The latest report on mobile web consumption is in from analytics firm Quantcast, and Android is once again up, posting up its biggest gain in market share since November 2009. Now sitting at 25 percent, Android is up 17 percent since this time last year, and showing a healthy 5.5 percent growth since last quarter. And as certainly as Android’s share continues to grow, the iOS stranglehold slowly subsides with Apple posting losses down to 56 percent of all mobile web traffic coming through an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. It’s still a formidable figure to compete with, but would it be too risky to say that by this time next year the split might be a bit more even between Google and Apple?
[via Quantcast]
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Adding on to the rumor of a November launch for the Galaxy Tab on Sprint, BGR is also reporting that just like the Samsung Epic 4G was a WiMAX variant of the Galaxy S, the tablet may also be getting the 4G treatment. That would be a pretty big incentive for the Sprint version if it turns out to be true, but we’ll just have to wait and see about that.
[via BGR]
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Google Music — or a version of what Google plans for Music to be — was shown off way back at I/O along with the debut of Android 2.2. It has since then been assumed that the launch of Music would most likely coincide with the launch of Android 3.0 (Gingerbread). From what has been revealed so far, the service will offer cloud-based functionality such as streaming from a desktop system to your Android handset as well as the ability to push song and album downloads directly to your phone. But when, exactly, does Google plan to unleash their counterattack on Apple’s iTunes?
The word is Andy Rubin has been hard at work in an attempt to get the service up and running by the holiday season, which does go hand-in-hand with the rumored release timeframe for Gingerbread. The problem is, so far Rubin and Google have failed to get any record labels to sign on to their music store. It isn’t that they don’t want to. One exec speaking on conditions of anonymity said, “finally here’s an entity with the reach, resources and wherewithal to take on iTunes as a formidable competitor by tying it into search and Android mobile platform. What you’ll have is a very powerful player in the market that’s good for the music business.”
See, music execs would love to have someone come along and take the power out of iTunes’ hands, or at least alleviate some of the hold Apple has on the digital music distribution industry. But for the same reason negotiations with Google may take a while. Record labels are very protective of their intellectual property, if you hadn’t noticed, and are pretty hung up on big profits at the same time. We expect most if not all major distributors to hop on board, though whether or not negotiations will delay the debut of Google Music remains to be seen.
[via BGR]
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While Phandroid wasn’t able to make an appearance at IFA and personally shmooze with device manufacturer’s as we fondled their goods, plenty of pals from around the Android community made their way to Berlin for the event and did a bang-up job of covering the many releases. Tablets seemed to be the hot topic at the event, specifically those running Android. Two slabs announced were the Toshiba Folio 100 and the Huawei Ideos S7, both of which seem to be getting shaky verdicts on the overall presentation of Android.
First up, the device with arguably less potential is the Huawei S7. SlashGear was on hand to take a spin with the thing, and took away an impression that the device may have been a stand-out tablet had it been released earlier in the year, but in the face of future tablets it probably doesn’t stack up.
And one of the tablets that will create a bit of a harder time for the S7 would be the Toshiba Folio 100, which boasts the sort of specs that could make you drool, though initial feedback has seen a version of Android not quite optimized or the 10.1-inch widescreen display. There is hope that may change as release draws near however. The tablet runs on the bigger side and lacks the portability of something like the Samsung Galaxy Tab. You can check out Android Central’s full preview for more info on that.
And finally we will bring it back to Huawei for impressions of their entry-level Ideos handset also announced yesterday. This one provides a cheap and dirty pathway to Android 2.2 with surprsingly decent internals including a 2.8-inch QVGA display. 3.2MP camera, and the ability to act as a mobile hotspot. It should go for right around $150 off contract when it launches to numerous markets around the globe.
Bonus: Hands-on action with the recently announced line of ARCHOS Android tablets.
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Just like they did before when all the cool kids were mocking antennagate (funny how a couple million dollars of free cases will silence critics so quick), Motorola is flinging the proverbial poo at Apple in their latest full-page ad for the Droid 2 found in the New York Times. This time they take Apple to task on Flash, which actually was in vogue before the whole antenna thing but has sort of settled down as the two sides more or less agreed to disagree.
The ad reads, “Flash websites? There’s a phone for that.” That should ring familiar to anyone who has repeated or mocked Apple’s successful “There’s an app for that” campaign.
Now I have nothing against Flash for mobile — in fact, you may recall my stance that it likely will do more good than harm — but is it a selling point worthy of a full page ad that snidely jabs at the competition? Probably not. Still, we give Moto props for exhibiting their grapefruit sized testicles once more.
[via MobileCrunch]
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Ah, Target, you provide a near-WalMart-like selection at reasonable prices without the social stigma of PeopleOfWalmart.com. And now you are giving us an Android app? That’s just too kind. The new Target app for Android provides users with the ability to look up items and check stock at their local stores, then get directions right down to the aisle to retrieve your goods. You can also view your weekly ad for deals at the store and get the low down on clearance items. For now a third area of the app covers college essentials for this back to school time of year.
The app also includes a barcode scanner for looking up the price of an item, though it does not feature the same sort of price comparison functionality of other barcode apps. Fair enough, this one stays pretty focused on Target. It might not have the most uses in the world, but if you frequently find yourself shopping among their aisles of red, it might be worth checking out. Snap the QR below.
[via Android and Me]
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We knew the Dell Streak’s 2.1 upgrade was just about finished – and a manual installation file was seen floating around the internet, but we can now confirm that the upgrade to Android 2.1 (Eclair, if you’ve forgotten) is being pushed out over the air. This follows initial word by Dell themselves that the upgrade would not see the light of day as they’d be skipping to to go straight to Froyo.
As for Android 2.2, we still don’t have a solid window but we know Dell’s aiming to have it out before the year closes. For now, go to your phone’s “System Update” menu to see if your’e in line for some chocolaty Eclair.
[via Androinica]
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It’s Friday, and just as promised, Angry Birds Lite has made its way into the Android market in beta form. As I sit here typing this, I can’t actually download and play the game as my phone’s charging port is a bit borked. Once I get back from Best Buy with a brand new EVO, however, I’ll be sure to take the long-awaited and much-anticipated game for a spin (and I may even throw it on video, for your pleasure). In the meantime, go try it out for yourself by searching for “Angry Birds” in the market!
[Update]: It appears some of you on Froyo-based ROMs might not be able to see the app in the market. As I’ve been able to confirm from three different sources (including my friend Andrew at Androinica), it’s not showing up for anyone running CyanogenMod6 (EVO, Sprint Hero, and the Nexus One). It is, however, showing up for 2.1 devices and for Nexus Ones running the official Android 2.2 build. Hopefully it’s just a small roadbump that’ll be resolved shortly.
If you can’t find it, be sure to leave a comment with your device, whether or not you have a custom ROM installed on it, and – if so – which ROM that is so we can pinpoint the issue.
[Thanks, Mike!]
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We’ve known about the improvements to GMail in the latest version of the GAPPS package for a while now, but it’s found its way onto the net as an installable .apk file for anyone with an Android 2.2 phone to install – no root required (it actually surfaced at the time of our reporting, but no one thought to actually look inside the flashable .zip file). You can read about the new changes in our earlier report here, but check this link out for the new download.
[XDA via Good and EVO]
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Verizon’s going to be pricing the Samsung Fascinate to sell as new leaks show the device will be $199.99. It’s not much different from the pricing on other Galaxy S phones (unless you count Sprint’s extra $50 for the Epic 4G), but the text right next to the pricing lists “BOGA”: which we’ll just assume means it’ll be a part of the buy-one-get-any smartphone deals Verizon likes to run from time to time. All of this information is listed beneath a headline that states it’ll be launching September 9th. I feel like I’ve heard that date somewhere before.
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