Android

Massive setback for Android: Apple’s ‘Steve Jobs patent’ reconfirmed for original iPhone

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 18, 2013

In a case of good timing, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has reconfirmed a multitouch patent credited to Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs and the original iPhone design.

On the sixth anniversary of the iconic smartphone, the U.S. government reaffirmed the massive patent that was called into question in 2012.

Jobs was among the more than two-dozen people named in the massive 364-page patent filed in 2006.

The USPTO had issed a preliminary invalidation of the patent package, but now believes all 20 patents are valid...

Read More

Apple’s iOS 7 hits 71% adoption in under a month

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Apple's iOS 7 continues to break records when it comes to how quickly the mobile software is being adopted. In less than a month, nearly 75 percent of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners have upgraded, topping the pace of iOS 6.

New numbers show in only 27 days 71 percent of iDevice owners had adopted iOS 7 by Monday. By comparison, Apple's previous version of iOS needed 30 days to reach 61 percent adoption, the Cupertino, California company's previous record...

Read More

iPhones and iPads remain the top pick among US teenagers

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 9, 2013

Despite Samsung's attempt to label the iPhone as past its prime, Apple remains the top pick among US teenagers. More than half of American teens own an iPhone with nearly three quarter of young people choosing an iPad when it comes to tablets.

When it comes to purchasing decisions, popularity of cheaper Android devices have barely moved the needle, if at all. The figures from Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster bode well for Apple and its continued growth among the key consumer demographic now driving technology purchases...

Read More

Google’s Eric Schmidt says Android is more secure than the iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ October 8, 2013

Back in August, an unclassified US government report on mobile security surfaced with data showing the various malware threats discovered on different platforms. And Android took the top spot, accounting for nearly 80% of all threats.

With that in mind, it's not surprising that Eric Schmidt garnered some laughs yesterday during a question-and-answer session at the Gartner Symposium, when he said that the Android platform was more secure than Apple's iPhone...

Read More

iPhone gaining over Android in US, two-thirds of iOS users on Apple Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 7, 2013

Breaking all of the preconceived notions about the cyclicality of the iPhone, a new survey shows Apple's iOS gaining on Google's Android and the embattled BlackBerry during a three-month period ended August 2013. The iPhone gained 1.3 percentage points ranking as the top smartphone vendor in the United States with a cool 40.7 percent share of the nation's smartphone subscribers.

Although Google's Android  led with a dominating 51.6 percent share, its slice of the smartphone platform market actually shrank by 0.8 percentage points. What's really interesting about Apple's growth is that iOS outsold Android without the new iPhones. The full breakdown is after the break...

Read More

iPhone boosts T-Mobile sales, overtakes Android in Japan

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 1, 2013

The iPhone has fueled smartphone sales by Apple's latest U.S. carrier partner, Deutsche Telekom-owned T-Mobile USA. In the three-month period ended in August, the service provider saw its share of domestic smartphone sales jump to 13.2 percent, up 1 percent.

According to a report released Monday, the carrier began in April attracting owners of feature phones upgrading to smartphones. Now, however, 56 percent of consumers buying an iPhone from T-Mobile are coming from another smartphone. Indeed, more than 38 percent of T-Mobile's smartphone purchasers previously owned Android handsets...

Read More

Apple hasn’t lost its coolness, declare UK brand experts

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 27, 2013

Apple once again leads the list of brands viewed as cool in the UK. In its twelfth annual CoolBrands Top 20 survey suggesting an improving British economy, the iPhone ranks No. 1 among luxury brands such as Aston Martin, Rolex and Bang & Olufsen.

The California-based gadget maker was able to shrug off stiff competition from 10,000 independent brands to retain the top spot. Android's Google dropped to the fifth spot with YouTube and Twitter also falling position. Microsoft's Skype even dropped out of the top 20, according to the Coolbrands rankings...

Read More

Amazon introduces new Kindle Fire HDX tablets

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 13, 2018

Amazon today unveiled a slew of new tablets, all based around its third generation Kindle Fire: the Kindle Fire HDX. As before, there's a 7-inch model, an 8.9-inch model, and both of them come in Wi-Fi-only and 4G configurations.

The new slates are lighter, thanks to an internal redesign, and 3x faster, thanks to Snapdragon's quad-core 2.2 GHz processor. And they feature various other hardware and software improvements. Much more details after the fold...

Read More

iOS 7 user experience beats Android and Windows Phone, survey says

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

After being available for just one week, Apple's new iOS 7 is making daily headlines. The latest kudo to the revamped mobile operating system is a win for best user experience. Measuring how iOS 7 performs for everyday users, the software handily defeats Android, Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10.

Apple's mobile software rated 73.25, placing it far ahead of Google's Android with 57.25. The version of Android available on Samsung smartphones ranked third, just behind Apple's previous mobile software, iOS 6...

Read More

iMessage comes to Android [video]

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Just a word of caution before anyone decides to dive head first into this. You need to use this app at your own risk. Several prominent developers within the community have expressed concern about the potential security issues revolving around the APK used here.

Now that the warnings are out of the way, let me show you how iMessage works on Android. This new app, entitled iMessage Chat, brings real cross platform iMessage chat ability to Android. Yes, it works. I've confirmed it on video.

Read More

BlackBerry to sell itself in $4.7 billion deal

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated December 29, 2016

Canadian phone maker BlackBerry - once the undisputed enterprise giant that used to be synonymous with smartphones and whose iconic BlackBerry handsets with their clickety-clack keyboards and real-time, secure push email were considered the real work machines - is now entertaining a $4.7 billion offer from its largest shareholder, a move that would take the free-falling phone company private.

Fairfax Financial Holdings, which already owns 9.9 percent of the Waterloo, Ontario firm, would pay $9 per share, a 3.1 percent premium over last week's share price. According to a statement by Fairfax CEO Prem Watsa, the private company will "focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to BlackBerry customers around the world."...

Read More