When it comes to mobile platforms, there are tons of ways to measure success. Android leads in market share, iOS leads in customer satisfaction, and Windows Phone, well Windows Phone isn't posing any major threats yet, but it has potential.
Perhaps one of the most precise ways of measuring the real-world impact of a platform is to gauge how many users are actually using it. And what better way to do that than by tracking which mobile OS accesses the web the most?
Apple's iPad is beginning to take over from computers as the key electronic learning device in schools, according to a new survey by Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster.
The survey of 25 schools and their technology directors found that all of them were making use of Apple's iPad while, just as interestingly, none of them were using an Android-powered tablet.
In fact, iPads are becoming so popular that many technology directors believe that there will soon be more iPads per student than computers...
When the original iPhone launched in 2007, Google and Apple actually had a good relationship. Google was set to be the iPhone's default search engine, and Google was also going to power the handset's Maps application. Everything was wonderful. And then came Android.
The Android operating system was born in Palo Alto, California in 2003. Two years later, the company was acquired by—you guessed it—Google. The deal was worth an estimated $50 million, but the Android OS could end up costing Google much more than that...
There's a headline bouncing around the tech blogs this morning that goes something like this: "Samsung Overtakes Apple to Become Top Smartphone Manufacturer." The news comes in wake of Samsung's earnings report it issued to investors this morning.
The Korean handset maker didn't offer any specific numbers, but it did tell shareholders its smartphone shipments were up 40% this quarter. Some analysts are estimating that the increase equals 28 million smartphones, which clearly beats Apple's 17 million, right?
Sprint CEO Dan Hesse recently made a few interesting comments about the iPhone on his network. Namely, Hesse noted that Android users put more of a strain on Sprint's network than new iPhone owners.
Android apps are "more chatty" with the network, and iPhone apps do a better job of handling data via W-Fi networks and offloading information. Due to the iPhone's light footprint on Sprint's network, the carrier plans to continue offering an unlimited data plan for the indefinite future.
We've expressed our opinions on Android software multiple times here on iDB. You can imagine that, as an iPhone blog, we are a little biased towards the iOS platform, but our issues with Android don't come unwarranted.
One of our beefs with Android is that its apps seem to lack the polish that iOS apps have — even in software that is available on both platforms. Why is that? Well, not only do developers have to worry about multiple screen sizes, they also have to worry about multiple versions of Android...
The ongoing Apple versus Google war can be traced back to Google's entry into the smartphone market. Apple launched its iPhone in the Summer of 2007, and within two years Google answered back by releasing its mobile OS, Android.
This led to a series of events, and eventually an onslaught of litigation between the two companies over "copycatting." The jury is still out on who copied who, but Daring Fireball points to some evidence that seemingly falls in Apple's favor...
The infamous Android versus iOS debate can get pretty intense. Both sides have avid fans that will seemingly defend their favorite mobile OS to the death. And one of the most popular subjects for the two sides to argue about are the numbers.
Numbers directly reflect the success of a product. That's why companies share sales data and other things like revenue on quarterly earnings calls — to show their progress. So the big question is, what do the numbers say about Android and iOS?
Apple has been openly fighting against Android manufacturers for the past several months. The Cupertino company has accused handset makers like Samsung, HTC, and Motorola Mobility of infringing on its intellectual property.
A lot of people believe that Apple's hoard of patent lawsuits are going to end up stifling innovation, but they're not the only ones doing it. In fact, at this point, Android partners should probably be more afraid of Microsoft and its IP...
Apple's iOS platform rules the roost in the enterprise, according to new figures released by Good Technology.
The firm, which offers push e-mail, mobile device management, and security products for mobile phones, released the numbers that appear to show both the iPhone and iPad dominating device usage in the enterprise market.
According to Good Technology, the results show a "clear preference for Apple products," with the figures seemingly proving their point conclusively...
Andy Rubin, Senior VP of Mobile at Google, is considered the head of the Android platform. He leads the team that develops the Android OS for the plethora of handset makers that partner with Google.
Rubin sat down with veteran journalist Walt Mossberg at the AsiaD conference yesterday to talk about Android and his view of the mobile consumer market. He talked specifically about the state of Android tablets, his view of Apple post-Steve Jobs, and Siri...
For those that don't follow Android news, the Galaxy Nexus handset is the new flavor of the month. Built by Samsung, the new device sports a ridiculous 4.65 Super AMOLED HD screen, and about every other feature you could ask for.
However, Samsung's mobile president Shin Jong-kyun believes the phone is missing something — Apple's patents. Just before the new Nexus was unveiled Tuesday night, Shin told reporters that Apple shouldn't have any problems with this one...