Could Android Jelly Bean Be the Successor to Ice Cream Sandwich?

Slow news day? How else to explain the buzz being generated by a thisismynext.com report about potential codenames for Google's follow up to its upcoming Android mobile operating system?

The follow-up to Google's current-generation Android 3.0 Honeycomb OS that's affectionately known as Ice Cream Sandwich won't even be arriving until October or November, according to Google. That said, interest in all things Android has certainly kept pace with the operating system's growing importance in the smartphone and tablet markets.

So perhaps it makes sense that people are keen to learn any detail at all about Ice Cream Sandwich's successor, even its codename. Which, according to thisismynext.com, may or may not be Jelly Bean.

The tech blog cites one "trusted source" as saying Jelly Bean is a done deal. But another source cited in an update to the thisismynext.com post says that codename hasn't yet been finalized. What Jelly Bean has going for it, of course, is that Google has so far named each successive new version of Android and some important updates to the OS after a tasty treat that follows an alphabetical pattern.

Thus we've seen Banana Bread followed by Cupcake followed by Donut, etcetera, through to the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich. And while Ice Cream Sandwich is assumed to be a major version update from Android 3.0 to Android 4.0, Google hasn't actually made that official yet. Jelly Bean could be Android 5.0, but that's not official either.

Thisismynext.com thinks Jelly Bean makes a lot of sense because "the pickings are fairly slim for desserts with 'J' names." Maybe, but Google has been known to get creative with its Android codenames. Case in point, Froyo, the codename for Android 2.2.

Jell-O is a brand name, so it's probably off limits. A better bet would be Jujube, which is actually a generic term, though "Jujubes" is branded in the U.S. by the confectioner Farley & Sathers (on a historical note, Jujubes were originally made by the Heide Candy Company). Jelly Roll would be a nice twist on the more generic Jelly Bean, with the bonus of being an homage to jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton as well as a somewhat dated but naughty metaphor.

Speaking of metaphors, here's a mix of them: If Google does decide to throw us a curveball with Android 5.0 (or whatever the "J" stop turns on the Android train turns out to be), perhaps it will go with Javvarisi, the Tamil term for pearl sago, a tapioca like starch that's used in sweet pudding dishes.

Or perhaps the search giant will try to be a bit more more health conscious with the next iteration of Android. If Google wants to start moving away from codenames that still evoke sweetness without relying on refined sugar, they might try Jicama or Jackfruit.

Microsoft inks Android and Chrome patent deals

Microsoft struck two new patent-protection deals with hardware makers seeking to avoid being sued for using Google's Android and Chrome operating systems.

Microsoft's Horacio Gutierrez

(Credit: Microsoft)

Acer signed a licensing deal with Microsoft that includes "broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio for Acer's tablets and smartphones running the Android platform," Microsoft said in a press release. Acer's Iconia Tab, among other devices, runs Android.

"We are pleased that Acer is taking advantage of our industry-wide licensing program established to help companies address Android's IP issues," said Horacio Gutierrez, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of intellectual property and licensing at Microsoft.

The software giant's deal with ViewSonic covers tablets and mobile phones running either Android or Chrome. ViewSonic's ViewPad 7 will run Android. And the company has reportedly be considering using Chrome in its tablets as well.

The companies didn't disclose terms of the deals, except that Microsoft will get royalties from ViewSonic under that agreement.

Rather than going after Google for patent violations, Microsoft has targeted device makers, pressing them to license Microsoft's patents that it alleges Android and Chrome infringe upon. Last year, Microsoft cut a deal with its longtime partner HTC. And in recent months, its inked agreements with several smaller device makers including Wistron and Onkyo.

A Google Android and Java history lesson

Summary: Despite what you may have heard, there’s really no news about how Google handles its Android open-source code development. Still, while Google’s path may be both legal and good for business, it’s not always good for developers.

Recently, some people were shocked-shocked I tell you-to discover that Google had looked at Java to help create Android’s Dalvik and that Google kept its Android source code to itself and its closest partners until the final product was released to the public. Oh please. There’s nothing new here. It’s always been that way and everyone who knows anything about Android’s history already knew that.

First, there’s the accusation that Android used Java code in creating its Dalvik virtual machine (VM). This is news? When Android first came out, Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz, then Java’s owner, greeted the news of Android’s birth with “heartfelt congratulations.”

Oh, by the way, anyone could look, use, and, yes, copy Java’s code too. You see, Sun had open-sourced Java under the GPLv2 in November 2006. Sun wanted Google and anyone else to use and copy its code. That’s kind of the whole point of open-sourcing a program don’t you know.

So there you have it. From day one Android was using Java. I knew that. Sun knew that. Anyone who ever developed in Android knew that.

Just look at the record. Not only had Sun’s own CEO given Google’s use of Java his blessing, Google publicly explained in detail exactly what they were doing at the time. As Stefano Mazzocchi, a Google engineer, explained in 2007 with Android’s first release in his posting, Dalvik: how Google routed around Sun’s IP-based licensing restrictions on Java ME [Micro Edition]. “Android’s programs are written in Java, using Java-oriented IDEs [integrated development environment] … it just doesn’t compile the Java code into Java bytecode but (ops, Sun didn’t see this one coming) into Dalvik bytecode.”

Mazzoccchi continued, “So, Android uses the syntax of the Java platform (the Java “language”, if you wish, which is enough to make Java programmers feel at home and IDEs to support the editing smoothly) and the Java SE [Standard Edition] class library but not the Java bytecode or the Java virtual machine to execute it on the phone.”

Let me sum it up for you. In November 2006, Sun open-sources Java. In November 2007, Sun approves Google’s use of Java in Android. And, in the same month that Sun blesses it, a Google engineer publicly explains that while Google is using some of Java’s ideas it’s going its own way to avoid the restrictions that Sun attempted to put on its GPLed code. I mean, come on, just look at the title of Mazzocchi’s story! He says right out that Google thinks it’s worked out a way around Sun’s Java intellectual property (IP) restrictions. In the story itself, he then explains how Google is doing it. Oh yeah, there are big secrets here! All these recent “revelations” were public knowledge almost four years ago.

Is there room for argument over how both Sun and Google handled the licensing? You betcha! That’s one of the reasons why Google and Oracle are locked in a lawsuit. But, this latest “news” isn’t news, it’s just people repeating Oracle’s paid expert rehash of the situation. Of course, he wrote it to make Oracle look good and make Android look bad. That’s his job. That’s why they call them “paid experts.”

Moving on, there’s the “revelation” that Google doesn’t immediately open-source its Android code to the public and that it shares its Android source code and development goodies with its partners. That’s right. That’s exactly what Google does. They’ve always done it that way and they probably always will.

Guess what? All software companies, open source or not, do this with their partners. It’s business as usual. That’s why they call these relationships, “partnerships.” Canonical is doing it with IBM to bring Ubuntu to IBM’s System p mini-computers and blades and System z mainframes; Microsoft does it with Dell and HP; and on and on.

If anything, because Google uses the open-source Apache Software License 2.0, (ASLv2) for Android, Google’s in better legal shape than most open source companies in keeping its code to itself and its best friends. You see, in ASLv2, you’re not required to release the source code until the binary files, the executable programs, are released.

In practice this means that Google has always let the big Android hardware manufacturers, such as HTC, Motorola and Sony, have an early look at Android source code. Smaller vendors, developers and open-source purists have been unhappy with this Animal Farm=style “Some animals are more equal than others” approach.

I don’t like it either. I think that while this makes Google’s biggest partners happy, it’s also bad open-source development practice. The whole point of open source is that you make better software by sharing the code instead of keeping the code to yourself and your partners until it’s ready to go, I think Google ends up actually delaying Android development. In the end, this policy won’t hurt Google in the courts, but it may hurt it in the smartphone and tablet operating system marketplace.

None of this is news either though. That’s been public knowledge for years. Microsoft kept secrets that eventually led to it having its wrist-slapped by the Department of Justice. The Oracle/Google lawsuit? It’s nothing, but Oracle’s attempt to puts its piggy snout into the Android money trough.

Whether this case comes to a jury trial or, if Judge William Alsup gets his wish and Google and Oracle settle, the real issues boils down to money. In the end, the case isn’t really about copyright, patents, or licenses. Those are just the tools Oracle is using to squeeze cash from its Sun/Java investment. In short, it’s, I’m sorry to say, it’s just business as usual in the United States in 2011.

Android to overtake Apple in app downloads

(Credit: CNET / Jaymar Cabebe)

Android could notch 8.1 billion app downloads this year, compared with 6 billion for Apple's iOS devices. That marks an explosion of growth for both platforms; Apple had 2.7 billion downloads and Android recorded 1.4 billion last year. The total number of application downloads is expected to grow by 144 percent this year, Ovum said in a report issued today.

"Consumers' seemingly insatiable demand for mobile applications is set to continue this year, with downloads from app stores increasing around the world," said Ovum analyst Nick Dillon. "The outlook for the longer term is also positive, with consumers set to continue to use apps to add new features to their phones and to access their favorite services on the go."

Android's rise comes in lockstep with the surge in popularity of the platform, both with consumers and electronics manufacturers. A wave of companies have been attracted to the free mobile operating system, which powers smartphones and tablets. Carriers have also put their marketing dollars behind the smartphones, luring in millions of consumers. As a result, Android has seen its market share jump over the past few months.

Android also benefits because other application stores such as those at GetJar and Amazon have sprung up to provide alternative sources for mobile programs.

Apple, which began the apps craze with the launch of its App Store, can't compete with such diversity, but still leads in the value of its apps. Ovum said that the iPhone will continue to dominate the market for paid applications, with app revenue expected to reach $2.86 billion in 2016, compared with $1.5 billion for Android. That's despite Android taking a near two-to-one lead in app downloads by that time, with 21.8 billion Android app downloads vs. 11.6 billion iOS downloads.

Despite the growth, Ovum said it is tougher to create a breakout hit as consumers get more selective and discerning and more applications arrive on the market.

"App-savvy consumers are less willing to pay a high premium for anything but 'must have' apps," said Ovum analyst Eden Zoller.

Android is expected to surpass Apple in application downloads for the first time, according to research firm Ovum.

Why Is Windows Phone 7 Winning Over Some Indie App Developers?

While many app developers have merely reworked their Android or iOS apps to function on Windows Phone 7, a handful of independent app makers are developing exclusively in Microsoft's mobile operating system. Why are these bootstrapping coders throwing all of their (spare) time behind the insurgent OS, and not Android or iOS?

For some, it’s because there’s less competition on WP7, or because they’re most familiar with Microsoft’s tools, or because they simply don’t care for the way iOS and Android operate. Microsoft is fighting to exploit those beliefs and recruit the developers who hold them; the company's success or failure at doing so may mean the success or failure of the Windows Phone 7 platform.

With just over 30,000 apps available for WP7, and only 2 percent of the United States smartphone market, Microsoft is a very small fish in a very competitive pond. But it is growing: According to Microsoft’s stats, Windows Phone 7 gained some 5000 apps in the past two months. Sure, that’s nothing next to the half-million apps on iOS, and the 200,000 you can find on Android, but WP7’s growing apps store shows that some developers think the platform is worth the time and effort.

Hearing the Good Word: Microsoft Evangelists and Thumba

At the moment, Microsoft is still trying to get its little app garden to flower. When Windows Phone 7 hit the market early last year, reports said that Microsoft was offering free equipment, revenue guarantees, and even cash incentives to developers to make apps for the WP7 platform, something that Apple and Google have never had to do for iOS and Android.

Microsoft representatives won’t comment on whether the company still pays developers to make apps, but Microsoft isn’t shy about the fact that it is attempting to lure developers, employing “more than 1000 ‘Microsoft Evangelists’ around the world,” according to Matt Bencke, general manager of Windows Phone apps for Microsoft. These globe-trotting Evangelists seek out developers at iOS and Android developer conferences or at grad schools, or they host hackathons in an effort to “convert” programmers to the WP7 platform.

Pieter Voloshyn, creator of Thumba“The hard reality of our competitive life is, we have to go where the developers are,” Bencke says. “We realize we're in a bit of an arms race, and the number of apps we have matters.”

The Evangelist method has seen some success. It’s responsible for Thumba, a photo-editing app that rivals most of the image-editing apps on iOS, and pretty much every photo-editing app on Android.

The developers, Pieter Voloshyn and his partners Luiz Thadeau and Jhun Iti, were working on a prototype photo editor using Microsoft’s Silverlight at The Methodist University of São Paulo in Brazil a few years back. Voloshyn says that a Microsoft Evangelist based in Brazil heard about their project and reached out to him and his partners, supplying the three with a Windows Phone 7 device and allowing them to submit the app before the app store opened in 2010.

Although Voloshyn says the team hasn’t made any money from Microsoft for developing the app, they have made a considerable sum selling the app itself, which costs $0.99. WP7 developers usually keep 70 percent of their earnings from the app store. Voloshyn notes that even though he couldn’t live off what he makes from his app, its earnings did help him pay for his recent wedding and honeymoon.

Voloshyn isn’t starry-eyed about Microsoft’s position in the smartphone game, but being recruited by Microsoft was a positive experience for him. “I think the [platform] leadership will be shared among the three [Android, iOS, and Windows Phone 7]. Microsoft came late in the game but came well, and I see a lot of gas for WP7 to compete,” he says.

That said, when asked what kind of phone he owns, Voloshyn admitted that he still uses a feature phone: “I’d love to have a WP7, but the price here in Brazil, when it comes, is charged with so many taxes that it discourages me. But I still have a hope of getting it with a fair price.”

Astoundingly, even among developers, Microsoft needs to fight to make owning a Windows Phone 7 handset--and using it for everything in day-to-day life--a priority.

A Labor of Love: Feed Me

Calum McLellan’s story is a bit different. A New Zealander living in Germany, he works at a German software company, programming a data-management system. He wanted to try creating mobile apps, and he figured he’d have enough spare time to do a little coding in the evenings after he put his son to bed.

“I was considering starting with Android last year, but then WP7 came out,” McLellan says. “I have a lot of experience with Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation, and Silverlight. I was also turned off by Android due to the number of apps available, the poor average quality of the apps, and the lack of developer support. I didn't want to work with Apple because it’s very difficult for someone without a Mac. And, in my opinion, these are the only three mobile platforms really worth considering at the moment.”

Despite clocking over 45 hours a week at his full-time job, McLellan created the app Feed Me, a mobile RSS feed reader, and released it in early 2011. He said he spends about 10 hours a week keeping up the app, and about 30 to 40 hours a week right before he releases an update. He plans on issuing one more update before releasing a Mango version this fall.

But has he made any money? “Not right now. I sort of hope that in a couple of years I can get a chunk of money,” he says. The ads that run in his free app have earned him a little cash, but require a U.S. bank account for him to withdraw the revenue (until the ad-placement service expands to Europe, which he hears will happen in a couple months). Regardless, the earnings are modest: “Windows Phone doesn't quite have enough market share at the moment,” McLellan admits.

He still thinks Windows Phone 7 is a better platform, because it’s an enclosed consumer phone like the iPhone, rather than an open-source mess of possible tweaks and adjustments. “I spent quite a while with Android last year, looking at the two OSs. With Android, I just couldn't stop messing with it, and that drove me nuts. Windows Phone saves me a lot of time.”

Still, the slow profits are a concern not just for app developers but also for Microsoft, who clearly wants to see app makers win big. Microsoft’s Bencke says the company has been predicting a gold rush for developers. But where is that rush? “It's 1847 for us, and the '49ers haven’t arrived in droves," he says, laughing. "We're seeing lots of positive signs, and we do have developers who are making great money. It's early in the gold rush.”

The Company Line: Social Lookout

While McLellan is a somewhat “platform agnostic” developer who actively chose between Windows Phone 7 and Android, Geert van der Cruijsen became a WP7 developer because he was already working a lot with Windows software creation tools. van der Cruijsen is Dutch and works as a consultant at Avenade, a company that builds software using Microsoft technologies.

Geert van der Cruijsen, creator of Social LookoutHis company had a contest to see who could build the best WP7 app, and he came in second with his app Social Lookout, which allows the user to follow tags and trends--rather than individual people--on social networks. He tied up some of the app’s loose ends after the contest, and submitted it to the Windows Phone 7 app store. Since then, he has worked on a few more WP7 app ideas outside of work, including his recent app PinPin ATM Locator.

Even so, van der Cruijsen is pragmatic about Windows Phone’s potential. “I don't see WP7 catching up to Android anytime soon. I think Windows Phone 7 has more potential than iOS, except for the coolness factor that Apple has for some reason.” His app development remains a hobby and hasn’t made him any money, although he’s working on paid and ad-supported apps for the future.

Like McLellan, van der Cruijsen expresses displeasure with how easily average users can get lost in the überfunctionality of the Android platform. “Android is really open, so it has more potential, but it is also a danger because it can get to hard to use for nontechnical people,” he says. Android is now the leading OS for smartphones, but developers like McLellan and van der Cruijsen prefer to give customers apps that they won’t have to “fiddle with,” subscribing to the idea that there’s potential in constraint.

And van der Cruijsen thinks Mango is round two for the fighting OS: “Windows’ Metro UI is really adding something, and I like that lots of things are integrated in the OS that you use a lot, like Facebook and Twitter.”

Fortunately, the passion for good apps is out there among Windows Phone 7 developers, even as Microsoft continues to struggle in making its phone a ubiquitous device. And Microsoft’s Bencke seems to have his heart in the right place when it comes to working with the grassroots: “The developers absolutely deserve to make money. The investment is pretty reasonable, whether you're a rookie or an experienced developer; we go out of our way to help you out.”

Baidu forks Android to introduce its own mobile OS for China

Baidu announced the plan at its annual Baidu World event in Beijing, according to a report by Penn Olson. The Chinese search company's services have already been used to replace Google's on Android phones sold in China, but the new initiative will spin a new OS off from the mainstream development of Android itself.

Baidu said it would deliver its own Maps, a service competing with Google Places, an ebook reader modeled after Apple's iBooks and a music player (depicted below from the Baidu website). The company will also fold in its apps that currently ship with Chinese Android phones, including a Chinese character input tool.

Baidu will target the new Yi OS in competition with Google's mainstream distribution of Android tied to its own apps, other Android variants already in use within China, and alternative mobile OS products like Alibaba, which is not based on Android but aims to run Android apps.

All of these products also compete with Apple's original iPhone, which has made an entry into China and will reportedly broaden its presence in a new partnership with the country's largest carrier China Mobile.

China's new fragment abandons Google

It's not clear what version of Android the new Baidu Yi will be based on. Android already suffers from an inconsistent, fragmented experience for users as individual phone makers and carriers add their own proprietary layers of apps and look and feel packages such as Motorola's Motoblur and Samsung's Touchwiz.

The new Baidu Yi OS, based on the open foundation code in Android, may run some Android apps but will face more technical barriers than the simple user experience overlays that complicate developers' ability to launch Android apps. Baidu's fragmentation barrier will be more like the OS version problems that split the Android ecosystem into incompatible API levels.

That issue is the result of hardware makers and carriers refusing to update earlier device models or taking several months to make updates available to users after Google issues a new build. Google's open model allows any partners to hold back updates, something Apple has eliminated with its policy of maintaining ownership of the iOS update system.

Of all Android devices to access Google's App Market over the past two weeks, half are still running last summer's Android 2.2 Froyo and only 30 percent are using Google's latest smartphone release, Android 2.3 Gingerbread. More than 16 percent are running a build older than Froyo, preventing them from being able to run modern apps.

Google's latest tablet-centric release, Android 3.0 Honeycomb, powers less than 2 percent of active devices, but it isn't used by a variety of tablet makers including Barnes & Noble Nook Color and Amazon's upcoming Android-based Kindle, both of which are based on customized versions of Android 2.2 Froyo. Those devices are not designed to work with Google's market however, and so would never show up in the company's analytics.

Lenovo's new IdeaPad and HTC's Flyer tablets use Android 2.3 Gingerbread, avoiding the requirements of Android 3.0 but also fragmenting the market for Android tablet apps across three API levels. Dell continued to use an outdated version of Android on its Streak 5 mini tablet until discontinuing it two weeks ago.

Google +1 button for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets

Google has added a new feature to Android and iOS operated smartphones and tablets.

The new addition is the ‘+1 button’ from Google. Similar to the “Like” button of Facebook, through this button users can get connected with their friends and family on Google plus.

This button is already available on numerous websites and is directly integrated to Google Plus. .

Punit Soni, Lead Product Manager of Google+ Games and Mobile, said, “this button would help the people around the web to make recommendations even while on the go. This button will be automatically available on the web browsers of Android 2.1 and iOS 4.0."

According to Google +1 feature will improve the search part on various sites as the +1 link would be visible just like Facebook and Twitter links.

With Google pitched against Facebook in a war of sorts, it is indeed going to be a tough ask to determine which of the two would score over the other.

As of now, Facebook enjoys an upper hand with its vast and expanding user base. But things can become more serious, with Google plus increasing its fan base.