Even though Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, has publicly stated that Amazon is working on it’s own tablet, we have yet to see the Amazon tablet come to market.

There have been a couple of overriding issues that Amazon has struggled with in making the tablet a reality.

One issue was whether to build the Amazon tablet using Android, or simply develop their own Amazon mobile operating system.

The reason Android was picked was, according to some sources, was because if Amazon launched their own operating system, then in order to compete with Android and iOS (Apple’s OS for iPhone & iPad), Amazon would have to entice developers to build apps for yet another mobile operating system.

And this was something that Amazon didn’t feel would be an easy task.

The other problem with Amazon struggled with while considering Android was the fact that there are already a lot of Android tablets on the market and Amazon would be joining an already packed race.

But looking at the historic record of Amazon’s success, I would say that when the Amazon Android tablet comes to market, it will far and above any other Android tablet currently available.

Amazon just simply does not do things without ensuring they will be a market leader – at least in most cases.

via NYTimes

A chart was released today from BI that indicates developers are starting to eject from the Android platform, and sail into more profitable waters with iOS.

The new iPhone 4, and the rumored iPhone 5 and iPad 3 (or iPad HD), along with the current mega-popularity of the iPad, is causing developers to second guess the value of sticking with Android.

This is all happening despite Android smartphone users actually gaining a larger market share of users than iPhone users.

The iPad is probably one of the biggest difference makers in the whole equation. Although Android smartphones are competing with the iPhone, it’s pretty safe to say that nothing is currently competing with the iPad.

What do you think about the chart below?

Android 2.3.4 release has been leaked, but unfortunately it doesn’t look like its ready to the US.  One of the major features that will come on Android 2.3.4 is GTalk video – Google video chat.  And the Android OS is expected to be released on the new Galaxy S2 device.

Of course, with Facebook video calling released this week, there seems be a war brewing in the video chat marketspace.  The next obvious iteration from Facebook would be a video calling option integrated into the Facebook iPhone and Facebook for Android app.

via PCWorld

Google has announced plans to partner with CitiGroup and Master Card to bring you the “wave to pay” technology that allows you to complete a purchase with your credit card by simply waving your Google Android device.  This according to the Wall Street Journal.

This futuristic payment system could be here as early as this year.

But look at the companies teaming up with Google – Master Card and Citi Group. What major credit card company is missing here?

Visa – of course…

And let me give you two guesses who’s got Visa in their back pockets….

Apple – that’s who.

It is widely expected that the iPhone 5 will be sporting the new wave to pay technology.

No longer will you need to carry your wallet and fumble around to find your credit card. Simply pull out your phone – or it’s probably already in your hand – wave your mobile phone and pow… that’s it… payment made.

Even though Google is playing a major role in the development of the “wave to pay” technology on Android devices, the search giant does not plan to make any money from the transactions.

Google vested interest lies in the data gathered from local vendors by the users of the wave to pay apps, and then leveraging that data for the local retailers to push out smarter advertising.

For Google it’s all about the advertising dollar.

For everyone else, it’s all about making the transaction a profitable one.

What are you thoughts about this new “wave to pay” technology that is just around the corner?

via WSJ

Google is fully expecting that mobile phones will generate over $1 billion in ad revenue by 2012, and that the Google Android OS will be the engine that drives that growth.

According to Forbes, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said last summer that Android could be a $10 billion business if there were 1 billion users each generating $10 a year.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster recently said that Google is well on it’s way to hitting the $10 per user level.  Google has said it is on a $1 billion annual run-rate in mobile advertising, and Munster estimates that the company had $850 million total mobile revenue in 2010, with Android generating about 16% of the total, or around $130 million, which would translate to $5.90 per Android user. (That implies about 22 million Android users for 2010.)

By 2012, Munster believe there could be 133 million Android users generating $9.85 a year, which would mean $1.3 billion in Android-related revenue.

Google’s Android business model has been simple, yet very aggressive – to organize and present data on any platform that your eyes may be looking.

That’s why Android is programmed to be compatible on computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and even TV’s.

And with this vision of “organizing data on every platform”, Google will essence be creating an advertising platform on every platform as well, which could cause the $1.3 billion in ad revenue by 2012 to be a very low-ball estimate.

Sony is starting to up the ante in the portable gaming market by announcing PlayStation Suite,  a platform that brings PlayStation games to non-PSP devices.

The PlayStation Suite has the ability to “port” games to any device that runs an open-source operating system – i.e. Android OS.

This means that people with an Android smartphone or Android tablet will be able, in the near future, import PlayStation games directly to their device.

The first game to get this experience will beh Syphon Filter.

And Sony plans on building an entire fleet of Suite-compatible games.

via Electronista

It’s interesting to me that Verizon is now offering what they call Google Apps for Verizon.

This is basically a bundled package deal for Verizon small and medium size business customers to start leveraging Google Apps.

Verizon will be charging enterprise clients $3.99 per month / per user for those who just want to use the Google Apps suite of products.

Coupled with data plans, and according to the Verizon website, plans are starting at $74.99 per month.

Google Apps is actually something that businesses can get for free. But Verizon’s move to incorporate the Apps suite of products into a bundled solution is, in my opinion, more about generating new data plan customers.

I commend Verizon for finding a creative way to bundle together something that is already free.

And even moreso with their business saviness in bundling it together with the stipulation that you need to subscribe to a bundle consisting of Verizon Internet service and either Verizon voice or TV service or both.

Here’s a list of services you get with the Google Apps for Verizon:

• Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Sites, Google Video
• 3 free user accounts (bundled data plan required
• Additional accounts can be purchased
• “Do it yourself” kit to get started
• Free website for your business
• Online backup (via Google Docs backup)
• Access to the Verizon Small Business Center

This is also a reflection of the influence that Google is having in the overall marketplace of all things data.

Verizon is already the number retailer for Google’s Android OS operated smartphones.

And more than likely will become one of the largest retailers of Android operating tablets.

via Google Enterprise

Google to pay hackers $1000 for successfully hacking the Android OS running on Google TV.

Google TV, and the Android OS running it, has been successfully hacked, and Google is actually excited about it.

According to Google developer Howard Harte, “this means we now have a complete Android development environment for the Google TV.”  And with a successful hack of the Android OS, Google TV now has the ability to run Android apps.

Harte actually put out a contest offering any hacker $1000 for the first successful jailbreak.

A group calling themselves GTVhacker dev team rose to the challenge, and released a 6-minute video of their process of hacking Google TV.

Here’s the video of the successful Google TV jailbreak hack:

via Switched

Google’s Android OS has done something that few thought possible, up until now.

According to recent data from comScore, Android now has the second largest smartphone operating system market in the United States – bumping Apple down to number three.

Android’s marketshare has climbed to 26 percent of the U.S. smartphone platform market, up 6.4 percentage points from the three month period ended in August 2010.

RIM’s market share (Blackberry)  fell 4.1 percentage points, but it remains in the top spot with a 33.5 percent share.

Apple fell 0.8 percentage points to third place, with a 25 percent market share in the United States.

It’s followed by Microsoft (9 percent), and Palm (3.9 percent).

via MobileBurn

CNNMoney.com just posted a video that takes a look at the new Google Android OS. This video shows the OS as being fast, sleek, and obviously optimized for Android tablet devices.

This OS release, I’m assuming, the Gingerbread (Android 3.0) release.

Here it is – a test drive of the new Android OS:

There’s been one major downside to Android Froyo (and before) tablet releases such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab – and that is, the Android OS was never designed to be run on a tablet device.

Rumors are spreading today that the next release of the Android OS – aka Honeycomb – might require a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor in order to run properly.

This would mean that the current popular non-iPad tablet devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab may not even be “allowed” to run Honeycomb, which would be a huge disappointment for anyone who purchased one.

According to AndroidCommunity, interestingly, Google has not yet refuted these claims. Google is known for shooting down hardware requirement claims quickly in the past, and the lack thereof may mean that this is the real deal.

Mashable, via Engadget, posted a video of what looks like the new Google Android music app that is expected to make its debut with the release of Android 3.0 – also known as Gingerbread.

You can see the video (apparently leaked) of the new Android music app below.

Rich, colorful features, along with an awesome looking equalizer running next to the song that is currently playing makes this app pretty enticing.

Here’s the video of the upcoming Android music app:

Consider Android’s Gingerbread release “game on” for the developing community. The Google Android development team has released the source code for programmers and developers to come in and start customizing to fit their needs.

Currently, the only Android smartphone on the market running the Android 2.3 release is Google’s own Nexus S smartphone.

Here’s the detail post from the Android Developers page:

For developers, the Android 2.3 platform is available as a downloadable component for the Android SDK. The downloadable platform includes an Android library and system image, as well as a set of emulator skins and more. The downloadable platform includes no external libraries.

To get started developing or testing against Android 2.3, use the Android SDK Manager to download the platform into your SDK. For more information, see Adding SDK Components. If you are new to Android, download the SDK Starter Package first.

For a high-level introduction to Android 2.3, see the Platform Highlights.

Henrik Larsson writes, Henrik is the owner of Chit Chat – a Facebook chat app. Chit Chat is a Facebook messenger that enables one to chat online with Facebook from your desktop.

Feeling the weight of the recession? Never fear: there are plenty of free games on the Android market, and while there is a fair amount of murk to wade your way through, there are some real gems if you look hard enough. Here are 10 of the best, so you can nuke your battery in style.

10. Speed Skater

A simple enough, yet nevertheless fun side-scroller. You skate along from left to right, jumping over obstacles that range from crowds of people to hazardous drops. It’s one of those games that you can just pick up and play, and will probably come back to if you’ve got time to kill.

9. Finger Jump

The premise is simple: touch the screen to jump. The faster you press it, the higher you jump. The higher you get, the more points you score. It’s not the most unique game in the world, but it’s smooth, slick, and entertaining.

8. PapiJump

PapiJump is about as simple as it gets. You don’t even need to press anything to play it – you just tilt your phone left and right, helping the little bouncing ball get higher and higher. Sometimes simplicity is a beautiful thing, though, and PapiJump proves a fun way to pass the time.

7. Replica Island

This 2D side-scrolling platformer is one of the best on the market, and features Android’s very own robot as the star of the show. Built for Android from the ground up, it’s remarkably polished and actually quite deep, as mobile phone games go, with 40 levels to work your way through. Perhaps the best aspect is it’s effective control scheme, utilizing the trackball to great effect as you float, fly and bounce along.

6. Spider Man

In Spider Man, you start the game at the top of a skyscraper and have to make your way down a series of smaller buildings without falling to your doom. Although not to be confused with Spidey himself, the game’s inspiration is obvious, and does let you test out your web-slinging skills in a bid to head towards the ground with as many points in your pocket as possible.

5. Gem Miner

An addictive little game that sees you take on the role of a grey-bearded miner digging deeper and deeper for treasure. Ever-changing maps and a clever upgrade system that lets you manage the materials you unearth and boost your abilities and tools will keep you coming back for more.

4. Hyper Jump

A frantic and fast-paced coin-collecting game, Hyper Jump gets you tilting your phone left and right in a bid to help a bright-eyed monster shoot higher and higher. The more coins you collect, the more you’re propelled upwards, but if you react too slowly you’ll quickly plummet to your death.

3. Super Boom Boom

Here you must launch a cannonball into the air, and use your reflexes to help guide it upwards, landing it in odd little winged pots to stop it from falling. Keep your wits about you, because there is a myriad of sly twists and tricky traps to keep you from reaching your goal.

2. Abduction! 2

Cartoon cows and parachuting penguins are the order of the day in the latest version of the quirky jumping game. This time around a host of new characters and levels are on offer, along with some cute new sound effects and six original music tracks composed by Chris Hodges.

1. Dynamo Kid

One of the most distinctive and creative games on the market, Dynamo Kid is a genius offering from OrangePixel that looks like it’s been sketched in the back of a note pad. The world is drawn into life before your eyes as you run along, and you interact with the game rather than reacting to it. It’s wonderful stuff.

Someone made a recent comment on my “Why Google Is Smart To Close The Nexus Online Store” article asking “why Google stopped producing the Nexus 1.”

I think this is a great question because after all, aren’t there still a whole bunch of Nexus One customers out there who are still happy with their smarthphones?

Of course there are.

And the percentage of people that were complaining, or having issues with their Nexus One purchase, were a very small percentage compared to the overall customer base.

I believe the reason why Google ejected from the Nexus One is because of the simple economic principle of “comparative advantage”.

According to Wikipedia, comparative advantage is defined as:

In economics, the law of comparative advantage refers to the ability of a party (an individual, a firm, or a country) to produce a particular good or service at a lower opportunity cost than another party. It is the ability to produce a product with the highest relative efficiency given all the other products that could be produced

So even though, yes, Google can make the Nexus One and to a certain degree have
satisfied customers, it’s not there strong point.

Google’s strength is in creating platforms (i.e. Google search, Android OS,
etc…) that scale.

I think Google’s decision to eject from the Nexus One is a great lesson for
all us – they’ve taught us to focus on what we know, what we have a
comparative advantage in, and not spend our resources on things that we are
not “scaling”.

Perhaps we all thought that Google TV would come rushing onto the scene, everyone would have a web enabled TV in their living rooms, and then all would be hunky dory…. screeeeeetch…. and slam on the brakes. There’s one question none of us thought to ask when talking about the new Google TV – what about the major TV networks?

Well – apparently the major TV networks are not quite to enthusiastic about Google TV as the rest of us.

In fact, major TV networks ABC, NBC, and CBS have all blocked Google TV from streaming full episodes of shows such as NBC’s The Office, CBS’ $h*! My Dad Says and ABC’s Modern Family.

And these major TV networks are not the only ones who are blocking content from Google TV. Hulu has also decided to block content from streaming on Google TV’s.

Google TV, powered by the Android operating system, is designed to allow users to search the major TV networks to find what shows are playing. And if major networks are blocking Google TV, then what?

Well, the problem for the major TV networks is that even though they block their stations directly, there is no shortage of pirated content on the web that will allow users to pretty much watch whatever show they want, whenever they want.

I would think that major networks would be able to strike some sort of business deal with Google so that the content is readily accessible, and revenue is shared somehow – but what do I know… I’m just a blogger!

via PCWorld, image via Techpp

Engadget received a document showing that Best Buy started receiving the Google TV by Sony on October 13th, and that the Google TV will be available in Best Buy today, October 17th. Originally, the Google TV wasn’t suppose to be released until October 24th. What exactly hits the shelves at Best Buy today is uncertain in terms of a full shipment. Also uncertain is whether all of the Best Buy stores will have the Google TV on display today. Sounds like you can maybe get a glimpse at a Google TV today by heading to your local Best Buy. Sounds like a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

via Engadget

It’s official, the T-Mobile G-2 Android phone is now available on T-Mobile’s website.  The new G2 Android phone is designed to utilize T-Mobile’s new 4G capabilities and features full access to the Google Android Market and the new Voice Actions from Google which allows full voice control of nearly all features of your mobile phone. The G2 Android phone is T-Mobile’s first ever 4G enabled phone that will run on their HSPA+ network. The T-Mobile G2 is replacing the  T-Mobile G1 which was the first ever Android mobile phone to hit the market nearly 2 years ago. On July 27th, T-Mobile said good-bye to the G1, obviously making room for the G2.

You can buy the G2 Android phone now for $199 with a new 2 year contract with T-Mobile. Otherwise, the G2 Android phone will cost $499.

via T-Mobile

An interesting chart was released by Business Insider that shows a graphical representation of interest (consumer interest) in various mobile phones over time. The shocking element to me was the iPhone results that showed the interest in the iPhone is decreasing from June 2010 to September 2010. This would indicate in part that the aggressive expansion of Google Android phones is working – at least in the area of stealing Apple’s market share of attention on the iPhone. I believe that Apple needs to start opening up iPhone markets by expanding to other carriers – and this should happen sooner rather later.

Thoughts?

via BusinessInsider

The Next 10″ Android Tablet is currently available on the Next website for £180, or approximately $283 USD.

Here’s a quick list of the Next 10″ tablet specs:

• 10″ WXGA LCD touchscreen display
• Google android operating system
• 2GB Storage + Cardreader includes 8GB Micro SD Card
• Arm 11 processor
• WiFi, 2 x USB ports, microphone and headphone socket
• Operates in portrait and landscape

via Next

There are rumors starting to float around that we may one day see a Facebook phone. That’s right, and actual phone released by Facebook that will supposedly run on the Android OS. Although these rumors have been denied directly by Facebook, a couple of former insiders are keeping the wheels turning. And according to Gizmodo, Facebook’s recent hire of Google Android’s senior product manager Erick Tseng helps fuel the “Facebook Phone” rumor along as well.

via Gizmodo

News broke a couple of hours ago that Best Buy has just announced some details about the T-Mobile HTC G2. The T-Mobile G2 will set you back a solid $199. You can pre-order the HTC G2 at Best Buy starting tomorrow (Friday). And the release date / shipping date for the T-Mobile HTC G2 is set for October 6th. I mean, what other details do you want regarding the highly anticipated HTC G2? Some people may refer to the HTC G2 as a 4G phone, however as you know with T-Mobile, you only get the 4G in cities that are 4G enabled.

via Android Central

Motorola has launched the Motorola i1, which is the first push-to-talk mobile phone that is running on the Android OS. This is the old school push to talk device running on the advanced Android platform. The reviews have been dismal primarily because of the processing speed when you attempt to run applications and the web, and also because all the protection elements (i.e. battery covers, headphone jack cover, etc…) make it very difficult to manage the device. You can see the video review below from Android Central, but the final assessment is that if you absolutely need a push to talk phone, you might want to consider the Android powered Motorola i1, otherwise you probably need to look at getting a higher end Android handset.

Here’s the video review of the Motorola i1 Android phone:

via AndroidCentral

Samsung is now looking to Google’s Android operating system to power a new lineup of web enabled TV’s.

In Seoul, Korea, Yoon Boo Keun, Samsung’s TV business executive, is quoted as saying that Samsung is currently “reviewing” the possibility of launching Android OS powered televisions.

Not making any commitment to solid dates or details, Yoon Boo Keun said “we will have to see.”

This is not the first time we’ve heard Samsung TV’s associated with Google Android. Back in April, the Korean Herald reported that a Samsung executive said the company might be developing a “Google TV” running Android.

Samsung is currently the top TV manufacturer in the United States with a 19.7 percent market share.

Other Google Android OS projects headed up by Samsung include the Galaxy S smartphones, the Samsung Fascinate, and the new Android based tablet called the Galaxy Tab.

via CNET, Bloomberg

Some people say the iPad has already sold over 4 million units. Yeah, that’s a lot of volume, no wonder Apple is struggling with supply side economics, or at least was. I haven’t heard of too many supply problems so far since the iPad went global.

No doubt, the iPad has defined an entirely new market of computing. And now every other computer manufacturer is trying to play catch up, which can actually work in their favor. For now anyway…

The advantage iPad competitors have right now

One advantage that all iPad competitors have right now is that there are no iPad competitors on the market… YET! That is about to change however, because an onslaught of Android tablets are on their way.

The iPad competitors that are first to the market are the ones that are going to get all of the attention, all the write ups, all the blogger content, and thus all the sales.

Look at the Augen Android tablet that K-Mart launched. That was only last month, and it priced at $149. It got a ton of publicity simply because it was one of the first iPad competitors. But now it fell away from the market because of Android pirating issues.

It’s not going to take too long before the iPad competitor’s market is saturated with “another Android tablet.”

So the iPad competitor that shows up first, more than like will win. Not against the iPad so to speak, but against all of the other iPad competitors.

Thoughts?

sources: PC World, Brisbane Times

Here’s the side by side comparison of the Apple iPad vs Adam Tablet:

via Gizmodo

The Notion Ink Adam Tablet has been generating a lot of buzz since around the beginning of the year. On Thursday, Notion Ink founder Rohan Shravan wrote a blog post that talked about everything from the Adam Tablet release date, to pricing.

One of the main points I took away from his post was this:

The product will shoot for FCC certifications in the second week of November. And then it depends on them. Add few more logistics issues to that and it can swing either way. (Don’t get surprised it we hit for certification in October, cos there is some tight buffer, though that will be extremely good news).

This sounds like we could see the Notion Ink Adam Tablet here by Christmas, which I’m sure is what would be preferred by Notion Ink.

The Adam Tablet sports a 10 inch touch screen and will run the Android OS, Chromium OS, and Ubuntu OS.

Below is video from Gizmodo on the Notion Ink Adam Tablet:

There are 2 websites right now that have reported the Dell Streak’s release date of being August 13th. The problem, however, is that the two sites (here and here) do not mention references to their sources from which they got the release date.

And I’ve checked the other authoritative mobile phone sites, and there is yet no mention of the Dell Streak release date.

So can anyone confirm, or deny, the Dell Streak release date of August 13th?

The Dell Streak will be available on AT&T and would cost $299.99 with a new two-year AT&T contract. Without contract, the tablet would cost $549.99 and it would be unlocked.

The image above has been confirmed that this is in fact a Samsung Galaxy Tab and more than likely this is a training seminar to teach the employees more about the new tablet device.

The Galaxy Tab is reported to have a 7″ touch display, WiFi, GPS enabled, and of course 3G.  But also you’ll get dual cameras (video chat / conference capable) and the latest version of Google’s Android OS (version 2.2 currently).

The expected release date is sometime “this quarter”.

via Reuters

HTC Glacier #4 on GLBenchmark Pro 1.1 charts

Engadget is reporting that the HTC Glacier data phone has re-emerged and is currently at the number four spot on the GLBenchmark Pro 1.1 charts, where only one variant of Samsung’s Galaxy S and a pair of Tegra 2 tablets managed to keep it from claiming the top spot. You can also see an image of the GLBenchmark chart at Engadget [read more].

Milestone to Get Android 2.2

The European Milestone, which is very similar to the Verizon Droid, will be able to get the Froyo update (Android 2.2), as early as September 2010. The Milestone is also said to be getting Adobe Flash 10.1 [read more].

19 year old Brian Wong gets $200k investment in startup

True Ventures has just invested $200,000 into a young, 19 year old entrepreneur names Brian Wong who has founded Kiip.com which is a mobile advertising platform for the gaming world  [read more].

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