Google today updated Maps for Android devices to version 5.3, adding a location dashboard and graphs showing the amount of time spent at work, home and out. Again, iOS users are left in the cold; it’s likely Apple will soon tell Google Maps to get lost. Read more »
As smart as our phones are becoming, they’re actually dumb too: they capture tons of information but don’t make it easy to find. Friday, a new Android app in private alpha, solves that problem by tying together smartphone events in the context of time and location. Read more »
Google has bid $900 million for Nortel’s patents, and in the process, appears to be starting its own war with the patent system. However, underneath its high-minded rhetoric about keeping people free to innovate, Google is beefing up its war chest to ensure control over Android. Read more »
At first glance, the latest comScore smartphone market share figures paint a bleak picture for anyone that isn’t Android, but there’s plenty of reason to believe that iOS is holding its own. The Verizon iPhone is one, and we’ve only just begun to see its effect. Read more »
The bring-your-own-apps (BYOA) trend is a shift will see increasing numbers of workers making their own choices about which applications they use. What can smartphone app developers do to ride that BYOA wave and make products that will gain traction in the workplace? Read more »
Acer’s Iconia A100 looks to be the first 7-inch tablet to run on Google’s Honeycomb operating system and it’s coming in at an appealing price: £299 from Amazon when it arrives later this month. Could this be the price point to help kickstart Honeycomb tablet sales? Read more »
Amazon continued its push into the land of Androids this week with the debut of a new on-line digital locker for music and updated Android app to stream tunes. Developers can now add in-app purchases to their Android software and Firefox Mobile launched on handsets. Read more »
I sold my original iPad after buying the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but I bought an iPad 2 for work purposes a few weeks ago. I ended up keeping the new tablet because there’s room for both slates in the same house. Here’s why. Read more »
Did RIM’s BlackBerry platform, which has been pretty much left for dead by the tech press, rocket a messaging app to 1 million users in five days? It sure looks that way, so we talked to LiveProfile’s founder about app success and servers. Read more »
Amazon’s new AppStore will be pre-installed on the HTC Merge for Cellular South, marking the first handset to come with Amazon’s rival software store. Getting the AppStore on handsets is key for Amazon, which offers a free app each day and easy over the air installations. Read more »
Appia, a white-label mobile application marketplace, announced $10 million in funding from Venrock today, brining total funding to $28.5 million. Casting a wider net with an app store builder may be the better play as opposed to raising millions for a single application. Read more »
The pressure is mounting on Research In Motion ahead of the launch of its PlayBook, which will debut April 19. But RIM’s success over the next few years will hinge on its QNX operating system, not on a piece of hardware. Read more »
ASUS is launching its Eee Pad Transformer, a Google Android Honeycomb tablet with optional keyboard dock, for less than a comparable iPad 2. Based on similar (or better) specs, the Eee will give us the first glimpse at how well Honeycomb competes with Apple’s tablet. Read more »
Android developers can now offer digital purchases in their smartphone apps, adding another potential revenue stream. There’s an “Android is free” mentality when it comes to software, but there’s good news here: in-app revenues are greater in free apps than in paid apps, says one report. Read more »
INQ, the upstart handset maker from London has created a smartphone that is less Android and more Facebook. And by adding Spotify music service to the mix, the company has created a Facebook addict’s dream phone. Sometimes you wonder why Google apps are even there. Read more »
Mozilla’s new Firefox Mobile 4 browser is available for Android and Maemo, boasting faster speeds, desktop synchronization and more, although support for Adobe Flash is missing. The mobile app could offset Mozilla’s falling desktop browser share, but chances are that most Android owners will stay stock. Read more »
Amazon beat Apple and Google to the punch with an online music locker for storage and web playback, both on the desktop and on Google Android phones. I took the service for a spin to see how well it works for playback, purchases, and uploads. Read more »
Amazon today launched TestDrive for its Android Appstore. TestDrive allows prospective app buyers to run a live preview of an app in their browser using an Android emulator, before spending any cash. It’s a big win for Amazon, but also for Android as a whole. Read more »
Google is holding Honeycomb back from the open-source community in order to keep the platform from being used for smartphones. Getting music to Android smartphones gets easier this week, and Research In Motion’s PlayBook tablet is set to gain access to Android Market applications. Read more »
Mobile development currently has but two proven roads to success: Android and iOS. Each road has its own challenges and rewards. The best course of action might be to do both, but if you have to choose, here’s a guide to getting started with either platform. Read more »
The unanswered question of app availability for Research In Motion’s PlayBook tablet becomes clearer today: the company announced support not only for Java apps but also for Google Android software. That’s great for perspective PlayBook owners, but does this include RIM in Oracle’s suit against Google? Read more »
Google isn’t yet releasing Honeycomb to the open-source community, so hardware makers that don’t already have an agreement to use the platform can’t yet build new products. Why is Google starting to take a little more control over it’s software? We saw why last month. Read more »
Aircell, the company behind Gogo in-flight Internet Wi-Fi service is ready to add smartphones in airplane seats. Today the company announced an Android device for voice calls on the GoGo Biz Voice service that could be used to sell apps and services to a captive audience. Read more »
Miro is known as a great open source video player for your desktop, but now it’s extending to other devices: The upcoming version 4.0 will add support for external devices, and a dedicated iPad app will make it possible to stream media within your network. Read more »
Carriers no longer dominate the mobile world thanks to the emergence of Apple, Google and the rise of third-party app stores. But they can retain — or even increase — their relevance by leveraging a few important things. Read more »
Samsung unveiled a pair of new Galaxy Tab devices running Honeycomb, but there’s little difference between the two. At just a $30 difference between the 8.9- and 10.1-inch tablets, will most opt for the larger size? There’s not of a portability gain for the smaller slate. Read more »
Microsoft is far behind Google Android in mobile device market share but has a secret weapon: patents that the company claims are infringed upon by Android device makers. Ironically, one of the patent examples is a feature that Microsoft hasn’t implemented in it’s own handsets. Read more »
VLC’s developers are busy working on an Android implementation of the popular open source video player, which could be released as early as next month. Next up will be a tablet-specific version of VLC, which could run on devices like Motorola’s Xoom with Android 3.0. Read more »
AT&T is adding both an older device and a new handset to its network: Windows Phone 7 fans can look forward to the HTC HD7S, which gains a Super LCD display over the old HD7, while the LG Thrill 4G brings glasses-free 3D visuals. Read more »
Just after announcing Google Voice integration for all of its customers, Sprint follows up with the Google Nexus S 4G WiMAX handset. Do these two collaborations, in conjunction with AT&T’s planned purchase of T-Mobile, mean more Sprint partnerships with Google, or perhaps even a buy-out? Read more »
There’s both good and bad news for Netflix subscribers on Android phones. The good news? A Netflix Android app has been leaked onto the Internet. The bad news? While you can browse, search and look at titles in your instant queue, you can’t actually stream anything. Read more »
With baseball season around the corner, basketball in full swing, and March Madness upon us, Hitpost, a San Francisco-based start-up is releasing mobile apps to share photos of sports events. It is the latest of many apps that are building mobile-based immersive experiences. Read more »
Samsung’s new Galaxy Player appears ready to take on Apple’s iPod touch, but can it compete? It looks like an attractive option for the Google Android crowd who wants a web-connected media player and e-book reader in a pocket, but without the monthly cellular bill. Read more »
Technological advancements have minimized the need for employees to be as physically present in a traditional office setting, and employee relationships now extend across different time zones and geographies. This paper discusses the future of work and the workplace in that context. We examine the shifting nature of actual workspaces, from four office walls to the online world; the emergence of new flexible hours that no longer require a nine-to-five mindset; the role of consumer-grade technologies such as iPads, smartphones and notebooks in the workplace; and what role cloud-based services such as Box.net, Huddle and Dropbox play. Companies mentioned in this report include Facebook, Apple, Google and Skype. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The Wi-Fi edition of Motorola’s Xoom tablet will launch March 27 for a suggested price of $599. Widespread availability in major brick-and-mortar retail stores and discounted prices could help, but it’s going to be a few months before sales of this tablet zoom. Read more »
Thanks to a slew of recent technology advances, the smartphone is turning into a truly personalized information assistant that can handle everything from your appointments to traffic reports. A new Android app called reQall Rover wants to turn your smartphone into an intelligent information assistant. Read more »
After a dozen iterations over the past nine years, the Sidekick brand rides again. T-Mobile’s Sidekick 4G built by Samsung pairs many hardware features of the Galaxy S 4G with Google Android, a custom TouchWIZ interface and innovative new messaging software from the carrier. Read more »
The iPad 2 is here, and a couple of us here at GigaOM have had the opportunity to put the new tablet through its paces over the course of the weekend. Check out our thoughts and the iPad doing its thing on video. Read more »
What the CES or the Mobile World Congress is to gadgets, SXSW is to apps. I’m amazed by not only the number of apps that are launching, but by how prepared attendees are to try new apps out. Mobile-focused development has reached a tipping point. Read more »
Mobile marketing is an emerging industry with tremendous opportunity, but it also is a space teeming with potential pitfalls. Here are some of the key mistakes to avoid for advertisers attempting to target users on their phones. Read more »
