Veriznowireless

Google was earlier criticized for withholding the Honeycomb source code, and limiting support to only certain devices. Google has recently explained this move, and sheds light on the Android “fragmentation” issue.

Android is popular in the smartphone market because of support from various manufacturers (unlike the iOS, which is only limited to the iPhone). However, the potential issue here is fragmentation, especially with the release of the tablet-specific Honeycomb version. Different manufacturers and developers will customize Android such that it will have different features and UIs. Even Google’s own differentiation between the smartphone and tablet versions of Android might be cause for fragmentation.

Andy Rubin, Google’s VP for Engineering, explains the philosophy behind this.

We don’t believe in a “one size fits all” solution. The Android platform has already spurred the development of hundreds of different types of devices – many of which were not originally contemplated when the platform was first created. What amazes me is that even though the quantity and breadth of Android products being built has grown tremendously, it’s clear that quality and consistency continue to be top priorities.

Due to the number of devices that run Android, and the differences between devices and platforms, Google believes that Android does not necessarily have to be too consistent across platforms. However, Google notes that they have basic compatibility requirements. As such, manufacturers are free to run different UIs on top of Android, but some basic elements should remain the same.

Our “anti-fragmentation” program has been in place since Android 1.0 and remains a priority for us to provide a great user experience for consumers and a consistent platform for developers. In fact, all of the founding members of the Open Handset Alliance agreed not to fragment Android when we first announced it in 2007. Our approach remains unchanged: there are no lock-downs or restrictions against customizing UIs. There are not, and never have been, any efforts to standardize the platform on any single chipset architecture.

Rubin goes on to say that Google is not locking down Honeycomb’s source code. Rather, they are just waiting for the right time before publishing the code.

One line on Rubin’s blog post might spark interest with Android users and developers, though:

As I write this the Android team is still hard at work to bring all the new Honeycomb features to phones.

Will this mean that features previously exclusive to Honeycomb will appear on smartphones, as well?

Read: Android Honeycomb Open Source, After All [Google VP Andy Rubin Explains Source Release Delays & Hints That Some Honeycomb Features Will Appear in Gingerbread]

Verizon Wireless launches its first 4G smartphone, the HTC ThunderBolt, tomorrow, while the competition for 4G data heats up. Overage fees form mobile data plans can be costly, and mobile hotspots cost extra for smartphones. T-Mobile has solutions that could make 4G mobile broadband easier for heavy data users who like to share.

T-Mobile has revamped its data plans for mobile broadband users who use a wireless modem for access, and it has included free hotspot service to share the connection over Wi-Fi with other devices, such as a smartphone, iPod or another computer. Instead of charging overage fees, the data connection will be throttled after the data allotment is used up.
The T-Mobile plans require a contract and include 10GB for $84.99 ($67.99) a month, 5GB for $49.99 ($39.99) a month, and 200MB for $29.99 ($23.99). T-Mobile customers with wireless phone plans get a discount. The discount price shows in parentheses above.

T-Mobile also offers prepaid no-commitment data plans

T-Mobile 4G data appears to be faster than the other networks for data. Smartphones that use the T-Mobile 4G network include the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, T-Mobile myTouch 4G and the T-Mobile G2. Many of these super fast smartphones appear in our Top Ten Best Android an' Droid Phones Now an' Later, as well as the Top Best Coolest Smartphones So Far in 2011.

NEW YORK (AP) — Verizon Wireless says it will start selling its first phone capable of using its new, faster "4G" data network.
The ThunderBolt from HTC Corp. will go on sale Thursday for $250 with a two-year contract. It has a large, 4.3-inch touch screen and runs Google Inc.'s Android software.
Initially, Verizon will be selling it with an unlimited 4G data plan, but spokeswoman Brenda Raney says this option will probably go away later this year, along with the rest of Verizon's unlimited data plans.
Verizon launched its 4G network in December, based on a technology known as Long-Term Evolution, or LTE. But only laptop cards have been available for it. Verizon says customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 megabits per second, nearly ten times faster than 3G speeds.

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The National Hockey League has four Hall of Fame-worthy players turned executives at its disposal and plans to use them as much as possible to serve as a bridge between the Players' Association, the Competition Committee and the Board of Governors.

The blue-ribbon committee of NHL front office executives Brendan Shanahan and Rob Blake, Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman and Dallas GM Joe Nieuwendyk has been tasked by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the general managers to study all the possible ways of creating a safer environment for the players and ultimately bringing their findings to the Board of Governors for approval.

Dealing with stiffer supplemental discipline, the stricter enforcement of charging and boarding and possibly creating a rule that targets head hits beyond what is stipulated in Rule 48 (blindside hits) will all be part of their challenge. The goal is to present the Board of Governors something tangible in June so it can be voted on and hopefully enacted for the start of the 2011-12 season.

Shanahan, the NHL's V.P. of Hockey and Business Development, has also been asked to work in conjunction with the NHLPA on streamlining equipment so it continues to protect the players who wear it but doesn't act as a "weapon" against the opponent.

"What we're supposed to do is collect as much information from our managers, from the Players' Association, from the players directly, and we're going to try to find ways in which we can make some real changes that improve player safety in the game without hurting the entertainment value of the game of hockey," Shanahan said. "I do think people love the way the game is being played right now. We'll get down in the dirt, get our fingers dirty, and then we'll bring those recommendations to the managers, to the Competition Committee and to our Board of Governors."
It should come as no surprise that these four were put together for this committee: They all played in the post-work stoppage NHL, with Blake announcing his retirement only eight months ago. Shanahan stopped playing in 2009 while Nieuwendyk was done in 2007 and Yzerman finished up in 2006.

Their personal experience with the way the game is currently played in the NHL gives them a perspective unique from the other 28 managers and NHL front office executives. Since they are recently retired they also still have close ties to some current players and the PA, including Mathieu Schneider, who was recently named a special assistant to NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr.

"When we did our breakouts (Tuesday) it was to ask what a player would do in a situation, or what would they be thinking," Blake said. "All of us have played post-lockout, the different style and different speed in the game, so we have a pretty good relation of what goes on in the ice. So when we're talking about the general managers and to Hockey Operations, we can tie it all together.

"You need people that have been exposed to the new style, the different way the game has been played. We can add that aspect."

Yzerman said he doesn't have the same pulse of the players that he used to have, but he's around them enough and has enough access, especially to his own in Tampa, that he can easily get their opinions on various player safety issues.

"We view a lot of things internally and get to pick their brains on some ideas," Yzerman said. "I talk to our players and we'll look at any situation, out of 20 players you'll get six or seven opinions. They're not all going to agree on the same thing, and they're the ones out there, so they know."

Asked what he would like to target specifically as it relates to player safety, Shanahan mentioned equipment.

"I'd really like to see at what point does a piece of equipment go beyond protecting a player and cross over into a territory of now being used as a weapon against players on other teams," Shanahan said.

Shanahan never wore bulky equipment during his 22-year playing career and said as a result he "didn't have a feeling of invincibility." He believes too many players feel that they can't get hurt due to the size and texture of their equipment, specifically their shoulder pads and elbow pads, and that's not good for the players who are trying to hit them.

"There is a level of protection that we always want to provide for the players, but I don't know if it's right that players feel completely invincible on the ice, especially when those pads are being used as weapons against the opponent," Shanahan said. "There will be a lot of research put into that and I'm going to work with the Players' Association, Mathieu Schneider, with that. We're going to talk to specialists, doctors, equipment trainers, medical trainers and just get as much information as possible."