Google Revs Android, FCC Approves First Phone

Cycon writes "Google has announced, 'We're releasing a beta SDK. You can read about the new Android 0.9 SDK beta at the Android Developers' Site, or if you want to get straight to the bits, you can visit the download page.' A new Development Roadmap has also been released to help developers understand the direction the software is taking (as this is still only a Beta release). In addition, the FCC has approved the HTC Dream, and it is believed Google and T-Mobile will launch the phone in the US on November 10, since a confidentiality request attached to the application asks the FCC to keep details secret until that date."

Comments

iPhone appstore killer.

[Whiney Mac Fanboy]

Compare the iPhone's walled garden approach to this:

All applications are equal

Android does not differentiate between the phone's basic and third-party applications -- even the dialer or home screen can be replaced.

Re:iPhone appstore killer.

[Sentry21]

That strikes me as what we in the industry call 'a recipe for disaster'. So how long until we see the first security hole that lets the payload replace the dialler and home screen (and maybe the contacts app) with apps that steal all your shit?

Re:iPhone appstore killer.

[haltenfrauden27]

Yeah I mean one point one could make here is that webapps are really the killer app for cellphones. As real browsers ( read: Opera/Konqueror/Firefox ) take hold on phones, I think this will become more and more the norm.

That's particularly the case when you consider a phone is nearly always at least minimally online.

Re:iPhone appstore killer.

[Mr_Silver]

The choice between Firefox & Safari on OSX is superfluous. Apple's team of professional interface designers should make the choice for us; all those OS X users using Firefox are just delusional.

I know what you're getting at, but there is another side to this.

I own a Topfield freeview PVR. It's a great device because it supports the development of TAP's - applications which can either compliment or replace functionality on the box.

For me, this means I have timers (which are a poor-man's season pass/series link, but something very few other boxes have), a really good channel browser, advert skipper, more features for handling recorded programmes etc.etc.

The problem is, that all these extras/replacements have different look and feel, user interface and flow. Some people have made a good effort - others have whipped out Microsoft Paint and knocked something up. For example, the actions of the colours buttons are inconsistent, even right down to exiting a screen and being asked to save changes (some say "do you want to discard?", others say "do you want to keep?" - both with yes/no buttons).

So whilst I have a tonne of great functionality provided by lots of dedicated people, the UI is a complete mess.

Re:iPhone appstore killer.

[Sloppy]

What the hell is the world coming to, that the inability to install software is somehow seen as a virtue and the ability is a 'recipe for disaster'?!

If users don't want to run malware, then they should stop running malware. Yes, some people will go on running malware because that's their culture. Well, fine. But why the fuck should those people hold everyone else back?

I think this stuff should all be spun off

[jacquesm]

Google is becoming more and more like a christmas tree, the main trunk of which seems to be interconnecting information about all the users they've got in their various services.

Pretty soon they'll know your current location, what you've been searching for all your life, who you've been talking to and what you had for breakfast, as well as the contents of your email and your various documents.

That much information in the hands of one party is asking for trouble, either because they'll have a breach sooner or later (hopefully later) or because they find new 'creative' uses for all that data about you.

The new PC vs MAC

[religious freak]

Remember when MSFT was the one promoting openness, as compared to the evil Apple and IBM empires?

I wouldn't be surprised to see a repeat, but with Google in the role of the open system, ala Android. It'll be interesting to watch the clean, sleak and confined iPhone go against the more likely open and flexible Android.

If history is any indication, I think Google wins.

Re:The new PC vs MAC

[mbaciarello]

Google Earth.

Glad you mentioned it.

I can't comment on how open that app is, as I don't know enough about its inner workings. However, though I'm no IT professional, if I wanted to take a look at its code, I wouldn't know where to find it. I just know that if I want to measure anything that's not a series of segments I'm gonna have to buy the Pro version.

Anyway, get this: GMaps for the iPhone is practically unusable in my first language, which is not English. It keeps reporting results that are tens of km away. At the same time, the web version (yes, the one that shows you ads) is working fine for me.

Why are results different? Could it be that they're not working as hard on GMaps for a competing platform as they are on their own?

And where's the Google Mobile app for non-American users? We've known the iPhone would be sold in other countries for months now. Surely they are working as hard on GMobile for the iPhone as they are on Android, right?

All apps and platforms and users are equal, right?

November doesn't mean November... remember iPhone?

[jsharkey]

Remember that Apple requested requested a lengthened period from the FCC for the iPhone, but they launched about 3 weeks before that date. A November date for Android doesn't preclude an earlier launch.

Re:In denial?

[strider44]

Since Google Android has a web site and has had for at least a year ... I'd say no.

Of course they're not actually working on a phone, just software for phones.

A gate vs. nothing

[SuperKendall]

You realize that there's been several security holes in the iPhone that give the attacker root access?

There will always be ways around security defenses. You can climb over a gate, yet people still install them. Why?

It's because it's foolish to do nothing and invite the worst.

Thankfully of course Android does do something in terms of app sandboxing. So the real question is have they struck the right balance by being more open to start with?

Re:you got it backwards

[Anonymous Coward]

This about linux is truth, indeed. I was shocked myself some month ago.
Point of most common choice being best is definitely wrong taken. You BEST developers, not quantity of them from all sides.

I bought new laptop without OS preinstalled. Because of some timeline issues I booted up Ubuntu linux and in 15 minutes I had fully operational PC, including function keys, wireless (802.11n!) and LAN, OpenOffice and Firefox out of the box. I did not touch any settings when it booted up. 15 MINS!

Then after few days I decided it's time to go to.. Vista, it took me 7-8 hours effectively to install, find all drivers and make everything working normally.

Android will only run low res Java apps

[ad454]

Consider the iPhone, which despite being so crippled, a developer can still create and compile some native application for it, and install it via iTunes store or jailbreak.

Google has decided TO BAN ALL NATIVE APPLICATIONS for its Android phones, and only allow Java.

http://code.google.com/android/kb/general.html
Q: Can I write code for Android using C/C++?
A: Android only supports applications written using the Java programming language at this time.

As a crypto developer, this means that my applications, which deal with complex CPU intensive cryptography that are not fully supported by any Java libraries, will never run on Android, even though I can port them to the iPhone, Windows Mobile, PalmOS, etc.

In addition, Android devices are only allowed to have low-resolution QVGA (240x320) resolution displays, which is half the screen resolution of the iPhone HVGA (320x480). Some Microsoft Windows Mobile phone even have full VGA (480x640) or WVGA (480x800) displays. This will also limit the usefulness and functionality of applications running on Android compared those other smart phones.

Re:Android will only run low res Java apps

[Cycon]

Consider the iPhone, which despite being so crippled, a developer can still create and compile some native application for it, and install it via iTunes store or jailbreak. Google has decided TO BAN ALL NATIVE APPLICATIONS for its Android phones, and only allow Java.

Surely we will end up seeing "jailbroken" Android phones. If you are willing to consider a jailbroken iPhone as a legitimate target platform, you should know that people are already working on (and have met some success with) building and executing C and C++ applications on the Android emulator.

Re:Android will only run low res Java apps

[fabs64]

Cryptography? Like.. Maths? Yeah.. unless you're writing optimised assembly it's going to make very little difference what language you write it in, particularly on a device like a phone.

And that's not even going into the fact that most of these phones are likely to run Java bytecode natively anyway...

Also, the Java based framework not supporting native applications is not the same thing as native applications being banned.

Re:Android will only run low res Java apps

[FlashBuster3000]

> Android devices are only allowed to have low-resolution QVGA (240x320) resolution displays

What the hell are you talking about resolutions?
Surely android is not designed for only a few resolutions.
In fact it is designed in such an awesome way, that you only need one binary package for every phone and resolution.
Get your facts straight, before posting bullshit, thanks.

Also, cpu intensive tasks dont belong on a phone.
Maybe you are wondering why Alias Maya wasnt ported to a phone yet. But i won't tell you why, heh...

Re:Android will only run low res Java apps

[pammon]

There are several things in the system that will make it difficult to scale up to higher resolution displays. One example is Android's use of integer pixel coordinates, instead of abstract floating point coordinates. By tying Android to pixels, Google ensures that application elements will appear smaller (and so less usable) on higher res displays.

Re:you got it backwards

[el_chupanegre]

In contrast, most people buying a Mac end up having to fiddle around for hours choosing and installing the applications they need. And many people end up buying and installing one little Macintosh hack after another to work around the limitations and annoyances of the Mac interface.

Do you actually have anything to back that up?

If we're talking 'installing hacks' you honestly think that Macs need that more than Linux? You've never had to mess with xorg.conf or samba configs then? I have to do it every single time I install Ubuntu in a virtual machine.

The only thing I've ever done on a Mac that could be considered a 'hack' of the OS is create my own keyboard mapping because I'm too used to the UK layout where " is shift+2 and @ is over near enter

So, if you want a no-hassles, consistent user interface that just works, go with a major Linux distribution, don't waste your time on the Mac.

Once again, I'm sorry but I disagree. One anecdote I have about Ubuntu and it's lack of consistency is with the system tray. All the little widgets can be right clicked and 'locked' to the bar so that you can't move them. All except the network widget that is... When I changed screen resolution (because it auto-detected the wrong one, no hassle at all right?) the network widget didn't move over with the clock, it stayed in the middle of the bar!

Since there's no way to 'unlock' it from the bar, I can't move it, so it's still stuck there now, very very annoyingly. I also can't work out a way of getting rid of it.

iPhone SDK appears to require a Mac and a company

[tepples]

The iPhone SDk is free to download.

But it costs roughly $1,000 to run: $600 for a Mac mini, $200 to add RAM, a KVM switch, and other things to make your Mac mini usable, $100 to unlock your iPod Touch or iPhone, and $100 for shipping and taxes.

the (again free) ADC account used to access the official SDK

I tried to register for an ADC account using my personal Apple ID. I got stopped when the form refused to submit because "company" was blank. Was it trying to imply that I have to start a company and apply on its behalf in order to get an ADC account?

The iPhone wins for most development at that point since you have a nice compact UNIX system and can use C to develop which hackers generally are more used to than Java.

Android wins because you can run the JDK on your existing Windows or Linux hardware instead of having to buy a Mac.