Android

Former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki accepts an advisory role at Google-owned Motorola

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

Guy Kawasaki, now a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and book author, was instrumental in marketing the Macintosh in 1984. A well-known blogger, Kawasaki just tweeted he has gone Android by accepting an advisory role at Google-owned Motorola which is said to be working on a mysterious iPhone contender tentatively code-named X Phone.

Kawasaki's new advisory role with Motorola will see him focus on product design, user interface, marketing and social media. One of the first orders of business was to create a Google+ community about mobile devices, he confirmed...

Exchange bug makes iOS 6.1.2 the fastest-adopted iOS version yet

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Nearly 35 percent of iDevice owners have adopted Apple's iOS 6.1.2 software in less than a week following its February 19 release, an ad network announced Tuesday. That iOS 6.1.2 became the most popular iOS version in such a short time is largely attributed to a glitch with Exchange calendars that resulted in increased network activity and reduced battery life for some iOS 6.1 users. While in line with previous iOS 6.x adoption rates, this particular data point evidently indicates folks continue to obsess over their mobile gadgets' battery performance...

Major blow to BlackBerry as Pentagon warms up to iOS and Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 26, 2013

The U.S. government and its defense agencies have been dropping BlackBerries for iPhones and Androids for some time and at an alarming pace, too. Back in March 2012, the U.S. Air Force placed a cool $9 million order for 18,000 iPads. Last December, The Washington Post dug up a Defense Department document revealing the Pentagon had tapped contractors to test iOS and Android devices.

Then Bloomberg last month claimed Consolidated Analysis Center Incorporated, a federal contractor, altered thousands of iPads for use by high-ranking government officials, including the President. And finally, Tuesday came the official confirmation that the U.S. Defense Department is working to open its networks to about 100,000 mobile devices from Apple and Google...

Apple’s iPhone push in India: wider distribution, new marketing and installment plans

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 25, 2013

After describing India as having less potential than China, Apple is increasing efforts to compete in the world's second-largest cellphone market. The iPhone maker is now hoping installment payments, coupled with increased marketing can turn single-digit market penetration into a weapon against low-cost Androids.

In full-page ads in the Times of India, Apple calls its unsubsidized $840 iPhone 5 "your dream phone" available for a $93 first payment. Why the big push? The nation's smartphone market is expected to grow five-fold by 2016, setting the stage for the next battle between Apple and Google's free mobile software...

Kantar: discounts help Android pass iOS in US smartphone sales

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 25, 2013

Oh, what a difference a month makes. That could be the message from new research giving Android the lead in U.S. smartphone sales during the three-month period ending in January 2012.

Apple's iOS had held the U.S. smartphones sales lead up through December. The new data gives Android 49.9 percent of domestic smartphone sales, with iOS taking second place with 45.9 percent.

The new standings means Google's mobile software added 6.4 percent of U.S. sales, compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, the lock on U.S. smartphone sales fell 4.7 percent from the same period in 2011. The flip-flop on the No. 1 and No. 2 spots was linked to a Sprint price cut for Samsung's Galaxy S3 during the final three months of 2012...

Passing 300M users, Shazam announces revamped iPad app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

The media discovery and recommendation engine Shazam at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain on Monday said it surpassed 300 million users and announced updates to its app for iPad and Android tablets in the coming weeks. Some of the newly added capabilities include a much faster tagging with automatic resubmissions (handy during poor network reception), better Shazam Friends interactions and a new streamlined way to share your finds via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and email.

Also on tap for iPad and Android tablets: a revamped home screen with updated layouts for tagged results from TV and music and a brand new interactive mapping feature letting you see what people aroun the world are discovering and sharing using Shazam mobile apps. What's best, Shazam is now providing the two premium features - fast (and unlimited) tagging in as little as one second and full-screen LyricPlay lyrics - as part of the free tablet experience...

IDC: 2012 a race between Samsung ‘juggernaut’ and ‘resurgent’ Apple

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Reports quite rightly label 2012 'The Year of Samsung.' The South Korean smartphone and tablet maker is described as a 'juggernaut' with triple-digit growth last year, making it the top producer of smart devices, according to a Friday report. But if you thought Apple was ready to retire, you'd be wrong - thanks largely to monster holiday sales and that dynamic duo: the iPhone 5 and iPad mini.

Samsung saw its market share for all of 2012 jump nearly 120 percent, to 20.8 percent from 12.3 percent in 2011, according to research firm IDC. Meanwhile, Apple used the traditionally busy fourth quarter to move within about 1 percent of its South Korean rival...

Google said to be working on streaming music service

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

This is pretty interesting. Hot on the heels of rumors that Apple is looking to get into the streaming music space, a new report popped up late last night alleging that Google too is working on a service of its own.

Citing 'people familiar with the matter,' The Wall Street Journal is claiming that the search giant's Android unit has been negotiating with music companies to start a paid subscription music streaming service...

Millennial: tablet use skyrockets, led by iPad mini and Kindle Fire

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Millennial Media becomes the latest to release research showing 2012 was a year of rising adoption of tablets and smartphones. Apple continues to lead the charge in tablets - particularly the iPad mini - while Samsung has become the popular face for the family of Android alternatives.

Apple held on to its tablet lead with 58 percent of the market. About a half-dozen Amazon tablets helped Google's mobile operating system capture 41 percent of tablets, with Samsung the most significant player...

Brazil lawsuit claims iPad 3 made intentionally obsolete

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 22, 2013

Did Apple withhold features from the third-generation iPad, then make the tablet obsolete just six months afterwards by unveiling the iPad 4 - with the missing items? That's the accusation being made against Apple in a class-action lawsuit filed Thursday in Brazil. At the heart of the lawsuit brought by the Brazilian Institute of Politics and Law Software (IBDI) is the charge Apple released the "new iPad" in May 2012, then in October introduced the iPad 4 alongside the iPad mini. By updating the processor and other features Apple has produced planned obsolescence...

App Store and Google Play games top handheld entertainment

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Is it game over for Nintendo, Sony and other handheld entertainment companies? That's the question as a report released Thursday shows consumers spent more on games downloaded from app stores than those designed for dedicated handhelds. Indeed, during the fourth quarter of 2012, more than 20 billion games were downloaded to smartphones and tablets. Perhaps anticipating today's finding, Sony announced Wednesday its new PlayStation 4 will support used games...

Is Apple losing its coolness edge to Microsoft and Android?

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 21, 2013

In the contest for coolness, the amorphous concept potentially driving young consumers to smartphones, tablets and other devices, Apple has some competition. While the iPhone maker is seen as cooler now than previously by 60 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds, even more people point to Android as the king of cool.

Even more surprising is Microsoft apparently isn't your father's software giant. The Windows maker - long viewed as buttoned-down and behind the technology curve - has revamped its image, thanks largely to the firm's smartphone and Surface tablet...