Google removed remotely two applications from some Android devices. And what?

A few days ago, an announcement came officially from Google who said that they removed two applications from the Android Market. The cause was that those two apps were simply not doing what they were intended to do. They were made by a security researcher, and even if they weren't developing any malicious activities or saving sensible data, because they violated Android's Terms of Service, Google decided to remove them. Till now, everything is OK.

But, what created notable flames on the blogs/forums/social networks was the information that Google, in order to remove completely that applications, also removed them (remotely) from the phones of some users who downloaded them. Personally, I don't see what is the problem in this, and why some people became...upset because of this. I think this reaction of Google was something normal.

Google affirmed that the two applications could be used in attacks, so, considering this, I really don't see any problem in Google's action. Are they afraid that if Google can do this, Google can even get access to their private data? So what, do they think that other OS providers didn't implement mechanisms like Google did? I'm sure that they also did. But at least, in Google's situation, it is very good that this is something transparent. Very good, Google!

HTC has plans about launching an own OS, but how about Android and Windows Mobile?

HTC, which is the company that has about 30 mobile devices available at this moment, announced that it has plans about launching its own OS. I don't know what is in HTC's mind at this moment, because I think that this is a stupidity. It sold lots of devices, with both Windows Mobile and now mainly with Android (because they are migrating to Google's OS), and it wants its own OS.

If HTC will have its own OS, it will definitely compete with Google's Android, and this is something bad considering that HTC is making devices for Google (Nexus One). The relation between these two companies can get cold really fast if this is going to happen, considering that HTC is the main factor for Android's impressionable ascension on market.

I didn't even mention Windows Mobile because it is clearly going to...nowhere. Microsoft announced Windows Mobile 7 recently, which won't be having an unimportant feature (in Microsoft's vision), but one which everybody uses, "Copy & Paste". Additionally, Windows Mobile 7 won't have multi-tasking. And will be quite incompatible with earlier versions of Windows Mobile. So, in my opinion, Microsoft is going to destroy Windows Mobile....

HTC said that it thinks about its own OS because it want to reduce its dependence of outside developers. Wait a second...what dependence ?! What is HTC talking about ? Dependence on Android ? I don't think so. On Andoid, HTC can do what it wants. It implemented its Sense UI, and can implement many others, and even contribute to market.

I think that HTC should think again about this, because, Andoid is the best option for their devices (I don't think that they will be able to create something better, for the customers).

Nexus One, after three weeks.

I now have about three weeks since I got my Nexus One, so I'll tell you my experience with it. First of all, it's the best phone I've ever touched. It looks, feels, and moves excellent. So, here are its specifications: 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 512 MB RAM and 4GB storage card included. So, very powerful hardware.

It has a beautiful 3,7" capacitive AMOLED touchscreen, and it is a pleasure to view anything on it. Also, it has a 5-megapixel camera, with (single) LED and video recording capability. The battery has 1400 mAH, but because of the hardware, if you use it intensively it will keep you about 2 days. I am really satisfied with battery's life

Android, its operating system, is made and developed by Google, and is one which promises a lot. It's the best OS for mobile devices, in my opinion. It is the direct competitor for Apple's iPhone OS, since it comes strongly behind. Apple's AppStore has now about 180 000 applications, but the Android Market grows fast, having until now about 50 000 apps available.

Here are some problems, with the Android Market. Anybody is allowed to post any app he wants, so Google is probably not testing the applications that are in the Market. There are some ones even infected, so this is a risk for users. But it's better than how it is in the AppStore, where Apple approves and denies what he wants without any reason. One thing is clear. The Android Market grows. And the best of all, there are only free applications inside.

So, let's return to the phone. I have two words to describe what it can. Total customization. I hope you understood what I wanted to say. You have 5 screens, you can customize them how you want, you can add folders, plenty of widgets, shortcuts, you can open what application you want, let it open, open other, return to the first one without closing the other. The phone does a very efficient multi-tasking, the applications work like they are connected to each other, you have lots of options inside the apps, and on that screen.....everything is amazing.

However, I've experiencing some things that are not really ok with the phone:

• The phone started peeling off at the bottom. I think that it's from that sleeve case I got in the pack. Now I'm not using it anymore, so the phone is ok (no more peeling observed)
• When I wanted to wake up the phone, the screen didn't turn on at all. Nothing worked; I've even tried to keep the power button pressed for a few seconds, but the phone didn't wake up. The solution was to remove the battery and then turn the phone on (this happened two times).
• After keeping the phone charging for longer time, it heats quite much, but not excessively so this is not a problem.
• The power led indicator sometimes turn green, even if the phone has not been charged completely yet (it should be orange).
• The screen has also some problems, sometimes. It happened about 3 times (I think) for the touchscreen to be inaccurate when I was writing something with the keyboard(this is not a big problem). Pinch-to-Zoom works excellent in Maps, Browser and Pictures. However, via a painting application, it is obvious that if the multi-touch is used and the fingers are moved in aleatory directions, the screen is highly inaccurate. It is not known if this is a hardware or software failure, or just this is the way screen behaves, but I'm sure that somehow it will be fixed.

These were the only problems I experienced. The phone has also a trackball, which is very useful in different tasks. It also lights if there is something that you need to be notified about. What else I must tell you is that the soft buttons (back, menu, home and search) must be pressed above in order to be used. They work perfectly (don't believe the others who say they are not working as they should).

The sound when you receive a call is not high enough to hear it. I mainly hear its vibration, not its ringtone. What seems strange is that there was not implemented any file browser on the device by default. However, third party applications of this type are found on the Market.

And the biggest problem. If you search something in the Market, you can't delete that! Very unpleasant. If you search for example "gifts for my girlfriend", you won't be able to delete that so she might see that. I think that this is the biggest problem of this phone. There is a possibility to delete this history, but the phone needs a modified rom and this will void your warranty. Browser's history can be entirely deleted without any problem.

But mainly, the phone is amazing. It is everything I wanted. I've been using an iPhone for 1 year and a half, but the Nexus One is like a fresh breath. It's something new, something faster, something better. I've been using it in U.S. with a Vodafone Romania SIM, and I didn't experience any problem with the signal (you probably heard about this), using the phone on T-mobile, AT&T and Verizon. It costs about $565 in the U.S., with all tax included.

Twitter is a part of our lives.

Twitter, the popular micro-blogging platform, is a network that anybody "should use". It's the best socializing platform I've ever seen. I've joined it about 4 months ago, and I'm actively using it every day. Twitter helped me to find really nice people from any part of the world, and also generated some traffic to my blog. But it also helped me to get the latest news very easy, in minutes after they were released on the internet, without having to wait for the magazines I'm usually reading until they appear.

Twitter has grown dramatically in the last year, so their servers are sometimes out of capacities when something important happens, and everybody tweets about it. Due to this aggressive increase of users, many programs appeared which can allow you to connect to Twitter in other ways than via "Web" method, providing you different ways to use Twitter, and many options to make it more efficient.

Yahoo!'s "Meme", a kind of Twitter, was launched by Yahoo! but so far, it has no success. I'm just thinking about how much time can Google resist without buying Twitter, because the more they wait, the more they will have to pay for it. And even if Google didn't declare anything about a possible acquisition of Twitter, many experts said that now is the moment when Google should take Twitter.

So, if you didn't do it already, I invite you on http://twitter.com/ to create an account, and then to start following me. My username is "ITeer". Enjoy Twitter !