Android Market‘s major makeover is out now

The new version of the Android Market promised by Google earlier this month has begun rolling out to Android 2.2+ devices in the wild. The first sightings of the updated mobile application were made by members of the XDA-Developers forum, who have already extracted the mobile application and made it available to others who just can't wait for the download.

In addition to a refreshed user interface, U.S. users will also be able to rent thousands of movies from their device and purchase e-books. These two moves in particular make Android a more competitive option to the Apple iPhone than it had been previously.

Google announced the forthcoming update to the Android Market in mid-July, noting that movie prices will begin at $1.99. However, unlike on Apple's iTunes, there is no option to purchase movies, only rent them. Until now, movie rentals were available from the Web version of the Android Market, following Google's announcement of the new streaming service at its I/O Conference in May.

Movies on Mobile!

The addition of mobile movie rentals is probably the most notable change for the Android Market, as Android-based devices have been lacking in this department for many months. Third-party applications like mSpot helped to fill the void for some, but it was not until the launch of Hulu and Netflix on Android that users finally had access to vast media catalogs that their iPhone-toting counterparts had through both the iPhone versions of those apps, as well as iTunes.

But even at launch, the Netflix and Hulu catalogs weren't available to all Android device owners. Netflix, for example, is struggling to deal with the large and varied install base of Android hardware, and is painstakingly certifying devices one-by-one to meet the demands of studios who require that copyright protection technology is implemented on all streams. Hulu is in the exact same boat.

For these reasons, it's especially important that Google itself get involved in providing content options to a wider range of its Android users. Although the change won't be available to those on older Android devices, Android 2.2 and up is supported. This addresses the majority of the current market, according to Google's statistics. Only 21.1% of the Android install base is running Android 2.1 or lower.

It's also worth noting the addition of the mobile e-book store is arriving in this update, too. As with movie rentals, all book purchases will be linked to a user's Android account, and made available across all their devices, including phones, tablets and computers. And as with app purchases, all content downloads and video rentals can be added to a user's account without them having to manually sync their device with a computer over a USB cable.

New User Interface Mimics Some iTunes Features

To highlight the new features, the mobile Market has an updated user interface, which showcases the books and movie categories directly from the homescreen. Elsewhere, sections like 'Editor's Choice' and 'Staff Choices' go even further to mimic the iTunes experience of a curated collection of applications and recommendations. But there is not actually curation in terms of the apps accepted into the marketplace - all apps are immediately published upon developer submission.

The iTunes-like similarities don't end there, however.  Apps are now also easier to purchase - just one tap on the button displaying the app's price and a second tap to confirm the purchase.

For those Android users out there who can't stand the wait, and who know how to manage the installation of off-Market APK files, the Phandroid blog is hosting the link to the updated Market app. There are also instructions provided that will enable you to return to the old Market, if things go awry.

Cloud computing could lead to billions in energy savings

Another study out this week has found that if companies adopt cloud computing, they can reduce the energy consumption of their IT and save money on energy bills.The report, created by research firm Verdantix and sponsored by AT&T, estimates that cloud computing could enable companies to save $12.3 billion off their energy bills. That translates into carbon emission savings of 85.7 million metric tons per year by 2020.

The Verdantix report isn’t the first one to deliver such a finding. Last year Pike Research found that cloud computing could lead to a 38 percent reduction in worldwide data center energy use by 2020, compared to what the growth of data center energy consumption would be without cloud computing. Another study from Microsoft, Accenture and WSP Environment and Energy last year found that moving business applications to the cloud could cut the associated per-user carbon footprint by 30 percent for large, already-efficient companies and as much as 90 percent for the smallest and least efficient businesses.

All of that is good news. Cloud computing is one of the most disruptive Internet infrastructure shifts to happen in recent years. Web companies have been embracing cloud computing in order to buy flexible, lower cost, on-demand computing power from companies like Amazon. And these cloud computing services generally replace the computing that would have been done by companies’ own in-house computing resources.

However, it’s always good to take these studies with a grain of salt. There’s a reason AT&T and Microsoft are looking into the energy efficiency of cloud computing: they sell cloud computing services.

Other studies have also found that cloud computing isn’t always the most energy efficient computing option, and in certain instances the cloud can be more energy intensive than traditional in-office computing. A report from University of Melbourne researcher Rod Tucker and his team, which I wrote about for GigaOM Pro (subscription required), found that cloud computing can indeed save energy when it leads simply to the consolidation of servers, but looking at three different applications of cloud computing — storage, software and processing —  energy efficiency savings are negated in some scenarios.

For example, one such instance when the cloud isn’t more efficient, according to Tucker’s research, is when companies are using cloud computing for storing data. Tucker found that when the number of downloaded and accessed files becomes larger (more than one download per hour for a public cloud storage service), those energy efficiency gains are erased.

There’s enough research out there by now that shows that cloud computing is overall more energy efficient than traditional in-house computing. Which is great news for Internet companies and cloud computing providers. The growing energy consumption of the Internet, data centers and our always-on connected devices will only continue to grow, so efficiency trends will only to continue to become important.

Google Labs to be shut down

Google Inc will shut down a website that offered public access to experimental products, the latest step by the company to refocus resources under Chief Executive Larry Page.

Google said it will "wind down" Google Labs, ending many of the projects offered on the site, in a move to "prioritize its product efforts," the company said on its corporate blog.

Google said that many of the products and technology from Google Labs would be incorporated into some of the company's other products, which range from the world's No. 1 search engine to its popular Android smartphone operating system.

Google Labs functions as a central hub for the various projects created by Google employees, who are allowed to spend up to 20 percent of their time working on side-projects. Google Labs products were available as prototypes that users could try out and provide feedback on, while Google made ongoing changes and adjustments.

Among the products listed as "alumni" of Google Labs on the Labs website are Google Maps, Google Alerts and Google Transit.

A Google spokesman said the closure of Google Labs was unrelated to the company's 20 percent time policy .

"We don't have any changes to announce regarding 20 percent time. We'll continue to devote a subset of our time to newer and experimental projects. In fact, we'll be focusing this same creative energy on bigger bets, with bigger potential long-term payoffs," the Google spokesman said in an emailed statement.

The closure of Google Labs comes a few months after Google co-founder Page took the CEO reins in April.

Last month Google said it was pulling the plug on a pair of products that let consumers monitor their home energy consumption and keep track of their personal health records.

On Google's second-quarter earnings conference call last week, Page said the company was moving to put "more wood behind fewer arrows."

The Google spokesperson said the company did not have any specific timing for the end of Google Labs, but said it would provide updates on the Google Labs website. 

Google+: 5 Big Developments

Google+ is not even two weeks old yet and is already becoming a social networking favorite among early adopters.

Estimates for the social network's user base run as high as 5 million, websites are quickly adopting the +1 button, and the service is gettingaccolades from critics. It's not clear if Google+ is here to stay yet or will end up another piece of refuse in Google's social networking trash heap along with Buzz, Wave, and Orkut. But for now things are looking up for Google's latest social experiment.

If you haven't signed up yet, or haven't been able to, here's a look at five notable developments that have already happened on Google+.

[Read: 5 Ways Google+ Could Fall Flat ]

Digg and MySpace +1 Google

Digg Founder Kevin Rose announced on Saturday that he was forwarding his own domain,KevinRose.com, to his Google+ page, essentially moving his online activity to the new network.

Tom Anderson, cofounder of MySpace, has an extensive presence on Google+. Anderson even used Google+ to write a blog post praising Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg for the company's recent Skype integration. Even Zuckerberg himself, the reigning king of social networks, reportedly has a Google+ presence; however, with six Mark Zuckerbergs to choose from, I'll leave it to you to figure out which one is the real deal.

Related Slideshow: 10 Google+ Tips for Beginners

Crowd Sourced Tips and Tricks

Google+ has some dedicated users who have already banded together to create a tips and tricks guideon Google Docs called Google+: A Collaborative Document.

The document is more than 40 pages long and covers topics such as creative ways to use circles, privacy tips, how to send private messages, and an extensions guide for Chrome and Safari. The guide is currently in English, but is being translated into Chinese, German and Russian.

+1 Buttons Grow

Google+ may have a long way to go to challenge Facebook's dominance, but the social network is already taking a run at Twitter, according to an online report.

BrightEdge, an SEO platform for businesses, says there are already more Google+ share buttons (known as the +1 button) on the web than Twitter sharing plugins. Among the 10,000 most heavily trafficked websites around 4.5 percent have +1 buttons, while only 2.1 percent have Twitter buttons.

Of course, both of those numbers pale in comparison to Facebook's various sharing plugins at 20 percent of the top websites. Google announced +1 in March and made buttons for third-party sites available in early June.

Business Pages Coming

Enterprises are reportedly anxious to get into Google+ and the company plans to open up its social experiment to business pages in the near future.

Once that happens, you have to wonder if Google Offers, the search giant's answer to Facebook Dealsand Groupon, might also expand into Google+.

Invites are Stabilizing

For a while there, Google+'s habit of suddenly turning on and off its invites feature was getting annoying.

Early users also complained they would invite friends, but by the time your buddies actually got around to checking out the service, Google+ wouldn't be accepting new sign-ups. It's not the most welcoming message if you want to get new users.

But the invites situation appears to have stabilized, at least for the moment. The link to invite people to join Google+ has remained in place since Saturday.

HTC's Facebook Phone 'HTC ChaCha' launched in India; priced at Rs. 15,990

We had reported earlier this year that HTC would be launching two Facebook phones – HTC Salsa and HTC ChaCha. HTC Salsa was made available in India last month, while HTC ChacCha has been launched in the country today. HTC has partnered with India's Tata Docomo for the launch of the much-awaited smartphone. The Android-based smartphone has been long touted as the Facebook phone. HTC's latest smartphone comes for just Rs. 15,990 – heats up competition in the mid-range smartphone segment!

Apple iPhone 4 vs. Samsung Galaxy S II vs. HTC Sensation, the heavyweights face-off 

HTC ChaCha is sleek and a feature rich smartphone as it boasts of a 2.6-inch touch screen (480x320p), full QWERTY keypad, and of course the dedicated button for Facebook! ChaCha has a 5MP rear camera with autofocus and LED flash and a VGA front-facing camera for video calling. The other notable features are high speed HSPDA network, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB connectivity, a 3.5 mm audio jack, G sensor, digital compass, 1250 mAh battery, music player and video player. HTC ChaCha runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and has an 800 MHz processor.

Facebook Integration

According to multiple reports, the interface of ChaCha has been specially tweaked to ensure smooth Facebook integration. The dedicated Facebook button allows you to share photos or video instantly. The users can similarly use the button to update status and photos. The latest updates from your Facebook account are displayed right on your home screen.

HTC ChaCha & Tata Docomo

As a part of the offer, Tata Docomo is offering 3 GB free data valid for 90 days to its 3G prepaid customers. In addition, postpaid 3G customers get 1GB free every month valid for 90 days. All the 3G customers will get 3 hours of free Mobile TV that is inclusive of data access charges valid for 90 days.

For the 2G prepaid customers, the offer has free data usage up to 3GB and free 300 Tata to Tata local calls.

HTC ChaCha & Rivals

As expected, HTC ChaCha finds itself in direct competition with other mid-range smartphones such as Nokia E6. The Nokia smartphone, launched in India last month, has a 2.46- inch capacitive touchscreen, smaller than HTC ChaCha's 2.6-inch touchscreen. However, 2.6-inch touchscreen is unlikely to give you the “wholesome” touch experience. Moreover, Nokia E6 is priced at quite a bit more than the HTC ChaCha.

HTC ChaCha, however, can find itself above its rivals with its 'exclusive Facebook' button. The feature is certainly going to attract Facebook-crazy youth in India.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer launched in India at Rs. 32,999, with laptop dock

Asus has launched the Asus Eee Pad Transformer in India with more than a week to go in July, as expected. The Transformer launched in India is the 16GB Wi-Fi only version, pricing it at Rs. 32,899 – quite high without the 3G connectivity, but if you consider that the optional dock ($150) which famously ‘transforms’ the 10.1-inch tablet into a laptop has been bundled with it, it almost works out.

This is the first of four tablets that Asus showed off at CES this year - the Eee Pad MeMo andSlider, as well as the Windows-based Eee Slate EP121. Asus has not confirmed when these products will be arriving in India. The Transformer has made a name for itself ever since its release, unofficially earning the title of bestselling Android tablet. The device should come withAndroid 3.1 Honeycomb preloaded, upgradable to 3.2.

 Transformer has a 10.1-inch IPS display (1280x800 pixels) that is considered at almost par with the iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1. It is powered by the 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 SoC processor, comes with 1GB of RAM, and can deliver up to 8 hours of battery life. Other specifications include a 5MP rear autofocus camera capable of 720p HD video recording, and a whole assortment of ports: mini HDMI, microSD/SD, and microUSB. The laptop dock has a full sized keyboard, a touchpad, 2 USB ports, and a battery pack, giving it up to 14 hours of juice.

While the news will be welcome by those eager to buy a tablet in India, Asus is also scheduled to launch the upgradedTransformer 2 by the end of the year, so as always, waiting might just pay off. Let us know what you think about Asus' pricing of the Transformer in India in the comments section below...Should they have made the dock optional?

Android 3.2 and SDK released

Google has just released the latest revision to the Android platform, Android 3.2 . Android 3 as you might know is Google’s Android solution for Tablets.

The latest version brings a number of enhancements, and touts optimization across the system that aim to improve the performance of the OS on current Tablet devices using the OS.

Android has a large and growing collection of applications that are created for mobiles, and Android 3.2 introduces a new compatibility zoom feature to enable applications designed for older, smaller-screen devices to run on Android 3.2.

The new compatibility zoom feature adds a button to the system bar that offers two modes of operation when a user is running an app designed for older versions of Android. A “Zoom to fill screen” option enables this compatibility mode, where Android emulates a smaller screen device for the application, but scales it up so it takes up the entire screen space. Another option “Stretch to fill screen” uses the usual methods of layout resizing that might not work well with older applications.

Android also now allows users to sync media from their SD card, if their device support s them.

For developers, the API for managing screens support has been extended, thus allowing the same application package to target a wider variety of devices, and to look better on such devices by using the correct resources. New manifest attributes enable more precise control over the UI for different sized screens.

Applications can declare the maximum and minimum screen sizes they support, and soon the Android Market will allow filtering based on this attribute. Applications can now also support TVs running Android, by specifying the resources to use when android is running on such devices.

iOS Projects Leapfrog Android

The number of projects being developed for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch has jumped this year, while Android's share of the market has dropped, according to analysts.

Flurry, a provider of in-application analytics for mobile devices, reported there was a second quarter surge in development of new software for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch in the second quarter. The report, released yesterday, states that the number of iOS projects rose to 57 percent of what developers were working on, from 54 percent in the first quarter. The number of iPad projects rose to 15 percent from 10 percent. Meanwhile, while the number of projects aimed at Google's Android OS dropped to 28 percent from 36 percent.

This is the second quarter that Apple has gained in developer interest and Android has declined; the report cites the launch of the iPad2 and the introduction of the iPhone to U.S. network Verizon as major factors.

"Apple reported that it had sold a cumulative 200 million iOS devices. Currently the App Store contains more than 425,000 apps, with total downloads surpassing 15 billion," stated the report. "From the developer's point of view, the most attractive aspect of the iOS consumer audience is that they all have credit cards on file with iTunes. This means 100% of them can seamlessly pay for apps and in-app purchases. All told, the App Store offers a powerful business opportunity to developers and has attracted leading mobile developer support."

However the report also noted that Google's more open Android OS distribution strategy has garnered the support of numerous notable OEMs. "This is spawning a rapidly growing installed base of Android devices that is gunning to overtake the iOS installed base," said the report.

Google+ officially hits 10 million users milestone in just 2 weeks

Google's latest social network experiment Google+ is going great guns. The Internet companyannounced that the new social network platform has grown more than 10 million users in just two weeks. The official announcement comes days after a third party estimate regarding the 10 million magic figure. The speedy growth of Google+ is certainly remarkable but it still lags very far behind Facebook, which boasts of 750 million users.

“We are in the middle of our quarterly earnings call right now. Here are the remarks I just gave. One key stat: Over 10M Google+ users!” says Google CEO Larry Page on his Google+ page. Larry also highlights the fact that Google+ is still in its initial stage and that the response has been overwhelming. He adds, “Google+ is still only in field trial with limited access as we scale the system Users have to be invited, sign up with a profile in order to use it.”

“However, the growth on Google+ has been great--and I’m excited to release some new metrics for you today. Over 10M people have joined Google+ Great achievement for the team.”

The CEO also pointed out at the success of +1 feature: “This quarter, we released +1 buttons to the entire web, and many sites like Huffington Post, the Washington Post and Best Buy have added +1 buttons.

“Our +1 button is already all over the web. It’s being served 2.3 billion times a day”.

Facebook vs Google+: War intensified?

Mark Zuckerberg seemed relaxed when asked about the challenges posed by Google+. TheFacebook founder stressed the 750 million users will not let the company lag behind the rivals. Interestingly, the “750 million users” point was coined after Facebook had launched its Skype-powered video chat service – a feature that was considered as response to Google+ video chat feature.

The rapid growth of Google+ has apparently intensified the competition between the two Internet companies. Facebook presently tops the social network segment but how long it will be in the driver's seat? The 10 million figure is pretty remarkable and it will be stupid on part of Facebook to ignore it. It's pertinent to mention here Google+ is still in its initial phase and a closed one. It will be a huge push for Google+ if it's opened up.

Readers, tell us what you think about this intense rivalry in the comments section below.

Google's revenues grow in 2nd quarter

Meanwhile, Google has announced its financial results for the second quarter that ended on June 30, 2011. Google reported revenues of USD 9.03 billion for the second quarter, an increase of 32pc compared to the second quarter of 2010.

Google reports its revenues, consistent with GAAP, on a gross basis without deducting traffic acquisition costs (TAC). In the second quarter of 2011, TAC totaled USD 2.11 billion, or 24pc of advertising revenues. Detailed financial results can be downloaded from here.

“We had a great quarter, with revenue up 32pc year on year for a record breaking over USD 9 billion of revenue,” added Larry Page.

5 Big Tech Players; 5 Bad Android Apps

Google's Android platform certainly has no shortage of applications.

The Android Market, as of Google's last official estimate, boasts more than 200,000 apps on its virtual shelves. But impressive as that number may seem, Android apps can sometimes leave you feeling unsatisfied. Sure, there are plenty of quality creations--but there are also some big-name programs either missing important features or just missing altogether. We're going to look at subpar offerings from Facebook, Netflix, Skype and others.

Here are five of Android's biggest app fails--from tech companies that should know better--along with some workarounds to help you ease the pain.

Android App Fail #1: Facebook

When we polled various Android users about their app letdowns, the most common response--by a landslide--was Facebook. The comments on the Facebook app's Android Market page say it all:

"Can't see newly uploaded pics unless you log out and log back in. Force closes once in while. ... OMG. FIX!"

"Notifications faulty. News feed screen unresponsive. App has become so horrid that I no longer use FB."

"Dear Facebook. Your app on Android is complete crap. Can you take a few hours away from finding new ways to publish my private info and fix this app?"

You get the idea. Without exaggeration, I was unable to find a single positive remark on the first 10 pages of comments on the day I looked (I gave up after that point).

The Facebook Android app is often unstable and lacks many popular features.Here's the truth: While the Facebook Android app has undoubtedly improved over recent months--it used to lack support for messaging, chat, and even photo-viewing--it still has more than its fair share of problems. Aside from the stability issues mentioned above, the app provides no way to edit a profile, delete a wall post, or tag a photo. Tapping an item in your News Feed rarely does what you expect, and the overall experience--to borrow a certain company's buzzword--leaves little to "like."

The workaround: You could always use the Facebook mobile site; many users actually find it less unpleasant than the standalone app. Or you can try a more fully featured third-party alternative like FriendCaster,available for $4.99 (or free in an ad-supported version). For tablets, a third-party app called Friend Me currently offers the best large-screen-optimized Facebook experience.

Android App Fail #2: Netflix

A close second on the Android app annoy-a-meter is Netflix. The movie-streaming service remained entirely unavailable on Android until this May, when the company proudly announced support...for a whopping five devices. Woo-hoo?

Netflix has since expanded to support nine Android handsets, but the vast majority of users are still lacking a way to stream movies mobile-style. And perhaps most irksome of all, not a single Android tablet--you know, the kind of gadget that's ideal for watching a film--has official Netflix support as of the publication date of this article.

The workaround: Developers from the Android community have created a modified version of the Netflix app that works on several additional devices. The results are hit and miss, but you can always give it a whirl to see if it does the trick for you. Aside from that, your only real option at the moment is to use an alternative movie service like Google Movies--or to wait impatiently while quietly grumbling.

Android App Fail #3: Skype

Skype has been a downer for Android users since day 1. Initially, the app was limited only to Verizon phones. Then last October, Skype finally launched platform-wide support--but the experience, to put it nicely, was about as appealing as rotten eggs. Skype's Android offering was restrictive and confusing, with different versions for different carriers and tons of restrictions on how you could place calls.

Most Android devices still don't support Skype video calling.Skype's Android efforts have gotten a little less lousy over time, but the company's app approach still leaves plenty to be desired. The most glaring omission is the feature most users want: Skype-based video calling. Just in the past month, Skype has started to offer video chat to Android devices, but so far, only four phones are supported.

The workaround: A free app called Fring supports video chat on most Android devices; the only catch is that you can chat only with other users who also have this app installed.

If you're using an Android Honeycomb tablet or a phone with Android 2.3, you can use Google's preinstalled Google Talk app to video-chat with anyone else signed into the service from a phone, tablet, or PC.

Or, if you're feeling adventurous, you can try installing an unofficially modified version of the Skype app onto your Android device. A couple ofdifferent versions exist; try them at your own risk.

Android App Fail #4: Instapaper

You can't find Instapaper on Android, but third-party clients like InstaFetch can help fill the void.Instapaper is a great tool for saving stories so you can read them later. The only problem: Its developer doesn't support Android--and, based on the Apple-centric and Android-critical remarks posted to his personal blog, I wouldn't place any wagers on him jumping on the bandwagon anytime soon.

The lack of an official app for such a popular service is annoying, to say the least--but it doesn't have to be detrimental.

The workaround: If you're set on using the Instapaper service, you can find several good third-party clients within the Android Market. I likeInstaFetch; EverPaper is another popular option. If you don't mind ditching Instapaper altogether, you can get pretty much the same features with Read It Later, which does offer official Android support. Or you can use an Android-friendly note-taking app like Springpad orEvernote to clip pages and perform a whole lot of other functions, too. Personally, I find that to be a more useful and robust solution.

Android App Fail #5: Google Calendar

When you use a Google-powered phone, you expect to have awesome Google applications. In many ways, Android does meet this expectation--with Gmail, for example, or Google Voice Actions--but if you use Google Calendar on an Android phone, you may feel a letdown.

The Business Calendar app offers functionality for users that is not found in the default Android Calendar application.Google's default Calendar app isn't awful, per se, but it certainly isn't awesome. The app gives you a useless month-long view with no intuitive way of actually seeing your appointments (unless seeing a series of tiny blue dots tells you everything you need to know). Its "agenda" view is cluttered and confusing, and even the included home-screen widget is lackluster.

This flaw, however, indirectly highlights one of Android's strengths compared with other mobile operating systems: You aren't restricted to the default system software. You can always swap out any element of the OS for something more to your liking. And that brings us to our final workaround...

The workaround: Download Business Calendar. This app transforms your phone's calendar into what it should have been from the start: You get month-long views with snippets about all your upcoming events; you can tap on any day to bring up a scrollable pop-up window with detailed information; you can flick your finger to scroll from week to week; you can even pinch to zoom into any specific time period.

Business Calendar does a lot more, too, and best of all, you don't have to pay a dime for most of its features. The free version of the app has just a tiny smattering of unobtrusive ads (I've never actually encountered one when using the program). If you want to go pro, you can upgrade to the full version of Business Calendar for about $5; it axes the ads and adds in a few extra bells and whistles.

Business Calendar comes with a respectable set of home-screen widgets. If you want even more calendar power on your home screen, try Pure Calendar Widget, available for about $2. It lets you custom-build a calendar widget, creating your own look and feel and making your widget work almost any way you want.