G1 Android Phone, Adobe CS4, Samsung Omnia - Idle Bites // 26 September

//  T-Mobile Announces G1 “Dream” Android-Driven Smart phone
With the announcement of T-Mobile’s G1 “Dream”, speculators in the market are saying that Android is expected to capture as much as 4% of the U.S. smart phone market from sales of this device. That’s a pretty large share. Initial reviews of this First Glance at an entire Google Android driven experience have been pretty positive. People are looking to shoot holes in it and are finding it to be quite competent in its offering. Perhaps this is the first of many inspiring Android offerings to come.
http://www.t-mobileg1.com/?WT.mc_t=OnsiteAd&WT.mc_n=G1PreRegProspect_home1

//  Adobe’s Newly Announced CS4 Suite Offers expanded tools for Mobile
This week Adobe Announced the new version of its creative suite, CS4, and as far as mobile is concerned, this may be a big leap forward for the suite of tools. Among the new features are a new searchable online library of popular devices from manufacturers, video capture and playback of simulated experiences in Device Central CS4, publishing directly to devices with Bluetooth, and an enhanced set of tools for creating engaging content.
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200809/092308AdobeCS4Mobile.html

//  First look: Samsung Omnia
Everything you wish for in your mobile? That’s a big promise… Can the Omnia live up to it? Samsung touts this device as “Bringing a PC environment to Mobile” and “replicating the look and feel of their PC”. This is no doubt something some users are looking for, to be mobile with something smaller than a laptop, but for some that are not using their mobile in a business-centric fashion, it might be overkill. The device runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and uses an optical mouse similar to those on laptop computers, which clams to give better one-handed control of the device. It has features a decent 5 megapixel camera that are similar to the caliber of a Nokia N95 or better, and also boasts GPS, and geo-tagging features among others.
http://www.samsung.com/us/aboutsamsung/news/newsIrRead.do?news_ctgry=irnewsrelease&news_seq=8999

//  The anti-touch touch pad
Touch the touch pad on your device… without touching it? Alps Electric revealed a laptop with a “non-contact touch pad” that can sense your movements while hovering over it, not touching it. This, on first glance, reminds me of some older PC laptops I’ve owned that did this when I didn’t want it to. Barely touching or hovering over the track pad produced ghost-like interactions; unintended selections, etc. However, done correctly, a user interface control that is absent of touch could work very well. Air gestures in Minority Report anone? That was all non-touch experience! And it was a pretty compelling way to control an interface, Marcel Marceau style. In a world of mobility where things like haptics are trying to make our “touchable interfaces” more tangible, where does a “non-contact touch pad” fit in, exactly?
http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/26/alps-electrics-non-contact-touchpad-needs-no-touch/

//  I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke…
Ok, so I just dated myself by recalling Coca-Cola’s bic-flicking 1970’s commercials, but once upon a time, it was a very ceremonious thing for everyone at a concert or event to light their lighters all at once and wave them in a sea of orange-yellow flickers. But now, you don’t need to smoke and you don’t need the lighter either, just download a virtual lighter app to your iPhone! There are seriously ten of these apps to choose from in the App Store, that provide you with the virtual enjoyment of flicking your Bic. Huh? Am I missing something? First there was the $1,000 one-screened glowing ruby application and now virtual lighters? Add that to the virtual Beer mug applications, and you’ve got yourself one heck of an exciting non-smoking, non-drinking, virtual evening! Don’t knock these apps entirely though, one offers a social aspect that shows, worldwide, where and how many people are downloading and sparking up virtual lighters everywhere. View the images, the results of how popular this trend is might surprise you!
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/26/what-is-the-deal-with-this-stupid-lighter-iphone-app/