Android

Senator asks FTC to investigate Apple over privacy concerns

Apple has recently come under heavy fire over its privacy policies. Earlier this year it was discovered that third-party iOS apps could access a user's address book without their consent. And recent reports that photo albums are subject to similar unauthorized access have added fuel to the flames.

Now it looks likes folks are so worried about the problem, that they've asked the Federal Trade Commission to get involved. ArsTechnica is reporting that New York Senator Charles Schumer is urging the FTC to look into Apple's widely-documented user privacy concerns...

Motorola goes after Siri with its Android Voice Action feature

We've seen Motorola take on Apple in the courtroom, now it's taking on its popular digital assistant feature. The company just posted three videos to its YouTube account of three of its handsets taking on the iPhone 4S in voice-control.

The videos star the Motorola Atrix 2, the Photon 4G and the Electrify using Android's Voice Action component. The sentiment here seems to be that Motorola believes that its feature is superior to Siri, but we'll let you be the judge of that...

The top 3 smartphones sold in 2011 were iPhones

The iPhone has seen an enormous amount of success worldwide. Apple announced during its fiscal Q1 2012 earnings report that the iPhone sold a total of 37 million units in one quarter. Ranked the third phone manufacturer in the world, Apple is continuing to sell an abundance of iPhones.

When it comes to iPhone sales in the US, Apple sold the top three smartphones in 2011, according to a new report released by ComScore. The iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4S found their way into the most hands of consumers...

Apple acquires Chomp to make app discovery better

Apple has acquired Chomp, a startup focused on app discovery, reports MG Siegler of TechCrunch. Chomp launched in 2009 and has earned around $2.5 million in venture funding to date. Apple is bringing on the Chomp team and its technologies in hopes of improving app discovery...

Android apps found to be more expensive than iOS apps

For those of you who might be under the impression that apps available on the iTunes App Store are more expensive than Android apps, research firm Canalys is out with a new study that proves otherwise.

Canalys found that on average, Android apps cost 2.5 times more than iPhone apps...

Apple files complaint against Motorola over FRAND abuse

Well we all saw this coming. Electronista is reporting that Apple has just filed a complaint with the European Commission regarding Motorola's recent legal actions. The handset-maker won an injunction in Germany last month, resulting in the temporary ban of some of Apple's products.

But Apple has maintained that the patents that Motorola is asserting against it are industry standard, and therefore fall under FRAND jurisdiction. And since Motorola doesn't seem to want to offer Apple a FRAND license, Apple went to the EC...

Apple wins injunction against Motorola in Germany over ‘slide to unlock’ patent

When the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) awarded Apple a patent late last year regarding its 'slide to unlock' feature, we didn't think it would be very long before we saw it pop up in Apple's Android war. And it wasn't.

Hot on the heels of Motorola winning an injunction against Apple in Germany, which resulted in a temporary ban of some of its products, the Cupertino company has fired back by winning its own injunction against Motorola in the country...

AndroidLoader for iOS gets a major update

We've talked about AndroidLoader before, the jailbreak tweak that replicates the way Android lets you see all your apps on one single page. Today the app got a major update making the it more appealing than ever.

For those of you who don't know AndroidLoader, it's a tweak that allows you to launch, view or hide certain applications, play music, and more, with a simple tap or swipe gesture...

Apple sells more tablets in Korea than Samsung

Samsung and Apple have had sort of a war over the past couple of years. The war hasn't been only about patents, but the two companies have also competed very closely in smartphone and tablet sales.

Korea Herald now reports that the iPad is outselling Samsung tablets on the Korean company's home turf...

Fight: Chrome for Android vs. Safari for iOS

The iPhone's browser, Safari, is considered to be one of the fastest and most stable mobile browsers out there. But since Google released their new Chrome for Android mobile browser last week (currently in beta), does Safari still defend its title?

The folks over at the popular Android blog, Android Central, took it in their hands to compare the two browsers...

Amazon goes on the offensive with new Kindle Fire ad

Amazon has gone on the offensive in the company's battle for tablet supremacy by taking a price-powered swipe at its only real competition - the iPad.

The ad, which follows similar Kindle ads we have seen by showing a young lady in a bikini reading a book, shows both the new Kindle e-reader and the Android-powered Kindle Fire in use, while taking a stab at the iPad's lofty price.

Needless to say Amazon's iPad alternatives come up trumps in the new 30-second spot, with one poor chap finding himself shot down in more than one way when he approaches the woman in question...

First Time Smartphone Buyers Prefer Android Over iPhone

According to research firm NPD Group, Apple has passed up Samsung and LG to become the #1 selling US handset brand in the fourth quarter of 2011. Between the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, the iPhone accounted for 43% of the US smartphone market, even though Android's market share increased to 48%.

Combined, iOS and Android devices accounted for over 90% of US sales, leaving Blackberry, Windows Phone and other mobile OSs under 10%.

The NPD went on to say that 57% of first time US smartphone buyers go with an Android device, while only 34% of first time buyers purchased iPhones...