Mac News: Smartphones

Google Digs Up Old Direct-Sales Nexus Strategy
May 16, 2012

Two years after its initial attempt to sell Nexus smartphones directly to consumers flopped, Google is apparently trying to revive the strategy. This time, though, it's added a few new touches. It's going to work with up to five device manufacturers at a time to create a portfolio of Nexus-line devices that include smartphones and tablets.

The Samsung Galactic Empire
May 05, 2012

This past week has been especially kind to Samsung. Big sales numbers were followed by the unveiling of the Galaxy S III, the company's latest flagship phone and one that could very well own the market this summer. The S III runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Google's operating system and one that up to this point hasn't taken residence on a very large number of phones.

Galaxy S III Serves Up Big Dollop of Ice Cream Sandwich
May 04, 2012

Samsung launched the Galaxy S III smartphone in London on Thursday. The device will run Android Ice Cream Sandwich, version 4.0 of the mobile OS. The Galaxy S III's features include facial and voice recognition, voice command capability and eye tracking.

RIM Plays Devs for Dollars
May 03, 2012

Research In Motion has big plans for its next-generation platform, BlackBerry 10, expected for release later this year. However, in order to compete with market leaders iOS and Android, the company will need strong support from the mobile application development community. To do that, the company has reportedly offered a bounty.

The Sad 'Wake Up' Saga Just Gets Sadder
May 03, 2012

I'm often blown away by the pathetically misguided marketing campaigns that clearly out-of-touch executives in large corporations green light ... and then shell out millions of dollars to put into motion. But the "Wake Up" flashmob that tumbled out of a clearly expensive bus in Sydney, Australia, had me scratching my head while simultaneously clutching my belly to ease the pain of laughing so hard.

Global Smartphone Market Is on Fire
May 02, 2012

Samsung is top dog in the global smartphone market. No, wait -- it's Apple that is No. 1. Well, either way, Apple is making more money than Samsung. A recent flurry of reports analyzing the state of the mobile market has provoked some head-spinning. Some issues, such as the global competition between Samsung and Apple, are being hotly disputed by dueling consulting firms. About other trends, though, there is no doubt whatsoever.

Motorola Losses Climb as Google Deal Lingers in Limbo
May 02, 2012

Motorola Mobility revealed its quarterly earnings for its first fiscal quarter of the year Tuesday, reporting a slightly higher net loss than last year. The company lost $86 million, or 28 cents per share, compared to $81 million, or 27 cents per share, for the same time a year ago. Smartphone sales were slightly up.

Samsung Rising
May 02, 2012

Apple revealed its latest quarterly earnings statement a week ago, and it was another period of strong sales for the company. That was thanks in part to customers in emerging markets buying iPhones. One report from Deutsche Bank this week said that Apple could sell as many as 25 million iPhones in China this year and could have 35 million iPhones there by 2013.

RIM Goes for BB10 Hail Mary Pass
May 02, 2012

Research In Motion unveiled its vision for its much-anticipated -- and delayed -- BlackBerry 10 platform Tuesday at the BlackBerry World conference in Orlando, Fla., together with prototypes of hardware devices and app dev toolkits. The platform has sparked interest among developers, the company said, citing positive comments from executives at various partners.

BlackBerry 10 Could Be RIM's Savior
May 01, 2012

Research In Motion officially unveiled new BlackBerry software Tuesday at the company's annual conference for developers, corporate customers and the media. President and CEO Thorsten Heins took the stage at BlackBerryWorld 2012 in Orlando, Fla., to officially introduce the new operating system to developers.

Samsung May Have Edged Out Apple
April 30, 2012

Samsung's first quarter earnings suggest that it has reached a significant milestone: It could be the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, topping Apple in market reach. In this case, "suggest" is the operative word. "As you know, Samsung doesn't give their cellphone shipment numbers," said Azita Arvani of the Arvani Group, "and analysts have differing opinions on how many Samsung smartphones were actually shipped."

Samsung Puts Its New Exynos Chip on the Table
April 26, 2012

In a move that would be akin to unveiling an automobile's new engine in advance of an auto show, Samsung on Thursday introduced its new 1.4 GHz Exynos 4 Quad processor for smartphone and tablet devices. While the company did not say which devices would first use the processor -- which is based on the ARM Cortex A9 chip -- it announced that it would power the "next Galaxy" device.

Larry vs. Larry
April 21, 2012

A San Francisco courtroom is presently the center ring in the worldwide tech IP litigation circus. While other legal battles over mobile device patents and copyrights are as down and dirty as ever in places like Germany, Australia, and elsewhere in the U.S., the fight between Oracle and Google over the alleged theft of Java technologies stands out due to its cast of characters.

Mobile Data Usage Exploding, Monetization Asleep at the Wheel
April 21, 2012

Innovations in wireless technology have made mobile Internet capabilities common and popular features on numerous portable consumer devices, including laptops, smartphones, tablets, netbooks and e-book readers. Data usage has increased dramatically as a result of more devices and consumer use of bandwidth-intensive services and applications.

Next-Gen iPhone May Be Baptized in Liquidmetal
April 19, 2012

Apple will use so-called Liquidmetal for the casing of the iPhone 5, which will be launched in June, according to a report. Liquidmetal is the commercial name of an amorphous metal alloy developed by researchers at the California Institute of Technology and marketed by a company they set up called Liquidmetal Technologies.

Windows Phone Growing Pains Cause Update Headache
April 18, 2012

Will Microsoft let owners of smartphones running Windows Phone 7.5, nicknamed "Mango," upgrade to WinPho 8, also known as "Apollo?" At this point, the answer appears very unclear. Controversy erupted when Nuno Silva, described as a Microsoft evangelist, said that all current smartphones running Windows Phone 7 will get the upgrade to WinPho 8.