Google I/O 2013 is next week. Hard to believe, right? It seems like only a few weeks ago that we were freaking out as the Nexus 7, Nexus Q and Jelly bean (Android 4.1) were all being unveiled through Google Play as we were entering the day 1 keynote of 2012′s I/O. But here we are, almost a year removed from that event and six months out from Google’s cancelled winter event that was supposed to feature the Nexus 4, Nexus 10, new version of Jelly Bean (Android 4.2), and an updated HSPA+ version of the Nexus 7. So as we approach next week, we thought we should drop some of our own predictions, include a few rumors that are floating about, and even a few whispers that have entered our inbox over the last week or so.

Ready? Here is our list of Google I/O predictions. 

• New Nexus Q:  We’ve talked a lot about the return of the Nexus Q on various DL Shows, because we all love the idea that it could become something phenomenal. As you all know though, the Nexus Q was announced at I/O last year, then essentially killed off weeks later before it ever shipped to anyone. Google realized it had either half-assed the product or that it really was lacking any sort of real functionality that could justify its steep price. So is it going to return? Sources of ours have led us to believe that it is indeed returning, only this time with an emphasis on gaming. Details are scarce, so we aren’t sure if it’ll take the OUYA approach or be something different altogether. There is also a chance that the hardware changes to be more cube-like, however, I hope that it doesn’t. I personally love the hardware of last year’s Nexus Q.
• Gaming Center:  Proof of an Android-powered gaming center surfaced a couple of weeks ago through a teardown of the Google Glass .apk, so we’re pretty sure this is happening. We’re talking in-game chat, lobbies, leaderboards, and achievements across all of your Android devices. At this point, we’d be surprised if this new gaming center doesn’t show up, especially after seeing the Google I/O sessions list which talk about “developments in mobile gaming.” If the Nexus Q information we received is also on point, a gaming center would fit nicely into that type of hardware.
• Android 4.3:  There have been zero signs that Android 5.0 is on the verge of a release. Reports across the tech blog world (including our analytics) show only that an Android 4.3 exists. It’ll likely still be Jelly Bean, just like Android 4.2 was. So what happened to Key Lime Pie? Your guess is as good as anyone’s at this point. I’m sure it’ll be here, but for now, life is with Jelly Bean.
• Babel:  Google Babel is the new unified chat service from the search giant that we have been leading the charge on in terms of coverage. We were the first to report the name “Babel,” provide the feature list for it, give an idea as to which of Google’s services it’ll take the place of, and which platforms it’ll launch on. From what we understand, it’s definitely on the way. While we can’t confirm that it will for sure launch at I/O, how could it not? Google’s developer event is the perfect place to launch a new unified chat service. Keep in mind that another insider is reporting that it may actually launch publicly as Hangouts.
• New Gmail:  According to an insider who has taken a liking to The Verge’s forums, Gmail will get an overhaul and launch at Google I/O. It’ll be “Holofied” with a slideout navigation panel. I’d assume that means it’ll look a lot like Gmail for iOS, which we have been waiting some time for. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was improved even over the iOS version.
• Wearable Tech (Google Watch, Glass, etc.):  Do we even need to mention that Google Glass is going to be everywhere at I/O this year? It’s a given, right? OK, moving on. We have seen rumors suggesting that a Google smartwatch is in development by the Android team. While I can’t say for sure that we’ll see this at I/O (thinking more holiday season), I’m pretty certain they are indeed working on Google Watch with NFC built in.
• Chrome Dongle:  Chrome OS will most certainly have another major presence at I/O once again this year, but the big question is, “In what form?” How does a Chrome dongle sound? I’m envisioning a product similar to those Android-on-a-stick drives, only this would contain Chrome OS and be plug-able to almost anything. I’d imagine that this would also be an insanely cheap way for Google to push Chrome OS, even more so than their ultra-affordable Chromebooks. Seems wild, I know, but think about it.
• What about new Android devices? (Nexus 4 LTE and Nexus 7):  Haven’t heard a thing about either. The Nexus 4 LTE seems pretty unlikely at this point, but don’t put it past Google to re-work their latest smartphone mid-year. They couldn’t ignore the criticism over their choice to keep out LTE from the original Nexus 4, so anything is possibly.Should they release an LTE model that works on AT&T (like the HTC One), I’ll be the first in line to pick one up. And what about a revamped Nexus 7 for 2013 with a higher resolution display? Rumors suggest that it’ll be here in July and with a Qualcomm processor. That’s about all we know. If I were a betting man, I’d think that we’ll see it at I/O.

Seems like a lot of stuff on Google’s plate for next week. Will we see any of it? All of it? None of it? I can’t wait to find out. I/O is always our favorite event of the year.

Any predictions of your own?

Google I/O 2013 Predictions, Speculation, and Rumors: New Nexus Q, Android 4.3, Chrome Dongle, New Gmail, and More is a post from: Droid Life

As painful as it is for me to admit this publicly, I feel it’s only right that I do. My name is Kellen, and I’m a BlinkFeed user.

When HTC announced the One back in February, I was one of the quickest to write off BlinkFeed as another marketing gimmick and option that no real tech user would ever touch. I called it “terrible” (twice). Sure, it was perfect for the average user who loves Facebook, but for people like me, it didn’t stand a chance. It was a Flipboard copy, remember? It was even promoted with this super creepy, stalker-friendly ad. Well, after going through my second unlocked One, and making it my daily driver, I’ve found myself using the damn service more than I had ever expected to. In fact, I’m loving every second of it. Ugh. 

So what is it that I like? If you own a One and are holding off from installing a third party launcher (please don’t ask me why I haven’t done this yet, I’m embarrassed enough as it is), you are almost forced to use BlinkFeed. Since it can’t be removed from your set of home screens, it’s always there, ready for you to glance at. And since it’s there to be glanced at, I decided that I may as well make it worth my time. So I filled it up with NBA and NFL news, dirty Celebrity fixes, Movie notes, and (my limited Facebook feed). Now, every time I unlock my phone, I refresh the stupid thing, hoping to see new news. I’m so addicted.

BlinkFeed gives me a way to quickly consume information that I actually want to consume. There are no tech-related news feeds pumping through my BlinkFeed, no sir. I save my RSS apps for that. BlinkFeed is strictly personal. It has become my way of separating work from play, if you will. And not that tech is all work-related, but when I step away from my desk at the end of the day, it’s time to unplug from press releases and phones in China that you will never want to buy.

Now, BlinkFeed still bugs me at times. I often find it recycling some news stories. I also wish it would show me missed calls or connect to apps like Google Voice to show some notifications other than calendar appointments that are on the way. I really wish they would allow me to specify Twitter lists into it, rather than my entire Twitter feed. It has potential to be even better. But for now, it’s my dumb guilty pleasure. I get a quick fix of news topics that I care about and the occasional Facebook post from a pre-school friend that I haven’t talked to since I was five but am supposed to be interested in still, all without ever launching an app.

Don’t judge.

HTC, You Win – I Can’t Stop Using BlinkFeed is a post from: Droid Life

News flash! Even tech bloggers don’t get to keep devices that are sent to them for review purposes. No sir, we have to pick and choose our personal devices with care just like each and every one of you. Sure, we get to put our grubby little paws all over the newest tech before the general public, but that doesn’t mean those devices hang around for more than a couple of weeks. Once our reviews are done, we tend to ship them back to PR departments before going back to whatever phone we have chosen to be our daily driver. After some time spent with both the new HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, I have made a decision on what that new daily driver should be. 

Since release, the Nexus 4 has been my phone of choice. I’ve even gone through a couple of them, dealing with the fragile glass backside, all for the sake of stock Android that has really come into its own over the last year. The combination of price, hackability, and access to the newest version of Android at all times, made it an easy choice. Sure, it lacks LTE support, but using it as an unlocked phone with T-Mobile’s HSPA+42 network has made me miss LTE very little. I also have thoroughly enjoyed the display of the Nexus 4 along with the general soft feel of the device while in hand. It’s easily my favorite phone in some time – and I handle a lot of them.

But since I do this whole phone thing for a living, spending 6 months with a single device seems like an eternity. So as the HTC One and Galaxy S4 hit stores within the last couple of weeks, I decided it was time to make a decision on something new. These are the only two phones a power user should consider, so thanks to an extended period of time with each to do reviews, I had the perfect opportunity to compare the benefits of each to ultimately make a decision. The unlocked U.S. version of the HTC One with 32GB of storage is it.

Why the One? Why the unlocked version? Why not the developer version? I’m assuming you are asking all of those questions, so let’s answer them.

First, I went with the One because it may be the only Android device in history to try and tackle what it means to be the ultimate smartphone. We’re talking premium build and design, the best set of specs, software enhancements that you’ll actually use, and a price point that should grab all of your attention. In my review, I was at times very critical of Sense 5.0 from a UX perspective and wasn’t always impressed by the 4MP (Ultrapixel) camera, but the rest of the package is impossible to deny. Plus, most of the software issues can be fixed with third party apps from Google Play.

You know what, though? It was my time with the Galaxy S4 that made me ultimately decide on the One. I was hoping for Samsung’s flagship to blow me away, but all I got in the end was a spec bump with a set of software enhancements that have limited uses (to me at least), all in a package that was too close to what Samsung tried to sell me on last year. Not to say that the Galaxy S4 isn’t a great phone (my review), but as someone who handles them all, a phone needs to do something unique in order to get me to pay good money for it. Since Samsung failed to do that this time around, and HTC came up with something that did on a number of levels, my choice was made.

So why the unlocked U.S. version? Simple. I’m not a fan of carriers or contracts. However, there are plenty of phones that are unlocked that work on networks here in the U.S. (like the Nexus 4), so there must have been something else to get me to go all-in on the One, right? Yes, indeed. For those not familiar, the unlocked U.S. version of the HTC One does something that no other unlocked phone currently does – connects to a U.S. 4G LTE network (AT&T’s specifically). I don’t know how HTC managed to pull it off, but damn, they did. As much as I claim to not miss LTE on my Nexus 4, connecting to AT&T’s uber-fresh LTE network is quite the experience. So with the unlocked U.S. version, you buy the phone outright, then walk into an AT&T store and tell them you want monthly service – so no contract signing here. You then experience their LTE network on a phone with no AT&T branding and without a contract (no ugly flamed-LTE AT&T logo either). There may be a chance that the phone will work on T-Mobile’s LTE network in the future as well, since the phone supports the AWS LTE band.

The unlocked version of the phone also drops in at an incredibly reasonable $575 price and has 32GB of storage. Most unlocked phones, should you import them or use an unlocked re-seller here in the U.S., will run $600+, sometimes even $700+. AT&T is selling their 32GB version for $599 at full retail.

And last, why didn’t I go with the developer edition? I considered it, since it comes with 64GB of storage and would have cost me just $75 more, but in the end, I still switch phones quite often and rarely care about the bootloader of my phone being unlocked. My phones need to run stock for the sake of news coverage on Droid Life, so having an unlocked bootloader wasn’t really a benefit or negative for me personally. And while I haven’t checked yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if HTCDev is capable of unlocking this phone anyway.

But like the developer edition, I’m expecting to see the unlocked version get updates faster than any other version of the One, simply for the fact that it’s not tied to carrier. You’ll notice that unlocked phones in the UK seem to be updated regularly, while all carrier versions are months behind. That shouldn’t be an issue with this phone nor the developer edition because HTC gets to release updates on their schedule without approval from anyone.

As you can see, there were several factors that went into my decision to make the HTC One my next phone. I get one of the most premium made smartphones on the planet, connected to AT&T’s brand new LTE network, at a reasonable unlocked phone price and with no contract. In the end, I think the fact that it’s unlocked and works on LTE was the deciding factor, though. Now, hopefully Google follows their lead and does the same thing with the next Nexus. I’m already missing Android 4.2 and will be itching for my Nexus 4 come Google I/O.

The unlocked and developer editions of the HTC One can be purchased here.

Why the Unlocked U.S. Version of the HTC One is My New Phone [Opinion] is a post from: Droid Life

Facebook Home has been heralded by some as Facebook’s first shot at Google and Apple and a warning that they’re going to enter the phone market with their own phone and OS soon. Still others have warned that Facebook Home may spell trouble for Google. I think Facebook Home is great for Google and great for the Android ecosystem as a whole.

When Facebook first sent out their press invitations the Facebook Home event, the Menlo Park-based company only hinted that it was going to show off its new home on Android. Immediately bloggers and journalists began to conjecture that Facebook was going to announce that it had forked Android. HTC was tied to the announcement early on according to rumors, prompting numerous stories asking if Facebook was indeed going to finally make a Facebook phone with their own OS based on Android on HTC’s hardware.

This idea was preposterous, of course. In order for HTC to make a device with a forked version of Android, HTC would have to leave the Open Handset Alliance (something that Acer learned the hard way). Even if HTC didn’t have the shackles of the OHA holding it back, HTC is in no condition to risk Google’s ire by making a fork of Android. HTC needs all the help it can get, and the only place that help is likely coming from is Google.

If you pull HTC out of the equation and assume that Facebook either secretly entered the hardware manufacturing business or found another hardware partner that isn’t a part of the OHA (go ahead, try and think of an OEM that Facebook would trust that isn’t in the OHA and would fork Android) then Facebook would still have to come up with a solution for getting people Android apps outside of the Play Store. Even more importantly, if Facebook was forking Android, wouldn’t they want to avoid talking about Android like Amazon does? Without the Play Store, companies like Amazon have to emphasize that the OS running on the Fire and similar products is familiar like Android, but different in that it doesn’t have any of the apps you purchased (who are we kidding – Android users don’t buy apps!).

Lo and behold, Facebook was not planning on forking Android to make their own phone. Instead, Facebook made an app that can run on almost any Android phone (or at least it will), making any phone a Facebook phone. This approach requires far fewer resources (although the quality of the app suggests that Facebook had undoubtedly worked hard on making a their own version of Android) and reaches far more of Facebook’s one billion users than they ever could with one phone.

This approach encouraged journalists and bloggers to wonder if this move was bad for Google. “Surely Google is upset that Facebook is taking over the lock and home screens of devices instead of Google+! Google has to strike back with Google+ Home!” The thing is, Google already has that plan in place – it’s called Google Now. Right now Google Now may not have Plus integration, but that sort of thing must be just around the corner (Babel is just another move by Google to consolidate all communications under your Google+ profile – you have “upgraded” to Google+, haven’t you?). Now seems destined to become the hub for your notifications and content on every platform (all your email, messages, directions, searches, websites, etc.).

Making a Google+ Home would make Google look like they were caught with their pants down by Facebook’s announcement. Google undoubtedly knows that a Plus Home would not be nearly as popular as Facebook home, so any efforts in that direction would be a waste of resources. Besides, if Google can get Android (and iOS) users to get used to finding everything they need in Now, they’ll win. Facebook may continue to be the main place for social interactions, but Now will hold everything else.

The reality is, Google has nothing to worry about. The HTC First runs stock Android underneath and has all of Google’s services from search to maps to Gmail. While Google may want people to be using Google+ over Facebook, Facebook Home isn’t hurting Google’s bottom line. Even with Home installed, users will still be reliant on Google’s services and seeing and tapping on Google’s ads. Facebook would have too many obstacles to overcome if they wanted to really challenge Google with their own phone and OS. Facebook and Google are certainly both after the same thing (information about users to sell advertisements), but that doesn’t necessarily mean one company has to win and the other has to lose.

So if Google still has tons of information about their users to sell ads and doesn’t have to worry about Facebook forking Android, why should Google be worried? Facebook Home is actually a really good thing for Google. What platform has the best Facebook experience? Only Android. Sure, you can get the Facebook app on iOS, Windows Phone, and Blackberry 10, but only on Android devices do you get the best experience for interacting with your friends on Facebook. While a lot of tech nerds seem to dislike Facebook, regular people love it. Having a phone or home replacement that is designed around the app you have open 90% of the time could be really compelling to users. It may not make a lot of people change from iOS or Windows Phone, but it may convince some to stay with Android so they can keep that great Facebook Home experience.

Facebook has set a new standard for what can happen with home screen replacements and how people can and should interact with their phones. Microsoft may have pioneered the idea that people should come before apps, but they didn’t push the idea that you should stay on your phone interacting with them in such a deeply enveloped way. Facebook has come a really long way from their first mobile apps to native apps for Android and iOS to Home. I’m excited to see a new wave of innovation in the home screen space as well as what else Facebook will do in mobile.

Facebook Home is Good for Google and Android [Opinion] is a post from: Droid Life

When I first saw the Pebble I was honestly amazed. As the amazement wore off and the waiting settled in, I daydreamed about receiving notifications and being able to control my music from my wrist. Then, I received my Pebble and reality took over.

Now that I’ve had the Pebble for a week I’ve resorted to turning off the Bluetooth and using the watch to tell time and play Snake. Was it worth $150 for that? Not really, but I do love being able to shake my wrist to activate the backlight. Even though I’m generally disappointed with the Pebble, having it has made me think more about what a smartwatch should do and whether or not it’s a product that has the potential to change the way we interact with the world around us in a meaningful way. 

I think smartwatches will be like the first cell phones and smartphones. When the first cell phones came out people questioned why you would want to take calls anywhere. Smartphones simply extended that question to emails and the web. What we found was that we were able to stay connected with people, our information, and the world around us in insanely meaningful ways. We also found that our lives became increasingly more cluttered and distracted because of the influx of information and the ease with which we could be accessed. Smartwatches will never be the next smartphone, but they may be useful in some circumstances. We’ve already seen some of the initial reactions to smartwatches and they fall in line with early responses to cell phones and smartphones. Are you so lazy that you can’t just pull your phone out? Do you think you’re that important that you need to have yet another device? Chances are none of us are really that lazy or that important, but the idea of having another device to keep us even more connected in an unobtrusive way may still be tantalizing.

If (and this is still a big “if” at this juncture) smartwatches are able to show us information and interact with data in a meaningful way, they could be a major new disruption in the market. That said, I don’t think anyone is going to solve the big problems (UI, battery life, input) facing smartwatches without making some incredible compromises that will push most consumers out of the market. Those of us remaining who have the money and the patience, however, may be looking for the ideal product for a while.

Input and Notifications

The largest obstacle facing smartwatches is, of course, input. So you have a connected device that is able to show you notifications and information about what’s going on around you. Fine, but how do you input responses to interact with those notifications or information? Voice is a possibility, but it can’t be the only solution. There are simply too many situations where talking at your watch won’t be appropriate, much less expedient. Trying to put a keyboard on a watch is even more laughable.

The only solution that makes any sense to me is to have three possible responses to a notification like a text message or an email: dismiss, mark as read, and respond with a canned message. This would deal with most situations and make the watch useful beyond telling you what you already know – your phone just buzzed. If the notification is something you need to respond to later or in detail, you hit dismiss; if the notification is something you need to read, but not respond to, you hit mark as read; if the notification is something you need to respond to generically, you pick a canned response that you’ve prepared.

You might be thinking, “But I already do this with my phone. Doing that on my watch doesn’t actually help me.” You’re right; most of the time this sort of interaction won’t be helpful unless you’re in a meeting and can respond in one of the first two ways. Often times I’ll be in the middle of a conversation with someone and receive a phone call or text message. With my Pebble I’m (usually) able to tell if it’s something I need to deal with immediately or not with a quick glance to my wrist. It’s a subtle difference, but I can honestly say I’ve found it beneficial.

Another instance where I’ve found this sort of response helpful is when I’m driving. I know some of you live in states where public transportation exists and traffic is something you hear about in movies, but in southern California traffic is an integral part of life. Every day I travel for at least 40 minutes between home and work, sometimes more. Being able to quickly glance at my wrist to see what the notification is instead of changing my field of vision completely to glance at my phone is much, much safer. Again, this is subtle, but I’ve found it beneficial.

Context and Summarization

The second problem facing smartwatches is whether or not context can be used to the watch’s advantage. This is something that is still wildly underused on most smartphones. When we set up a new phone we go through the process of allowing Google and the manufacturer and the carrier to know where we are through GPS and wireless triangulation, but our phones still underuse that data. Apps like Groupon and Eye in the Sky use your location for deals and weather, but the vast majority of apps and services still don’t use this data for our advantage.

The classic example of using location data is walking into a Starbucks (or whatever coffee shop you frequent) and having your Gold Card show up for you to pay for your drink. Right now that sort of thing shows up on your phone, but it could also show up right on your watch for the barista to scan. If you have your headphones plugged in, your smartwatch could prompt you to start playing your favorite playlist. While you’re waiting for your drink to hit the bar your watch could notify you that the friend you’re scheduled to meet is about 5 minutes away. While you wait, your watch could show you your unread emails, things left on a to do list you have in Google Keep, or show you headlines from Google News.

This might sound like a lot to do on such a small screen. As a Palm Pre 2 owner, believe me when I say that you can see a lot of information on a smaller screen than you might imagine. These are all things that you could do on your phone (although some of these actions really aren’t available on phones still), but a smartwatch is uniquely positioned to be able to show you summaries of your content, notifications, and things to do in a quick way without having to jump through tons of apps. Again, this sort of summarization would be great to see in Now or even in DayDream, but I think it would be a good fit on a watch too.

Miniaturization

Like I said, I don’t think smart watches are the next big revolution in technology. Over the past few decades we’ve seen the computer go from something that takes up an entire room to something that fits in your pocket. While we may see it get miniaturized to the size of a watch, it will be forced to have limited capabilities because limited size limits utility. I hope we’ll see innovation in that space that doesn’t involve imaginary projected keyboards, but until then smartwatches will have minimal applications outside of time, notifications, displaying directions while driving, and summarizing information.

The Potential in Smartwatches [Opinion] is a post from: Droid Life

As you have already seen, today’s coverage mostly focused around the announcement of Facebook’s Home launcher for Android and their partnership with both AT&T and HTC to create the HTC First. This size of an investment in the mobile space is what Facebook has been needing, given that the mobile experience for their service on Android is somewhat lacking.

Kellen already ran through his initial reaction, but since I was actually at the event, thought I would go over my initial reaction to today’s announcements as well. 

Facebook Home is neat, but not really

I am a pretty heavy user of Facebook. While sitting at my desk, I have the social network open at all times, skimming my friend’s updates and chatting using their IM service. My initial feelings towards having Facebook this heavily integrated into my smartphone is not very positive, but at the same time I could see this being great for someone else. To give an example, someone like my mother, who keeps track of her children’s lives through Facebook and only has us as friends will definitely get a kick out of this.

With Home, as soon as she turns on her phone she can see our latest pictures and status updates. For me, that’s completely acceptable, given as long as she isn’t calling me for those things and yapping my ear off for an hour. In short, if this helps someone feel more in touch with the people in their lives, so be it.

The point is, Home is a very neat idea when looking at it from the outside, but I just can’t imagine myself being this involved with Facebook.

The HTC First is pointless

As for the First, the specs are as some would put it “outdated,” but it does come with a pretty intriguing price point of $99. At that price, and with full Android operability, it does seem nice. Although, to develop a device just for Home is something I have not yet wrapped my mind around. Once the announcement of Home was official and we saw that it was merely a launcher, not a forked version of Android or some Facebook OS, it just seems that the resources spent on the creation of this device were misplaced.

The only aspect of Home that requires a system-level integration is notifications. For me, that just isn’t enough to justify buying a separate device. Sure, a tween could totally afford this device and get themselves into it, but as an Android fan and superior hardware diehard, this phone serves zero purpose to me.

Chat Heads is the only aspect I’m excited for

While most of what Home brings to a device doesn’t really interest me, Chat Heads is easily what I came away most impressed with. The ability to be in any app, playing a game or whatever else you’re doing and still have the ability to receive and send messages without backing out of said app/game is huge. While 3rd party Android apps do provide pop-up services for this (only text messages though), they’re just that, pop-ups. Pop-ups are flippin’ annoying.

Chat Heads rest on the side of the phone’s UI, allowing you to still accomplish the task at hand, but serve as a gentle reminder that your friend needs your attention. You can choose to pay attention or not to pay attention. Pop-ups on the other hand, do not.

Please Google, kang Chat Heads and throw it into the next version of Android.

A win for Android

While this device and service might not interest me, what does make me happy is the fact that Facebook showed so much love for Android as an OS. It is flexible and can take the shape of whatever developers need it to in order to get the job done. Facebook wanted to create a launcher/skin that made someone feel as if they were using a phone purely built for Facebook. And with Android, that was easily accomplished.

During the Q&A session, after the live feed went dark, a reporter asked if they could expect to see Home for iOS. Not anytime soon, buddy. The level of what is need for Home to function as it should is more than Apple allows on their devices. With Home, there is a new lockscreen, overlaying IMs, and don’t forget the entire launcher aspect of it. While Zuckerburg didn’t completely rule out the possibility, iOS just isn’t made for applications such as Home. For that, this is a major score for Google and Android.

Final thoughts

At the end of the day, Home is simply a 3rd party launcher. While it brings a new list of features and nifty tricks to your device, it is no more than just a tool to creep on your friends and exes. While I am happy to see Android getting the big thumbs up from Zuck, I would expect to see hype over the HTC First and Home die out within a month. This isn’t revolutionary and it certainly isn’t going to change the way we as a general public use our smartphones. Just wait till they begin to integrate ads into your Cover Feed.

I will stick to just using the regular app, thank you very much.

Initial Thoughts on Facebook Home and the HTC First #2 is a post from: Droid Life

All talk across the tech universe has been about Facebook today, and I’m sure you have had just about enough, so I’ll try to make this one of our last topics. As you know, Facebook unveiled Facebook Home along with a new phone that can run it, the HTC First. This is Facebook finally realizing that mobile is extremely important to the future of their company – well, either that or after feeling enough pressure from shareholders they had no choice but to start taking it seriously. And since Android is as “open” as it gets in the mobile space, they saw an opportunity to put Facebook first, if you will, and created a home replacement that should eventually work on almost any semi-current Android device.

As I watched the presentation and all of our coverage following, all sorts of things jumped out to me as either important or newsworthy and wanted to share. This is my early take on Facebook Home. 

Facebook Home is a Third Party Launcher

As we predicted when Facebook Home was first rumored by the Wall Street Journal, it is nothing more than a third party launcher that sits on top of Android and can replace the home experience you get on any device (eventually), whether it be an HTC One or Galaxy S3. When you think of Nova or Apex Launcher, Facebook Book is in the same category. If you install it, it’s not going to completely change your phone or wipe anything out – it’s simply a layer of sorts over the top of the experience that your phone manufacturer had initially envisioned. It will be available on April 12 in Google Play as an app that anyone with a Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4, Note 2, HTC One, or One X can download and install. Should you install it, the first time you press your phone’s home button, you’ll be asked if you want to use Facebook Home once or as your default.

Differences on the HTC First

There is one major difference from the app you’ll install through Google Play and the version that is running on partner devices like the HTC First – notifications. For Facebook Home to show Gmail or text message notifications through their lock screen or UI, they have said that Home needs to be installed natively. If you download the app through Google Play, our understanding is that you’ll only see the box-style notifications (pictured above) from Facebook. The rest of your notifications for other apps will appear outside of Facebook Home and in the notification bar.

Keeping that in mind, there is an option in Facebook Home settings to either hide or show the standard notifications bar. For Google Play installs you will likely want to keep this showing or you may miss out on alerts from other apps.

Stock Android on the HTC First

In our hands-on video of the HTC First (7:30 mark), you can see that the phone is running what appears to be stock Android underneath Facebook Home. What we’re not sure of, is if you can somehow disable Home through settings to then leave yourself with a 100% stock Android device. Since it has access to all Google services, you could still install a different third party launcher to turn it into one. The phone runs Android 4.1

I Guess I Should Mention the HTC First as a Phone

It’s a mid-range Facebook phone that should have been $99 without a contract. Moving on.

App Drawer

With Facebook Home, you still have a somewhat traditional app drawer. With a press and swipe up on your profile picture, you enter a first screen that is a folder of sorts for your favorite apps. If you swipe from that box to the left, you’ll enter the full list of apps installed on the phone that scrolls vertically. If you swipe back to the right, you return to your favorites folder. Should you fill up the first folder, you can swipe right to create more folders of favorite apps.

No Widgets

In Facebook Home, there are no widgets. Since your main screen is the Cover Feed, the last thing Facebook wants to do is cover up those beautiful photos and status updates with top layered widgets. Tim asked a couple of reps at the event and they confirmed to him that they are considering widgets, but that at this time, Facebook Home does not support them.

Compatibility With Tablets

As I mentioned earlier, Facebook Home will launch on April 12 to a select group of phones from Samsung and HTC. After that, we’ll probably be sitting by, waiting for Facebook to either update their app or announce new compatibility. As far as tablets are concerned, Facebook did announce that the experience is coming to bigger screened devices. Unfortunately, it won’t be for a few months at least.

Cover Feed is Too Simple

For me personally, the Cover Feed feature in Facebook Home is way too simple. As someone that likes to gobble up as much info as possible from one screen (admitted DaskClock addict here), seeing one status update and photo at a time from a friend just seems like future work ahead that I won’t want to do. If you look at any hands-on video today, Facebook has done some nice things visually with slowly moving HD-esque pictures on each screen, but to get between updates, you have to constantly swipe either right or left. I have yet to see a screen that will show me a summary or small updates of all new posts from friends. I guess I can get that from the actual Facebook app?

Chat Heads is Very Cool

The Chat Heads feature in Facebook Home is awesome. It allows you to carry on conversations with friends without having to leave your current place or activity. It’s an overlay, that sits atop say your Chrome browser session or YouTube clip and allows you to respond to friends in real-time. You can quickly swipe away a “head” to the trash to remove it or grab all “heads” and rearrange them on screen so that they aren’t in your way. If Google could do this with Babel, their unified chat service, I’d be very happy.

I’m Still Not Using Facebook

At the end of the day, Facebook Home is not going to get me to start using Facebook. I’ve gone this long without much participation on the social network and saw nothing from today that has me running toward it. With that said, Facebook users will likely love this new home replacement, assuming their device is compatible with it. If your days are filled with Facebook messenger conversations and constant updates from friends, this looks like a beautiful way to extend your Facebook world outside of the app.

Final Thoughts

For Facebook, Facebook Home makes a lot of sense. While I’m sure their app usage remains incredibly high by itself, companies are always trying to push numbers upwards. If you want Facebook users using Facebook more, make it the first thing they see when they wake their phone. The real success here, though, was finding a way to turn users’ phones into Facebook phones without sacrificing the benefits of Android, something they have managed to do. And whether or not I plan to use Facebook Home doesn’t mean that I don’t realize that Facebook has made a heck of a business move with Home, especially once they start putting ads on it.

Initial Thoughts and Notes on Facebook Home for Android is a post from: Droid Life

Click here to view the embedded video.

T-Mobile is trying to shake up the entire wireless industry this month by taking the “Un-carrier” approach to wireless service. Gone are the two-year contracts and 23-month phone upgrade cycles – in are the month-to-month plans with the option to upgrade to the newest phones whenever you please at the lowest prices. They are also shunning tiered data plans (sort of), spouting off colorful commentary to their competitors, and claiming to have cancelled their membership to the “out-of-touch wireless club,” a direct reference to the “Big 4″ U.S. carriers grouping that includes Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. It’s a lot of marketing speak and posturing, but is it even the right approach? 

In T-Mobile’s new plans, customers can sign up for unlimited talk and text for $50, with 500MB of data. If they want more data, they can add on 2GB for $10 or go fully unlimited for an additional $20. Second lines are $30, with data remaining at the $10 and $20 price points. After the first two lines, additional lines are $10 per month without data.

Of course, those monthly rates do not include the monthly payment plans you make on the phone you just purchased through them. See, T-Mobile will get you into the brand new iPhone 5 for $99, but they’ll then charge you a monthly fee until you have fully paid off the full $579 price of the phone (or whatever retail is these days). It’s their way of killing subsidies – whether or not you like the approach can be debated for hours, so we’ll leave it as it is.

They also launched their LTE network in seven cities and hope to cover up to 200 million people by the end of this year. Sure, they are late to the party, but they are hoping to ramp up rollout so that they can keep up with Verizon and AT&T.

But here’s the thing – if I were to ask you today, why you aren’t a T-Mobile customer, I bet I can guess the answer in a matter of seconds. It’s the coverage, isn’t it? Too many times in the comments of this site have we seen, “I’d switch to T-Mobile in a heartbeat, but I get zero coverage at my house/work/regularly visited bar.” We’ve even bragged up prepaid plans and adopting the unlocked model, yet so many of you still bring up the fact that Verizon gives you the best coverage and that’s exactly why you’ve stuck with them for so long. There is no denying that you’d love to go with the cheapest carrier that provides the most freedom, but in reality, you can’t do it at this time.

Here are the coverage maps of the northwest that I pulled minutes ago from Verizon (left) and T-Mobile’s (right) websites to add some perspective:

So here is where I don’t think T-Mobile is taking the correct approach at their latest attempt at a comeback. In my opinion, I don’t necessarily think it’s all about two-year contracts, subsidies and cheap no-frills plans. People want to know that they are going to have coverage 99% of the time. Mobile phones are replacing home phones by the second, so things like reliability are more important than ever. When consumers take that weekend road trip or fly back home to their small home town, will they have service? If they hit up an outskirts suburb in a major city, what’s their data coverage going to be like?

We’ve even talked about Verizon’s insanely priced Share Everything plans, yet as expensive as they remain, with prepaid options sitting out there at arm’s reach that are half the cost, customers still won’t switch because they know exactly what they are getting and have been getting for years. T-Mobile is still known as having sh*tty service, so is becoming the Un-carrier going to change that? And whether that’s still true or not depends on the person, but that’s sort of the point here.

While my time with T-Mobile’s service has been limited to my life with the Nexus 4, I can tell you this. I live in Portland, a decent sized city and have asked my wife to look something up for me more times in the last four months than I did the previous three or four years of my smartphone-filled life combined because I constantly run into a lack of signal or coverage. It was spotty in New York during Samsung’s Galaxy S4 event, it’s at times non-existent at Blazers games in downtown Portland, I lose service when I drive 5 minutes south to Lake Oswego (suburb of Portland), and typically find myself carrying a second phone (Verizon or AT&T) with me when I know I’ll be heading out for more than a few hours at a time.

Again, I like no-contracts, unlocked phones, and a “f*ck the man” approach to life. Props to T-Mobile for that. I even despise the recent approaches by Verizon and AT&T to essentially scam consumers into overpriced shared data plans while selling them on unlimited text and calling features that they don’t need anymore. But did any of T-Mobile’s song and dance change their network status or image? I don’t know that it did. Give us great wireless service that’s reliable and we’ll sign on the dotted line, whether that includes a contract or not.

Click here to view the embedded video.

T-Mobile’s UN-Carrier Approach Sounds Awesome, But Killing Contracts Shouldn’t be Their Message or Focus [Opinion] is a post from: Droid Life

Life is funny at times. One minute you are on top of the world – the next, you are sitting rock bottom, wondering how on Earth you will ever scrape by. In some cases, we see humans (or companies) put their last and best foot forward in an attempt to salvage whatever is left. It can be uplifting, inspirational even. It can also be incredibly embarrassing as desperation sets in, leading to decisions or choices that one would normally not make. Last night, HTC unfortunately fit the latter as Samsung took over New York City to announce the Galaxy S4. 

Before the event even began, we snapped the photo you are seeing above. It’s a hired hand that HTC paid to walk around the line of press and fans waiting to get into Samsung’s event. There were a number of these girls who offered up snacks and drinks to those standing in the cold. It was a sneaky move, but not one I would necessarily say was outrageous or offensive. If you have a new phone on the horizon and your competitor is throwing an event, you should probably make an appearance of some sort. Companies have done this for years.

But it’s the few minutes after the event had started that HTC kicked it up a notch – this is also where things turned for the worse. You see that Tweet above, the one that takes a shot at Samsung’s production and then calls its next phone the “next big flop?” Yes, that actually happened. In fact, the Tweet is still there.

That’s not all though. If you take a look through HTC’s list of retweets, you’ll see nothing but retweets and responses to anything negative that Twitter users were saying about the Galaxy S4.

Both their CMO and president of sales have come out to express their feelings as well, using terms like “embarrassing” when referring to Samsung’s stage show. They called the phone “more of the same” and said that Samsung appears to have spent more on marketing than innovation.

Look, I get it. You are down and you need to do anything necessary to get your name in the news. Hey, it worked, we’re talking about it! But at some point, there is a level class that needs to be upheld even as a competitor – at least in my book. With the game on the line, you don’t walk under Kobe Bryant’s last second jumper, knowing full well he could be injured on the way down. You don’t slap Blake Griffin in the groin because he beat you to the spot. You don’t blind side the quarterback after a pick in an attempt to “block” for the return because it’s the one time you can technically get a full shot at him without penalty. It’s dirty and you look like a fool during and after the fact.

We still don’t know which of the two phones here is the best. That may be up for debate for an entire year. We’ll have time in the very near future to fully compare them both and generate our own conclusions. After having both in hand, I’ll admit that it’s tough to deny that the HTC One is nothing short of being one of the best phones we have seen in some time, because of its premium build and incredible specs. But until the day comes that we can all get our hands on each, I hope we aren’t forced to see this play out publicly.

Stay classy.

Via:  @HTC

HTC Calls Samsung Galaxy S4 the “Next Big Flop” is a post from: Droid Life

Are you ready for it? Did you even know that it had started? It has, so get your mind right. The battle between HTC and Samsung for 2013 is already underway and we’re excited about it. Thanks to the announcements of flagships from both companies, March is going to be a wild month for smartphone lovers, particularly those with an addiction to the latest and greatest running Android. HTC is trying to survive and to recapture some of its lost marketshare, while Samsung will only attempt to continue on in their dominant ways, pushing all attackers aside. It may get dirty, there may be insults floated about, battery juice tossed in eyes, and Gorilla Glass sharpened like knives, but that’s the beauty of any competition.

Let’s talk about the next few months from both companies and how their launches won’t go down without a fight. 

Samsung’s first move.

A week after HTC unveiled their new flagship, the One, which they claimed would arrive in March, Samsung decided there would be no better time to announce their own new flagship than days before HTC’s hits store shelves. Only, in typical Samsung fashion, they will make sure the entire world knows about it with a streamed launch through YouTube and in Times Square.

In a way, I feel a bit sorry for HTC. The One looks to be an incredible device, however, I’m just not sure how you can compete with the global takeover that Samsung has managed over the last two years. They have what appears to be an unlimited marketing budget, a brand that people associate themselves with, enough innovation to keep even the techiest of tech nerds coming back for more, and LeBron James.

HTC throws an aluminum counter-punch.

Samsung stepping on the One’s launch toes or not doesn’t seem to have phased HTC much. In fact, through their official Twitter account they sent their own message, telling followers to “Say no to plastic.” As you know thanks to our coverage, the One is made up of a zero-gap aluminium unibody casing, while Samsung has stuck to their plastic ways for years. Yes, this Tweet was a direct shot at the “cheap” stigma that has stuck to Samsung’s products even though they have been remarkably successful.

The only thing missing from this reaction is a classy “Use the hashtag #saynotoplastic!” Thank you, HTC, for not stooping that low.

Can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

HTC admitted that they failed with last year’s One series in part because their marketing was terrible. This year, their plan is to put the One in your face as much as possible, to make the One brand a household name as much as Samsung’s Galaxy or Verizon’s DROID are. In attempting to accomplish this task, they have taken a page directly out of Samsung’s Marketing 101 book and decided to come up with a confusing/silly/wtf catchy name for all of their sub-products within the device.

With BlinkFeed, BoomSound, UltraPixel and Zoe, HTC will certainly have plenty of material to use those marketing dollars on. Much like Samsung’s S Pen, S Voice, and S Beam, HTC is going to try to get you to remember what their new phone is capable of from an experience stand point, not how many pixels are in its display or clock speed of the processor.

Can’t say I blame them for making this move, I just wish the names made more Sense (hah, get it?).

Samsung as Apple.

The problem HTC faces with the One, is the fact that Samsung is already that household name, much like Apple. The guy sitting next to you on the train will probably refer to his Galaxy S3 as “the new Galaxy.” He likely doesn’t know what the processor is, how much storage is on board or what the model number is – he just knows that Samsung makes it and he’s bought into their way of thinking.

I hate to compare Samsung to Apple, but at this point, they are the closest thing to it in more ways than I think many of us care to see. But on that note, Samsung can follow Apple’s lead by releasing a Galaxy S4 that looks similar to the previous model and offers little bump in hardware, but will still sell like none other. Apple took grief over the iPhone 5 being nothing more than a slight increase in selective areas yet they managed to sell the device in record numbers.

Samsung is now in a position to do the exact same thing and get away with it, should they so choose.

Definitive winner?

Picking a winner in this battle is quite difficult. For HTC to succeed, they need to see an adoption rate at which they haven’t in over a year. They need their device on billboards, on TV, in magazines, as a urinal cleaner-puck-thing, and anywhere else that can get you to notice it. But beyond marketing, they need to see numbers come back to their favor. They don’t need to outsell Samsung, because that’s an impossible task, but they do need to convince tech users that their product is once again worth keeping an eye on.

Samsung on the other hand needs to continue on along the same path. It would be pretty tough for them to screw this thing up. In fact, HTC taking jabs at them probably means very little. There is still only one company that Samsung competes with, and that’s the one headquartered in Cupertino.

No matter what, it’ll be entertaining to watch both of these companies try to grab your attention over the next few months.

HTC vs. Samsung: The Battle has Begun. is a post from: Droid Life

When Google purchased Android, their goal was to fight Microsoft and topple Windows Mobile’s dominance. Instead, Google has found itself fighting off Apple as companies like Palm (now HP), RIM (now Blackberry), and Microsoft fell by the wayside. Instead of asking for a licensing fee from OEMs, Google decided to make Android free to use. Little did Google know, Apple would make a huge play in the mobile space that would forever change the market. Back in 2008, Samsung was nothing in the mobile space. It wasn’t until 2010 when Samsung released the Galaxy S worldwide that the Korean company began to find success in the market. Flash forward to today and the company claims about 40% of the worldwide smartphone market. In many ways, Samsung is the hero in Android’s war against iOS.

The Wall Street Journal’s Amir Efrati is claiming that Google is becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of Samsung demanding more money from Google because of Samsung’s unrivaled dominance in the market as an Android OEM. Efrati also speculates that Samsung could use its market share to leverage getting access to the newest version of Android regardless of if it is the Nexus partner, putting other OEMs at a severe disadvantage. While Efrati doesn’t come out and say it, the threat of Samsung leaving Google hangs over his article. If Samsung demands more money and Google refuses, Samsung could fork Android, leaving Google to fend for itself with a myriad of relatively unsuccessful manufacturers. If Google agrees to give Samsung more of a share in revenues from mobile advertising, other OEMs could respond to their favoritism by forking Android or focusing only on Windows Phone.

To preemptively deal with the situation, Google is allegedly working with Android OEMs, especially Motorola, to keep Samsung in check. Efrati’s sources alleged that Rubin heralded Motorola as an insurance policy against a manufacturer like Samsung gaining too much traction in the market. The irony, of course, is that Google likely bought Motorola to ensure that the company wouldn’t use its heavy patent portfolio against other Android manufacturers.

The notion that Google could use Motorola to push back against Samsung seems comical at this point. I do not want to rule out Motorola making a comeback with some fantastic hardware, superior software, and support on all major carriers, but at this point both Motorola and Google have a lot to prove. Motorola has spent the last couple years pumping out Droid RAZR variants while Google has yet to get a Nexus devices on every carrier (much less reliably available on their own store). Should the two companies get their act together, it would be possible for them to fight back against the Korean giant, but they would be the underdog in a very dangerous game.

The reality of the situation is that if Google lost Samsung, Google would face the possibility of becoming the next Blackberry or Windows Phone. Without Samsung, Google would be a distant third in an ever-shrinking mobile market. Google would be forced to rely on Motorola, HTC, HP, LG, Sony, Huawei, ZTE, and others to fight back against Samsung. Samsung, Apple, Microsoft, Blackberry, HP, and others currently make up 70% of the smartphone market. 30% of the market isn’t a small piece, but none of those individual companies have been successful in the mobile space in any meaningful way. HTC has reported one terrible quarter after another, HP purchased webOS only to do nothing with it for two years while it bled talented developers, Sony has essentially no presence in the US phone market, and the other companies have little to no presence in the US thanks to concerns from American politicians about Chinese manufacturers using their Android devices to spy on Americans. Worse yet, the only other theoretical contenders that would be left to join Google to fight Samsung, Apple, and potentially Microsoft would be Nokia and Blackberry, both of which have not been especially successful in the mobile space for the past five years. In this situation, Google would probably be forced to expand the Nexus program (something that has been rumored for several months) to ensure that several OEMs have an edge on Samsung.

Of course, that doomsday situation assumes that Samsung could maintain the same dominance in the mobile space without Google’s services, including Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Play. Samsung could try to turn to Amazon for an app ecosystem and Microsoft for mail, maps, and search, but if they had the gall to leave Google then Samsung may not be quick to jump into bed with two completely separate companies to deal with more of the same negotiations. If Samsung wanted to maintain their dominance in the mobile space without Google, Microsoft, or Amazon, they would be forced to make or expand a separate app market, content store, mapping application and database, all while continuing to be dependent on Google for the base of their operating system.

Because of all those obstacles, Samsung would be much, much more likely to stick it out with Google or turn to Microsoft and Amazon. Microsoft might jump at the possibility of having its services running on a much larger sample of the market at Samsung’s price and Amazon (whose two goals seem to be to make as little money as possible and never announce sales numbers) would probably give Samsung access to their Appstore as long as Samsung used their music and video services. Samsung is undoubtedly talking with both Microsoft and Amazon about these possibilities should they determine that Google is more of a burden than a blessing.

Either of those solutions comes with a huge caveat, however: Samsung’s users have paid into Google Play for apps and content. To encourage users to stick with Samsung devices, Samsung would have to ensure that the majority of apps that their users use were in their/Amazon’s app store and possibly offer refunds for apps that users paid Google for. These issues could be surmounted, but they would be a PR nightmare and Samsung would undoubtedly lose market share in the process.

The crux of the issue centers around whether or not Google and Samsung’s relationship will fall into disrepair. Both companies have a ton of money at stake without each other. Samsung isn’t necessarily in the wrong to ask more of Google, but it’s not like Samsung had done well for itself with its Omnia line of Windows Mobile phones. It wasn’t until Google started giving away Android that Samsung was able to become the monster in mobile that it is today.

Regardless of if you see Google as being stingy towards Samsung or Samsung as ungrateful, the reality of the situation is that Samsung has been working hard at ensuring that they can leave Google if they need to. Samsung has continued to not only change how Android looks and works on their devices, but it has also continued to push its own versions of products and services that compete with Google’s, including S Voice, Samsung Wallet, ChatOn, Media Hub, and Samsung Apps. Google has every right to be concerned about Samsung, but I think Google has more to lose than Samsung does. Google may not owe Samsung anything, but Google cannot afford to lose Samsung just yet. The most likely result of the tension between the two companies is that Google will give Samsung more of a share of its mobile advertising revenue while investing heavily in Motorola and others to lessen Samsung’s dominance.

The irony of the situation is surely not lost on Google’s executives; such a move would be appeasing the war-hero-turned-enemy. Samsung may not be Google’s enemy now, but the threat of Samsung being able to leave Google is a threat that Google needs to be able to respond to. The question is, will Google and its OEMs be able to diminish Samsung’s market share without alienating the company that is making Android succeed?

The Samsung Problem [Opinion] is a post from: Droid Life

Not sure what else to say. Maybe next year it’ll be a phone.

A little late night discussion – take it wherever you please.

Google Finally Released a New Nexus With Verizon LTE, Except It’s a Chromebook is a post from: Droid Life

Designing Android apps can be a monstrous challenge. Between multiple screen sizes, resolutions, Android versions, and manufacturer skins, developers have enough variables to make it nearly impossible to make an app that both looks like it fits the design language of your phone and is enjoyable to use on the devices you own. While Google has taken steps to try and guide developers in the right direction to solve these problems, many Android apps still are not optimized for modern devices, especially tablets. Worse still, Android apps have historically been static and boring. Many Android apps still have the old Android 2.x or below design, which forces users to peck around the app to access content.

Twitter apps have been especially representative of the need to have adaptable, scalable, and natural design. In particular, the official Twitter app for Android has been derided by users, journalists, and Apple executives as an example of an app that does not scale up to higher resolutions and larger screen sizes. Through the lens of Twitter apps for Android one can see how Android app design has had to evolve since 2008, pushing Android to become a more fluid, scalable, and fun to use platform.

In my opinion, the first truly revolutionary app for Twitter was TweetDeck. TweetDeck was one of the first (if not the first) Twitter apps to use swiping between panes as a way to navigate between your timeline, mentions, and direct messages. It didn’t have features like location, muting, or streaming, but it presented Twitter in a simple, easy-to-use package. If this sounds mundane to you, then you may not remember what Twitter’s first official app on Android looked like. Most Twitter apps did not adopt a swiping pane UI, instead opting to use a button-based UI. Seesmic placed the buttons for timeline, mentions, and DMs on the top while Twidroyd placed them on the bottom. Designs like these were simple, functional, and banal, but they couldn’t anticipate the shift that was about to happen in the phone space.

Starting around 2010, Android phone screen sizes began to shift towards 4 inches and above. 2010 was the year of the Droid X, the Streak, the Evo 4G, the Galaxy S, and other phones that by today’s standards seem small (with the possible exception of the Streak), but in 2010 were considered huge. As screen sizes grew, app design became more important. Reaching for the top of your screen over and over on the Droid Incredible was easy, but it was becoming more challenging on larger screened devices.

I believe that the move towards larger screens was one of the reasons that Matias Duarte and Google’s Android team improved the design guidelines for Android apps. In an effort to avoid what Google calls “pogo-sticking,“ Android Design recommends using a swipe gesture to move between pieces of content. Google recognized that swiping gestures were a superior navigation method to on-screen buttons because screens change size and orientation.

While Twitter for iPad and iPhone have each respectively been hailed as examples of how UI should adapt between screen sizes, Google has maintained the argument that completely different UI paradigms aren’t the best solution. Responding to The Verge’s Joshua Topolsky on this very issue, Duarte said:

“One of the things that I don’t think you want to do is have a completely different experience for the phone and tablet. You could only get away with that if you were going to say that there’s [sic] only two screen sizes or two window sizes. That’s great if that really is the case, but that’s not the case for Android. There is this infinite variety of sizes. Just like on the desktop, you can stretch your windows to all these different sizes. When people are making PCs they make PCs with all sorts of different configurations and screen sizes. That is the real future of computing. That kind of variety is going to exist, so you want to have a platform that can scale that way, and developers want to start to design applications that scale that way.”

Duarte went on to ignore the Twitter example and instead point to Google’s own apps for UI solutions that scale. Google+ shows the exact same content on tablets and phones, but scrolls horizontally or verizoncally depending on device orientation. Gmail uses a paned UI that is spread out on a tablet display and stacked on a phone display. While Duarte has evangelized the “one UI fits all” approach, even Google doesn’t always follow its own rules (Chrome, for example, has a different UI for navigating content on tablets and phones). The reality is that scalable and selective UI paradigms are both needed and both work better when users aren’t forced to hunt around for buttons to interact with content.

In an interview with Gizmodo, Duarte explained, “I want to transform the types of interactions we have with computers that are today really all about hunting and pecking and picking and menus, into an experience that is a much more gestural, physical, emotional experience.” I believe we’re just beginning to see what Android apps are capable of with gestural, scalable design. Every time I pick up my Palm Pre 2 I’m reminded of how simple the UI was and how fun it is to swipe and gesture on a device to use it. I think Android is headed in that direction as a whole (just look at the new camera app or the gesture to toggle settings in the notification shade in Android 4.2) and it’s exciting territory. We’ve already seen apps like Pocket use swiping to reveal an action sheet or swipe to archive in Gmail, but I can’t wait to see what else developers can come up with when more subtlety is employed (despite its age, CyanogenMod’s lock screen gestures is a fantastic example).

Android has been a beautiful operating system that is far too often defaced by poorly designed apps. Many Android apps follow Android Design’s recommendations or have come up with their own solution, but there are still so many apps that either half-ass Android Design’s recommendations or are still using the same tired Android 2.x design templates. Apps like Falcon Pro, Tweetings, Slide Messaging, Eye in the Sky Weather, Tasks, and others demonstrate that Android users are willing to pay for quality apps that are well-designed. We are beginning to see Google and third party developers work together to build a better Android; one that is fluid, scalable, and fun to use.

Building a Better Android [Opinion] is a post from: Droid Life

It took me a while to come around to the idea, but I’m ready to admit that I’m a fan of lock screen widgets in Android 4.2. Introduced back in October, I originally thought, “What’s the point? Can’t you just unlock your device and then get to home screen widgets? This seems redundant.” And now, I’m utilizing at least five of them, some of which I use regularly. I’m also using more widgets on lock screens than I am on home screens. Weird, right? Let’s talk about why. 

The Goods

From what I can tell, at least in my opinion, lock screen widgets are all about eliminating steps so that you can access information or accomplish tasks faster. Sure, skipping the swipe-to-unlock step and letting you check the weather with 1-less swipe doesn’t seem like much, but in reality, it is. Not only can it save a ton of time in the long run, it also eliminates errors or fumbling through home screens in a pinch.

For example, I use Google’s “What’s this song?” widget regularly when driving. Since accessing your phone while driving is incredibly dangerous and not something I’d recommend, I’ve got it set as my 2nd lock screen widget. A single swipe to the left followed by a tap, gets the widget listening for the track I’m trying to find. If I had this on a home screen, it would take an unlock of the phone, followed by at least another swipe to either the right or left, assuming I remember which home screen I placed the widget on (because I keep home screen number 1 almost empty outside of a clock). With lock screen widgets, there is only one direction – left.

And with the introduction of a Google Now widget that displays your upcoming cards, I’m finding lock screen widgets even more useful. Rather than having to swipe up from the tiny circle on my lock screen to fully access Google Now, I can simply set up a card that displays everything from Now that I need to know, now. As you can see in the image above, it’s displaying four mini-cards, a task the actual Now application could never do. In the Now app, I would need to scroll with at least two flicks in order to see this much information from my phone.

I’ve even added widgets like shortcuts to flashlights, so that if I’m ever in a dark situation, I can swipe a couple of times to the left and toggle my phone’s flash on or off. Again, I understand that this can be accomplished very quickly if it were placed on a home screen as well, but this seems to eliminate another step, especially now that I’ve made it a regular occurrence.

Lock screen widgets make sense for those who use a pattern or secure form of lock screen. Rather than having to swipe your pattern or enter a pin, you can still access some information with a couple of swipes to the left from widgets. This also comes in handy in times where you need to hand your devices off to someone to check a game score or see when you need to leave for your next meeting without giving them full access to your phone.

As someone that prefers to keep his phone home screens ultra minimal, lock screen widgets also allow me to add items that I haven’t used on a home screen in years. My home screen setup includes a clock on the main page and a calendar widget to the right. That’s it. The lock screen is now my garbage area.

The Not-so-Goods

It’s not all good though. Lock screen widgets need some work from both Google and developers. For one, Google needs to allow you to resize widgets or at least place more than one on a page if it only takes up one spot or line. For example, that flashlight shortcut looks ridiculous by itself. It would make much more sense for that screen to include the Google Sound Search widget as well, so that I could eliminate an entire page and utlize the empty space better.

We need more and more developers to build in support, or even create apps specifically designed for lock screens, similar to DashClock, the app released this week by Android engineer Roman Nurik. This is a new category that Google has created, giving developers an opportunity to once again innovate.

We could also do away with the glowing bars that remind you of your lock screen widgets and camera shortcut every time your phone is awakened. Google, I’m not dumb. I know the widgets are there after a couple of reminders. There should be some sort of a counter or timer that only displays these glowing bars every so often.

And last, card adjustments, removals and the swiping action that extends lock screen widgets up or down is finicky and confusing at times. I’m not exactly sure how it can all be fixed, but it needs to work better than it does now. I don’t know how many times I’ve swiped up or down, left or right and had absolutely nothing happen.

Overall, though, I’ve come around to enjoying lock screen widgets. I was the ultimate hater at one point, so trust me when I say that this is a big step for me to admit this.

What about you? Utilizing lock screen widgets? If so, what does your setup look like?

Hate to Admit This, But I’m a Fan of Lock Screen Widgets in Android 4.2 [Opinion] is a post from: Droid Life

If you asked me back in late 2011, how I felt about a Nexus coming to Verizon, I’d probably have thrown out phrases like “greatest day in smartphone history” or “Verizon finally woke up!” Boy, how things have changed in just over a year. After over a month of delays before the launch of that phone, a lack of support on a software front from the get-go, and what seems to be a constant neglect of what one would assume to be one of the easiest phones on the planet to update, I no longer feel the same way. It’s been a painful ride since, one that has led me into hoping that Verizon never sees another one. Actually, I could probably take that a step further and say definitively that Nexus phones should no longer be tied to any carrier and that you should all think about your future beyond subsidies and 2-year contracts. 

Carrier Death

Google and Verizon gave this Nexus-to-carrier thing a shot with the LTE Galaxy Nexus, and we all know now that it was a complete failure on most accounts. Carriers are middle men, a cut-off throw that Google doesn’t want to make when they are looking home. Sure you can allow companies like T-Mobile to sell them, but that’s all you allow them to do. You don’t make separate Nexus phones for them, allow them to install bloatware, use different chipsets than your unlocked version, or even test any of the software that you plan to push over time. To remain in proper Nexus form, there can’t be someone outside of Google that needs to approve the latest software update or dictate when the phone launches. With the Nexus 4, Google has done this.

I hate to bring this up again, but the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon is still three full updates behind every unlocked Nexus device, and is about to be behind skinned devices if Big Red doesn’t kick their update approval process into gear. We all know that Verizon has the strictest update approval policy in the business, but for them to take as long as they have with a 100% purely stock Android device, is beyond being unacceptable. It shows a complete lack of care towards a product that should have been their easiest to manage. Give them another Nexus under the same set of rules that you played with in game one and you will likely be left with a similar outcome.

End of Subsidies

Another reason I’d love for Nexus phones to remain independent of carriers going forward has to do with a desire to see a change in the mindset of U.S. consumers when it comes to smartphones. I’ve talked about this in the past, but we need to get off the crutch that is carrier subsidies. You shouldn’t expect to buy a phone at a subsidized price of $199 every two years, because you know what that does? It locks you into two years of your life with that carrier and that phone, something no one should have to suffer through.

If you consider a phone to be the most important piece of technology in your life, which it typically is, then why not place a higher value on it? Sure, some phones cost $650 off contract, but if you look at how often you really need to buy a phone – every 1-2 years – then that price isn’t actually all that unreasonable. If you were to put $25-30 away each month for a couple of years, you’ll have enough to buy your next phone – the most important piece of technology in your life – without signing a new contract.

Let’s also not forget that Google and their Nexus line is attempting to set a new standard for unlocked phones by introducing them at insanely low prices. The Nexus 4 is currently selling on Google Play for $299 and $349. This is a long shot, but if this country realizes the power of buying unlocked phones coupled with the prepaid smartphone plan universe, what’s to keep those $650 unsubsidized prices from dropping?

Prepaid Plans = Freedom

But why is contract-less smartphone life important? Because it gives you freedom. Over the last couple of years, I’ve maintained a month-to-month AT&T plan for work purposes, but within the last month, decided I’d try out T-Mobile for a bit to see if my experience was any better. While both have their downfalls (lack of LTE at the moment), with the unlocked phones I use, like the Nexus 4 currently, I didn’t even need to buy a new phone to jump between them. All I had to do was swap out a SIM card.

But beyond the carrier aspect, you can’t forget that you have multiple choices on month-to-month prepaid plans that will give you better value than you are probably getting now. Companies like Solavei and Straight Talk offer up plans for $50 and $45 with unlimited talk, text, and data (with T-Mo’s HSPA+42 service to boot). It may not be LTE, but some of the download speeds you will see are just as impressive.

Most importantly, though, you can leave these month-to-month plans as you please until you find something that’s optimal.

Phone Unlocking Illegal

As has well been documented over the last week, unlocking of phones for use on other networks is now illegal in the U.S. If you buy a phone on contract with a subsidy (discount), you need the permission of that carrier in order to unlock your phone and take it elsewhere. If you buy a phone off-contract (hopefully it’s already unlocked) or an unlocked device that’s not tied to a carrier, this new unlocking rule does not affect you.

Final Thoughts

So while I’m running off on a bit of a tangent here (and could probably keep going), I’m really trying to make a couple of points: 1) You should do everything in your power to rid yourself of a 2-year contract. 2) Once you have done that, you are free to find the best possible smartphone and plan that fits your needs, which in many cases, is a Nexus, though the options are pretty endless these days.

Every day in our comments, when bringing up the Nexus 4, we see the complaints about the device having a lack of LTE or the fact that it’s not on Verizon. While the LTE argument may be a tough one to battle, unlocked and carrier independent Nexus phones are likely where the future stands. I’ve personally been using the Nexus 4 since the day it came out, and haven’t necessarily missed 4G LTE one bit. HSPA+ is plenty fast in most cases, plus the network coverage of AT&T and T-Mobile has really grown over the years.

I know the prepaid and unlocked smartphone worlds will never fit everyone’s needs, but as carriers push towards raising prices and locking you out of your own smartphones, it’s time to start looking at your options. Plus, life without a carrier deciding what your phone can and can’t do is quite refreshing.

The Hell With Nexus Phones on Carriers, It’s Time to Leave Subsidies and Contracts Behind [Opinion] is a post from: Droid Life