Google has just announced that the latest version of the Android SDK in now available to developers. Classified as a minor feature update, the new Android SDK brings, as usual, a new set of APIs that should allow developers to create better apps that are compatible with a wider range of devices.

The focus of the SDK update is mainly on making compatibility with different screen sizes and resolutions easier. Previously Android 3.2 was said to be the Honeycomb version best suited to 7″ tablets and now you can see why – it’s just that it will be much easier for developers to make apps that are better suited for such tabs. Read more »

The popular mobile software developers from SPB Software have released a Symbian^3 compatible-version of their SPB Shell 3D user interface. The customization package is available immediately through the company website, so everyone with a Symbian^3 device and $15 to spare can get a taste of it.

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The SPB Shell 3D UI brings a complete overhaul of the user interface of the smartphone that solves most of the usability issues (illogical menu navigation, one click-two click inconsistency etc.) and adds some welcome eye-candy to the mix. And while the pricing might seem a bit steep at first, it’s probably worth it as it comes as a novel facelift to the widely criticized for their usability Symbian smartphones. Read more »

The Mozilla team is actively working on their Android offering and one of them took the time to show off their latest work – Firefox for Android Honeycomb tablets. The changes affect the UI, making it more Honeycomb-like and more suitable for big screens.

The theme is the first thing that changes – it’s cleaner, so it fits better with the Honeycomb style, which differs quite a bit from the non-tablet versions of the OS. The distinctive Firefox elements have been preserved however (like the tabs, the big back button, etc.). Read more »

Today we are meeting with Nokia 500 – a small Symbian Anna-based smartphone and the first one in Nokia’s portfolio with a 1GHz processor.

The 500 fella packs a 3.2-inch nHD capacitive screen, a 5 megapixel camera, decent connectivity package and comes with exchangeable battery covers. Read more »

Adobe has just released a new app for the iOS devices that lets you edit PDF documents from your smartphone or tablet. Now, I know touchscreen devices aren’t the most comfortable things to edit documents on, but it is certainly nice to be able to make a few minor changes on the go.

And the great news is that the application, called CreatePDF by the way, also supports a number of other document (docx, doc, xlsx, xls, pptx, ppt, rtf etc.) and image (ai, psd, indd, jpg, bmp, png, gif, tiff) formats. Read more »

Few months back HTC had decided that it would be better to start selling their phones with locked bootloader and so they did exactly that, resulting in the Thunderbolt 4G, Desire S, Incredible S, EVO 3D, Sensation and the Sensation 4G to be sold with locked bootloaders.

Later though they realized that they were wrong to lock the bootloaders, this realization aided immensely by the uproar in the Android community who prefer to have complete access to their software. This made HTC revise their bootloader policy and the first phone to benefit from this was the Sensation. Read more »

LG is bringing the big 3D guns to IFA this year – they will be showcasing a couple of things, both centered at the Optimus 3D. The first is a technology that will convert any 3D game into a stereoscopic 3D game.

LG has also given an Optimus 3D to six National Geographic photographers, who will produce the first 3D images and video for National Geographic. Read more »

One of the cool things about the Android Market on the web is that it pushes apps directly to your Android device instead of downloading it and then making you transfer it manually to the device. Nokia had a system on their Ovi Store where they would instead send an SMS to your phone with a link to download the app, but this wasn’t very convenient. So now they have Android Market style push support for sending apps directly to your phone, thanks to Nokia Drop.

This works similar to on Android phones. You go to the Ovi Store through your web browser, then click on an application and if it is a free app it is sent instantly to your phone and gets installed automatically. Read more »

The PlayBook OS version 2.0.0.2992 has leaked in screenshots form and the screens show the Playbook’s new email client suspiciously lacks an option for setting it up with a BlackBerry BES and BIS account. Also there’s an Android Emulator icon in the main menu, which means that the compatibility project between droid apps and QNX may be late but is still coming.

The accounts screen in the settings menu shows the available options to configure an email account. They include Exchange/ActiveSync, IMAP, POP, CalDAV, CardDAV, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn but there’s no BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) or BlackBerry Internet Server (BIS) on there. This could mean that QNX is on track to join the other smart OSes and use the same integrated email, calendar and contacts sync options. Read more »

Nokia Maps for Symbian is one of the best SatNav apps around and Nokia’s dev team is intent on making it better. Beta Labs just released a test version of Nokia Maps 3.08 with Weather, which brings a number of improvements, especially in the UI department.

The new version offers more information before you start and while you’re driving, with an emphasis on live traffic info. It also comes with an attractive-looking dedicated weather app, which shows forecasts by the hour. Read more »

Although Samsung had announced bada 2.0 back in February during MWC 2011, it took them quite a long time to release it. But it seems Samsung has not forgotten about its little pet project as today we got news of Samsung making bada 2.0 live and also releasing the SDK to anyone willing to visit their website, register and download the 368KB file.

Among the list of changes in bada 2.0 include a new user interface, improved multi-tasking, support for OpenAL, NFC, speech-to-text and text-to-speech, Wi-Fi Direct, in-app ads, push notifications and HTML5. But then again, we already knew all that. Read more »

RIM is putting a clever new spin to the old “share what song you’re listening to” trick by letting you share the actual tracks, not just the mere artist/track name info. Enter BBM Music – it’s an add-on for BlackBerry Messenger 6, that lets people create a 50 song collection and share it with their friends.

You can listen to your 50 tracks and to the 50 tracks of each of your friends, or as RIM puts it “More friends = More music”. Read more »

It seems that HTC’s first 10.1 Honeycomb slate, dubbed Puccini or Jetstream, is all but confirmed for an appearance on the AT&T network with true 4G capabilities – yes, LTE support.

Fresh images of the device have leaked and this time we can really have a proper look at it. Also the some of the specs have been revealed like the 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1 gig of RAM, 16GB on-board storage, an 8 MP snapper with dual-LED flash, LTE support, a 10.1″ WXGA resolution (1280×800) and finally a Sensed-out Android Honeycomb OS. Read more »

Yesterday’s camera update to the Nokia N8 was off to a foul start and was quickly recalled. Today, we finally got the real deal from the Nokia beta labs and we’re happy to report on how it changes the already great video camera of the phone. The update is exclusive to Anna-running N8s but it’s an important one, so we tested it as well.

A few words on how we applied the camera update – it’s not a part of Anna as it wasn’t finished on time, so it’s not updated over the usual channels (it’s in experimental testing stages too). Read more »

Symbian Anna debuted a while ago with the Nokia X7 and the E6 but the original quartet of new generation Nokia phones that initially launched with Symbian^3 now gets to join in on the fun as well.

We put a Nokia N8 through the update process and fiddled with it – then we decided you might be interested in a quick Symbian^3 vs. Symbian Anna comparison. X7 and E6 owners might not, but if you have a Nokia N8, C7, C6-01 or E7 you should check this out.

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