So there was me thinking I was due an update to Android 2.3 for my Google Nexus One, otherwise known as Gingerbread…
However no it wasn’t.
It was only an update to 2.2.2
Disappointed, well not really, I can wait…
Gingerbread for the Nexus One
Well my Google Nexus One told me today that a system update was available. I couldn’t upgrade as I was only on a GPRS connection and really you should be on wifi or a decent 3G connection, no really you should be on wifi!
I am assuming and hoping it is Gingerbread, or Android 2.3. Looking at the new features, this is no Froyo, but I am looking forward to an improved copy and paste experience.
Gingerbread 2.3 now provides support for NFC Near-field communications, however I don’t think the Nexus One hardware actually supports this.
So not many huge changes, but will be interesting to see the performance improvements.
Goodbye Google Wave
Goodbye…
Lego Google Chrome
A Lego Google Chrome with a difference.
Made for Google’s contest that asked users to create a video of themselves building the Google Chromeicon in any medium.
Via Mashable
Video on the Google Nexus One
One of the nice things about the Google Nexus One is the beautiful screen which is much much nicer than the iPhone screen.
I did wonder how video would look on the device, so I copied over a video that I had encoded for the iPhone, 480 x 270 H.264 and AAC audio and was very pleased with the result. It played fine, and looked fantastic.
Pleased with the fact that not only did it look good, I didn’t need to re-encode the video from the iPhone version so that it would play on the Nexus One.
Android 2 is go…
Introducing Android 2
Bing adds visual search, Google Flips
BBC reports
Software giant Microsoft has introduced “visual search” to its Bing search engine to try to further set itself apart from market-leader Google.
and in other news…
Google has unveiled a service called Fast Flip to let users consume news more quickly and to boost the flagging fortunes of the news industry.
The product is designed to mirror the way readers flick through magazines and newspapers.
Now you don’t need to read the news online anymore, you can just look at the pictures!
Nokia N97
I see that the Nokia N97 has been announced. A very nice new phone which as well as a touchscreen also has a slide out keyboard.
Obviously designed to compete with Apple’s iPhone and Google’s G1 it is Nokia’a answer to the new internet phone now being demanded by consumers.
There are some early reviews out now, CNET and ZDNet.
Google G1 here in the UK on the 30th October
T-Mobile have announced that the Google G1 mobile phone will be available in the UK from the 30th October and will be free on a £40 tariff.
It’s not the prettiest phone, but certainly has the potential to be a good phone, especially with the open platform.
JoikuSpotting
I really do like the iPod touch, the interface, the browsing experience, the video playback, the different applications now available.
Of course to get full functionality you need to be in the vicinity of a wireless hotspot. You can’t (for obvious reasons) use a 3G dongle and without bluetooth or the ability to connect a cable you can’t use a tethered mobile phone.
Now I know what you’re saying, get a 3G iPhone, well yes, that is all well and good, but three things are stopping me, one I already have a Nokia N95 which does what I need (well the typing is nowhere as near as nice as on the iPod touch), secondly I am well into a long contract too with T-Mobile. Thirdly, I quite fancy upgrading to the Google G1 phone.
So I was quite interested in trying out JoikuSpot. What JoikuSpot does is basically turn your 3G wifi mobile phone into a wireless hotspot.
So the Nokia N95 connects to the internet via the 3G network and then allows wifi clients connect to it via the 802.11 wifi.
It works very well and is in my opinion very clever.
The free version is limited and doesn’t allow you to do e-mail which is a pity, so I will probably upgrade to the pro version.