Looks like Sprint EVO 4G owners may be getting their 2.2 update sooner than anyone expected. Although nothing is set in stone about this leak, Engadget got a hold of an internal Sprint update release plan and feature list and according to it Android 2.2 will start to be pushed out tomorrow (7/30/10) for HTC EVO owners.

What’s interesting about this update is that it isn’t just the improvements of Android 2.2 that are coming to the EVO; many added features by HTC may also included. Here’s some to look forward to:

• Application sharing – This one is likely as it is included in the 2.2 update for the Incredible
• Flashlight app – Also on 2.2 for Incredible. I used it and it works great.
• Remove keyboard dismiss key from keyboard – Also on 2.2 for Incredible
• Rich phone canvas with social networking status
• Gallery will now support Facebook comments – Yeah, that could be extremely annoying
• Camera rotates 4-ways – Also on 2.2 for Incredible
• New Improved Search widget – Also on 2.2 for Incredible
• Apps2SD – Also on 2.2 for Incredible
• Market widget – Seems pointless, but also on 2.2 for Incredible

Most of these additions are pretty sweet, while some may be a tad useless or annoying in my opinion. I would say that the feature list that Engadget has seems rather legit, yet the time of the update can always change. Engadget proposes that this weekend we may see a small group of EVO owners get their updates, have a pause, then have a full roll-out in the coming days. That sounds realistic to me, especially when we saw what happened last time Sprint rolled out EVO updates.

So, are you EVO owners pumped? If and when you get your OTA update let us know will you?

Via [Engadget]

A month ago, Aldiko stood alone as one of the only usable Android apps that provided an ereading experience. Since then, the big names in the book distribution market – Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Kobo – entered the fray within days of each other. Why the sudden increase in attention for Android?

We may have a little insight into that phenomena based on a recent statements from Amazon.com, the largest book distributor online. Amazon SVP of Digital Media, Steve Kessel, expects eBooks to outsell paperback books in 2011.

“I think we [Amazon] will sell more Kindle books than paperback books in the next year [2011]“, Kessel told Pocket-Lint.com. “Sometime after that, we will start selling more Kindle books than hard covers and paperbacks combined.”

The rise of eBooks over paperback has been talked about for years, but paperbacks consistently outsold the digital versions. With the increasing popularity of ereaders, and runaway success of the iPad, digital books are finally inching closer to eclipsing physical copies (on Amazon, at least).

That explains why the eBook apps for Android suddenly appeared within such a short timeframe. Companies routinely jostle to be first to secure their position in growing markets and keep up with the competition. It’s much easier to obtain a following and build early than to enter a market late and be forced to unseat the dominant party. When one company delivers an eBook reader for iOs or Android, a rapidly-growing platform poised to appear on several device types, it’s imperative that rivals do the same.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Kobo debuted in that small window because they recognize how vital it is to get in the game early. It remains to be seen which storefront and reading app will become the dominant player.

HTC is diving head first into the mobile phone market in China, and it’s doing it with phones running a Froyo-based version of Sense. The Chinese HTC website says that the Desire will launch with Android 2.2 soon, and other HTC handsets launching in China are also expected to have the latest version of Android, according to Engadget.

Does that mean we’re actually closer than we thought to seeing Froyo released to current ROM’s? Not necessarily.

We’ve seen time and time again that phone experiences are not parallel on different carriers and in different countries. Just because an update comes to Hero users in Taiwan or the UK doesn’t mean people in Canada are any closer to a similar update. That may also be the case here because Froyo coming earlier to China may simply mean that HTC is making it a priority to have its ROM’s up-to-date for one of the world’s largest markets.

It is encouraging to see that HTC is speeding up the process to update Sense to newer versions of Android, but an early China debut doesn’t mean updates in other markets. It’s worth noting that a Froyo-based Sense ROM was leaked for the Incredible, and HTC previously said that it would start delivering Froyo beginning in Q3. We’re a third of the way through Q3 and still haven’t seen any phone officially updated yet, so don’t hold your breath.

Korea has been known to get some pretty sweet tech and the announcement of the the new LG Optimus Z Android phone just adds to the bunch. LG announced today that the Optimus Z will be available in Korea for SK Telecom and KT and will support some ridiculous functionality that we can only dream of our Androids to include.

The Optimus Z’s specs are straight forward; 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, 3.5-inch “Hyper HD” LCD display, runs Android 2.1 with a 2.2 update by year’s end, 5MP camera, and a “brushed metal” backing. But it isn’t the specs that make this phone unique and downright amazing, it’s everything else that is included. The Z will ship with two 1350mAh batteries, support Dolby mobile audio and DivX video out of the box, and 100 pre-loaded applications as well as 70 more that are not included in the market. Sounds awesome, but the next two are kind of crazy.

The Optimus Z will have an On Screen Phone interface that will allow the user to use their phone on their computer by connecting via a USB cable or Bluetooth. This will give then access to making phone calls as well as email and contacts. Last but not least there is a new Drag and Shake feature that allows Optimus Z users to share files by “flicking” them to each other and even syncing up to a PC with LG’s Air Sync System. Now that is some innovation.

There is no set price or date for the Z’s availibility. Hopefully LG is starting something here and can bring these ideas and features to their upcoming Android devices in the US and elsewhere. How is it even possible that the same company that created the Optimus Z thought that the LG Ally was a good idea?

Via [MobileBurn]

Hey there, Android fans. You may wake-up this morning to discover that there’s an allegedly rogue application in the Android Market that is stealing people’s data when installed. According to a security firm that happens to offer mobile security software, this app disguises itself as a wallpaper downloader, then grabs users personal information – SIM card number, SMS messages, and voicemail subscriber info – and then sends that data to a server in China.

Now, aside from the opportunistic nature of a security firm being the one to report this, there’s an obvious lesson here that thousands of Android users have yet to grasp. That lesson is that they need to read the permissions requests whenever they install an Android app. Always.

Before an app can be installed, Android displays a page explaining to users what type of functions that app wants to perform. Familiarize yourself with that screen because it is your friend. It will tip you off when an app has questionable motives, and will allow you to use common sense about which apps to install and which apps to run away from. The screen typically looks like this:

A screenshot of MixZing, which is NOT the supposedly malicious app

Look at permissions requested by the supposedly malicious app, Wallpapers:

• Your Location
• Network communication (full internet access, view network state)
• Storage (modify delete SD card contents)
• Phone calls (read phone state and identity)
• System tools (set wallpaper)

Does that look right to you? Of course not. It raises suspicion that an app designed to change my wallpaper needs to know where I’m located or who I make calls to. The only permissions it really needs are Storage and System Tools, which tips me off that I shouldn’t be installing this app.

There are some Android apps that legitimately need to know that type of information. Locale changes settings based on GPS coordinates, so it makes sense that it wants to know my location; Phonebook replaces the default dialer and contacts app, so it has a right to request Phone call permission; MixZing downloads information from the web for playback, so it should request Network communication. However, some ringtones, wallpapers, games, etc., have no reason for requesting such information. Unless the app describes a particular feature that would require that permission, you have to question the developer’s motives.

Android is an open platform, so there’s no walled garden protecting users from questionable practices. The benefit of having a phone that provides more freedom with apps means that you also have to take on the responsibility of policing your device. Always read the permissions before installing and think about why certain apps make certain requests.

It’s unlikely that will get a car as cool as KITT from Night Rider in our lifetime, so we’ll just have to settle for the next best thing. Viper SmartStart is a new Android app that can control a car by interacting with hardware installed in an automobile.

Viper SmartStart can start your car remotely, a life-saver during those snowy Northeast winters (the physical car key must still be used to actually drive). The remote system also extends the range of your commands anywhere with a 3G signal, allowing owners to lock/unlock doors, open the trunk, turn on a security system, or be notified if an alarm goes off. That should help forgetful people cut down on the amount of times they run back to their car to double check if the door is locked, and provide an additional layer of security.

The Viper SmartStart app is free but requires purchasing the system hardware. The device costs $299 if self-installed, but it’s also available at Best Buy for $499 with full installation.

Here is how a CEO talks to the Wall Street Journal when he wants his company’s stock pumped up. Today, Eric Schmidt was quoted saying,

“If we have a billion people using Android, you think we can’t make money from that?”

This was in response to his statement and belief that Android could potentially make $10 billion dollars a year in advertising revenue for Google. Schmidt came to this conclusion with some very absurd numbers and small calculations of 1 billion Android users at $10 worth of ad revenue per user per year. Wow, that was easy to do. The fact is is that Android has been growing at a steady pace with an estimated 160,000 handsets activated a day. That sounds like a lot of phones and it is, but even at that pace it would take around “17 years to reach that goal”.

The Android onslaught, although crazy as it is now, could eventually slow down making a billion handsets completely out of reach. Many sites are spinning this saying that “Google is going to make $10 billion a year from Android”, when in reality this is just pure CEO fluff. I love me some Android, don’t get me wrong, but to say that “all we need is a billion Android devices in existence and poof! we have $10 billion” is a complete longshot.

Via [Phandroid]

The war between fashion and function rages on in Pulse News Reader, a popular iPad and iPhone app that is now available on Android. While Pulse is a news reader that is much easier on the eyes thanks to a less conventional design for mobile news readers, it lacks the core function of being an adequate mobile news reader for many.

Available for $1.99, Pulse takes the feeds of websites that you read religiously, then presents them in a highly-organized manner tailored to your phone. Whether in portrait or landscape, users can scroll through a list of articles layered over thumbnails. There’s no groundbreaking experience by tacking on a tiny picture, but the overall experience of having a polished application  improves on the otherwise drab experience of opening an app and scrolling through an endless list of headlines.

However, Pulse relies so heavily on that polish that it fails to meet the primary objective of being a good news source for most RSS readers. The app limits users to a maximum of 20 news sources. That may be fine for people who only browse a couple of sites everyday, but those people would probably browse those couple of sites. RSS has become a tool utilized primarily by people who have more than 20 news sources and want one central place to read them.

People who have 30+ news feeds in Google Reader or don’t feel the need to buy a new RSS app should stick with what they currently use. If you only need 20 or fewer news sites in your feed, then I suggest taking Pulse for a test drive. The app has its faults by struggling to import embedded content and limiting users to only 20 feeds, but it looks nice. The fashion over function crowd may think that’s good enough to overlook early faults.

P.S. Add Androinica.com’s full RSS feed if you decide to use Pulse

KEY FEATURES

• Read RSS feeds with good visuals
• Store articles for offline reading
• Integrates with Google Reader

CONS

• Limits users to 20 news sources

App: Pulse News Reader

Price: $1.99

Website: http://www.alphonsolabs.com/

If you have yet to discover the addictive game of Bistro Cook, get ready to put on your digital apron and go download this application from the Android Market. The concept is simple, the game play is straightforward, and the lunch rush never ends. In both game modes–Casual and Adventure–Bistro Cook is all about speed.

In Casual mode, you are behind the counter, pushing out orders as they appear along the top of your screen. The order appears below each plate. Your job is to select the appropriate food, place it in one of your four frying pans, and transfer it to the corresponding plate as soon as it is properly cooked. If you wait too long to serve the food once it is cooked, it will burn and you will have to start that order all over again. As you complete more and more orders, they become increasingly difficult, going from one item per plate to two or three (maybe four, I could never get that far). And as if that isn’t hard enough, the plates also come more quickly as time progresses. As best as I can tell, there is no final objective to “win” the game. You play until the plates get backed up too far. Your goal is to complete as many orders as possible and with the highest customer satisfaction rating, which goes down based on how long it takes for you to plate their order after the food is cooked.

Adventure mode is very similar, but has more of a “career” game play feel to it. You start with a single pan and with each order that you complete, you earn money. The goal is to earn enough money to purchase better quality pans, and after that, to earn as much money as possible. The game itself suggests that users become familiar with the process in Casual mode before playing Adventure, and I would wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.

Overall, Bistro Cook is a lot of fun to play. First time users should definitely take the time to go through the very brief tutorials before playing. I would imagine that it could eventually start to get a little mundane after you’ve played it many times, but the process to get to that point is very enjoyable. It eventually becomes obnoxiously hard, but then again, you are supposed to lose. The worst part of the whole experience for me was that when I placed the food in the pans, the sizzling noise always made me incredibly hungry.

Key Features

• Easy to learn
• Great for almost any age group
• Smooth, fast graphics
• Submit high scores online

Cons

• Could become mundane very quickly for some people
• Makes you hungry

App: Bistro Cook

Price: Free

What a difference a phone makes. Despite three years of stagnation and net decline in its subscriber base, Sprint has finally had a period of growth. The carrier announced today that in Q2 2010, it gained approximately 111,000 net subscribers (Number of customers leaving subtracted from number of new customers).

In Q2 2009, Sprint lost 257,000 customers. Sprint credits the turnaround this year to the popularity of the HTC Evo and BlackBerry Curve, but let’s be real here and say the EVO brought in the lion’s share of those new customers. It was the first big-ticket device since the Palm Pre and broke sales records that led to early shortages. Thanks to the EVO, Sprint has experienced its “best ever year-over-year quarterly net postpaid subscriber loss improvement of 763,000″ and best subscriber additions performance in five years.

Q3 could potentially be as strong. The Samsung Epic 4G is expected to be released next month, offering a 4G phone with a QWERTY keyboard and many of the same bells and whistles that have made the EVO popular.