Android amazes and amuses at assembly

It's IT Blogwatch: in which the OHA's Android smartphone platform gets demo'ed at a Google event. Not to mention Portal's Still Alive, covered...

Stephen Lawson reports:

Developers praised the programming experience and the potential of Google Inc.'s Android mobile platform at the Google I/O conference as the company emphasized its flexibility and showed new features. There was a lot of buzz around Android at the conference, which covers all areas of Google development ... Google wants the technology to open up the mobile industry, where developers have faced hurdles getting applications ported to many different operating systems and approved by carriers. But Android will enter the fray as just one mobile platform among many ... Android drew comparisons to the iPhone after it was demonstrated during a keynote session Wednesday. Google showed a home screen with colorful widgets similar to the iPhone's, plus a compass and a status bar that can be pulled down in any application to view messages. more

Daniel Toljaga reminds us:

Android is an open-source platform being designed for smartphones and other mobile devices that surf the Web. Android was first announced nearly seven months ago ... The Android Software Development Kit (SDK) was made available online last November. The project, under development by Google and a number of partners in the Open Handset Alliance. Motorola, Samsung, HTC, and LG all belong to the Open Handset Alliance, which was formed last year by Google to promote open platforms and open networks in the mobile and wireless industry. All four are expected to release devices based on Android in the second half of this year. more

Android's Chris Davies has hardware deets:

Based on a 528MHz Qualcomm ... MSM7201A ... processor, the smartphone used a Synaptics capacitive touchscreen and the UMTS cellular standard; the demo itself was carried out using a 3.6Mbps HSDPA connection. Android’s memory requirements continue to be reasonable: the prototype had 128MB of RAM and 256MB of flash. more

Charlie Sorrel has a guessing game:

Glass and chrome, a touch screen, a Webkit based browser, multiple desktops switched by sliding a finger across the screen and a four-icon dock for favorites. What is is it? The iPhone, right? Wrong. It's the new touch screen iteration of Google's Android platform ... There are some neat looking touches, although not all useful. The loupe-style magnifying glass for zooming into web pages is great eye-candy, but seems a lot less intuitive than Apple's method, and the decision to let users crowd their "desktops" with icons and folders will make the Android look like your aunt's PC. But wait for the Street View ... Hold the phone up and the accelerometers sense where you are pointing it, rendering a live Street View overlay onto the real world in front of you. Very, very nice. more

But Kevin Anderson worries:

Is Google's answer to the iPhone a little too close to the iPhone? ... In some ways, this reminds me of tech after the original iMac launched; everything turned Bondi blue for a while. Now, every handset company now seems to be developing touch interfaces that bear an eerie resemblance to the iPhone. Will the iPhone feel all that distinctive by the end of the year? more

And Paul Kapustka offers three more oints in the flyment:

Delivering lots of cool new apps is the promise of Android, the open source mobile OS project from Google ... But I still see three big problems for Android apps that could keep the add-on market small for the foreseeable future ... How many carriers are really going to offer Android phones? ... How will users find Android applications? ... How will developers convince users to take a chance and download their app? ... The lack of an application certification process ... means ... convincing users to trust that their app is safe, won’t break their phone or transmit personal info to undisclosed locations. more

Scott Webster and Jamie Hunter are "not unapologetic supporters":

We have to be honest here, it looks nothing short of amazing! It’s leaps beyond the stuff we’ve seen in pictures and small clips over the last 6 months. Check out the magnifying glass effect for the web browser! Sure, there are shades of iPhone in it, but we’re looking at something special here folks. Looking at the top of the screen, there is an always-accessible menu. You’ll be able to drag down the title bar to get recent notifications. Drag contacts and other items out to the main screen to for one touch access. Add widgets to the desktop so they’re always accessible with launching a new application! more

And finally...

• Still Alive, from Portal: covered ...but they missed the best version, in the humble opinion of Your Humble Blogwatcher
  

Buffer overflow:

• Stephen Shankland: We're all guinea pigs in Google's search experiment
• Ted Samson: The million-dollar datacenter question: Tier II, or not Tier II?
• Saul Hansell: The Real Fight Over Fake News
• Ryan Lawler: Akamai Broadband Report Says Sweden's Sweet
• Brian Lam: Dell Mini Inspiron, Their First Mini Laptop

Other Computerworld bloggers:

• Preston Gralla: Dell is not alone in PC fraud
• Mike Barton: A social media bubble?
• Mark Hall: Use digital ink on real-world documents
• Robert L. Mitchell: Big Brother and FBI data sharing
• Douglas Schweitzer: Yahoo tries to fight back
• Shark Tank: Nothing quite like thinking ahead
• Shark Bait: Weezer's Internet memes music video

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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/adviser/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and spam. A 21 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You can follow him on Twitter, pretend to be Richi's friend on Facebook, or just use boring old email: blogwatch@richi.co.uk.

Previously in IT Blogwatch:

• Intel's Montevina mistake causes Centrino setback
• Windows 7: click here to know more
• Facebook to open source platform?