Android 2.3 Launch On Nexus One This Week?

Google Nexus One could be getting an OS update to the upcoming Gingerbread Android 2.3 platform sometime this week. This is according to a tweet from Alvaro Fuentes Vasquez who happens to work on the leadership team of the Open Handset Alliance – the software conglomerate working on developing Android for the various partner devices. In his tweet, Vasquez has said (Google translated),

“Prepare your Nexus One (Developer version) for Android OTA update 2.3 (Gingerbread) for the next few days ”

This is an interesting aside to yet another rumor doing the rounds that suggests that the Samsung made Nexus Two phone that will run on Gingerbread as well is scheduled for launch this Thursday in the United States.

If you are an Android lover, this news should really get you excited. Just about when all Android handsets have started to receive the FroYo upgrade comes the next version. The wait begins all over again.

Google TV On Sony PS3 Launching Soon?

Let me start with the usual disclaimer that this is a rumor at this stage and so you will need your salt ready. Sony is apparently bringing the Google TV to its gaming console, the PlayStation 3. According to people “close to the project“, this offering could roll out early spring next year.

What this could mean is that Google TV, that Sony already offers over their Blu-ray players could now also be connected with the gaming console to let users stream television content over their PS3. The PlayStation is already compatible with Hulu and Netflix apps and an integration with Google TV could make the PlayStation a full fledged media and entertainment consumption device. Also, since Google TV is integrated with Android apps, an integration would mean PlayStation users can soon begin accessing their favorite apps like Last.Fm, Facebook and Twitter over their PS3 – something that XBox users have been enjoying for a while.

The integration is also seen as a way to counter Microsoft’s recent announcement to bring U-verse streaming to XBox. Anyway, with the partnership between Sony and Google having grown stronger in recent times with the launch of Google TV, this was quite evidently the next step and was always on the cards.

Sony is expected to make an announcement in this regard soon after the holidays in order to keep their sales afloat post the hot shopping season.

Android Paypal Payment Support To Roll Out Today?

Google and Paypal have long known to be working on something. Late last month, we discovered that an ‘Enable Paypal Payments‘ option would soon be made available on the Android platform making it easy for Android phone users to pay for apps from their Paypal account. It was widely expected that an announcement in this regard would be made at the Paypal X Developer Conference last week but nothing happened.

Now according to a fresh rumor, Google could be making an announcement today – November 2 – about its roll out plans. If you are lucky enough, the roll out can happen as the announcement happens. But do note that the veracity of the source is not known and hence you may have to take this with a bit of guarded skepticism. We will update you when the announcement actually happens.

Use Flickr Without A Yahoo Login ID – Use Google Instead

Want to use Flickr to upload and share pictures, but want to do it without a Yahoo login ID? It was not possible until now. But Yahoo has now announced that the company is embracing OpenID in order to ensure more widespread use of their popular photo sharing service. Google is the first company to partner with Yahoo in the introduction of OpenID.

Starting now, you may sign up for a Flickr account with your Google login ID instead. This is interesting because Google runs Picasa, the rival photo sharing service. By letting users access Flickr with their login, Google could be increase the appeal of Flickr over Picasa. Nevertheless, this is a big win for users as they can now get the best of both worlds.

Want to sign up? Click here to get started.

New Gmail Web App For iPhone Launched

If you have been regularly checking your Gmail account over Mobile Safari on your iPhone or iPod Touch, you may have realized that the application loads new messages much faster than it used to. That’s because Google has just released a new version of the web application that is, in their words, snappier. This is not the only change that Google says it has made.

The new look Gmail app for Mobile Safari now also scrolls at a speed that is reflective of the swiping gesture. Make a quick swipe and you get down to the bottom of the list faster. Apart from this, the toolbars on top now stay fixed at their position unlike earlier times where they would float down and up after every scroll.

You can check these new changes right away on your iPhone or iPod Touch by hitting gmail.com on your mobile Safari. Do you like it?

Google Nexus Two Rumors – Unveiling On November 8?

Google may have officially claimed that they are no longer going to focus on the hardware side of the mobile business, but rumors have been doing the rounds over the past one week that Mountain View is launching a Nexus Two phone shortly. The device will reportedly be exclusively sold at CarPhone Warehouse for the UK market.

Now a fresh word is that Google could soon be making an official unveiling of this device. And unlike the earlier model, the new phone could come from Samsung and not HTC. Also, the official unveiling could happen on November 8 – at an official Samsung event.

Few things to note here. The phone may not be called a Nexus Two. Google could be coming up with a new brand considering that the earlier one did not exactly take off. Also, though the phone is from Samsung, it may not be layered with its custom UI and would instead retain the native Android look.

A partnership with Samsung makes sense considering that Google may now be able to gain access to the state of the art Super AMOLED displays that Samsung manufactures. These displays have been in huge demand and with Samsung being one of the few manufacturers have found it extremely difficult in recent times to keep up with production. Consequently, most manufacturers including HTC have moved away from Super AMOLED to alternate displays. By partnering with Samsung, Google may gain access to these “super” displays to go with what they call their “superphones“.

Google Nexus Two Rumor – Is A Nexus One Successor Coming?

There is a fresh rumor doing the rounds that Google may be building a successor to their not-so-popular Google Nexus One that was launched in January of this year. According to this report which was first published in a London newspaper, the new phone will run the upcoming version of Android that is popularly known as Gingerbread. The report further states that the device will be available exclusively with CarPhone Warehouse which is an independent mobile phone retailer.

Now frankly, this rumor could be true for so many reasons. Firstly, Google Nexus One failed to impress not because of the specs, but because of the distribution strategy. Now with Google having revamped their Phone portal to talk about Android phones in general, it is likely that the company may have also worked out an alternate, more conventional distribution strategy that could be put to use. But the problem is, Google has quite categorically stated earlier this year that there will not be a Nexus One successor.

Beta Google Instant On Android Phones Releases For Some Users

In September this year, Google launched a completely revamped search interface for the desktop. The new Google Instant not only offered quick and immediate results but also brought with it an improved keyword suggestion tool – one that completed your query instead of waiting for you to input yours. During the launch, Google had noted that the search interface would be made available for mobile devices moving forward.

The first step in this direction appears to have been taken. A number of users on Android devices like Motorola Droid, Droid X, Droid 2 and HTC Incredible are reporting about having seen the new interface in action on their mobile phones. Apparently, the Instant search is turned off by default offering users a tap control to turn it on.

Do you see this new interface on your Android phone? Tell us in the comments.

Sony Internet TV On Best Buy Goes On Sale

Sony Internet TV; the company’s version of Google TV was launched this week and like what we had earlier heard, Best Buy is not holding back for a week before launch. The popular electronics retailer has already put up their stocks of Google TV from Sony for sale. But given the new concept, the product is sure to invite several inquisitive visitors. Best Buy is reported to have been giving away a pretty neat product guide that will give customers a walkthrough of all that is on offer.

Logitech, another Google partner in the making of Google TV too is reported to be getting all set to bring their new Logitech Revue to the Best Buy stores. Just hold on for an official word.

Sony’s Google TV offering is made of four HD TV models along with one Blu-Ray player.

Watching YouTube On TV – New Version Of YouTube Leanback Releases

Google has released a new version of YouTube Leanback – a site that the company launched in July of this year to let users “lean back” on the couch to surf through YouTube videos. Now with Google TV all set for release, this new version of Leanback will bring some new tweaks to the service that shall be integrated with Google TV to let users watch videos on their television sets.

One of the primary enhancement is the ability to watch a number of videos that were hitherto unavailable due to licensing issues. This includes a lot of music videos. Also, Leanback now comes with a number of pre-selected channels and playlists that are suitable for television viewing. As you know, some videos; particularly those with lower resolution are not really ideal for television viewing. Perhaps the most important change, from Google’s perspective, is the introduction of new overlay ads. Leanback, that was previously ad-free, will now come with overlay ads similar to the ones that are visible on the normal YouTube videos.

You do not need a Google TV to watch YouTube Leanback. Just hit this link to sit back and surf through the various videos.