As the wireless world awaits the Oct. 22 debut of the first phone based on the Google-backed Android software, engineers at Motorola
are hard at work on their own Android handset. Motorola's version will
boast an iPhone-like touch screen, a slide-out qwerty keyboard, and a
host of social-network-friendly features, BusinessWeek.com has learned.

Motorola has been showing spec sheets and images of the phone to
carriers around the world in the past two months and is likely to
introduce the handset in the U.S. sometime in the second quarter of
2009, according to people familiar with Motorola's plans. Building a
phone based on the highly anticipated Android operating system is part
of Motorola's effort to revive a loss-making handset division that has
forfeited market share amid a drought of bestselling phones.

The phone will appear among a new class of social smartphones designed to make it easy for users to connect quickly and easily to mobile social networks such as Facebook and MySpace. Such phones let users message in-network friends directly from phone contact lists.

Read the rest of the story Here.

[Via: Businessweek.com]

gphone, android motorolla phone, motorolla android

Androidapps.com was sold today. If you are looking for Androidapps.com it will be back online soon. Androidapps.blogspot.com is no longer associated with Androidapps.com.

Thanks!

It appears that the site is currently down but The site is current back online, here is the link so you can check it out later.


http://tmobile.modeaondemand.com/htc/g1/

The site offers a 360 degrees view, visual guides instructions and a emulator.

Namco offers PAC-MAN application at no charge in support of first Android-powered device!




Namco Networks, a leading publisher and developer of mobile games
and entertainment for mass-market casual gamers, today announced the
availability of the arcade classic PAC-MAN® on the first
Android™-powered device, announced today by T-Mobile. When the phone
launches, PAC-MAN will be available to consumers in the Android Market™
at no charge, giving owners of the new T-Mobile G1 handset full access
to the game which usually retails for $9.99.

"We are thrilled to launch PAC-MAN on the flagship Android-powered
device," said Scott Rubin, senior vice president of sales and marketing
for Namco Networks. "To encourage consumers to checkout PAC-MAN on the
G1, we are picking up the tab for the game. We want consumers to see
how great PAC-MAN looks on this device and how well it plays on the
Android platform."

Who can forget the countless hours and quarters spent avoiding the
pesky ghosts while chompin' on the dots? In addition to the classic and
addictive game play, PAC-MAN, the most popular video game in American
arcade history, has been upgraded to fully utilize the T-Mobile G1's
features. Taking advantage of the device's large screen, PAC-MAN on the
T-Mobile G1 includes three unique control schemes:

• Swipe Mode allows players to direct PAC-MAN's path by simply swiping in the direction you want to travel.
• Track Mode lets players zip through mazes using the phone's trackball
• Accelerometer Mode allows players to control PAC-MAN by tilting the phone in the direction they want to move.

For more information on PAC-MAN for the G1 or other mobile games by Namco, please visit www.namcogames.com.

Visa has announced plans to make mobile payment-related services broadly available to United States consumers by the end of the year. Central to this effort is Visa’s delivery of mobile applications for the Android platform, which will be available for download on Android-powered handsets and initially available to Chase Visa cardholders.


The first set of services that Visa is planning to develop for Android
will allow Chase Visa cardholders to receive notifications to their
mobile devices about transaction activity on their accounts; obtain
offers from a wide array of merchants; and use the built-in
location-based technology developed by Google to quickly map nearby
merchants where they can redeem Visa offers and locate ATMs that accept
Visa.

Visa mobile services that will be
developed for the Android platform will first be offered to Chase Visa
account holders. Following this initial launch phase, Visa plans to work
with additional card-issuing financial institutions to extend
availability of its mobile services for Android to their Visa account
holders. Visa is also developing a payment application that will enable
consumers with Visa accounts to make mobile payments in retail locations
nationwide, or while on the go, over wireless networks.

”By developing these mobile services for the
Android platform, Visa has taken a major step toward achieving our goal
of combining two of the world’s most powerful
and ubiquitous consumer innovations, electronic payments and mobile
technology,” said Elizabeth Buse, Global Head
of Product at Visa Inc. “Through this effort,
U.S. consumers will, for the first time, be able to download Visa mobile
service applications directly to their handsets. Visa cardholders have
come to expect more from their Visa account than just convenience and
security of payment, and wireless customers expect their mobile devices
to carry a multitude of applications. Extending Visa payments and
services to the mobile device is a natural extension, and makes the
consumer payment experience more convenient, more secure and more
rewarding.”

Visa mobile services developed for the Android platform include:

• 
  Alerts: Consumers will receive near real-time notification of
  purchase activity based on customized cardholder preferences. The
  consumer will be able to personalize the types of alerts delivered to
  their mobile device according to pre-selected parameters, such as the
  size of the transaction, or whether the transaction is in foreign
  currency. Because these alerts are triggered by the transaction as it
  passes through the Visa network, consumers will receive notifications
  almost immediately, typically before they even leave the store. This
  adds a new layer of peace of mind when using Visa, and a new way to
  combat fraud.
  
• 
  Offers: Consumers will receive targeted offers from merchants
  directly to their phone. These offers –
  ranging from discounts to loyalty offers –
  could be based on a consumer’s previous
  purchase activity. For consumers and merchants alike, this service
  will ensure the most relevant offers are sent in a timely manner,
  helping increase merchant traffic, loyalty and customer satisfaction.
  
• 
  Locator: The Locator service is expected to integrate with
  technology developed by Google, such as Google Maps and Google
  location-based services, to show consumers nearby locations of
  merchants sending them offers, or of an ATM that accepts Visa. The
  location would be called out on a map displayed on the mobile device
  screen.
  

“We’re pleased to
extend the value of Visa to the mobile channel,”
said Buse. “With more than 3 billion mobile
devices already in market today, we have an opportunity deliver the
convenience and security of Visa to consumers around the globe.”

[Yahoo! Finance]

I know I have a few posts with some of the features of the new T-Mobile G1 but I thought I would add everything into one post to make it easier to find the information.

Here are the Main features of the G1:

Touch screen

Real Web browsing capabilities

QWERTY keyboard

Music player

One-click Google Search

3G network and Wi-Fi access

There are some pretty great features to the G1/Android Platform and I'm sure we will learn much more once the Phone is officially released including access to the Android Market.

Engadget is reporting that T-Mobile has changed their decision to include a 1GB Data Cap on G1 users. Instead of a 1GB data cap for everyone they will now only cap users who abuse the network.

Here is what T-Mobile had to say about the issue:

"Our goal, when the T-Mobile G1 becomes available in October, is to
provide affordable, high-speed data service allowing customers to
experience the full data capabilities of the device and our 3G network.
At the same time, we have a responsibility to provide the best network
experience for all of our customers so we reserve the right to
temporarily reduce data throughput for a small fraction of our
customers who have excessive or disproportionate usage that interferes
with our network performance or our ability to provide quality service
to all of our customers.

We removed the 1GB soft limit from our
policy statement, and we are confident that T-Mobile G1 customers will
enjoy the high speed of data access over our 3G network. The specific
terms for our new data plans are still being reviewed and once they are
final we will be certain to share this broadly with current customers
and potential new customers."

[Engadget.com]


Sounds like good news for G1 users, I'm glad they responded to this issue.