Adobe Prepares for a World without Apple's Blessing

Today at the Mobile World Congress 2010, Adobe announced several initiatives designed to cement their company's relevance in a world where Apple, one of the top smartphone players, has banned Adobe software from inclusion on all mobile devices including the iPhone, iPod Touch and the soon-to-launch iPad. Without Adobe's Flash runtime, thousands of websites don't work, streaming videos won't play and a number of online casual games are broken. Apple, of course, is fine with this, having worked around the issue thanks to the 150,000+ iPhone applications that deliver the same functionality...although sometimes for a fee.

Adobe, meanwhile, is focusing on the other up-and-coming smartphone platform, Google's Android OS, with the launch of their 'AIR for Android' offering. With this and the newly announced Flash Player 10.1, wannabe mobile developers don't need to learn specialized code, but can instead leverage their existing development skills to build Flash and AIR-based applications. They can then have those apps run anywhere: PCs, Macs, Linux and mobile...including, surprisingly, the iPhone.

AIR for Android

The AIR for Android development platform allows designers and developers to use their existing skills in coding for AIR on the desktop to build standalone applications that run on the mobile Android operating system, found on devices like the Droid, the myTouch 3G, and the G1. With AIR, developers can include mobile-specific functionality in their devices including multi-touch, accelerometer input, GPS, screen orientation and gestures.

Already, Adobe has several developers on board. A company blog post today shows a selection of some of the first AIR-built Android apps, all games, including iTunes App Store classics like Alchemist, FickleBlox, Gridshock, Chroma Circuit, Red Hood, South Park Avatar Creator and Su (iTunes links).

Flash 10.1

In addition to the AIR for Android announcement, Adobe also debuted the Flash Platform 10.1 beta, now available to developers and content providers worldwide. With Flash, developers can not only build mobile applications for Android, but can build apps that run anywhere: desktops, laptops, netbooks and smartphones. All the major smartphone players (save one) will support Flash, including Android, RIM BlackBerry, Symbian, Palm's webOS and Windows Mobile. It will now also be available on LiMo devices, an independent and open smartphone platform with a Linux-based operating system at its core.


Flash isn't just about the apps, either. It's also used for website content display and HD videos, like those found on the popular U.S. TV portal, Hulu. Sling Media, makers of the Slingbox hardware, devices that let you watch live TV playing in one location on a remote receiver, also use Flash as part of their three-screen solution which delivers video to TVs, laptops, and mobile devices.

Flash for iPhone: the Workaround

Despite all the announcements, which lay solid ground for Adobe's continued relevance and importance in the ever-changing mobile world, the company has not forgotten about Apple. Although sour grapes could have easily had the company turn their back to the popular iPhone OS platform, Adobe did just the opposite: they made it easy for their developers to build for iPhone too. Using the Packager for iPhone software, announced previously at Adobe MAX 2009, developers can export Flash code as iPhone apps.


With these tools, developers can essentially write once and deploy anywhere - as AIR or Flash creations for the desktop or mobile web or as apps for any mobile device including Android or iPhone.

Will Apple Cave?

Apple's standoff against Flash has gained more public exposure with the recent announcement of the Apple iPad. Even consumers who don't pay careful attention to technology news will soon discover the iPad's shortcomings when iPad-launched websites don't include streaming video, content doesn't display as expected and video portals like Hulu are inaccessible.


While purists may feel the same as Apple CEO Steve Jobs when it comes to Flash's expulsion from the iPhone/iPad platform, (notably that it's 'buggy' and will soon be replaced by HTML5, an upcoming standard that can provide streaming video, too), the reality is that the new HTML5-enabled web won't be built overnight. In the meantime, developers and consumers alike want solutions for the content they expect to access when mobile - that being the web, the whole web, the fully functioning web. It's here that Adobe intends to deliver. Their goal is to have every platform but Apple supporting native Flash and AIR, while still supporting iPhone through a workaround. Will Apple eventually concede to this power play where everyone supports Flash but them? It's impossible to tell, but Adobe certainly isn't afraid to lay the pressure on thick. Read more...

MeeGo: A New Linux OS to Fight iPhone, iPad and More

Nokia and Intel have just announced the creation of MeeGo, a new Linux-based operating system designed for portable devices including netbooks and smartphones as well as other non-desktop platforms like connected TVs and vehicles. The new OS is a combination of Nokia's Maemo and Intel's Moblin, both Linux-based computing environments. This partnership is notable not just for combining two different Linux platforms under one roof, but for its cross-platform support of both Intel and ARM chips, the latter currently popular in mobile devices like Apple's iPhone thanks to its low power consumption needs.

The MeeGo operating system is designed to let developers write once and then deploy to a number of hardware platforms including everything from smartphones to netbooks and more, a popular strategy these days in an increasingly fragmented mobile world. The same strategy has also been recently embraced by Adobe, who now lets their developers write once and then deploy their Flash apps to any operating system, both desktop and laptop-based or mobile.

Applications that previously worked on Maemo or Moblin will work on the new MeeGo OS, too, say the companies. Also, the new platform is not intended to replace Nokia's own Symbian OS, Nokia assures. Instead, using the Qt application and UI framework, developers can deploy apps to both MeeGo and other platforms, including Symbian. The resulting applications will then be marketed through Nokia's Ovi Store, for all MeeGo and Symbian-based Nokia devices while Intel's AppUp Center will handle the marketing of apps for Intel-based MeeGo devices.

Open Source vs. iPhone OS...and More

Both companies are positioning the new OS an open source alternative to the iPhone App Store model. Although they don't come out and directly call out the popular Apple iPhone OS by name, they hint at it by stating that with MeeGo, people 'are not locked into one kind of device or those from any individual manufacturer.'


Both companies are also preparing for a new range of tablet devices that will compete against the trail-blazing iPad. In an interview with CNet, Renee J. James, a senior vice president at Intel, affirms that 'this kind of operating environment is targeted very well for a tablet-style device.'


However, the platform isn't meant to just compete with Apple products. It will also go up against the upcoming netbook OS from Google, Chrome OS, as well as mobile, tablet, and in-car OS's from other vendors, including Microsoft.


MeeGo will arrive in the second quarter of 2010 with products becoming available starting in the third quarter. Read more...

Top 10 Google Settings You Should Know About

As the outcry over Google Buzz's privacy has shown us, it's smart to explore settings in Gmail, along with other places you're sharing data with the search giant. Let's take a look at 10 privacy, convenience, and annoyance fixers you should know.

10. Turn off auto-displayed pictures from Gmail contacts

By default, Gmail hides images embedded into emails from chain letters and unknown sources—and that's a smart move, given spammers' tracking tactics and malware tendencies. But it still shows images from contacts you've previously sent mail to, which can be a pain if you've got relatives who just love hi-larious forwards. Head to your Settings page, and look for the 'external content' setting, which you can switch off to always ask you to confirm showing images in any email. If you've got just a handful of offenders, open up one of the egregious emails, hit the 'Show details' link near the bottom of the to/from/subject details, and click the 'don't display from now on' link. (Original post)

9. Fine-tune Google Apps for your domain

Google Apps, formerly know as Apps for Your Domain, has a lot of goodies tucked inside it for anyone who owns their own site, runs a family name domain, or operates a small business. Unlike Gmail, however, the new features and disabled offerings aren't as apparent (or blogged about). Gina gave us a great tour of Google Apps, showing how you can control privacy and access, choose which Labs features make it into your domain's email, and otherwise set up your site to your liking.

8. Prevent Android from automatically signing into Gchat

Simple and easy, but also easy to miss: If you've got an Android phone and have launched Google Talk from it just once, you might notice that you seem to catch any and all chats throughout the day. That's because Talk can sit in the background upon launching, ready to pick up messages. That's fine if that's what you want, but if you want a choice in the matter, head to the Google Talk app, hit your Menu key, and choose Settings. Un-check the 'Automatically sign in' option, hit your back button, and then hit Menu and sign out of Google Talk. You'll need to sign back in if you're downloading apps from the Market (odd pairing, indeed), but you're otherwise free to chat when you want to. (Original post)

7. Turn off Buzz, Chat, and Labs in Gmail

Not big on Buzz? Chat more distracting than useful? Gmail Labs making your inbox feel lag-ish? You can kill all of them, if you'd like, and get back just a plain vanilla inbox. Scroll all the way to the bottom of any page inside Gmail, and at the bottom, you'll see two links to turn Gmail's chat sidebar and Buzz inbox on or off. Actually, you don't really 'turn off Buzz' so much as remove it from your inbox, so be sure and check your Buzz settings at your Google Profile, if you have a Google Profile. If Labs features seem to be slowing down, or even breaking, your Gmail experience, you can turn them off entirely by loading Gmail from this URL: https://mail.google.com/mail/?labs=0#. Bookmark it as your main Gmail link, or title it 'Gmail (Safe Mode)' if you'd like to still venture into all the goodies on occasion.

6. Disable SafeSearch (or lock it in semi-permanently)

Google's SafeSearch isn't an entirely comprehensive solution to preventing impressionable eyes from the worst realms of the internet. It is, however, a good stopgap until they learn to grow up and install other browsers, wipe out cookies, and customize user scripts. Whether you don't have any young ones in the house and want to turn SafeSearch off altogether or you want a complete SafeSearch lockdown on your computer, head to your search preferences, scroll down to the SafeSearch section, and find the setting that fits you. (In Google Image Search, they've helpfully placed the control right under the search box on your first result.) If you want to permanently enable SafeSearch, click the "Lock SafeSearch" link—and repeat for any browsers the little ones use. Now when they're performing a Google search, you should see some giant Google-colored balls in the upper-right corner—or else they've gotten too smart.

5. Set your default SMS location

For those without web-connected smartphones, or at least a decent data connection, Google's SMS service is seriously helpful—it's how I (used to) get by with just an iPod touch and a standard phone. To make it even more helful, text set location, followed by the city and state or ZIP code where you spend the most time. Now you can just text 'weather' or 'pet store' to get the skinny on what's happening. (Original post)

4. Link and integrate your apps

Taking off the privacy and preference hat for a moment, Google's apps have a lot of neat settings just beneath their surface that make using them all together a tight experience. You can turn emails into tasks, and then map those tasks on your calendar. You can send voice messages and SMS from Google Voice to Gmail, and mark them as read when you open them there. Gina previously ran down seven easy ways to integrate your Google apps, and even more seem to come along every week.

3. Turn off Search History, logged in or not

If you're logged into Google for Gmail or any other service, there's a good chance Google's keeping tabs on all your searches, months after you made them. If you aren't logged in, Google's probably still tracking and personalizing your searches based on what you previously typed in. This one-stop solution that should work for most users, but if it doesn't, log into Google and head to google.com/history. A notice at the top will tell you if you've 'paused' or otherwise stopped your search history, or else you'll see your recent searches listed with dates and times. You can clear out this history by hitting the 'Remove items' link on the left. If you aren't logged in, look for the 'Web History' link in the upper-right corner. From there, you can choose whether Google tracks your searches via cookie and IP address and customizes your results.

2. Back up Google apps' data

For all you've heard about Buzz, privacy, and Google this week, you still can't fault them too much for their efforts to let you take your data with you if you decide to leave their app ecosystem. The Data Liberation Front site, a pet project from Google's engineers, explains how you can pull your information, documents, and other data out of nearly any Google product. Gina's also covered some of Google's apps in a cloud backup feature, and Adam tackled the best-at-that-time tools for Google backups in 2007. (Original Data Liberation Front post)

1. Control what Buzz says about you on the web

Google's new social service Buzz showed up suddenly in everyone's Gmail accounts this week, and right away it wanted to get you connected with the people you contact over email and chat the most. Before you let it turn you loose, though, consider whether you want the world to see exactly who you 'follow.' Google has since improved the on/off visibility, but if you want to make sure you're not broadcasting your inbox to the web at large, we suggest visiting your profile and checking your follower counts. If you don't see a profile at all, or don't see the followed/following numbers, you're likely in the clear, but as with many aspects of Buzz in this early stage, you can't be too careful. And when you actually start using the thing, be careful not to broadcast private email addresses yourself. (Original posts: Buzz update, private emails).

Bonus item: Open search results in new tabs

Lifehacker copy consigliere Dustin Luck mentions yet another reason to hit up your search preferences from time to time. With a single click, you can choose to open the results you click on in new windows. If you've set up your browser the right way, those new windows become new tabs, and little research projects on Google just became far more convenient.

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What settings do you always make sure are set in your own personal Google universe? What settings do you wish existed for better control and privacy? Tell us about them both in the comments.

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How We’re Using Social Media on Our Mobile Phones [STATS]

Mobile analytics company Flurry used its January data to look at the top application categories for iPhone and Android device owners. Parallels between the two types of smartphone users are very similar: social networking apps are by far the most frequently used category of apps.

For Flurry’s January report, the company decided to dissect application usage based on the following categories: games, entertainment, social networking, and news and lifestyle.

On both iPhone and Android phones, social networking apps were used most frequently — about 20 times per month — with news coming in a distant second. In fact, in terms of frequency alone, we’re using social networking apps at double the rate we’re using news applications, and four times the rate we’re firing up mobile games. Based on Flurry data, it also appears that the frequency at which we use entertainment, games and lifestyle apps in totality still doesn’t rival how frequently we use social networking apps each month.

It’s interesting to note, however, that in terms of actual session length — duration of individual application usage — smartphone users split larger chunks of their time between news, games and social networking respectively, with users devoting nearly 10 minutes on average to news applications. What it boils down to is that we use social networking apps most frequently, but spend longer periods of time consuming information in news applications.

These findings are especially striking and essentially confirm that social media has become integrated into our lives, so much so that we’re using our smartphones to stay connected while we’re away from our computers. In fact, social media has become more entertaining than entertainment itself.

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Buying a Nexus One in the UK: The Guide

So, you’ve seen our guide to Google’s Nexus One and its spec and you want a piece of the action. If you’re in the UK and fancy getting your hands on a Nexus One, you’re in luck.

The UK is one of only three places outside the USA that Google will ship a handset to (the others being Singapore and Hong Kong).

Ready to take the plunge at importing a phone from the US? Here’s our guide to what to expect…

SIM-free only… for now

At present you can only buy the Nexus One SIM-free in the UK. A subsidised version with a Vodafone contract will be available “soon”. Precisely how soon we don’t know but Vodafone is saying early Spring. So, for know you’re going to have to get your head around the idea of paying 529 USD for the phone. It’s actually a bit more than that all-in, but we’ll get to that shortly.

Is it worth the hassle and up-front expense?

Whether you think a smartphone is worth a total cost of £450 (see below) is up to you. Buying a phone up front and then using a SIM-only deal can actually work out cheaper than buying a subsidised handset and signing up for an 18-month or two year contract.

T-Mobile, for example, offers a ‘Solo 20‘ plan with 600 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data for £20 per month. There’s only a 30 day commitment too; you’re not signed up to a length contract so you can change at any time if you wish. If you’re out of contract with your current network you’ll be able to port you number over to one of these plans by asking them for your PAC code.

Even when you compare the Nexus One to other unlocked phones, it’s no more expensive. It’s £50 cheaper than the highly regarded Nokia N900, while a pay-as-you-go iPhone costs nearly £100 more.

So, if you want to take the plunge here’s how it works…

The order process

Ordering your Nexus One is simple. You simply head along to google.com/phone, click ‘Get Your Phone’ and you’re away. After selecting the ‘Nexus One Phone’ option you get the option to engrave your phone with a message if you choose.. Then you’re on to the (potentially) troublesome bit: paying for it.

Paying for the phone

The upfront cost is 529 USD plus $29.64 for international shipping and an optional $20 for a mains adapter. If you’re planning to charge your Nexus One only by connecting it up to a computer via USB you won’t need this, but it’s worth getting as you never know when or where you might need to charge your phone.

You’ll be billed in dollars and your bank/credit card provider will convert the payment into Pounds Sterling at the exchange rate they’re using (which may be a little less favourable than the rate quoted by sites like xe.com). I got charged £361 by my bank in total (including the optional mains adapter).

Delays possible

When I ordered my Nexus One there was a two day delay between submitting my order and getting shipping confirmation. However, once it’s ordered you’ll be able to track its journey from a depot somewhere in the USA to your door using DHL’s excellent tracking service.

Additional costs on delivery

Bear in mind that when you receive your phone you will be expected to pay 17.5% VAT and 6.5% import duty. This applies to any goods purchased from abroad. If you’re lucky your phone will slip past HM Revenue & Customs without charge but don’t count on it. The courier (DHL) will require you to pay this sum (which amounts to just under £100 in this case). This takes the overall cost to roughly £450 at current rates. From reports we’re getting, buyers are not being asked to pay these additional costs on delivery. Instead you are likely to receive an invoice through the post at a later date, so keep an eye out in the mail.

Potential pitfalls

Google Checkout appears to be a bit temperamental when it comes to payment. It wouldn’t accept my credit card at all and I kept receiving an ‘Order Failed’ message. Upon switching to my debit card I had more luck. However, I don’t make a habit of spending that much money in one go so my bank suspected fraud and blocked the payment.

Google alerted me to the problem with an email. A quick call to the bank later (explaining that it was a legitimate purchase) and I was back on track. If this happens to you, make sure you follow the instructions in the email Google sends you – don’t just start a new order.

How long will the Nexus One take to arrive?

As yet, we don’t know. Google doesn’t quote international delivery times but you’ll be able to track the progress of your order through the website. We’ll update this post with more information when we get it. UPDATE: Ours took one week to arrive. It sat in the DHL depot for a whole weekend and only started moving after we sent an email to DHL asking what was happening. Hopefully you won’t need to do this!

by Martin Bryant
January 6, 2010
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Buy iPhone 3G Without Contract

Unlike the previous times, when it was compulsory to buy iPhone under a fixed tenure contract covering the user, the service provide and the mobile manufacturer, you can now actually purchase the iPhone without entering into the contract. However if you decide to buy the iPhone without the contract restrictions, you will have to shell out a higher price.

For instance, if you are a U.S resident you could have bought a 8GB iPhone bounded by a 2 year agreement for USD199. If you do not want to be bound down by the two year contract, you can still buy the same iPhone (8 GB), but for a higher price of USD599 from your nearest AT&T store.

Similarly in the U.K you can buy the iPhone 3G without being bound down by the contract of O2 you will have to pay approximately double the price of an iPhone covered under a contract.

Also note that in many countries , it is actually illegal to bound down the buyer by the need for entering into a contract. In such countries iPhone 3G is compulsorily being sold without any underlying contract.

What does this mean for a buyer ? Does it make any difference if you buy the iPhone 3G (without any contract) from the service provider or from the Apple Store.

Yes it does make a difference.

To begin with there might be a difference in the prices if you buy it from say AT&T and if you buy it from Apple Inc. (its not different here in U.S but it may vary in other countries)

However the most major difference occurs on how the seller sees it. If you are buying it from the service provider say AT&T, you can purchase the iPhone 3G from them without the contract only if you are also purchasing the AT&T connection. Further AT&T has also specified different prices for buyers who are eligible for an upgrade account and buyers who are not. However if you decide to buy the iPhone 3G from an Apple store you are free to choose your service provider. Moreover if you are purchasing the iPhone without any contract from the service provider, they will only give one iPhone per individual only. If however you are buying from the Apple inc store, you can buy as many numbers of iPhone 3G as you wish. Further to this, there is a difference in the way your phone is activated. If you are buying the iPhone 3G (without contract) from the service provider, you might have to pay the activation fees (most of the service providers charge that) and the activation is to be done at the back end by the service provider.

However if you are buying it from the Apple store, you can activate your iPhone online though the iTunes .

Now the question as to what is better, buying the iPhone 3G with contract or buy iphone 3g without contract ?

The answer to this would totally depend on what are the preferences of the user. If you have no preferences with regard to the service provider and find the services of AT&T in your are good and upto your expectations, there is no point shelling out extra bucks to buy an iPhone 3G. However if the answer is otherwise, you now have an extra option of being able to buy the iPhone without entering into any restrictive contract.

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First 4G Mobile Network Launches . . . In Sweden :(

For all of you waiting for mobile data networks to catch up to broadband speeds on cable and DSL, the first 4G/LTE network has arrived . . . in Sweden (and Norway too). The Scandinavians get everything first when it comes to mobile, except the iPhone. TeliaSonera launched the first two cities of its 4G network, which promises wireless download speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (yeah, right) using equipment from Ericsson and Huawei.

So if you live in Oslo or Stockholm, you get to try it out. Everyone else is out of luck. TeliaSonera says it will roll out the 4G service to 25 cities in Sweden and Norway in 2010. But you know how these things go. The full rollout may take longer because they are still trying to follow the instructions on how to put it together. They are pretty sure they are missing some bolts. (We’ve all been there).

For the rest of us, the wait will be even longer. Mobile carriers in the U.S. are struggling under the weight of soaring Web phone data usage. Their 3G networks can hardly keep up (cough, AT&T). Verizon is supposed to launch 4G/LTE service in the U.S. next year, and AT&T won’t offer its version of 4G until 2011.

Until then, I suggest you move to Stockholm.

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Current Crop of Smartphones: A Cost and Feature Comparison

BillShrink hits it out of the park with a handy infographic which compares the cost and features of the current generation of smartphones: the Nexus One, the Palm Pre, the Motorola Droid, and the iPhone 3GS.

Looking at this you realize 1.) there's no clear winner in the bunch feature-wise and 2.) we all spend a ridiculous amount of money on mobile phones and service. My only nitpick with this chart is that the T-Mobile/Nexus One 'Average Usage' plan should be listed at $79.99 a month, not $89.99 (unless they're counting taxes and fees). Head inside and click to enlarge the big picture to check it out.

Nexus One vs iPhone, Droid & Palm Pre - Total Cost of Ownership [BillShrink]

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YouTube - Nokia Morph

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