Nexus One - activate ADB connection mode

By default, the Nexus One is not visible from ADB while executing the adb devices command from the terminal.

$ adb devices
List of devices attached
emulator-5554 device


Instead, it can be is mounted like a USB key.

To access the Nexus One using ADB commands, the USB debugging mode has to be checked in the Android global setting (Menu button, then Settings item, then Applications item, then Development item, then check USB debugging mode).

$ adb devices
List of devices attached
emulator-5554 device
xxxxxxxxxxxx device


Nexus One - tweaks and bugfixes in the alternative firmware from the famous XDA's Cyanogen

XDA's Cyanogen announced an alternative firmware (CyanogenMod 5.0 (beta2) for Nexus One) for the Google's Nexus One.

Follow the link to get more details and instructions to install it. Among the many good enhancements, there is at least one all early Nexus One's owners will welcome "Many other bugfixes and tweaks from AOSP contributors". And I strongly hope Google include those bugfixes and tweaks in the official update that has been announced on the forum's thread Spotty 3G Part 2?.

Nexus One - available in France on MeilleurMobile.com

Even if the Nexus One is not officialy available in France, it can be bought on MeilleurMobile.com's site.

Nexus One and iPhone connectivity problems - are smartphones revealing the real 3G network quality of mobile operator providers ?

After the HotHardWire's article AT&T Insiders Report iPhone Exclusivity Going Away On Wednesday that's telling us that some part of the iPhoneconnectivity problems may rely on the AT&T 3G network quality — the other part coming from the iPhone itself —, it seems that the Nexus One's connectivity problems also comes from the T-mobile's 3G networks quality — the other part coming from the Nexus One itself —, according to the post 3G Issues on the Nexus One (sadly, the Google's source isn't cited in the post) "It looks like Google has come up with a two-part explanation for the crappy service on the Nexus One. The first half is a weak 3G network with T-Mobile, the second half is software related. There should be an OTA coming out soon to fix the issue.".

Are smartphones revealing the real 3G network quality of mobile operator providers ?

iPhone too seems to have connectivity problems

According to the HotHardWire's article AT&T Insiders Report iPhone Exclusivity Going Away On Wednesday, it seems that iPhone also have connectivity problems : "Inside of AT&T, we are hearing that the iPhone is causing more trouble than ever before. On some level, having the iPhone is hurting AT&T's image. Because they are the only company to carry it, and it's such a data hog, it's largely to blame for AT&T's network troubles. We don't remember hearing about AT&T's "horrible network" before the iPhone--do you? The iPhone itself doesn't really handle the switch from 3G to EDGE very well, so calls that are in-progress tend to fail whenever the 3G bands aren't optimal and the phone attempts to step down to EDGE. It seems that AT&T is tired of taking the heat for this, and at this point, they may be smart to just let another carrier take some of those customers who are most inclined to complain."

Nexus One (N1) - after a few days

After a few days, I still love my Nexus One. It's very fast, nice, slim, ... With this phone, Android is now on par with the iPhone, at least with the 2G and 3G ones - I don't know for the 3GS as I haven't use one so far.

But from times to times, the Nexus One starts to have a very strange behavior, when for example, trying to click (touch) one of the buttons bellow the screen triggers a completely different action than what you ask for. It seems to happen more frequently when a lot of apps have been opened and the phone hasn't been restarted for some times ... It also seems that using the Advanced Task Killer to kill some tasks only makes things worse. The best solution I have found so far is to power down the phone and power it on just after. As everything goes right just after the reboot, I suspect some app to behave the wrong way.

Asus's view of the future : Waveface - the right information anywhere anytime

Asus's view of the future has a name : Waveface.

As it is said in the video, it's all about information that come to you in mobility, anywhere, anytime :

• relevant push info
• smart search
• intuitive usability via gesture controls
• context based info gathering via location based services
• smart organizer
• flat sharing mode
• sync with cloud
• and information sharing during family time

It reminds Vernor Vinge's novel Rainbows End.


(source : Journal du Geek)

Other links :

• Waveface by Asus
• ASUS Waveface concept line shown off during our lifetime, might be available after it
• ASUS Waveface concept: photos
• Asus Unveils Waveface Ultra Flexible OLED Smartphone Bracelet
• Asus Waveface concepts
• and finally some more technical material : WaveFace Software

Nexus One and multi touch - not available officially, but hacker make it available

The Google's Nexus One doesn't have multitouch right out of the box, as Andy Rubin (Andy Rubin on Wikipedia) explains at CES. This is not the only reason, as many suspect a non aggression pact between Google and Apple.

But as Android is an open source system, Cyanogen, a hacker from xda-developers just release a Multi touch browser for the Nexus

For the moment, the multitouch is just for the browser. But it works.

"
Who wants multitouch for their N1 browser?

I just whipped this up, this will be in my upcoming ROM. The pinch-zoom helper code was written by Luke Hutchison.

WARNING: You may lose your bookmarks and browser settings by doing this.

"
Read the full post, get the apk and the instruction to install it on your Nexus One

The key point to understand with the lack of official support for multitouch in Android, it's that it make developers develop applications without multitouch metaphor. So, when the multitouch will be officially supported by Android, the whole ecosystem will have to adapt in a big move to adopt multitouch behavior, gestures, metaphor, ... in the design of the applications. As times passes, the gap between the iPhone and Android system is going wider and wider, as iPhone already has multitouch but Android not. So, there will be a day where Google will have to take the risk to contend Apple on what seems to be an essential feature.

Apple vs Google - on the ongoing battle between previously strategic allies

BusinessWeek publish Apple vs. Google, an article on Apple Inc. and Google subtitled "How the battle between Silicon Valley's superstars will shape the future of mobile computing". This article gives clues to understand what is going on between the two compagnies that were strategic allies and that now consider each other more likely as a concurrent. It seems to be all a matter of how to make money from ads on mobile devices.

The side bar contains the following table :

Beside the figures, the way they consider business, the mind of the compagny, the Big challenge they have to face to, the decision process and employees who matter are interresting.

Here is another article, The battle for the clouds (Google) from the What matters..... blog to complete the BusinessWeek article.

First days with the Nexus One

After a few days using the Nexus One, I'm very happy of my purchase. The phone is very fast : sliding on a photo, scrolling a web page, entering a message using the virtual keyboard. Surfing the web is a pleasure, and the Nexus is now on par with the iPhone. There's sometimes some lag time when I click (touch) on a link and the browser starting to load the page, but all in all, there's a huge improvement over my previous Htc Magic. The user interface has been reworked and is nicer. The battery seems to last longer, but I can't say by how much.

Does the new Nexus One Google Android phone have 3G connection problems ?

According to some reports, it seems the new Nexus One Google Android phone have 3G connection problems. A thread (http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=0bd8ccd4799040c2&hl=en) has been opened on this issue on the support forum that has been setup by Google for the Nexus One.

Personally, I don't have witnessed such problems with my Nexus One. I even use it on the underground where I previously stopped using my Htc Magic as I have experienced terrible performances to catch up with the frequent switchings between 2G, 2.5G and 3G networks.

Nexus One - how to get it even if it is not available now in your country

Today, the Google Nexus One is only available in very few countries. If you want to buy it now, not waiting for it's availability in your country, all you have to do is 3 things :

1. get a postal address in the United States : on : MyUS.com for example
2. connect to the Nexus One store using a proxy in the united States : you can find a list of proxy here
3. and buy it on the Nexus Site using your Google Checkout account. Creating a Google Checkout account is free but you have to have a credit card to pay

The process is detailled (in French) here on  sosandroid.fr. A forum for french speaking people has even been setup here.

The total cost is about 532 euros :

• 393 euros ($563) for the Nexus One on Google Checkout ($529 for the phone + $34 for Florida taxes as the phone will be sent to your US address by FedEx)
• 9 euros for the bank commission as you pay in dollars
• 7 euros ($10) for the creation of your local address in the US through MyUS.com
• 1 euros for the bank commission as you pay in dollars
• 40 euros ($58) for the shipment from your US address to your local address in your country ; MyUS.com uses the cheaper way (DHL in this case) but you can ask for another way of shipping
• 1 euros for the bank commission as you pay in dollars
• 82 euros for the custom in France

It will take about 7 days to get the phone.

Then you can be happy ;-)
Enjoy !!

Nexus One (N1) - not available in your country

The new Google SuperPhone - the Nexus One (N1) - is available in very few countries today : United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore.

This is how most of us feel about the Nexus One.

Adam Hartung on Google and the Nexus One - the disruption by Google

Adam Hartung thinks Google is right not considering it's homepage a sacred cow, making there a disruption that should be able to help them to grow business.

Read the whole story here Sacred cows - Google and Nexus One.

By the way, Adam Hartung is the author of the very insightful and very good business book Create Marketplace Disruption. It's all about innovation as the only way to stay ahead of competition, and on disruption as a way to manage business.

Track Site - the QR code

Track Site can be found on the Android Market using it's QR-code directly from the Android phone.

The Barcode scanner app should be installed on the phone, as stated by PointGPhone site.

How to take a screenshot of an Android device / emulator from Eclipse

It's rather simple to take a screenshot of an android device or of the emulator from the Eclipse IDE. The instructions are here on the AndroLib site.

Happy New Year and Best Wishes to Android for 2010 - should we make the best use of Android for the Good of all of us

Everything is in the title !! ;-)

For some years now, mobility had started to be more and more important, taking more and more space, and being more and more a reality. There's still a lot of evolutions to advent on the device side before some of the great promises of the Science Fiction — books, movies, ... — can be fulfilled. And those evolutions on the device side will drive deep evolutions not only on the way we use the devices but also on the way we behave, that is to say on our civilisation.

Businesses like Google, Apple, Archos, Facebook, Twitter ... just to cite some of them, have already started to change the way we behave, making businesses more web-oriented and making us more connected for example. They all want to continue to be the businesses of the future, and thus want to continue to shape our future.

As citizens, it's our responsibility to define what we want for our future, to say what we are ready to accept, and what we are not. We can do it as customers, as we have a great impact on existing businesses and on those that may appear. And we can do it as developers, as we can help fulfill existing customers needs, and even makes it possible for new needs/behaviors to emerge.

Android is one of those many technologies that should help us today to shape part of our future. So my Best Wishes to Android, to it's eco-system — apps developers and all the people that make businesses with and around it — and to all the Users for 2010.

Should we make the best use of Android for the Good of all of us.