Google's Android Topples Nokia From The Top Smartphone OS Position

Google's Android Topples Nokia From The Top Mobile OS Position http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Not content on having passed iPhone, in numbers, Google's Android has now surpassed the world leader, Nokia, pushing it off the perch. Nokia's smartphone initiatives like Nokia N8 failed to make it's mark in the US market.
Google Android based phones numbered 32.9 million in the Q4, 2010 and Nokia had 31 million shipped. Apple might be feeling it too, I hope Steve Jobs come back soon to keep up up his alleged words,

"We did not enter the search business. They (Google) entered the phone business, make no mistake; Google wants to kill the iPhone. We won't let them." 

because quarterly sales of Android passed up the iPhone in May of last year and according to a comScore report, total subscribers of Google Android in the U.S. have passed the iPhone. more so, on the third quarter of 2010, Apple passed RIM to place fourth in the global phone market but according to IDC data released last week, Apple slipped to fifth in the fourth quarter. What's more the Apple co founder, Steve Wozniak admitted that Android will dominate the mobile world.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Google's Android dethroned Nokia's Symbian as the most popular smartphone platform in the last quarter of 2010, ending a reign that began with the birth of the industry 10 years ago.
Research firm Canalys said on Monday phone makers sold a total of 32.9 million Android-equipped phones in the last quarter, compared with Symbian's total sales of 31 million. The landmark piles pressure on Nokia as it struggles to reassert itself at the top end of the mobile handsets market.
Following Apple's 2007 entrance into smartphones, Google rolled out its open-source Android operating system, which has become the standard for smaller phone makers.
Hit models from Samsung Electronics, HTC and LG Electronics helped Android in the quarter, while Symbian suffered from troubles of its owner and main user, Nokia.
"We have seen some strong products from a number of vendors," said Canalys analyst Tim Shepherd.

 Yahoo Via Appleinsider

BlackBerry Overtakes Apple iOS In Mobile Internet Usage

Source: StatCounter Global Stats - Mobile OS Market Share
#BlackBerry Overtakes #Apple #iOS http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/I did not think this would happen but according to StatCounter, which we also use, Blackberry OS has truly overtaken iOS internet access. Apples share, which used to be 51.9% dropped to 33% while BlackBerry OS reached 34.3%. All is good with business front I guess. But there is another contender, Android OS. The Android share rose to 23.8% fromwhat was 8.2% last November.
I am very sure those numbers will be alters much, come next November. Following is the press release by StatCounter;

Boston, USA and Dublin, Ireland; Wednesday 1st December, 2010: BlackBerry OS overtook Apple's iOS for the first time in the US in November in terms of mobile internet usage according to web analytics company, StatCounter. The company's research arm, StatCounter Global Stats finds that for the first time in the US BlackBerry OS at 34.3% overtook Apple's iOS which recorded 33% in November.
Google's Android is rapidly gaining and has almost tripled internet market share from 8.2% last November to 23.8% this year. Apple's iOS has fallen from 51.9% to 33% over the same period.
"These figures suggest that developers should not be developing solely for the iPhone to the exclusion of BlackBerry and Android," commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. He added that, if current trends continue, BlackBerry and Android combined are on course to become twice the size of iOS as regards mobile internet usage in the next year.
Commenting on Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 he said that it was not yet registering significantly in terms of internet usage but would be interesting to observe over the next year. "This data demonstrates that there is a battle royal already going on in the smartphone market for the consumer and business internet user. You can never underestimate Microsoft but it looks to have its work cut out."
BlackBerry's US lead is not replicated in terms of worldwide share according to the StatCounter data. Globally Symbian OS leads with 31.9% followed by iOS (21.9%), BlackBerry OS (19.3%) and Android (11.6%).

StatCounter Global Stats are based on aggregate data collected by StatCounter on a sample exceeding 15 billion page views per month collected from across the StatCounter network of more than three million websites. StatCounter, which provides free website traffic information, publishes worldwide internet usage trends via StatCounter Global Stats, a free online research tool.
StatCounter

Chromium OS Totally Open As Of Today.

After watching the live blogging by engadget on the product release, I sailed over to the Chromium Project to checkout what is in the offer and was glad that I could check out the code with Git.
I will devote a few hours this weekend or Friday night if it ends up raining and preventing us from hitting Tahoe.
Do not expect to download a CD, you have to download the code and build it yourself or ask someone who can.
I guess over time, there will be down loadable version. But there are Videos, community forums that you can learn about the OS, right now.
More I read, More I like  Chromium OS. But some how Android OS seems much simpler!
Official Google Blog: Releasing the Chromium OS open source project

Engadget

A Bad Android! Acer Aspire One AOD250, Just Play With LiveAndroid

Acer Aspire One AOD250 forget it, Just Play With LiveAndroid snapvoip.blogspot.com
After hearing about all these wonderful news about Android based devices, thaere got to be a bad news some where. And today engadget managed to give it to us.
It is attempt by Acer to give users a netbook powered both by Windows XP and Android (Dual Boot). It certainly is attractive and if I did not know better would have grabbed one myself.
Google has not blessed the device and there is no Android Browser (there is a modified Firefox) and no GMail app. (There is a Firefox link to gmail pretending to be a GMail app). But what put me off was the crappy integration of the hardware and the OS.
I will wait or use this Android OS live CD LiveAndroid! (This is not the Google Android OS, which is forthcoming)



engadget

Android 1.6 Coming Soon, Early As Early October!

Android 1.6 SDK (Download it from Android Developer site)
Android 1.6 SDK (aka donut) has been released so that the developers get a chance to check out everything before the Android 1.6 is released to the consumer or devices.
On the consumer side, the new Android OS will run on different screen sizes and will support CDMA and of course GSM to make more options for the phones and the users.
Another feature that comes with the update is the QuickSearch that spans it's aearch through phones contact list to world wide web. The system constantly learns which search results are more relevant based on what is clicked. So popular contacts or apps that have previously been picked will bubble up to the top when a user types the first few letters of a relevant query.
But one thing that lit me up was the VPN capabilities;
a new Virtual Private Network (VPN) control panel in Settings allows users to configure and connect to the following types of VPNs:

• L2TP/IPSEC pre-shared key based VPN
• L2TP/IPsec certificate based VPN
• L2TP only VPN
• PPTP only VPN

The Battery usage indicator seems to be a very valuable tool in the department of prolonging your battery life. The tool will tell you which app ot part of the device that makes most juice and thus providing a path for you to control them.
Also the new market place on devices with market place are promised with new capabilities making the use of Android market place a pleasure to both the users and the developers who fills it up.

 Pico the new text to speech engine has gone multi lingual and synthesize a string of text to appropriate language and speak it aloud with, hear this, appropriate accent! Pico currently speaks English (American and British accents), French, Italian, German and Spanish.
It also comes with support for a new version of OpenCore and the 2.6.29 Linux kernal, which is same as the kernal I run on some of my servers! Yey!
But the best thing about all this is that "You can expect to see devices running Android 1.6 as early as October." yey! again, expect Motorola CLIQ, Sprint's HTC Hero,  and InstinctQ to join Verizon's Motorola Sholes to be dressed up in new Android OS. 


Android Developers Blog: Android 1.6 SDK is here

Android Support Team In China!

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Republic of China that is or otherwise known as Thaiwan, according to Google. The China Android Team is being established to support equipment manufacturers related to the Android based phones but there were rumors that they were helping the netbooks based on Android but Google has denied it.
"Android is a free, open-source mobile platform. This means that anyone can take the Android platform and add code or download it to create a mobile device without restrictions," Google said in a statement. "It was designed from the beginning to scale downward to feature phones and upward to MID (mobile Internet devices) and netbook-style devices. We look forward to seeing what contributions are made and how an open platform spurs innovation, but we have nothing to announce at this time."
But I am sure we all need to look into Dalvik, if we are going to mess around with Android OS. Perhaps that is where the support is most needed.
cnet via Engadget Image from Engadget.

Tags: China Android Team, Dalvik, Android mobile platform, MID, mobile Internet devices, Android OS

Android Challenging Microsoft In Netbook Arena?

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Android has been a challenge to most mobile handset makers and from the various adaptations by cellular phone makers to include Android OS on their phones clearly shows that. Microsoft clearly wants its own space in the mobile world with Winmo or Windows Mobile. I have had many windows mobile based phones but after the first week or so, I began to use them as just a phone, forgetting about bells and whistles. But the reviews of Windows Mobile 6.5 seems to up the ante.
But I am a fan of Android and iPhone and I carry both now! Each complements the other in various tasks and I do not lug a notebook with me anymore. I even manage a few Oracle Server using these two.
I am also a fan of Netbooks and I own linux and windows XP based Acer Ones. Pretty happy with them for what they were brought for. Blogging from coffeeshops and on campus grounds.
But today I read on Bloomberg that Asus is planing to put Android OS on one of their Netbooks, forgoing WIndows. I would not say Linux as Android is based on a Linux varient.
"

An Android-powered notebook would extend Google’s rivalry with Microsoft into the market for software that runs personal computers, where Windows controls more than 90 percent of the market. Netbooks, scaled-down laptops that offer basic e-mail and Internet functions, are the fastest-growing segment of the PC industry, with shipments projected to almost double this year as the overall market slows.

“With the strength of Google behind it, Android could really challenge Microsoft and steal some market share,” said Calvin Huang, a computer-industry analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc. in Taipei. “The benefit is the free license and you can use a lower-power, cheaper processor.”"

read more at Bloomberg

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

Tags: Android OS, Google, Microsoft, Asus, Android-powered notebook, Acer One, netbook

Cupcake On Android Developer G1

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Brian Jepson, has tested Android Dev Phone (Hardware unlocked G1) and Android cupcake. The YouTube video shows off the on-screen keyboard, transitions, the Linux shell. Geek.com has more clear photos and actually more information on the skateboarding androids–which come up as you hack–and the Snake game on the Android OS.

Tags: Android Dev Phone, Hardware unlocked G1, Android cupcake, Android OS, skateboarding androids