Daily Bits

android

Droid Robot Font: The Only Font You’ll Want This Week

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Droid Robot
Droid Robot

I am not knowledgable when it comes to fonts. You’re talking to the girl who used to use Comic Sans as the default font in her company e-mails! (Typophiles, don’t get a heart attack, okay?) I do know, however, how to recognize a fun font that will make your days at work more enjoyable. It doesn’t mean you have to use the font for official correspondence, but I am pretty sure you can find a lot of other uses for it.

So what font am I talking about? The Droid Robot Font. The font that will get Android lovers all worked up, I assume. I don’t even have an Android device, but I still think that this font is cool! Take a look up there again. [Read more…] about Droid Robot Font: The Only Font You’ll Want This Week

5 ways to save money with your iPhone or Android smartphone

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Even before Apple and Google dominated the mobile software industry, money-saving apps were must-haves for power users of previous generation mobile environments like the Palm OS.

Much of these legacy software, lacking the internet access and tight hardware integration that define the smartphone experience today, were limited to helping users balance their budgets.

That’s definitely changed, especially as the average smartphone buyer places more weight on what apps are available for a phone, with less focus on the gadget’s built-in hardware features. [Read more…] about 5 ways to save money with your iPhone or Android smartphone

Facebook Phone in the Works?

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facebook-phoneRumor has it that Facebook is trying to break into the mobile phone market. The news is not so new, as the rumor has been going around since last year. However, it is no secret that this market is booming in every location in the world. Mobile phone deals are all over the place, with telecommunications companies trying to catch the attention of the plethora of customers out there. Of course, Mark Zuckerberg and his cronies are going to give that piece of the pie a try!

Not too long ago, the Facebook CEO had tried to put the rumor to rest. Reeking of sarcasm, he went on about “novel” the idea was – of Facebook creating a mobile phone. While sarcasm may be enough for some people to shut up, there might be some truth in the speculation. Apparently, there have been some leaks providing more substantial information about Facebook’s mobile phone.

One of the most commonly cited sources for this rumor is Pocketnow, who reported specific details on a smartphone which they believe to be the first Facebook phone:

“An Android smartphone built to make messaging faster and smarter. It’s designed around the way people naturally communicate and has Facebook built into its core. The homescreen features multiple entry points to different Facebook functions, while a dynamic widget displays a feed of status updates, albums, videos and photos.”

Now one can say that just because the phone is supposed to have Facebook built into its core, it does not mean that it is going to be a Facebook phone. After all, everyone simply wants to use Facebook on their mobile devices. However, the manufacturer immediately went on the defensive and removed all references to Facebook after the rumors circulated; obviously in the hopes that the rumors will be dispelled. I say a little too late, buddies! I will not be surprised to see a Facebook phone of some sort as part of mobile phone deals before the end of this year. What’s your prediction?

New Android Phones to Replace Credit Cards?

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It’s the stuff that sci-fi is made of. How many stories have you read or heard or even watched about being able to use your mobile phone for practically everything? For sure, this idea is nothing new. However, the actual implementation of this idea is something else.

With the recent announcement from Google, though, it seems that we just might be able to use our mobile phones in lieu of credit cards in the future. At the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Google head honcho Eric Schmidt talked about – and showed off – the new mobile operating system that they are working on. While the mobile phone was a mere prototype, the new version of Android – dubbed “gingerbread” for now – seemed to be ready for release. It won’t however, be released till the next several weeks or so.

What is really interesting about Schmidt’s demo is the fact that he talked about “near-field technology.” What’s it all about? In the future, mobile phones will have a chip that will serve as a way to conduct transactions the way credit cards do right now. While has was quite excited about the potential of the technology, he added a word of caution about credit card-like transactions not being available in the immediate future.

What got the attention of the people present at the demo was the mobile phone which ran the new version of Android. As is to be expected, rumors are flying around that the phone is a prototype of the Nexus S (S for Samsung), Nexus One‘s successor. While that phone is “dead,” there is still hope for a successor, something which a some people are looking forward to.

In the meantime, hold on to your credit cards.

Who’s Suing Whom?

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Lawsuits are so common these days that no one pays attention to them anymore. But, did you have an idea about the extent of pending lawsuits in the mobile industry? We hear about one company suing another for patent infringement all the time, but I doubt that we actually spend much time on thinking about these things.

Just recently, tech blogs and new sites exploded with reports on how Microsoft is suing Motorola over the latter’s line of Android phones. The lawsuit involves several cases of Motorola supposedly violating certain patents belonging to Microsoft. This is not the sole case, though. There are lots of others that have been on in this sector.

Here’s an interesting – amusing, actually – visual representation of what’s going on in that world, courtesy of The Guardian.

I don’t know about you, but one look at that, and I was exclaiming “What heck is wrong with these people?” I guess if it’s millions of money involved, then people take on a different perspective. In any case, the average consumer – you and I – will not have to worry about these lawsuits as they do tend to get settled. We just keep on going with our every day lives and buying whatever catches our fancy.

Fennec Alpha Mobile: Firefox for Android

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Considering just how dependent we are on the Internet, it is not a surprise that browser developers are in a perpetual race to deliver the “best” browser to consumers. With mobile phones being used by more and more people to get on the Internet, mobile Internet browsers, naturally, are in demand. While going online via your phone is quite convenient, sometimes, the features of mobile browsers are simply incomparable to the experience offered by browsers for computers.

Here’s a bit of good news for those of you who are yearning for a better browsing experience on their Android phones – Mozilla has just released the alpha version of mobile browser. Dubbed Fennec Alpha, the mobile browser can be used on Nokia N9000 mobile phones as well. The exciting thing about Fennec is that it is based on the same technology that is used for the Firefox we all know and love.

By the way, this mobile browser is not the first version. In April, Fennec prealpha was released. Early reviewers had a lot to say about that version – many of them negative. The Fennec Alpha, however, is set to offer enhanced performance and is supposed to be more responsive to user needs. More specifically, the newer version includes Firefox Sync capabilities, making browsing more convenient for users. Android users will also be happy to know that the Fennec Alpha supports browser add-ons – one of the main reasons that Firefox is such a joy to use.

You may download the mobile browser from Mozilla’s web site, but if I were you, do not expect too much. The software is intended for testing purposes and not for regular use.

Bit of trivia: Fennec comes from the Arabic word for fox. 😉