HTC HERO G3 pictures leaked!

The pictures of the most awaited device of 2009, the HTC Hero G3, have been leaked. As per sources, the HTC Hero G3 will be like a combination of HTC Dream and the HTC Magic. Here’s a sneak peak at the device :

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The HTC Hero G3 is believed to have a large display (not pretty sure of the exact size of the display), 3.5mm audio jack and a camera. But, there is no hardware keyboard and neither a track ball. This device is expected to be released in Q3, 2009.

Here are some more images of the devices :

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HP to join Android netbook bandwagon?

We have got news of HEWLETT-PACKARD Co. (aka HP), “studying” the Google Android OS and the market, probably to be used in their netbooks.

Marlene Somsak, spokeswoman for Palo Alto, California-based HP, was heard saying “We are interested in understanding all the various operating system (OS) choices in the marketplace that could be used by our competitors. With respect to Google Android, we’re studying the OS in general and looking at its computing and communications capabilities.”

However, Hewlett-Packard refused to comment on any Android product in the making.

We can definitely see a surge in the growth of netbooks sale in the past couple of years. This growth has mainly been due to the low pricing of the devices, as compared to the notebooks, and also its compact size.

If Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s report is to be believed, the sales of netbooks is expected to double this year, whereas, the notebooks industry is expected to grow by just 1.2%.

Everyday, we are experiencing something new happening in the Android market. Till date, the PC, notebook and the netbook OS market was dominated by companies like Windows, Apple and Linux. But, the rate of growth of the Android market forces me to believe that this market is going to be dominated by Android very soon. The main reason for this would be the fact that Android comes for free. So, this would reduce the prices of the devices to a large extent. Also, it is an open source initiative. So, this gives the developer a larger horizon to explore.

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A Sneak Peak at JesusFreke’s Android 1.5 Cupcake

The most awaited JesusFreke’s Android 1.5 cupcake, was released a couple of days back.

According to Jesus Freke, the important changes/additions made are :

  • I’m now including a much better Superuser app, courtesy of zinx
  • I’ve rebuilt the kernel and enabled netfilter support, to allow tethering. I recommend aNetShare
  • You can see/download both paid and protected apps in the market
  • Luke’s multitouch kernel patch and browser patch have been ported to the .27 kernel and 1.5 browser.
  • Support for the “apps to sdcard” hack. There’s not a separate “apps to sdcard” build. You can use the same build whether you are doing apps to sdcard or not. Thanks to haykuro for explaining how he’s done this in his images, so I can make my builds compatible. See here for a tutorial on setting this up.
  • I’m not including a recovery image in this build. I ran into some snags getting all of the recovery features to work with the 1.5 recovery image, so I’ll forgo that for now. If you don’t have a spiffy recovery image yet, I’ve packaged up the most recent recovery image from JFv1.43 as a separate update.

Here are a few screenshots showing Android 1.5 running :

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The above screenshot shows the virtual keyboard.

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Here, you can see the fresh new look of Android 1.5 Cupcake.

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This displays the Super User application.

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Click here for the entire list of screenshots.

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Google in trouble : sued over Android Tademark

Erich Specht, who owns a software company called Android Data Corp., has sued Google over the use of the name “Android” for its open-source operating system. He is seeking $94 million from Google and 46 other companies. The other 46 companies include Motorola, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Vodafone, etc. amongst others.

This is what Specht’s attorney, Martin Murphy has to say :

“Basically, it’s a stolen name. It’s our trademark, and Google is using it as if it’s theirs.”

Android Data Corp. is  a software firm that specializes in providing softwares that would help Web sites transfer data securely and efficiently. The developer started the company in the year 1998.

In the year 2000, he filed a request with PTO to trademark the word “Android Data”. His request was granted in the year 2002.

In October 2007, Google had filed a request to trademark “Android”. But the request was rejected, citing similarity to Specht’s trademark. Immediately, Google claimed that the company was voluntarily dissolved in the year 2004. The claim also said that the company was restarted later, but the firm’s website URL was not re-registered. PTO rejected the claim and also suspended Google’s trademark application last November.

Specht says, he did not take action till now, as he thought that “Android” was just a mobile phone. But as soon as he realised that it was an operating system, he filed a suit.

Both the companies have filed for trademark in “International Class 009,”which covers computer software and hardware. This is the main issue behind this tussle.

Specht’s company is registered with the name “Android Data”, and google has used “android”. But according to Specht, the word “Data” is just descriptive.

Now, Specht and his lawyer need to prove that if Google continues to use the name “Android” for its operating system, it could hamper the image of his (Specht) company in the market and also that there is a possibility of people getting confused over the two similar names. And, this could lead to people considering his small company to be a copy-cat of the bigger company “Google”.

Murphy plans to file a temporary restraining order seeking a preliminary injunction as soon as Thursday. If the order is issued, Google will have to pull off its Android products (currently, only the T-mobile G1 and the HTC Magic, which has been launched in Europe) from the market. And, it would be able to resell those products only if the packaging and brand name are revamped.

But, the expected result is a settlement. Probably, Specht’s company would be given some credit for the name “Android”. It could even be a disclaimer, stating “Android is a registered trademark of Erich Specht/Android Data Corp.”

click here for complete details of the suit.

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Use your Android as a Metal Detector

If I tell you that you can now use your Android powered device as a metal detector, would you believe me ? I guess, your answer is a big “NO”. But what if I give u a proof ?

Yes, what you just read is true. There is an application known as “Metal Detector” that actually turns your Android phone into a metal detector. Here’s a video showing the application in running mode :

We are not sure about how the device detects any metal that is placed before it. But I guess, it uses the compass to detect any metal that comes its way.

via androidguys