As promised, Netflix is finally available on Android devices — but not all of them.
Right now, the Netflix app for Android only supports five phones running Android 2.2 or higher: HTC’s Incredible, Nexus One, Evo 4G and G2; and Samsung’s Nexus S. According to Android Police, Samsung’s Tab 10.1 is also covered, but Motorola’s Xoom is not. What’s important to note is that Netflix support is tied to specific devices, not to any particular version of Android.
While many of us Google I/O attendees were unsurprised by yesterday’s announcement that Google was launching its own cloud-based music service, we were excited to learn that every one of us would be getting a priority invite to the service. As a big music nerd, I was excited to give it a test spin. Can Google do music? Read on to find out.
Music Beta lets you upload your personal music collection to the cloud for streaming to your computer and other Android devices. Sound kind of familiar? You might recall that Amazon also rolled out a music player this year, Cloud Player. But unlike Amazon’s service, Google’s Music Beta does not sell music. So what’s the appeal? It’s simple and if you do everything through your Google account anyway, you might as well add music management to the mix. Furthermore, Android has always had a miserable music organization system so Music Beta is definitely a welcome addition to the platform.
Chrome feels like Google’s natural platform — all web, only the web. Android feels like an independent Google subsidiary.
At yesterday’s Google I/O keynote, the company announced Android Honeycomb 3.1, another upcoming Android version code-named Ice Cream Sandwich, a home-networking platform called Android @ Home, a system for building peripherals compatible with all Android devices, a plan to deal with Android fragmentation, a movie service, a music service, and several things I’m forgetting about right now. But there’s more news to come–presumably including non-Android developments like Chrome OS netbooks you can rent for twenty bucks a month–at this morning’s second-day keynote. I’ll be covering it live from San Francisco’s Moscone Center, with guest color commentary from Techland’s Doug Aamoth. You can join us at technologizer.com/googlekeynote2, and I hope you will.
That little green robot must be struggling to catch his breath.
In addition to unveiling two significant updates to its Android operating system on Tuesday — Android 3.1 and the next-generation Android Ice Cream Sandwich — Google took the wraps off its long-discussed Google Music service and launched a new movie service for Android, too. It was all part of Google’s annual I/O conference for developers, taking place this week in San Francisco.
So what are Google’s new music and movie services all about, and how will they work for you? Here are answers to all your burning questions.
Google today announced its first significant update to Android 3.0 Honeycomb. Google will roll out the update to Verizon Xoom 3G users today, and to other Honeycomb devices over the next couple of weeks.
The announcement was made during today’s keynote address at the Google I/O developers’ conference in San Francisco.
What I find most interesting are the things Google focused on here at the keynote. Namely, that the improvements mentioned, though welcome, don’t seem to address many of the issues I’ve already identified in Android 3.0. At the forefront: The image rendering glitch that’s very obvious in the Gallery app, where images appear fuzzy and lack detail as compared with their original versions.
Google unveiled a new version of Android (deliciously nicknamed “Ice Cream Sandwich”) at this morning’s keynote at Google I/O in San Francisco. Ice Cream Sandwich brings the best features of Honeycomb to mobile phones. Still, other than a few intriguing demos, Google did not disclose many details about the update such as when it will be available to consumers.
Interestingly, Google addressed one of the biggest gripes both developers and consumers have about the Android platform: Fragmentation. There are hundreds of Android devices out there in many shapes and sizes. And while choice is great, it is incredibly difficult for app developers to meet the needs of so many different types of phones and tablets.
So much for free tethering apps on Android phones, at least in the Android Market. AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile are now blocking these apps, which offer a free or cheap alternative to the carriers’ official, subscription-based offerings.
As Engadget points out, you can still see tethering apps like PDANet in the Android Market, but if you try to install them on any of the major U.S. carriers besides Sprint, you’ll be told that “This item is not available on your carrier.”
Coexistence is possible. The newest version of Qik lets Android video call iPhone users – and vice versa. Now let’s all hold hands and sing around the campfire.
The latest version of the apps works across Android (as long as you’re running software 2.1 to 2.3.3), all iPhones, the iPad2, and every iPod touch with a camera. The new app also introduces video mail.
So if you’re keen on doing some video mingling with people on the other side of the ‘hood, you better grab it now. Qik is dropping the price of their iOS app back down to gratis for a limited time. After June 1st, you’ll have to shell out three George Washingtons (fine, three dollars).
The video mail is also only free until June 1st, but prepared to pony up for a subscription afterwards.
Fring also offers video calling – in fact they have just launched a beta of group video calling – but it looks like it may be easier to talk to your best friend without jumping off the iPhone (or Android) bridge.
(This post republished from Techland.)
When you jump into the teeming Android tablet business, you choose to use an operating system that’s also used by a bunch of manufacturers. And there’s only so much you can do to differentiate the hardware–almost every tablet is basically a skinny slab with a great big touchscreen.
Sony, however, just announced two Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets with hardware that’s not the same ol’ same ol’. They’re not shipping until this fall, and are known at the moment only by the codenames S1 and S2.
