Is Motorola's #Xoom real competition for #iPad

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Amplify’d from ptech.allthingsd.com

Motorola’s Xoom Starts Tablet Wars With iPad

The Xoom’s screen is long and narrow, good for widescreen video.

After months of speculation, the tablet wars begin in earnest this week. Motorola is releasing its Xoom tablet on Feb. 24, and I consider it the first truly comparable competitor to Apple’s hit iPad. That is partly because it is the first iPad challenger to run Honeycomb, an elegant new version of Google’s Android operating system designed especially for tablets.

The Xoom has a more potent processor than the current iPad; front and rear cameras versus none for the iPad; better speakers; and higher screen resolution. It also can be upgraded free later this year to support Verizon’s faster 4G cellular data network (though monthly fees may rise.)

Motorola is taking aim at the iPad just as Apple is expected to announce, next week, a second-generation of its tablet. Little is known about this second iPad, but it’s widely expected to take away at least one of the Xoom’s advantages over the original iPad—cameras—and is rumored to be thinner and lighter, since weight was one of the most common complaints about the generally praised first iPad.

The iPad has way more tablet-specific apps—around 60,000 versus a handful—and, in my tests, much better battery life. Plus, whatever the specs say, it’s a fast device with a beautiful screen that delights people daily. But, overall, the Xoom with Honeycomb is a strong alternative to the original iPad, and one that will only improve over time.

Unfortunately for consumers looking for iPad alternatives, the Xoom has an Achilles’ heel: price. While iPads come in a range of models priced all the way up to $829—none of which requires a cellphone contract—Apple’s entry price for the iPad is just $499. By contrast, the base price of a Xoom without a cellphone contract is $800—60% more. And even with a Verizon two-year contract at $20 to $80 a month—depending on the data limit you choose—the least you can pay for a Xoom is $600, or 20% more before counting the contract costs. Read more at ptech.allthingsd.com

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READ & Share w App. lovers: #Facebook Privacy no worries, YOU MUST WORRY about LACK of Privacy from your APP.

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Amplify’d from www.wallstreetjournal.com

Your Apps Are Watching You

Few devices know more personal details about people than the smartphones in their pockets: phone numbers, current location, often the owner's real name—even a unique ID number that can never be changed or turned off.

These phones don't keep secrets. They are sharing this personal data widely and regularly,

An examination of 101 popular smartphone "apps"—games and other software applications for iPhone and Android phones—showed that 56 transmitted the phone's unique device ID to other companies without users' awareness or consent. Forty-seven apps transmitted the phone's location in some way. Five sent age, gender and other personal details to outsiders.

Among the apps tested, the iPhone apps transmitted more data than the apps on phones using Google Inc.'s Android operating system.

oth the Android and iPhone versions of Pandora, a popular music app, sent age, gender, location and phone identifiers to various ad networks.

"In the world of mobile, there is no anonymity," says Michael Becker of the Mobile Marketing Association, an industry trade group. A cellphone is "always with us. It's always on."

Smartphone users are all but powerless to limit the tracking. With few exceptions, app users can't "opt out" of phone tracking, as is possible, in limited form, on regular computers. On computers it is also possible to block or delete "cookies," which are tiny tracking files. These techniques generally don't work on cellphone apps.

Many apps don't offer even a basic form of consumer protection: written privacy policies. Forty-five of the 101 apps didn't provide privacy policies on their websites or inside the apps at the time of testing. Neither Apple nor Google requires app privacy policies.

Many developers offer apps for free, hoping to profit by selling ads inside the app. Noah Elkin of market researcher eMarketer says some people "are willing to tolerate advertising in apps to get something for free." Of the 101 apps tested, the paid apps generally sent less data to outsiders. Ad sales on phones account for less than 5% of the $23 billion in annual Internet advertising. But spending on mobile ads is growing faster than the market overall. Read more at www.wallstreetjournal.com

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#MotorolaAtrix, phone meets computer...I think i'm in love...umm wait..

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Amplify’d from www.att.com

The dream of a continuous, connected experience comes alive with the ATRIX 4G. Imagine – one device for the many parts of your digital life. From smartphone to laptop, from entertainment center to in-dash navigator, the ATRIX 4G doesn’t miss a beat. Read an email from a friend, call them to make dinner plans, get directions to the restaurant, and then watch a movie afterward – it’s all in the palm of your hand.

Powered by the Android 2.2 operating system, the ATRIX 4G can be customized to your heart’s content with the thousands of apps available from the Android Market. Of course, be sure to start with our own apps at the AT&T AppCenter. Learn more about Android Visit the AT&T AppCenter Read more at www.att.com

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Run #Android Apps on Non-Android #CellPhone Devices #Meego

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Amplify’d from www.mediabistro.com

Alien Dalvik Virtual Machine Will Let Android Apps Run on Non-Android Devices (MeeGo)

Dalvik is an Open Source virtual machine (VM) for Google Android. Apps are converted to a Dalvik Executable for optimized execution in the relatively constrained resources of an Android device. Generally speaking, we see Android apps run only on Android devices. But, Myriad Group aims to change that notion.

Myriad Announces ‘Alien Dalvik’, Enables Android Apps to Run on Non-Android Phones Read more at www.mediabistro.com

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Fun Uses for QR codes

A lot of people don't get Qr codes and what their practical uses are. So I thought I would find some really cool ways to use them.

Amplify’d from androidandme.com

After you create your own QR code, there are many creative uses.  They can be placed on the back of business cards so that your contact information can be scanned to someone’s phone in seconds.  Advertisers can place them in print media to send customers to their product website.  Bands could place them on the back of a CD case allowing you to hear an audio preview or purchase concert tickets.  Secret messages can be hidden inside for people to find. I’m already planning to place a QR code on my next order of business cards.  We might even use them in some future promotions too.  What other innovate uses can you come up with? Read more at androidandme.com

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