We* are hobbyists just having fun developing for Android, but Google sure knows how to make our day.  Check out the email we got.

From: Android Market
Date: Tue, Mar 2, 2010 at 3:46 PM
Subject: Device Seeding Program for Top Android Market Developers
To: rdrr.labs@gmail.com

Subject: Device Seeding Program for Top Android Market Developers

Due to your contribution to the success of Android Market, we would like to present you with a brand new Android device as part of our developer device seeding program. You are receiving this message because you’re one of the top developers in Android Market with one or more of your applications having a 3.5 star or higher rating and more than 5,000 unique downloads.

In order to receive this device, you must click through to this site, read the terms and conditions of the offer and fill out the registration form to give us your current mailing address so that we can ship your device.

You will receive either a Verizon Droid by Motorola or a Nexus One. Developers with mailing addresses in the US will receive either a Droid or Nexus one, based on random distribution. Developers from Canada, EU, and the EEA states (Norway, Lichtenstein), Switzerland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore will receive a Nexus One. Developers with mailing addresses in countries not listed above will not receive a phone since these phones are not certified to be used in other countries.

We hope that you will enjoy your new device and continue to build more insanely popular apps for Android!

(email links removed)

RDRR Labs has:

Timeriffic with near 4.5 stars and way more downloads.
24 a beta app has 3.8 stars and way more downloads.
Brighteriffic has near 4 stars and way more downloads.

*Update 1: “We” means, a friend who does the code and Techlife’s lead writer who does visual design for Android apps.

Dear Techlife,

I was in my office, my second office, and it happened.

My precious smartphone, tumbled out of my hands, bounced off my leg, I reached for it and it grazed my fingers.  I watched in horror as it gyrated like a diver in the Olympics and did a perfect entry, with little splash at all, but a resounding, plop into the watery depths.

I shut my eyes, muscled up the courage and reached my hand into….the toilet.  My goal, rescue my precious smartphone from what must be a Blackberry grave.  Wow that water was ice cold.

As I expected the poor baby was dead.  I am distraught, what can I do?  How can I dry my wet phone?

Sincerely,

Deep Bowl Diver aka Fumble fingers

Dear Fumble Diver…

It’s not as bad as you would think.  As you might imagine you aren’t the first to drop an electronic item in water, or more specifically a phone into a toilet.  Shh…it happens, to everybody, well not me, but everybody else.

Even better there is a solution to easily and cheaply dry out your phone!

Will the solution work for you or any of our other readers is clearly a case by case basis, but the solution is pretty simple.  Rice.  Yes, rice.

+   =  

Rice cooks in water by absorbing the moisture it is sitting in, like a sponge.  To dry your smartphone try these simple steps:

1. Open the phone, if possible (iPhones exluded.)
2. Remove the battery, SIM card and storage card.
3. If it is a clamshell, open it fully.
4. Pour uncooked white rice into a bowl.
5. Submerge phone, battery, sim and storage cards in bowl of dry rice completely for 3 full days.
6. Remove, reassemble and power on.

Your luck will vary based on many factors, including the length of time the item was submerged.  Also before you call your carrier and claim, “It just stopped working. I don’t know what happened.”  All mobile phones have liquid activated stickers inside them in a few places.  This helps a technician know if you have had water damage normally not covered by your warranty.  So Fumble Diver, try the rice first, you already voided your warranty.

Finally, a quick comment about the bathroom referred to as your second office.  I am sure there are plenty of readers who nod their head in acknowledgment of that reference.  Newspapers, books, magazines are commonly brought to the office bathroom as a place to get some reading down.  You might call it multi-tasking.  A bit of office bathroom smartphone etiquette:

• silence your smartphone in the bathroom
• no calls in the bathroom

Follow these two simple rules and we won’t have any problems.  No one wants to hear you jabbering away about how some widget will be delivered on time or how your weekend drinking binge turned out.  We also don’t want to hear you playing Pac-man or Bejeweled.  Spare us your awesome dexterity.

Author’s note: Great news!  Fumble Diver reported back before we went to press.  After just 1 day, the phone was powering up and working but had water spots on the LCD screen.  That’s when we reminded Fumble Diver about step 5, part 2 – 3 full days.  Do you have a way to beat the smartphone blues?  Tell us.

Today marks a new carrier, Verizon coming on board with Android with two new devices under their Droid line.  The Motorola Droid and the Droid Eris by HTC are sure to be holiday hits, and when people start looking for good apps from the Anrdoid Market, Techlife wants to make sure you have our top 10.

Our friends at Phandroid, started this idea with 5 people listing their top 10 apps so we thought we’d weigh in with our own list.  This is done in that format, with a bonus app!

Long time Phandriod/Android Forum guy, using a G1 since the start…here’s my top 10.

1. Timeriffic – FREE – control wifi, brightness, audio and more with a simple timer, saves your battery. (full disclosure I collaborated on this)

2. Weather Widget – FREE – Beautiful weather app, with great options. This sits on my main home and I use it all the time.

3. UltimateFaves – FREE – Creates a quick 3D Ring of anything you want a shortcut too, calling people, applications, your choice. Unique interface.

4. Visual Voicemail – FREE – Does what it says, constantly working on it and updating, very responsive devs.

5. Mobile Defense – FREE – Find (gps), disable and more for your phone (USA only). I hope I never need it. Also is stealthily hidden.

6. ChompSMS – FREE – SMS replacement with an iPhone style chat interface

7. SMS Popup – FREE – Wakes phone display and plays audio and shows a small overlay of the most current SMS message. Flawless.

8. Cestos Full – FREE_- Multiplayer online game, arcade style, if you have a few minutes, it’s great. Good community too, with built in chat.

9. iMeem – FREE – Great web streaming radio customizable. Like Pandora, but without choppiness and massive battery drain. Albeit a slightly smaller catalog and some battery drain.

10. Battery Widget – FREE – easily see your exact % of juice left. Pressing the widget offers up toggle settings for a few options too.

Bonus App – Wallr – FREE – For those wanting a low resource option for changing their look, this app looks in a designated wallpaper folder and will randomly select a new wallpaper, on a schedule you set up. Mine is 1 per hour.

Thanks to our friends at Androlib.com for links, and images.

The Dojo's Cubed Addict - Multiplayer Real Time game for Android, Mac, PC and Linux.

As we meet with client’s the hardest thing for them to wrap their arms around is that on the web, your business is instantly global.  “Awesome, bring it on.”  “Yeah, so, no big deal.”  These are some of the common answers we hear from client’s.  It is then we sit them down and using their enthusiasm or lack thereof, we coach them on doing business in a global economy.  It’s not always easy with i18n (shorthand for internationalization) and l10n (shorthand for localization) and social networking and web 2.0 and e-commerce.

Now imagine adding mobile customers to the mix.  That is exactly the challenge David Kainer of The Dojo experienced.  Provide his customers a gaming platform globally that easily works for all mobile devices and Linux, Mac and Windows computers (<=computer download link, start playing today) based customers.  He also added in multi-player real-time , and to top it all off…it is all FREE.

Techlife sat down with David, who from his Sydney office, works with the London office to learn about The Dojo.  How?  Why? How hard?  It’s all in there, and we even cover why he chose Google’s Android first over Apple’s iPhone. 

Techlife: What is The Dojo?

David Kainer: The Dojo is a global platform for uniting game players in interactive gaming, irrespective of platform. It’s aim is to provide great multi-player experiences on mobile and online and really begin to blur the boundaries between the two. Best of all – it’s free.

T: How did you come with the idea for The Dojo?  Was it based on something?

DK: Dojo Media’s production studio, Viva La Mobile, has 5 years of experience developing and running real-time multi-player mobile games. I think the culmination of that experience and knowledge, as well as recognizing the shortage of true interactive gaming in the mobile market, led to The Dojo.

T: What is your background?

DK: I come from a computer engineering background and have been involved in mobile software virtually my entire professional life. After a couple of years developing vehicle tracking software for wireless devices with a US corporation I threw my hat into the ring and co-founded Viva La Mobile in 2003 and now Dojo Media in 2008.

T: How many people does it take on the back-end to run?

DK: For the time being we run a pretty small team with some excellent developers and engineers. Of course as more people access The Dojo and hopefully become regular players we will increase our team as the system scales up.

T: Where are you located?

DK: Headquarters are in London and the development studio, where I am most of the time, is located in Sydney.

T: What was the hardest aspect of getting The Dojo up and running?

DK: Apart from the technical difficulty of creating robust real-time multi-player games for mobile, one of the trickier aspects was actually drawing the line on the features list and to actually commit to launching the beta.

Cubed Addict has a true international feel with global gamers playing head to head.

T: What surprised you about the audience so far?

DK: I think the global nature of the audience has really taken us aback. We first put Dojo Cubed Addict onto a few free mobile sites and we have since seen players from about 30 countries in the system. It seems that people from India to Russia to the UK and USA all enjoy a similar experience.

T: Have there been any problems yet?

DK: Yes for sure. The first edition of Cubed Addict was the best of 3 rounds per game and we found that sessions took too long and players often quit after the first round. So we re-released it with a game being a single multi-player round. Secondly the control scheme on the T-Mobile G1 leaves a little to be desired. This was a hangover from the porting process from Java mobiles, and we will address that in January 2009. On the whole The Dojo is in beta so we expect problems and feedback about usability is helping us to refine it.

T: Was Cubed Addict, originally just called Cubed and you added the addict after playing yourself?

DK: Actually you’re not far off the truth there. We originally launched a multi-player game called “Cubed” on an Australian carrier in 2005 and it was hugely successful and highly addictive. Cubed Addict is essentially the sequel to that title.

T: Why did you release an Android version before an iPhone version?

DK: We feel that timing wise we are right on target to hit the Android market while there it is new and exciting whereas with iPhone we are a little late. We plan to release an iPhone edition early 2009.

T: How many games is the target for The Dojo?

DK: We plan to launch another 3 titles next quarter and will continue to develop more. We will also introduce a 3rd party developer program if and when the numbers allow it. Our goal with game releases is quality over quantity.

T: Give us a preview of the upcoming games?

DK: Next game will be Badlands 2, a sequel to one of our earlier multi-player games. This is an action game where multiple players (the original had up to 4 but we may push this higher for Badlands 2) fight it out in various futuristic combat vehicles. Expect a large variety of weaponry and some very useful digi-good power-ups that you can get from the Dojo Shop.

T:  We recently covered London based Casual Collective’s Minions in a column, and really enjoy it.  Check it out, they may have gotten the idea from Badlands, but I can tell you anything like that on a  mobile will be amazing.  (I realize 5v5 is probably unlikely.)

DK: Will definitely check it out. The original Badlands was maxed at 4 players due to device limitations, but these days I think we may be able to get up to 8 players in a room, so 4v4 may be possible. No idea until we try!

T: Do you have a gaming at work rule?

DK: Lately we haven’t actually had much chance to play in the office since launching The Dojo has kept us highly busy!

T: Do you feel Dojo gaming is really a mobile experience with an added desktop version?

DK: Dojo is not solely about being mobile. It is about giving gamers a unified experience across both mobile and desktop. It’s the gamers’ choice how they choose to play.

T: Any plans for Wii, Playstation or Xbox versions?

DK: Not in the short term but if it makes sense in the longer term then we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

T: Finally – a hint for the readers – why in Cubed Addict when playing an opponent does the board start to rise upwards quickly?  Is there a trigger?  Why is the trigger not the same for both parties?  In fact I often see the trigger for my side go off and release and their’s stays nice and low.  Sync issue?

DK: Ah, this is one of those features that is designed to ‘mix it up’ a little. The trigger is simply a timer and the purpose is to disturb the status quo that can sometimes happen in the game and push both players to the limit. I think there may be a sync issue there. I have noticed that happen too sometimes. It can be very hard to iron out all issues like that with multi-player games, especially with packet-dropping devices like mobiles.

Virtual G1: Take it for a Test Drive

How can I possibly buy a phone I have never seen? This is the number one question people ask when talking about the Android G1 or Google Phone with me.  The G1 folks have addressed this with Virtual G1. The virtual 360 degree G1 that rotates and opens to show off the full keyboard.  A guide view showing you where the battery and SIM card will go.  Best of all, an emulator view built in Flash to let you examine the software and hardware of the G1 in action.

The emulator is limited in many areas of function and there is no sound for any action.  It gives a good feel for what the device will do, at least to hold people over until the Tmobile release on October 22nd.

Thanks to Gizmodo and Engdaget for the fun tool.

“Hi, I’m an iPhone.”

Tmobile G1 powered by Google

Will we start seeing these commercials soon?  With the release party of the Tmobile G1, an HTC phone (manufacturer), powered by Android (Google’s mobile OS) we just might.  The Google Phone is the direct competitor to the frenzy surrounding Apple’s iPhone.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The G1 is heavily subsidized at $179.99, and available today for pre-order on Tmobile’s site for existing customers.  (Apple’s least expensive iPhone is $199 today.)  The public release is October 22nd.

Techlife will be getting a G1.  Andy Rubin, got his start with Danger and the Sidekick, another Tmobile device recently purchased by Microsoft.  The similiar look and feel to the hardware is unmistakeable and the fact Tmobile is carrying the phone is a shrewd move as they might lose customers otherwise, and instead get “us” to upgrade.  It worked on this Sidekick user.

Eric from Google gives us an idea of how easy the phone is to use and how your data is safe.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to Gizmodo for the great live analysis.  Thanks to AndroidGuys for the link to the live feed.  Thanks to Lifehacker for some great Android information.

Techlife will be covering the G1 more as we get to try it out and use it day to day.  It is something these offices are eagerly awaiting. Something less covered but interesting to us is the Android and Google Docs interface.  Maybe some of our friends in the Google Docs group can shed some light on it.

Will you be upgrading to the G1? Let us know in the comments.

Google, HTC and Tmobile are all putting their best foot forward with the G1.  Here are the specs:

Internet access has become a part of our daily life and sometimes just cause you are away doesn’t mean you should be without. We had the pleasure of trying out internet access on the go and Techlife readers won’t be disappointed.

(part of the syndicated print column’s writing process exposed to online readers)

Techlife hits the road every so often for time away from our main office. In the past our mobile smartphone was the only link back to the office. As we await the HTC Dream, an Android powered smartphone from Tmobile (Editor’s note: this was just given the greenlight!) and Google, we find more and more reason to stay connected using a laptop with broadband access.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For a recent trip to a tiny coastal getaway, we did a quick check of free wi-fi, and pay-as-you-go wifi and came up empty. But this lack of wi-fi turned into the ultimate turn of good fortune.

Techlife got to try two amazing services, Verizon Mobile Broadband and Rovair. Verizon has had mobile broadband, in the form of a card or USB for laptops for a few years. Rovair is a startup offering a turnkey solution for renting broadband cards and a data package.

We visited Rovair’s site a few weeks prior to travel to rent our card. Prices vary based on length of time and they do offer rush processing. We initially chose “let Rovair select broadband for me” which lets them choose between Sprint and Verizon. They do offer links to both Sprint and Verizon coverage maps for mobile broadband. In the long run we ended up with a Verizon card. (see below)

Their staff answered questions quickly and was helpful in explaining we needed to download some software from Verizon. The software was available for Mac and PC. When the card arrived, it plugged right in and a few moments later the laptop was on online. Easy.

We of course put the card through its paces by working in the car on the way, and then once we arrived. Verizon’s service was so fast and easy that if not for their monthly limits, of 5 GB data usage, it might be a perfect permanent (in the office) new option for us. Before we knew the limitations we considered a mobile broadband router, as we could pop out the card to use while on the road.

Rovair passes on the limitations to 1 GB per week of rental, pro-rated for rentals of less than 1 week. As heavy users we came just shy of 1 GB of usage in much less than a typical work week, after all it was a vacation. We were also cautious to not stream video or music and we still came pretty close.

Returning the card to Rovair was easy, just drop it into the provided UPS envelope and drop it off. We were a little sad to see the card go. We will be certainly considering Rovair in the future for our traveling needs. It really makes a world of difference.

And if Verizon changes their plans for heavy users we might consider a card for the office.

Overall: Rovair makes renting mobile broadband easy. While not likely cost effective for the casual user, any small business owner who wants to be connected while on vacation, on-site, at a trade show or sales meeting should consider renting their high speed access. Request Verizon as friend who rented disliked the Sprint coverage in their area.

Have you ever used your cell phone tethered as a modem? Let us know in the comments . Was it easy? Fast?

Techlife has gone mobile. As Sidekick’s Blackberry’s gain in popularity we often get requests from readers to offer a quick loading mobile edition. When selecting our direction we wanted to make sure to provide the same great experience our readers have come to enjoy in the paper edition and full web edition.

As you can see from these screen captures it’s a pretty decent option. Please let us know if you find any browsers that have issues. The nice thing is it should auto-detect your mobile browser.

While writing a recent article, on the OLPC XO Laptop, one of the all time most popular articles on Techlife, we got to meet Wayan Vota the founder of OLPC News. Wayan’s a strong, independent voice in the community of OLPC and the XO Laptop. He was featured on 60 Minutes for his work. (see 7:06 mark on Techlife TV for Wayan) I appreciated his grasp of both technology and non-profits and how the two mesh, so we sat down with him to learn more about what makes Wayan tick (tick, tick.) (unabashed 60 Minute pun for the OLPCNews readers who know me.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lesley Stahl discusses the 60 Minutes piece on the OLPC on Techlife TV.

Techlife: Wayan Vota. Interesting name, what are the origins?

Wayan Vota: Born on Bali to hippie folks. Got a local name in the process.

TL: Why did you start OLPC News?

WV: In the summer of 2006 I noticed there was much hype around OLPC, but little thoughtful analysis of its proposed methods and assumed impacts. I wanted to explore the details of OLPC’s implementation plan – how it expected to actually get laptops in the hands of children worldwide – in public form of open commentary and discussion. With ~5,000 daily readers, over a dozen writers, and too many contributors to count, I feel that OLPC News is successful beyond my wildest dreams.

TL: When did you first hear about an OLPC?

WV: In early 2006, a reporter for the Guardian newspaper in London called me looking for my opinion on this “$100 laptop scheme” from a Nicholas Negroponte. At that time, I’d never even heard of Negroponte, but the idea was captivating as I was exploring low-cost computing issues for Geekcorps, the organization I ran at the time. The model sounded very intriguing, but the details were lacking, making me wonder if it was just hype.

TL: When did you first get to manhandle an OLPC?

WV: I first held an OLPC at the Refresh DC Meetup where I explored its impact on website design with leading DC designers.

TL: When did you get your first OLPC?

WV: I didn’t have my own XO until G1G1, and then it was delayed until Xmas eve. With my wife working all day on Christmas, I geeked on the XO till my fingers hurt.

TL: Are you a member of any OLPC user groups?

WV: With the OLPC News XO User Group Forums I helped organize many of the user groups across America, and I co-founded the OLPC Learning Club DC with Mike Lee which he now leads. Recently, I’ve helped organize Portland, Vancouver, and NY XO users into groups of co-learners.

TL: What’s an interesting thing one of the user groups did recently?

WV: While visiting the Vancouver XO User Group, I witnessed one of the more amazing OLPC tricks: face juggling an XO laptop.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Watch for Wayan in the last second of this 60 Minutes promo on Techlife TV.

TL: Is your OLPC your primary machine?

WV: I think I’ll side with Aaron of OLPC Austria when I say that the XO laptop is an educational device for children. Its not meant to be a replacement computer for me, and my professional needs are beyond the scope of the XO.

TL: How close are you with any of the leaders of the project?

WV: While I talk with Mary Lou Jepsen and Ivan Kristic on occasion, Nicholas Negroponte and Walter Bender are not fans of OLPC News. Apparently the concept of criticism, which is integral to Constructionist learning, doesn’t agree with the OLPC leadership.

TL: What do you think they have done well to date?

WV: OLPC, and Nicholas Negroponte in particular, can be credited with reinvigorating the debate around education and technology. No longer is it why should technology empower education, but how, and how, now? In addition, the XO laptop is a revolution in computing – low in cost, high in functionality and performance in the developing world context. The first practical, purpose-build, high-volume educational computer.

TL: What do you think they could improve upon?

WV: The hardware is literally clock-stopping hot, but the software has yet to live up to its promise of high ease of use and high reliability. Hopefully, we’ll see it progress as fast as the hardware process, and have a world class system by the end of this year.

TL: Would you consider leading the OLPC organization?

WV: Hahahah! You’re not the first to ask, yet I am no where near qualified to lead OLPC. I could contribute in the implementation process, helping design and rollout laptop distribution in the target countries, but to run the organization, you need a seasoned technology executive or a strong primary education practitioner.

TL: What do you think of the impact of $75 laptop as Pixel Qi wants to bring to market?

WV: Mary Lou Jepsen’s Display Centric Design process, which brought us the XO and she’s commercializing with Pixel Qi is a radical change in computer manufacturing that will have less to do with a random laptop price than reorganizing how every computerized device is designed – from cell phones to ATM’s. I would not even begin to know where her ideas will lead us, but I am grateful to her for the idea and execution.

TL: What do you think of the Eee and other affordable sub-notebooks?

WV: OLPC’s greatest legacy may well be that it awoke the rest of the IT industry to the demand in the sub-$300 notebook market – targeted computers offering basic functionality at prices that make them commodities. At $300, rich consumers can have a quiver of laptops to match moods, and an African can have a laptop, period, with the resulting spike in democratization of information around the globe.

TL: How is niche publishing better than general publishing?

WV: I love micro-publishing. With OLPC News I can assume a level of fluency with the subject matter that allows me to pass by the generalizations and explore the details of One Laptop Per Child with a rabid readership that knows and debates every nuisance of our shared subject matter. In addition, the readership directly contributes to the site, from comments to submitting Guest Posts to becoming writers for OLPC News themselves.

TL: Have you gotten stories that you couldn’t run for some reason? Why?

WV: Oh the stories I wish I could tell! Since OLPC News is the blog of choice for the One Laptop Per Child community, I am often privy to information that is best left unsaid. And for the betterment of the OLPC community, I leave it that way.

TL: Where do you see the future of OLPC News?

WV: I find great joy in publishing OLPC News. As long as One Laptop Per Child is a going concern, I hope OLPC News will be there to chronicle its existence – tangible proof of OLPC’s ability to inspire and motivate.