Android

Google accelerating plans to launch Siri competitor code-named Majel

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 19, 2012

We've known for awhile that Google's been working on improving Voice Actions in Android. Needless to say, last October's release of the iPhone 4S and its headline voice assistant feature dubbed Siri sent Google's engineers back to the drawing board in an attempt to re-envision what conversing with an Android device should be like. According to the well-informed Wall Street Journal, the search giant has now "accelerated" plans to bring Siri competitor to the market.

Survey confirms: devs prefer iOS over Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2012

Despite what Google's Eric Schmidt would have you believe, developers still prefer Apple's iOS platform over any other mobile operating system. More importantly, the vast majority of programmers don't think a rumored introduction of a taller iPhone this fall will complicate their life as adapting their apps to a larger canvas shouldn't be a biggie...

Apple to Google: f**k you

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 12, 2012

Apple really stick it to Google by supplanting Google Maps in iOS 6 with in-house mapping service, didn't it? But more than anything, yesterday's WWDC keynote has proven that Apple is just as merciless without Steve Jobs.

As both tech giants fight tooth and nail for mindshare, Cupertino is now adamant to go thermonuclear on everything Google, not just Maps.

The iPhone maker demonstrated its incredible agility and willingness to fight Google on multiple dimensions yesterday. To that extent, iOS 6 could be viewed as the biggest step yet in the de-Googlification of iOS.

Here's why...

Why iOS devices are easier to hack and customize than Android ones

Cody Lee ∙ June 9, 2012

I've always tinkered with my devices, regardless of their OS. I remember installing leaked versions of RIM's OS 6 on my old BlackBerry Bold, and rooting my Android handsets to install the latest ROMs.

But out of all of those experiences, I can honestly say that hacking devices, customizing them and installing tweaks, is much easier to do on iOS than it is on any other platform — even the "open" Android...

Guess what, Eric Schmidt: devs still write for iOS first!

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 21, 2018

So mere four days before the WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs' favorite analytics company posts some peculiar numbers making Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt look ridiculous.

Though Android continues to lead the pack in terms of shipments, the iOS train just keeps on chugging along in terms of loyalty and profitability.

Seven out of ten mobile apps in the first five months of this year were built for Apple's platform, where developers on average earn four times more revenue...

Poll: do you get all worked up over iOS exclusives going Android?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 11, 2012

When social network Path released its Android app following the successful debut on the iPhone, barely anyone paid notice. But when Instagram went Android, it spurred lots of controversy. Even Apple’s marketing boss Phil Schiller stopped using the app because it “jumped the shark” when it went to Android.

The debate over iPhone exclusives going Android really heated up with yesterday’s announcement of Instapaper of Android, Marco Arment’s read-later program which became a huge success on the iOS platform.

Should Apple work harder to secure iOS exclusives, which have been around in the console business for ages? Or perhaps this is nothing to get worked up about? Cast your vote now...

Dang, Instapaper has gone Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 4, 2012

In what seems to be the norm lately, another popular iPhone app has expanded to Android, Marco Arment's Instapaper. This awesome and elegant tool to save web pages for reading later can now be used on Android devices natively.

While it lacks the polish and elegance of the iOS version, Instapaper for Android comes with one major advantage...

The inconvenient truth about Retina iPad gaming

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 29, 2012

Back in March, I analyzed whether the new iPad has enough oomph to drive graphics-intensive games natively at the new iPad's 2,048-by-1,536 pixel resolution. The crux of the article: framer rates in Retina-optimized games can drop to well below what the iPad 2 delivers.

With no change on the CPU side and only 2x speed gain on the GPU side, the new iPad clearly has issues offseting the Retina display's 4x pixel count increase.

Today, The Verge sheds more light on the matter by putting the device through its paces in real-world tests based on a handful of latest triple-A games. The findings may surprise even the most hard-core gamers among you...

Here’s what Google becoming a handset maker means for Apple

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 11, 2017

Earlier today, Google CEO Larry Page took to company blog to break the big news: having obtained necessary approvals from watchdogs on both side of the Atlantic, the search giant has finally closed its $12.5 billion acquisition of the ailing handset maker Motorola Mobility in a move meant to “supercharge the Android ecosystem”.

The transaction will close by May 23 and is rumored to see Google laying off up to one-third of Motorola staff.

Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha is stepping down (not unexpected) and will be replaced by Dennis Woodside whom Apple tried to poach last year. The new CEO already promised "fewer, bigger bets", meaning Motorola should streamline its portfolio to focus on a select few hero devices.

So, Googlerola is alive and the search giant is now officially a handset maker - one sitting on an enormous pile of patents. In fact, the search Goliath is now in a position to directly fight Apple's allegations against Android makers.

Taking it all in, we analyze what repercussions - if any - this development potentially poses for Apple and its ongoing legal spat against major Android backers such as HTC, Samsung and, yes, Motorola...

HTC alters functionality of US handsets to bypass Apple patents

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 17, 2012

If you ever wondered whether Apple's patent infringement claims against HTC were worth the pain, here's your answer.

Responding to a recent exclusion order by the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) concerning HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE shipments, the Taiwanese handset maker, once the dominant force in the Android camp, is now pre-loading its U.S. phones with an altered build of Android software.

Designed to bypass Apple patents, it changes the expected behavior of these devices. As a result, flagship HTC phones waiting to be imported into the United States now feature notably different functionality compared to HTC devices shipping elsewhere in the world.

The change is also impacting the uniformity of the Android experience, suggesting Apple was right to sue in the first place...

iPhone tops another customer satisfaction survey

Cody Lee ∙ May 16, 2012

Even though the Android platform sits on top of several major smartphone categories — marketshare, hardware specs, etc. — there's one list that it can't seem to climb: customer satisfaction. That particular stat belongs to iOS.

The iPhone has taken home more than 6 J.D. Power Satisfaction awards, and countless other smaller surveys. And it just added another notch to its belt, coming in first in the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index report...

Apple and Samsung now represent nearly half of all smartphones sold globally

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 16, 2012

Research firm Gartner is out this morning with its first-quarter phone sales survey. The results show that Apple and Samsung together now represent 49.3 percent of all smartphones sold globally, up from 29.3 percent in the first quarter of 2011, while other vendors continue to experience a decline.

China has now become Apple's second-largest market for smartphones, after the United States and rival Samsung pretty much leads all, having overtaken both Apple and Nokia in smartphone and cell phone shipments, respectively...