Nokia Maps gets upgraded, Messaging hits most devices
by Darren Murph 
posted Dec 2nd 2008 @ 8:27AM
Read - Nokia Maps update
Read - Mail / Messaging
gtalk posts
Read - Nokia Maps update
Read - Mail / Messaging
Google chimes in on GTalk, Bluetooth removals from Android SDK
by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 26th 2008 @ 1:03PM
So we can rest easy for another night -- and the so can the Bluetooth headsets of would-be Dream owners, knowing they've dodged a bullet and won't be unceremoniously tossed into the compactor in a couple months' time. The removal of Bluetooth APIs for developers in the latest build of the Android SDK stoked fears that the nearly ubiquitous standard would somehow get dropped from the first round of devices, but Google has stepped in with the straight dope to clarify why exactly the references disappeared: Android's developers plumb ran out of time to make it available and fully functional to third parties. Engineer Nick Pelly makes it clear on no uncertain terms that the first devices will support headsets and the like out of the box, but to meet the gold deadline, they had to nix it from the publicly accessible APIs. The good news is that they want to add usable APIs back in with a future, post-1.0 release, but that won't be doing the first round of devs (and buyers) much good.The story with another yanked API, meanwhile, is a little different. As the name implies, GTalkService was intended to open up Google Talk's XMPP-based framework to applications in such a way that they could be handled like any other message on the device. Cool, yes, but the company's security gurus realized that the functionality opened up a potential can of security worms, noting for instance that a multiplayer game could repurpose a user's Google Talk account for in-game contact, at which point a bunch of random n00bs could suddenly appear on your buddy list. Not cool. Google's verbiage leads us to believe that GTalkService won't be reintroduced any time soon, either, so we're just going to have to get over that one.
[Via Android Community]
Nimbuzz lets you call your IM buddies
by Omar McFarlane posted Jan 26th 2007 @ 4:54PM
We've all been there -- you need to get in contact with your friends; they're not answering their phones. You know they're online, but you need to have an actual voice conversation. Well, rejoice, our frustrated friends -- for Nimbuzz plans to bridge the gap between instant messaging and cellphones. Its currently-in-beta (no surprise there), free-to-download app supports "more than 500 [Java-enabled] mobile devices" and allows you to call and initiate voice chats with your buddies on Google Talk and MSN / Windows Live Messenger. In addition to keeping you on top of your online friends, it lets you make international calls to other cellphones at local rates, so long as whomever you are calling also has Nimbuzz installed on their device. Besides that, you also get free text messaging and the ability to have Group Calls with up to five buddies on your contact list regardless of how they are connected, and Nimbuzz says it is currently working on getting your AIM, ICQ, Yahoo! and Skype friends into the mix. Now that you know, we hope you don't mind as we run and make a few overdue calls to our pals across the pond and in the far East.T-Mobile's BlackBerry 8700g reviewed
by Evan Blass posted May 4th 2006 @ 2:46PM
Despite Cingular's
claim of being "the network with the least dropped calls," PC Mag's Sascha Segan finds that T-Mobile's version
of the BlackBerry 8700 smartphone, the 8700g, actually
outperforms its 8700c cousin in terms of call quality. Other
improvements upon the Cingular model are T-Mobile's addition of two key software features: the OZ semi-universal IM
client (no Gtalk, and AIM users are restricted to their small mobile buddy group) as well as the first implementation
of the Yahoo!/RIM
partnership we heard about last month, in the form of a handy Y! Mail icon pre-loaded in the launcher. Besides
these small differences, however, Sascha finds the 8700g to perform almost exactly the same as the 8700c -- that is,
very well. Email and texting are a pleasure, attachment support is good for all but PDF files, and the crisp screen
delivers web pages cleanly (albeit at EDGE speeds), making this seem like the new go-to device for the Mob's business
clientele.
