As the annual consumer electronics mega show draws to a close in Vegas, here are our picks for the top Android stories from CES 2012:

Google’s Matias Duarte Reveals Design Standards for Android 4.0 at CES 2012
Android Design is a online repository for the UI guidelines and blueprints for version 4.0, which we learned would unify smartphones and tablets back at Google I/O. This set of information should make things all neat and tidy for ICS devices, keeping user interface characteristics a bit more cohesive from app to app. Here, devs will find all the basic info and elements that are native to platform in order to make the best applications possible for the OS.
Engadget

Polaroid Announces the Android-powered SC1630 Smart Camera
Polaroid shocked the Consumer Electronics Show on Tuesday when the company announced a new camera powered by Android. The Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera is a 3.2-inch device, and it features a whopping 16-megapixel camera capable of 3x optical zoom on a 36-108mm lens. When connected to Wi-Fi, users can instantly upload their images to social networking sites and will also even have access to the Android Market.
BGR

Google Updates Search and Maps for Android in the Middle of CES
Google has taken to stealth updating Search and Maps for Android while attention is squarely placed on CES this week. The updates for Maps for Android center on improved battery life with Latitude now featuring faster refreshes for locations and adds the ability to… Read the rest

Today we have the pleasure of talking with “PHLASH”, a Montreal-based urban artist and founder of Tha Icon, one of the Web’s largest catalogs of Android icons.

PHLASH started as an Android icon designer in January 2010 when his search for inspiring HTC Magic icons came up short. A year and a half later, this prolific designer has produced more than 100,000 free and paid Android icon designs, all available for download on his website.

In our interview, PHLASH talks about his design background, his inspirations and offers some valuable tips for designers and Android fans alike. So lets jump right in.

Q: Welcome to AndroGeek, could please introduce yourself and tell us how you got started designing icons?
A: First off, thanks for having me on the virtual seat, I’m very honored. My name is ThaPHLASH…friends call me PHLASH. I’m a urban artist from Montreal Canada and started doing my icon project without really knowing where it would lead. It’s one of those things that when you start, it looks like a harmless hobby and evolves into a full blown career.

Q: Where does the name PHLASH come from?
A: In the nineties I was a very dedicated (Macromedia) Flash developer/designer, so PHLASH became a by-product of that.

Q: What pushes you to produce all of these icons?
A: Baller status.

Q: You have a history of doing street murals. Why the shift to icons and what has your experience been moving from… Read the rest

eBooks logically started with the PC before migrating to laptops and then netbooks. Soon after, dedicated ebook readers such as Amazon.com’s Kindle and the Sony Reader came onto the scene. Now, however, consumers are looking to get more out of the gadgets they already own. This has brought ebooks to smartphones. While the iPhone definitely leads the pack in smartphones used as ebook readers, Google Android phones are not far behind. To help the Android OS phone owner in obtaining and reading ebooks, several apps have been developed that are available at the Android market and on independent websites. The top ebook apps are as follows:

Aldiko by Aldiko (http://bit.ly/HlloD) – Aldiko runs on any Android-based phone and allows for seamless downloading of thousands of ebooks with no need for a subscription or computer connection. Aldiko claims to bring the user access to “tens of thousands” of free ebook titles. Aldiko allows browsing of multiple online catalogs and has a powerful search tool. Once books are downloaded, Aldiko provides an easy start interface that is fully customizable for organizing and reading.

Google Books by Google (http://bit.ly/13nRY) – Google provides direct access for Android phone users to their Google Books service. This brings over 1.5 million books to U.S. users and 500,000 to those outside the U.S. All of the titles are in the public domain and works by reformatting the page layout of its regular service so that it is easier… Read the rest

Google Support on the NexusOne bug: “…we are no longer investigating further engineering improvements”

Image taken via Gizmodo post

You also should check out this Google Support Forum thread ”Spotty 3G Part 2?“

Exactly Google Android 2.2  has been spotted in analytics data on a HTC Magic. Rumors could be right that the latest Android OS version will have ‘automatic app updates’

Image via Mobiflip

Also interesting is that Android 2.2 could be on the way with automatic-app-updates Mobiflip Blog mentioned that

“the Android is clearly a new or revised Market to see the really interesting thing is, however, the field “Allow automatic updating.

see image and more via

Of course if you root your phone then no doubt the various forums around the web will have Android 2.2 firmware builds to install. It is unclear at the moment when other Android smartphones will get these updates, but we expect over the coming months that once the update has been announced, updates to other devices will happen a few months after that.

AndroidAndMe’s tip is:

to wait till Google I/O conference starting on May 19th…

Google Nexus One owners first off followed possibly by DROID although speculation also says the N1 and DROID could get a roll out at the same time. These updates should allow developers to access better graphics capabilities specifically on the Google Nexus One.

via Engadget and Mobiflip (DE)

It would seem as though smartphones are becoming the next biggest e-book platform.

Image via http://mobile-libraries.blogspot.com

Recent news of ebook apps now exceeding the number of games on platforms like Apple’s iPhone and iPod. According to Mobclix, there are more than 27,000 app-based books available on Apple’s App Store, with games falling behind at 25,400, and entertainment at a distant third place of 17,164.

The smartphone ebook and book application trend seems to be picking up steam, with the number of ebooks outnumbering games almost two-to-one over the last month. This trend is almost certain to continue with the upcoming release of Apple’s new iPad tablet reader and dedicated online book store.

According to Appstoreapps, the top paid books on the Apple App Store are as follows:

Dr. Seuss’s ABC (Oceanhouse Media) – A time-honored classic now comes to the iPhone platform, featuring professional narration, background audio, and enlarge scene artwork. This title is designed to promote reading in young children as well as entertain.

iReading: The Lion and The Mouse (AppleTreeApp) – This title comes packed with exquisite pictures, narration and animation from some of the best illustrators around the world. This ebook includes both new and classic fairy tales to provide children with an exciting reading experience.

Free Books (Spreadsong, Inc). – According to its publisher, ‘Free Books’ claims to offer “23,469 classics for less than… Read the rest

Softbank, Japan’s largest broadband provider announced the launch of ”HTC Desire (X06HT)” for the late April 2010.

Softbank’s first Android smart phone will come along with Android 2.1
HTC Desire X06HT (SoftBank / HTC):

via Weekly ASCII (Japan)

Softbank X06HT Specs

• 3.7” AMOLED touchscreen with a WVGA resolution.
• 5Mpix CMOS Camera module with AL & LED Flash
• W-CDMA & GSM
• GPS, Bluetooth, HTC Sense
• 1GHz Snapdragon CPU
• 60 x 119 x 11.9mm 135g

“…the Japanese HTC Desire is the very same as its foreign brother” via Akihabara News

HTC Mobile is a Taiwanese cell phone manufacturer that has been making a lot of noise with the introduction of interesting new Smartphones in the last few years, and HTC is always good for its remarkable technical specifications such as the case of the HTC Desire.

Check this video about the

HTC Desire (X06HT) with voice search for Google Maps

Polyphony Digital, GT5′s developer, promised over 1k vehicles to race. There will be around 20 main tracks available in it and the variation of such tracks will bring the total number to 70.

Already in development for about 5 years, Gran-Turismo-5 is one of the most promising racing games we are waiting for.

Image via Forums Forza Motorsport

After some delays, Polyphony Digital is pushing to release Gran Turismo 5. The PS3 fans have to wait till this fall.

Gran Turismo 5 New Trailer

Sony is going to really push new technologies with their 3D gaming and their motion controller in 2010. Sony’s 3D-enabled Bravia HDTVs will also hit the market in summer 2010.

Polyphony Digital  was waiting for Sony to give the green light. Do you remember when Yamauchi said the game was all ready to go and they could “release it whenever they wished.

BTW “…the fifth installment will include visual damage as well as NASCAR racing.“

ODROID handheld game console is an Android powered entertainment device.

The Korea-based company HardKernel debuts its ODROID device in September 2009, and by late October, SlashGear was reporting that the first run of developer units have already sold out at around $300.

ODROID does have a pretty snappy ARM Cortex A8 processor from Samsung clocked at 833mhz, with ample 512MB DDR2 memory, a 3.5-inch capacitive touch screen display and 720p video playback through its built-in HDMI output.

This is the first Android device with such a gaming buttons layout.

Now watch the video playing  GBA & Quake III on Android 2.1 Eclair

GBA & Quake III on ODROID

Product information : http://www.hardkernel.com
CPU : Samsung S5PC100 833MHz Cortex A8
DDR2 RAM : 512MB
System OS Storage : 2GB
Android 2.1 source code for ODROID : http://dev.odroid.com

HardKernel is shipping a developer-focused handheld game device that runs Android and offers source code, schematics, and a debug board. Especially now that both devices have multi-touch technology. But with the introduction of powerful Android devices such as Motorola’s Droid and most recently, Google’s Nexus One, gaming apps and functionality has improved on the device. The fact that the Android platform doesn’t support gaming as well as the iPhone is not new.

Phandroid wrote a post today which will answer your question, whether ODROID Android Gaming device supports Android 2.1? ”…ODROID will be… Read the rest

How to create and insert your favorite Android smartphone icon pack and you’ll find my favorite list of free popular icons.

via large-icons.com

With the advent of new android smart-phones, you can now use and create several types of icons, and insert/download them into your application’s user interface. You may want to try out something other than the pre- packaged icons in your user interface. A number of useful icons are there that you can download in a free icon pack. These graphic icons will bring out a more professional look to your user interface and make it more attractive.

Here is a short and easy guide on how to create icons.

The primary color palette in a basic icon design is made up of white, black and gray scales. Different combinations of these colors are used to make the launcher icons, the menu icons and status bar icons. The launcher icons and certain status bar icons are given accents of bright and clear colors which match with the existing icons. You create the basic steps in these icons in the Adobe Illustrator.

You can make each icon by creating depth and shape, adding color and details. You can also create shadows by tilting the angles and a blurring effect.

Once the icons are created you can then import it to Adobe Photoshop and fit to the desired image size. For a launcher icon and the menu bar icon, you create an image size of… Read the rest

Can you install every Operating System on Windows Mobile devices?

When you can live with small fonts and a tiny screen on your WinMo this is a geeky way to install Ubuntu on your smartphone.

Ubuntu on the HTC Touch Pro2

Video via Pocketnow

Btw this is already available for the X1 via X1BUNTU (“UBUNTU 8.04 for X1 WORKING WIFI”)

Engadget and more heads up XDA developer forum

Geeky but not usable? Please give us your opinion.