Google has confirmed that it is set to unveil a redesigned Android Market, with several changes the the interface and layout. Users will be able to easily explore the top paid apps, top free apps and new additions to the store. Navigating to an app page will show screenshot previews, along with reviews from other users.
T-Mobile today marked the official release of its second Android-powered handset, the myTouch 3G. Already delivered in advance to some pre-orders and reviewed here, the device is also T-Mobile's first keyboardless Android device sports a 3.2-inch display with haptic feedback for its keyboard as well as a trackball for one-handed use. Besides access to Google apps, it gets Microsoft Exchange support from HTC and multi-IM chat support for AIM, Windows Live and Yahoo. There is a 3.2-megapixel camera capable of recording video, a Wi-Fi connection and a slot for the included 4GB microSD card.
In brief: MacTech has announced that the next release of its Archive DVD collection is now available and can be ordered online. The DVD is a collection of MacTech history from its beginnings in 1984. Macworld attendees and fans of the popular virtualization software VMware Fusion can attend a meet and greet party hosted by the Fusion team. The party is located only minutes from the Moscone Center and will include free appetizers and bumper stickers. Meanwhile, Location Based Technologies, Inc. has reported over 10,000 PocketFinder application downloads for the Apple iPhone and Google Android Smartphone.
Google has confirmed that the Android Market application store for the T-Mobile G1 cellphone will begin offering paid applications in the US and the UK early on in the first quarter of 2009, according to a report posted earlier this week. Soon thereafter, the Android Market in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain will also sell applications for devices running on the Google Android operating system. The move should help bring the Android Market more in line with the more established App Store from Apple, as the paid apps are expected to be more advanced and of higher quality.
Google may begin offering downloadable ringtones and wallpapers for the T-Mobile G1 smartphone, according to a Wednesday report. Two icons revealed when unzipping the Market.apk file on the T-Mobile G1 hints at the possibility of Google selling ringtones and wallpapers via the Android Market. Nothing is official and Google has not made any mention of offering either ringtones nor wallpapers, and the icons are hidden in the drawable folder under res, called ringtones.png and wallpapers.png. If the ringtones and wallpapers icons are put to use by Google, their content will most likely be governed by carriers who will charge users for each download, as is the case in many current set-ups.
