iPad no longer tablet top dog?

Market analysts IDC are forecasting that Apple’s iPad will lose it’s crown as iOS may no longer be the most widely used tablet computing operating system.

Google’s Android OS is widely available on devices sold in drug stores, big box retailers and supercenters, often at a much lower price point than iOS devices.

Apple’s iOS devices may continue to lose ground in 2013 as Microsoft’s touch-sensitive Windows 8 laptops and Surface RT devices gain a user base.

Tumblr Live Wallpaper for Android

Ever wish for an app that can download images from a Tumblr blog and display them as a live wallpaper? Then check out this app from Aron Hoekstra.

The Tumblr Live Wallpaper app allows you to search for and display images according to tag use (for example, you could display all images tagged with #subaru by adding the tag subaru) or according to what is displayed in your personal Tumblr dashboard (all the accounts you follow).

By default, images are fetched every hour (20 to 30 at a time) but this can be adjusted in the Settings. On a metered data plan? Select Fetch on Wi-Fi Only.

Android dominates sales in Q4 2012

Phones running Google’s Android OS accounted for 34% of all mobile phone shipments in the forth quarter of 2012. Apple’s iOS accounted for only 11% during the same period. Does this means Android has won the mobile OS war?

The numbers might certainly lead you to believe Google has won. Almost 70% of smartphones sold in Q4 2012 shipped with Android. Lower cost, pre-paid  and regional carrier availabilty weigh heavily in Android’s advantage.

In the early versions of Android OS, the differentiators between iOS and Android were clear. Not so much today, as popular apps like Facebook and Instagram run on both platforms.

Will 2013 see continued Android OS adoption?

Android surpasses iOS in market share

Nielsen data now shows Apple holds just 27% of the market share while Google’s Android OS has garnished a staggering 37% of the market in the U.S., ahead of iOS, Windows Mobile and RIM.

The success of the Google OS can be partly attributed to its bundling with the newest breed of low cost android pads as well as promotional $0 Droid X phones from Verizon.

iPhone 4 Sold Out – How this will impact the sales of Android devices?

Pre-orders for iPhone are temporarily suspended

AT&T  announced early this AM that it has halted pre-orders for the iPhone 4. Both the AT&T website and Apple websites were slammed yesterday, as hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, applied for the pre-order.

Reports of a new ship date are slowing coming to light. Customers are reporting that their iPhone 4 pre-order confirmations are stating the new ship date as July 2. With an estimated 1 in 100 orders being fulfilled yesterday, how will this adversely effect Apple?

It remains to be seen if sales of the EVO and HD2 see  a boost in sales during what some have called, “The iPhonecalypse”.

HTC Aria – AT&T’s second Android phone this year announced

Today, AT&T has announced the addition of their second Android phone this year.

It is the first on AT&T to run Android 2.1 and the first to include HTC’s Sense UI. With a screen size measure a demure 3.2 inches, it’s outmatched by the current generation iPhone and the massive 4.3 inch screen available on the Sprint EVO and T-Mobile HTC HD2.

Of course, all the usual suspects are present. Gmail, Google Maps, Google Nav, YouTube and the Android Market are all pre-installed on the device.

At a price of $199 (a $100 rebate is available), it appears to us that this phone is geared at the entry-level smartphone market. With the drop in price of Apple’s iPhone 3Gs to $99, it reamains to be seen if AT&T customers will consider the HTC Aria as their next mobile device.

T-mobile G1 Maps

Shhhh… it’s watching me.  It knows where I am.

No seriously, it knows.  I’m going to sit in the closet until it stops watching me.

… 3 days later…

The T-mobile G1 maps function is quite interesting. After spending some time in the closet thinking this over, I made a pros and cons list.

Pros – If I ever get disassembled, I’ll be easy to locate. If my phone is ever stolen by a despicable cretin I can find him and shove marshmallows into his eye sockets until he gives my phone back. I don’t need to activate my homing beacon.

Cons – OMG I can be tracked! ArgggghhhhH! By my enemies! Oh no … by The Federation!

Truthfully, I know I can be tracked by any cell phone with the pings and the things, but this makes it makes it so much more real.

It’s an excellent feature. It can pinpoint my location and take me anywhere I want to go. The G1’s map feature shows everything, maps, satellite, street view, traffic, you name it and it’s providing geographical information in mass quantities.

I can turn on and off the “tracking” feature by pressing the Menu button and selecting the Join Latitude button. It’s actually not super accurate on my location, so just check in a mile radius for me. Right now it’s telling me I’m located about 1/4 of a mile away from where I actually am, I’m pretty sure I’m not there, but it thinks I am.

Through the Menu button you can also search for things, like pizza or Chinese food. You don’t have to specify your location because it already knows… I just searched for Chinese food and it’s giving me 8 results, the top 3 are geographically closest to me. I know this because they’re my 3 lazy Chinese restaurants, all within walking distance.  The others I recognize as being less than 2 miles away.

Street View is quite special indeed. Getting down to street view you can select the Compass option from the Menu screen and then… spin around in your chair. Go ahead, try it… I’ll wait.

Done? It’s k, you can play with it later. I’m almost done here. Isn’t that the most fun ever? The map spins and dances like a ballerina, showing you everything just like you were swiveling your head around like a mad man.

Another interesting feature is the Report Image option from the menu screen. The G1’s map feature is protecting the public, isn’t it sweet? If you see something inappropriate, like this bashful young lady caught on street view then you can report the image directly from the G1.

Although I’m afraid of my T-mobile G1 and  it’s super insane tracking special powers, I’m also impressed. It’s definitely smarter than I am.

Voice activated search

The voice activated search feature for the T-mobile G1 is more  understanding and attentive than any lover you’ve ever had. 

On your home screen swipe your finger to the left to reveal the google search feature. Next to the search box is a microphone icon. A box pulls up that says “SPEAK NOW”

Oohhhh what should I say… well, go ahead, say anything you want… it’s listening.

This may not be the best function for mumblers, but if you speak clearly and concisely it hears you and responds with exactly what you ask for. Finally, I can talk and someone is listening and responding in exactly the way I want them too. That doesn’t happen very often for me.

I have tested this for hours, trust me, it has a 95% success rate. It’s one of the best voice activated devices I’ve ever seen. My old cell phone couldn’t even recognize my voice when I said the simplest of my contact’s names, and now the G1 Android OS is blowing my mind with obscure search terms.

This is a whole new way to view search, opening possibilities and opportunities. No longer will I bump into mailboxes while trying to perform a search query and walking at the same time, voice activated search makes it quick and easy, just 1 button and I’m searching and finding exactly what I need. Searching and driving is now possible, although I don’t recommend browsing the net while speeding down the highway. Instead, perform your voice activated search then wait for a stop light to quickly browse your results. If you live in a state where you can’t use a phone and drive… sucks to be you, don’t do it!

Another excellent and fun benefit of the G1’s voice activated search feature is the little sound wave picture. I can see on the screen exactly how my voice fluctuates when I speak. Absolutely fascinating! Also, a fun game is trying to speak in silly accents to trick your G1 into giving incorrect results. This could easily be a drinking game, or just play for fun with your friends.

The T-mobile G1 voice activated search feature gets a huge thumbs up from me, I’m going to go talk to my new friend some more now. My G1 understands me better than you ever could!

Contacts – Adding or Transferring

If you’re a pre-existing T-mobile customer and you’re upgrading to the G1, you’ll be transferring your sim card over. If not, we need to go over the process of adding new contacts so that when that hottie at the club is wasted enough to hand over the digits, you know what to do with them.

The G1 is a life force of it’s own, you can’t just buy it and expect to be fast friends right away. It’s a sophisticated device and requires you to prove you’re not a complete dumbass right from the get go. It needs to make sure you’re on the same level of intelligence, before it commits itself to performing your mundane human tasks.

The G1 home screen should have a clock and some icons on the front, one of those should read ‘Contacts’. You can also find the ‘Contacts’ icon inside the little gray tab by placing your finger on it and sliding upwards. The ‘Contacts’ icon on the home screen works just fine though.

How to import contacts into the T-mobile G1

Touch the ‘Contacts‘ icon
Press the Menu button
Touch the ‘Import Contacts‘ option
The screen should now say “Importing Contacts from SIM”

How to add a new contact to the G1 phone

Touch the ‘Contacts‘ icon
Press the Menu button
Touch the ‘New Contact‘ option
Flip open the keyboard
Type the person’s name
You can either use the roller ball or touch screen to select the next box
Enter phone number

I will reiterate again, the T-mobile G1 is not a dumbass, it’s a multi functional hand held technelogical lifeline.

On the ‘Add contact‘ screen you’ll notice a lot more options for information. Throw away the PDA if you had one, it’s now been rendered useless.

You can add your contacts e-mail address, give them a distinct ringtone and hit the check mark to send all their calls to voice mail, your own personal reject hotline.

Next there is a ‘More Info‘ button, touch it… I dare ya.

“Select Label” here are your options of what to enter, based on their label.

Phone – Home, Mobile, Work, Work Fax, Home Fax, Pager, Other, Custom

E-mail – Home, Work, Other, Custom

IM – AIM, Windows Live, Yahoo, Skype, QQ, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber

Postal address – Home, Work, Other, Custom

Other – Organization, Note

That is an insane amount of information to have on anyone in your contact list.

Inserting sim and battery

The battery is supposed to go in the back of the phone, along with the sim card. How to get it there… this I do not understand.

The T-mobile G1 is not an easy phone to open.

First you must flip the phone open to reveal the keyboard. There is a small rectangular latch which is to be pried open. When looking at a closed phone, the latch is on the top, when looking at the phone when the keyboard is visible, the latch is on the left.

I slid my fingernail underneath the latch and tried to pry it open. It would move and detatch on the top section of the phone, but was still firmly attached to the bottom section. I puzzled over this for quite a while. 15 hours to be exact (although to give me a little credit, it was overnight). After my failed attempts to open the G1 myself,  I asked a friend for help. The answer was simple. I was only missing the last step of the process. Force.

The T-mobile G1 has a secret… it likes it rough.

After inserting the sim card and battery, I replaced the back of the phone. Be sure to click it into place all the way around, it seems to have many clicking points.

After discovering that my G1 isn’t a pansy phone, I encountered no further problems.