Tag Archives: google

Android Fragmentation: A Real Problem or A Hyped Non-Issue?

Posted on by David Z
Reply

If there’s one topic surrounding the Android OS that comes up time and time again, it’s the issue of fragmentation. With so many devices and variations of the OS, developing for Android can be difficult. Before deciding if this is a real problem or simply a non-issue, let’s take a step back and define what we’re talking about.

Put simply, Google developed the core code for Android and has allowed device manufacturers such as Motorola, Samsung, and HTC to create custom variations of this code. Google likes this because it gets their OS on a wide variety of handsets. The device manufacturers like this because the bulk of the software work is done for them and they can focus on customizing the OS. End users like this because they have a plethora of choices, all with the same basic features that they’re looking for. Developers, on the other hand, aren’t as keen about the whole situation.

Back in October, the popular Twitter client, TweetDeck, shared some information regarding the variety of devices and OS’s that their app was currently running on.

At first glance, there are quite a few OS versions to support. That said, looking at it differently you could conclude that a good 80% of users are on Android 2.1 and above. If you write an app to support OS 2.1 and higher, you can expect it to work on the majority of Android handsets with very little issue, right? Well, maybe. For some applications, this is entirely true.

For others, however, writing an application that works is far different than writing one that works properly. With all the custom variations of the OS, an application may not behave as expected. If you’re a developer writing for Android, guaranteeing that your app works on all Android device means buying dozens of devices to test it on. For most developers, this simply isn’t feasible.

I think we can all agree that fragmentation on the Android platform exists. So the question becomes “is it a problem?” In my opinion, almost. What I mean by this is that unless it’s addressed, it could spiral out of control to the point that it simply isn’t manageable. It may get to the point that certain apps only work on certain devices. Want to play Angry Birds? Get a Samsung phone.

That said, I don’t think it will get that far. In fact, Google has already released a tool to help curtail the issue, and they recently partnered with manufacturers to help ensure devices are kept up to date. Is it enough? Maybe for now, but it’s not a complete solution. So how does Google minimize the imminent fragmentation problem while maintaining the openness that many of us love about the Android platform? Well, that’s the big question, now isn’t it?

Prices Are Changing On June 1

Posted on by David Z
1

Beginning June 1, 2011 we are increasing the price of the following products by $10. The new prices will be as follows:

  • CompanionLink for Outlook: $49.95
  • CompanionLink for Palm Desktop: $49.95
  • CompanionLink for Google: $49.95
  • CompanionLink for Time & Chaos: $49.95
  • CompanionLink Express: $79.95

This nominal increase will allow us to continue providing free US-based phone support to our customers. Providing world-class support is important to us. In fact, we offer free support even before you buy. We stand behind our software and want to ensure your experience with it is a great one!

If you are still determining whether or not to buy our software, we recommend you do so before the price change. We offer a no-questions-asked, 90-day money-back guarantee in case you decide to return our software.

The Plight of the Standalone Microsoft Outlook User

Posted on by Rushang
7

These days, “the cloud” is all the buzz. The cloud, in terms of contact and calendar sync (among others), means using a service like Google, Gmail, or Windows Live (Hotmail). Just host your data in the cloud and it will magically show up on your device. Simple, right?

Not so, say the people (as they rise in mutiny).

Google started the move to store personal information in the cloud. First with email, then with calendar, and then with contacts. If you buy a new Android phone, all your email, contacts, and calendar data that is hosted in the Google cloud will magically synchronize with your phone. Oh, and this magic works with iPhone, iPad and BlackBerry too.

Microsoft joined the cloud party with their Windows Phone 7 launch. They now require people to have a Windows Live account in order to sync PC data to the device. This means Microsoft Outlook users who have maintained years of contacts, calendar, tasks and notes data on their PC now have to trust that data to the cloud. The cloud will then synchronize with Windows Phone 7.

So what’s wrong with this?

Well, for starters, we’ve already seen this movie! Palm tried the same thing with their Palm webOS launch.  They required people to have a Google account, which integrated with Palm Synergy. If you wanted to keep your PC data in sync with your webOS device, you had to first sync to your Google account in the cloud. The story for Palm didn’t end so well. (HP may beg to differ.)

While the cloud is an amazing resource that should be used, not all Outlook users can digest trusting their PC data to the cloud. Many people have security requirements in place that simply don’t allow cloud storage of their data. Others are leery of hosting their sensitive information online. Their question is simple, “I’ve used Outlook for years. Why am I now being forced to add a web-based account, and trust everything to that?”

The cloud providers will argue that you trust a lot of things to the cloud, whether you realize it or not. They’re right. Your credit card details you use for that online orders, tax returns you prepare and submit online, or the numerous online banking and bill-pay services you use – they all store data in the cloud. And we don’t even blink.

But this is different. It’s not an argument on the security of cloud storage. It’s about having options. Put simply, not everyone wants to sync their Outlook data to the cloud – and they shouldn’t have to!

The good news is that there are alternatives. You’ll need to find a tool that allows you to keep your data on your PC and sync directly to your device. There are a few ways to go about this:

1. Check if your phone’s manufacturer offers a sync solution. BlackBerry and iPhone both offer such solutions to directly sync with Outlook.  BlackBerry offers BlackBerry Desktop Software, and Apple offers iTunes. Android, on the other hand, is more fragmented (HTC has HTC Sync, Samsung offers Kies, etc).

2. If the option from the phone’s manufacturer is non-existent or insufficient for your needs, look for third-party software. Shameless plug – CompanionLink has software that can sync your Outlook contacts, calendars, tasks, memos, and categories to your mobile device. It works with all Android, iPhone, iPad, and BlackBerry devices. There are a number of other options available as well, but few offer the complete sync solution that CompanionLink does. For Android, SyncDroid has a solid list of most all of the sync options available. For iPhone and iPad, you’ll most likely have to piece together a solution from a few different apps in the App Store. For BlackBerry and other devices, your options are few and far between, but a search on Google should turn up some options.

In the end, the cloud is certainly where the industry is heading. As time goes on, it will likely become as ubiquitous and secure (or even more secure) than traditional data storage options. Until that time, however, those who wish to sync their data locally still do have options!

Why All Sprint Customers Should Go Sign Up For Google Voice

Posted on by David Z
Reply

Google recently announced complete integration between Google Voice and Sprint phone numbers. In my opinion, this is huge news. Sprint customers will be able to link their number to Google Voice and instantly take advantage of all the great features that Google Voice offers. This all works seamlessly, without requiring an app of any kind on the phone.

As a Sprint customer using Google Voice, you’ll be able to forward calls to other phones, take advantage of voicemail transcriptions, send (and archive) texts online, make calls from your Sprint number via Gmail, and more. Having such easy and ubiquitous access to your call history, text messages, voicemail, and more can be a huge productivity boon. For some time now our phones have been able to augment our computer use. It’s about time our computers truly do the same for our phone use!

If you’re a Sprint customer ready to integrate with Google Voice, head over to https://www.google.com/googlevoice/sprint/ to get started. If you’re on one of the other networks (like myself), well, you’ll have to wait patiently and hope that the other carriers follow suit!

Do You Own Your Data?

Posted on by David Z
2

If Google were to completely shut down right now, would you lose anything? There’s no doubt that many of use would lose thousands of important contacts, calendars, emails, and more! In fact, many of us would be left digitally crippled, with irreplaceable information suddenly gone.

Of course, nobody is expecting this to happen. Then again, 3 years ago few Sidekick users would say they expected their service to disappear either. Unfortunately, T-Mobile recently confirmed that on May 31st all Sidekick services will, in fact, be shut down. When this occurs, Sidekick users will no longer have access to the cloud-based system that defined their devices. Users will no longer be able to access their contacts, calendars, notes, and more. Of course, T-Mobile will be offering solutions for migrating this data to other devices, so all is not lost. However, the news brings up an important point: Owning your data is crucial!

While this may not have been true 3 years ago, I’d be willing to bet that many Sidekick users have come to expect this news more recently. Gmail users, on the other hand, don’t expect to lose their data at any time. But that is exactly what happened just a few days ago. Thousands of Gmail users woke up to an empty inbox. While their data has since been restored (thanks to Google’s redundant backup system), many were without access to important information for days. A hit like that can have a serious effect on your productivity, especially if you rely on services like these for work.

All this said, I don’t want to say cloud-based services are bad. On the contrary, I believe they can be amazingly useful. What is bad, however, is entrusting them with the only copy of your data, because at that point it’s not really your data! In order to access it, you need to be connected to the cloud. In the event of service downtime, you are without access to your data. If you can’t access something when you want to, do you really own it?

Whether you decide to simply back up the information or sync your data to another source, I highly recommend taking the steps necessary to make a copy of your cloud-based data. Hopefully you’ll never need it, but if you do you’ll be extremely grateful for the offline copy! So what are you waiting for? Choose to own your data!

Tech Tip: Use CompanionLink with Google’s New “2-Step Verification” Feature

Posted on by David Z
3

Google recently rolled out a new security feature called “2-step verification.” As Google puts it, this is designed to add an extra layer of security to your account by “requiring you to have access to your phone – as well as your username and password – when you sign in. This means that if someone steals or guesses your password, the potential hijacker still can’t sign in to your account because they don’t have your phone.”

While this feature certainly makes your Google Account more secure, it can cause applications that need access to your account, such as CompanionLink, to stop working with your usual Google/Gmail password. Google planned for this, however, and built in a solution. You simply need to set up an “application-specific password.” This is a special password that only works with the specified application. If  you have taken advantage of Google’s more secure login system (or if you want to), you’ll need to be sure to create an application-specific password for CompanionLink to ensure uninterrupted syncing.

Google has posted a guide with instructions on how to create an application-specific password.

Google planning Android-powered television

Posted on by Andy Sheragy
Reply

Image Source: cnet.com

Google recently announced plans to bring their Android operating system into living rooms everywhere. Google, Intel, and Sony are working on a set-top box that would integrate traditional television overlayed with online elements. The potential is tremendous- news, emails, music, videos and more all instantly available on the TV, and integrated into the programming.

CompanionLink currently ships sync products for Android devices that allows users to sync their contacts, calendar, tasks and memos from their desktop PCs. It is not currently known if Google’s TV product will have modules for business functionality, such as a calendar. This is something we here at CompanionLink will keep our eyes on as it develops.

More info on Google’s project here.

Sort order for names on Android phones

Posted on by Rushang
Reply

Name sort options for Google and Android phones

Google combines the the first and last names into one “Name” field.  For example, if you had a contact record with a first name of “Bob” and last name of “Smith”, Google will combine that into Bob Smith.

Android phones (like Droid, Nexus One, CLIQ, etc.) also do this.  But what if you need to sort by “last name, first name” format?

CompanionLink has a new Name Order feature that addresses this with Google and Android-based phones.  Users can choose which format they’d like contacts to appear on their Android phone.

How to back up your online Google data

Posted on by Rushang
Reply

It seems 2009 is the year of online outages.  All the major web-based email and collaboration providers have had some glitch or another with their systems.  That includes Google, Yahoo (today!), and Hotmail.

The fiasco with the Danger (T-Mobile Sidekick) units is another example of how people nearly lost all their important data.

It never hurts to have a backup of your data on a file on your computer.  Never.  And doing it takes less than 5 minutes.  In fact, you don’t even need to purchase a full version of CompanionLink to do it!

If you use Google, you can just download a 14-day CompanionLink evaluation version from our website and use it to back up your data to desktop software like Outlook, Lotus Notes or Palm Desktop.  You can also export it from there to a CSV file or other data format that you can save somewhere safe.

Google taking aim at Exchange with Google Apps Connector for BES

Posted on by Rushang
Reply

Google just announced a connector product that will fight head-to-head with the traditional Exchange/BES corporate configurations that most mid- to large-size companies rely on for their email, contacts and calendar sync.

Google Apps Connector for BES is a solution that allows you to get “push sync” of your Google Apps contacts, calendar and email to the native fields on your BlackBerry.  This is big because it’s like getting the reliable push sync of BES without having to invest in Microsoft Exchange.

Here’s what you get with this new connector solution by Google:

# Messages sent to your Gmail inbox are pushed to your BlackBerry within 60 seconds.
# Emails read/deleted on your BlackBerry are marked as read/deleted in Gmail, and vice-versa.
# Synchronize BlackBerry folders with labels in Gmail.
# Search for email addresses and phone numbers of other users on your company domain.
# View your Google Calendar schedule on your native BlackBerry application, with one-way synchronization from Google Calendar to your BlackBerry device.
# Contacts in Gmail are automatically synchronized with your BlackBerry address book.
  • Contacts in Gmail are automatically synchronized with BlackBerry address book.
  • View your Google Calendar in your BlackBerry calendar, with one-way synchronization from Google Calendar to your BlackBerry. 
  • Messages sent to your Gmail inbox are pushed to your BlackBerry within 60 seconds.
  • Emails read/deleted on your BlackBerry are marked as read/deleted in Gmail, and vice-versa.
  • Synchronize BlackBerry folders with labels in Gmail.
  • Search for email addresses and phone numbers of other users on your company domain.

Users of CompanionLink software are in for a real treat.  With CompanionLink, you can plug into this fancy push sync system even if you use desktop software like ACT! by Sage, Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, GroupWise, or Palm Desktop.  

CompanionLink will sync your desktop software with your Google Apps account.  Once data is in the Google Apps account, the Google Apps Connector for BES along with your BES will do the rest. 

Essentially, you can use your desktop software as part of your enterprise-level push sync solution for as low as $29.95.