Google is the father of Android operating system and unlike Apple they decided to stick to making solid software independent from hardware. Android is not a phone but really an advanced computer system to smarten any device with an on and off switch, phones, appliances, car media systems, televisions, watches…All those OS (operating system) implementation are actively being researched in Mountain View facility by remarkable engineers.

Andy Rubin – Mr Android- created the Nexus series. Nexus phones are especially designed to match Android operating system with most adequate hardware. First gPhone was made by HTC, sold exclusively via Google.com under the overblown Nexus One name, fully unlocked. Google managed to piss off everyone in the process: manufacturers (why pick HTC), carriers (why no deal a la Apple) and consumers who expected subsidized phones and live support (not Google’s strongest point).

Bottom line, Nexus One was called a failure. Google was ridiculed and attacked from all sides. A nice welcome from the Telecom industry to Silicon Valley giant.

But Google is too big to fail. Too smart to be impressed. They learned from their mistakes, they poured more gazillions of dollars, invaded every space left open by Apple and Nokia, making Android the dominating platform as we speak. Apple fanboys will argue about revenues, look and feel but it doesn’t really matter. The simple fact that there is an actual argument is a victory for Google.

Second Google Phone Nexus phone was manufactured by Samsung under the name Nexus S. Launch was simultaneous in the US with T-Mobile and UK with Vodafone. All carriers distributed new Nexus phone. It became an immediate success thanks to its amazing Amoled screen, SIP/Voip capabilities, NFC chip, 1Ghz cpu, true multitasking – all those things still absent from iPhone.

While Apple had 3 iterations of their phone since June 2007 with 1st generation (iPhone 2G), 2nd generation (iPhone 3G and 3Gs) and 3rd generation (iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S), Android jumped 7 major upgrades (from Cupcake to Ice Cream Sandwich) since March 2010. Progress of Android is incredible for a large corporation going through extensive Q&A before release.

It brings us to a short review of latest Galaxy Nexus phone. I’m using a GSM version (not the Verizon LTE). Note this GSM is a penta-band which means it operates identically on both AT&T and T-Mobile 3g/4g network. It will provide HSPDA on any GSM network. Amazing.

Phone is running latest ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) 4.0.3, rooted, non branded and factory unlocked.

In hand phone feels large but not thick and holds pretty well. Case is all plastic, not very elegant. Thin sporting a large, vivid 4.65-inch screen.

Face unlock will certainly be standard in smartphones a year from today. It works well, and in case it doesn’t you can use PIN login.

Once unlocked i was amazed by transition speed between screens. Android always struggled at it while 3rd party launchers offered good alternatives. I guess Google looked into those apps and patched their OS on ICS.

Another standout for Nexus and ICS is the notification system. Apple recently introduced notification drawer which often overlaps native applications. On Android each notification can be dismissed with a single swipe to the side or can be batch cleared with a simple touch.

Now diving into built-in apps we discover a brand new stock browser offering realtime sync feature between Nexus and Chrome browser, fullscreen view, “request desktop site” which you can click if  you want to see the full desktop version of a site and incognito mode (browser doesn’t keep browsing history).

A redesigned Gmail app adding an action bar allowing almost any operation, and best of all you can now store up to 30 days of your emails for offline viewing. Very handy during long flights.

Among cool gimmicks, you also find a panorama mode in camera settings, time-lapse video recording, magazine UI mode in gallery and DUC – Data Usage Control to monitor your data usage according to your billing cycle and Android beam which is like Bump app on iPhone but uses NFC technology.

NFC (Near-Field Communications) is a technology that establishes radio communication with each NFC enable device by bringing them into close proximity. Practically NFC can be used in contactless payment systems, you load a virtual card with prepaid credit and you can make payments using your phone. How does it work? Simple, bring your phone near the credit card terminal, a popup appears on your phone prompting for a PIN code. Enter your custom PIN and bing you just made a purchase. You don’t have to show your credit card to teller, no need to put your PIN in front of a waiting line, no phishing, no skimming, no identity theft. You lose your phone, still fine unless you have a post-it glued in the back with your pin-code.

Verizon has blocked Google Wallet on CDMA version. My GSM factory unlocked device is working fine with Google Wallet. Only thing wrong with this technology is the non awareness of cashiers. I paid using my phone at local CVS and it created a real drama. They had to call store manager, who then called CVS HQ to find out what this NFC thing was all about.

One important thing to know about Galaxy Nexus is NFC is integrated into the battery. Be very careful when buying an extra or extended battery to use exclusively Samsung batteries. Forget about eBay knockoffs.

Battery life wise I’m holding a full day with standard 1750mAh but arguably I’m not running the LTE version which apparently drains much more power. In case you need more you can upgrade to a second battery or the 2100mAh extended one. An option iPhone users don’t have.

There are few differences between LTE and GSM version. GSM is 10grams lighter and about half a cm thiner. LTE carries 32Gb  while EU version is only 16Gb. LTE stock battery is 1850mAh vs 1750mAh for GSM.

Bottom line Galaxy Nexus is a true innovative device adding much more features than any other phone. Google Voice, Google Talk, Google + and Google Search are so deeply integrated into Android that it’s make usability a bliss.

What Google wants, Google gets and unless Apple pulls a rabbit out the hat quickly…

Yesterday I was driving to Kennedy Space Center near Orlando. I say “near Orlando” because if you use a GPS forget finding Nasa Visitor Center on your map using Orlando as a city. So I thought checking their address on Google would help me set-up my GPS – unfortunately they give you directions but no address.

GPS wants an address starting with a Zip code or City and Street name.

Digging a bit further – I found out Kennedy Space Center is located in Orsino Florida.

Hurray!! Ooops. Nope, Orsino doesn’t come up on my GPS.

Annoyed but not desperate I followed the driving instructions from their website and…we made it.

But driving back home, I had an eureka moment.

What if our GPS could use an extra simple trivial entry mode?

Hmmm, the idea is appealing but the infrastructure to build something like this is ridiculous. Just think about indexing millions of places around the globe and assigning a unique ID. Impossible.

I’m still thinking, brainstorming while everyone is deeply asleep in the car…I needed to keep my neurons alert to resist diving in a coma myself.

Bang! Why not use Foursquare? Each venue is clearly marked with a unique ID. Each ID fits a description and best of all it offer tips, specials and nearby points of interest.

Man this is too simple. Way too simple. Imagine your email signature now:

Florian Seroussi
@florianseroussi
LABOTEC Inc.
Venue: 250674

Now just plug 250674 on Google maps, car GPS, TomTom, NavTeq, VZ Navigator or any tracking device and there you are, on your way to our office.

The service should shine by its simplicity, be global, accurate (something Foursquare might need to work on a bit) and reliable (no whale fail kinda).

I’m sure some of you will comment that this can be done using phone numbers in some GPS. True – but reality is:

• Not every business publicize their phone number
• Less and less people have a land line
• Phone numbers rarely match the physical address
• Privacy concerns? Unsolicited phone calls?

Anyway, far from the Groupon-coupon-discount-lbs bs, I think Foursquare should definitely explore this opportunity to offer car manufacturers a solid and inexpensive alternative to complex existing entry mode on navigation systems.

If not Foursquare, then maybe a reckless entrepreneur ready to build a layer on top of the existing location based service? Facebook places? What do you think?

A year ago I would have been harsh on a new Windows Phone OS. I was harsh in this post.

In April 2010 I saw a very early stage Windows Phone 7 prototype and I said to myself “the whole idea sounded bad, now it looks terrible”.

Microsoft challenge was to start from a blank page. Forget Windows Mobile, WinCE and even Windows to re-create a different user experience based on what was learned from iPhone and Android.

The very first device Microsoft handed out to me for testing purposes was a huge brick, barely functional. My partner Pierre-Olivier Carles needed a phone for a few days and I decided to let him try ‘the phone of the future”. Let’s keep it nice and just say he wasn’t convinced

In the meantime, Apple and Google were upgrading and updating their OS considerably adding speech to text, turn by turn navigation, better applications, new features…I was even more perplex on Microsoft’s strategy.

I was wrong. Wrong to under-estimate the power of a world leader in Operating Systems, best software company of all times.

Few days ago as part of our Device Agreement we received a pre-production unit which has nothing to do with anything you have seen before. It’s snappy, reactive, user friendly, reliable, well presented and integrates the best of Microsoft.

I’m not sure if Microsoft will grab the smartphone market. But they did a wonderful job in a short period of time under huge competitive pressure.

95% or so of computer owners are using Windows, 99.99% of all users are using Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), and 90% of the enterprise world is running Exchange mail server. Well if you are one of those users, this phone is for you.

Native integration of Office Suite makes DataWiz/DocumentsToGo looking almost ridiculous. Outlook native integration with Exchange will ease the life of millions of users.

Admittedly I’m not one of those. But let’s not ignore the vast majority of users because we live in a bubble where Apple rules.

Apple and Google have almost zero experience in gaming unlike Microsoft Xbox solid success. WP7 fully uses Xbox Live so players can stay connected to their favorite games. Gaming + Enterprise might be the winning combination.

I’m not sure how much money Microsoft is investing to conquer the phone segment but last Thursday I was face to face with Steve Ballmer and I felt an incredible energy around Windows Phone 7. It’s not a side project – with all the risks attached. Microsoft will use all of its influence to convince manufacturers, distributors, publishers, and users that Windows Phone 7 is a winner.

I have a feeling that Microsoft is going after Google and too bad if Apple is on the way.

Below a short video of a pre-production unit. What do you think?

Today Google announced the integration of Google Voice into Gmail allowing users to place and receive phone calls from their computer from any place in the world to the US for FREE.

Since the acquisition of GrandCentral by Google, Craig Walker and his team have been working hard to make the world a better place for communication.

One of the targets is to make Google Voice accessible to all users (meaning outside the scope of Google) with an horizontal approach ranging from Mobile phones to Web based applications and device dependent applications as well. Google Voice has been available for Blackberry and Android phones for over a year. But they never could make it to the iPhone. The application went live for a few hours before Apple’s executives decided to remove it from the app store raising a Valley drama on Twitter and Facebook.

Google asked the FCC to look into Apple’s motivation, Apple replied, FCC sent a few letters, AT&T denied any implications…bottom line: nothing happened. In a world where technology is evolving around time, FCC has failed to do its job.

Worse, I believe FCC integrity is challenged by its dependance to regulatory fees mainly paid by carriers and manufacturers e.g. AT&T and Apple. I see an urgent need to reform FCC processes to adapt to 21st century technology pace.

Here is an imaginary open letter from Google to FCC regarding Apple’s Rejection of the Google Voice for iPhone Application.

Adobe is the number one gaming platform for developers. Even if Apple is trying to destroy the company’s future, nothing is really changing.

HTML5 is not the new Flash although for video playback it might be a better solution (or not). But developers have constantly praised Flash for gaming. I’m not saying Flash is perfect, nothing is perfect and there is always place for improvement.

But the acceleration of  hardware miniaturization, the abyssal growth of smart mobile devices, the potential explosion of tablets and the furious competition between Apple and Google (soon Microsoft will join) makes Adobe a key player in this war.

Google –unlike Apple- has decided to work with Adobe on integrating Flash on their proprietary operating system Android and certainly Chrome OS. Their strategy lays before us on multiple announcements issued by Mountain View’s giant in the last week.

Flash Player 10.1 on Google Nexus Ones

Adobe Air coming for Android

Adobe for Google TV

Native PDF integration on Chrome Browser 6

At least 5 different Google’s units – YouTube (largest Flash network), Android, Chrome browser, Chrome OS and Google TV have made deals with Adobe. Hard to believe it’s all happening without top level corporate talks between both companies.

Adobe’s market capitalization has dropped 30% since Steve Jobs has openly called Flash an insecure, CPU killer, crash-inducing add-on. A $5bn insult  – thanks Steve.

Revenues are also on the downside from $3.5bn in 2008 to $2.8bn in 2009.

Google’s market cap is 11 times Adobe’s and would give the search engine company a nice entry in the mobile gaming playground.

Adobe can’t expect a lot as all deals are based on offer and demand. Apple will obviously not make any bid; Microsoft is too far behind in their mobile road map and will bet everything on Xbox/WP7 synergies.

So who else can afford a $15bn GI Joe?

Over the past years I accumulated a number of plans from different carriers. I’m constantly using 3 phones (this is going to change soon), running on all kind of platforms, BlackBerry, Android, iPhone…

The number one question people ask about phone service targets reliability of the network. I decided to write a quick post to share my experience. This is a non-scientific review based on phone usage – voice and data- in different US cities.

AT&T:

Customer since 2007.
Device: BlackBerry 9700

I was reluctant at first. Heard so many bad things about AT&T.
Reason to pick them was/is 3G. I couldn’t stand the slow T-Mobile edge connection.

Voice: Best network in South Florida. Fewer drop calls vs. T-Mobile. Sucks in NYC.
I do get those ‘congestion’, ‘call failed’ from time to time. Voice quality is good.
4/5

Data: Fast, solid 3G network. Blackberry is a no brainer on the network. AT&T should give up on all their ‘multimedia services’. They are all terrible. I wish my BlackBerry was not infested with so many worthless applications imposed by the carrier.
4/5

International calls: World Connect for $5/month offers great pricing for calling foreign destinations. I use Google Voice for all my long distance calls but I still appreciate the ability to pay cheap for premium quality over AT&T.
5/5

Customer Service: I can’t believe AT&T customer service is not 24/7. This is a deal breaker for me. They take our money 24/7 they MUST provide service 24/7. I hope VZW jumps on this for their next comparison campaign against AT&T.
2/5

Total: 15/20

T-Mobile:

Customer since 2005.
Currently running on HTC Hero

When I first heard of T-Mobile landing in Miami I saw hope. The underdog would conquer mobile subscribers by offering better pricing, better service and newer devices. Over promised – under delivered. Definitely not what I expected from them. Hoping HSPDA (fast cellular broadband) will put them back in the game.

Voice: Coverage in South Florida is growing but still displays a lot of ‘no signal’. I have a much better experience with them in NYC. Voice quality is average.
3/5

Data: So far I haven’t got anything higher than Edge on T-Mobile network. Even my HTC Hero locks in as Edge. Apparently T-Mobile is rolling out a new HSPSA 21Mbs today J. Definitely something I will try.
3/5

International calls: T-Mobile offers a discounted calling option. Prices are a bit more than AT$T. Again I encourage to use Google Voice for this service.
4/5

Customer Service: AT&T and Verizon are pretty flexible when it comes to discuss billing issues. T-Mobile will not reduce your bill – ever. One should know that. They are very helpful on technical support though.
4/5

Overall: 14/20

Verizon Wireless:

Customer since 2008
USB Dongle and Droid

I first signed up for a Verizon account to get fast internet access while roaming in the US. So far VZW has been super solid on all counts.

Voice: by far the best coverage compared to competition. Clear crispy sound, very few dropped calls. Excellent quality.
5/5

Data: Fast and reliable. I use my dongle everyday with no complaint whatsoever. Works everywhere even in confine places.
5/5

International calls: VZW is CDMA and won’t offer roaming service outside the US [actually they do on certain phones using a Vodafone sim card]. I don’t use them either for long distance BUT they have a very open policy to allow VOIP applications on their network. That enough deserves a good grade.
3/5

Customer service: when you offer a flawless product you handle much less customer support. I never really connected with their CS. The only time I needed to change my plan to cut some extra charges they were prompt to credit me back. Awesome.
5/5

Overall: 18/20

There is room for competition in the US and I really hope Google will grab the momentum to invade this space. Only 2 GSM carriers is just ridiculous compared to 5 in the UK and 4 in France (with Free Mobile).

Just for fun I added a YouTube video of all AT&T ads attacking Verizon.

Is traffic a sign of popularity?

So I went on writing down numbers on a scrapbook. My primary goal was to search brand names and the number of search associated with that brand. To do so I used the Top 100 brand by Millward Brown [PDF].
Surprisingly Facebook, Twitter, iPhone, My Space are not listed by the research institute. Even in a brick and mortar world, Facebook should be in top 5 most known brands.

Below are results found using Google.com [US English page as of December 30, 2009].

Few basic observations: Google and Facebook together are more popular than Web. US takes the lead with over 23 billions search results. USA and War all together are less popular than Yahoo!

Behind those figures I see two conclusions. First, top brands -as described in the study published by Millward Brown- are yet far behind in terms of web image. Their online presence is a failure for 95% of them. This should give hope to all online viral social media jungle marketing agencies out there. The second conclusion is sadder: traffic doesn’t mean revenue. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, MySpace and Hotmail generating over 5.3 billion of search results have an estimated global revenue of $1.3 billion for 2009 representing 0,003% of Wal-Mart’s 2009 revenue.

It brings us back to valuation calculation- should we continue to use online popularity or traffic to rate online businesses?

What do you think?

Verizon announced an update for December 11th. Google updated their official website for its mobile operating system. Going by history, Android.com has always been updated before an update is released for the Android operating system. This could mean that Android 2.1 is near, and might arrive on December 11th. To add fuel to the fire, Google recently updated their Android market terms of service which go into effect on Dec 11, 2009. According the rumors going around Dec 11 update should bring the following

• New Android Market with carrier billing support
• Android 2.1 update for select devices
• OTA updates for the Verizon Droid and Droid Eris
• Desktop client for Android Market

Nothing regarding much wanted features: pinch-to-zoom, Sense UI, Mobile Chrome Browser, screen capture and tethering.

Therefor I decided to put up a list of applications to make the Droid a much better device .

List of must have applications as of December 1st:

Better Keyboard – $2.99

Better Keyboard provides some options like three different keyboard layouts and slightly larger keys. You can type letters and numbers without having to swap keyboards. Improves overall typing experience.

Astro File Manager – FREE

Astro should be in all Android phones. It’s basically a file manager to browse SD card, system files but also a utility to kill running processes, optimize RAM and create/rename/edit folders.

DockRunner – FREE

Developed by Active Frequency this app will simulate Multimedia Dock mode. Very handy at night to keep your phone on a night table displaying time. Saves you $30 on an accessory you will barely use.

Dolphin Browser – FREE

Motorola Droid has some core features disabled such as Pinch To Zoom -certainly to avoid potential lawsuit with Apple. Dolphin Browser brings pinch-to-zoom to Droid. It’s fast and powerful. You can set Dolphin as a default browser and avoid the hassle of using built-in browser.

Beautiful Widgets – $1.50

Droid landing is kind of empty compared to HTC Sense UI. Beautiful Widgets adds weather and flip clock to your home page. Personally I love it and recommend it.

dXTop: Home Alternative – $2.99

I’m not a big fan of themes, backgrounds and ringtones but dXTop is more than just a cosmetic lift. It adds one more screen to the home, dual drawers and screen capture. Unfortunately screen capture feature is working for home page only but it proves its doable. I’m surprised we have no screenshot application for Droid so far. dXTop can run with Beautiful Widgets.

Imagine Multi-Touch – $0.99

Droid does not offer multi-touch but it does work! Imagine Multi-Touch is an Android Image Gallery application that supports multi-touch on all Android handsets for $1. Combining Dolphin Browser with IMT makes the Droid so much better.

Market offers much more applications to suit your need. The above applications are specific to Droid in order to improve user experience. I’m taking the opportunity to show some respect to those developers who spend hours, days and weeks to develop an application for a particular need knowing next OS update might make their efforts obsolete. Thank you!

Fortunately most will learn fast and adopt geeky habits but some will return their new phones very disappointed Droid did not meet their expectations.

So here is a little tutorial on how to make the best out of your new phone.

First steps to properly use the Droid:

-       Remove gently protection sticker on the battery cover BEFORE inserting the battery. Failure to do so will make the battery door irremovable. Been there, done that.

-       You need a Gmail or Google Mail App account to operate an Android phone. If you don’t have one you need to create one. Technically you can use an Android phone without a Gmail address but you’ll be missing 80% of core features. I suggest you sign up for a Gmail and add your other email accounts. Gmail account will just be used to sync your contacts, Latitude, Market, etc.

-       To configure your phone, you will need to access “settings”. Unlike the iPhone, “settings” icon is not showing on home page. To access the “settings” press the central lower tray to pop up all applications. They are sorted from A to Z. Get to “settings” and start configuring.

-       If – like me- you like to keep your phone protected you will need to set it up. By default Droid does not offer protection i.e. PIN code. Android 2.0 introduces a new form of screen lock called “pattern”. Press on central tray, scroll to “settings”, go to “location and security settings”, check mark “Require pattern”. The rest is very intuitive.

-       Once your phone is protected from curious, very likely they will try to input pattern. After 5 attempts, phone is locked 30 seconds. Every wrong attempt after 30 seconds will re-lock your phone for 30 seconds. If you forgot your pattern, you can still log on to your phone using your Gmail username and password.

-       Market is the application store for Android powered phones. To access Market you need to have a valid credit card on file via Google Check Out [Google Merchant account a la Paypal].

-       Downloaded applications are assigned to your Gmail account. Whenever you change phone you simply need to logon using your Gmail credentials and all your apps will be available for download again at no cost.

-       For now – Droid offers only 3 home screens. You can add shortcuts, widgets or folders by keeping your finger pressed on an empty spot. A menu will pop up offering several options.

-       Background image format covers all 3 panels. Screen definition is a bit odd 960X854 pixels. Check Droid Forum Gallery for cool wallpapers.

-       I strongly suggest you install “power control” widget on your central panel. You will be able to toggle Wifi on/off, Bluetooth on/off, GPS on/off, and brightness with a single touch. Very useful.

-       To use the camera you need to press on the gold button located on the lower right side of the phone. You cannot use the camera without unlocking your screen first. Keep finger pressed a couple of seconds to launch camera. For now, camera is slow and auto-focus needs an urgent firmware update.

-       On most applications you can use the search function. Easy access to search needs a single pressure on the magnifier icon located on the right inside of lower toolbar. Very handy to search applications in Market, contacts, emails, etc.

-       To optimize battery I suggest, you set “screen time out” (located under Settings/Sounds and Display) to 15 seconds. By default it’s 1 minute. Also under Sounds and Display, adjust brightness to low. Also in Sounds and Display, set Animations Off. Do not keep Wifi on all the time, mostly on Verizon where network is faster than most Wifi connection. Remember to turn Bluetooth off if you don’t use it. No need to keep GPS on in the house J

-       You cannot remove pre-installed applications. To uninstall applications you downloaded and no longer want to have go to “settings/applications/manage applications. A short way to remove an application is to keep your finger pressed on the application icon and use the pop up menu to uninstall it. Very smart.

Here I will stop as I believe further steps are not for beginners.

Let me know if you have additional tips or tricks and I will add it to the post.

Happy Droiding.

“We’re confident that it works because we’ve been testing it now for a couple of years,” he said. “And so we’re really ready to start rolling it out.”

Of the 1.6 billion Internet users worldwide, Beckstrom – a former chief of U.S. cybersecurity – said that more than half use languages that have scripts based on alphabets other than Latin.

“So this change is very much necessary for not only half the world’s Internet users today, but more than half of probably the future users as the use of the Internet continues to spread,” he said.

Read more here:

International Domain Names: Internet Set To Add Non-English Web Addresses

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