Seven months after launching with the promise of using Verizon’s LTE network, the Motorola Xoom tablet is going to deliver. In September, the Android tablet will be upgradable to 4G mobile broadband at no charge, although owners may be without their Xoom for 6 business days. Read more »
AT&T’s network accounts for 17 percent of all iPhones sold last quarter, which is a big number. But some consumers won’t consider the iPhone due to the lack of a hardware keyboard. Samsung’s Galaxy S II could steal sales with its keyboard and peppy performance. Read more »
The second quarter of 2011 was a fast-paced one for the connected consumer segment, with every sector of the digital media landscape — music, e-books, online video and gaming — experiencing significant events and changes. Media consumption, purchase and management continued its shift towards the cloud, ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
HTC said it’s open to negotiating with Apple to settle a pitched patent fight between the two companies, but it’s unclear how willing Apple is to talk and how much HTC can extract from negotiations. My guess: Apple’s not in a cooperative mood. Read more »
Deutsche Bank is increasing its 2011 forecast of the worldwide market for cell phones to 1.68 billion, up from 1.57 billion. The reasons? They’re still trying to grasp how many cell phones are made and sold in China. Read more »
Toy artist Andrew Bell who recently won the Toy King trophy is doing a series of Android collectables, according to NotCot. The cute Android figurines are not too expensive and the Summer 2011 collection will be available from August 1, 2011: no 2-year carrier contract required! Read more »
Mobile in-app purchases have eclipsed paid downloads as a revenue driver for mobile developers. But how much is that worth? Flurry said the average in-app game transaction is worth $14, which speaks to the importance of reeling in what casino’s call whales, or big spenders. Read more »
Six of AT&T’s Google-powered handsets get a software upgrade to Gingerbread, the latest version of Android for smartphones. Starting Monday, the Motorola Atrix 4G gains Android 2.3.4, with HTC’s Inspire 4G to follow. This could help consumer fears of Android updates that never seem to arrive. Read more »
The Samsung Nexus S, essentially a flagship Android handset for Google, launches for AT&T’s network on Sunday for $99 with contract. The NFC chip for wireless payments might be used for Google Wallet. LG’s G2x gained Gingerbread while the iPad is still the tablet to beat. Read more »
When it comes to broadband, it seems Indians will increasingly use 3G wireless connections to access the Internet. At the end of the first quarter of 2011 there were 11.5 million wired broadband subscribers in India, a pittance versus the explosive growth in 3G connections. Read more »
We get terribly excited that the U.S. will have more smartphones than feature phones later this year, but for real excitement and mobile madness, China is on track to surpass a billion mobile connections by May of next year. That’s big news for Google and Apple. Read more »
A report earlier this week pegged one Android tablet sold for every two iPads. Sounds like Honeycomb tablets are catching up, right? But there’s a problem: The figures aren’t based on sales numbers at all. Here’s a logical, reasonable method to the real tablet-sales data. Read more »
AT&T activated 3.6 million iPhones during the second quarter, with Android and BlackBerry devices making up the remaining 40 percent of Ma Bell’s smartphone sales. Those high-end handsets are generating more money for AT&T in other ways — such as increasing texting and MMS revenue and usage. Read more »
The iPad for the first time is now being activated more often than Android smartphones, according to Good Technology. The enterprise software maker said the iPad accounted for 27.2 percent of all activations in the second quarter ahead of Android phones at 24.4 percent. Read more »
Netflix certified more Android devices for its software, adding support for a number of handsets and tablets powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 2 processor. That brings the total number of Netflix-capable smartphones and tablets up to 22. Good, because consumers don’t care whose chip powers their device. Read more »
Carriers are struggling to address the gap between mobile data usage and revenues even as their networks approach capacity. Here’s how they can innovate to better monetize in the era of the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Lenovo today introduced a trio of new tablet computers, two running Google’s Android 3.1 operating system and the third powered by Microsoft Windows 7. Netflix certification and pen support are nice features, but those alone aren’t enough. For the same cost, consumers are opting for iPads. Read more »
When Apple released its third-quarter 2011 earnings results Tuesday, the numbers were, as is becoming almost customary for the Cupertino crew, a huge blow-out. Success was spread over many parts of the business, particularly the company’s flagship products. But those iPad results? Those were fairly stunning. Read more »
Nokia has long held the top spot for handset sales, but another company is quietly creeping up from behind thanks to a solid smartphone strategy. Samsung is expected to sell 300 million handsets this year, with 60 million of them in the highly profitable smartphone segment. Read more »
If Android’s mounting patent issues are a concern, Google chairman Eric Schmidt isn’t letting on about it. He dismissed the growing patent issues as “legal fun” at a Google mobile event in Tokyo and called out competitors for their propensity to litigate instead of innovate. Read more »
I previously gave Android device owners eight reasons to try the Dolphin Browser, and today the company adds reason number nine. The newest version of the popular third-party browser adds a Webzine feature, turning the browsing experience into a magazine-like platform to read top-tier content. Read more »
Google had a great quarter and finally has a hot social media offering. But it can’t relax on its laurels. Google faces key challenges to the growth of its search and advertising businesses that it could address with better product ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Our collective addiction to smartphones translates into some big money for the consumer electronics industry. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, the industry is on track to surpass $190 billion in overall shipment revenues this year, and a primary driver of that growth will be smartphones. Read more »
A new consumer survey found that Apple has slightly widened its preference lead among smartphone owners preparing to buy a handset in the next three months. It shows that expanded distribution is helping the iPhone sell and become more of an option for more consumers. Read more »
Exent is launching the first subscription mobile gaming service for Android called GameTanium Mobile, which allows users to gain Netflix-style all-you-can eat access to more than 75 games for $4.99 a month. It’s another sign that gaming on Android is improving. Read more »
A lot can go wrong during the development and release of a mobile application, from poor project planning to faulty APIs. Often, the biggest mistakes happen before the first lines of code are ever written. HEre are seven ways to make the process better. Read more »
More employees toting mobile devices don’t have to cause harm to large enterprises with strict IT compliance rules. In fact, those employees armed with tablets and smartphones can be trained to become brand ambassadors on social media sites and to help the company’s image. Read more »
Consumers waiting for a Facebook phone will see one tomorrow, July 17, but it won’t come from Facebook. The HTC Status, for AT&T’s network, has a dedicated Facebook button for sharing. T-Mobile’s myTouch 4G Slide camera has impressed so far. Could it replace your point-and-shoot? Read more »
Last weekend I had on of my eureka moments around mobile video chat. It’s gonna be big, perhaps as big as 29.6 billion video calls made in 2015. So to all the naysayers who think video chat is just plain weird, hear me out. Read more »
The ITC has ruled that Android manufacturer HTC has infringed on two Apple patents, handing the iPhone maker an early victory that could have large implications on HTC’s business in the U.S. and potential impacts on the overall Android platform. HTC is appealing. Read more »
Google CEO Larry Page addressed a question about what Google’s plans regarding Android’s patent situation, but generally side-stepped the query, pointing to Android’s momentum before finishing with a modest commitment to the platform. It seems like a missed opportunity to signal support to manufacturers and developers. Read more »
Zinio now supports Google Android handsets, bringing content from 1,000 digital magazine publishers to smartphones and small tablets running Android versions 2.2 and 2.3. A first look at the new software shows a positive experience, but it may be better suited to devices with larger screens. Read more »
The T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide smartphone launches later this month and pairs the latest version of Google Android with an advanced camera. Here’s a quick video overview of the upcoming dual-core handset with QWERTY keyboard, mainly focusing on the new camera modes and 8 megapixel sensor. Read more »
Google released its second-quarter financials on Thursday, hitting its first quarter with more than $9 billion in revenue. But on a call with financial analysts, it gave a whole bunch of nonfinancial metrics for how its various businesses are growing. Read more »
Apple’s hold on developers has gotten stronger with the apparent help of the iPad 2 and Verizon iPhone, cutting into gains from Android, according to Flurry. The latest numbers suggest that even with the fast advance of Android, developers still like their prospects on iOS, Read more »
What apps do mobile workers need to get their jobs done? A new Forrester report has identified eight “must have” categories of mobile collaboration apps. Here’s a run-down of all the categories outlined, together with some of our recommendations for apps to use in each category: Read more »
Daniel Ek, co-founder of Spotify talks to me about Apple, Android and his service on consumer devices and in cars. More importantly he shares his vision about the company and what he wants it to be when it grows up in a couple of years. Read more »
Sprint today introduced the Motorola Photon 4G, the company’s first WiMAX handset with international support, and will launch the smartphone on July 31. Featuring a 960×540 high-resolution display and dual-core Tegra 2 processor, the Android smartphone works across borders, but sadly leaves the 4G behind. Read more »
PayPal today unveiled a new peer-to-peer payment functionality that allows Android users to pay each other by tapping two near field communication (NFC)-enabled devices together. The feature shows how PayPal is gearing up for NFC as part of its larger push on mobile payments. Read more »
WhitePages’ new local discovery app is launching on Android first, in part because the platform allows it the ability to better track the efficacy of location-based ads. It’s another sign that Android is appealing to more developers. Read more »
