Google’s Voice search now supports Russian, Polish, Czech and Turkish

by Chris Moor on Oct 21st 2010, 9:58pm
tagged czech, foreign, Google, language, polish, russian, seach, support, turkish, voice

I know I’ve impressed a few friends with the voice search feature on my Android phone. Whenever I did such a feat, I always thought to myself “Man, if only my Russian, Polish, Czech and Turkish friends could use this feature in their native language.” I know you probably thought the same thing.

Well thankfully, the big G (No, not the omnipresent being… wait they both are everywhere, know everything. Wait, did I just figure out that Google is God? Maybe God is Google? That’s definitely a topic for another article, lol.) Anyway, Google announced today that they are bringing voice search support for Russian, Polish, Czech and Turkish languages.

It’s important to note that you can’t just go speaking whatever language you want and expect it to automatically figure it out. You’ll have to change the setting on the phone first, but still, seeing Android adopt more languages is great to see.

[via googlemobile]

Android 2.2 update for Galaxy S devices delayed til November in UK

by Mikka Burrell on Oct 21st 2010, 1:14pm
tagged android 2.2, froyo, samsung galaxy s, uk

Ah, more Froyo woes are in store for UK Samsung Galaxy S users. The above tweet by SamsungUKMobile has announced that the Android 2.2 upgrade will not be available until early November while all operator versions will be available the end of November. While this only effects UK users, it isn’t a good sign for the patiently waiting Galaxy S users here in the States wanting Android 2.2 on their devices.

Luckily, early November starts in two weeks. Hang in there, UK Samsung Galaxy S users!

[via boygeniusreport]

HTC Desire Z, Desire HD to ship with TomTom maps

by Tyler Cunningham on Oct 20th 2010, 5:34pm
tagged Asia, desire hd, Desire Z, europe, gps, HTC, HTC Locations, maps, TomTom

HTC and TomTom have announced they are partnering up to bring “superb navigation and location solutions on HTC smartphones.” HTC’s new mapping system, called Locations, will come preloaded with TomTom’s maps, bringing what HTC is advertising as a zero-wait navigation experience.

HTC Locations will be made available initially on the HTC Desire HD and the Desire Z in Europe and Asia,with plans to expand to additional phones and markets in the future. Maarten van Gool, Managing Director of TomTom Licensing, had the following to say:

“I am very pleased to be providing HTC customers with TomTom’s accurate location and navigation content on their phones wherever they are. The beauty of it is that the maps are preloaded and instantly available at users’ fingertips. For the first time, this makes the power of TomTom navigation content available ‘in-pocket’ for HTC smartphone users.”

Continue reading below for the full presser:

» Read the rest

Latest HTC Lexikon/Merge RUU leaks

by Tyler Cunningham on Oct 16th 2010, 1:15pm
tagged HTC Lexikon, merge, RUU, Verizon

The latest RUU (ROM upgrade utility) has leaked for the HTC Lexikon, better known as the Merge, which is headed to Verizon.

Past leaked RUUs have revealed that the Lexikon/Merge will be using Bing as the default search engine, and will of course be running HTC Sense.

The new RUU does not appear to have anything new or exciting, but if you’re interested in downloading and taking a peak, hit up the source link below.

[via XDA-Developers]

Android 4.0 to be called ‘Ice Cream’

by Mikka Burrell on Oct 16th 2010, 11:30am
tagged Android 3.0, Android 3.5, Android 4.0, Google, Ice Cream

Google is well known for playfully naming new Android OS’s after various sweets. This tradition began in May 2009 with the development of Android 1.5, which Google dubbed Cupcake. Donut (Android 1.6) was released in Sept. 2009 and Éclair (Android 2.0) followed in Oct. 2009. The current version of Android (Android 2.2) is called Froyo, short for frozen yogurt.

Going in alphabetical order, Google has confirmed that Android 3.0 will be called Gingerbread and Android 3.5 will be called Honeycomb. But the “I” representing Android 4.0 has been kept secret for some time.

Until now. ARM President Tudor Brown has said that Android 4.0 will be dubbed Ice Cream. All other details about Android 4.0 are being kept secret, however.

Ice Cream most likely won’t make its debut until mid-2011. Gingerbread is expected to be released before the end of the year and Honeycomb in early 2011.

[via forbes]

SuperOneClick will Root any Android – almost

by Jesse Bauer on Oct 15th 2010, 12:46am
tagged Android, Android Development, Root, rooting, xda-developers

With the new updates coming to most Android phones, those of us that have rooted our handhelds may be disappointed afterward as the update is said to correct the root. Thankfully, there’s an app to help get us back in the dirt. The app is called SuperOneClick and you can get it by registering with XDA-Developers forums to download. It’s also free.

SuperOneClick is actually a windows program (linux in development, mac on a wishlist) that will root any Android device (minus the ones listed below) by connecting your device with a USB data cable to your PC.

Sprint EVO 4G (HTC Supersonic)
Droid Incredible (HTC Incredible)
HTC Desire GSM
HTC Desire CDMA (HTC BravoC)
HTC Aria
Droid Eris (HTC DesireC)
HTC Wildfire (HTC Buzz)

Paragon Software brings NTFS and HFS+ support to Android

by Tyler Cunningham on Oct 13th 2010, 12:19pm
tagged Android, file transfer, HFS+, NFTS, Paragon Software Group

Paragon Software Group has announced the introduction of NTFS and HFS+ support for Android to its line of universal file system drivers.

The drivers were designed to allow Android-based devices to utilize storage devices formated by Windows and Mac operating systems, which will become more common as Android moves to devices which commonly utilize access to external storage, such as netbooks.

Key features of the drivers includes full read/write access, and no limitations on file and partition size.

Continue after the break for the full presser.

» Read the rest

Rumor: Android Gingerbread SDK May Drop Next Week

by Jesse Bauer on Oct 13th 2010, 12:35am
tagged Android, Android 3.0, Android SDK, Gingerbread, Google, rumor, sdk

Rumor mills are spinning, as we have seen several postings about the possible drop of Android Gingerbread SDK next week!

The word on the street is that this version of Android OS will be the most radical change to the OS we’ve seen. Majority of speculation has also been that Gingerbread will be version 3.0, but in the view of snacks and baked goods, it’s likely it will be numbered at 2.3-2.5.

For any of the above to have any impact aside from sheer hearsay, we’ll eagerly await the official release from Google.

[via intomobile]

What’s on your Android wishlist?

by Chris Moor on Oct 10th 2010, 12:05pm
tagged Android, features, ideas, wishlist

As Android users, we all have our individual wishlists of what will be implemented in future iterations of our beloved Android operating system, but what are they? I know, for example, I would love to see native media syncing support that could sync to the Google cloud, or even simply to your computer’s media library.

What about you, our loyal readers? What features would you like to see in upcoming Android versions? I’m really interested in seeing what useful (or crazy) ideas you all have. Who knows? Maybe someone from Google will start reading the posts, and actually use our ideas.

To voice your opinion, simply join our forums, and then put up a post in the Android Wishlist thread. Here’s your chance to have your voice heard!

Babylon Translation released for Android

by Jesse Bauer on Oct 8th 2010, 9:54pm
tagged Android, android app, app, application, babylon, babylon 2go, babylon dictionary, babylon translation, babylon2go, dictionary, languages, market, translation, translations

Babylon has released an app for Android that will give dictionary results in 75 different languages as well as full text translations in over 12 languages.

The app is available now, for all of us with Android devices who may need to translate on the fly, whether on business trips overseas, European vacations, or meeting that special someone in an online dating room from some other part of the world you’ll likely never visit otherwise.