Tag: Mobile

Acer to launch Android netbooks in Q4

Acer has announced its plans to launch Android powered netbooks in the fourth quarter of 2009. Recently, ASUS had also reported its decision to launch Android powered “smartbook”.

“Today’s netbooks are not close to perfection at all. In two years, it will all be very different,” Jim Wong, Acer’s global president for IT products, said at a news conference at Computex show, recently held in Taipei, “If we do not continue to change our mobile Internet devices, consumers may not choose then any more.”

There are no reports about the pricing or the specifications. But, probably, it will run on Atom processor.

Every other day, we get news of an Android powered netbook being launched by some company. Will this prove to be a big threat to the current netbooks OS giant, Microsoft ?

May be, its too early to predict. Android is a new OS and its success or failure will, to a large extent, depend on the kind of and the number of applications that will be able to run on it.

[via nytimes]

June 2, 2009 | 1 Comment More

First ever complete Office suite for Android to be revealed by ThinkFree

ThinkFree Inc. is planning to demo its productivity suite for the Android OS at the COMPUTEX trade show in Taiwan, from 2nd to 6th of June.

“ThinkFree Mobile for Android is bringing a new level of choice to smartphones by offering a mobile office solution that satisfies the growing demand for mobility and 24/7 access to your documents,” said Kerry McGuire, Director of Software Alliances, ARM. “ThinkFree has brought an innovative approach to the mobile office suite that enables a consistent office experience across both smartphones and netbooks. We are pleased to have their continued support as part of the ARM community.”

This suite will let the user create, view and manipulate word, excel as well as power point docs. It also supports drawing objects, a first of its kind feature for the Android platform. The user will also get 1 GB of free online storage along with the suite.

The package consists of ThinkFree Write for word processing, ThinkFree Calc for spreadsheets and ThinkFree Show for presentations.

Let’s wait and watch, if the application proves to be really as promising as mentioned in its details. All Android user have been waiting for a flawless solution for their MS Office docs. So, we have a ray of hope with this app.

office_suite

[via androidguys]

May 29, 2009 | 0 Comments More

Expect many more Android phones by the year-end : around 18-20

Yes, you read that right. Around 18-20 new Android devices are expected to hit the market by the end of this year. According to Andy Rubin, Google’s senior director for mobile platforms, these devices will be manufactured by 8 or 9 different manufacturers.

Introduction of new phones in the US will be a bit slower than in the other countries. The main reason being tough competition in the US market. And, the carriers need to develop their own interfaces for their devices.

[via talkandroid]

May 29, 2009 | 1 Comment More

Android powered ‘OPhone’ to be launched in China

China has emerged as the world’s largest wireless market. What could be a better opportunity for HTC and Android ? That’s the reason, HTC is planning to launch the latest Android powered device, HTC Magic, but by a different name, the OPhone, in China, as per a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The phone will be provided by the career, China Mobile and will have customized software from the mobile career (read it as Open Mobile System, the name for China Mobile’s customized version of Google’s mobile operating system).

The price of the device has not been confirmed yet. But, the WSJ suggests the price would be somewhere around 5,000 yuan, or about $730. The OPhone will probably be launched in China next month.

This launch will probably pave the way for Android to explore the other Asian markets. HTC is hoping to double its sales in China this year. May be, Android will make HTC’s dreams come true. And, the Asian customers, who have been anxiously waiting to get a hold of the Android devices have some reason to rejoice.

ophone_china

May 26, 2009 | 0 Comments More