Virtualization, Cloud Computing and Mobile

2010년 1월 6일 수요일

Apple’s App Store: From 2 To 3 Billion Downloads In Just Over 3 Months

Apple this morning announced that more than 3 billion apps have been downloaded from its App Store by iPhone and iPod touch users worldwide. This comes nearly 9 months after it first hit 1 billion downloads served, and just over 3 months since it reached the 2 billion downloads mark.

No doubt, the holiday season helped increase the number of downloads so rapidly. But still: 1 billion additional downloads in 3 months and one week is just incredible.

When the 2 billion mark was reached, Apple also said 85,000 apps were available in the App Store at the time, but the company chose to stick to download numbers only for this announcement, although they said 100,000 apps were published to the store separately at the beginning of November 2009.

Steve Jobs in a statement, said:

“Three billion applications downloaded in less than 18 months–this is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. The revolutionary App Store offers iPhone and iPod touch users an experience unlike anything else available on other mobile devices, and we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon.”

Nice jab there, Steve, and excellent timing with the official announcement of Google’s Nexus One phone just around the corner.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/05/app-store-3-billion-downloads/

Nexus One Coming To Verizon And Vodafone, First Of A “Series Of Devices”

At today’s Nexus One event, Google announced that Nexus One phone is the “first of many devices,” says Android product manager Mario Queiroz, and that in the spring a CDMA version will be coming to Verizon in the U.S. and Vodafone in Europe. The phones will be available on Google’s new online phone store, and will be available with a service contract. It doesn’t appear that the CDMA Nexus One, at least, will be available as an unlocked device.

Google’s phone store is a branded consumer channel for people to buy Android phones “with or without service,” says Queiroz. This is radical departure from the way most people buy phones in the U.S. today, which is directly from each carrier or, in the case of the iPhone, in an Apple store. But even with the iPhone, you have no choice of carrier.

Today, you can buy a GSM Nexus One with a contract in T-Mobile for $179 or an unlocked one for $529 (read our review), which you can use on AT&T’s network (but only on its EDGE data network, not 3G). Google is shipping phones to the U.S., UK, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

The plan is to offer more phones through the Google phone store to more operators in both the U.S. and abroad, and to more countries. Google is clear that it is the merchant of record for these phones. More Android phones will become available over time on the store. And while Google provided no details on future phones, there is clearly an opportunity to fill out the Nexus One family with niche devices targeted at different types of consumers much like Palm did with the Palm Pixi.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/05/nexus-one-verizon-vodafone/

Google Taps Cooliris To Enable Media Browsing On Nexus One

Big news for Cooliris this morning as Google unveiled its Nexus One “Superphone.” You can read our review of the phone here. The search and technology giant has tapped the startup to enable media browsing on its shiny new phone. The startup has been pushing the limits of interactive photo and video browsing with its 3D Wall, a browser plug-in for Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox that enables users to enjoy viewing their photos on Flickr or Facebook and their YouTube videos in a rich setting.

The new Gallery application, powered by Cooliris, for the Nexus One is a native app to enable browsing, organizing, sharing and editing media within one application. The Gallery is designed to scan quickly through thumbnails of media and loads the high-resolution versions on selection, making it easy for users to quickly browse their photos and videos. Using geolocation and tagging, users can sort their media into digital stacks by date, time and location, making it easier to find and organize photos and videos. Users can also pull existing albums from their desktops or access Picasa web albums. One interesting feature of Gallery is the two-way sync with Picasa albums, allowing users to update and access their Picasa media on-the-go. Users can also easily share their videos and images from within the app through email, MMS messaging, Picasa, or a Bluetooth connection.

Publishers a have been flocking to enable Cooliris’ nifty browser add-on. Most recently, CBS Interactive’s TV.com, one of the premier websites bringing episode guides, news, reviews, interviews, TV listings, and more to a primarily U.S. audience, started using Cooliris technology to enhance its ‘Shows’ section.

Backed with about $18.5 million in VC funding, Palo Alto, CA-based Cooliris has also debuted an compelling way to generate advertising revenue with its service.

The partnership is a big coup for Cooliris. Though there are no signs of an acquisition yet, but it wouldn’t be surprising considering Google’s phone’s deep integration with the startup’s technology.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/05/google-taps-cooliris-to-enable-media-browsing-on-nexus-one/

The Droid You’re Looking For: Live From The Nexus One Event

72164v1-max-450x450 While it’s technically called the “Android Press Gathering,” we all know what’s coming. Today, Google is expected to formally unveil the Nexus One (the device which some have been referring to as the “Google Phone“). The long event taking place today is expected to have both a presentation as well as demonstrations. Follow our coverage below, live.

Here’s our full Nexus One review.

Right now Google execs are filtering into the room. Rock music playing. Here we go.

Mario Queiroz, Vice President, Product Management
Today we’ll unveil the next stage in android.
2 years ago, Google will 33 industry leaders made the open handset alliance.
52 OHA members – 13 new members today including China telecom
One year after OHA, we launched with T-Mobile the G1. But that was just the beginning.

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Now 20 devices 59 carriers 48 countries, 19 languages
We wanted a thinner device. So we put out the myTouch 3G.
Then we wanted faster, so the Verizon Droid launch.
A year ago, 1 device, 1 carrier, 1 language
Now: 20 devices, 59 carriers 48 countries, 19 languages
4 major software releases in 2009 for Android.
To prevent fragmentation we launched a compatibility test suite
Increase 5x in mobile search during this past year
Android is available on one of the most progressive open source licensing schemes around.
Enables lower manufacturing costs – fast to market
“True always on application to be running in the background” – a jab at Apple’s iPhone
Next step in Android evolution - we’re in the early stages of a longer journey. And we’re really proud of the devices our partners have brought to market.
Bring devices to market to help us showcase what we’re working on at Google. Today we’re announcing Nexus One

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Dictionary definition of Nexus is that it’s a point of convergence. It’s where web meets phone. It’s an exemplar of what’s possible with mobile phones on Android. It belongs in an emerging category of devices that we call “super phones”
Designed in very close partnership with HTC. They’ve bet on the Android platform from the beginning
Peter Chou – CEO of HTC
2 years ago we were here announcing the Android platform. 1 year ago, the G1. So far we have shipped 7 Android products with the Nexus One.
Nexus One: 1 Ghz processor, 3.7″ OLED beautiful screen, Android 2.1
“Pushes the limits of what’s possible on an Android phone today.”

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Erick Tseng – Senior Product Manger
paired with all the great tech, we have the trackball that also functions as a notification system. It can pulse different colors.
Light and proximity sensor now.
No thicker than a #2 pencil. No heavier then a small Swiss Army knife.
5 megapixel camera with an LED flash – great photos and videos
Stereo bluetooth and active noise cancellation. The latter we can do because we have two microphones on the Nexus One. When I make a call, background noise is cancelled out.
You can also get custom engraving when you order the Nexus One
With the hardware, we think we have half the story, but it’s the software too
Android 2.1, the latest and greatest version of Eclair – which first shipped on the Droid.

Androideclair

We have Google Maps Navigation for turn-by-turn. Facebook built-in. And Quick Contacts.
But we have something new for the software: Customization.
We added more home screen panels for more customization – there are 5 now. One new one is the news and weather widget.
We expect lots more great widgets since Android is open.
And now we have live wallpaper.

New 3D framework for the Android platform. The Nexus One is really a mini computer. We wanted to push the 3D capabilities of Snapdragon. Live wallpaper is one thing, but the App Launcher is all new now too. As is the gallery for photos and videos. We worked with Cooliris on this. Very cool effects.
Cluster photos by time, date, or location. A better way to manage when you have tons of photos.
The other big innovation is voice. Earlier this year we launched “Search by voice” so you could speak your search query. Then we launched “voice commands” which is on the Verizon Droid. But what if I could use voice for every text field? What about speaking tweets? So that’s what we’ve done with Android 2.1.
Does an example by composing a Gmail by talking to the phone. Works well. And every time you talk to it, it gets better.
Sneak preview of a new app coming soon: Google Earth for Android. Sneak Peek.

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Works just like the desktop app (no pinch to zoom multi-touch, sad)
google earth on desktop has birds eye view so you can fly around. goog earth for android now has that too.
This shows off the power of 3D on Android.
And voice search works too. “Mount Fuji” test. Nice.
Back to Mario
A series of devices like this are coming.
But this is the first with a new way to buy a device: Our web store.
You can buy a device without service, or with it from one of our operating partners.
If you get it with the partner, it will be discounted, like
www.google.com/phone – you can buy a Nexus One with service from T-Mob
ile USA (it’s still unlocked), today. Or you can buy it from us with no service plan, unlocked.
We expect to add more operators and more devices, like from Motorola. And more countries.
Announce today that Verizon in U.S. and Vodafone have joined the program – HUGE
Showing off the store now. You get a lot of pictures, and a 3D tour.
T-Mobile Nexus One is $179.99. Unlocked $529.99.
This coming Spring the Nexus One will be coming from Verizon
Check out process is through Google Checkout.
Real time view of customizations on the site.
We are launching the web store in the U.S. but shipping also to UK, Singapore and Hong Kong. In the future we’ll add more countries, carriers, and devices.
Those people in the audience will be able to pick up a device today – with a trial T-Mobile SIM card so you can check it out. Another Oprah moment!