Mobile Technology News

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

The App Store may have an increasing scam problem thanks to shady developers, but so far Apple has yet to provide any official response on the issue. First reported on by The Next Web Sunday, several developers appear to be using methods to hack into user accounts and make more purchases of a particular developer’s apps.

By the Betanews Staff, Betanews

Sony Corp. Chairman Sir Howard Stringer concluded a press conference about his company’s forthcoming Android-based Internet TV yesterday with a widely quoted declaration: “This really is a very big deal.” But it wasn’t until his 50-minute sit down with an exclusive group of a dozen journalists and analysts did he get down to explaining why.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

The Android Team today published a snapshot of the platform which shows the versions of Android most commonly in use. Though the platform is frequently criticized for being highly fragmented, there are three versions used far more than the rest.

Out of the six supported versions of Android, it is a close three-way split between 1.5 (37.2%), 1.6 (29.4%), and 2.1 (32.4%). Version 1.1, 2.0, and 2.0.1 combined only make up 1% of Android users.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

It’s been quite a week for Android apps. It started with the early release of two major browsers and has closed out with the release of the platform’s first official Twitter app.

Until now, Android has been a battleground for third-party Twitter solutions with more than 20 major competitors jockeying to be the “most official” Twitter app for the platform.

But this is undoubtedly one of the cleanest looking Twitter apps available, and certainly the one most tightly woven into the Android architecture.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Expectations are a very dangerous thing indeed. As a user, if you expect a new device to do something — however unrealistic that expectation may be — you are bound to be disappointed when you find that it doesn’t.

With Internet tablets, it’s not really clear what users should expect when they pick one up for the first time. A couple of years ago, they were built on truncated versions of desktop operating systems, so users based their expectations on their desktop experience. Now, tablets are being built upon mobile operating systems, and expectations are shifting.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

In a message sent to developers today, Apple announced that it is now accepting iPad apps for the iTunes app store.

To have apps approved (or rejected) in time for the iPad launch, they must be submitted to Apple by 5:00 pm PDT on Saturday, March 27. Only apps built with the iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 5 are going to be accepted in this round of reviews.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Those who say there are no decent Twitter apps for Android simply haven’t found the right one. When the Android Market first opened, you could sign in, watch the handful of new apps being uploaded every day, and generally know everything that was available on the platform. There really were only a couple of Twitter clients.

But now that the Market has been revised, and there are more than 25,000 apps by the last unofficial count from Androlib, there are plenty of Android Twitter clients to choose from.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Part of the allure of Motorola’s Droid smartphone is that it’s the first, and currently only, device built upon Android 2.0 (“Eclair”). While Droid users are treated to a new Web browser, new personal navigation features, and new contact list structure, the rest of the Android devices on the market run Android 1.6, also known as “Donut,” which began to appear last October.

PURE, maker of the wildly popular Flip HD video camcorders is giving the radio a much needed upgrade. The PURE Sensia takes DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) and WiFi and brings them under one futuristic looking roof, the first radio to do so. Just turn on the Sensia and the WiFi will stream internet radio and podcasts from all over the web. In addition you can also tap into your computer or storage device and stream music to the Sensia. And if you need a little white noise to soothe your frazzled nerves,check out Pure Sounds “unique soundscapes created by PURE to stimulate, inspire and relax.”

SPB TV is now available to Android smartphones including the G1 and T-Mobile myTouch 3G. There a freebie (limited features and channels) and full-paid version for .95 from Android Market