Hasta La Gadget!

Aliyun, a new mobile OS by Alibaba Group, should be available in English later this year. Image: Penn Olson

Android, iOS …. they’re so mainstream now. And Windows Phone 7, webOS and Symbian could use another competitor on the market, right?

Of course, I’m being a bit (OK, more than a bit) sarcastic, but there is a new player entering the mobile OS battlefield: Aliyun, from e-commerce and cloud computing group Alibaba.

In a press release Thursday, Alibaba Cloud Computing announced the development of a cloud-based mobile OS dubbed “Aliyun OS.” It’ll debut later this month in China on a new smartphone, the K-Touch Cloud-Smart Phone W700. (Hopefully that’s less of a mouthful in Chinese.)

Aliyun is Linux-based, so it will be able to handle both Android apps and web apps — a combination Alibaba is calling “cloud apps,” meant to provide a more “internet-like” experience on the handset.

“Introducing cloud apps to mobile devices not only brings a whole new user experience, but also greater ease for third-party mobile software developers who will be able to use Internet technology such as HTML5 and JavaScript to reduce the complexity in the app development process,” Wang Jian, president of Alibaba Cloud Computing, says in the release.

A cloud-based OS would be very convenient for users who own multiple mobile and computing devices. Apple iOS users remain tethered and limited with their syncing options, but iCloud aims to start remedying that, allowing users to sync music, apps, files, messages and photos (among others) across multiple Apple devices. HP’s webOS cleverly allows users to flick information back and forth between HP devices, like their smartphones and tablet. Android conveniently offers over-the-air updates for users of its mobile devices, so they don’t need to plug in to get the latest version of the operating system.

The Aliyun operating system will include a number of cloud-based features including e-mail, GPS and navigational tools, internet search and weather updates. Aliyun OS users won’t need to download or install apps on their mobile devices, as it will sync and store back-up data with Alibaba Cloud Computing’s remote servers; their information and software will also be accessible and updatable across all their mobile devices and computers.

The idea of Alibaba’s cloud-based OS seems very user friendly in concept. Not needing to download apps? Automatic syncing across multiple devices? Users get 100 GB of storage initially as well, “with plans to expand according to user needs.” With something like this, you could simplify your life and ditch the Dropboxes of the world.

I don’t know how I feel about a more internet-like experience on a mobile device (isn’t everything shifting to a more native-app-based user experience? There’s a reason companies and websites are investing in apps, rather than in simply developing their mobile websites), but from the screen shot above, Alibaba’s home screen at least doesn’t look too different in design from its more established mobile OS competitors.

The company plans to integrate the OS with larger-screen phones and (not surprisingly) tablets over the next few months, and hopes to have an English-language version of Aliyun available by the end of the year.

Image Credit: Penn Olson

Nielsen: Android accounts for 39 percent of smartphones in the US, Apple is the top device maker originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Nielsen  | Email this | Comments

Samsung's first Galaxy S smartphone was the company's most successful Android device. Until, that is, the release of the Galaxy S2. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Samsung has its sights on being the king of all things Android.

The company announced Wednesday that its Galaxy S 2 smartphone reached record sales numbers for the company, with more than 5 million handsets sold in the first three months since the smartphone’s debut. And that number accounts for only a quarter of the company’s total smartphone sales over the past three months.

“[Samsung is] claiming that they shipped 19 million smartphones in the second quarter,” IDC mobile analyst Al Hilwa told Wired.com in a statement. “That is a great number of devices, and assuming that most of them are Android phones, then it is a feat for Android.”

The numbers are only going up from here. Thus far, the Galaxy S2’s release has been limited to South Korea (where Samsung’s global HQ is located), parts of southeast Asia and a handful of European countries. The phone’s U.S. release is slated for some time in August, according to Samsung president of mobile business and digital imaging Shin Jong-kyun. The news was first reported by Korean news agency Yonhap.

“In just a few months the Galaxy S II has led the way in driving Samsung’s unmatched performance in the smartphone industry” Shin said in a statement. “This reflects the strong support from carrier partners globally, who in choosing the Galaxy S II as their flagship device have reaffirmed the device’s status as a premium, market-defining Smartphone.”

A little perspective: Samsung’s first highly popular smartphone, the Galaxy S, hit the five million mark at around four months, with the lion’s share of those sales occurring in the United States. And after six months of global sales, the Galaxy S hit 10 million units sold.

Compare that to Motorola’s Droid One smartphone — once considered the most successful Android phone — which sold 1.05 million devices in the first 74 days of release. Since its first major successful Android phone, Motorola has strived for another hit device. The Atrix– the smartphone-cum-laptop hybrid device which Motorola first introduced in January — looked to be the company’s next hit phone. But high prices for the accompanying peripheral hardware that made the phone unique deterred customers, keeping the Atrix from gaining any significant following.

“Device makers have always craved being platform owners,” Hilwa told Wired.com, “which is why they end up developing as much software and tinkering with the UI’s, so that they can move up the food chain.”

And that’s exactly what Samsung is doing. The company plans to unveil a major revamp of its TouchWiz user interface at an event in New York next week. It’s a timely release, considering Apple’s iOS 5 revamp announcement just over a month ago.

Aside from competing for customers with rival Android manufacturers, Samsung is fighting battles on other fronts. Apple is currently suing Samsung in a bitter ongoing patent dispute, claiming the South Korean company is ripping off Apple’s product designs. Samsung quickly filed countersuits against Apple, claiming Apple was encroaching on Samsung’s intellectual property by using a method to improve connections between cell phones and cellular towers.

Samsung’s battles with Apple extend outside of the courtroom, of course. When measured against Apple’s iPhone sales, Samsung’s numbers pale in comparison. Apple sold over 20 million iPhone 4 smartphones in the past three months alone, according to the Cupertino-based company’s last earnings report. That’s over 100 million iPhones sold to date.

A straight apples-to-apples comparison (so to speak) is misleading. Samsung isn’t just competing against Apple and its iOS platform. As one of many manufacturers producing hardware running the same operating system, customers can choose between Motorola, LG, Sony Ericsson and others to get their Android fix. That’s not to mention the other competitors in the space like RIM, HP and Nokia, though the latter two admittedly have a negligible market share.

If Samsung continues to pull ahead of other Android devices in the pack, the company seems to be the only true competitor to Apple’s skyrocketing smartphone success. In the first quarter of 2011, Samsung accounted for 13 percent of all smartphones sold globally, up from just three percent during the same period of time the previous year. That’s more than any other Android manufacturer, according to IMS Research. It’s important to note that rival manufacturer HTC isn’t far behind, however: The Taiwan-based company is just three percent behind Samsung in market share, according to IMS.

There’s also competition on the tablet device front, where Samsung may be putting out some of the best hardware. DisplayMate president Dr. Raymond Soneira recently compared five of the leading tablet devices on the market — four of which were Android-based, with the last being the iPad 2. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 came out ahead, touting the best display out of all five devices, including Apple’s (though it should be noted that Soneira found Samsung’s colors oversaturated to a noticeable degree).

The devices themselves, however, are just one part of the overall package. “Samsung has done a great job on making compelling hardware, the look, feel and capabilities,” Gartner mobile analyst Phillip Redman told Wired.com in an interview. “But the total ecosystem is not in its hands like it is Apple’s. It really isn’t just about the hardware. That’s important—but it’s the ecosystem that includes the OS, the application stores, the developers, content—all of that that will make something successful.”

Apple certainly has a leg up on its competitors in the overall ecosystem. The company has approved over half a million apps for its App Store as of May, double the amount currently found on the Android Market. And of course, Apple owns its software, hardware and retail stores. The company also keeps strict control over its app ecosystem, with final say on what is and isn’t acceptable for its store.

So even if Samsung can corner the Android landscape, can it stand up to Apple, a company which seems to have the entire package going for it?

“Samsung and Motorola Mobility will be great competitors to Apple,” Redman says, “but they aren’t of the same leadership caliber, position and vision.”

Services like Spotify, which had an anything but subtle launch last week, help solve the evergreen issue of limited local storage by streaming millions of tracks to your devices. But streaming services require cell reception to operate (unless you’ve elected to store music locally), and often carry monthly fees. We’ve spent a fair amount of time testing Kingston’s Wi-Drive, which lets you access music, videos, and other files from a handful of devices simultaneously over WiFi — assuming you’ve loaded that content to the portable media server’s 16GB ($130) or 32GB ($175) of built-in storage. The device worked well during our review process earlier this month, and now you can pick up one of your own at sites like Amazon and Newegg, or at Fry’s and J&R US retail outlets. The server is likely to be a better fit for families than individuals simply looking to boost their iOS device storage, due to both price and capacity limitations, but if you need to stream media to several devices at once during your next road trip, for example, then the Wi-Drive may be worth the investment.

Kingston Wi-Drive for iOS hits stores today, lets you create your own portable music server for $130 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Kingston  | Email this | Comments

Remember that Griffin-made StompBox we showed you back in January? Well, it’s finally hit the market, so you can free up those virtuoso hands and get to pedal-pounding wicked sound effects. The four button foot controller works with Frontier Design’s iShred LIVE app for iOS, connecting your instrument via an included GuitarConnect cable to a 1/4-inch jack. The device is “designed to work with… a guitar, bass guitar, electric violin and keyboard,” so your virtual jam band session is all but guaranteed. This musical f/x dongle is available to order now for $99.99 online, or you can just head to one of Apple’s boutiques to snag it. Sadly, the effects switcher doesn’t come bundled with a copycat of Slash’s hat, but that shouldn’t stop your credit card from indulging in this latest bout of Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

Continue reading Griffin’s StompBox available to order, virtual guitar shredding now a go

Griffin’s StompBox available to order, virtual guitar shredding now a go originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Griffin, Apple  | Email this | Comments