Android

Eye-catching phones of 2010

At CNET, we look at so many cell phones and smartphones throughout the year that many of them tend to look the same after a while. Therefore, it's easy to remember the ones that looked especially interesting. I've compiled a list of the most eye-catching phones we've seen this year, be they short stubby phones like the Kin One or the giant handset that is the Motorola Droid X.

They're listed in no particular order. We're sure we've missed a few, so let us know in the comments if there's any phone that … Read more

Android Atlas Weekly 26: Our Required Android App List (podcast)

A phone with the soul of a tablet, Google TV a flop?, and our required App list, All that and more on this week's edition of Android Atlas Weekly for Thursday, December 2nd, 2010. Join Justin Eckhouse along side Senior Associate Editor, Nicole Lee!

News Stories

BUSINESS INSIDER RANKS GOOGLE TV AND NEXUS ONE AMONG TOP 15 BIGGEST TECH FLOPS OF 2010 http://androidcommunity.com/business-insider-ranks-google-tv-and-nexus-one-among-top-15-biggest-tech-flops-of-2010-20101201/

In battle of iPad vs. Android-based Galaxy Tab, 85% prefer Apple http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/12/02/in_battle_of_ipad_vs_android_based_galaxy_tab_85_prefer_apple.html… Read more

Motorola Flipside: Capable but boring (review)

The Motorola Flipside is a new messaging phone for AT&T. The $99 price tag isn't bad at all for this midrange Android 2.1 handset, which sports a 3.1-inch HVGA touch screen, a 3-megapixel camera, and a 32GB-capable expandable memory card slot.

It has the full range of rock-solid Android apps, but also some only arguably useful preloaded programs and the standard shortcuts and installations for AT&T services.

Still, there's one more significant bonus and drawback each for the Flipside. Consult our full review for more details.

Smartphone ads 2010: Clunkers and blockbusters

With all the millions of dollars that manufacturers and mobile operators pour into advertising their flagship smartphones, you'd think more commercials would be hits. But we all know better than that. For every poignant or entertaining ad there are five more duds that fail to entertain, or elicit any sort of emotional response.

Take 2010, for instance. There have been few memorable campaigns, not all of them good, and many more that amounted to expensive TV noise. It casts a shadow on Apple's advertisers that one of the year's best commercials was an Internet-viral Jane Lynch parody … Read more

RIM acquires TAT, designer of user interfaces

Research In Motion has acquired user interface specialist The Astonishing Tribe for an undisclosed sum, the company announced on its blog today.

TAT could be a major pickup for BlackBerry maker RIM. The company, which is based in Sweden, makes several different products for mobile device makers, and it's invested in the Android market with its "custom home screen," called TAT Home. That offering delivers gesture navigation and 3D widgets, and according to the company, is designed to give users more control over the "look and feel of the Android home screen."

Another product, TAT … Read more

Dialed In 152: Soul of a tablet

Acer claims its new 4.8-inch Android smartphone has the "soul of a tablet." Seriously? At that size, maybe they should just call it a tablet, soul and all. We also discuss the Dell Venue Pro, Motorola Olympus rumors, the burgeoning 4G market, and all the latest reviews.

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News Dell Venue Pro now on sale Acer unveils 4.8-inch Android smartphone AT&T Facebook account confirms Motorola Olympus Content ratings latest feature on Android Market Snap up the AT&T R225 for $20, contract-free … Read more

How to spot a bad Android tablet

Cheap Android tablets seem to be popping up in the oddest places these days. While holiday shopping over the weekend, I randomly came across budget-priced ($100-$200) Android tablets at Kohl's, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, and even Toys "R" Us.

I understand the appeal. The iPad is going bonanzas, but it's priced out of reach for most people. Android smartphones like the Motorola Droid franchise have been heavily promoted on TV, extolling the virtues of the OS and its iPhone-killing "does" philosophy. Throw in our existing love affair with e-book readers, and you'… Read more

PlayStation phone gets time on video

The rumored Sony PlayStation phone has been spotted again, this time getting captured in video form.

A Greek gadget blog has roughly 2 minutes of blurry footage of someone reportedly playing with the device. Although we never see the phone opened up to reveal the gaming controls, it appears to be a real working model. According to Techblog.gr, the handset is codenamed Zeus and will bear the name of Sony Ericsson Z1 when it arrives.

Specifications for the PSP phone include a 1GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera, 512MB of RAM, and 1GB of ROM. It's suggested that the … Read more

All Chrome, all the time

If you were looking for something besides Chrome news last week, you probably had to do a bit of digging. The popular Google browser dominated the Windows software space with a bevy of announcements. For one, version 8 will offer PDF file viewing directly within the browser window. That's right: that means no separate launching of Adobe's Reader app. Pretty nice, if you ask us.

Chrome also saw the arrival of a fast-encryption feature. The feature, dubbed False Start, is available in the latest version of the browser and serves to speed up secure communications. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these … Read more

Ack. Another smartphone OS study

On Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world.

Almost every day we're presented with a new study that tracks the success of various smartphone operating systems. Like so many pre-election polls, they make grand conclusions about which OS is ahead and which is not. And like so many political reporters, industry watchers scramble to expand on the narrative.

Loyalty Just yesterday, for example, the research firm GfK published a survey that asked smartphone users if they were loyal to a particular operating system. The main finding--that 56 … Read more