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ComScore, a market research firm, recently reported share holdings from September to January in the smartphone industry.  The results are mostly positive for Android, which has posted significant gains, and has finally overtaken Palm. Android now holds roughly 10% of the market, while Palm continues to steadily dip.  WinMo’s prospects don’t look much better either; after capping at 20% in October, it has also begun a major plummet.

Meanwhile, the iPhone has remained strong throughout Q4 ‘09, keeping its number 2 spot.  It now commands a strong 25.1% of the market, and seems to be going up.  The possibility of an iPhone OS 4.0 could bring new converts to the House of Apple, but they will have much to do before they can eclipse the Covenant of RIM.  Blackberry stands still as the premier smartphone, at a massive 43%, and has survived despite the lack of hype or interest tech blogs have had on RIM products.

Via Ars Technica

A recent news story about Sony published in the Wall Street Journal has caused a lot of speculation about Sony’s plans for mobile devices. Though Sony is not officially confirming anything, it is thought to be developing products and services to compete with Apple.

Sony is reportedly ready to launch an online media platform called “Sony Online Services” that is intended to compete with iTunes. It is also releasing a mobile phone with the Android operating system soon. The phone is going to be called Xperia X10. Currently, Sony makes an e-reader that is a competitor to Amazon’s Kindle.

If Sony is intending to directly compete with Apple, it may want to prepare itself for potential lawsuits. Apple is currently engaged in a lawsuit against HTC for patent infringement relating to the iPhone, which many people are interpreting as an indirect against Google.

Via Digital East Asia.

Apple’s legal action against HTC, the first manufacturer to use Android in its phones, could have larger implications for other companies using Android on their phones. In the case, Apple alleges 20 patent infringements, and this case could be the first of many.

Apple hasn’t specifically named Google in the lawsuit, but many of the patents relate to operating system processes. Google has declared its support for HTC. Due to the increase in competition between Google and Apple, some analysts have speculated that Apple is attacking Google indirectly through this lawsuit. Therefore, the lawsuit could have implications for other companies later.

Apple asserts that HTC has infringed on 20 patents owned by Apple that are used in the iPhone. Apple wants an injunction that would bar HTC from selling phones that use the patents in the United States.

Via BBC News, image via BBC News.

Android’s beauty as an open-source operating system is that it allows any random manufacturer to develop a product and slap Android on top of it.  This does, however, allow for some issues in terms of legitimacy of manufacturers.  Case and point: The Haleron iLet Mini HAL.

If you want a tablet with groundbreaking features or earthshaking specifications, look elsewhere.  If you want a quaint little tablet that does its job, stick around but don’t buy this.  Why? I’ll tell you in a bit.  Here come the somewhat interesting specs:

• VIA ARM Processor 600 MHz
• 7” TFT LCD Touch Screen w/ 800×480 Resolution
• 128 MB RAM
• 2 GB Flash Memory
• Up to 32 GB SDHC
• 16 Hour Active Battery
• Android 1.6, Upgradable to “Windows CE 6.0”

Amazing? Far from it.  But still it’s not a bad tablet per se. And it is a pretty sweet deal given the $200 price tag and March 1st shipping date.  So why did I warn against buying this?  Quite simple. It’s a scam.

Indeed, since the news hit the internet there was some wariness in trusting this random French company named Haleron. One commenter over at Pocketables did some research and couldn’t find much to back up their image as some sort of legitimate tablet maker.  The only picture of the iLet Mini HAL is a render found at some other French forum, and they clearly stated they did not license the design to Haleron.  Other attempts to find copyright information and company registration have ended up dry.  Unless we get any reports stating otherwise, then we will have to assume it is fake.  So  stay safe, and do your research when purchasing.

Via Gizmodo.

The iPad has yet to hit shelves, and yet it has already become clear that a tablet war will likely consume much consumer attention in 2010.  Apple, to much applause, has announced its champion, and Windows will likely respond with an arsenal of 3rd party devices. But who will carry the open source community’s banner into the fray?  Joojoo Tablet has fallen from favor once it became clear it would run a browser-based OS, and the other Android tablets have failed to garner much attention.

Notion Ink’s ADAM appears to be standing ready to fill this hole. It’s a Linux-based tablet that already has set its eye on defeating the iPad, and the spec list does not seem to betray it in that regard:

• 10″ Transflective LCD, Pixel Qi Screen 1024 x 600 with low power mode
• Multitouch capacitive screen
• Dual Core ARM Cortex A9 with NVidia Tegra 2
• HDMI 1080p Out
• 3 USB Ports
• Battery life: 160 hours backlight off, 16 hours video playback
• Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth
• Multitasking
• Rear trackpad
• Adobe Flash Support
• Camera
• SD Card Slot

The truly revolutionary component on this tablet is its screen, which incorporates Pixel Qi technology to give a similar experience as e-Ink when the backlight is off. This gives the tablet its godly battery life,  and allows it to directly challenge the reading experience of eReaders.  It is a powerful tablet, and the device’s multitasking with Flash support is undoubtedly a response to the iPad’s inability to do either.

Still, this thing comes with some weird quirks. It is unclear what the OS shall be on this tablet, as three are listed in the spec sheet (Android, Ubuntu, Chromium). Pricing is  highly variable, $327-800, but still easily competitive with Apple.  All that remains is to see how well Notion Ink will market this and get public support behind it.  For now, it seems like Linux’s best shot to take the mainstream.

Via Gizmodo, image via Notion Ink.

In the latest move of the Apple-Google battle, Apple has banned an iPhone app developer from using the word “Android” in the description of his app in the App Store.

The Flash of Genius app, developed by Tim Novikof, was a finalist in Google’s Android Developer Challenge, a contest that honors innovative apps. Novikof wanted to mention this fact in his description of the app, but Apple did not take too kindly to this. The app was rejected and Apple said it was not appropriate to mention the app’s success in the Android Developer Challenge.

Apple has caused controversy in the past for rejecting apps, including the Google Voice app and Google Latitude app. And this week, Apple raised some eyebrows by revealing a new policy that says developers are not allowed to make apps that use location data solely for location-based ads. Apple’s policies regarding the App Store have caused quite a bit of consternation amongst analysts.

Via PC World, image via PC World.

The latest innovation from Google has arrived. It is the Nexus One smartphone, and analysts are already speculating that its introduction may be as revolutionary as the iPhone’s introduction in June 2007. The official website for the phone is up, though I’m not really impressed by it at the moment – the site does not integrate well with Firefox, at least at the time of this writing.

The most astounding and important feature of the Nexus One is its voice capabilities. A user can speak a search term, such as the name of a restaurant, and Nexus One will use GPS to find the nearest location and then give spoken directions on how to get there. The Nexus One is to speech what the iPhone is to touch.

The Nexus One could offer substantial competition to Apple’s iPhone. A recent survey said that the number of people planning to buy an Android smartphone in the next three months has risen to 21 percent from 6 percent. By contrast, the number of people planning to buy an iPhone dropped from 32 percent to 28 percent. Google is also not emphasizing apps as much as Apple does, preferring to rely on cloud services, which could appeal to some users. But only time will tell if apps or cloud services are preferred by the majority of smartphone owners.

Steve Jobs had better watch out. As amazing as the iPhone is, Nexus One has some very appealing features, especially its voice-to-text capabilities. It would not surprise me at all if Apple made some drastic improvements to their next iPhone in response.

Via Betanews, image via Google.

Google is due to announce their new smartphone, the Nexus One, this coming Tuesday. It will be designed to run Google’s Android operating system. Android, which was released over a year ago, was supposed to be revolutionary because it is an open OS that companies can use for free.

Android was meant to compete with the iPhone’s OS in some respects, though that plan hasn’t exactly come to fruition. The iPhone is still enormously popular, likely because of Apple’s continual innovation and risk-taking.  The iPhone is a perfect example: it has taken years for competitors to offer something even half as good. The App Store was a revolutionary innovation that has helped secure the iPhone’s dominance.

The only way to offer strong competition to Apple in the smartphone market is to design a phone comparable to the iPhone, but cheaper or  with a revolutionary new design. Google could do the latter (the former is unlikely, as their profit margins may already be slim), especially if it designed a smartphone that directly used the Internet for transmission instead of traditional cellular carriers.

We may be disappointed, however. Early reports suggest that Nexus One will be just like the average smartphone, and even if Nexus One is truly new and innovative, it is likely to be overshadowed by Apple’s impending announcement at the end of January.

Via ABC, image via Gizmodo.

For many years, Apple and Google have complemented each other: Apple made computers, an OS, and software, and also acquired quite a presence in the music industry, while Google stuck to the world of search engines. But recently, the two companies have each been branching out into each other’s territories, bringing them into direct competition.

It’s not that the two companies did not have any ties earlier: they did, sharing two directors, which caused a bit of a legal tussle culminating in the resignation from Apple’s board of Eric Schmidt.

More recently, Google has attempted to break into the music industry where Apple rules with iTunes. In one example,Google considered buying Lala.com until Apple elbowed them aside, acquiring Lala for $85 million.

Google has recently launched a music search and listening service that it says will integrate with its forthcoming operating system, Chrome OS.

Operating systems and software is another traditionally Apple-dominated area that Google is trying to push into. Google is going to release an operating system, Chrome OS, sometime in 2010. It also has a web browser, Chrome, which has just recently been made available for Mac. (Of course, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still dominates the web browser scene.)

Mobile phones are another area in which Apple and Google will compete. Apple itself is relatively new to the mobile phone scene, releasing the iPhone in June 2007. Google has released a phone OS called Android and plans to release its own cell phone to consumers next year.

Despite the headaches it must be causing in Apple and Google board rooms, this kind of competition tends to be great for us consumers. Both companies will have to continually improve their products to stay competitive, which should mean lots of great, high-quality products for us in the future.

Via the Wall Street Journal.

Recently, at the launch of the HTC Touch HD2 smartphone, the company had also announced that its latest netbook may be released within the next couple of weeks.

HTC currently offers a netbook that runs on the Windows Vista OS. The company’s newest netbook will either run on the Windows 7 OS or the Android OS. Some other new and unique features may also be included in the netbook, although these features are not yet detailed.

Before releasing a new netbook, HTC wants to first examine and assess users’ potential response. We’ll keep you posted on any progress.

Via IndiaServer.

A number of industry sources have confirmed that Google may be prepping a new Android phone and netbook combination. Northeast Securities analyst Ashok Kumar, in particular, claimed in a research note that Google’s phone will be available by the end of the year, with a netbook following suit by early 2010.

The smartphone will use an unnamed Qualcomm chipset, but the netbook will use Qualcomm’s much-touted Snapdragon processor. Both machines will run Android 2.0.

Google has, naturally, neither confirmed nor denied the report. While a number of Android phones out there are branded as being ‘with’ Google, the new device will supposedly be co-designed with Google taking a more powerful role than it has historically.

A Google Android phone will ramp up competition with Apple, from whose board Google leader Eric Schmidt resigned in order to avoid a conflict of interest following the announcement of the Chrome OS.

Via Electronista.

The long-expected Android Acer Aspire One has been making big strides in recent weeks, today finally going up for pre-order on Amazon. The netbook costs $349.99 and dual-boots both Google Android and Windows XP.

The 10.1-inch netbook is the Acer AOD250-1613 model, and comes with a 1.66 GHz Intel N280 CPU, 1 GB of RAM, a 160 GB HDD, Intel GMA950 graphics and a 6-cell battery lasting, supposedly, up to 9 hours on one charge.

If you buy one now, you don’t pay shipping when the netbook is released. Get on it!

Via SlashGear.

We haven’t seen a Verizon device running Android just yet, but word has it the wireless carrier intends to join the club quite soon.

Google came forward with Verizon today, announcing a new “family of [Android] devices” for the consumer market. The selection will include two smartphones powered by Android, and while there was no mention of a netbook just yet, it seems like a possibility considering other Verizon offerings.

A number of manufacturers are already petitioning Verizon to have their devices offered with Android, including some netbook manufacturers.

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam dropped a comment that might be construed as a quip about Apple, saying that Google Voice will work on the Android phones because “you are either open, or you are not.”

Via IntoMobile.

It seems that a lot of the buzz about Android has settled since the announcement of the Google Chrome OS. While a number of companies have promised and delivered Android netbooks, those announcements have been few and far between.

Nonetheless, we now have word of the Acer Aspire One D250 Android netbook which dual-boots Windows XP. Unfortunately, a review at eprice.com claims that the netbook ships without Android Market and thus no ability to add apps to the OS.

On the other hand, boot times are said to be superb. It may be a while, but hopefully once the Acer Aspire One D250 Android netbook is released those issues will be fixed.

Via Geek.

So much for speculation that the Android OS was going to be ubiquitous. The plan for ASUS to release a netbook/smarbook that would run on the Android operating system that once was, is now no more.

According to Jerry Shen, the CEO of Asustek Computer, there is currently no “clear market for smartbooks,” and so, the Android machine been put on the backburner…for now. The company claims that it has limited engineering resources, which could be better used elsewhere.

Via PCWorld.

Image via LaptopCuccok.

An Acer rep said Wednesday that the Taiwanese manufacturer is on track to launch its Aspire One netbook with Google’s Android as an OS in the third quarter of this year.

Several reports have been alluding to a delay or cancellation of the project, prompting Acer to reaffirm its intentions. The new netbook will essentially be the traditional Windows XP Aspire One with a 10-inch screen, Atom CPU, and a different OS.

Rumors about the upcoming netbook have been around since Acer displayed a netbook running Windows XP and Android side-by-side at Computex Taipei last month. Acer’s Android Aspire One won’t dual-boot, but at least we know it’s on the way.

Via PCWorld, image via DisplayBlog.

While Android netbooks have been slow to hit the market, developer Sharpcast will be ready to rock with its new cross-platform media synchronizing SugarSync software whenever they do.

SugarSync can be used as a remote access tool or an online backup. You get the apps for free and pay for storage, and you can access files you upload from multiple desktops, laptops, netbooks or phones.

Sharpcast only guarantees SugarSync’s mobile photo transfer app on Android phones, but once SugarSync comes to Android netbooks all file types should be available.

You can tap one button on the Android start screen to access your uploaded files.

Downsides include the fact that SugarSync takes time to set up on desktop computers. Furthermore, uploading files from smartphones takes a long time. Hopefully both of these issues should be resolved for the netbook version of SugarSync.

Be sure to check out SugarSync on a variety of platforms:

SugarSync for Windows
SugarSync for Mac
SugarSync for Windows Mobile
SugarSync for iPhone
SugarSync for BlackBerry

Via CNet.

Industry voices are projecting that Acer will launch a dual-OS netbook running Windows XP and Android as soon as August. Chinese source Apple Daily says Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics will be the manufacturers involved.

While Android is free, Acer will still need to pay fees for XP and so the cost shouldn’t be lower than models that primarily use Windows XP.

ASUS and MSI are also supposedly developing Android netbooks, but those won’t come until next year.

Via Digitimes, image via OfflineBlog.

Nokia is rumored to be releasing an Android-powered netbook in 2010. These netbooks will be sold through carriers and possibly referred to as relatively large smartphones (rather than mini PCs). This means though, that these netbooks will come with contracts for monthly data plans, decreasing their overall appeal.

2010 is still a little while away though, so there may be new rumors developing about Nokia’s netbooks and retailing mediums. As soon as we find out any new information, we’ll keep you posted, so be sure to check back often.

Via PhAndroid.