PocketGear has acquired Handango, the announcement was made just a few days back. This might come as a surprise but the benefits are truly amazing, at least for PocketGear, quite simply because this lone move now gives it access to some 140,000 apps of various categories. This includes paid as well as free titles. This might as well be termed as  the creation of so far the largest cross platform, open app store on planet Earth.

The two stores are known to have generated over $ 400 million in revenue resulting from sale of mobile apps. This they say is spread across 175 countries, and the variety of mobile devices supported is well over 2000 in number.

PocketGear’s developer base alone has expanded to some 32,000 strong giving it more variety and reach. This will help improve its stats further as the company has already worked in conjunction with Samsung, Microsoft, LG, Sony Ericsson, RIM, Verizon and AT&T. Simply put more developers and more companies mean more variety and hence more revenue. And remember this is for a variety of devices unlike Apple.

PocketGear supports supposedly all brands less the “i” category Some of the brands under its belt are Java, Linux, Microsoft Windows, Android, Palm, Blackberry and the ever present Symbian.    

PockerGear’s strength comes form its business model which supports developers more than other competitors. PocketGear’s developers get to keep up to 90% of the share as against 70% in case of other models. Besides this the company CEO Jud Bowman says it has perfected its systems in a big way and Handset manufacturers or carriers can now launch their own customized stores in weeks.

Not a day passes by when I am not amazed and dazed at how technology is evolving and innovation is shaping things. I blogged about the Airnergy Wi-Fi signals harvesting device a couple of days back, and just now happened to chance upon some very impressive gadgets that are totally out of this world, they really are impressive. I won’t bore you with more adjectives just read on…

SLIMDATA is a USB 2.0 storage device that is easy to carry around. It is not fat and ugly, in fact it is the size of a Credit card and can therefore sit in one’s wallet. To use it simply fold one side to reveal the USB port and insert in your laptop/PC. Currently it is available in 4 GB capacity and comes in five colors. Works with Windows, Linux and Mac. If you place a big order the company will print a customized message or logo. Check out the website for more info.

Washable Mice, Keyboards and TV Remotes. Now eat this, keyboards, mice and remotes that are washable! But why, I mean why not just use a vacuum cleaner instead or may be use a lint free cloth with some liquid? Well the developers of these smart products say that it is good for the health since the product they are made of repels bacteria. Moreover, since these things can be washed just like clothes in a dishwasher, kitchen sink or whatever so there are lesser chances of people infecting each other. This brings us to another problem, when can we see a keyboard, mouse or TV remote washing machine? Just kidding, check out the company’s website.

Mobile TV. This is a portable device that lets users view TV via a Notebook, Netbook and  smart-phone. It can be charged from Mini USB port, has WLAN and weighs just 71 grams. It will work with Symbian, Android and Windows Mobile based devices. Check out the website for more in depth information.

In my previous post on the Nexus One I wrote that that the Nexus will take sometime in beating the ever present iPhone, I still maintain this. But let me for a change say this that the way things are going (in the Google world) competitors need to feel threatened. What made me think so? well to begin with was the Google’s new approach to buying a Mobile Phone which gives one the ability to explore a mobile phone in ways that were previously unimagined. Impressive is the word that comes to one’s mind followed by “Ingenious”. Imagine holding your hand next to the screen in order to compare it with an editable image and then see how the Nexus One would look in your hand.

The Android today is running on at least 20 devices, in 19 languages, in 48 countries supported by 59 mobile companies. All this happened just a year back! That’s good going so far. Google now is selling the Nexus One on a Google hosted web store and the first device to be sold will be the Nexus One off course. This is quite different form the previous practice and welcome indeed. According to Google they want to “make the overall user experience simple: a simple purchasing process, simple service plans from operators, simple and worry-free delivery and start-up.”

It takes someone like Steve Jobs to make an iPhone, the very device that has literally taken the world by storm. As of today some 21 million devices of various models starting from the iPhone to the iPhone 3G and the 3GS have been sold. Downloads at the Apple Store have crossed the 3 billion mark in just 18 months. Even if these figures are exaggerated by 10% we can safely say that iPhone has sold like no other mobile phone has. Like it or not this makes it the most popular device on the planet. Try as the may Nokia (with Maemo), HTC (with Android) and Samsung (with Bada or TouchWiz UI) are no match for the iPhone.

But now it seems Google with HTC has got the iPhone in the crosshairs with the much touted and hyped about device called as the Nexus One. It is said that the looks alone are enough to make one drool. Both companies have worked hard in an effort to beat the mobile phone the world loves so much. The device is going to have a Snapdragon CPU clocking at a cool 1 GHz, it will boast of Android 2.1 besides having a 5 MP camera. The important specs are:

• 3.7″ capacitive Touch screen with 480 x 800 display.
• 512 MB of ROM and RAM
• 4 GB microSD card (included) and expandable microSD up to 32GB

I think it will be a long time before Nexus will be able to make a serious dent in iPhone’s popularity. Yes, iPhone’s market share will go down but it will take a sometime, ingenuity and good luck for Nexus One or any other mobile phone to beat the iPhone. Simply because people the world will not stop using their devices and Apple will not stop making/selling new models. In my opinion the coming months will see intense competition which is good for the buyers. The unlocked device it is said will cost around $530, whereas a two year contract with T-Mobile will cost something like $200.

Motorola Droid, the phone which is a direct iPhone competitor, and is grabbing lot of attention in US market due to Google open source android SmartPhone OS and the application ecosystem surrounding it. The phone so far has been available in US only by verizon for $199 and rest of the world is still waiting for it.

Well, the good news is that in couple of months, Motorola is going to release unlocked version of Droid throughout the world. Motorola is expected to launch the Motorola Droid (unlocked) in February and as well as announce the release of Droid 2 aka Sholes or Shules or Sholes Tablet.

Samsung unveiled a new Smartphone OS for Samsung mobile phones called as Bada. Whatever that means is of no importance, the fact is that now the competition is steeper than ever since iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian now have a competitor which has a growing market share.

The OS is an extension of the Samsung’s TouchWiz UI. The OS is meant for touch screen phones only and Samsung hopes to increase the market share by some 50%. Developers have been encouraged to develop applications on for Bada. Since it is meant for smart devices therefore the apps are themselves going to be advanced in any and every form. Features will include motion sensing, face detection, web control, weather updating and sensing various activities etc.

Some of the service features of the Bada OS include device synchronization, e-commerce services, location based services, content management and social networking that is location based. The SDK is available for download at a dedicated website.

Linked closely to this whole story is the Bada challenge award for developers to share an amount of $ 2,700,000 by simply submitting apps for the OS. Users will be able to buy apps form the Bada store and make payments via their mobile phone bills. Upon launch the app store will be available to some 50 countries and by the second half of 2010 it will be global.

Handsets are expected to be released in first half of 2010. More info at the Bada website.

The latest feature which Android phones are going to have is called Google Goggles, well actually this is visual search. Imagine going to a place where you need to find info on a certain building or a landmark. The obvious way would be to take out a tourist map or ask someone nearby, but with Google Goggles proud owners of Android devices will be able to snap the picture of that feature and hit the search button and let Google handle form there on. With in seconds audio/visual results will be displayed providing info about the landmark.

This certainly sounds like a useful feature for tourists. And yes this might as well come handy in case one gets lost in a new city. Watch the video here.

HTC is all rage these days. In 2010 5 new models running Android are expected. The names are HTC Legend, Salsa, Bravo, Tide and Buzz. If anything the names say it all, they are all out to create ripples in the mobile industry. More Android phones would mean more Android users, and since the fever has caught on we can perceive good competition with the ever-present iPhone by Apple, only if they do not bring out something totally new and out of this world. Take a look at the pics for some unexpected drooling.

HTC Legend

Since the launch of some new Smart phones running Google’s Android OS Android applications are much in demand.  Although the list cannot match the likes of Apple’s applications running literally in the thousands but for Android it is just a start that is poised to take off. User reviews are encouraging and the availability of Android SDK free of cost has given the required impetus to the development of more applications. Enthusiasts the world over are now busy developing more and more apps for varying needs. In my previous post I had listed Top Ten Android applications now I have listed 20 free apps for Android devices that includes categories like Communication tools, Utilities, Social, Reference, Lifestyle, Finance, Entertainment, Shopping and Productivity. Read on for a brief description of these applications and do try them out, remember they are all free!

Communication.

• Opera Mini v 4.0. The well known web browser Opera Mini runs on Android devices as it has been designed for them. The browser is fast as the content is compressed before being sent to the phone, which saves more time as well as money. However, do check the version before downloading and installing on your device for compatibility issues. The browser also lets users synchronize history, notes and bookmarks between mobile phone and PC. Website: Opera.

• Twidroid. Twidroid is a creation of Marban & Zimmermann and is used for tweeting via the Android phone. It supports photo posting (Native), auto-completion, news from twitter buzz and location support. The newer version is going to have off line composing facility and YouTube posting. More info is available at Marban & Zimmermann website.

I’m big fan of 3D games and am really excited about prospect of 3D gaming on android mobile platform. I figured that there must be other gaming enthusiasts who love 3D games of all sorts, so here are first set of 3D games which they must try.

Speed Forge 3D

Features :

Important game features:

• Full 3D graphics
• Realistic physic simulation
• 6 very different tracks
• 3 vehicles (each with different physical properties)
• Weaponry: mines and homing rockets

New in version 1.2

• Sensitivity setting added to options
• 2 acceleration mode (auto and by phone tilt)
• 3 Difficulty levels
• Some minor bugs fixed

The game is available from Slideme for $2.99 and not from android market place. Click here to get it.

Package name : Mag3DLite.SpeedForgeDemo

Check out the video below