Android - page 75

Apple — not Android — has the momentum in the United States, a new study finds, and their powerhouse move was the Verizon iPhone, which flattened domestic Android growth.

Google launched its latest attempt at social networking yesterday dubbed Google+, a service which is said to focus on sharing content with groups of people that you place into “circles.” At the moment the service is available by invitation only, but by the time it goes public, there may be an official iPhone app for you to run it on.

Yesterday, Apple co-founder, occasional Cult of Mac commenter and just all-around huggable bear Steve Wozniak was awarded an honorary doctorate from Concordia University in Montreal, and as he has been wont to do quite a bit recently, he used his acceptance speech as an opportunity to talk about super-intelligent robots, futuristic androids and the ever present danger of machines enslaving humans.

Four years after it set the smartphone world on fire, Apple has won a patent for the original iPhone.

This isn’t just old news: it’s a huge win for Apple that will not only help Cupertino out in their case against Samsung, but according to some patent specialists could even allow Apple to go to war against other smartphone makers.

Review by Kelly Keltner

Despite the word “Droid” plastered everywhere, the new Motorola CommandOne Bluetooth headset ($100) has already become my friend. True, it’ll never learn to pronounce my name correctly, is misunderstood by some of my other friends and has questionable fashion sense. We remain friends, however, because it’s easy to understand and comfortably fits in my ear. It’s unlike most relationships, but it works for us.

Android’s marketshare is on the decline for the first time ever. Phones based on Google’s mobile operating system hit a snag in March… and it’s likely to continue in the U.S. when the iPhone 5 is released in September, says one analyst.

Adobe just released an update to its Flash Builder and Flex development tools, and for the first time developers can use the programs to create apps for distribution through the App Store for iOS devices. But are cross-platform Flash apps on the iPhone and the iPad really a good idea?

After repeatedly being bashed by Apple, here some good news for RIM: mobile advertisers aren’t abandoning the platform, but actually taking a second look with dumb phone advertising rising, says one advertising network Wednesday.

Remember when Samsung announced that their then-upcoming Galaxy Tab 10.1 Honeycomb tablet would be a smidge thinner than the iPad 2? And remember when someone actually looked at the Galaxy Tab 10.1 prototypeand found out it was actually thicker than the iPad 2?

Confusing, right? But it’s about to get even more confusing: while the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is just a hair thinner than the iPad 2 right now, Samsung will likely be forced to make it thicker than the iPad 2 in order to get around supply shortages. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will soon be both thicker and thinner than the iPad 2 at the same time!

Here’s some advice to tablet companies hoping to beat the iPad features: stop wasting your time. The only alternative is to drop prices ridiculously low, like $300, says a Wall Street observer.

Ouch! Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen took stage today at the All Things Digital D9 conference to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg.

Watch the smug get slapped right off of Narayen’s face after he laughably tries to claim that contrary to Steve Jobs’s argument that Flash is a dead technology, it’s currently running on 130 million Android devices.

Now that ex-Microsoft business veep Stephen Elop has taken over the floundering handset giant Nokia and inked deals with his old employer to use their mobile operating system, you’d think he’d want his employees to start using Windows Phone 7 handsets… preferably Nokia ones.

Not so. He wants them using iPhones.

Speculation that Apple may build its own maps application into iOS 5 and ditch its partnership with Google has now been put to bed, after Google’s Executive Chairman confirmed the two companies are still buddies.

Steve Jobs calls Android a “probe in your pocket” because it spies on users, according to Wall Street Journal reporter Kara Swisher.

Apple’s announcement that iCloud should appear June 6 couldn’t be better timed. Owners of iOS devices are heavy music and video users, streaming more media than Android or any mobile operating system… and with iCloud’s debut, it’s only going to get more lopsided.

That ugly patent troll who has recently been causing a disturbance for indie iOS developers has now turned its attentions to those building apps for Android, right after Apple slapped it on the wrist and sent it packing. Lodsys has photocopied another batch of its intimidating letters and sent them out to a number of Android developers… but will it earn any pocket money this time?

Counter to the perception that Android is closing the gap with Apple, a new report shows the iPhone maker’s App Store is miles ahead when it comes to making money for developers.

One of the best attributes of Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphone series is that beautiful AMOLED display, which could find its way into Apple’s third-generation iPad and finally deliver that Retina display iPad we’re all longing for. However, we’re skeptical Apple and Samsung will shake hands on this occasion.

The iPhone isn’t likely to get NFC-capabilities allowing it to function as a credit card until 2012, according to most reports, but Apple’s biggest competitor in the smartphone arena has no intention of waiting so long: Google is preparing to unveil their own mobile payment system on May 26th.

They say that no one but Apple can make a decent sub-$500 tablet, but Amazon not only thinks they can undercut the iPad in price once… they think they can do it with two tablet at once.

A native Google Maps application comes built-in to our iOS devices, and while it’s great for accessing maps and getting directions while we’re on the go, it is lacking a few important features. Thankfully, however, Google has just launched an updated Google Maps web app which offers a little extra.

Like two sharks fighting over the carcass of a dying whale, Apple and Android want a piece of Nokia’s huge (but shrinking) market share. To do so, some suggest the tech giant needs to unveil an inexpensive handset…. the iPhone Nano.

Despite Google’s position as one of the biggest advertising companies on earth, if you’re a company looking to promote your product, buying ads for an Android device is a pretty dicy proposition when you could buy them on an iOS device instead.

Despite talk of a coming onslaught of Android alternatives, almost all consumer tablet conversations begin and end with Apple’s iPad.

No smartphone’s security is absolutely failproof, but if you want your smartphone to be secure, buy an iPhone over an Android device. 99% of all Android devices are easily attacked, and it all has to do with Android’s notorious fragmentation problems when compared with iOS.