Google’s Android to get 20th Century Fox movie downloads

Google’s Android is adding a bit of fire power to its media arsenal. In the fall, Twentieth Century Fox will launch a service putting Fox movie downloads in the hands of Android users.

According to Yahoo! News, this is the first time a film studio is offering content in such a manner on Android. However, the system will not allow films to be downloaded directly to smartphones. 
  
Nope, Android fanboys and girls will first have to purchase an actual Blu-ray disc of a Fox movie. Then they will have permission to download a digital copy of the film from Fox’s website to a computer. After that they can side load the movie onto their Android device, let the entertainment begin.
  
Android users will be able to utilize the service in October. The first movie to get the Android treatment from Fox will be X-Men: First Class. The service will initially be available in the U.S. as well as the UK, France and Germany.
  
This could be a significant development for the Android platform. The Google owned OS has suffered from a lack of cutting edge movie services. Google has recently added eBooks and the new YouTube Movies for Android 2.2+ phones. These services allow books and movies to be rented directly from the market storefront.
  
Android also has a Netflix app, but they only recently increased its compatible list to 24 devices.
  
The reason that Android’s entertainment support has been lacking in comparison to the iPhone is because of the lack of playback and copy-protection tools. But, Google has bought Widevine, a rights management firm with technology that fixes those issues. Android’s expansion of their overall film libraries might let it compete with Apple’s entertainment market share.
  
In addition, Fox is working on a new app for smartphones and tablets that is designed for use when watching movies on the TV, improving the quality of the entertainment. Twentieth Century Fox’s senior VP Vincent Marcais told Financial Times, “Given its strong growth as a mobile operating system, the support for Android is an important move for us.”
  
Things are looking up for Android, but will user really want to go through so many steps just to access a movie that they already paid for?  

 

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Toshiba Thrive review: Ports, Cables, and Batteries

At the moment, 10-inch Android tablets are fairly indistinguishable from one another, especially when it comes to what they have on the inside. Sure, some are thinner than others, but for the most part they are all pretty similar. This could be due to Honeycomb, or maybe all of these manufacturers are just trying to aim their arsenal at the iPad, but the result is almost bland when you read the spec sheets on several of them lined up.

Despite this the Toshiba Thrive shot out of the gate with a desire to not be lumped in with the rest. In my opinion, they succeeded, but perhaps not in the way they thought they would. Toshiba’s marketing machine was hard hitting and targeted. “The perfect sum of all of its parts” was the main line, which was combined with more than a few potshots at anyone in their way, including Apple.

This tablet was originally part of a pair, coupled with a Windows 7 tablet in the same body, which was later removed from the production schedule by Toshiba, along with their plans to make a Chromebook. The Thrive, which was revealed back at CES and was known to be a little thicker than some of its tablet siblings, prides itself on being complete. So, what is it about this device that makes it special? What makes it the perfect sum of its parts?

Ports, Cables, and Batteries

I’ve had probably a dozen devices, be they phones, tablets, or computers, that have had some form of HDMI out capability. With the exception of my Home Theater PC, which I plugged in once and left connected, I’ve never used the HDMI out on a device. Furthermore, I don’t know anyone who uses it regularly. Anecdotal though this may be, many analysts have speculated that the AirPlay/DLNA style devices, being essentially devices that transmit data to your TV wirelessly, are simply preferred over plugging something into the HDMI port. Until I got the Thrive, I was inclined to agree.

The Thrive, however, is the first major Android device to include a full HDMI port, not a port that required some kind of adapter like every other mobile device on the market right now. I have found myself using this feature more and more, just because it is there and it is crazy easy. The Plug and Play nature of the feature is second only to the way it is implemented. Instead of directly drawing everything from the Thrive to the monitor, you are shown the dynamic space you are working in. This means that things like navigation and your notification windows are not shown on the screen, and as a result even if you get notifications during a session connected to the TV you aren’t interrupted. The more I use it, the more I realize that all of these devices had HDMI out, but none of them made it really easy to use. They all require an adapter or a special cable in order to operate. I think Toshiba has made a big point by adding a full HDMI port.

A standard USB port is also included, and Android 3.1′s host mode support takes advantage of this nicely. The File Manager on board springs to life when you connect a hard drive or flash drive, and every keyboard and controller I have thrown at it so far has just plain worked, including my Logitech wireless keyboard, which was nice since the dongle is so small and there is no cable. In my opinion a real USB port, or a very easy way to get a real USB port like the included adapter in the G-Slate, is a critical thing in order for a tablet to replace the mobile computer for many users, but especially businesses and schools. As great as cloud based storage is, we wont be doing away with flash drives any time soon, so supporting those devices so completely is a necessary function in my opinion.
Another productivity port is the SD card slot. The majority of cameras are still running on SD cards, and while there are cameras on the Thrive and cameras on our phones, the standalone camera is still a big part of most consumers lives. With the Thrive’s SD slot, there’d be no need to bring a laptop with you on vacation to upload pictures. Productivity ports like these are addressed by other tablet manufacturers with adapters, but having the port right there is a much simpler answer for many users.

The power cord on the Thrive was a flashback for me, taking me back to my first Toshiba Satellite. The large pin power adapter with the brick in the middle has been seen with laptops for years, but this is the first tablet I have seen it with. The message this sends is two fold for me. The first thing I got when I took it out of the box was that it was clearly not meant to leave the house. Like your laptop power adapter, you dread winding that thing up and sticking it in your bag. Mobile devices, specifically tablets to date have opted to keep their bulk at the outlet, with a cable coming to the device that was thin and light. The second thing this told me was Toshiba’s image for this device really was geared at replacing the mobile computer for you. Toshiba might as well have taken a 10″ netbook and ripped the keyboard off of it to start off the design for this device, which is imagery we’ve associated with what we thought a tablet should be to begin with.

Remember that list of things that made Android phones better than different from the iPhone? Think back to the G1. MicroSD card slot, user replaceable battery, physical keyboard, open source OS. Are any of those even left in today’s devices? The Nexus S, for example, with its beautiful keyboardless design has absolutely no removable storage and is hailed as one of the best Android devices out there. Tablets? No removable storage, no replaceable battery, most dont have a keyboard, and we already know Android will be without source until Ice Cream Sandwich. What happened? The Thrive didn’t forget, as the whole back of the device peels off to reveal a 2030 mAh replaceable battery and even some options from Toshiba for colored backplates. There’s not currently any news of larger or third party batteries, but it is pretty safe to assume they are on the way. As for battery life on the stock experience, the Thrive took me about two days of moderate usage (read: 4 hours of video games, 6 chapters in a book, and 2 movies, and many more hours on Google+) to kill, and has a truly impressive idle rate, allowing the battery to go for days if left alone.

Honeycomb – still broken, and Toshiba’s software doesn’t help.

The Thrive is pretty clearly geared towards a portrait experience. The boot animation, camera and logo positioning all point pretty clearly to this. Unfortunately, there is still a large portion of Android 3.1 that does not rotate to accommodate. The initial login, half of the menus, and the Android Market are all landscape only, while the rest of the OS is portrait. Despite being Android 3.1, the Google Movies app is missing from both the tablet and the Market, and the UI still hangs when rotating from Landscape to Portrait in the Gmail app, forcing you to leave the app entirely and come back to it to complete you task. Honeycomb still strikes me as being an unfinished project, even with Android 3.2 on the horizon I have my doubts as to when some of these seemingly simple issues will be fixed.



Toshiba’s software that is included struck me as being a really odd combination of software that you’d normally see on some of their laptop. A mobile version of Kasperky Internet Security is included in the app, and I admit mildly jarring to see included, especially since the app isn’t even Honeycomb optimized. Toshiba also saw fit to include their own app store, though the selection of apps are pretty clearly pointed at business solutions and productivity enhancers, and very little of their app store is for free apps. A copy of Need for Speed is included on the tablet, with a re-direct to the Toshiba market in order to buy the full version. Naturally, these apps aren’t removable

Conclusion

I think the Toshiba Thrive would be great for someone who actually wants to accomplish something with a tablet. Most of the tablets that are out there right now are largely entertainment devices. These media portals are fantastic for bringing with you anywhere to absorb content and maybe check some email. The Thrive seems to exist as an opposing force, geared more towards productivity and usage that more closely mimics the mobile computer. For $480 the Thrive is priced comparably with existing tablets, and if you are the right user, it will add functionality that many existing devices aren’t going to so easily deliver.

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Microsoft Wants Windows XP Shoved Out the Door - akkuschnell.de

With Windows XP's retirement nearly 1,000 days away, Microsoft is pressuring customers to ditch the 10-year-old operating system.

"Windows XP had an amazing run and millions of PC users are grateful for it. But it's time to move on," Microsoft's Stephen Rose wrote on the Windows Team Blog.

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Microsoft will stop supporting Windows XP on April 8, 2014. Security patches and hotfixes will no longer be available, leaving the OS open to vulnerabilities. Already, Microsoft has moved to a limited Windows XP support plan that provides security fixes for all users but only issues non-security updates to companies with a support contract. Microsoft also opted not to support Windows XP with its latest Web browser, Internet Explorer 9.

Aside from security, stability and software support, there are lots of reasons for consumers to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7: Users can easily share files via HomeGroup and share content automatically through Windows Media Player or Windows Media Center; Windows 7 has a built-in backup feature that works pretty well; and there are lots of user interface improvements, such as improved search, side-by-side window viewing and a new taskbar for docking favorite applications. (My favorite feature: In the rare instance that something goes wrong, Ctrl-Alt-Delete actually works.)

 

But for Microsoft, enterprise customers are the real challenge, and the company's anti-XP blog post is aimed squarely at IT professionals. Citing a Gartner report, Microsoft warns that half of companies that don't start upgrading by early 2012 won't complete the process before support ends, and will therefore incur increased costs. The company links to a return on investment calculator that supposedly shows how much money can be saved by upgrading to Windows 7.

 

Both consumers and enterprise users, however, may be tempted to wait for Windows 8. Microsoft hasn't announced a release date for its next operating system, but ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley has reported that Microsoft is trying to push Windows 8 out the door by April 2012.

 

Microsoft, of course, would prefer that companies upgrade now. At the company's Worldwide Partners Conference this week, Tami Reller, head of product marketing for the Windows group, stressed that Windows 7 hardware will be able to run Windows 8. That might hold true for enterprise users, but consumers may want to hold out for hardware that can take advantage of Windows 8's touch-friendly interface.

 

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Google's Android Market app for smartphones , gets overhaul, bookstore

The Android Market smartphone app has a new user interface.

Google has revamped its Android Market app for smartphones with a new look as well as some more products for purchase.

The Android Developers Blog points out that this new interface could work better for both customers and developers. The new user interface is intended to be more engaging as it showcases top apps and games while providing a quicker path to purchasing products.

For developers, this ideally means that there are more opportunities for apps to get picked up and downloaded.

(Although, doesn't the box-like new design, as seen in the side screenshot, look a tad reminiscent of the home screen on Windows Phone 7? Or is it just me?)

Some of the new features include more lists (i.e. top paid, top free, top grossing, etc.) that are country-specific, and individual app product pages have been rearranged to streamline the buying process.

Aside from the new user interface, Android users might be more interested to learn that they can now purchase books, which will be linked to their Google accounts like on the iriver Story HD, as well as rent movies starting at $1.99.

Otherwise, it's likely to be business as usual. Even as nice as the new design might be, it might be awhile before Google can catch up to the 15 billion downloads record secured by Apple's App Store.

Available for smartphones running at least Android 2.2 (Froyo) and higher, the new version of Android Market will be rolling out worldwide in the coming weeks.

 

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EA's Origin On iPhone And iPad - The Things We Don't Need

Few major game publishers have embraced iPhone and iPad game development like EA. Since the launch of the iPhone, EA has brought just about every one of its major franchises to iOS platforms, from "SimCity" to "Madden" to "Battlefield." And the games aren't just numerous, they're actually quite good. "Dead Space" on iPhone is a remarkably well-designed and graphically impressive game. The same goes for "NBA Jam." Clearly EA isn't cheaping out with these games, but I've always questioned why they managed to skimp on one feature: Game Center support. Now I know the answer.

EA announced yesterday that they are in the process of bringing Origin, the company's digital download marketplace, to mobile devices. This would allow users to create an Origin account and have an Origin friends list, akin Steam and Xbox Live. When playing EA's iOS games, you'd be able to see what your other Origin friends are playing and, where supported, join them in the middle of the game.

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This all sounds great, if Apple didn't already have Game Center. Game Center has its own friends list, its own achievements, its own multiplayer matching system. Origin on iOS would be completely separate from this.
When Game Center launched, we were all encouraged by the unification of the online networks on iOS. You wouldn't need to have an Open Feint ID and a Plus+ ID. You could just have a single Game Center ID which would cover all games. Origin means the audience of iOS gamers will once again be split.

Now I'll be the first to admit that Game Center is far from perfect. It is extremely limited in terms of communicating with friends, but I'd rather one unified but limited service than a house divided. Remember when "Metal Gear Solid Online" launched and it required a separate user account from PSN for some unknown reason? That's the sort of thing we're talking about. The nightmare scenario is that other major iOS publishers, like Capcom, Halfbrick and Rovio ditch Game Center and opt to have their own individual services as well. Suddenly we're back to where we started, with the iOS gaming market segmented.

Thankfully there's an easy solution that EA could take: Have both. There are plenty of games that support Open Feint and Game Center. Why not support Origin and Game Center? That way people can still have a single friends list without having to worry about which account they're signed into.

Unfortunately, based on EA's insistence to not support Game Center to begin with, I'm hesitant to believe this is in the cards. Origin is scheduled to launch on iOS (and Android) later this year.

 

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A significant milestone - App Store hits 15 billion downloads

Apple released a statement letting their customers know that the App Store has hit quite a significant milestone – over 15 billion applications have been downloaded. According to the announcement:

“In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen. Thank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled it with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads.”

No matter what your opinion of the Apple ecosystem is, those are impressive numbers. Furthermore, looking back at the App Store’s history, it’s growth and expansion has been at a pretty steady incline since it’s creation.

It took only nine months for the App Store to reach 1 billion downloads. Then, not too long after that, the 5 billionth download mark was surpassed in June 2010. And now, just over a year later, Apple has racked up another 10 billion downloads, for a grand total of 15 billion.

The 10 billionth, which occurred in January of this year, was celebrated with a little giveaway. Okay… a big giveaway. The downloader of the 10 billionth app was awarded a $10,000 Apple store gift card (with which he was able to buy two or three things). Unfortunately, however, there doesn’t seem to be any word regarding another giveaway this time. Perhaps when they reach the 25 billion marker.

I definitely believe the App Store has played an enormous part in the success of iOS devices, so I can’t say I’m too surprised at these figures. What about you? Do you think the iPhone, and the other iOS devices would have achieved the same level of success if the App Store wasn’t around?

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HP's TouchPad is a handsome tablet with a solid webOS foundation

Hewlett-Packard's TouchPad represents a substantial bet for the company.

Success will validate webOS as the operating system of HP's future, and anoint it a viable competitor (along with Google Android) to Apple's iOS. Failure will likely hobble HP's attempts at rebranding itself as a "cool" consumer-tech company.

Over the past few days, numerous publications have strained to compare the 9.7-inch TouchPad to Apple's iPad, currently the reigning champ of tablets. And while that match-up is inevitable, HP's tablet actually shares greater similarities with another device already on the market: Research In Motion's PlayBook.

Like the PlayBook's QNX-based operating system, the TouchPad's webOS 3.0 places heavy emphasis on multitasking (with similar thumbnail windows to denote which applications are currently running) and finger-swiping as a navigation gesture. With both the PlayBook and TouchPad, you draw a finger upward from the bottom rim to minimize an application, before flicking to banish it. Like the PlayBook, the TouchPad boasts a relatively small number of applications at the outset (the HP App Catalog lists more than 4,450 "new" ones).
And like the PlayBook, the TouchPad feels like a work in progress, albeit one more polished than RIM's offering. Although HP's tablet boasts a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, the user interface feels slow. Every application seems to require a few seconds' worth of loading time before it actually runs. Swiping between application-launcher screens also comes with the occasional split-second stall. It's a little bit frustrating, but also something HP executives have made noise about addressing in recent days.

"You've also seen that reviewers rightly note things we need to improve about the webOS experience," Jon Rubinstein, general manager of HP's Palm Global Business Unit, wrote in a memo to employees that inevitably leaked onto Boy Genius Report and other Websites. "The good news is that most of the issues they cite are already known to us and will be addressed in short order by over-the-air software and app catalog updates."

So there's that. In the meantime, the TouchPad's initial lineup of baked-in applications includes email, calendar, chat, photos, maps, Adobe Reader, Quickoffice and a few others. Combined with the Facebook application and Angry Birds, that's more than enough for most consumers to start. HP is also pushing the TouchPad as an enterprise device, but it remains to be seen whether business-minded developers will create large numbers of applications for the webOS platform; if the company proceeds with its plans to load the operating system onto desktops and laptops, that could add substantial momentum to the webOS developer ecosystem.  

Unlike the PlayBook and other tablets on the market, the TouchPad forgoes the rear-facing camera in favor of a single 1.3-megapixel lens embedded in the front. Granted, tablets aren't going to replace cameras anytime soon as your average user's picture-taking device of choice, but the TouchPad's lack of a rear lens curbs your ability to take impromptu images, for work or otherwise.

The TouchPad weighs 1.6 pounds, a bit heavier than the iPad 2 at 1.3 pounds and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 at 1.24 pounds. It also feels thicker than those tablets, perhaps because of the softly rounded edges and sloping back. The TouchPad features a glossy black backing that looks and feels high-quality, and the construction feels solid: The "on" and volume buttons along the rim don't wiggle in their frames, and the home button offers a satisfying "click" when pressed.

The TouchPad's screen offers 1024 by 768 resolution, perfectly sound for the current generation of tablets, and support for Adobe Flash and HTML5 support. The device noticeably warms after a relatively short period of use, but not in a way that's uncomfortable if it's balanced on your legs. Its battery will last around five or six hours, depending on intensity of use.

Unlike other tablets on the market, which come with a charger cord, the TouchPad includes a Touchstone adjustable stand for plug-in-free charging. Once docked, the TouchPad offers a giant clock—ideal for those road warriors who need a desk or bedside clock. On the downside, the stand is a little bulkier than a standard tablet charger; those who travel frequently with a tablet, without a lot of space in their bag, may find themselves a little frustrated with having to devote a few more cubic inches of room to HP's latest innovation. But if anything, that's a minor quibble.

Overall, the TouchPad represents a solid start for HP. From here on out, it's all about the execution—whether they can attract the third-party developers necessary for a substantial application ecosystem, whether they can tweak the software for faster performance and fewer glitches, and whether webOS will evolve in ways that make it an ideal platform—not only for a tablet, but also laptops and desktops. If all that happens, HP could have a tablet that indeed stands apart from the crowd.

In the United States, HP will offer the 16GB version of the TouchPad for $499.99, and the 32GB version for $599.99. It is WiFi-only for the moment, although additional connectivity is expected in future versions.

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