The MOTO Development Group is no stranger to Android – they showcased an Android-based e-ink prototype a while back – and now they’re cashing in on that familiarity with a number of new devices targeted at developers. The MOTO Android Media Platform will eventually consist of three models – 3.5-, 5- and 10.4-inches – each with OLED displays as standard, OMAP processors and capacitive multitouch-capable touchscreens.
Verizon’s second smartphone announcement this morning is one for the heavy messengers (no, we’re not talking about fat couriers): the BlackBerry Curve 8530, tipped as dropping this month back in August. The Curve 8530 has not only EVDO Rev.A but WiFi b/g and GPS, together with a full QWERTY keyboard and 2-megapixel digital camera.
Having been spotted over the weekend, albeit unofficially, Motorola Europe and O2 have officially announced the Motorola MILESTONE, the GSM version of the Verizon DROID. The MILESTONE will run Android 2.0, just as with the CDMA handset, and has been confirmed for Germany and Italy on – according to Motorola Germany – at least Vodafone and O2.
Garmin is a big name in the GPS market and it produces devices for most categories including land, sea, and air oriented devices. The latest GPS offering from Garmin is the new aera line that can go from the car to the air without missing a beat.
US would-be DROID buyers now livid by the European version of the smartphone’s multitouch support can take heart in the fact that while the Motorola MILESTONE gives with one hand, it takes away with the other. Mobile-Review’s Eldar Murtazin has revealed that – on his pre-release Euro model at least – Android 2.0 lacks turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps Navigation.
Update: A Google spokesperson has told us that the reason turn-by-turn is absent from the MILESTONE is because currently the beta is US-only.
With Google Maps Navigation causing ripples not only among Android users but in the share prices of Garmin, TomTom and other mapping providers, it seems some location-based services providers are coming out fighting. LaptopMag have been talking to Networks in Motion’s (NIM) Steve Andler, VP of marketing at the company responsible for Verizon’s VZ Navigator and the Gokivo iPhone app, and he’s pulling no punches about his opinion of Google. Andler describes the idea of Android as being open as “a bunch of hooey”, and even goes so far as to suggest that “Google is doing exactly what Microsoft did, which is, they integrate stuff into the core, leaving no room for anyone to innovate.”
Of course, it’s not surprising that Andler – and NIM – are frustrated, given the particular corner of software development they chose to carve out. Andler’s core argument about PND software is that it requires more than a few voice prompts on top of a map.
Bargain hunters looking for a new ultraportable this Christmas could do well to hold off until the new year, as ASUS CEO Jerry Shen has announced the company plans to launch an Android-based Smartbook in Q1 2010 that could be priced at around $180. ASUS were among the companies demonstrating Smartbook prototypes – based on Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor – back in June, but since then have downplayed their involvement with the format.
TomTom have confirmed that their Car Kit – the optional accessory to accompany the TomTom iPhone app – will only fully work with the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, thanks to a limitation in the TomTom application. The app’s limitation means that owners of the first-gen iPhone, together with iPod touch users, won’t be able to take advantage of the Car Kit’s integrated GPS receiver and speakerphone.
Google have announced the latest evolution of Google Maps for mobile, and life for standalone PND apps just got a whole lot harder. Android 2.0 devices – such as the Verizon Droid by Motorola – now have access to Google Maps Navigation Beta, a turn-by-turn navigation application that supports voice guidance, search-by-voice and automatic re-routing complete with traffic information.
Video demo after the cut
I think it’s fair to say that if you make one of these DIY virtual reality headsets, your kids will definitely be the coolest in the playground. The handiwork of Recombu’s Andrew Lim, the cardboard headset takes advantage of an accelerometer-packing HTC Magic, an old pair of lab goggles and some boyish enthusiasm to create a head-tracking view of the world.
Video demo after the cut
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