Apple's Steve Jobs: 'no one's going to buy' a big phone -- Engadget

Apple is prepared to eat their ex-CEO's words soon. It's funny that Apple fanboys listen to everything Steve Jobs/Apple says like they were gospel when Jobs and Apple treat them like sh*t. I still remembered the day Apple once suggested that UI functions should not be represented just by color alone. I forgot the exact reason behind that, but it's something like colors could have different meaning in different culture, and they are poor identifiers for colorblinds. Yet, when OS X comes out, the close/max/min buttons are colors only until you roll the mouse over the buttons. The thing is, their words only mean so much when it works for them. When they want it the other ways, they would pretend they never say it, or they will invent an excuse -- usually "because they've done it the right way." Apple's Steve Jobs: 'no one's going to buy' a big phone -- Engadget

UPDATE: Turns out that I am the one who needs to eat one's own words. Apple did not release a bigger iPhone. The iPhone 4S is almost identical to the iPhone 4.

Thinking About Rooting The Kindle Fire? Amazon Won't Put Up A Fight To Stop You!

Finally, an affordable and quality tablet will be upon us: An ICS ROM will probably pop up within weeks after both the Kindle Fire and ICS sources are released. Thinking About Rooting The Kindle Fire? Amazon Won't Put Up A Fight To Stop You!

Amazon Kindle Fire, the 7-inch sub-$200 Android tablet (Update) | Android and Me

So, what does that mean to the Android world in general? On the surface, probably nothing. Even though the Kindle Fire is based on Android, we probably shouldn't see it as a real Android device. Indeed, judging from the news, what Amazon seems to change the underlying Android OS a lot more than what B&N did on the Nook Color. That being said, in the long run, it probably will provide more incentive for developers to create Android apps. The fact is, the Kindle Fire is close enough to a generic Android tablet that it makes little sense for a developer not to develop for both platforms. If the Kindle Fire does well, what could happen is that developers might develop Android apps for it first (due to its relatively fixed hardware, it will be easier to target), then open the apps to other Android tablets. So, even though the Kindle Fire may not contribute directly to Android's growth, it could potentially help indirectly. Amazon Kindle Fire, the 7-inch sub-$200 Android tablet (Update) | Android and Me

Windows 8 and how it may affect the Android Tablet

Today is Microsoft's big day. Windows 8 is revealed to a large number of people, and soon a developer build will be available for download. So, how does Windows 8 have anything to do with Anroid, or more specifically, Android tablets? To answer this question, we need to pay attention to a lesser-known Android related news today: All future Android builds will be optimized for Intel's Atom processor Still don't see the relation? Let me explain. First of all, Windows 8 will no doubt be run on tablet PCs powered by Atom. Secondly, some if not most of these PCs will be made and sold like any traditional PC, meaning that there won't be any locked bootloader. Now, stop for a moment and think about this: these PCs will all be capable of running Android! Imagine what will happen once CyanogenMod begins to support these PCs. We can just go out and buy a Windows 8 tablet PC and install Android onto it. We can even dual-boot between Windows 8 and Android! Windows 8 details: new features, UI enhancements and everything in between -- Engadget

Google to Acquire Motorola

This piece of news will definitely be one of the top 10 news of the year in the technology industry. I can only say that it was a bombshell to me when I woke up reading it. For a moment, I thought I was seeing an April Fool joke. Then the news sank in and you know what, it's an Android fan's early Christmas gift. Needless to say, it shows again that Google is a company of calculation. Looking back to the whole Nortel saga now, it's hard not to see that the patent axis of evil led by Apple and Microsoft had just spent $4.5 billion hoping to use it against the Android platform, but ended up getting a overpriced portfolio. As everyone knows, Motorola, being the very first maker of a commercial cellular phone, has a jaw-dropping sized patent portfolio. Given that Motorola is one of the pioneer telecommunication company, it's not difficult to imagine that a large portion of its patent portfolio are closely related in making a smartphone. I recalled reading a comment from an user on a Technology Blog (sorry, I forgot which one) saying that Google can now sue Apple for ... making a call. It's a joke, but it highlight the deep root of Motorola -- it's simply one of the oldest telecommunication hardware maker in the world. As always, it's the math that counts. Official Google Blog: Supercharging Android: Google to Acquire Motorola ...: "Since its launch in November 2007, Android has not only dramatically increased consumer choice but also improved the entire mobile experien..."

(UPDATED) Sony Ericsson announces new generation of Xperia Mini and Mini Pro smartphones -- Engadget

With all the bad press going around Sony's PlayStation Network security problems, I think we should re-direct our attention to one rare bright spot among Sony's products/services -- its 2011 Android smartphones. It's the only major Android smartphone maker that is capable of launching all its new headset in Android 2.3. Given how bad their first Android attempt was, I think Sony Ericsson deserves a lot of credits for their improvement. HTC, Samsung and Motorola, LISTEN, you guys were the market leader when it comes to Android smartphone, but it's unforgivable for you all to launch any Froyo phones today, almost 6 months after Gingerbread was released. The Thunderbolt, the Droid Incredible 2, and the Droid Charge should all be a Gingerbread phone when they are launched. Well, at least Motorola seems to be listening and hopefully, when the Bionic comes out, it's running Gingerbread. UPDATE: Yes, I didn't mention any examples from Motorola. That's not because they don't have any new non-Gingerbread phone launch. Quite the contrary, they dare to release a Eclair (Android 2.1) phone TODAY. I am not even going to name it here -- that would be free promotion for them. It's the new Sprint iDEN phone running Eclair, if you are curious. Sony Ericsson announces new generation of Xperia Mini and Mini Pro smartphones -- Engadget: "

[Android Troubleshooting] App cannot be installed

Starting from today, I am going to write up troubleshooting post for Android from time to time. One reason why I want to do this is to to save myself another dozen of Google searches when the same issue comes up 6 months later. At the same time, I am hoping it could also help other Android users out there who suffer the same problem.

Enough talk. The first problem I will discuss is one that bother many users. Once in a while an app would fail to be updated (installed) no matter how hard you try. The Android Market may give you an unknown error of reason -18. Some people encountered this problem after Market tried to silently update their apps but failed. One common example is the popular game Angry Birds (and all its variants.)

AFAIK, the problem has something to do with your SD card. You might find many different ways to fix it online, but some of the solution may be too technical for some people. So, here's an easy fix.

1. Launch the Settings app
2. Click on Storage
3. Under SD Card, choose Unmount SD Card
4. Once the card is unmount, go back to your launcher and launch Market
5. Choose to re-install the app that's giving you the problem
6. Your app should be installed now

Once the app is installed, go back to Settings -> Storage and mount the SD card again. If you can't re-mount it, just power off your phone and turn it back on. From that point on, you can move your app to the SD card (if you want to do that.)