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Aug

Samsung Launches Cross-Platform Instant Messaging Service 'ChatON'

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Applications, News, Samsung

Samsung has taken a dramatic step today towards world domination and the death of SMS by announcing an intriguing mobile cross-platform instant messaging service called ChatON. Similar to RIM's BlackBerry Messenger and Apple's iMessage, ChatON will be Samsung's foray into the global mobile communications service connecting all major smartphones and feature phone platforms. There will even be a web client to facilitate conversations between mobile devices and PCs. Furthermore, according to the press release, ChatON will allow users to share text, images, hand-written notes and videos. Feature phones will have a basic app that will enable users to share text, pictures, calendar, contacts, and emotions.

May

RIM To Bring Blackberry Enterprise Solution To Android And iOS

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, News

It's no secret that RIM (Research In Motion) has been dipping their figurative toes in the Android water lately, and it looks like running Android apps on the Blackberry Playbook was just the beginning. RIM plans to bring Blackberry Enterprise Solution to both Android and iOS, further helping businesses manage their wireless infrastructure and security.

Once it's released, network administrators will be able to handle a lot of the mobile grind remotely - everything from activation and software updates, to resetting passwords and wiping devices - all over the air. This will be a big win across the board in corporate environments, as we all know that Blackberry is renowned for its tight security.

Apr

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

Posted by David Ruddock 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).

Mar

It's Official: RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Will (Sort Of) Support Android Apps

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

Some combinations are as natural as peanut butter and jelly - Avatar & 3D, Apple & dictatorship, and Conan O'Brien & late-night comedy, to name a few. But are Android apps and the BlackBerry PlayBook also such a sweet match? If you ask RIM, the answer is a firm, definitive "yes."

The BlackBerry maker just confirmed the age-old rumors - it's announced that the upcoming QNX-based PlayBook tablet will support Android apps. There are, however, certain limitations - while the process doesn't sound overly complicated, developers of existing Android apps will need to put some work in to porting their software over, namely "repackaging, code signing, and submitting" it to the BlackBerry App World.

Feb

RIM's Upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Rumored To Support Android Apps, Again

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, News

About 2 weeks ago, BGR broke the rumor of RIM's upcoming tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook, possibly being capable of running Android apps sometime after launch, which the latest rumors put at the end of March/beginning of April with a price sticker of $499.99. The company was seriously looking into this possibility and was trying to decide whether using the Dalvik virtual machine (the same one Android uses to run its apps) was a viable way to move forward. BGR is usually very credible, so the rumor definitely had legs.

Today, 2 weeks later, Bloomberg revealed that their own sources - in fact, 3 of them - have confirmed that RIM is indeed moving in the direction BGR predicted.

Feb

Android, iOS and BlackBerry In A Three-Way Tie In The US In Q4 2010

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, News

According to Don Kellogg from the Nielsen Company, 31% of all mobile phone users in the U.S. own some type of a smartphone. More interestingly, it appears that the race for market share in the U.S. by the leading smartphone platforms - Android, iOS and BlackBerry - is in a dead heat.

We have already learnt from analysts at Canalys that shipments of Android-based smartphones globally commanded a 32.9% share of the market, followed by devices running Nokia's Symbian OS at 30.6%, Apple's iPhone OS at 16%, and RIM's BlackBerry OS at 14.4%. Nielsen's report today shows that RIM and Apple are still fairly popular in the US, being on equal terms with Android in terms of market share.

Nov

Motorola Droid Pro Review: Android Has Been Blackberry-ified, But Hath The Blackberry Been Slain?

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Droid Pro, Motorola, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Introduction

And with that, we solidly conclude that Android truly has visited 99% of the mobile form factors out there. That's right, people, the Motorola Droid Pro has arrived in the Android Police offices, and after spending the last week or so with it, I can tell you - with a straight face, nonetheless - that RIM's got serious competition here. The handset isn't exactly all that and a piece of cake, but it's definitely up there, at least for enterprise customers. Read on for the full, unbiased Android Police review to find out what makes it so special.

Hardware Overview

Specs

Before I proceed with the review, let's recap the Droid Pro's specs:

3.1-inch HVGA (320x480) LCD display
1GHz TI OMAP 3620-1000 processor
1420 mAh battery
512MB of RAM; 2GB of ROM
2GB microSD card out of the box with support for cards of up to 32GB in capacity
800/1900 CDMA EVDO Rev.

Nov

Motorola Droid Pro Now Available From Verizon For $179.99, Amazon For $150, Wirefly For Only $50

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Droid Pro, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

The Motorola Droid Pro, Android's first real answer to Blackberry candybar style phones with a full QWERTY keyboard, is now available across the web and in VZW's retail stores.

You can view our unboxing and first impressions of the Droid Pro over here or skip over to the specs to help you make your decision:

CDMA/GSM/UMTS bands
HVGA 320×480 3.1" capacitive display with medium pixel density (160dpi)
TI OMAP 3620 1GHz CPU
512 MB RAM
2GB ROM
1GB built-in storage
5MP dual LED flash with auto focus
802.11 b/g/n WiFi
candybar form factor with a full QWERTY keyboard
Android 2.2
1420 mAh battery

Get Your Hands On One

VZW

If you want to buy the Pro directly from Verizon Wireless, you're going to be faced with $280 + taxes - a $100 mail-in rebate, which, in my opinion, is a very sub-par option.

Sep

Millennial Media: Android Still Growing Like Gangbusters: Increased Market Share 7% Month-Over-Month, Now Accounts for 26% Of Smartphones

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Devices By Manufacturer, Motorola, News

Millennial Media, one of the largest mobile advertisers in the US, has released their August MobileMix. Based on their ad impressions, they estimate that Android now commands 26% of the Smartphone market - up 7% month-over-month. If accurate, that puts Android 7% ahead of RIM - but still 22% short of iOS.

Other tidbits: smartphone impressions gained 3% in the last month, up to 51%. The original Motorola Droid surprisingly still holds 9.44% of the market as the second most popular phone (obviously, the iPhone is first); based largely on the success of the Droid, Motorola is now the third largest device manufacturer.