FriendCaller became one of most recomended VoIP client for Android phone. Currently in beta version, FriendCaller offers very good over-the-internet calls and Instant messaging to anyone around the world. A really cool feature is the ability send a link to someone you want to call without that person having to download and install FriendCaller. The sound quality is very good compared to Skype, which at the time it was still available on Android required the use of a headset for a good listening experience.

Features:

• Works in WiFi zone and over
• 3G/UMTS connection!
• Runs as a background service allowing anyone to reach you anytime
• Instantly FREE VoIP calls to anybody on the Internet using our patented CallMe-Links\
• Easy import of your Android phone contacts

Learn more here.

Another iPhone app of note was ported to Android during the last week. Joining the recently released Android Kindle app is Barnes & Noble’s NOOK app.

B&N noted that NOOK for Android is the first eReader software to feature “Barnes & Noble’s new NOOK-centric branding.” The company added that updated NOOK software for iPhone and iPad will be released in the coming months.

From B&N’s press release, the list of features will be very familiar to those who are using e-book reader software.  It does have a lending feature absent from other e-book readers. Read more…

The Samsung Galaxy S is known to be coming to all four major carriers in one variant or another, with T-Mobile (Vibrant) and AT&T (Captivate) having already released their versions. Sprint’s Epic 4G will be the first 4G version of the device, and it will have a slide-out keyboard and front-facing camera as well, missing from all the other versions. What we don’t have is a solid launch date.

However, recent history, in terms of Samsung product videos, has revealed a possible date.

First, AT&T’s Captivate was released on July 18th. The Samsung product video showed up on the next business day, July 19th. The T-Mobile Vibrant’s video appeared on July 21st, which would appear to be late, as the device shipped on July 15th, but if you remember it was originally set to release on July 21st, it makes sense.

Looking at Samsung’s video schedule, it now says the Epic 4G’s video is set for August 20th.

If the theory holds up, that’s the date for the launch of the Sprint Epic 4G. A more vague clue also comes in the form of a tweet from Samsung, in which they said the Epic 4G was coming in a “few weeks.”

With the exception of the slide-out keyboard and a front-facing camera, the Epic 4G is pretty much a clone of the other Galaxy S devices coming to U.S. carriers. It has a 4″ Super AMOLED screen, 1 GHz Hummingbird CPU, a 5 MP camera, 802.11n wi-fi, a 1500 mAH battery and a 6-axis accelerometer, in addition to the keyboard and F-F camera. It’s unclear if we will see Android 2.1 or 2.2 at launch.

With complaints flooding in about the new iPhone 4G, from dropped calls on the AT&T network to the unavailability of apps, it seems a good time to question the future of the platform. Especially now that its main competitor Android is building up momentum.

Without question one of the most appealing factors about smartphones is the applications which can be added to them, whether they are for playful or practical purposes.

In the past the Android OS has not attracted the same number of app developers, largely because it has not been as profitable to make them as for the iPhone, but now there are unmistakable signs that Google could be ready to outmanoeuvre Apple.
Firstly the controlling nature of Apple does not sit well with all developers and consumers. Yes Apple says that it can guarantee a higher quality of app because of its stricter policing of the markets. But many customers will not care about the quality and will be happy to have apps that do a good enough job at a lower price. Google holds all the cards in this respect as it can give away the Android OS for nothing, such is the size and heft of the company.
In June 2010 alone, 60,000 more android devices in the UK were activated than in May, when 100,000 people had tapped into the Android OS system. An even more significant figure shows that for the first time there are now more Android app developers than there are iPhone app developers.
This will be particularly relevant over the next decade as emerging markets come into play. In places such as India and China where the iPhone may be unaffordable, Google is looking to offer customers the full smartphone experience at a lower price.
By next year the Android may be outselling the iPhone. Apple may say that it aims to do what it has always done – offer a higher quality experience in niche markets. But it is clear that their latest problems will have the company sweating.