HTC Tops Other Android Handset Suppliers for Upgrades to Latest Version

HTC seems to be the most-prolific handset manufacturer in terms of introducing Android operating system upgrades, according to a study conducted by Computerworld. HTC upgraded 50 percent of its Android phones to to Froyo, the latest Android version, within 2010. Its average upgrade time is 56 days.

Motorola comes in second for number of upgrades, with 15.4 percent of its Android phones having tasted Froyo before the end of 2010. While that number sounds low, especially compared to HTC, note that Motorola had four handsets that weren't released until November 2010, which means those devices had far less time on the market before the year's end.

Android upgrades: Which manufacturers can you trust? - Computerworld

New Motorola Zoom Tablet

Motorola Zoom tablet, powered by Android.

Apple Leads Smartphone Installed Base, Android Leads in Share

According to November data from The Nielsen Company, the popularity of the Android operating system among those who purchased a smartphone in the last six months (40 percent) makes it the leading OS in terms of market share, defined as new sales. Apple still leads in terms of installed base.

But despite its surge among recent acquirers, when it comes to overall installed base of users, Android OS (25.8 percent) is still behind Apple iOS (28.6 percent). RIM Blackberry’s position is less clear: Its share (26.1 percent) puts it within the margin of error of both Apple iOS and Android.

Apple Leads Smartphone Race, while Android Attracts Most Recent Customers | Nielsen Wire

Android: SMS Popup

"SMS Popup" for Android is a free app that provides more-prominent text message alerts.

Once installed users are given a series of options of how you can interact with incoming texts. You can select when the notification should appear, whether it should mark incoming texts as read so you don’t have to fiddle with the notification bar, have a delete button appear, reply button, quick reply button where you can set custom pre-typed text messages, and you can even opt to have your text spoken to you aloud thanks to Google’s built in text to speech capabilities.

Here is the download site. I'm not sure whether it is offered through the Android Market. http://code.google.com/p/android-smspopup/

Android: SMS Popup makes interacting with SMS easy

http://lifehacker.com/5719572/sms-popup-makes-quick-preset-sms-replies-easy-on-android

A 42-Inch Android Tablet? Seriously?

Apparently this is a test of potential demand for a 42-inch-screen Android tablet. Not sure it makes much sense for most people, but I can imagine lots of point-of-sale display applications.

Use Android to Program Google TV

Android And iOS Lead Smartphone Impression Share

Android tied with iOS as the largest Smartphone OS on the Millennial Media network for November 2010, with both mobile operating systems sharing 38 percent of ad impressions on the network.

Millennial’s ads reach 63 million of a total of 77 million mobile web users in the U.S., or 81 percent of the U.S. mobile web.

Millennial: Android And iOS In Deadlock Again For Monthly Smartphone Impression Share

How Smartphone Users See Themselves, How Others See Them

I'm not sure this cartoon is right up there with the classic "if operating systems were airlines," but it's funny.

For many of you, the "operating systems as airlines" references won't make sense. You weren't born when they were used.

For some of you, the depiction of airlines will make perfect sense. Read it here:  http://webaugur.com/bibliotheca/field_stock/os-airlines.html

The NPD Group: Android Extends its Smartphone Market Share in the Third Quarter of 2010

The Android smartphone operating system significantly grew its lead in the U.S. consumer smartphone market in the third quarter of 2010, according to The NPD Group.

Android’s OS was installed in 44 percent of all smartphones purchased in the third quarter, an increase of 11 percentage points since the second quarter.

The Apple iOS held relatively steady versus last quarter, rising one percentage point to 23 percent. The RIM OS fell to third position, declining from 28 percent to 22 percent.

The NPD Group: Android Extends its Smartphone Market Share in the Third Quarter of 2010

Google Maps On Android: Key Location Based Service

"The combination and integration of Google Maps, Places Pages, Street View and Navigation (with the phone and contacts) has created a kind of LBS juggernaut on the Android device that will increasingly prove challenging to compete with," says Greg Sterling, a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land.

Right now, no such combination of services exists on the iPhone, which makes it a more “open” playing field for location-based services and local publishers, he argues.

"I use the Google services on my Evo almost exclusively now to find local information and directions," says Sterling. "And yesterday Google updated Maps for Android to make Place Pages on the device look and operate more like Places on the PC."

I'd have to agree that the navigation and mapping features of the Evo are the top reason the Evo has value, though I would rank "voice search" number two.

Google Maps On Android Becoming An LBS Juggernaut

Android Drives Use of Add-on Apps

Android users spend on average 42 minutes every day with add-on applications, like Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Skype, about 60 percent more than Blackberry, Windows Mobile or Symbian users, a study published by mobile analytics company Zokem indicates.

GSMA and Zokem: Android Drives the Use of Add-on Applications

New Android "Gingerbread" Coming Relatively Soon?

The video apparently means a new version of Android is coming in perhaps several weeks.

Steve Job Anti-Android Rant

Android and Mobile OS Trends

Android Leads Smart Phone Sales in 2Q

Makers of Android handsets were among the fastest-growing firms among the top-10 smart phone brands in the second quarter, according to the mobile and wireless research firm iSuppli Corp.

Droid phone specialist HTC Corp. achieved industry-leading growth, with its smart phone shipments rising by a stunning 63.1 percent in the second quarter compared to the first.

On the strength of its Android-based Galaxy line of smart phones, Samsung Electronics posted the second strongest performance, with a 55.6 percent sequential growth.

New Android licensee Sony Ericsson came in fourth in terms of growth, with shipments rising by 15.4 percent. Also, Droid-focused Motorola Inc. ranked fifth, with an increase of 12.5 percent.

Android Becomes Smart Phone Market’s Secret Sauce for Success in Q2

Android OS Now Number One for Sales Share

Android now appears to be the top operating system for new buyers of smartphones, according to Nielsen.

Google Android OS Has Momentum

Among consumers planning to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days, 37 percent say they prefer to have the Android OS on their new phone. That is a seven percentage point jump since the previous survey and a new all-time high for the Google operating system.

Over a year, preference for Android has grown about 600 percent.

While the Apple iOS remains the number one OS preference for future buyers, it dropped as expected in the aftermath of the huge spike we saw during June’s iPhone 4 release.

ChangeWave Consumer Smartphone Survey - Google Android OS Momentum

25% of Americans want Android Tablets?

About one in four Americans surveyed by Zogby on behalf of Sybase say they are open to some degree to buying an Android tablet device. About a quarter said they would consider replacing a notebook PC with a tablet if the features and apps were suitable.

It always is difficult to "operationalize" such findings, as those same respondents might "like" or "want" such devices, but be unwilling to spend $700 to acquire one.

The perhaps-useful findings were about screen size, which affects form factor. About half suggested they preferred a nine or 10-inch screen. More than a quarter wanted a 12-inch screen. Some 21 percent wanted a seven-inch screen and three percent wanted a five-inch screen.

Tablets might ultimately reflect a variety of form factors and lead applications, or some form factors might not get traction. The three-inch screen, for example, would seem to overlap almost directly with smartphones.

Survey shows one in four Americans want Android tablets

More Evidence Android Will Blow Past RIM And Apple To Become The Biggest Smartphone Platform

Android is eating the lunch of every major smartphone platform, according to new data from comScore.
While everyone else lost at least 1 percentage point of market share, Android gained 5 percentage points of share in the second quarter of this year.

More Evidence Android Will Blow Past RIM And Apple To Become The Biggest Smartphone Platform

New HTC Sense Brings the Phone to the Living Room

HTC has unveiled two new phones and the next generation of the Sense interface, aiming to bring the phone to the living room with DLNA support.

The Desire HD and Desire Z (otherwise known as the G2) both run the new Sense software that implements DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) standards for streaming video to televisions, wirelessly.

The new phones offer 720p HD video recording and editing, so adding wireless streaming to the big screen fits into HTC’s aim to turn its phones into lifestyle devices.

DLNA support is not just restricted to video streaming, as the HTC implementation will allow exchanging any content among phones and computers that are DLNA-ready. This opens up the ability to share media content with any capable device in the home.

The new features start to blur the distinction between "home networking," Apple TV, Tivo and Netflix functions and capabilities.

New HTC Sense