Google introduced a new app Maps application for Android phone

Google introduced a new version of its glossy Maps application for Android phones. Version 3.1.0 brings with it several new features, including voice search to go with its text search field and transit and walking directions to go with step-by-step driving directions.

In tests, Google's voice search on Android was fairly consistent with other voice search apps we have tested. That is to say, a scosh inconsistent. Most searches for banal items of daily life like 'shoe repair shop' and 'coffee' plotted the sought-for neighborhood responses on the map. Once or twice, even in a quiet house at a quiet hour, did a phrase like 'sushi' yield 'nc,' with the map racing off to North Carolina.

The trip planner in particular worked extremely well for San Francisco. As with the online version, Google's Transit works in 250 cities. Indeed, Google Maps quickly and accurately planned and timed my commute, providing options for other routes in the near past and future. To get directions with public transit, tap 'Directions' from the menu, select the middle icon, of a bus, and enter the end point, which can be an address or a business name. You are also able to set a specific departure time or arrival time and day. For city-dwellers, accurate walking and transportation directions are a necessity.

Rolled into the release is an experimental feature. Updates, which is connected to Google Latitude, lets you actively change your Latitude status for friends to see - so long as they are also using the latest version of Maps.

The erasure of Street View as its own map mode is another change you will see. Instead, it has been integrated into any search result where the view is applicable. Pressing a point on the map will also bring up a Street View thumbnail if there's an available image.

For a change, Google Maps 3.1.0 is not being automatically pushed to new users. To get it, download it fresh through the Android Market on your phone. The application is compatible with Android platform 1.0 and 1.5, so G1 and HTC Magic users can fire it up alike.

source:http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-10265290-12.html

Android name is being contested by an Illinois developer

llinois developer Erich Specht, filed suit this week for trademark infringement against Google and some 47 other companies in the Open Handset Alliance. At stake are the rights to the Android name which denotes Google's version of Linux that adorns their handsets.

On paper it would appear that the suit has some merit. Specht has officially owned the trademark to "android" since he registered it in 2000. Two years later, the US Patent and Trademark Office awarded the trademark to Android Data, Specht's company. The USPTO granted the application noting that no application would be granted the exclusive right to use the term data, therefore making "android" that dominant word and the trademark.

A case of being in the right place at the right time, registering the right domain name. Opportunistic?

Fortunately for Google, it is not that cut and dry. Android Data's business never amounted to anything. In fact, the company was dissolved in 2004 and lost its domain name androiddata.com. A new domain name android-data.com was registered a few weeks ago in anticipation of the lawsuit.

Another interesting observation: Why did Specht wait so long to file suit? If he had filed suit when the name was announced, there might not have been so much money invested in the name. Now, Google and its partners are heavily vested.

"He had heard about the Android phone, but thought, 'That's a mobile device,' " Specht's attorney told Forbes. "As soon as he learned it was software, he stepped up, and we filed as fast as we could."

And what of the name android, anyway? Is it a generic term or is it something new?

Wikipedia's take on Android:

An android is a robot or synthetic organism designed to look and act human. The word derives from ανδρός, the genitive of the Greek ανήρ anēr, meaning "man", and the suffix -eides, used to mean "of the species; alike" (from eidos, "species"). Though the word derives from a gender-specific root, its usage in English is usually gender neutral. The term was first mentioned by St. Albertus Magnus in 1270 and was popularized by the French writer Villiers in his 1886 novel L'Ève future, although the term "android" appears in US patents as early as 1863 in reference to miniature humanlike toy automations.

Apparently, it's been around for a while. It is surprising that Specht's was the first business to register it.

What is Google's take? "We believe the complaint has no merit," a Google spokesperson said, "We plan to defend against them vigorously."

I anticipate any closed-door settlement somewhere between the $100,000,000 Specht is asking for and a lot closer to nothing.

source: http://blogs.computerworld.com/android_name_is_being_contested_by_an_illinois_developer

First Google Android Netbook to cost $250

The first Netbook running Google's Android operating system is expected to be available in the next three months and cost about $250, according to a Computerworld report.

The Alpha 680, as the laptop is known as, is going through final testing at Guangzhou Skytone Transmission Technologies, Skytone co-founder Nixon White told the site.

The Netbook uses a 533MHz ARM 11 CPU and sports a 7-inch LCD screen, keyboard, touchpad, and built-in Wi-Fi, according to the report. However, the Alpha 680's 2-cell battery will last only two to four hours while surfing the Internet, much lower than the expected 12 hours.

Android is a Linux-based operating system originally designed for cell phones, but now experts are predicting that the open-source operating system could be used on other devices, such as the emerging low-cost laptops known as Netbooks. In fact, market research firm Ovum recently predicted that Android-powered Netbooks will emerge in 2009, as manufacturers attempt to drive the price of Netbooks to around $200 or less.

Hewlett-Packard is also reportedly considering using Android on its low-cost Netbooks, though an executive declined to say for certain whether HP plans to sell Android devices. Asustek Computer has already said it is considering using Android, and Dell is also considering the software for its upcoming smartphone.

Linux-based software such as Android is attractive because it is free, while Microsoft charges a hefty licensing fee for the Windows operating system. In order to hit super low price points, manufacturers need to cut costs wherever they can and that means ditching Microsoft's Windows software.

source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10227770-1.html