+101 - Vote for the best Android Apps

According to ComScore, Google Android is continuing to gain market share in the US whilst Palm and Microsoft look to be losing ground yet again over the past 90 days.

Android went up 5.2% to hold a 9% share of the market whilst Windows mobile fell to 15.11% and WebOS fell to 5.4%.

Whilst Apple still hold 25.4% of the market with their iPhone brand, this figure has dropped slightly in the last quarter, whilst Blackberry (Research in Motion) gained 1.3% to 42.1%, still a commanding lead.

So what can we expect in the next quarter?  Android continues to develop and the variety of phones available are growing all the time.  Can Apple match that rate of progress?  Whilst BlackBerry still maintain a healthy lead due to business use, will companies start to test out the Android platform as a realistic alternative?  They haven’t with the iPhone, but Apple never marketed their platform for that market whereas the Android system has far more flexible software, hardware and development platforms.

Watch this space for the figures from the next 90 days where we’ll have a look internationally at how things are moving.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA™ X10 introduces an open and integrated world of social media, communication and entertainment

After our relaunch and improved code libraries our visitors were up to over 1000 in a single day!

On Thursday the 13th August, 2009 we obtained 1,011 unique visitors and a snip under 4,000 page views.  This is great news not only for our site, but the renewed interest in the Google Android operating system.

Submissions on 101 Best Android Apps continue to rise and within the next 6 months we believe we will not only be the best place to come to find the right app for you, but the only resource that you will need.

Additionally our ranks within the search engines are constantly rising.  If you search for android apps we are currently third worldwide which is great news for anyone searching for the best apps for google android.

Keep stopping by, we promise we’ll continue striving to be the best and only resource you need on the net for your mobile device.

Google today launched the Android operating system to the open-source community!

The launch arrives the day before the first handset goes to market in the US, the T-Mobile G1.  The G1 should be available in the UK in early November.

The marketing campaign is reported to be the biggest T-Mobile have ever lauched and it needs to be to take on O2 and the Apple Iphone.

From early reports, the G1 is no Iphone, but it’s getting there, and with the huge amount of potential development from the worldwide open-source community, supported by the Open Handset Alliance, it’s got huge potential.

Android uses a Linux Kernel, in the same way that Mac OS X sits on a Linux base on the iphone.  Whilst Linux was never expressly designed for mobile use, it’s ideal for a multi purpose computing environment which allows a far less restricted range of applications.  The reason for this is that it runs on x86 (esq) hardware as opposed to a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) based device (like an older phone or a dvd player).

The first release of the code is a big step.  It’s reported to be the largest repository of open source code that has been released at any one time, and with such a wealth of different factors that it will need to encounter now and in the future: different carriers, languages, devices with their own graphical subsystems and multimedia.  It’s got a big job ahead of it!  

Watch this space for more information as we find it, but it’s looking like a big week for Android!

We’ve launched the site and even have over 40 applications ready for review and rating but a lot of people may be wondering what Google Android is all about.

Android is a platform for software development. It runs as a software stack for mobile devices and includes an operating system, middleware and applications. The applications are written using the Java programming language and run on a custom virtual machine on top of a Linux kernel. There’s lots of techincal information on the Google Android developer site.

Android was developed by a group of more than 30 technology companies under the title: Open Handset Alliance�. One of the most exciting features of Android is the Open Source aspect of the development:

Open
Android was built from the ground-up to enable developers to create compelling mobile applications that take full advantage of all a handset has to offer. It is built to be truly open. For example, an application could call upon any of the phone’s core functionality such as making calls, sending text messages, or using the camera, allowing developers to create richer and more cohesive experiences for users. Android is built on the open Linux Kernel. Furthermore, it utilizes a custom virtual machine that has been designed to optimize memory and hardware resources in a mobile environment. Android will be open source; it can be liberally extended to incorporate new cutting edge technologies as they emerge. The platform will continue to evolve as the developer community works together to build innovative mobile applications.

All applications are created equal
Android does not differentiate between the phone’s core applications and third-party applications. They can all be built to have equal access to a phone’s capabilities providing users with a broad spectrum of applications and services. With devices built on the Android Platform, users will be able to fully tailor the phone to their interests. They can swap out the phone’s homescreen, the style of the dialer, or any of the applications. They can even instruct their phones to use their favorite photo viewing application to handle the viewing of all photos.

Breaking down application boundaries
Android breaks down the barriers to building new and innovative applications. For example, a developer can combine information from the web with data on an individual’s mobile phone — such as the user’s contacts, calendar, or geographic location — to provide a more relevant user experience. With Android, a developer could build an application that enables users to view the location of their friends and be alerted when they are in the vicinity giving them a chance to connect.

Fast & easy application development
Android provides access to a wide range of useful libraries and tools that can be used to build rich applications. For example, Android enables developers to obtain the location of the device, and allows devices to communicate with one another enabling rich peer-to-peer social applications. In addition, Android includes a full set of tools that have been built from the ground up alongside the platform providing developers with high productivity and deep insight into their applications.

You can find out lots more on the Open Handset Alliance and Android websites.

This is a brand new site from the same people as 101 Best Websites – here you’ll be able to rate, review and find out about new and unusual Google Android Applications.

With the launch of the new Google Android OS there are going to be thousands of new apps, homebrew and games released over the next few months. We hope to be able to help you choose the best of the bunch.

We’ve only just launched but expect to see lots more content being added over the next few days.

If you’re already registered on 101 Best Websites you can log in to 101 Best Android Apps straight away and get submitting your favourite applications.