Posts Tagged ‘Android’

There are few companies that have messed up as many product launches as Microsoft. Windows Phone 7 (WP7) was just one example, but we are now seeing promising signs that Microsoft is in fact working on the problem. The marketing is improving and Microsoft takes good care of its app developers. It may, in fact, become the dark horse in an arena that is focused on Android and iOS.

Market researchers from IDC expect Google’s Android to capture more than twice the smartphone platform market share of Apple’s iOS this year. However, it’s growth will slow down and the opportunity will transition to Windows Phone 7 (WP7), which will become a more popular smartphone OS than Apple’s iOS.

Has Research in Motion (RIM) found a recipe how to compete with Apple and its iPad on a more interesting level? The Playbook will support Android apps and launch with more than 200,000 available apps as a result, while it retains its own appeal of a still trendy brand and a device that has been diligently developed and isn’t exactly a quick shot at the iPad. That, however, may already be its disadvantage and reason for failure.

A smartphone, even if it has a 4-inch screen, is not really the best tool to deal with text documents, spreadsheets or presentations. However, applications that promise to bridge the gap between desktop and compact mobile computers have been around for more than a decade, but calling these programs productivity suites would be more than just a slight exaggeration. What can you do with mobile office programs today?

Google has surpassed RIM as leading platform supplier in the U.S. smartphone market. Apple is holding on to the market share it has, but RIM, Microsoft and Palm are in a freefall.

The battle of smartphone market share isn’t just a battle for market share. It is a battle of demographics and the opportunity to build a loyal customer base for the future. Android appears to be pulling ahead in this contest in the U.S., while Apple is following closely behind and rivals such as HP/WebOS and Microsoft have a decidedly older mix of users.

You have to wonder occasionally where the acceptable limits of product marketing are. BestBuy advertises Motorola’s Xoom tablet as 4G upgradeable, but that may actually not be the case. A case of false advertising?

Is there a purpose reviewing the Motorola Xoom? What purpose has a tablet that is too expensive and lacks a feature that is its most important sales pitch?

There you have it. As a non-iPhone user you are branded as someone who isn’t worth as much as your iPhone friend, on average, and you have to deal with all the implications that come with such a scenario. According to Mobclix, Android users have less advertising value in every application category than iPhone users.

From the you-go-to-be-kidding-department: Best Buy accidentally listed the preorder page for the Motorola Xoom tablet, the first Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) tablet to become available. However, if that page, which was pulled quickly after it had been found, listed the accurate price, then we are not sure why Motorola is even bothering to bring this device to market. You can get two iPads for the same price.

LG is the first smartphone manufacturer to show an Android device with a stereoscopic display. The Optimus 3D will use a naked-eye 3D display that will not require a viewer to wear special glasses.

The SonyEricsson Xperia Play, otherwise known as the PlayStation phone, will arrive in the U.S. this spring, the device manufacturer confirmed at an event preceding the opening of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Verizon will be selling the device and we wonder how Microsoft wasn’t first with such a device. The Xperia Play may be the best sign yet, why Microsoft needs to reset its Windows Phone 7 strategy. See Images of the new phone in our slideshow.