05
Oct
apple-iphone-4-91

Editorial: 5 Reasons Why I Think The iPhone 4S Is The Least Competitive iPhone Yet

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, News, Off-Topic

I’d like to start by stating I am not a rabid Android “fanboy.” In fact, I heavily considered the iPhone 3GS back in the day (er, last year), before deciding to pick up my Nexus One instead. Admittedly, I was a bit bedazzled by the concept of a “Google phone” and, as a confessed mega-geek, I found the bleeding-edge experience Android offered to be more exciting for some reason.

So I chose an Android device. When the iPhone 4 was released, I'll be the first to admit that I was jealous. Like it or not, Apple’s Retina display and buttery-smooth iOS UI remain rivaled only by Samsung’s Galaxy S II, and I still staunchly believe Apple builds superior products to anyone in the smartphone industry in terms of build quality and hardware design.

09
Sep
Sprint

[Rumor] No Need To Worry - Sprint Will Not Get Rid Of Unlimited Data Just Because Of The iPhone

Posted by in News, Rumors, Sprint

The crown jewel of Sprint's service is undeniably its "truly" unlimited data, so when rumors of the Sprint iPhone started surfacing, customers of the Now Network immediately started questioning what would happen to data plans as a result.

The other two carriers currently offering the iPhone, Verizon and AT&T, both switched to tiered data plans shortly after they started carrying the device, so it was an understandable fear coming from Sprintsters across the nation that they, too, may end up on the same [horrible] system. Fortunately, though, "people familiar with the matter" have told Bloomberg otherwise -- Sprint will indeed be keeping its current unlimited data packages around after the launch of the iPhone, with no plans of switching to tiered data plans.

31
Aug
Screen shot 2011-08-31 at PM 05.44.47

Over Two-Thirds Of Smartphones In The US Run Android Or iOS

Posted by in News

A recent report from ComScore indicates that as of July 2011 82 million Americans own smartphones, with Android running on 41.8% of those devices, iOS on 27%, BlackBerry OS on 21.7%, Windows Phone on 5.7%, and Symbian on 1.9%.

The survey clearly indicates that significant gains have been made by Google and Apple at the expense of RIM, Microsoft, and Nokia.

Screen shot 2011-08-31 at PM 05.44.47

Additionally, the survey also looked at the market share of hardware manufacturers and interestingly Samsung was well ahead of the rest with 25.5% market share. I nearly choked when I first saw this figure as just a month ago Samsung's market share in the US was at a measly 8%.

17
Aug
motoroladroidbionicdroidhdleak01

DROID HD Makes First Appearance, Leaves Us Saying "BIONIC Who?"

Posted by in Motorola, News, RAZR / RAZR MAXX
Last Updated: October 18th, 2011

Motorola is apparently hard at work on another high-end handset known as the DROID HD - and boy, is it a good-looking piece of kit. Just take a look:

motoroladroidbionicdroidhdleak01 motoroladroidbionicdroidhdleak11

motoroladroidbionicdroidhdleak04

Left to right: DROID BIONIC, DROID HD

The DROID HD appears to be what the DROID X2 should have been - namely, much better in every respect. While it may have a qHD display (not confirmed - just presumed), in almost every other conceivable way, the HD looks like the Moto handset to have. The elephant in the room of course is the BIONIC, Motorola's upcoming dual-core monster 4G LTE device, which will likely sit at a significantly higher price tier than the HD.

09
Aug
Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-10.1110307175237

Germany Halts Distribution Of Galaxy Tab 10.1 In Europe (Except Netherlands) In Apple Patent Lawsuit Injunction

Posted by in Android OS, News, Samsung

In a decision with potentially far-reaching consequences, a German court handed down a preliminary injunction halting all distribution of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the European Union today, after a motion was filed by Apple for just such an order.

The suit in question is over nine patents, most of which relate to broad smartphone functions and concepts. The patents are so broad that Apple sued Nokia over them (yes, the exact same nine patents) last year in the same German court, and that suit ended in a settlement widely presumed to be a victory for Apple.

I don't know all that much about German intellectual property law, or the German standard for issuing preliminary injunctions, but I can tell you one thing: this would almost certainly never happen in a U.S.

27
Apr
death-star-att

PSA: Take It Easy, AT&T Isn't Targeting Unauthorized Android Tethering (And May Never)

Posted by in Android OS, AT&T, Editorials, News, Tips & Tutorials

There's been a lot of talk about AT&T's crusade against rogue tethering lately, and it all comes back to this AT&T text message sent to some poor iPhone customer(s):

AT&T Free Msg: We’ve noticed you’re continuing to enjoy the tethering feature with your smartphone service. Remember, you need a tethering plan ($45/mo, incl. 4GB) to use this feature, so we’re planning to update your line with the required plan soon.

Yes, the carrier everyone loves to hate is cracking down on unauthorized tethering - and they are automatically switching violators onto AT&T's 4GB data plan with tethering access, at a steep $45 a month.

26
Apr
smartphone-recent

Nielsen: Android Runs On 37% Of All US Smartphones And 50% Of All New Smartphones Sold

Posted by in Android OS, News

NielsenWire has released yet another one of their bar and pie chart-filled smartphone surveys for the US this morning, and it's just more good news for Android. Here's a quick breakdown of some of the key stats Nielsen compiled:

  • Android now represents 37% of all US smartphones
  • 50% of smartphones sold in the month of March were Android phones
  • 31% of consumers said their next purchase will be an Android phone, compared to 26% one year ago. Android now leads iOS here as well (iOS accounts for 30%, down from 33%)
  • 20% of consumers don't know which OS their next smartphone will run

Another interesting tidbit the survey revealed is that Blackberry has finally dropped to third place in all three of the comparisons Nielsen publishes (future purchases, March purchases, total market share).

14
Apr
android_soldier

Follow Up: Business Insider Closes Smartphone Survey, Starts A (Nearly) Identical One With A Less Moronic Name

Posted by in Android OS, News

Over the weekend, we posted about a pant-crappingly stupid (and biased) survey posted by Silicon Alley Insider called "WHY WOULD ANYONE EVER BUY AN ANDROID PHONE? Take Our Smartphone Survey And Tell Us!" A few dozen of you posted in the comments to criticize just how biased SAI was with the survey, and a large number of you followed through to take it.

It looks like they may have realized the faux pas - to an extent, anyway - as they closed that one down (without tabulating the results) and reopened a new one. On the upside, the new survey has a new title: "OUR SMARTPHONE SURVEY: Please Take It!

10
Apr
Android_King_of_World

Business Insider Wants To Know Why Anyone Would Ever Buy An Android Phone; Let's Show Them.

Posted by in Android OS, Off-Topic

Silicon Alley Insider - the Tech section of Business Insider - posted a survey this weekend under the headline "WHY WOULD ANYONE EVER BUY AN ANDROID PHONE? Take Our Smartphone Survey And Tell Us!" Eye-catching, to say the least. The survey is 12 questions, and asks what phone (OS) you use, what your next one will use, and so on... it's all fairly standard.

The results of the survey aren't immediately available, but the site promises to publish them in a few days. SAI is generally pretty (*ahem*) Apple-friendly, but then again, they do give Android the credit it's due, so who knows what the results will show.

17
Mar
jobs liar

Dissecting The Falsities In Apple's Misleading New "If You Don't Have An iPhone" Ad Campaign

Posted by in News, Off-Topic

Ah, the arrogance of Cupertino. Does it know no bounds? In Apple's latest attempt to frame their iPhone as being the obviously superior choice over Android, a new series of ads start with "If you don't have an iPhone... ". They then proceed to boast about features that are on both iOS and Android, using their typical clever wordplay to convince the less-knowledgeable that you can only get these features on an iPhone.

The first ad starts with:

If you don't have an iPhone, you don't have the App Store. So you don't have the world's largest selection of apps.

Well no, but you have the Android Market, which is growing at a much faster rate than Apple's and that analysts predict will catch up to the App Store in the number of apps within the next several months.

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