May 14 - 10:15am EDT
Verizon today took further steps to promote its image as an open carrier by announcing it would join the LiMo Foundation, an industry group dedicated to developing and promoting Linux on cellphones. The US cell provider takes the last seat on the Foundation's board of directors alongside handset makers such as Motorola and Samsung as well as NTT DoCoMo and Vodafone, and claims to be a "champion" of openness in the process. [full story]
May 13 - 10:35pm EDT
As Apple prepares its iPhone 2.0 platform, Microsoft is reportedly anticipating control of 40-percent of the smartphone market by 2012, according to a representative within the company. PC World writes that the endeavor will be trying, considering the company currently sits at 13-percent share, with Symbian taking first place at 67-percent, and BlackBerry devices at 10-percent. The upcoming, highly-anticipated Google Android OS is also a large unknown factor against the claim. [full story]
May 5 - 3:50pm EDT
Google has filed an FCC petition asking that the FCC drop Verizon's $4.7 billion winning bid in the recent 700MHz wireless auction. Filed late last week, the motion accuses Verizon of planning to use its Any App, Any Device plan to shelter customers buying its own devices from having to follow FCC open access guidelines set out before the auction, which would require that any 700MHz service on the relevant spectrum support any legal device or software regardless of which company has sold either component. Verizon's plan forces users of truly open devices to follow a different set of rules while those who buy from Verizon itself are trapped, Google claims. [full story]
April 24 - 10:15am EDT
T-Mobile USA expects to carry at least one phone based on Google's Android platform by the end of the year -- and may start with the HTC Dream, according to sources. Company broadband head Joe Sims says he has seen a prototype of one of the Linux-based phones and was "impressed" by the device. He notes that the phone is poised to ship in the fourth quarter of the year and that it will be part of a larger shift at T-Mobile towards open devices that should include more than one Android device. [full story]
April 21 - 5:05pm EDT
Market research company ABI Research says in a new report that a Linux-based mobile operating system will find its way into in almost one out of every five mid- to high-end cellular phones by 2013. The study cites efforts by the LiMo Foundation, Google's marketing of its Android OS, as well as Nokia's Maemo and Trolltech purchases as some of the reasons the open-source OS system will grow. ABI's findings also conclude that despite the added cost of hardware necessary to support open-source operating systems, the move will offer better value because of the greater number of supported applications. [full story]
April 21 - 4:45pm EDT
Two of HTC's more anticipated phones are likely to have been spotted today courtesy of a photo displayed in a forum post. Asking if viewers can identify all the devices, a user shows a large, QWERTY slider device (left) that appears to closely resemble the Dream; the device is large enough to match the description and includes both the large screen and hardware controls previously suggested before. The phone interface also appears different than normal and may hint at the Dream's use of Google Android for its operating system. [full story]
April 11 - 4:55pm EDT
Nokia may be withdrawing its efforts to actively contribute to the WebKit browser engine, according to an exchange on the official developer list. After noticing that the Finnish cellphone producer had been inactive for at least eight months in developing a version of the code for Symbian Series 60 phones, contributor Eric Seidel has been told by Nokia representative Bradley Morrison only that the company is closing off discussions of any outstanding bugs rather than fixing or improving code. [full story]
April 9 - 2:25pm EDT
Both Palm and the BlackBerry's creator, Research in Motion, are likely to feel a continued squeeze on their bottom lines as a result of the iPhone, according to separate investment notes from Needham & Co. The financial researchers note that both smartphone producers are most likely to feel added pressure because of the emergence of the consumer smartphone market, which doesn't share the same values as the business market. Services such as near-instant "push" e-mail are only a small factor for most home users, according to analyst Charlie Wolf. While that feature has helped the BlackBerry cement its position in the workplace, most home users are equally concerned ... [full story]
April 7 - 4:30pm EDT
HTC will hold a press announcement that may signal its first concrete details for its Android-based Dream cellphone, according to a message sent to members of the press, including SlashGear. With details remaining vague, the Taiwan company's London event will introduce the "next wave of HTC innovation" and promises to be more significant than announcements made at events so far this year, which have largely been minor upgrades to the Shift and Touch DUAL as well as minor new phones such as the P3470. [full story]
April 2 - 11:55am EDT
A new survey by Rubicon Consulting purports to have revealed some of the demographics of iPhone owners. Pollsters contacted 460 American iPhone customers, and questioned them on factors such as income, data use, and other devices they own. Results indicate that approximately half of iPhone owners are under the age of 30, although only 15 percent are students. Notably, 75 percent of these already owned some form of Apple product, whether an iPod or a Mac. The company may thus have problems trying to push the iPhone onto a mainstream population. [full story]
March 28 - 1:55pm EDT
The first photos of an active BlackBerry 9000 have surfaced via Engadget and reveal both a major revamp of the phone's software in addition to its new hardware design. Instead of the vertical, Windows-like interface seen on current models, the 9000 will have a highly stylized strip interface that resembles a cross between the initial Google Android interface and Sony's Cross Media Bar. Transitions and other animations will also be sleeker than on RIM's earlier phones. [full story]March 20 - 9:30am EDT
Information about HTC's first phone based on Google's Android has slipped out, says a source reportedly familiar with the details. Confirming an earlier nickname, the device will be known as the HTC Dream and will have a large touchscreen but also a QWERTY keypad hidden underneath; accordingly, the phone will be large at five inches long and three inches wide. Just enough controls will sit underneath the screen to offer extra Internet navigation features. [full story]
March 13 - 11:55pm EDT
Rich Miner, group manager for mobile platforms at Google, recently spoke at the eComm conference, showing both praise and disdain for the iPhone. According to Yahoo, Miner said that while Apple "did a number of things right first time, first device", the lack of a background environment for applications is a major limitation. He also cited that interpreted languages and multiprocessing apps are not supported, summarizing that "there's a lot of restrictions." [full story]February 28 - 11:15am EST
A new, previously unspecified phone running Google's Android mobile OS has been spotted, courtesy of a new BBC video. The British news organization was told that the early, prototype device was manufactured by one of Google's partners in the project and veers away from the button-driven form seen in the initial example. The mystery device is almost entirely driven by a touchscreen and includes just a minimal set of physical controls for taking calls and jumping to familiar hotspots in the interface, such as the home screen. [full story]
February 20 - 4:15pm EST
Google is investigating the possibility of using balloons to support future wireless networks, say sources in touch with the Wall Street Journal. The search engine firm is reportedly investigating either a partnership or an acquisition of balloon wireless firm Space Data to use its technology for extending a long-range cellular or wide-area Internet network. While specific implementations are not discussed, the current system floats balloons with transceivers into the upper atmosphere to increase their range; Space Data (and therefore Google) could spread a signal across thousands of square miles, extending coverage without having to install up to 40 cellular towers ... [full story]
- top stories
- Apple UK drops return fee
- iPhone Canada June Leak
- Apple fighting Swiss levy
- iPhones in use worldwide
- Apple sues over iPod gear
- Native Google iPhone apps
- Orange Worldwide iPhone
- WSJ Echoes BBerry Thunder
- more...
- most popular
- Two new 'Get a Mac' ads
- Boston, Sydney store pics
- F. Look: OpenOffice 3 Beta
- Recycled iPhone car holder
- New Aperture themes
- "Largest" iPhone rollout
- Cyberduck 3 adds WebDAV
- Apple Wall St. shop plans
- more...
- most commented
- MS Sells 2m Zunes (49 comments)
- BlackBerry Bold (23 comments)
- Microsoft smartphone share (22 comments)
- MS WorldWide Telescope (21 comments)
- QuarkXPress 8 vs. CS3? (21 comments)
- Apple is 'gay-friendly' (20 comments)
- Office 2008 SP1 unveiled (18 comments)
- BlackBerry Thunder Rumor (16 comments)
- more...
MacNN
- ezGear iPod video cable
- MacWireless PoE kit for AP
- Apple wins black pencils
- Apple UK drops return fee
- Kekus LensFix for Aperture
- more...
- PhoneView 2.0 ships
- Apple fighting Swiss levy
- Apple sues over iPod gear
- Native Google iPhone apps
- iPods on Singapore Air
- more...
Top