Back in 2005 Google launched this nifty program called Google Earth. Back then you would need a computer to view a program like this but now not anymore Android users received Google Earth for Android. With the newest release of tablets based on Android 3.0 it seems Google really wanted to take advantage of the power that these tablets would contain.
The update to Google Earth for Android makes Earth look better than ever on your tablet. We?ve added support for fully textured 3D buildings, so your tour through the streets of Manhattan will look more realistic than ever. There?s also a new action bar up top, enabling easier access to search, the option to ?fly to your location? and layers such as Places, Panoramio photos, Wikipedia and 3D buildings.
If you ever owned an iPhone you know when a new update hits the iOS you needed to go to iTunes and plug in the device and select the update. This would give you all the new updates for the iOS ect, well it looks like Apple is working with Verizon to change all of that. Starting this fall Apple will be giving over the air updates to their iPhones.
Sources say the new feature will debut in iOS 5, meaning iOS 5 will not come over-the-air but following point updates to it will. Just like tethering in iOS 3, Apple has the technology but cannot just unleash it everywhere. Apple and Verizon Wireless are said to have been in talks over these wireless software updates since early this year. Sources could not comment on whether or not Apple is negotiating similar deals with AT&T or international iPhone carriers.
With face time being a big hit on the iPhone 4. It was no secret the Droid would be soon to follow. As we know the Droid wants to do everything and now the Droid does video chat. You can now video or voice chat with your friends, family and colleagues right from your Android phone, whether they?re on their compatible Android tablet or phone, or using Gmail with Google Talk on their computer. You can make calls over a 3G or 4G data network (if your carrier supports it) or over Wi-Fi.
Google Talk with video and voice chat will gradually roll out to Nexus S devices in the next few weeks as part of the Android 2.3.4 over-the-air update and will launch on other Android 2.3+ devices in the future.
Samsung has announced its first 4G LTE phone for Big Red, the Droid Charge, which will be available Thursday, April 28th. It features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, an 8-MP rear camera with LED flash, a 1.3-MP front-facing camera, 1-GHz processor, Android 2.2 (Froyo), and? its main selling point?support for Verizon?s LTE network. Are you sitting down? The Samsung Droid Charge will cost $299 with a two-year contract, $50 more than the HTC Thunderbolt.
On a nice side, the Droid Charge comes with a 1600 mAh battery instead of the Thunderbolt?s 1400 mAh, which means it should last longer on a charge?without the need for an extended battery. On our tests, the Thunderbolt lasted a mere 3 hours and 56 minutes while continuously surfing over 4G. With 200 more milliampere-hours, we expect that the Droid Charge will come closer to our average Android battery life of 5 hours and 50 minutes.
It seems Apple is making a number of changes with the app store?s ranking last week. There seem to be new weights on top of download numbers to determine the top apps. It?s too fresh to tell what the weights actually are. It is reasonable to assume however that Apple is considering factors such as active usage. After the changes one of the most significant jumps was the Facebook app which took over the number one spot in free apps in the United States where normally it was positioned between positions ten and twenty. Obviously the app will have high usage which gives credence to the idea that activity is now playing a stronger role in the rankings. According to AppData facebook app is used by 39.5 million users daily. Also shown is the movement of Netflix from between thirty and fifty to nineteen and Pandora which is now at six but usually was in the twenties. So it does look more and more like activity will play a big part on what apps are ranked at the top.
Me personally I think this ranking is a good idea. Instead of people spamming downloads to get the rankings up, people will actually have to do what you actually download it for, which is to use it! I hope that all companies follow these types of algorithms, such as blackberry and Android. It will help people in the marketplace not only find apps that are popular but are also used on a daily basis.
As I posted in my blog yesterday Google had a great first quarter of 2011. One of the notable points is that 3 billion applications installed. To put the 3 billion stat in perspective, Apple just passed 10 billion apps in January. But thanks to the fast growth of the sale of Android phones, Google?s app downloads are growing fast. The first billion installs took 20 months, the second billion installs took another 5 months, and the third billion took only 2 months. It?s also important to note that because of Google?s open platform, Android users can download apps from a number of marketplaces, including Google?s Android Market. Amazon just launched an Android app store a few weeks ago. With fewer restrictions placed on Android developers it not hard to see why Android apps are moving so fast. Now it will be interesting to see how long it takes them to hit the 10 billion mark Apple hit in January.
