ComScore calls Android top dog, Apple pulls further ahead of RIM

According to ComScore, out of the 82.2 million people in the US with a smartphone (up ten percent from last quarter), Android came in first as the biggest platform yet again, capturing a whopping 41.8 percent of the market like a boss. In a not-so-close second, Apple was able to snag 27 percent, followed by RIM in the third place spot with 21.7 percent — down 4 percentage points from last quarter. Pulling up the rear is Microsoft with 5.7 percent, and lastly Symbian with a grim 1.9 percent — both down when compared to the previous three months. As far as US hardware manufacturers goes, Samsung is still on top with 25.5 percent of the market, while LG got 20.9 percent and finally Motorola with 14.1 percent, down 1.5 percentage points from before. Apple was able to snag some standing in the OEM space with a 9.5 percent share, while BlackBerry-maker RIM only captured 7.6 percent. As the battle wages on, looks like Androids, iPhones, and BlackBerrys (oh my) are still on top — at least for this quarter. Check out the PR after the break for the full scorecard.

Continue reading ComScore calls Android top dog, Apple pulls further ahead of RIM

ComScore calls Android top dog, Apple pulls further ahead of RIM originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nsquared’s Seamless Computing, Surface + Kinect + Slate + Phone = amazing interface (video)

Sydney’s nsquared is calling it “Seamless Computing” — software which unifies Windows Phone 7, Surface, Windows 7 Slate and Kinect. Begin designing a new home on your phone and then place it on the Surface to share between all the devices, then pick up the Slate to make some modifications before walking through a 3D model of the building, navigating with Kinect’s gesture interface. Software like AirPlay and Touch to Share already give you a taste for this sort of tech, but the experience that Dr. Neil Roodyn demonstrates in the video below is far more immersive — not to mention unspeakably cool.

Continue reading Nsquared’s Seamless Computing, Surface + Kinect + Slate + Phone = amazing interface (video)

Nsquared’s Seamless Computing, Surface + Kinect + Slate + Phone = amazing interface (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of August 22, 2011

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging to get updated. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery from the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android Updates

  • Motorola’s Photon 4G was the recipient of a minor over-the-air firmware revamp that offers improvements to responsiveness and voice calls, and offers more bug fixes and other enhancements. [via PhoneArena]
  • Want another bug fix update? The HTC EVO 3D is the next contestant, rolling out its second OTA refresh in as many weeks. This time it appears that a new “Corporate 4G” widget and a new radio have been added. [via AndroidCentral]
  • Gingerbread 2.3.4 is now rolling out to Bell’s Motorola Atrix 4G OTA. [via MobileSyrup]
  • Now that its official Gingerbread support page has gone live, Verizon’s Motorola Droid 2 will likely be receiving Android 2.3 in the very near future. [via AndroidCentral]
  • Sasktel’s HTC Incredible S is now the beneficiary of Android 2.3.3 in an OTA install. [via MobileSyrup]

Unofficial Android updates / custom ROMs / misc hackery

Other platforms

  • The Nokia N8 was recently blessed with Symbian Anna, but a few camera-related upgrades were left out. No need to fear, as an “experimental” update is now being offered, which adds continuous auto-focus and tweaks the UI to allow for faster access to the camera — among other improvements, such as a boost to 30fps. Check out the change log here. [via ZOMGitsCJ]
  • Given last week’s news about webOS, we were concerned the newly-launched Pre3 would be DOA, with no promise of future updates. HP’s proving this isn’t the case, however, as the device got a minor update that brought the phone’s help center live and fixed a few bugs along the way. [via PreCentral and PhoneArena]
  • Research in Motion released an upgrade to its Tablet OS for the BlackBerry PlayBook. Unfortunately, it’s not the 2.0 version we saw leaked screenshots of earlier this week, but it still brings a nice feature to the tablet: differential updates. This means that in future OS refreshes, only the affected sections will be changed. In addition, the new version, dubbed 1.0.7.2942, will improve WiFi connectivity via WEP and enhancements to BlackBerry Bridge. [via RIM]
  • WP7Mod showed a video of the HTC HD2 booting up with Windows Phone Mango’s RTM build installed. We’ve been told that it’s almost ready for any daring souls interested in a new challenge for their Windows Mobile device. [via WMPowerUser]

Refresh Roundup: week of August 22, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget Mobile Podcast 101 – 08.27.2011

After the two most craziest weeks ever in the history of the mobile technology news universe, it’s important to step back and just take stock of everything: a survey course, if you will. That’s why we’ve created Engadget Mobile Podcast 101, your first stop on the road to an otherworldly state we call CMA: Complete Mobile Awareness. Come along, won’t you?

Hosts: Myriam Joire (tnkgrl), Brad Molen
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Daestro – Light Powered (Ghostly International)

00:02:23 – Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple
00:10:00 – Tim Cook: Who is Apple’s new CEO?
00:25:27 – iPhone 5 coming to Sprint, other carriers in mid-October?
00:27:27 – App logs reportedly confirm dual mode CDMA / GSM iPhone 5 in testing
00:41:15 – Apple to release cheaper, 8GB iPhone 4 within weeks?
00:49:58 – Samsung Galaxy S II not coming to Verizon after all? (update: confirmed)
00:53:25 – Sprint’s Epic Touch 4G may be first US-bound Galaxy S II, arriving September 9th?
00:55:39 – Trio of US Samsung Galaxy S II models get together for a group photo?
01:04:05 – Samsung debuts new Galaxy lineup, refines naming strategy along the way
01:11:46 – Nokia announces Symbian Belle alongside three new devices
01:21:28 – Microsoft: Windows Phone Tango will be minor update, is meant for low-end handsets
01:25:35 – Microsoft: front facing cameras, Skype integration coming with Mango update (video)
01:26:05 – HTC Omega blessed with renders, revealing its front-facing camera
01:31:15 – Blackberry Curve 9360 hands-on



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Engadget Mobile Podcast 101 – 08.27.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Aug 2011 19:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft: Windows Phone Tango will be minor update, is meant for low-end handsets

It looks like we have our Windows Phone roadmap filled out for at least the next year, as Tango has been confirmed by Microsoft as next year’s minor update preceding Apollo (aka Windows Phone 8). As mentioned at a MSDN seminar in Hong Kong, the successor to Windows Phone Mango will indeed be made for handsets in developing countries — a key method to make these devices more affordable. These targeted nations have been neglected to this point, the company said, and the Tango update would bring more Bing services to them at a lower cost. Will such a move help Ballmer & Co. achieve greater market share against Apple and Google? It’s hard to tell — we certainly don’t see this update coming to Vertu anytime soon, so we imagine that’s probably a good sign.

Microsoft: Windows Phone Tango will be minor update, is meant for low-end handsets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer M310 Windows Phone said to have HDMI-out, 8GB storage

We first heard about the existence of the Acer M310 Windows Phone last week, but literally no information was given besides the fact that two test units were discovered on a developer’s traffic sheet. How about a few more shreds of meat to chew on? According to WindowsPhoneNZ, the Mango device was sighted at TechEd New Zealand with HDMI-out support. We may be seeing this feature across a large variety of Windows Phones coming out this fall, as the HTC Eternity has been rumored to include video output via HDMI as well. The observer claims the M310 has a “black shiny look” and “bevelled edges,” has a similar appearance to the Acer W4 (shown in the above image), and includes DLNA support over WiFi. The handset was also seen snuggling up to Asus’ entry into the Windows Phone market, which was said to have a matte black finish and may have a front-facing camera. Certainly, if these factoids are correct, this fall’s Mango lineup looks to be laden with all kinds of hidden gems we haven’t seen on Microsoft’s OS yet.

Acer M310 Windows Phone said to have HDMI-out, 8GB storage originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netduino and WP7 used to remotely control sprinkler system, show off Microsoft’s DIY credentials

WP7 and Netduino controlled sprinkler

Arduino, Android and the iPhone usually get all the DIY love, but Mike Linnen, he has taken the road less traveled by — turning to Windows Phone 7, Azure and a Netduino Plus to get his home hacking on. The .NET-powered microcontroller is the heart of Linnen’s new sprinkler system which can be scheduled to turn on and off automatically or manually triggered remotely from his WP7 handset. The system also monitors weather forecasts and, if the chance of rain is above 39-percent, any sprinkler activity for the day is canceled to avoid over watering the grass and plants. It’s all pretty neat, and there’s some DOS command line action thrown in for good measure. Check out the lengthy demo video after the break, and hit up the source for more detail and the necessary code to set up your own.

Continue reading Netduino and WP7 used to remotely control sprinkler system, show off Microsoft’s DIY credentials

Netduino and WP7 used to remotely control sprinkler system, show off Microsoft’s DIY credentials originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft woos webOS developers with free phones, training

WebOS developers may not have had much good news in the past few days (apart from a slew of new TouchPad owners looking for apps), but they are at least getting some attention. That includes a message from Microsoft’s Senior Director of Windows Phone 7 Development, Brandon Watson, who offered free phones to published webOS developers on Friday, plus all the necessary tools and training to get them started with Windows Phone. Judging from his tweets since, the response has been fairly overwhelming — Watson says he’s received close to 600 emails from webOS devs as of Sunday evening.

Microsoft woos webOS developers with free phones, training originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mobile Miscellany: week of August 15, 2011

This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here’s some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of August 15, 2011:

  • Vodafone’s very own budget-friendly Facebook Phone, the Vodafone 555, is now on sale. £62.50 is all it will take to get the non-touchscreen featurephone in your fingertips. [via SlashGear]
  • A spec sheet and screenshots of the Sony Ericsson Nozumi leaked this week. The handset will likely feature a 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm S2 CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, and 4.3-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution. Interestingly enough, the phone is rumored to require a micro SIM, much like the iPhone 4. [via XperiaBlog]
  • US Cellular launched two new Android devices for its prepaid lineup, the Samsung Gem and HTC Merge. The Gem offers a 3.2-inch WVGA display, 800MHz CPU, and Android 2.2 for $140, while the Merge is a global-capable QWERTY slider with a 3.8-inch display, Android 2.2, and more for $300. [via US Cellular]
  • Immediately following Google’s acquisition of Motorola, discussion centered around the possibility of the latter company becoming the preferred OEM for Android — a privilege that would, in theory, include designing and producing the next Nexus. Andy Rubin, the head honcho for the open-source OS, put such rumors to bed by offering more insight on the approval process for upcoming Nexus phones, and insisted that HelloMoto will continue to be treated the same as every other OEM; it will have to bid for the job just like every other company does. [via AndroidCentral]
  • The Huawei Blaze, a budget Android handset that runs on Gingerbread, may arrive in the UK as early as September. The Blaze would mark the first time we’ve seen the company offer a phone under its own branding in the UK. [via CNet]
  • Shocked to hear the Kyocera Echo isn’t selling as well as the company had hoped? Yeah, neither are we. Nonetheless, in the hopes of sparking sales, it’s started offering twelve premium games for free to the first 10,000 downloads as part of its “summer of free apps” campaign. Good luck with that. [via Electronista]
  • With all of the buzz rightfully centered around Nokia and its quest for Windows Phone dominance, how bright does Vertu’s future look? If Eldar Murtazin is to believed, Espoo’s luxury phone branch will also be on the receiving end of WP7 devices. The main difference with Vertu’s version compared to the rest of Nokia’s lineup? It’ll most likely be covered with gold and diamonds. [via WMPowerUser]
  • The Samsung Galaxy Q, another name for the Gravity Smart, is now available on Rogers. The device is geared toward the lower end, so it may not be the most lustworthy letter in the Samsung Galaxy alphabet. [via MobileSyrup]

Mobile Miscellany: week of August 15, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re In ushers Bing into the location-based social networking game

Bing We're In

Are you one of the few out there who thought Latitude was, like, totally awesome, but your heart lies with the boys at Redmond? Well, rejoice Bing fans, because We’re In is the location-based social network you’ve been waiting for. At its most basic, the app lets you share your location with friends, find contacts on a map, and update your status — great for seeing who is around and organizing outings. But, We’re In has one unique feature that’s actually quite ingenious, location sharing is time limited. You choose who to share GPS data with and for how long. Once the invite expires — poof! No more tracking. A few more details and the download link can be found at the source.

We’re In ushers Bing into the location-based social networking game originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 04:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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