The Google Phone is here

by George T on Jan 6 2010 at 00:56 Comments 2

Just a couple of hours ago, the Android press gathering at Google HQ ended. Thanks to Robert Scoble (@Scobleizer) we were able to see live what was going on there via ustream.tv where the viewers reached the maximum of 13000+ in less than half an hour after Robert started streaming the event (which can be found here now). It was absolutely fascinating. After a few introductory notes, the specifications of the Nexus One were revealed confirming the rumored specs.

for more detailed specs click here.

it belongs in an emerging category of devices we call ‘superphones’.

Mario Queiroz
Vice President, Product Management @ Google

At the moment, Nexus One is shipping only inside US. Shipping outside US is currently limited to UK, Singapore and Hong Kong, however these test markets are about to expand. (I hope Greece will be included in the forthcoming countries) If you are one of the lucky humans living in the countries mentioned above, all you have to do is head over to google.com/phone and place your order. There is also an option for a 2 line engraving at the back of the phone if you wish to.

Some of the most intriguing specs of the Google Phone include:

Last but not least, Google decided it is time for a Google hosted web store that will provide a new way for consumers to purchase a mobile phone. The first phone that will be sold through this new web store is the Nexus One. Nexus One will be the first phone in a series of phones that will be available at the Google web store later. It is definitively a questionable action by Google, but if you ask me, I believe that the Google Web Store will thrive in the years to come. Who knows? Maybe a Google Chrome OS netbook is coming up next!? The sure thing is that mobile phone is the new P.C. (Personal Computer).

Check out the live Google Nexus One launch event coverage by gdgt.com, engadget.com, readwriteweb.com and gizmodo.com.


Firefox for Mobile (beta) now available

by George T on Jan 5 2010 at 01:54 Comments 2

I didn’t have the chance to get my hands on the new Nokia N900 for time being so I was experimenting with Firefox for mobile with its download-for-desktop version. Until a few days ago I was only able to download and play with the latest alpha version, which didn’t surprise me that much, but lately Firefox released a beta version so I thought I should give it a try. Well, the beta version is much more prettier and far more reliable than its predecessor. Except for the new polished user interface there are a few other things that actually make you smile. First and foremost the new super swipe-left-or-right navigation menu rocks.

It is a totally cool new feature and it is really-really-really fast accessible. You just swipe right to get a quick view of your browser’s tabs, or just swipe left to access some hidden buttons like the back and forth buttons, preferences and the bookmark button. I have to say that I ‘ve been using Android for a couple of years (incl. emulators and real phones) but I didn’t have that fast access to the browser’s tabs or settings and the same goes for the iPhone’s Safari browser. Although both platforms provide a quite fast access to the browser’s tabs and/or settings, none of them was as fast as the new mobile Firefox. I like this new approach of mobile browsing experience and I could probably get used to it very soon.

Furthermore, there is a zoom-when-tap-a-textfield feature where the browser zooms in the tapped input field so that you can easier check what you type (keep in mind that this very first version of Firefox for mobile is available for phones with a 800×480 pixel resolution screens which makes things a little bit crowded when it comes down to the 3.5 inch screen). And of course there is the all-time-classic double-tap-zooming.

Lastly, there couldn’t be a mobile Firefox without having mobile add-ons! There are currenlty 40 or so available add-ons. I ‘ve already tried the Mozilla Mobile Add-ons Challenge award winner, TwitterBar by Christopher Finke. Have you?


Top 10 most popular articles of 2009

by George T on Jan 2 2010 at 15:42 Comments 1

It feels like yesterday when we registered the domain elephantsquared.com. It has been an interesting time since then, with a lot of great articles, many UI improvements, new features and more. Although ElephantSquared launched in the mid-year of 2009, that is during August, I think it is worth mentioning the top 10 most popular articles in this short period of time. So, just sit back and enjoy..

  1. Measy – Find the perfect gadget
  2. OpenBSD 4.6 is here!
  3. Project Retweet is now officially under construction
  4. IE6 support till 2014!!!
  5. WordPress 2.8.5 – The hardening release
  6. Google Wave say hello to Etherpad
  7. Likes and dislikes about the new Mac OS X aka Snow Leopard
  8. Picasa gets more social
  9. Firefox celebrating 5 years!
  10. A step ahead for open source

A big thank you to all of you. 2010 here we come!

Kind regards,
ElephantSquared team


Google’s Happy New year explosive message

by George T on Jan 1 2010 at 16:01 Comments 1

It turns out that the countdown that google.com showed every time you pressed the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button over the last few weeks, which was ticking down the seconds, suddenly when the year was 2010 it turned into an explosive Happy New Year message floating over Google’s homepage!

And a couple of hours later Google’s special new year’s Doodle for 2010 showed up.

2009 has been an amazing year for Google, including many UI changes inside Google products, new programming languages, a lot of Android madness and last not but not least a true Google-branded bleeding-edge device coming up in a few days. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Google in 2010.

Happy New Year to all! :)


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