutdown effect: When you put the phone to sleep, you’ll see an animation that resembles an old cathode tube TV turning off.

Keyboard tricks

• Shift+Key to capitalize a word: In Gingerbread (and supported hardware), you can Shift+Key to capitalize a letter instead of going to a separate all caps keyboard.
• Auto-complete: The space bar lights up when auto-complete can finish a word.
• Quick replace: Tap on any previously typed word, then tap on a suggestion to automatically replace it with the suggested word.
• Easy access to special characters (like numbers, punctuation): Press and hold any key to go to the special character keyboard. You can also press and hold the “,” key for an extensive punctuation keyboard.

If you own a gingerbread version phone try these tips and tricks and let us know your feedback.

10 Things Android Does Better Than iPhone OS

Android Takes a Bite Out of Apple

When Android first debuted on the HTC Dream (also known as the G1) back in October of 2008, it was deemed an "iPhone Killer." While it didn't quite slay Apple's handset, it was the first step in a revolution against the tyrannous iPhone. The initial Android platform bested the iPhone OS on several levels, but lacked some key functionalities that the iPhone could provide. Since then, Android has grown - not only meeting all of the functionalities of the iPhone, but besting it in nearly all aspects from an extensive list of devices to a growing Android Marketplace. Here is our list of the top 10 things Android does better than the iPhone.

1: Android can Run Multiple Apps at the Same Time

Starting with version 1.0, Android has been able to run multiple applications at the same time regardless of whether they are system apps or apps from the Android Marketplace. The current version of iPhone OS does offer limited multitasking, but only allows native applications such as Mail, iPod and Phone to run in the background. Android users benefit greatly from this discrepancy, as they can receive notifications, listen to music, or even record GPS data without keeping the application open. Apple will try to level the playing field with iPhone OS 4, granting developers access to a small and limiting list of APIs that can run certain services in the background, but it's a long way from the true multitasking that Android has.

2: Android Keeps Information Visible on Your Home Screen

One of the key features Android has is a customizable home screen keeps active widgets right at your fingertips, always accesible and always visible - without having to launch an application first. There are widgets for just about every app in the Android Marketplace from playing music to checking the weather and keeping up to date on Facebook. Meanwhile iPhone users are force to flip through their app list to locate and launch each app. If you wanted to check the forecast, for example, you would have to find the app, launch it, and then wait for it to load. With Android, all of that information can be displayed directly on your home screen, never more than a finger swipe away.

3: Android Has a Better App Market

It's true that Apple's App Store has over 365577 applications, while the Android Marketplace has only just broken the 2,56,545 mark but Android's rapid growth and adoption give it the potential to catch up to the iPhone App Store. Android also has another advantage: a completely open market. Apple receives around 10,000 app submissions per week, yet many apps are overlooked because they appear too simple or denied because a similar app already exists. The Android Marketplace is driven entirely by its consumers, so the best app is the one that succeeds - not the first one to reach the market. In addition, the Android Marketplace doesn't censor its apps, so the possibilities are truly endless.

4: Android Gives You Better Notifications

The iPhone has some trouble with notifications. Because it's restricted to pop-up notifications, it can only handle one at a time and because it lacks multitasking, applications must be open in order for them to make notifications. Android, on the other hand, has a convenient notification bar which displays an icon for every notification you have waiting. The notification bar can also be pulled downward to reveal more detail about each notification. Android also allows app developers to make notification details viewable from the lock screen, something the iPhone can only do with native applications.

5: Android Lets You Choose Your Hardware

Apple users are encouraged to "Think Different" but when it comes to the actual hardware, they don't get much choice. You can pick the color, either black or white, and you get to choose between the 16GB or the pricier 32GB version. Other than that, you're stuck with the 3.5-inch, 320x480 pixel display, 512MB of RAM, and 600MHz processor. Because Android is an open platform, manufacturers have the freedom to pair it with any hardware they want, like the Samsung Galaxy SII (with 4.3-inch, 480x800 pixel display, 1GB of RAM, and 1.2GHz Cortex A-8 processor) or the Htc Desire Z which has a physical keypad. Obviously, available selections will vary by carrier - speaking of which.But in India it comes unlocked

6: Android Lets You Choose Your Carrier

AT&T truly is the iPhone's weakest link. The iPhone's success turned the country's fastest 3G network into a staggering mess of dropped calls and dodgy data connections. If you lust after an iPhone and live in an area with poor AT&T coverage, you're stuck struggling with low signal quality, slow data speeds, and missed calls. Android devices are available on every major cellular carrier (although AT&T only offers a single, somewhat underpowered, Android phone). No matter where you live, Android lets you pick the carrier that's best for you.

7: Android Lets You Install Custom ROMs

This one is my personal favourite......
The iPhone can be Jailbroken for some additional functionality, like installing apps that aren't available in the App Store, but the overall experience is the same. You're still stuck with the same exact interface. Similar to the Jailbreaking movement, Android has a small community dedicated to building custom ROMs for Android devices. Not only do Custom ROMs bring the same functionality Jailbreaking does, but they also bring an additional level of customization to your phone. There are ROMs that port custom UIs from one device to another. Other ROMs strip down bulky features and optimize for speed. With Android, nothing is out of reach.

8: Android Lets You Change Your Settings Faster

Smartphones have been gaining more and more functionality over the past few years: Wi-Fi, GPS, 4G, Bluetooth, etc. While these are all great and necessary additions, they have very adverse affects on battery life. In attempts to counter poor battery life, users have taken to toggling system settings like turning on Wi-Fi or 3G on only when they are needed. iPhone users are stuck digging around in the system settings every time they want to use the internet or a Bluetooth device. Android lets you use widgets to manage your settings directly from your home screen - and for those lesser-used settings that might not have dedicated widgets, you can also create shortcuts on your home screen to take you directly to the setting you want to change.

9: Android Does Google and Social Integration

With Smartphones giving us constant connectivity, it's not surprising that the majority of our computerized lives are moving online. We have email for our messages, Flickr for our photos, Google Docs for our documents, and Facebook and Twitter for our social lives. Android offers the ability to integrate all of this natively. Your Gmail account can be automatically synchronized with your phone. Photos taken with your phone can be automatically uploaded to Flickr. Your phone can even be linked to your Facebook account and can sync your phone contacts with your Facebook friends - complete with profile images, email addresses, and phone numbers. The iPhone can do this only through use of third party apps, and is nowhere near as seamless to use as the Android alternative.

10: Android Gives You More Options to Fit Your Budget

If you've ever thought about buying an iPhone, you have probably noticed the price tag. The older iPhone 3GS costs $150 with a two-year commitment and performs sluggishly with the latest OS updates when compared to the 4G (which will run you a whopping $199 with two-year agreement). Because Android is an open source platform, it is very cost effective to implement which means savings for the end user. Every major cellular carrier (except for AT&T) has at least one Android phone available free with two-year agreement.These are many high end Android devices, which are really a iPhone killer like Samsung Galaxy SII, Motorola Atrix, Htc Desire Hd, Google Nexus S, Htc Sensation 4G . The most expensive Android phones (which significantly outperform the iPhone 4G) are  $199 with two-year contract .

World’s first hand-powered mobile charger

ideaForge, an Indian startup, is bringing up a radical new way of charging your mobile phone. It comes at a cost of Rs. 350 ($8) and doesn’t suck up any electricity. All it needs is a hand job. No that’s not an innuendo. In other words, you just have to crank it or roll it to get the required juice to run your phone for that last mile or many more miles if you can do enough cranking/rolling.

There are two modes in which this charger operates. First mode is the wind-up mode where you basically rotate a small pedal to generate enough power. The second mode is a Roll on mode where you use it as a roller on any surface and the charger generates the power on to the connected mobile phone. Probably the most environmental friendly solution ever. Another neat feature -  You can talk over the phone while you are charging it.
We have seen Nokia’s bicycle charger and Suntrica’s solar chargers. ideaForge’s charger is one of the brightest and probably the cheapest. You don’t need a bicycle nor a sun to get your phone charged. All you need is just one hand. And you by now know, who the intended audience would be. It would be the power stricken rural areas of India. And probably, power hungry smartphone users of urban India. You know, to cope up with all the 3G speeds, movie streamings and live TV’s.

No.of apps : Apple vs Android vs Blackberry vs Windows!

How many apps are there in Apple store? How many are there in Android market place? Just how behind is Android in the app race? All these question can be answered with a simple chart. Today’s chart of the day comes from Mobilewalla, the app discovery site. It has a menu option called Clash of the Titans which shows the comparison between four mobile platforms in terms of the number of apps. Quite a fascinating comparison.
Apple is leading the pack which shouldn’t be no surprise. Android with 256545 apps is behind Apple but it has the potential to overtake iOS. Blackberry and Windows are in their own world.

PS : The assumption here is Mobilewalla has taken the latest counts from the respective app stores. We have not verified the numbers individually. But they sound about right.

Top 10 Android Apps – March 2011

There are a lot of great Android apps released every week, and it can be hard to find the good ones. Well have no fear! Here are 10 of our favorites from this week…

1. Angry Birds Rio

I’m  sure everyone already knows what this one is. If you don’t your missing out. It’s the new version of the mega-hit Angry Birds. The game play stays the same, but the graphics have improved. New levels, animals and other cool stuff.  If you’re a fan of the games, you can get Angry Birds Rio over at Amazon for 99 cents.

2. Outbreak! Zombies Beta

Cool new location based RPG that lets you “stay alive” while the zombies attack. You can use it to find other survivors in your area, as well as zombies. All of this is done with GLAST, which stands for GeoLocation Apocalypse Survival Tool. You must beware though; the zombies can find you too! It’s free and in Beta right now so check it out.

3.Pokemon Tower Defense

If you like Pokemon and Tower Defense games, you are going to want to grab this. The pokemon evolve just like in the real game (cap of 10), and you can capture the enemies and add them to your own. All 151of the original pokemon you love are in the game. The developer says it’s in “Alpha” and updates will be forthcoming.

4.Inferno Galaxy Live Wallpaper

It’s one of four new live wallpapers in the Maxelus Galaxy Tetralogy. This one’s entitled Inferno Galaxy and it’s awesome. It runs smoothly on Captivate

5.Carnival Pinball

Slick new pinball game with an online global score board. Has great graphics and the physics were good. Comes with three levels, with more to be added soon. Developer says it will run on all Android Phones and Tablets.

6.Ghost Wars Pro

Fun game that’s very similar to The Wars if you’ve ever played that. It’s a defense/RTS game with some cool graphics. You produce a series of different  warriors and send them to attack the enemies base. You can upgrade your units, hometown, and fire arrow. When you kill other units, you’ll get gold, which you use for the upgrades.

7. Gre Theme for GO Launcher EX

Here’s a new Theme for GO Launcher EX. Nice green theme for those of you with the popular GO Launcher. Not much to say really, it looks great and it’s free. If you like green, go grab it.

8.Mobo Music Player

It’s an Android music player that lets you  preview millions of songs and you can also download them for free. It has a great search feature and seems to have a lot of modern stuff. It has several different categories you can browse through like All-Time songs, All-Time R&B, etc. You can also make and edit songlists.

9.Extreme Formula

Here we have a futuristic racing game called Extreme Formula. It’s a challenging game with plenty of features. You’ll get 65 tuning items, 10 tracks and 5 vehicles to play with. There are also various games modes and a tech tree system. Fun little game for racing fans looking for something different.

10.Tetronimo

At number 10  we have a blast from the past with a Tetris clone called Tetronimo. Who doesn’t love Tetris though? It’s simple to use and the graphics are nice. You just have to move the blocks and tap the screen to rotate. It’s got the classic Tetris music and has a global score and ranking system.