HTC Wildfire Price, HTC Wildfire Android Phone

Image via WikipediaHTC Wildfire Smartphone is recently Launched by HTC Corporation. The HTC Wildfire is integrates Google and Social networking applications & powered by Android, v2.1 operating system and Qualcomm MSM 7227 528 MHz processor. HTC Wildfire incorporates 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen display with Multi-touch input method, Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate & HTC Sense UI.

The HTC Wildfire has integrated Google search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Gtalk, Picasa applications and Facebook, Flickr, Twitter applications to communicate with friends and real world. The HTC Wildfire sports 5 MP auto focused camera with LED flash, Smile detection & geo-tagging and supports SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, IM messaging features. The Smartphone has long battery life and powered by Li-Ion 1300 mAh standard battery.

HTC Wildfire smart phone features and specifications:

Dimensions: 106.8 x 60.4 x 12 mm
OS: Android, v2.1
Network: 3G HSDPA 900 / 2100
Processor: Qualcomm MSM 7227 528 MHz processor
Display: 3.2-inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen
Resolution 240 x 320 pixels
Camera: 5 MP Autofocus camera with LED flash
Internal memory: 348 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM 512MB ROM, 384MB RAM
External memory: 32GB microSD card slot
Stereo FM radio with RDS
Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
Google search, Maps, Gmail, Youtube, Gtalk, Picasa
Facebook, Flickr, Twitter applications
GPRS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, EDGE, USB connectivity
A-GPS, Digital Compass
Battery Li-Ion 1300 mAh

HTC Wildfire Price in India Rs. 11500 approx.

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HTC Sensation unlocked priced in UK

Image via WikipediaAs you probably know, HTC Sensation was announced to be headed to UK market. Looking to purchase this powerful dual-core smartphone? The online retailer Play.com offers the handset for £499.99 SIM free, which meand you'll be able to use a SIM card anywhere in the world on any operator.

Contract-free, the Android smartphone can be pre-ordered from Play.com with the mention that the due date for release is set for June 30. Converting the amount in dollars, it means around $820, a little too pricey.

But there is also an alternatie. You can take advantage on a monthly contract, to get the Sensation for free or less expensive. Unless, you're too anxious to be among the first owners of an HTC Sensation in UK.

Flexible display concepts are cooler with Android

For years we have seen people toying with the idea of a digital display that can bend and fold like paper. Nothing has ever materialized into a mass market device, but we still like seeing the concepts, and this one with an Android interface looks pretty darn cool.

California-based designer Andrew Namminga came up with the concept to use Android in a fabric-like "computer" of sorts that you could use to check your e-mail and Facebook while you're sipping a frappuccino at Starbucks and then fold up and put it back in your wallet when you're done.

Of course, this is just a concept and nowhere near any actual computer engineer's desk yet. But beyond the idea of a flexible Androiddevice, we like the way Namminga came up with a dual-display design. You have the standard Android homepage on the top with a clock and all the app icons, and on the bottom there is a Facebook feed, Google Maps picture and thumbnail for your latest photos.

We'd like to see that kind of interface employed on a real Android device first, and then take it to the still-emerging world of flexible tech.

Nevertheless, you can't deny this concept display looks pretty sick. It'll only be available in your dreams for now, but we have no doubt that if and when flexible displays are actually robust and durable enough mass market consumption, Android will be first in line to take advantage of it.

Best Android Books: My Top 5 Choices

There are a number of high quality books available about Android and Android application development. As with any subject, Google Android books vary greatly in quality and how broadly they cover their subject. We picked these 5 because they each approach the subject from a different perspective. Some carry the “introductory” flavor throughout the book, while others “ease you into” Android and then delve with more advanced topics. The point we are trying to make is that all these books can be complementary to each other rather than the “pick the best” kind. With that in mind, here are 5 of the top Android books.

The Busy Coder’s Guide to Advanced Android Development

Mark Murphy is the author of the classic Busy Coder’s Guide to Android Development. This book picks up where the previous one leaves off. It delves into more advanced topics such as creating widgets for the home screen, taking pictures with the camera and using sensors. Mark’s style is very informal and easy to read. This book is an important compliment to the Android documentation.

Publisher: The Busy Coder’s Guide to Advanced Android Development
Amazon: The Busy Coder’s Guide to Advanced Android Development

Professional Android 2 Application Development

Wrox’s Programmer to Programmer series of books are excellent for getting up to speed quickly and this book is no exception. This book deals with Android application development from the beginning through more advanced techniques. While it is well-suited for beginning Android developers, it does assume that the reader has some development experience and at least some familiarity with Java and Eclipse SDK. The author sprinkles the book with plenty of coding examples, which many books nowdays offload to a CD or link to their online repository. With a few exceptions, this books has a really great coverage of all Android components, from media to file IO to bluetooth and WiFi radios.

Publisher: Professional Android 2 Application Development
Amazon: Professional Android 2 Application Development

Hello, Android: Introducing Google’s Mobile Development Platform

This book is one of the best introductory Google Android books available. It deals with the basics of Android development and uses a consistent sample application with increasing functionality to demonstrate the concepts. This is the book to get if you’re brand new to Android development. However, it is a basic book so experienced Android developers will find its value somewhat limited. The book does a good job “easing” you into the subject. It starts off hand-holding novice Android developers, but as it progresses, it picks up pace. It forces beginners to review the previous chapters often. Instead of simply copy-pasting the “exmple” code, it challenges readers to come up with their own solutions.

Publisher: Hello, Android: Introducing Google’s Mobile Development Platform
Amazon: Hello, Android: Introducing Google’s Mobile Development Platform

Android Application Development: Programming with the Google SDK

O’Reilly books, known for their animal prints on their covers, have always been my first choice for any technical subject. This title is no exception. This book covers everything a new Android developer needs. It begins with an in-depth tutorial on how to set up your development environment and then gets into the details of Android application development. This book covers many advanced topics in Android development such as security. One drawback of this book is it heavily revolves around a specific Android application. If you don’t have your laptop handy when you are reading this book, some parts of it may be a bit confusing. The author takes a somewhat non-standard approach to covering Android by going over an application that has already been built instead of building it up with the reader as they progress from chapter to chapter. Overall, it’s still a pretty good technical book from the folks at O’Reilly!

Publisher: Android Application Development: Programming with the Google SDK
Amazon: Android Application Development: Programming with the Google SDK

Beginning Android 2

Written by the author of The Busy Coder’s Guide to Advanced Android Development, this book is one of the best beginner’s guides to Android application development. This book covers the core features of the Android API. It takes a pace that is appropriate for beginner’s but does not go into great depth. This is an excellent first Google Android book for new Android developers. Even developers with limited experience with Java will find this book useful and easy to understand.

Publisher: Beginning Android 2
Amazon: Beginning Android 2

Conclusion

The variety of Google Android books available to new or experienced Android developers is quite large. There are five books that stand out as the top Android books for learning about Android application development. These books provide a thorough foundation for the complete beginner and lead into much more advanced android development topics.

Android Basics Refresher

Covering the fundamentals of the hottest platform in mobile right now.

Reading through my Android notes today, I realised the quick-read format might be useful to others. Although fellow zoneleader James has been featuring some excellent articleson Android, I'd thought give my take in a simpler format - just in case it triggers your memory.

Android Basics

Every app;

• runs in its own Linux process
• shutdown when more resources needed
• each process has its own VM
• assigned its own user ID so its data is visible only to that user (and app)
• can call upon components developed elsewhere to allow for reusability

Activity

An activity is a UI representing a task the user wants to perform, such as entering a phone number into a text-box, or a list of menu items the user must choose from. Applications are made up of many activities. A Java class must extend the Activity class.

Views, or 'widgets', are what make up the components in an activity. As subclasses of View, these represent standard items in a UI such as a button, textbox or Image.

Services, Broadcast Receivers and Content Providers Services

Run in the background. Extend the "Service" base class. The platform will start them by passing Intent to Context.startInstance(). "onStart()" will be called by Android on the instance of a new Service and an Intent passed to it. To get a hold of an established Service (i.e. one that's already running), you can call Context.bindService(); in such a scenario the Service is given an Intent instance and its onBind() method is called.

Broadcast Receivers

Receive and react to broadcast announcements. Examples would be battery is low, or the language has been changed. Extend BroadcastReceiver base class. They do not have a an interface and typically display an icon in the notification area.

Content Provider

Exposes one application's data to another. An extension of ContentProvider, these act on calls from ContentResolver (which other apps invoke) to access data controlled by this provider.

Intents

Activities are started by passing Intent instances to Context.startActivity() or Activity.startActivityForResult().

Android Basic Programming

Image by Aaronage via Flickr
Android is developing applications (software) for Android (mobile) devices.
- Is often referred to as the Open Handset Alliance
- It includes an operating system, middleware and key applications
- The mobile platform is available, for free, as the Android Open Source Project
The Android Web site is a good place to start.
Latest Version: Android 2.3
The Android Dev Guide provides a practical introduction to developing applications for Android.
Using Android
System Requirements
Windows XP (32-bit) or Vista (32- or 64-bit)
Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later (x86 only)
Linux (tested on Linux Ubuntu Dapper Drake)
Note: users should download Eclipse and Android SDK (1.6)
- Begin here by Installing the Android SDK
- Those using Eclipse, make sure to install the Android Development Tools (ADT) Plugin
Using Android SDK
- It provides the tools and APIs needed to begin developing applications.
Using Eclipse
- to edit files and verify that they compile
- used for error checking
- to check directories in search for Java files
Users can highlight and execute a piece of source code by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + D
Users can highlight or select text by pressing ALT + SHIFT + UP ARROW (or DOWN ARROW)
Programming
Android applications are written in the Java programming language, so learning a bit of Java is necessary.
Also, Android supports XML syntax. It's used for designing application screens.
Need help getting started? There's a helpful forum (blog) that users can learn Android Basic Programming. The site: Android Competency Center. It contains Android tutorials and tips.
For users wanting to build graphical user interfaces for the Android cell phone platform, there's DroidDraw.
Android uses the aapt tool into an Android package, an archive file marked by an .apk suffix.
Using the Android Asset Packaging Tool
./aapt (used by Linux and Mac OS)
aapt.exe (used by Windows)
- Is included in the tools directory of the SDK
- It allows you to view, create, and update Zip-compatible archives (zip, jar, apk)
Building the code
Note: To build the files, run make from within your working directory.
$ cd ~/mydroid
$ make
Note: If users are missing the "run-java-tool," try setting the ANDROID_JAVA_HOME env var to $JAVA_HOME
$ export ANDROID_JAVA_HOME=$JAVA_HOME
To Create an AVD (Android Virtual Devices)
android create avd --target 2 --name my_avd
To Select, Add, Delete, and Modify Data - use the content provider URI (CONTENT_URI)
The CONTENT_URI consist of three parts:
The string “content://”
The segment representing the kind of data to retrieve
The specific item of the specified content provider
Importing (examples):
import android.app.AlertDialog.Builder;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.DialogInterface;
import android.content.DialogInterface.OnClickListener;
import android.preference.ListPreference;
import android.preference.Preference;
import android.util.AttributeSet;
To Ask for a User's Name:
androidid=”@+id/nameMessage”
Examples of how to define the activity entry in the AndroidManifest.xml:
android:name=”DialogActivity”
android:label=”@string/activity_dialog”
android:theme=”@android:style/Theme.Dialog”>
…
</activity>
To Create a Dialog:
MyDialog dialog = new MyDialog(context); dialog.show();
Using AlertDialog:
AlertDialog dialog = new AlertDialog.Builder(context).create();
dialog.setMessage(”Do you play golf?”); dialog.setButton(”Yes”, myOnClickListener); dialog.setButton2(”No”, myOnClickListener);
dialog.show();
To Add a Record:
private void insertRecords(String name, String phoneNo) {
ContentValues values = new ContentValues();
values.put(People.NAME, name);
values.put(Contacts.Phones.TYPE, People.Phones.TYPE_MOBILE);
values.put(People.NUMBER, phoneNo);
}
To Display a Record:
private void displayRecords() {
String columns[] = new String[] { People.NAME, People.NUMBER };
String name = null;
String phoneNo = null;
name = cur.getString(cur.getColumnIndex(People.NAME));
phoneNo = cur.getString(cur.getColumnIndex(People.NUMBER));
}
To Modify a Record:
private void updateRecord(int recNo, String name) {
ContentValues values = new ContentValues();
values.put(People.NAME, name);
}
To Delete a Record:
private void deleteRecords() {
Uri uri = People.CONTENT_URI;
getContentResolver().delete(uri, null, null);
}

Learn Android Basics with Free Online E-Book

Image via Wikipedia

Android-powered phones are all the rage these days, with sexy new models available from all the major carriers (not just AT&T, ahem).

In fact, I predict the big seller this holiday season will be Virgin Mobile's Samsung Intercept, which you can own for as little as $25 per month (including voice and unlimited data). Check out my writeup if you want to know more about that particular gem.

One thing about Android phones, though: they're not quite as easy to learn as the iPhone. And at least some models (most notably the Intercept) come without a user guide, which could leave you scratching your head over how to use certain features.

Kevin Purdy's "The Complete Android Guide" covers everything you need to know about the Android operating system. It's written in a friendly, accessible style, and it's available free of charge when you read it online.

As a new owner of the aforementioned Intercept, I've found Purdy's guide invaluable in learning some of Android's less intuitive aspects. Its 16 chapters cover everything from the Home Screen to the App Market to Android's built-in GPS software.

If you don't want to stay tethered to your PC while reading the book, you can buy the PDF version for $9 or order the paperback for $19.95.

Android is cool, but it can be confusing. I think a guide like this is essential for learning the Android ropes--and getting answers to your biggest questions.

Android market share topples Blackberry

It was only a matter of time, not a matter of if, Google's Android operating system would become the dominate mobile platform. That time is now.

According to the very latest data from Nielsen, Android now commands a 29% market share of smartphone users in the US. While that isn't even close to being a majority, it is a plurality that topples all of its competitors.
Meanwhile, Blackberry has fallen to 27% and Apple's iOS platform remains largely flat at 27% as well, where it has seemed to comfortably sit for a while.

Bringing up the read was Windows Phone 7 at 10%, Palm OS at 4%, and Nokia's antiquated Symbian with 2%, thanks only to people who have legacy Nokia phones as there are no current Symbian smartphones on the market in the US.

This is a cataclysmic event, as it brings Android ahead of a platform that for years was the leading smartphone software. Blackberry's operating system became so ubiquitous with business that it seemed impossible to ever dethrone it from the top spot in overall market share. After all, companies would buy Blackberry phones in bulk, sometimes hundreds or even thousands at a time.

No one really expected enterprise customers to start switching over, en masse, to the new consumer platforms of Android and iOS, but that's exactly what it happening. Blackberry had managed to hold onto its #1 title for a while, but that was only because it had such a commanding lead. The company behind Blackberry, Research in Motion, has been sloughing off market share for over a year. In just the past 12 months it has dropped double-digit market share thanks mostly to Android. The iPhone hasn't really advanced much, but it isn't falling either.

Apple still has a pretty nice lead in the tablet market, though that may change as 2011 gets into full swing and a number of anticipated Android tablets hit store shelves.

source : tgdaily.com

Android market share continues to increase

33.3 million units in Q4

According to the latest figures from Canalys, Android phones are the new black.

In Q4 2010 one in three mobile phones shipped with Google's OS and the trend is still positive. Of course, all this comes at a price for the competition, mainly Nokia. Android phones accounted for 32.9 percent of the market, while Nokia trailed with 30.6 percent. Apple ranked third with a 16 percent share, while RIM snatched 14.4 percent of the market.

It appears that Windows Phone 7 did not manage to do much for Microsoft's numbers and Windows-based smartphones account for just 3.1 of the market.The strongly contested smartphone market is in for even more turmoil in 2011, with the advent of faster dual-core processors, new operating systems and a host of other features.

source :fudzilla.com

Take Android Market Share Numbers With A Grain Of Salt

Recently, many reports have arrived showing the open source Android mobile OS beating Apple's iPhone and iOS in market share terms, with some over-enthusiastic observers pronouncing the iPhone "dead in the water." These have been accompanies by forecasts showing that Android will trounce the iPhone and iOS over time. In an attempt to get to the bottom of the competition,
Business Insider has conducted its own survey of smartphone users--2,000 of them, to be specific--focusing on the Android vs. iPhone competition. The results, while interesting, show that it's important to take Android market share numbers with a grain of salt.
Here are some of the basic findings from the Business Insider survey:
Almost all of the survey participants already use smartphones
The majority of participants use Android, with most of the rest using iPhones. (This is similar to the recent market-share figures from Comscore, although Android and iPhone appear to be over-represented and BlackBerry appears to be under-represented).
Most survey participants are planning to upgrade to a new smartphone in the next year or two.
Most participants say they will upgrade to the "latest, greatest" smartphone, not an older, cheaper one.
Most survey participants are NOT planning to switch platforms when they upgrade
Most participants say "features" and "platform" are the most important factors when choosing a smartphone.
Of course, the big data point that jumps out of these results is that most of the respondents say they use Android. However, there is no information to accompany the survey results regarding who was surveyed. In many enterprises, Android phones are not even sanctioned as business devices, and internal app development is often done only for the iPhone, BlackBerry, and non-Android devices. Android is, no doubt, emerging as a consumer success story, but the iPhone and the BlackBerry are favored by businesses over Android. Android is also favored by open source-friendly users, and it's not clear from the latest survey results whether the audience was skewed in this way.
Android is such a new operating system still--having only picked up momentum in the last 18 months--that it remains important to watch its success as a consumer phenomenon and a business phenomenon on separate tracks. Time will tell if the OS wins in both of these arenas.

source : ostatic.com

Android Market Share Now 1 of Every 3 U.S. Smartphones

New numbers released by Comscore show that Android-based smartphones are continuing to take a chunk out of the market share of competing devices, eating up 33 percent of the U.S. market, or one out of every three smartphones sold.

RIM was the hardest hit in this latest batch of metrics, dropping 4.6 percent of its market share between November 2010 and February 2011. The company still controls 28.9 percent of the U.S. market, however, which is a far stronger position than its similarly decreasing competitors: Microsoft shed 1.3 percent of its market share to drop to 7.7 percent in total, and Palm went down 1.1 percent to a total of 2.8 percent market share for February 2011.

To note, the indicated numbers are three-month averages, not indications of how well a particular manufacturer did in just one month. Nevertheless, February alone provided strong support for Apple–specifically, Apple's iPhone 4. According to comScore, the Verizon iPhone 4 was the most-acquired handset in February, and these killer sales helped Apple dig its heels in the sand against the Android advance. The company even improved its market share by 0.2 percent between November 2010 and February 2011.

Although Google's new lead is impressive–Android jumped up 7 percent in market share between November 2010 and February 2011–it's important to note that the numbers only indicate growth in U.S. markets.

"I believe Android will be stronger in the developing world than it is in the developed world," said Fred Wilson, venture capitalist and principal of Union Square Ventures, in response to the metrics. "And most of the growth in smartphones is going to come from the developing world in the next five to ten years."

As to why this could spell disaster for Apple at some point in the future, Business Insider's Henry Blodget notes that it's an issue of strategy: Google's Android growth is only compounded as the market standardizes to a common system–like Microsoft for desktop PCs or Facebook for social networking. If Google is able to provide the de facto operating system for a significant chunk of the market, then developers suddenly have an increased incentive to code Android first, others second. Insert downward spiral here.

Once a company has captured the market crown–its platform pushing past the tipping point that separates separating "option" from "industry standard" –it's just that much harder for competitors to unseat the king, even if they manage to release devices that are functionally superior to the status quo.

Google's Android OS is going for the shotgun while Apple's pulling out the laser, and the devices' corresponding market shares are starting to fall in line.

source :pcmag.com

iPhone Flat in U.S. as Android Takes Market Share Lead

This week, the latest U.S. smartphone market share report from comScore has little good news for Apple, except possibly that things could be worse. For the three-month period ending in January, the iPhone was flat at 24.7 percent, up just 0.01 percent from October. In sharp contrast, Android surged 7.7 percent during the same period, ending at 31.5 percent, and taking the number-one spot previously held by RIM. The Canadian smartphone maker tumbled 5.4 percent, down to 30.4 percent share, and will almost certainly be passed by Apple during the first half of this year. Windows Phone 7 was unable to halt Microsoft’s slide, down from 9.7 to 8.0 percent, while HP’s webOS fell from 3.9 to 3.2 percent.

Last week, Nielsen released market share data for smartphones that saw Google edge out Apple and RIM in the U.S. From December to January, Android was up from 27 to 29 percent, while iOS on the iPhone dipped from 28 to 27 percent, and RIM was flat at 27 percent. While that wasn’t great news for Apple, it at least showed iOS keeping pace with Android, which the comScore report seems not to indicate.

Looking back at 2010, the rise of Google’s smartphone OS is simply amazing. Last January, Android was at just 7.1 percent according to comScore. The question now becomes whether Apple can stop Google from achieving a majority, if not a super-majority, of smartphones sold in the highly lucrative U.S. market in 2011, and avoid becoming a niche player. To do so, Apple needs to address to address two major issues with the iPhone business model: distribution and price.

In 2009, the Motorola Droid was launched on the Verizon network, beginning Android’s rapid growth. One can only imagine what might have happened had there been a Verizon iPhone available at the time. In 2011, Apple has finally rectified that mistake. Expect the next report from comScore to show the impact of Verizon’s 90 million potential iPhone buyers.

As for price, the LG Optimus V running Android is now available in the U.S. on Virgin Mobile for $149 without a contract, and that’s just the beginning for low-priced Android smartphones, but Apple may be prepared this time. An article from Forbes highlights a meeting between Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi and Apple COO Tim Cook that offers some hope. According to Sacconaghi, Cook “appeared to reaffirm the notion that Apple is likely to develop lower priced offerings,” that Apple is “not ceding any market,” and that company does not want its products to be “just for the rich.”

Aggressive pricing on the iPad is evidence of that, and were the iPad, and the iPod touch, counted in mobile platform totals, the market share numbers would look very different. If Apple transitions the iPhone to a similar business model of wider distribution and lower price points, Android’s world conquest might yet be halted.

source :gigaom.com