More Android Forking? Disney Teams Up With Japan’s Docomo For 2 New Phones
Disney (NYSE: DIS) Mobile, the short-lived U.S. MVNO that found a new lease of life in Japan through a Softbank JV in 2008, has now launched… Read more at paidContent »
Android fragmentation not so bad says Localytics
Android fragmentation is less of a challenge than it was two years ago, and developers shouldn’t be as concerned about it says Localytics. Data from both Localytics, and even Google, show this to be true. And Android 4.0 is a chance for a “fresh start.” Read more »
Why Mint on Android tablets could boost its user base
Mint’s financial management app for Android makes the move from phones to tablets on Wednesday. The software offers the same functionality as Mint’s iPad app, which is experiencing much higher take-up rates on tablets compared to smartphones. Here’s why Mint hopes for the same on Android. Read more »
Apple/Samsung Legal Skirmishes Have A New Player: The European Commission
The ongoing, back-and-forth legal fight that is the Apple/Samsung patent dispute today took on a new dimension in one of its key battlegroun… Read more at paidContent »
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12 tech leaders’ resolutions for 2012
If you’re like many of us, you’re already thinking over some New Year’s resolutions that will make you a better “you” in 2012. But how are the tech industries’ thought leaders approaching the new year? We asked 12 of them for their resolutions. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
T-Mo adds a family check-in service; will people pay?
T-Mobile added a new family locator service called FamilyWhere to its suite of carrier-specific Android apps on Tuesday. The software is powered by Safely, which now has passed one billion “locates” for premium subscribers. Will T-Mo customers pay after the free trial or simply use Life360? Read more »
RIM In Trouble In Europe? Not In The UK, It Claims
RIM (NSDQ: RIMM) is taking a beating at the moment from handset makers like Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and Samsung, which have eaten into a smartpho… Read more at paidContent »
G-cluster plans mobile gaming service to challenge OnLive
G-cluster plans to enter the U.S. market with an on-demand gaming service. The company has secured an unnamed amount of funding from Intel and French mobile carrier SFR to expand its reach beyond home casual gaming and movie streaming into high-end gaming for tablets and smartphones. Read more »
Farewell, Yahoo Apps, We Hardly Knew Ye: Deals, News Plus Eight Others Gone
Looks like new CEO Scott Thompson is wasting little time starting to get Yahoo’s house in order: just a few weeks into the new CEO’s tenure,… Read more at paidContent »
Samsung’s 5.3-inch Galaxy Note with LTE: $299 on AT&T
Another hot device from this month’s Consumer Electronics Show is about to hit the market: AT&T announced a Feb. 5 pre-order date for the Samsung Galaxy Note. With a 5.3-inch HD display, can this phone, er tablet, succeed where Dell failed with the Streak? Read more »
iWatch 2 concept is the iPod nano of the wearable computer age
I often wear an iPod nano as a watch, but with Android wrist-top devices appearing with much more to offer, it’s feeling a little behind the times these days. Something like Antonio De Rosa’s new iWatch2 is closer to what I’d like to see from Apple. Read more »
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Hey Samsung: Aren’t there enough stars in the Galaxy?
Samsung expanded its smartphone lineup on Monday, announcing the Galaxy S Advance for various markets around the world. But there’s little here to “advance” the Galaxy S design; it’s as if Samsung is now making Android handsets with spare parts left over from other models. Read more »
Walkbase showcases indoor location tech with auto check-in app
A Finnish company called Walkbase is looking to bring to market a very simple and scalable solution for indoor positioning that can help map out rooms using crowd-sourced data and smart algorithms. It’s showing off its technology with a new auto Foursquare check-in app called Checked. Read more »
MobileTechRoundup podcast 259: Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Transformer Prime
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7.7 is in the house as is the Asus Transformer Prime with Ice Cream Sandwich. Hear early impressions on these new tablets from Matt and Kevin, along with thoughts on Nokia’s Windows Phone performance to date. Plus a good Android browser gets better! Read more »
Android this week: Transformer Prime; Galaxy Tab 7.7; Kindle Fire still hot
This week, two of the latest Android tablets arrived on my doorstep: An Asus Transformer Prime and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7; solid upgrades from last year’s models. Android tablet sales are finally on the rise, mainly on the back of Amazon’s Kindle Fire. Read more »
Yahoo kills a bunch of mobile apps you’ve never used
Yahoo is cleaning house in mobile product, announcing that it is “decommissioning” a long list of mobile apps you’ve probably never heard of. Unfortunately, Yahoo! Sketch-a-search is one of the apps being culled, as well as things like Yahoo! Meme and Yahoo! Mim. Read more »
Google Videos eating up GBs? Here’s how to fix it
I love watching high-definition movies on my Galaxy Nexus because the phone actually has a true high-definition display. There’s a problem though: after watching the rentals, the massive media files aren’t disappearing from my phone. Here’s the quick fix which requires a file manager application. Read more »
Samsung Galaxy Note teardown shows small LTE chip
We often see third-party device teardowns, but Samsung bucks the trend by showing breakdown of its 5.3-inch Galaxy Note. Those who say Android screens are getting larger mainly because of LTE radio size need to take a closer look at this dissection. I think they’re wrong. Read more »
The simple secret to beating clones and copycats
Startups often rail against copycat companies, arguing that they steal their business and their ideas. But maybe the secret to beating clones isn’t to waste time trying to shut them down — it’s to accept them and focus on being bigger, better and faster. Read more »
Samsung: Smartphones Up 30 Percent But You Have To Guess How Many We Sold
Samsung may be king of the Android smartphone world, but it’s playing hard to get. The company declined to release smartphone sales figures… Read more at paidContent »
Motorola Lost $285 Million In 2011 Selling Phones
Having already warned investors that its fourth quarter was going to be rough, Motorola (NYSE: MMI) didn’t disappoint when the actual number… Read more at paidContent »
Distimo: When It’s Time For A Mobile App Sale, Choose Your Price Wisely
In an insanely crowded mobile apps marketplace, pricing is one of the ways to stand out from the competition: for better or worse. Distimo s… Read more at paidContent »
Entertainment Lobby Claims Google, Bing Send Users To Illegal Music Files
Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and other search engines “overwhelmingly” direct music fans to illegal copies of copyrighted tracks online, a coalition… Read more at paidContent »
Tablets: Apple’s Lead Narrows Among Widening Field Of Android Makers
With the tablet market now overtaking PC sales, all eyes are on which platform will dominate this next generation of computing devices. A re… Read more at paidContent »
Razr boosts Moto’s sales, but triggers no revival
Motorola Mobility said its newly re-envisioned Razr led the way to increases in total device shipments and revenue in the fourth quarter, but considering Moto’s vastly reduced market share, those increases didn’t lead to much. It shipped 5.3 million smartphones and a paltry 200,000 tablets. Read more »
Nokia Q4: Scrambling For A Grip, But Still Falling; 1M+ Lumia Phones Sold
Nokia’s Q4 earnings, released on Thursday, make for some challenging reading for even the most hopeful of Nokia (NYSE: NOK) watchers. The ha… Read more at paidContent »
Apple doesn’t fear Android tablet gains, but PC makers should
Apple’s iPad sold 15.4 million units during the final calendar quarter of 2011, representing a 111-percent year-over-year increase in tablet sales. Android tablets may have gained market share during the same period, but it’s PC makers that should fear that growth. Read more »
IPhone accounts for more than 80 percent of AT&T smartphone sales
AT&T posted its fourth quarter results for 2011 on Thursday, highlighting smartphone sales in particular, which reached a record high of 9.4 million devices, beating the standing record by 50 percent. Apple should be pleased: Of those smartphones, 7.6 million were iPhones. Read more »
Motorola Adds iPhone 4S, iCloud, To List Of Products It Says Hit Patents
The smartphone patent wars may never end. Motorola (NYSE: MMI) fired a round Wednesday with a new lawsuit against Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), declar… Read more at paidContent »
Why Apple Just Pulled Off The Company’s First True Post-PC Quarter
photo: Tom Krazit
We should no longer be confused about the notion of the “post-PC era:” Apple’s shocking iOS device sales numbers for its first fiscal quarte… Read more at paidContent »
Update 2: Privacy Alert: O2 Fixes Hole That Shared Users’ Phone Numbers
Update: Mobile operator O2 says that as of 2pm Wednesday, it has fixed the part of its mobile web browsing service that was reporting mobile… Read more at paidContent »
Kantar: Apple Back On Top As Bestselling Smartphone In The U.S.
Considering the staggering results reported by Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) last night, this should come as little surprise: the company’s iPhone is b… Read more at paidContent »
What does HD Voice sound like on a mobile VoIP call?
Here in the U.S., we’re lagging behind nations where HD Voice has been implemented. Thanks to Bria for Android, and its support for wideband audio codecs, I’m now starting to get a taste of this higher voice quality and recorded a demo for you to hear. Read more »
Apple’s iPhone 4S helps iOS stay ahead in the enterprise
Apple’s iPhone 4S has helped it regain ground lost to Android in consumer smartphone market share, but it’s also having a very positive effect on enterprise adoption, according to a new report. The iPad remains by far the top tablet in business. Read more »
Nokia Series 40 phones: 1.5B sold and counting
One day before Nokia announces results for the most recent quarter, the company is touting a sales milestone: 1.5 billion Series 40 phones sold. That’s a huge accomplishment, but Series 40 now faces challenges from low-priced Android phones, so the momentum may not continue. Read more »
Apple appeal seeks to broaden the impact of HTC import ban
Apple is looking to sharpen the teeth on a recent import ban it secured from the ITC against HTC smartphones, according to an appeal filing discovered Wednesday. The appeal seems to at least seek to broaden the scope of the ITC’s ruling. Read more »
Apple pulls just ahead of Google in U.S. smartphones
Apple blew away observers and analysts on Tuesday with record earnings that included 37 million iPhone sold, which helps explain why research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech said Wednesday that Apple’s U.S. smartphone market share now exceeds that of Android devices. Read more »
Does Square Have A Doppelganger In The UK? Meet mPowa
Square, the high-profile mobile payments company started by Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, has yet to launch outside the U.S. But in the meantime, a… Read more at paidContent »
Formspring doubles down on mobile to fight unique user dip
Social Q&A site Formspring has experienced a dip in monthly unique visitors, as the two-year-old startup transitions out of the role of hot newcomer. The company is looking to aggressive mobile web and app development and an updated design to get the growth back on track. Read more »
