Barnes & Noble announced a $199 version of its Nook Tablet on Tuesday with half of the memory and storage of the current $249 model. B&N is taking aim at Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire, but it doesn’t have a full-featured ecosystem to compete with. Read more »
Research In Motion delivered a major software update for its PlayBook tablet with the release of PlayBook OS 2.0. The upgrade brings overlooked features to RIM’s tablet, which has so far faced relatively poor sales and generally negative reviews. Is it too little, too late? Read more »
Android apps on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet will not be able to support mobile advertising at launch, RIM said. That means Android developers who make free apps will have even less incentive to bring their apps to the PlayBook through the Android App Player. Read more »
Streaming March Madness tournament games next month won’t be as free and easy as it was last year, with broadcast partners CBS (NYSE: CBS) a… Read more at paidContent »
Nuance added support for Ice Cream Sandwich, or Android 4.0, in the latest beta of its Swype software keyboard on Thursday. The new version has a limited audience base, but Swype is getting ready for devices as they gain the update to Android 4.0. Read more »
The latest social-local-mobile app to enter the market is Glassmap, which is like a cross-platform Find My Friends, but with more features and better battery management. The app, created by a YCombinator-backed startup, also provides better privacy, messaging and notifications than the competition. Read more »
A new platform has emerged to create converged applications between the TV, PCs and mobile devices. Clik, which released a mobile app that can connect to any screen with a browser, is also releasing smart TV platform for developers. Read more »
In response to the uproar over how mobile iOS applications have had access to address-book data without having to inform the user, Google (N… Read more at paidContent »
Benchmark results of a quad-core Android smartphone appeared on the web, and the handset tests twice as fast as recent smartphones, such as the Galaxy Nexus. But there’s an important aspect to remember here: software is still catching up to hardware, so set your expectations accordingly. Read more »
HTC, one of the earliest champions of smartphones seems to have fallen on hard times. But the Taiwanese phone maker isn’t ready to call it quits and is said to be working on a slew of new products including a music streaming service – relatively soon. Read more »
Leaked images of Research In Motion’s new BlackBerry 10 software show much similarity to the user interface of Apple iOS and Google Android. The screenshots indicate that BlackBerry is finally moving towards a more touch-friendly platform that supports home-screen widgets. Now about the supporting ecosystem… Read more »
When HP CEO Meg Whitman addresses thousands of partners Wednesday, there will be a lot on the line. She has to convince them that the management snafus of the last two years are firmly in the past. The partners would love to believe that. Read more »
The Android 4.0 tablets are finally starting to arrive, and Samsung is ready to reveal its 7-inch Galaxy Tab with the latest and greatest ve… Read more at paidContent »
Smartphone sales have overtaken PC, iPhone app spend is rising and Android is beset by fragmentation problems, this visual stat compendium b… Read more at paidContent »
Remember Crazy Frog? The bike-riding amphibian and his irritating, ubiquitous song symbolized the premium ringtone market a few years ago, before fading into obscurity. The frog has disappeared, but one startup thinks it has found a way to evolve the idea for the modern mobile user. Read more »
On this week’s podcast, Kevin convinces Matt to try Chrome for Android now that Matt’s custom ROM issue on the Galaxy Nexus is fixed. Also, what to expect from quad-core phones and what would it take for either host to upgrade to the expected iPad 3? Read more »
Have a DVD that you want to watch while traveling or otherwise away from home? The latest version of the TV Anytime app will let its users rip and transfer DVDs from their desktops to mobile devices for on-the-go viewing. Read more »
After two weeks of using the Asus Transformer Prime, I’m convinced that it’s best large Android tablet available today for several reasons. Android 4.0 devices all got a better browser this week, thanks to the Chrome beta. Meanwhile HTC announced its Android 4.0 upgrade plans. Read more »
The Asus Transformer Prime has several “firsts” for 2012. It’s the first tablet to use Google’s Android 4.0 software. And it’s the first tablet to run on Nvidia’s Tegra 3 quad-core chip. So does first equal best? In this case, yes for those who like Android. Read more »
The Netflix streaming app is now available on over 800 different devices, which is nearly double the number of devices that the app was on only six months ago. Yet for all that growth, Netflix is suddenly looking vulnerable in mobile video as new competitors with ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Foursquare has updated its Android app to include support for tap-and-go check-ins and P2P sharing using NFC. The app will now be able to read NFC tags at a location and immediately take a user to a venue page, where they can check-in. Read more »
Google is making an Android-powered entertainment system and will design and sell it under its own brand, according to the Wall Street Journal. When I read the news, the word that came to mind: amazing! Read more »
Google is rumored to be launching an online storage drive, long after companies like Dropbox and Microsoft have launched their own offerings. The late rollout is a sign that Google is devoting too much energy to being social and less focus on enhancing Android OS. Read more »
Is 2012 “the year of mobile?” No sir. Mobile is simply too disruptive to have just one year. After all, who remembers the year of the TV or… Read more at paidContent »
Google’s bid for Motorola (NYSE: MMI) is likely to get a thumbs up from the U.S. Department of Justice, but still could face opposition from… Read more at paidContent »
When I held the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 at last month’s Consumer Electronics Show, I was hooked. The new Tab is slimmer, has a vastly improved display, more RAM and a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor. Here’s a first look at this thin, all-day Honeycomb tablet. Read more »
Google’s mystery device has been unveiled by The Wall Street Journal as a Sonos-like platform for wirelessly streaming music around the home. But the most important thing is that Google is moving beyond software to making a branded hardware device of its own. Read more »
Sony’s next-generation SmartWatch is “coming soon” according to the product page, and it looks like a huge improvement over the company’s first attempt, which debuted in Sept. 2010. The SmartWatch connects wirelessly to an Android phone for message notifications checking Facebook and Twitter or monitoring exercise. Read more »
All is indeed fair in love and war, but not everything is fair in patent licensing. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) are working o… Read more at paidContent »
Priceonomics, which keeps track of the resale value of items like cars, bikes and gadgets, published a report Wednesday that shows how the value of iPhones, Android phones and BlackBerrys hold up over time. Short answer: iPhones, even years-old models, retain their value the longest. Read more »
Earlier today, I shared information on the latest update to DoubleTwist, the media management software for Android. Rather than just read my experiences with the app, the DoubleTwist folks kindly offered 25 unlock codes for GigaOm readers, so if you hurry, you can get them here. Read more »
After using the stock Google Android software on my Galaxy Nexus for two months, I’m getting antsy. The new Chrome beta for Android is a super browser and Google Wallet is great too. But now It’s time for a custom ROM to reinvigorate the Nexus experience! Read more »
DoubleTwist, a popular free media play application for Android, has improved its software to include over-the-air podcast subscriptions. The new feature is available as part of the DoubleTwist Pro in-app upgrade, a $4.99 fee that also adds AirPlay support, wireless media synchronization and album art downloads. Read more »
Microsoft added Android support for OneNote, enabling Android users to take notes from their device and sync them in the cloud. But a few key features are missing that appear in competing apps. Is this space owned by Evernote or can OneNote succeed on Android? Read more »
Today brings news of yet another round of capital-intensive cost-cutting for the challenged mobile phone maker Nokia: the company today anno… Read more at paidContent »
Now that Google has brought its Chrome browser to desktops, laptops, Chromebooks (remember those?) and, just today, to Android 4.0 tablets and smartphones, where will Chrome appear next? For $60, it can be on your wrist, but don’t expect to browse for anything but the time. Read more »
For years, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) watchers have wondered why the company has used a unique browser on its Android software while maintaining a… Read more at paidContent »
Research In Motion is undeniably on the ropes at the moment, with the mobile handset maker weathering a decline in global market share, dela… Read more at paidContent »
Mobile World Congress is still three weeks and an ocean away, but Samsung is already threatening to steal the show. Analytics blog Anlytk has compiled Twitter data on the most referenced terms surrounding MWC and found that Samsung is already generating an enormous amount of buzz. Read more »
