Hands On With Android 2.3.4

Google last month announced an Android OS update to version 2.3.4. It was first rolled out to the Nexus S, and just yesterday became available for Nexus One phones. The update mostly contains a number of bug fixes, but its biggest new feature is support for video and voice chat with Google Talk.

We took a look at Android 2.3.4 on our Nexus One in the PCMag Labs. Unsure whether we'd have to download the update manually, we were pleasantly surprised to see that an over-the-air update was waiting for us when we turned on the phone.

Unfortunately, the update to the Nexus One lacks support for video and voice chat with Google Talk. This is understandable, as the Nexus One doesn't have a front-facing camera, but support for voice chat would have been welcome.

Since this update is mainly about bug fixes, we didn't notice much of a difference between this and the previous version of Android, 2.3.3. According to Google, bug fixes for Nexus One phones are said to include improved battery life, as well as improved GPS location and navigation accuracy for some users who had problems after updating to 2.3.3.

We did notice that a few apps appear to have been updated. The Web Browser and Gmail, for instance, both have new version numbers. We didn't notice any discernible difference in the apps themselves, though, so it is possible that it may just be more bug fixes.

Take a look at the slideshow above to see what's changed. And check back for a hands on look at video and voice chat with Google Talk on the Nexus S as soon as we get our hands on one.

PCmag

Hands On with Facebook for the BlackBerry PlayBook

ORLANDO—The first tablet app for Facebook looks a lot like ... a phone app for Facebook.

Like the various Facebook phone apps, Facebook for the BlackBerry PlayBook is a smoother way to grab your news feeds and comment on photos than hitting Facebook's mobile site in your Web browser is. It supports Facebook chat, and it has a great-looking friend list. But it doesn't yet work in portrait mode, and the landscape-mode UI has a lot more white space than I'd like.

Launch the app and you immediately see your news feed, with all the right elements: images for your friends, the updates, as well as the ability to like, comment, expand threads and jump to links. The layout, in landscape mode, lets you see three or four updates at a time, and scrolling is quick and smooth. If you click on a link, it opens, and thanks to the PlayBook's multitasking OS, it's easy to swipe back to the Facebook app.

You can enter a new status message by tying in a field at the top of the screen; you can also insert images from your camera or photo library, or paste a URL you copied over from the browser.

Click on an icon at the upper left to get six options: News Feed, Profile, Friends, Messages, Chat and Photos. They all do pretty much what you expect, except for one: if you go to your Friends list, instead of a text list of names with headshots, you see a great-looking set of pictures marching all the way across your screen with the names under them. You can also set the friends list to a vertical list with a ton of white space, but really - why?

Other icons in the top bar pop down a list of notifications, incoming chats and settings options; you can disable chat in the app, but if you want to change your Facebook account settings, it sends you to your browser.

I really like the way the app handles viewing photos. When you click on a photo, it blows up to full-screen mode; tapping on the picture throws a translucent bar across the top with like and comment options, and you can swipe to the side to step between pictures. It's a great-looking use of the PlayBook's capabilities.

The app definitely takes care of all of your basic Facebook social-networking needs. The UI tends to have a lot of white space, caused by long strings of text working their way across the landscape screen - I can't help but think it would be more convenient in portrait mode.

There's no integration of Facebook with any contacts, calendar or email, of course - the PlayBook doesn't have any of those things.

And as with all mobile Facebook apps, this one doesn't show Facebook as the platform it is. Facebook in a browser, as we know, is full of its own apps - things like Farmville and those zombie games, which are annoying, but which many people love. You're not going to get any of that in Facebook mobile apps, which is a mixed blessing depending on how much you like those plug-ins.

That all said, there's no reason not to download this app - it's free. It's definitely faster than waiting for full Web pages to load, and the interface for the friends list and photos is very handsome. All in all, a good version one. Now how about some e-mail, RIM?

PCmag