droidStory

First things first! It looks like the Swype Beta registration is currently open again. Hurry over to http://beta.swype.com/ and see if you can grab the Android Beta version.

I admit it, I got totally hooked after installing an early Beta of Swype that was leaked a few months ago. Even though that version had some kinks and was not quite working on my Nexus One, it was such a huge improvement over the default Android keyboard. Then, without warning, Swype pulled the plug and all unauthorized versions in the wild stopped working. Bummer!

I registered for the closed Beta, but no luck until last week when I received my own Beta invite.

Yes – score!

If you have not heard of Swype, you may want to check out the video below. You’ll never want to go back to pecking your emails and text messages on the regular keyboard once you’ve experienced Swype. It does take a little practice, but swyping your words becomes very natural quickly.

Nexus One owners can now get the latest pre-release Froyo serving directly from Google.  This is a rapid follow-up to version FRF50 that was leaked just a couple of weeks ago, appearing on XDA. All signs are pointing to an imminent official release.

What’s coming in Froyo?

• Performance Boost and additional RAM
• Adobe Flash & Air support
• WiFi and USB Tethering
• Better Exchange support

If you are the adventurous kind you can easily install this latest version without rooting your phone.  The file name of the update (signed-passion-FRF72-from-FRF50) suggests that you can only install FRF72 over FRF50 though. I cannot confirm this since I had already flashed my N1 to FRF50 and the update to FRF72 was easy as always.

The performance improvement is noticeable. My battery seems to last longer as well – no more inter-day topping off required. However, my favorite new feature by far is WiFi tethering. No more hunting for free WiFi, just turn your phone into your private hotspot. I’m very curious to see how and if the major carriers (Verizon & ATT) are going to embrace this. New bandwidth capping plans seem to indicate that they are already preparing for this feature.

Verizon officially launched Skype for most of their Smartphones today, including all of their current Android handsets – the Motorola Droid, HTC Eris and Motorola Devour.

This is a very important move for Big Red, basically acknowledging that the future of mobile networks is in providing high-speed IP connectivity for all network applications, even the ones that compete with the providers traditional voice business.  Verizon is finally getting with the times by abandoning some of their past customer unfriendly business practices.  Blackberry users may still remember when their GPS capable phones had their hardware disabled by Verizon, rendering Google Maps useless, unless you paid an extra $12/month for VZ-Navigator. Of course there were also all the other bogus surcharges for tethering and BES Enterprise use.

The arrival of the Droid and now Skype seem to usher in a new era for Verizon. Let’s hope the bureaucrats at the company are not trying to turn back the clock for the sake of the bottom line.

UPDATE: Skype doesn’t work on Wi-Fi! Come again!?
Not sure if this is Verizon meddling with phone/application functionality again, but why?

No more fighting over the remote, just use your Droid to change the channel.

Verizon just released an app exclusive to the Motorola Droid that allows you to control your FIOS HD set-top-box from your phone. Just install the free mobileremote app from the Android Market Place, connect to your Wi-Fi network and pair the Droid with your FIOS Box by using the Mobile Remote Widget on your TV, enter your phone number, and you are all set.

Now you can use your Droid just like your FIOS remote to change channels, pause, rewind, fwd, etc. In addition, you can view pictures stored on your Droid directly on your TV, either individually or as slide show. The app will even mute the TV when a call comes in. Pretty cool, huh?

Of course, you can also use this to prank your family and change channels from another room, since Droid uses Wi-Fi to remote-control the FIOS box.

At the height of the Mobile Map War, a small French company called Sensorly just launched an Android app that maps out wireless and Wi-Fi network coverage. This comes in handy to look-up ahead of time, whether or not a certain area has 3G coverage.

The way the app works is that your own phone reports its network experience, combined with location information (GPS and/or cell tower) back to Sensorly’s servers. The more people participate the more detailed maps get built.

Frankly, I’ve been wondering for a while why the wireless providers are not using this kind of technology to map out their problem spots.

It is not clear how many data samples are required and what statistical algorithms are being used for building a map. Also, problem phones like the Nexus One could potentially skew results by reporting insufficient 3G coverage for areas that in fact are working with other phones.

The app itself is a basic map viewer with a color coded overlay, with each color and shade representing a specific network and signal strength level.

The Android version currently maps only GSM and some Wi-Fi networks – sorry Droid users, but CDMA (Verizon and Sprint) maps are planned to be rolled-out in the coming weeks.

The company also plans to release versions for the iPhone and Windows Mobile.

The following maps are now available for free:

Flash – the missing piece of web content is coming soon to your superphone.
Watch demos of early versions of the Adobe Flash Player 10.1 on both the Motorola Droid and Google Nexus One. The Android Flash Player is expected to be released within a few months – I can’t wait…