New Google Android Phone from Verizon and Motorola

Google and Verizon team up to bring you the 'Droid' you've been looking for.

This week, Verizon and Motorola unveiled the latest phone to make use of Google's Android operating system. Dubbed "Droid," the new phone includes both a touch screen and a hardware QWERTY keyboard. Like T-Mobile's entry into the smartphone world making use of Android, the Droid's screen slides out to uncover the keyboard.

The Droid will be the first Android-based smartphone to make use of the latest version of Google's operating system for mobile devices, Android 2.0. The updated open-source operating system features enhancements to performance and a host of new features. Some new features include:

• Voice activated search allows users to speak a query and the Google-powered search engine will deliver either web results or results from the phone's memory. Results pulled from the phones memory may include photos, music, or contacts.
• Turn-by-turn navigation for Google Maps, with which Android 2.0 has integrated its voice activated search feature. This feature allows a user to do a voice activated search for a destination such as "coffee shop." The phone will locate nearby coffee shops and show them as pins on a Google Map. The user then 'clicks' the desired location and the phone will deliver turn-by-turn, spoken directions.
• Android 2.0 allows users to add multiple accounts to a device for email and contact synchronization. This now also includes Exchange accounts, which promises to be a significant selling point for corporate and business users.
• The Droid will come with a number of popular Apps pre-installed, and users will have access to thousands more through Google's Android Market.

Other features of the phone not specifically tied to the Android operating system include:

• A built in five megapixel camera.
• Wi-Fi capability.
• Bluetooth for headsets and other Bluetooth enabled devices.
• GPS
• A lithium ion battery boasting 6.4 hours of continuous talk time, and up to 11 days of standby time.

What this means to you
Fans of the iPhone are not terribly likely to ditch their favorite mobile device in favor of the Droid. However, it does present the best alternative to date in the market created by Apple's dominate mobile device. While the Droid does not currently offer the ease of use of the iPhone for adding music and media, other features (like Exchange integration) will likely appeal to other users.

Just for fun

Motorola had to license the word "Droid" from Lucasfilm in order to use it on the phone. This is reasonable as Lucas coined the term "Droid" in his original Star Wars films.

Below is the teaser video created by Verizon to announce the Droid.





Here is one response from an iPhone devotee

Get Two-Way Wireless Sync on Your Mobile Device with Google Sync

Google and Microsoft make it easy to sync your supported mobile device with Calendar and Contact data in your Google Account.

iPhone users relying on Google for email and calendar services who are dissatisfied with Apple's MobileMe solution for syncing their Calendar and Contact information have a new option, thanks to Google and Microsoft. The two companies teamed up to offer a solution based on Microsoft's ActiveSync that will allow iPhone users to sync Calendar and Contact data with Google Calendar and Gmail contacts.

Google Sync was released in a beta version last week, and is available on supported devices, including the iPhone for free. MobileMe, by comparison, charges its users $100 a year for access to the service. For iPhone users this is a welcome alternative to what is perceived by many as a cumbersome and costly service provided by Apple.

The service provides users with supported devices, and who rely on a Google Account for their calendar and contacts, with two-way wireless sync. This accomplishes a few things:

• Synchronization services run wirelessly in the background so Contacts and Calendar events are always up to date.
• Google Sync allows mobile users to update their contacts or their Google Calendar entries while on the go. When an update is made, Google Sync wirelessly updates Calendar and Contact information in the user's Google Account, so data is up to date when they view it from their computer. The reverse is also true.
• If the mobile device is lost or destroyed the user only has to install Google Sync on a supported replacement device. Google calendar and contact information data is stored on the web in the user's Google Account, so Google Sync will automatically update Calendar and Contact information on the new device.

iPhone users are not the only group of mobile device consumers who will benefit from the collaborative efforts of Google and Microsoft. Devices that support Google Sync include:

• iPhone
• Blackberry
• Nokia s60
• Nokia standard
• Sony Ericsson
• Windows Mobile
• Android phones (T-Mobile's G1)

T-Mobile's Android-based G1 phone works a little differently. As this device's operating system is provided by Google, the phone's contacts, calendar, and IM chat sessions are always in sync between the mobile device and the web.

For more information see any of the following:

• For the official Google Mobile blog post about Google Sync, click here.
• To visit Google's page dedicated to Google Sync click here.
• To read PC World's article about Google Sync from February 9th, 2009 click here.
• To read PC World's article about Google Sync making use of Microsoft ActiveSync, click here.

Google Brings Us the Android Age of Mobile

Mobile is the next great frontier on the web for developers and users alike. Mega-companies like Microsoft and Apple have entered the mobile fray with strong platforms and services for their competing mobile devices. These devices use proprietary operating systems which means that new services and software have to come directly from the developer. Now search giant Google and the Open Handset Alliance are poised to reshape the mobile landscape with the open-source mobile operating system, Android. Android differs from windows mobile, iPhone, and Palm in that the code and SDK are freely available for download.

Rumors have been circulating for weeks of the possibility of a gPhone from Google, after it was confirmed that Google intended to enter the mobile space. This week Google announced that, rather than creating a new, dedicated, and proprietary device in a market saturated with such devices, they are offering a development platform that can be applied to any device. According to Google's Sergey Brin (see the video below) the launch of the Android platform may lead to the creation of thousands of unique gPhones.

An open source platform on which to deliver software and services means an unprecedented level of flexibility in the mobile operating system. Users will conceivably have access to a host of applications developed by independent developers. Open source services and applications developed by third-parties notwithstanding the Android platform already offers a host of attractive features. Following are just a few of Android's capabilities:

• Hi-speed 3G network capabilities
• 3D graphics
• touch-screen support
• Browser
• Maps
• Contacts
• Software interoperability: this means if you click on someone's contact information within your mobile device running Android, it can automatically direct you to the maps application and show you the contact's location.

This additional functionality works in conjunction with the standard phone operation, and Android has applications for making calls, sending text messages, and so on. On higher end devices Android takes advantage of any hardware acceleration for the creation of 3D graphics and animation, as long as the application has been written to the Android OpenGLS APIs. In the video embedded below Steve Horowitz demonstrates the 3D rendering capabilities of Android by playing Quake.

Google has now made the SDK and code available for download so developers may begin creating new applications and services for the Android platform. Google believes in supporting and rewarding the efforts of developers in creating new software and services for Android. To reward these efforts and show their appreciation for the contributions of developers Google has set aside $10 million to give to developers who create great applications for the Android.

Google's entrance into the mobile web domain has the potential to change how we think of our mobile devices.

Google's Video Introduction to Android: