AT&T will make the Samsung Galaxy S II available Sunday, October 2 for $199 after contract, but there’s no need to wait until then to see it. I’ve used a review unit of this Google Android smartphone for several days and have a brief video overview. Read more »
Shazam, a popular music tagging mobile app, announced on Thursday that it would remove the five-song limit from the free version of its iOS software. Why? More tagging leads to more sharing, more Apple iAd impressions and more revenue-generating music purchases from partners. Read more »
T-Mobile announced its first two smartphones capable of fully utilizing the operator’s 42 Mbps mobile broadband network. The carrier’s version of the Samsung Galaxy S II and the HTC Amaze 4G were introduced along with a new 42 Mbps MiFi, the T-Mobile Sonic 4G Mobile Hotspot. Read more »
My first hands-on look at AT&T’s Galaxy S II shows a powerful smartphone with brilliant display and fast mobile broadband. Amazon’s tablet is expected to launch next week, although it runs on Google’s platform, you may not see Android. Hulu Plus fans gain a software upgrade. Read more »
AT&T’s Galaxy S II launches on Oct. 2, but a review unit just landed on my doorstep. Here are several photos and my initial impressions of Samsung’s latest and greatest Android phone designed for AT&T’s HSPA+ network. So far, I’m most impressed. Read more »
Given that a press invite from Amazon just hit my Inbox for next Wednesday, it’s a safe bet that the long wait for Amazon’s tablet entry is about to end. It’s not meant to compete with the iPad, but at $250, it ought to sell well. Read more »
Microsoft’s newest Windows Phone browser, coming soon via the Mango software update, shows improvements, but tabs aren’t part of the redesign. The small screen of a smartphone limits what controls can be in the browser, but we’ve seen some clever ways to make it work. Read more »
Smartphones and tablets now trump laptops as the newer, more mobile devices use airport Wi-Fi more than traditional computers, according to data collected by Boingo Wireless. Although laptops outnumber mobile devices by a factor of five, the smaller devices use nearly 60 percent of airport Wi-Fi. Read more »
Since there isn’t one social network to rule them all just yet, I have at least a half-dozen apps on my smartphone to navigate the crazy social currents. But LiveGO for iOS aggregates Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ along with support for several IM services. Read more »
Tablet sales will continue to rise from 17.6 million sales last year to 326.3 million by 2015, says Gartner, but the iPad will still dominate the market. There’s good reason to believe Gartner’s iPad estimates, but some of the other platform numbers don’t quite make sense. Read more »
Microsoft’s next major software update is nearly ready for Windows Phone handsets, expected in the next week or two. Windows Phone is set to gain momentum due to the improvements in the Mango software, making it a real contender for the No. 3 mobile platform. Read more »
The fastest selling Samsung smartphone, the Galaxy S II, arrives on AT&T’s network October 2 for $199 after contract. That’s right before an expected introduction of Apple’s newest iPhone. Which super smartphone will AT&T customers choose: the best Android phone or Apple’s latest and greatest? Read more »
Amid lackluster BlackBerry PlayBook sales, 1,000 production line workers have been let go at Quanta in Taiwan where the tablets are made. Instead of jumping in the tablet game with an incomplete product, RIM may have been better off to get QNX on its smartphones first. Read more »
There’s talk today of Samsung open-sourcing its Bada smartphone platform next year, but the company has little to gain and much to lose if it does. Why give up control of the one asset Samsung has that no successful handset maker outside of Apple enjoys? Read more »
HTC today introduced the Rhyme, a plum-colored Google Android smartphone, as a lifestyle device that’s aimed at female customers, calling it “elegant”. The $199 phone for Verizon includes a charging dock and supports a wired charm that glows upon incoming calls or messages. Read more »
What’s an iOS app developer to do when a client asks to have a mobile app stress tested by snapping 10,000 images from an Apple iPad? Hiring an intern is one way to solve the problem, but building a LEGO robot might be the better option. Read more »
Enterprises that never expected to support personal consumer devices are slowly changing their minds, with 59 percent now supporting employee-owned smartphones in various ways. That means more opportunity for device makers and app developers to create solutions that effectively cater to both work and personal use. Read more »
London-based network operator Vodafone announced Monday the three winners of its Mobile Clicks 2011 contest. The top three mobile startup app makers shared both a total of &Euro;225,000, but the apps couldn’t be more different, highlighting the breadth of opportunity in today’s growing app economy. Read more »
MiFi mobile hotspots aren’t new, but not everyone wants the two-year data contract that comes with one. TruConnect launched a new 3G MiFi on Monday for $90 that uses Sprint’s 3G network, doesn’t require a contract and costs $0.039 per megabyte; great for a Wi-Fi tablet. Read more »
Verizon introduced a new Android smartphone on Monday: The Pantech Breakout runs on Verizon’s 4G network and appears in stores on Thursday for just $99 with contract. Now that the 4G network is on pace to cover 185 million, it’s time to expand the user base. Read more »
The number of connected devices is steadily on the rise, but it’s not smartphones or computers that will lead us to the 50 billion connected devices expected by the year 2020. Rather, the Internet of Things — numerous smart objects that speak to the web and ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The Meta Watch team, as well as the business assets and IP, have broken off from Fossil to further develop the connected watch platform. The focus of the private company is unchanged: To create an open, wireless platform for wearable, information at a glance. Read more »
This week tells a tale of two Android smartphones: one for $29 and one for $299. There are vast hardware differences between the Huawei Impulse 4G and Droid Bionic, but each should sell well in their targeted market. Thanks to a software update, both support Netflix. Read more »
It took several months, but Netflix for Android is now available to most Android smartphones and small tablets. The latest app update adds support for Android 2.2 and 2.3; a change from the earlier Netflix versions that were tested on a device-by-device basis. Read more »
Symbian’s not quite dead yet for Nokia. In fact, ever since the company decided to use Windows Phone 7 as a primary platform going forward, Symbian has matured quite quickly. The latest addition? Microsoft Office software that enterprises and business users are sure to like. Read more »
One of my personal “must have” free travel apps, Tripit, gained both an Android upgrade and an ad-free paid version on Thursday. Along with the news comes some interesting travel data from Tripit’s user base. Which do you think travels more for work or fun? Read more »
In May of 2010, I examined the Android fragmentation issue. Is it still a problem? Yes, but based on various Google actions that time, the data shows it’s far less of an issue than it was. And it will always exist under the current licensing model. Read more »
Huawei’s new Impulse 4G for AT&T won’t attract many current smartphone owners, but at $29 with contract, feature phone users are sure to take notice of the Android smartphone. The low-priced handset offers solid functionality and will help Huawei become a household name in the U.S. Read more »
Verizon’s newest LTE phone, the Droid Bionic, launches on Thursday for $299 with contract. Will Android enthusiasts pay the steep price? They might, based on the dual-core processor, high-resolution display, large amount of memory and 4G network support in addition to the laptop docking station. Read more »
For all the advances smartphones have brought us, task management apps still seem to have room for improvements. Wunderlist, just updated for Android, is my current task app of choice due to cross-platform support with iOS, a web client, solid syncing and smart features. Read more »
Verizon subscribers may have their first handset with both LTE and a slide-out keyboard to choose from this week. The Samsung Stratosphere appears to be a mid- to high-end device with some similarities to the Galaxy S II that Verizon chose not to offer its customers. Read more »
Amazon’s long awaited entry into the Android tablet space is nearly ready, but it’s not the tablet that some were expecting. Samsung blurs the lines between tablet and phone with the new 5.3-inch Samsung Note, while Toshiba and Lenovo debut new Android tablets this week. Read more »
Barnes & Noble is reportedly planning a new Nook Color tablet as early as this month, based on information from Asian component suppliers. This makes sense for at least three reasons, especially since Amazon is soon to enter the market with a tablet of its own. Read more »
Jabra has a new wireless headset for folks who work and play near a mobile phone. The $99 Jabra Sport resists dust and rain during exercise, includes an FM radio and controls for music navigation and volume, plus it doubles as a standard headset for calls. Read more »
Big hardware vendors continue to fight Apple’s iPad for a piece of the tablet pie and the three newest entries debuted today at the IFA electronics show. Samsung went high-end in a small device, while Lenovo went low cost. Meanwhile, Toshiba slimmed its 10.1-inch Android tablet. Read more »
Creators of the original PogoPlug, Cloud Engines, launched a new $80 mobile hardware product on Thursday that streams home media to smartphones and tablets. PogoPlug Mobile enables a “personal cloud” with media access and, in the case of Android devices, can remotely backup photos and movies. Read more »
In a challenge to Apple’s Retina Display technology, Samsung introduced a new high-resolution smartphone, the Samsung Note. The phone packs 1280×800 pixels in a 5.3-inch Super AMOLED screen paired with a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor and digital pen. Is it too big to be a phone? Read more »
With so many iPad lookalikes in the tablet market, it’s actually refreshing to see a new design. And the freshest of them all may be Sony’s new Tablet P with its dual screens in a folding clamshell case, which looks intriguing in this first look video. Read more »
An informal Twitter poll lends credence to the thought that Samsung should have launched the SGS2 sooner in the U.S. Now the super smartphone will find more competition as consumers are willing to wait for what’s next, such as a new iPhone or Nexus handset. Read more »
The U.S. government filed suit to block AT&T’s $39 billion merger with T-Mobile, claiming the deal would “create an anti-competitive environment.” If the merger falls through, AT&T will lose cash, spectrum holdings and the ability to add T-Mobile’s unique 1700 MHz frequency LTE network expansion plans. Read more »
