People who use Gmail mobile application for other platforms will know that each time you want to check for new e-mail the application needs to be refreshed, but not on Android platform. This application introduces a feature “Push e-mail” which keeps you updated with the new emails without a refresh.

Other features include Notifications, Address Autocomplete, Viewing Attachments, etc..

Watch the video below to see this application in action:

Not that this strategy has only cons, but being traditional and tightly controlling the applications that run on iPhone could make developers demotivated to develop such applications. However, this would also mean that the quality of applications on iPhone remains standardized. Android, if I am not wrong will take a different strategy. Instead of controlling android application through a store, Google will let the users decide if they want the application or not just like the google desktop gadgets

Let us look at some of the Android applications which have the potential of making it big. So what it takes for an application to make it big. We are going to try to decide this based on usability.

BioWallet

Category: Security Utility

Developed By: Jose Luis Huertas Fernandez

License: Free

This is a like a password to your Android phone. All you have to do is to take a picture of your eye ball (iris) and set it up as a password to your android and android applications. It’ll only allow an authentication when it matches the iris of your eye scanned using your android camera.

BreadCrumbz

Developed By: Amos Yoffe

Categories: GPS and Maps

License: Free

And I used to think that the only way to get to places and know about them was using maps and GPS. However, BreadCrumbz takes it to a whole new level. Instead of using a map you can use pictures to know about places. It’s more or less like a guide which tells you a great lot of things about a particular place you are visiting. You can also create routes and send them to your friends.

This might not be as great for car drivers as it would be for pedestrians and cyclist. It can also give you voice instructions to help you navigate when you are driving. Because this takes advantage of community development and sharing it has a great potential to grow.

CallACab/Cab4Me

Developed By: Konrad Hubner , Henning Boger

Categories: Travel and Cabs

License: Free

If you are caught up in an alien city and have no clue about how to get a cab or how to call for a cab, this application will come to your rescue. It’s aware of the location and doesn’t need you tell the cab service about your location. Calling cabs can’t get easier than this.

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Eco2Go/Ecorio

Developed By:

Application is currently running in sunrise testing phase for the closed user group. In case you are interested in testing this application out as a sunrise tester, shoot an e-mail at mail [at] twitroid.com.

This applications does all the regular stuff that a regular Twitter application is expected to do + it lets you post pictures to twitter from within the application. The photo service is comes from a Twitroid exclusive service called photroid.com

The application is expected to hit the market before the phone is launched, that is before 22nd of October.

Android is expected to attract more developers in the long run as the platform is embraced by a lot of phone manafacturers and we will start seeing phones being released based on Android platofrm, in simple words Android application market is expected to be bigger than iPhone Apps.

Buying Android

This is a good move by HTC as people who have been waiting for iPhone to hit India since a long time are still waiting for the prices to reduce before they buy their dream phone. In the meanwhile if HTC plans to launch the Android loaded G1 in India soon then it can pull a lot of potential buyers away from buying Apple’s iPhone.

iPhone was launched in India on 21th of August, however, it failed to sell in the expected volumes because of its price tag, Rs.31,000 for 8GB and Rs. 32,000 for 16GB. This is where HTC’s Android powered G1 could win over iPhone in India.

G1 does not come with a huge space such as 8 or 16 GB. It however offers a decent 1GB which can be enhanced using memory cards. Such specs on Android G1 are being considered as lack of features, but, we think it’s a smartly designed phone which can compete with iPhone in the markets where it is considered expensive.

Another thing that might favor HTC is that 3G network in India is not launched yet. So people who bought the iPhone 3G have not yet experienced the mobility on the iPhone 3G. December would be an ideal time for HTC to launch Android in India as the 3G services are expected to be launched around the same time.

Apple has created an unbelievable buzz around iPhone and continues to sustain it with the latest release. It’s also trying to reach to the masses by reducing the price and make more money from the services offered for iPhone. Also, we will soon start to see the accessories echo system built around iPhone just as we saw in the case of iPods. But what about Android? don’t you think Google will put its best foot forward with Android?

Google took a smarter root to capture the mobile market, it very clearly understood that its not necessary to sell your own hardware to capture the mobile market but the software is more important. Android was the result of this smart thinking and companies like Nokia, Samsung and other major mobile brands got onboard quickly.

So, when Apple sells one iPhone there can be 5 other companies trying to sell their phones with Android loaded on it.

Eventually Android will take the lead because of the support it will get from the open source and mobile companies and also because I wouldn’t want to buy a phone (iPhone) which millions of people already have it but with Android its possible to have a Phone which is not common and still have Android on it.