10 ways Android beats iOS, Windows, and everything else

Windows Mobile and the iPhone have some advantages over Android, but in these areas, no one beats Google’s OS.

 

1. Maps and navigation

Google’s Maps application is simply the best out there. It’s only going to get better with monthly updates that will add features and perfect the interface. Bing Maps on Windows Mobile is surprisingly good but it doesn’t have the same layers and granular features as Google Maps.

The iPhone’s Maps application has barely changed since 2007. Good alternatives in the app Store can be expensive and take up as much as 1-2 Gigs of precious phone storage. Google’s app, on the other hand, takes up almost no space on the phone because everything is in the cloud.

The only downside is that Google’s Maps uses more data and re-routing when outside of a data area. If you require offline maps, there are some in the Android Market. Also, HTC is offering a free version of offline Maps on their phones.

2. Notify bar

Google’s notify bar leaves other platforms’ notification systems looking incomplete. Emails, SMSs Facebook notifications, charging, software updates, task managers–just about anything you can think of is managed from a pull-down drawer that can be almost universally used from any screen.

Windows Phone 7 uses tiles that require leaving the current application. iPhone has serial notifications that can’t be grouped onto one screen.

3. Widgets

At first, I didn’t really see the need for Widgets. But after playing around, it is hard to imagine using a smartphone without them.

Just like Windows Mobile 7′s tiles, you can set up a page with your Google Voice, RSS, Twitter and Facebook streams and organize them any way you want. It makes a much better ‘mission control’ screen than you can get on the iPhone, which only lets you see apps and notifications.

4. Carrier choice

Right now in the US, you’re stuck with AT&T if you have an iPhone or Windows 7 phone. That will change in 2011, but at the moment, you don’t have another choice if AT&T doesn’t have coverage in your area or costs more than you want to pay.

With Google, on the other hand, you can pick the best carrier in your area for your budget. Each one will have at least a few great Android phones available.

5. Hotspot

You can create a Wireless hotspot with most Android phones that lets other devices like iPads and laptops jump on the same connection as the phone.

While this costs extra, the convenience and utility of the service make it much better than purchasing separate hardware. iPhone does do tethering, but only to laptops (without jail-breaking). Windows 7 doesn’t create hotspots at all.

 

Via: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/fortune/1010/gallery.google_best_phone_os.fortune/6.html

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Five things to know about the DSi XL

What do you do when you’ve conquered the world? Try conquering it again, I guess.

Such is the position that Nintendo finds itself in, at least if the world you’re talking about is that of the portable gaming scene. Despite hitting shelves back in 2004, the Nintendo DS system is still totally dominating the handheld market, even managing to set a U.S. sales record with a stunning 11.2 million units sold in 2009.

But rather than sit back and bask in their success, Nintendo is moving forward by releasing the fourth iteration of the DS, the DSi XL, on March 28. Not sure what the new system is all about? Here’s what you need to know.

1. Yes, it’s much, much bigger.

Much. This is the heaviest, longest, and widest DS to date. Specifically, the DSi XL boasts twin 4.2 inch screens — 93% larger than the DS Lite and a fair share bigger than the DSi. It also packs a standard stylus alongside a fat new stylus roughly the size of a pen. See for yourself in this handy size comparison pic.

2. That goes for the battery, too.

This might be the most overlooked new feature. The supersized battery means you don’t have to charge it up as often, reportedly lasting between 13 and 17 hours on the lowest brightness setting. That’s a significant boost over the DSi’s 9 to 14 hour range. Unless you’re flying halfway around the world, chances are the DSi XL will be a dependable travel companion.

3. It’s pre-loaded with games.

Although we’re not sure they all deserve to be called “games.” Two of them are Brain Age spinoffs: one for Arts and Letters, another focusing on Math. The others? A Photo Clock (which lets you turn any picture into a timekeeper), a browser, and the Flipnote animation studio. It’s not exactly Mario Kart, but hey, free stuff is free stuff.

4. It will play all your DS titles.

Besides, you’re not going to waste time with the pre-installed software for long. The DSi XL supports all 1,000 or so DS games released over the past six years. And since it’s still technically a DSi system, you can also download DSiWare titles.

5. It doesn’t really fit in your pocket.

One of the selling points of any portable game system is, well, its portability. By most accounts, the DSi XL is a little too bulky to tote around in your front pocket. It’s not as unwieldy as an iPad, but it’s hardly as portable as your iPhone…or your standard DSi.

Via http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/five-things-to-know-about-the-dsi-xl/1395084

Adobe preannounces Creative Suite 5

I have to admit–I’m in complete awe at the capability of Adobe’s PR machine to instigate and maintain a steady buzz about a product months before it’s even official without ever having to lie, pretend to leak, or have a well-known evangelist equipped with a reality distortion field. For a product like Adobe’s Creative Suite, home to popular applications like Photoshop and Flash, there’s never a doubt that a new version will arrive,  and it’s on a pretty regular timetable of every 18 to 24 months. That means Adobe can’t rely on the will-they-or-won’t-they school of generating buzz that works so well for Apple. Instead, months in advance, Adobe starts touring and posting short technology demos of features that may–or may not–be in the next new version, wowing watchers and priming them to loosen their purse strings, along with dropping tiny feature tidbits like breadcrumbs leading you to the announcement.

In its latest move, Adobe has announced that the CS5 launch will take place on April 12, and that it wants you to tune in at 8 a.m. PT (11 a.m. ET) to watch online; you’ll need to register first to be able to watch. But as long as the existence of CS5 is no longer “secret,” then I’ll take the opportunity to tell you to check back here at the same time for our reviews and previews of at least the major applications in the suite. There’s my breadcrumb.

Via : http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20001043-1.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody

NASA, Giant Leap in Robotic Technology

NASA and General Motors are working together to accelerate development of the next generation of robots and related technologies for use in the automotive and aerospace industries.

Engineers and scientists from NASA and GM worked together through a Space Act Agreement at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to build a new humanoid robot capable of working side by side with people. Using leading edge control, sensor and vision technologies, future robots could assist astronauts during hazardous space missions and help GM build safer cars and plants.

The two organizations, with the help of engineers from Oceaneering Space Systems of Houston, developed and built the next iteration of Robonaut. Robonaut 2, or R2, is a faster, more dexterous and more technologically advanced robot. This new generation robot can use its hands to do work beyond the scope of prior humanoid machines. R2 can work safely alongside people, a necessity both on Earth and in space.

“This cutting-edge robotics technology holds great promise, not only for NASA, but also for the nation,” said Doug Cooke, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “I’m very excited about the new opportunities for human and robotic exploration these versatile robots provide across a wide range of applications.”

NASA and General Motors have come together to develop the next generation dexterous humanoid robot. The robots — called Robonaut2 — were designed to use the same tools as humans, which allows them to work safely side-by-side humans on Earth and in space. Credit: NASA.

“For GM, this is about safer cars and safer plants,” said Alan Taub, GM’s vice president for global research and development. “When it comes to future vehicles, the advancements in controls, sensors and vision technology can be used to develop advanced vehicle safety systems. The partnership’s vision is to explore advanced robots working together in harmony with people, building better, higher quality vehicles in a safer, more competitive manufacturing environment.”

The idea of using dexterous, human-like robots capable of using their hands to do intricate work is not new to the aerospace industry. The original Robonaut, a humanoid robot designed for space travel, was built by the software, robotics and simulation division at Johnson in a collaborative effort with the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency 10 years ago. During the past decade, NASA gained significant expertise in building robotic technologies for space applications. These capabilities will help NASA launch a bold new era of space exploration.

“Our challenge today is to build machines that can help humans work and explore in space,” said Mike Coats, Johnson’s center director. “Working side by side with humans, or going where the risks are too great for people, machines like Robonaut will expand our capability for construction and discovery.”

NASA and GM have a long, rich history of partnering on key technologies, starting in the 1960s with the development of the navigation systems for the Apollo missions. GM also played a vital role in the development of the Lunar Rover Vehicle, the first vehicle to be used on the moon.

Via http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100205110636.htm

Wi-Fi smartphones to dominate

LAS VEGAS – In the next few years it will be difficult to buy a new smartphone that does not have built-in Wi-Fi for speedy Net access, according to a report that ABI Research published Tuesday.

Today, about half the smartphones sold have Wi-Fi. By 2014, the forecast goes, about 90 percent of smartphones will offer access to Wi-Fi.

The big driver for Wi-Fi is bandwidth-intensive multimedia applications, such as graphically intense games and streaming video. The Apple iPhone was among the first devices to show the true benefit of having Wi-Fi. AT&T, the exclusive carrier offering the iPhone in the U.S., has said that iPhone subscribers consume more data than any other people using its wireless service, even other smartphone customers.

And because of these heavy traffic loads on its overburdened 3G network, AT&T is encouraging all its iPhone subscribers to access its more than 20,000 Wi-Fi hot spots for free. The hope is that the company can offload some of the traffic onto the Wi-Fi network by encouraging subscribers to use Wi-Fi for data-intensive activities when they’re in range of a hot spot.

“In the age of data-centric multimedia phones, carriers have embraced Wi-Fi technology as a way to offload traffic from licensed spectrum and improve the consumer experience,” Michael Morgan, industry analyst for ABI Research, said in a statement. “We are seeing handset users starting to demand Wi-Fi because of its higher data rate and indoor reception benefits.”

Even as carriers roll out 4G wireless networks, Wi-Fi will still have a place because it can offer fast Internet access at a relatively low cost for many devices.

While most cell phones today use Wi-Fi technology based on older standards, the newer specification called 802.11n is gaining traction. And by 2012 ABI says it will become the predominant Wi-Fi technology used in mobile handsets. Today 10 smartphones already have 802.11n certification, including four phones by LG Electronics and six phones from Samsung.

The benefit of using 802.11n is that it offers up to five times the download speed of 802.11g. The newer 802.11n also doubles the range of a Wi-Fi hot spot from about 100 meters to about 200 meters.

It also has a few other features built into the specification that will improve the experience for mobile users. For example, since data transmissions are more efficient with 802.11n, battery life lasts longer than with other forms of 802.11 technology. The specification also prioritizes network resources for voice and video applications to improve the performance, which means voice-over-IP calls and streaming video should run more smoothly on devices connected a via an 802.11n hot spot.

And because 802.11n offers higher capacity, it allows more users to connect to a single hot spot at the same time than older forms of Wi-Fi.