iOS vs Android Home Screens and the Nexus 7

Well with all the buzz around the Google Nexus 7 I decided to get one. So one thing that I though was really interesting is how the home screens are laid out. I found this a bit odd coming from the iPhone world.













When you compare the two, they sorta look like this.

The Apple devices always home to the left most page. So when you press the home button twice you end up on the left.



How Android is Different

With the Android device, the home page is always in the center. You can navigate two pages to the left or right. But pressing the home button twice always takes you to the center page. Once I figured this out, it made sense.



However, the thing that really threw me off at first was the Android widgets. With iOS, the only thing that shows up on a page are icons or folders. No deviations from that. With Android, you can put Widgets on a page. Widgets are little mini apps that can take anywhere from a row of space to the entire page. The home page on the Nexus 7 is filled with a Google Play widget. It took me quite a bit of playing around to figure this out.



I think Google would be better off to make the widget maybe half a page or smaller. That way, the new apps are installed on the home page and users can see as they are added. Without that sort of behavior it is less than obvious where new app icons get added.



First Impressions

The size and weight of the Nexus 7 are pretty cool. It is a great device for reading books. Although, I do think Google would be better off with their own ePub reader. Finding and installing one took much more work than it should have.



Anyway, I'll add more as I spend more time with it.

Android Tablet: First Reaction

Just got an Asus EEE Pad Transformer last weekend. So after a little bit of use here is my reaction.



I don't think Apple has much to worry about at this point in time. From a hardware standpoint, the EEE pad is really nice. A beautiful screen, fast processor, and good battery life. However, I can't say the same for the Android operating system. With Android, every task seems to take 2 or 3 more clicks to do compared to the iPhone. In addition, the application interfaces lack consistency. Each new application is like a new puzzle. lol. This is not a good thing. No performance problems so far. The screen rotation is a little clunky, but mostly works.



Anyway, more to come on this subject.

Android Honeycomb 3.1 Comes To The Asus Eee Pad Transformer

The Asus eee Pad Transformer has gotten Android 3.1. Here is the scoop.



Android Honeycomb 3.1 Comes To The Asus Eee Pad Transformer - HotHardware

New Nook eReader 1 ups the Kindle

Barnes and Noble released its new Nook e-reader today. The $139 device is wifi only and has a touch interface. Battery life is 2 months compared to the Kindle's 1 month.



I really want to try this out. The Kindle is a great device, but the user interface is awful. Read Write Web has the details:



Read Write Web: Can Barnes & Noble's New Nook Top the Kindle?

Lookout iPad, a Family of Amazon Android Tablets on the Way

This story broke at the end of last week and over the weekend. Amazon is readying a family Android based tablets to compete with the iPad.



Will Amazon make a tablet? 'Stay tuned,' says Jeff Bezos

Tom's Guide: Amazon Says ''Stay Tuned'' On Tablet Front

ReadWriteWeb: Will Amazon Become the Dominant Player in the Android Ecosystem?



This has probably been in the works for a while. Given the success of the iPad. Both Barnes and Noble and Amazon realized they should be in this space. However, with Apple's new requirement that any in App purchases go through the App Store, book retailers would be required to give Apple a 30% cut on any book sold. This wipes out any profit for a book retailer and has already put small book retailer iFlowReader out of business. Apple has not yet blocked the ebook reader apps from Barnes and Noble or Amazon. But they could, and both book retailers know it.



To me, the in app purchase policy is not a smart move by Apple. Up until now, they have had very little real competition in the iPod and iPad space. Now they are creating 2 very large and highly motivated competitors. Apple's own actions are creating the competition for their devices. Plus, Apple is also opening themselves up to anti-trust scrutiny with this move.



The stories indicate Amazon is creating a whole family of devices. Mainly tablets from 7" to 10". Don't be surprised if this move includes iPod touch like music and movie playing devices as well. Amazon has to protect its business anyplace you would read a book, listen to a song, or play a movie.



So if you are thinking about getting a tablet or an iPod touch. You may want to wait a few months. The hounds of competition are about to be unleashed.

Google I/O Live Blog: Google Launches Music, Movies, Android 3.1

Google IO is today. Read Write Web has the details.

Google I/O Live Blog: Google Launches Music, Movies, "Ice Cream Sandwich" & More

Best Mobile Apps List by Gizmodo

With hundreds of thousands of mobiles apps out there now it is getting harder and harder to find the good ones. The editors at Gizmodo are trying to help by creating a list of them for each platform. A must bookmark for anyone with a mobile phone or a table.



The New Essential Apps April 2011: iPhone, Android, iPad and Windows Phone

Best apps of 2011: Gizmodo�s got �em for top platforms | TechBlog | a Chron.com blog: "this excellent roundup by Gizmodo of apps for iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows Phone 7"

Asus Eee Pad Transformer sells out online on day one

You know how I have been writing about the EEE Pad Transformer the last couple of weeks. And I have been looking forward to getting my hands on the first Android Honeycomb 3.0 tablet for $399. Well... the EEE pad came out yesterday and is already sold out. :(



Asus Eee Pad Transformer sells out online on day one - Yahoo! News



I guess I should not be surprised. Although it is not on the radar of much of the tech media, Engadget alone has probably built up enough buzz to sell it out. Also, it is my understanding they are shipping pretty low quantities to the US as the device was launched in other countries first.



One other fact learned in the last week. The keyboard that makes the transformer tranform, is not free. It costs an additional $150. So really the device has a price of $549 as opposed to $399 when all is included.

Corona SDK Approved for Nook Color App Development

Read Write Web has this great write up on Corona SDK. Basically, it a mobile development environment and simulator that uses the LUA programming language. (LUA has a lot of similarities to JavaScript.)



Corona SDK Approved for Nook Color App Development



The tool allows you to write cross platform applications for the iPhone, iPad, Android or Nook. If you go to the article you will some really well done You Tube videos on the tool. It looks like an amazingly easy way to develop applications, especially compared to objective C.



You can download the Corona SDK and use it all you want for free. Once you have an application developed, you have to pay a $199 per year subscription fee to distribute the app to one platform of your choice (iOS or Android). To distribute to both it costs $349 a year. For the Apple side you also have to spend $99 to join the developer program. Probably a pretty good price if your app is at all successful.



Corona SDK is definitely worth a look.

Asus EeePad Transformer to Cost $399

Confirmation from Tom's Hardware that the EEE Tab Transformer will be showing up in the US at Best Buy stores for $399.

Asus EeePad Transformer to Cost $399



This is great news. This looks like an awesome device and it will be great to see it in stores so soon.

6 Great News Sites for Mobile Phones

Here are 6 good news sites that work well on your mobile phone. To make the list, the main pages and immediate links are all formatted for mobile devices. In addition, the sites must be free. This rules out 2 great sites in the NT Times and Wall Street Journal.

1. CNN


2. Fox News


3. The Sun (UK)


4. The Telegraph (UK)


5. USA Today


6. Yahoo! News

Great stuff to read while waiting in line.

Nook Color - Android Tablet Worth a Look

Did you know that the Barnes and Noble Nook Color is an Android Tablet? I sort of did, but it didn't really hit me until I saw one last week. Wow the web browser on that little guy was fast and looked really good. Much better than the primitive one you find in a kindle.



Anyway, I plan to get one in a couple of weeks and then more reviews will ensue. I've added links to the device in this post and on the main page if you are interested in checking it out. Most Barnes and Noble stores also have demo units available in the store.

Want to run Android on your Windows 7 Desktop?

Well you could install the Android SDK. Or you could get bluestacks.com's Android Virtual Machine. Here are the details.

BlueStacks offering Android virtualization within Windows, harmony for one and all -- Engadget



The web site doesn't seem to work yet, but the idea is very interesting. We needs a Beta!

Asus EEE Pad Transformer: First Android Tablet you should buy?

Maybe. With all the buzz around Motorola and Samsung tablets, the Asus EEE Pad Transformer has been kind of lost in the shuffle. Basically, the EEE pad is a tablet with a keyboard dock that allows your to use it as a laptop or tablet. SlashGear has all the details.



SlashGear: ASUS Eee Pad Transformer first-impressions [Video]



The review is very positive. Honeycomb 3, a beautiful screen, and great battery life. Plus Asus is known for being very aggressive with price. My experience with their netbooks and laptops has been mostly very good.



According to a London Telegraph story, it should be released in the UK next week. One story hinted at an April release in the US. I guess we will see.

Let the Battle for Music in the Cloud Begin!

The gauntlet has been thrown down. Amazon today announced a service to store your music and media in the clous and play it back anywhere anytime. CNet has the details:

CNet: Amazon launches digital music locker



So you get 5GB of storage for free. 20GB for $20 a year. You can play your music in any Mac or PC browser and on Android devices. However, you can not play your music on iOS devices. That's right no iPod, iPhone, iPad. Odd isn't it? Mashable has the details and a few word arounds.



Mashable How To: Use Amazon Cloud Player With iOS Devices



So according to the story, there is no technical reason why the player will not work on iOS devices. In fact, only Mobile Safari doesn't work. If you use an alternative web browser, it plays just fine.



So why the rather odd snub to Apple products? There have been a number of reports that both Apple and Google will be announcing similar products this year. That could be the reason, but I don't think so. More likely this has too do with Apple's new subscription policy on the App store. Apple is planning to ban any apps that sell things outside of the app store. That would include Kindle books and newspaper subscriptions. Given the low prices of ebooks, it seems likely that paying Apple a 30% cut is just not feasible. So this move seems directly aimed at that app store environment. It will be interesting to see if Amazon "fixes" this issue in a timely manner.



Anyway, I expect some "leaks" about Apple and Google offerings sooner than later.

Google Delaying Open Source Release of Honeycomb

According to Mashable, Google is indefinitely delaying the open sourcing of Honeycomb release of Android. The concern is that this version, designed for tablets, will not work well with mobile phones. So they want to address these issues before a general release.



That sounds reasonable, but I'm not sure how will it will go over with the open source community.

Samsung's Galaxy Player - Android-based iPod Touch

Hands on with Samsung's Android-based Galaxy Players | Crave - CNET



Samsung hosted a hands on event last week introducing the Galaxy Player 4" and 5" devices. These are Android based iPod Touches. All the features of an iPod, just bigger.



It surprises me how long it has taken the Android hardware manufacturers to come out with devices like this. I would love to have an Android device to try out. However, spending $600 or more to buy a full featured phone that I do not need, seems a bit foolish to me. A $200 or $300 Wifi based iPod Touch device makes a lot more sense. There has to be thousands of developers and gadget hobbyists out there like me.



Anyway, more updates to come as we still do not have a price or release date.

Android Market targeted with malware-laced apps

As reported by MacWorld yesterday and several others, the Android marketplace was targeted with 50 fake apps that included malware:

Android Market spiked with malware-laced apps | Mobile | iOS Central | Macworld



Hackers took real applications, put spyware code in them, then rereleased the applications on the marketplace. Since Google does no checking of applications, it took a developer to notice and report the problem. In my opinion, Google has been naive with its Marketplace and has ignored the first immutable law of the Net. They do not have to be as strict as Apple with apps, but there has to be some level of review. Otherwise, their marketplace will be nothing but spam and malware.

Android for Tablets - Honeycomb 3.0

A preview release of Google's new operating system for tablets was released a few weeks back. I'm just hearing about it on some of the podcasts I listen to. lol. So I searched around a bit and this article seems to be the best article on the subject.



Android Central: What's new in Android 3.0 Honeycomb



Pictures are included so you can get an idea of what the new OS will look like. The first tablet running the OS will be the Motorola Xoom, which is rumored to be released February 24. Which is interesting, given that the "preview" release came out 2 weeks ago. Apparently Motorola was the only company to have access to the new OS up until the "preview". Odd for an open source operating system. The price is supposed to be $800. Which seems a bit high for a Wifi only device.



Expect a lot of tablet releases this year. But at the pricing I'm seeing ($700 or $800), expect the iPad to keep its lead for the foreseeable future.

Make an Android App for your Web Site

Read Write Web has this story on feed.nu. This a web site you can use to build your own Android app for your web site. Pretty cool. I haven't tried it yet, but I intend to.