The first slightly interesting thing to emerge from Google’s I/O 2010 conference has been revealed – it’s to fully open-source the On2 VP8 video codec, which Google acquired the ownership of when it bought On2 in mid-2009.
Which means we now all have a free-to-use video codec to power the next generation of HTML5 video content, which will be packaged up under the WebM “open media” banner. Here’s a low-res image from the Google I/O 2010 YouTube feed that does this story no justice whatsoever:
This doesn’t mean much for Android at the moment, but we’ve got an hour to kill before dinnertime so thought we might as well mention it.
Motorola’s latest flagship dual-core Android monster is a massive, original powerhouse, that’s a big improvement on previous MOTOBLUR mobiles – but still isn’t a total winner.
A slim and glamorous phone from Sony Ericsson, with the sharpest display around. It’s no powerhouse and the screen’s not the biggest out there, but we don’t mind. Because it’s cute.
LG’s first glasses-free 3D phone is a heavy, fat monster, with a clever 3D effect that works rather well. As a smartphone, though, it’s heavy and underwhelming.
A very shiny thing from Sony Ericsson, with a 3.7″ screen and Android 2.3.3 inside. But is it exciting enough to win fans in today’s spec-obsessed market? Can man live on one core alone?
INQ’s Android phone is an interesting “boutique” piece of hardware, packed with unique interface customisations that go far beyond the headline Facebook integration. We like it a lot.
MarkG
/ May 19, 2010Opera 10.5 with WebM(VP8) available for download. You can also browse YouTube with the new codec;
http://labs.opera.com/news/2010/05/19/
http://www.webmproject.org/users/