Watch Google’s first Nexus 7 commercial

I think one of main reasons why the “mainstream” users don’t know much about the “Android” brand, or can’t recognize an Android phone that easily is because Google has never really had a marketing campaign for Android itself. This coupled with the fact that each manufacturer makes their “Android” phones look quite different from other manufacturer’s Android phones, is why the Android brand is so weak in the market compared to the “iPhone” brand, or “iPad” brand.
Of course, it’s also easier to remember an actual product’s name than an operating system’s name, if you don’t care much about this sort of thing. However, if Google would’ve promoted Android heavily with traditional advertising, the same way they did with Chrome since the beginning, maybe “Android”, as a brand name would be a lot more recognizable. This would be much like the “Windows” brand in the world of PC’s; everyone and their mom knows “they need Windows” for their PC’s.

Plus, it would get people used to a certain type of UI that stock Android has, and that would lead to 2 things: it would make it harder for manufacturers to promote their own skinned Android devices as Android, and in the same time those who would use stock Android would benefit from Google’s own marketing for Android. So it would create an incentive for manufacturers to use stock Android, and a disincentive for them to use anything else, if they still want to call it “Android”. Win-win for Google and for consumers.
But Google didn’t do this early on, and it’s going to be tough to try this now. Now that they have both a good looking OS, starting with the ICS/Jelly Bean versions, and a worthy physical product, like the Nexus 7 tablet, I think Google will be trying to make more people recognize what pure Android really is about. Then the plan will be to have all these people expect that UI and those features (Google Now, Google Voice Search, etc) in future devices. Of course, this is all speculation on my part.
Google’s first step in mass-marketing, is a commercial that is much like their previous ads for other products, that try to show how technology is strengthening the relationship between people. This commercial is showing how the Nexus 7 is making the outdoor experiences between a father and his son, more fun. The name of the commercial “Nexus 7: Camping” also implies that this is but the first of a series of commercials for the Nexus 7.
It doesn’t matter how many reviewers think the Nexus 7 is a Kindle Fire killer, if regular people don’t hear about it at least.
TAGS Google NowJelly BeanKindle FireNexus 7

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The first non-Nexus Android 4.1 Jelly Bean phone is a ZTE!

Just a few days ago, we were discussing how ZTE might be the one to start the “stock Android revolution“, with their upcoming Grand X flagship, which will arrive with stock Android 4.0. ZTE is trying hard to become a stock Android manufacturer, and they’ve been working with Google to bring out stock Android devices faster into the market. According to Kan Yulun, VP and CTO of ZTE’s handset division:

“ZTE has an excellent relationship with Google and this, combined with our extensive R&D capabilities and our experience of customising devices for partners around the world, means we are able to bring new technologies to market very quickly”,

One of the results of this close relationship is the ZTE N880E smartphone, which was launched in China in May with Android 2.3, but is now jumping straight to Android 4.1.
This will make the ZTE N880E the first smartphone to run Android 4.1 in China, and (to our knowledge) the first non-Nexus device to run Jelly Bean. How is this possible, you may wonder? My guess is ZTE was one of the limited number of partners that received the PDK beta, before Google even announced Jelly Bean to the public.

The ZTE N880E looks like a mid-range phone in terms of specs, but the Jelly Bean upgrade should make it run smoother than ever before, and it’s the reason why I’m excited for Jelly Bean to arrive even on lower-end smartphones.
The full list of specs of the ZTE N880E includes:
Size: 119mm x 61mm x 10.4mmScreen: 4.0-inch, WVGA, 480 x 800 TFT, capacitive touchscreenWeight: 130gBattery: Li-ion 1650mAhStandard: CDMA2000 1x, EVDO Rev.A, 800MHzOS: Android 4.1.1Platform: Qualcomm 7627AFrequency: 1GHzMemory: 4GB (storage) + 512MB (RAM)Extended memory: MicroSD (max. support 32G)Camera: 3.2MP AFBluetooth: 2.1, A2DP, AVRCPWLAN: 802.11 b/g/nOther: GPS, GMS, FM, A-GPS
It’s nice to see that Google is working so closely with manufacturers to bring out upgrades faster, but ZTE wasn’t the only one in the limited beta program for the PDK. We’ve heard rumors that Samsung may upgrade the Galaxy S3 to Jelly Bean as soon as this August, and of course we know HTC is preparing to upgrade their One series smartphones to Jelly Bean very soon as well, so they must’ve been included in the limited beta as well.
This is great news all around for the Android ecosystem. Not only some smartphone manufacturers are starting to switch to the Google Experience version of Android, but the PDK is helping them upgrade to the latest version of Android much faster than before.
Hopefully, this also means that Android manufacturers will support their devices with upgrades for a lot longer than a year, and that they will upgrade more of their models as well.
SOURCES ZTE
TAGS Android 4.1 Jelly BeanNexusZTEZTE N880E

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Sony LT29i Hayabusa makes its first photo appearances

We can’t really say Sony has the necessary “muscle” to battle Samsung or HTC in the high-end Android universe, but that might well change in a matter of weeks. The company’s flagship device, known by the LT29i and Hayabusa codenames, is getting ever closer to its release, although its existence is yet to be confirmed from official sources.
Fortunately, we don’t need official confirmation to know that we are being prepared for something big! If the phone’s FCC approval from a couple of days ago wasn’t enough to warrant Hayabusa’s imminent release, today’s two leaks will most likely seal the deal.
The Xperia LT29i Hayabusa has made its first online photo appearances, and intriguing enough, there are two different websites who’ve managed to get their hands on some different pics at about the exact same time.

Both XperiaBlog.net and Xperia.com.vn are keeping their leaks’ sources anonymous, as expected in such cases, but we don’t have any reason to suspect the photos aren’t legit. Fortunately, these are pretty high-quality pics and show off the Hayabusa in all its splendor, from the front, back and sides.
Then again, the photos aren’t spectacular, as it is now confirmed the Hayabusa is an almost identical copycat of the “Japanese-exclusive” Sony Xperia GX (SO-04D), who’s had its fair share of official photo appearances.

Most rumors until now claimed that the Hayabusa will be coming with a slightly smaller 4.55? screen than the Xperia GX’s 4.6?, but as you can imagine, there’s no way to tell from these photos if that detail will prove accurate.
As for the phone’s other dimensions and its design, it’s almost impossible to set it apart from the GX, so we’re ready to bet that it will only weigh 127 grams and measure the measly 8.6 mm in thickness. Another detail revealed by one of the leaked pics is that the LT29i will be running Android ICS 4.0.4 upon its release, which is not at all surprising.

In terms of hardware, however, there’s nothing new we can tell out of today’s photos. There’s still a good chance that the Hayabusa will come packing a dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor with an Adreno 320 GPU. In addition to that ultra-snappy CPU/GPU duo, the 4.55-inch beast is also set to come with 1 GB of RAM, a 13 MP rear-facing camera, a full HD 1280 x 720 pix res screen, 16 GB of internal memory, and a microSD card slot.
While it’s a bit too early to draw any definitive conclusions on Hayabusa’s future success, I think it’s pretty obvious that we’re dealing with a possible game changer, especially if this gets released by the end of August. Do you agree? Why? Why not?
SOURCES Xperia Blog GSM Arena
TAGS SonySony HayabusaSony LT29iSony Xperia GX


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