Nexus S Launch! And other goodies...

First of all - before you start opening up tabs like madman, wanting all of this info, Google is doing "Chrome For A Cause". Every tab you open, Google donates! Go ahead and install the extension if you wish, its super quick, non-invasive, and makes you feel good about yourself! Click the hyper-link above or visit: http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/p/cause/#tnc to install!

Now to the biggest news - the long awaited Nexus S has launched today! You can get it with T-Mobile for a buck under $200 or with no carrier for $529. If you wanna know more about the phone - visit my mini review: http://noobtech.blogspot.com/2010/12/dear-google-youre-insane.html.

Google Maps 5.0 is here!!
Maps 5.0 now now has faster load times, drag two fingers down to tilt, rotate the maps with both fingers, smoother zooming, compass mode, and most importantly - 3D buildings!



I was able to get it on my HTC Hero sporting Gingerbread. Though not very impressive due to my touchscreen and hardware limitations - speed improvements are very noticeable! Scan the barcode below to test it out for yourself and discover a couple things not mentioned (like map caching if you loose data connection!)

Another thing about Gingerbread worth mentioning:

Compared to my Froyo 2.2 ROM that I had on my HTC Hero, Gingerbread is insanely responsive and quick. The popular Angry Birds game used to run so slowly is was hardly even playable. But on the 2.3 Gingerbread version - it ran as smooth with just about no lag. The same for live wallpapers, incredibly responsive when switching screens and I could barely use my phone with live wallpapers before. Is this a new possible gaming era for Android? I think so.

My love for LauncherPro

There are so many amazing things about this app I barely know where to begin. Lets start out with that this home replacement is the best I have used by far. It is incredibly smooth switching screens. There also very useful little elements throughout it as well.

There is one version available on the Market, with the option of buying a code for the full version (LauncherPro Plus - $2.99). I have to say, best android app I have ever bought.

When you swipe up on the Phone, Message, Browser, or App Drawer icons you get a little popup with information, somewhat similar looking to the pop-ups in the 3D gallery. LauncherPro Plus has these as well as widgets! I must say, the widgets are not bad, and pretty darn smooth.

LauncherPro is highly customizable and tons of options to optimize performance and UI elements. If you havent done so already, I recommend you at least try it out. It will not bug you to update to Plus unless you try to use the popups or widgets - which is very nice.

As far as the developer, very on top of things! He is currently re-writing the entire app for bugs and better performance, and still coming out with updates on a fairly regular basis. You will not be disappointed with small, unnoticeable updates. Almost all of his updates include really awesome additions to the UI.

Scan this little static box with Google Goggles and try it out:

Update problems? Uh-Oh

So as most of you have probably seen, the Market got a new makeover. I use CyanogenMod 6 on my Hero and have yet to receive the update, even by attempting to force an update - no go. Nevertheless its nice to see changes.

The most noticeable change is the carousel group of apps at the top. Gives a nice, clean feel. They also added a new app category - "Widgets and Live Wallpapers". Many of us have been wanting a category for widgets and since the API first became available for developers, it has been a pain to try and find just apps with widgets or widgets themselves.

Another change is the related section on the app page. This makes it easier to find better apps for the same function. We first had this problem with Twitter apps before the official one came out. There were so many out there that we could not tell which ones were even worth downloading without having to look at the comments. So hopefully with this it will be easier to pick high quality apps.

If you are one of the sneaky people who try to beat a game in less than 24 hours and return it, you better build a time machine. Google has now changed the refund window to 15 minutes. Some people complain that this is not enough time to even scratch the surface of any app. I however disagree. Compared to Apple, its still 15 minutes longer. If the app will not run on your phone, or is not what you wanted, 15 minutes should be plenty of time.

The last change is the allowed file size limit. It used to be 25 MB and has now been increased to 50 MB. This should allow more high end games to be allowed into the Market. So now maybe we will not have to go through the pain of going through Gameloft's website and worrying if the game with download with ease.

I cant wait to get the update and will try to find a workaround for people with similar problems. Lets me guys know of any problems or features I might have missed.

Dear Google, You're Insane!

December is already off to a great start and Google doesn't plan to end the year without a bang! We have seen Chrome 8 with apps, Google's eBook Store, the Gingerbread (2.3) SDK all the way to the official announcement of the Nexus S! Even being able to get a very experimental version of Gingerbread on some of our own phones! We also got a sneak peak at the first Honeycomb Tablet, the first Chrome OS laptop and a preview of a new Google Maps to come soon! 

I'm going to touch very, very briefly on some of these below:

Chrome 8:

To the average web user, the most notable change you will notice is the addition of apps. There is a good selection of apps available already. They also have a great selection of games available, I was skeptical at first, but they run wonderfully for the most part. Ran into a little slowness but I think it is just from using a low-end computer. Try it nevertheless and let me know what you think!

Google's eBook Store:

To be completely honest, I am not a big reader. I have skimmed through and it seems pretty awesome. Lots of free eBooks, and we love free! I think this may be the first step to Android becoming an all-in-one device, now partially being an eReader as well.

The Nexus S and Gingerbread:

The Nexus S is a beautiful device! I am however a little disappointed in the specs. There is no dual core processor like most of us were hoping for. Google is great at listening to feedback and the users. I believe that Google did this to prove that they can have a super fast OS on low end phones, so therefore we will not run into quad-core processors by 2012 and as well as to end Android fragmentation. I installed an unstable Gingerbread on my HTC Hero today, even for the low specs for my device, it was pretty snappy and quick. It is said that if your phone can run Froyo (2.2) than it should be able to run Gingerbread (2.3) even better. As far as a minimum hardware requirement for 2.3, I don't think it will be very high (if there will even be one at all.)

As far as Honeycomb, I am looking forward to see how it will play with Gingerbread, if there will be any implementation what so ever. Google hinted us that it may just be another version of Android. All we can do is wait and see, but I have a feeling we will be getting more hints soon.

Hit up some of the links for more information - there is alot of it.