Samsung has decided to make a Google Android-based phone it’s high-end mobile device/phone. It’s a victory for Android fans and adds another really powerful mobile phone into the mix of those looking to get into smartphones.
It offers a 1GHz processor, 3D graphics (mapping, etc.), Assisted GPS, a 5MP camera capable of HD video recording, Bluetooth 3.0, and 8GB or 16GB versions with support for a 32GB memory card (see below). It’s focused on a 4-inch 800×480 Super AMOLED touchscreen display. It’ll be available sometime later this year.
Link: Samsung Unpacked
Speaking of Android, AdMob, a mobile advertising network, took a survey concerning development on various mobile platforms. While the survey was limited in number (just over 100 responses), it was interesting since these are actual developers. Some notes of interest:
– 31% of developers are developing for more than one mobile platform
– More than 70% of iPhone developers who responded said they would develop for Android over the next six months, while around half of the Android developers were planning on developing for the iPhone.
– Nearly half are new to mobile platforms.
Link: Metrics.Admob.com
It’s interesting since over the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion in development for platforms that are not Windows Mobile or Palm-based. Whether it’s going to carry over into genealogy software development, I don’t know. If you look at the iPhone-related genealogy applications, the highest-profile apps are from existing third party developers for Apple’s Mac OS X who already have genealogy applications available for the desktop/laptop. Even Ancestry.com’s Tree to Go is from a company already involved with genealogy software (Family Tree Maker, among other things). Still, the iPhone opened up the door and we have developers new to the genealogy scene, and the same can be said of the Android platform. Even if we don’t see a lot of new genealogy-specific software, we’ll still see plenty of software that any genealogist can use – navigation, photo storage and management, etc.
Finally, If you have $199 to spare, a phone or other mobile devices that supports microSDHC (possibly including the above Samsung Galaxy S), and a need to carry around a lot of photos, video, music, and data, your ship has arrived. SanDisk announced a 32GB microSDHC card today. Right now it’s available in the United States (and probably Canada) as well as Europe. By the end of next month, it should be available worldwide. Link: SanDisk