Apple has coralled 60% of the world's touch panels capacity, delaying RIM's PlayBook launch

Apple has secured the lion's share of the world's touchscreen panel production capacity for itself with various contracts, thus leaving the rest a little room for maneuvering, analysts say.

Cupertino proactively addressed the supply shortage expected after the Japanese earthquake by divesting to other suppliers, and eating up the manufacturing costs increase by prepaying for the touch panels.

This is reported to be one reason that the BlackBerry PlayBook launch is delayed. RIM's tablet was supposed to become widely available on April 19th for $499, but this will probably be pushed with a month. We will be at RIM's PlayBook event next week in New York, so we'll know if that's indeed true.

Apple has reportedly shelled out $3.9 billion in larger touch panel supply deals, which is the company's traditional way to secure priority shipments and discounts. Plus, Apple can afford it, with its $50 billion war chest.

Is your iPhone taking pictures without your permission? You're not alone

Seeing an image of yourself while on video call qualifies as plain creepy in our weird glitches rating, but it seems quite real as this Apple forum thread has generated three pages of users sharing this very complaint: while on Facetime a random picture pops up and it's nothing that you've shot, but rather a photograph the spooky iPhone seems to have captured on his own. The image doesn't appear in the Camera Roll and the issue seems hard to reproduce due to the random occurrence.

Below is a first-hand description of the issue:

“My boyfriend and I have both recently experienced this problem several times - when one of us is calling the other via FaceTime, an old picture freezes on our screen, while the person receiving the call only sees a black screen. It's kind of creepy, because it brought up photos of both of us at work, where I have used FaceTime a few times but he never has. We're just wondering how/why this is happening, and if there is a fix. It's not terribly inconvenient, but it's definitely unsettling, where is seems that even if we haven't taken a picture or used FaceTime, the camera is keeping images.”

As unlikely as it all sounds, the amount of complaints has grown. Could your iPhone be spying on you? We would hate to go into any conspiracy theories, but we would love to hear back from you – has this happened on your iDevice? Let us know in the comments below!

Facebook Withdrawal Is Real, Study Says

A day without Facebook can lead to feelings of isolation, cravings and sensations similar to quitting drugs cold turkey, according to a new study, underscoring how integral social networks have become in daily life.

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Students in 10 countries had to switch off their digital media for 24 hours for the study. Mobile phones, computers and television were all banned. The results weren't pretty.
"I was itching, like a crackhead, because I could not use my phone," said one participant from the United States. A Slovakian said, "I felt sad, lonely and depressed," while a Chilean student reported, "It was a difficult day… a horrible day."
The lack of Facebook hit hardest. "It was amazing to me though how easily programmed my fingers were to instantly start typing "f-a-c-e" in the search bar," said a U.S. participant. "It's now muscle memory, or instinctual, to log into Facebook as the first step of Internet browsing."
The researchers discovered that nearly four out of five students in the survey reported adverse reactions from their day without technology. Nineteen percent said they had feelings of distress and 11 percent felt isolated. Many students took their phones with them just to touch them. "My phone is my only source of comfort," one U.S. student said.
The results suggest that the "total connectivity" many people now experience on a daily basis is a hard habit to kick, and kids who have grown up submerged in that lifestyle are probably most deeply affected. Social relationships are so deeply intertwined with tech-centered practices like texting and social networking that to remove the tools that facilitate it causes isolation and distress.
On the one hand, it could be expected to feel isolated when one is cut off from the "normal" flow of social information. On the other, the anxieties reported by the students do suggest that simply being alone is becoming a lost art, and that could have consequences for people's ability to think over complex problems and function creatively in the future. It's hard to do those things if interrupted every few seconds by one social stimulus or another.
"Technology provides the social network for young people today and they have spent their entire lives being "plugged in," said lead researcher Susan Moeller. "Some said they wanted to go without technology for a while but they could not as they could be ostracized by their friends."
The survey, entitled "The World Unplugged," showed little difference between students in wealthy countries such as the United States and Britain and poorer ones like Uganda and China.
"I'd actually recommend anyone take part in the challenge, as it heightens your awareness to how much we as people rely on media for so many things," said a British student.
Some people agree. The idea of a "tech fast" is becoming more popular as individuals and families tune out technology to focus on face-to-face relationships, for greater or lesser periods of time.
The study, conducted by the International Center for Media & the Public Agenda and the University of Maryland, surveyed hundreds of students.

Android Forecasted to Devour Half Worldwide OS Market Share by End of 2012

Gartner has just released their forecast for the global mobile market reaching out to 2015, and as you might expect, things are looking good for Android. Much like ABI’s report, Gartner says Android is poised to take about half of the mobile smartphone market share by the end of 2012. A big part of the continued growth of Android will be thanks to lowered cost, apparently; it’s forecasts that by 2015, 67% of “open OS devices” will cost $300 or less. That’s a nice thought indeed, considering most smartphones cost $400 – $600 off contract right now.

Gartner is also just as optimistic for Windows Phone as IDC, claiming by the end of 2015, Microsoft will have nabbed 19.5% market share, versus 17.2% by iPhone and iOS, and 11.1% by RIM and BlackBerry. That is thanks in no small part Nokia switching to Windows Phone for everything eventually, and I imagine by 2015 that transformation will be more or less complete. Symbian is predictably set to decline to nearly nothing by 2015. webOS, sadly, is nowhere to be seen in these projections, lumped into the amorphous “Other Operating Systems” category.

Gunning for the bottom might be the way Android becomes ubiquitous, but that doesn’t make any guarantees for quality. Google is continually trying to keep fragmentation to a minimum, and even then there are no guarantees about how well Android will run on any given phone. A unified app market is nice and all, but more closed operating systems like iOS and BlackBerry are at least carefully tended by their respective manufacturers. Do you guys see Android improving along with its market share, or becoming more scattered?

Verizon eliminates 1-year contracts. gear up for AT&T battle

Verizon will axe its one-year contract option starting April 17, in an attempt to lock in new customers ahead of a showdown with a beefed up AT&T.

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Starting on Sunday, new customers must make do with month-to-month and two-year contracts for their Verizon wireless service. The Basking Ridge, N.J.-based carrier said the change wouldn't affect many new subscribers since most of them already choose to sign two-year contracts.
The underlying reason for this change may be to delay subscribers from jumping ship to an increasingly threatening AT&T when the first year is up.
Verizon, once the largest carrier with 100 million customers, will be surpassed by a beefed up AT&T, with 130 million customers, if the acquisition is approved.
The threats are even more apparent considering Verizon and AT&T now sell essentially the same flagship devices -- the iPhone and iPad -- so nothing would stop customers from switching should a strengthened AT&T offer competitive rates and wider coverage.
Still, service quality and network reliability will ultimately attract customers in the future, and Verizon's move to make customers sign two-year contracts, rather than one, makes sense only if it believes it has the superior service.
Last month, Verizon's 4G service was reportedly more than twice as fast as AT&T's offering, according to PC World, and AT&T's iPhones drop calls more than twice as often as on Verizon, according to research firm ChangeWave.
AT&T may also have difficulty integrating with T-Mobile at first, giving Verizon a chance to lock in disgruntled customers for two years.

HTC ThunderBolt having 4G connection issues

We've been using the HTC ThunderBolt for a little over three weeks now, and even though it has a lot to offer....not everything has been roses. As we mentioned in our review, the first unit we recieved had a defective earpiece speaker that made a buzzing/rattling sound, which was replaced with a new unit. This solved the issue (mostly) as long as the volume isn't turned up too high.

Since then, we've mostly used the data part of the ThunderBolt, and under heavy use we are having to charge the phone every 4-6 hours. Otherwise if it just in standby mode without much use, we can get about 18-20 hours on a charge. Some people have reported that their units are overheating, though our demo unit has not experienced this.

But there is one problem that we've been having on-and-off, and it appears we're not alone. For some (unknown) reason, the ThunderBolt will cycle from using 4G LTE, to 3G, to 1x (as shown on the top of the display) and then eventually go back to 4G LTE.  We've seen this happen with the phone just sitting on our desk, at our friend's house, or if we are out driving. This started about a week after our review, and has continued since then. We've looked some on-line forums, and found a few posts from other people on the Verizon Wireless Community forums (here, here, and here), and also on the HTC Forums (here and here) that are having similar problems.

What's interesting is that some people, who use their phone in a 4G area, are having the same issue as us, with it not staying on 4G, and cycling to 3G and 1x. But for people who only use their phone in a 3G area, it is having problems staying on 3G and sometimes changes to 1x.

One fix that we have tried is to launch the phone's dialer and type in *#*#4636#*#* and select Phone Information. At the bottom it will have "CDMA + LTE EVDO auto" by default. If you change it to "LTE mode" the phone should stay fixed more on 4G. We have tried this and have noticed that it stays on 4G most of the time, though will occasionally change to 3G and then back to 4G, but far less frequently than it did before. If you only use the ThunderBolt in a 3G area, then you could change it to "CDMA auto PRL" as that should keep it locked on 3G more and lessen the amount of times to changes to 1x.

If you have a ThunderBolt and use it in a 4G area and have seen it change to 3G and 1x (while in the 4G area), please let us know in the comment section below. The same thing goes for people who use the ThunderBolt in a 3G area and have seen it change to 1x.

We have reached out to Verizon Wireless about the connection issue, and were told they would look into it and get back to us. We will update you if we learn anything new.

Sony Struggles With Quake-Related Parts Shortage

Sony Ericsson's Xperia Arc and Play devices are facing parts shortages, as the fallout from the quake and tsunami in Japan begins to ripple across the tech industry.

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The Japanese-Swedish joint venture also announced that its upcoming Neo handset has been delayed to summer as a result of Japan-related delays and shortages, as explained on its Italian Facebook page.
According to Sony Ericsson, supply chain disruptions resulting from the situation in Japan have affected the worldwide launch of the Neo. The model has already been released in some Asian markets, but won't be produced in significant quantities and be ready for wider distribution until later this year.
The Xperia Neo, Play and Arc may be among the first models concretely affected by the quake and tsunami that killed hundreds in Japan last month. The events brought many industries in the country, including technology, to slow or shut down, causing a domino effect on businesses worldwide that rely on Japan for parts. Analysts widely expect resulting delays and shortages of silicon chips, display panels and other components to impact handset and other device makers.
The shortage is actually not the first issue to plague the launch of the Xperia Play, which has been marketed by Sony Ericsson as the world's first PlayStation certified smartphone. Freight delays in China have already held up stock of the model, which was widely-anticipated to bring a whole gaming audience.
The impact could not have come at a more inconvenient time for Sony, which is trying to increase its market share in the smartphone market. The phones are the new flagship models for Sony, which has struggled to transition from camera and music phones to more robust smartphones. Now the world's fifth-largest handset maker, Sony has dumped Symbian, fired employees and cut back models to restructure its business for high-end devices.
Sony Ericsson is focusing on developing Android devices, hoping to achieve the same success that other struggling manufacturers, like Motorola, used to revitalize their businesses.

Video chat community Paltalk goes Android

Paltalk, the real-time video-based community with over 70 million downloads, is going for the growing number of Android users. Available as a free download from the Android Market, the new application — which BTW is also available for BlackBerry and iPhone devices — allows users to join existing chat rooms, view multiple simultaneous video streams within the rooms, participate in group chats via text and chat one-on-one via IM or SMS.
In a nutshell, if you’ve been using Paltalk on your computer, you’ll definitely want to access it while on the go, as well. To do that simply click on an appropriate link below and take it from there.
In the other Paltalk news, the company announced the development of video publishing capabilities for version 2.0 of its apps as well as app compatibility with the soon to be released Blackberry Playbook. A new release for iOS will also be available early in the second quarter.

BlackBerry Torch 2 shows off its pretty VGA touchscreen & 1.2GHz processor

Granted that it’s still one of the more desirable BlackBerry smartphones on the market still, the BlackBerry Torch 9800 probably soured some hopes out there when it released with its less than sufficient hardware specs.

Well, the BlackBerry Torch 2 is gunning to make it the worthy handset it should have been from the start – while closely resembling its predecessor. The latest images snapped of the upcoming successor shows a handset that doesn’t steer away from the design cues found with the original BlackBerry Torch 9800, but the more impressive aspects about it are found under the hood.

In fact, the Torch 2 is sporting a higher resolution VGA (480 x 640) touchscreen to give it that much needed pop to its aura. Moreover, it’s also going to be packing a super speedy 1.2GHz processor that should have no qualms dealing with BlackBerry OS 6.1. Aside from those two specifics, the rest of the device is pretty much shaping out to become the same as the original.

Regardless of that, it should nonetheless get some good looks by some people out there, but it’ll more than likely get an official introduction next month at BlackBerry World 2011.

HTC Takes Third Place, Beats Nokia

HTC has passed Nokia in market value, the reversal illustrating both the growing appetite for high-end smartphones and the dangers of neglecting that sector.

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The Taiwan-based phone maker's stock shares gained 5.3 percent in Taipei's market trading to reach $33.8 billion in value, exceeding Nokia's current $33.6 billion. In terms of valuation, HTC is now the world's third largest phone maker, trailing only Apple and Samsung.
The changing of ranks is the logical result of both companies' recent trajectories in the smartphone market. As smartphone shipments outpaced the rate of general mobile handset market, HTC stock has tripled over the past year, especially as it has focused its business on feature-rich, high-end Android models.
Meanwhile, competition in the basic feature phone sector, where Nokia leads, has intensified, and the Finnish company has lost ground in the high-end market to Apple and Google's Android phones. Increased pressure in the lower-end of the mobile phone market, where profit margins are thinner, has squeezed the company. As a result, Nokia shares has dropped 19 percent this year.
HTC's growth should continue, driven by its investment in Android handsets. The company is shoring up research and development in its phones, recently acquiring a slate of wireless 4G patents for $75 million as well as French software company Abaxia.
With global smartphone growth projected to climb 50 percent this year and Android becoming the leading operating system, according to research company IDC, HTC is perched to continue its ascent.
Nokia, however, will attempt to climb back into the high-end smartphone race. The company announced in February that it is adopting Microsoft's Windows Phone platform as its primary operating system for phones, helping to cut its $4 billion budget for research and development in its devices division and focus the company on its hardware strengths.

One in five teenagers owns a tablet?

Teenagers are one of the most coveted markets. With disposable income, but few financial obligations, they are often the bar by which a product's successes can be measured. And the outlook looks good for the tablet market, and the Apple iPad 2 in particular.

Piper Jaffray, an investment bank, conducted their 21st bi-annual survey of 4,500 high school students. They found that teenagers are responsible for a large portion of tablet adoption, and that even more of them plan to purchase tablets in the future.

An impressive 22% of teenagers already own a tablet, and another 20% plan to purchase one in the next 6 months. While the survey doesn't specify the brand, we can infer that they were largely iPads. The IDC found that 73% of tablet shipments in Q4 2010 were iPads, so it's a fairly safe assumption.

As for iPhones, the survey showed that 17% of teens own an iPhone, and 37% plan to purchase one in the next 6 months. That represents a 21% gain in ownership, and a 12% increase of purchasing intent. And Piper Jaffray is confident that the teenagers' intent to buy will manifest in market share gains down the road. So Android fans shouldn't count iOS out of the race just yet.

So why do we care so much about teenagers' purchasing behavior? For one thing, they are more willing than any other demographic to purchase so-called luxury items. But they're also the decision-makers of tomorrow. So the apparent appeal of both tablets and the iPhone among teenagers bodes very well for Apple's future.

TELUS gives Torontonians free food with “Taste of Tuesday”

Last year TELUS partnered with Cineplex and sponsored TELUS Tuesday’s at the movies… this year TELUS is back to make Tuesday a good night to go out by teaming up with Toronto Life Magazine in the “Taste of Tuesday”. Basically TELUS is celebrating their recent device upgrade program and have decided to pick up part of the tab at 10 Toronto restaurants. This is only good for April 12th, 19th and 26th but when you order an entree TELUS will buy you an appetizer and desert. Nice gesture.

Judge Overturns $625 Million Verdict Against Apple

A federal judge in Texas threw out an earlier verdict against Apple in a patent-infringement case with Mirror Worlds, overturning one of the largest settlements ever awarded in a patent case and fueling debate on software copyright in general.

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"Mirror Worlds may have painted an appealing picture for the jury, but it failed to lay a solid foundation sufficient to support important elements it was required to establish under the law," said U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis earlier this week, overturning an earlier jury verdict, which had awarded a whopping $625 million to Mirror Worlds.
Last October, a jury determined that Apple infringed on three Mirror World patents and awarded $208 million per violation. Mirror Worlds filed the case against Apple in 2008, alleging it infringed the patents with three Apple features: Coverflow, a visual interface used to flip through images in iTunes; Spotlight, which searches and locates files; and Time Machine, an automatic way to back up computer files.
The case illustrates the difficulties around so-called "software patents," which apply to particulars of computer programs. Opponents argue that software patents stifle innovation -- some companies exist solely to collect such patents and extract licensing fees from companies that might infringe on them.
Such patents also surface in litigation that seems as much about attacking competitors as about defending legitimate intellectual property, such as recent suits by Microsoft against Barnes & Noble and Motorola, which smack of veiled attacks on Google's Android operating system used by both companies in allegedly infringing devices.
This ruling marks the second legal victory in a row for the Apple. Earlier this month, a U.S. trade panel also decided in favor of Apple in its ongoing patent dispute with handset maker Nokia, ruling that Apple didn't infringe on the Finnish phone maker's patents.
New Haven, Conn.-based Mirror Worlds was founded by Yale University computer science professor David Gelernter, who was the target of a mail bomb by Theodore Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, in 1993.

Samsung Galaxy S 2 dual-core processor running at 1.2GHz

Samsung’s Galaxy S line of devices have been very successful worldwide, which comes as no surprise to any of us. They have vivid Super AMOLED displays, easy-to-use form factors, TouchWiz UI which makes it easy to navigate Android and those 1GHz Hummingbird processors. However, the successor to the Galaxy S devices, the Galaxy S 2, to quote Emeril Lagasse, is kicking things up a notch.

Samsung’s Estonian office confirmed on Facebook, of all places, that the Galaxy S 2 will indeed have a 1.2GHz Cortex A9 CPU. This might translate into real-world performance just nicely, and coupled with the Mali 400 GPU, the Samsung Galaxy S 2 should have no problems running even the most graphically intensive applications on Android.

GSM Arena was also independently able to confirm that the Samsung Galaxy S 2 will have its processor running at 1.2GHz, so it seems all but certain at this point until official specs are released by Samsung.

We got our hands on the Galaxy S 2 at MWC last month, and it still rocks a Super AMOLED display. It’s going to launch with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, luckily, and will be skinned with TouchWiz 4.0 UI.

Some HTC ThunderBolt units have a hot battery, overheating an issue

It's not a secret that the battery life of the HTC ThunderBolt is not the device's strong side, but now a few reports (including some guys mailing us) have emerged that some ThunderBolt units are plagued with a heating problem, i.e. the battery is getting really, really hot.

Of course, smartphones are powerful gadgets and it's not something unheard of people to have heating problems on their smart handsets, and yet some folks report that their HTC ThunderBolts are regularly overheating while standing idle, which is concerning indeed.

It's claimed that swapping the stock battery with an extended one doesn't solve the problem, and the same applies to the various battery saving tips that are widely available on the web. One lad even says that he went to Verizon, received a brand new HTC ThunderBolt and the same problem occurred after a few days of use.

We didn't experience any heat-related problems during our time with the HTC ThunderBolt, but it seems this issue is real and is plaguing some units of this powerful phone. As of now no cure is available, but if you have the same problem or have managed to overcome it, share your experience with the community - it doesn't hurt to know how many people actually experience it, and who knows - we, together, may even a find a way to sort it out.

BlackBerry Touch, aka Monaco/Monza, photos surface on the web

An upcoming full touchscreen smartphone from RIM arsenal has made yet another appearance on the web in a brief photo session supposedly running BlackBerry's updated mobile platform – OS 6.1.

It is suggested that this device will be launched as the BlackBerry Touch, even though right now the smartphone bears two separate codenames – Monaco and Monza, with the former representing the Verizon-bound CDMA model and the latter being the GSM version.  Regardless of its name, the smartphone's supposed hardware specs remain the same – a 3.7-inch WVGA touchscreen in front, 5-megapixel camera on its back with 720p video capturing capability, and a nimble 1.2 GHz processor under its hood. The hardware inside the phone is an upgrade compared to what we have seen from RIM's previous touchscreen handsets, and considering the amount of time it is taking them to polish the device, it should not disappoint when it launches later this year.

Stay tuned for more rumors and tips revolving around RIM's upcoming smartphone, as there will probably be more of them before its release. In the meantime, feel free to check the device's photo set and share your opinion with us!

Sony Hints 8-Megapixel Camera for IPhone 5

Sony's CEO dropped a big iPhone 5 hint last Friday, indicating the electronics company may be making a 8-megapixel camera for the iPhone 5 -- if it can overcome production delays caused by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

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The Tokyo-based company's chief executive, Howard Stringer, said that Sony may face delays in getting its image sensors from its damaged facility in Sendi, Japan, to customers such as Apple, because of damage from the recent tsunami and earthquake.
The remark set off speculation that, since Sony doesn't currently make image sensors for Apple products, its new 8-megapixel camera might be coming to the iPhone 5.
The speculation dovetails with recent rumors that Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple was looking to switch from its longstanding sensor supplier OmniVision, who provides the current 5-megapixel camera for its iPhone 4. Stringer's remarks add credence to that notion.
But a higher-resolution Sony camera for the iPhone 5 could portend possible iPhone 5 delays. If Sony's Exmor R camera sensors, currently used in the Sony Ericsson Xperia, are indeed to be part of the iPhone 5, then any delay with these camera components will delay the launch of the phone itself, especially as the quake's fallout begins to be felt in a components shortage for the tech industry overall.
There is other evidence of iPhone 5 delays. In the past, Apple, who keeps its release dates close to the vest, has debuted its new smartphones at its developer conference in June. But because this year's developers' meeting is focusing on software, many believe the company will wait until fall, which would give it time to find other parts suppliers. But, if Sony is to supply the camera sensors for the latest generation iPhone, then the date may be pushed back further.
Stringer's comments also illustrate how production schedules are vulnerable to the disruptions in the supply chain caused by the catastrophe in Japan. Even with preferential treatment secured in its dealer agreements, Apple cannot circumvent a significant parts shortage resulting from plant disruptions -- it can't pay extra for parts that aren't even there.
With the iPhone 5 scheduled to roll out, parts delays and shortages may affect the handset during a crucial year, especially since historically, Apple's production has been the biggest factor in sales.
And speed is crucial in the smartphone market, with Apple's competitors expecting to roll out new smartphones, such as HP's efforts on its WebOS platform, Windows Phone 7 on Nokia handsets, a revitalized BlackBerry by Research in Motion and a slate of Android devices from a variety of handset makers always coming to market.
There is always the possibility that the Sony cameras could be for another Apple offering, such as the iPod nano, but most experts see more connections to the upcoming iPhone 5.
Both Apple and Sony have declined to comment on the matter.

Syrian cell networks and Internet are down, citizens claim interference

In Syria, communication networks, including cell phones and Internet, are down. Local residents are claiming that it is a deliberate act of interference by the existing regime, but government officials insist it is merely a technical issue.

The network failures follow a number of arrests of pro-democracy activists. At least 46 people were arrested in government raids, and between 4 and 8 people have been reportedly killed. One witness told the AFP that security forces were using live ammunition to deter citizens throwing stones.

Eight human rights groups jointly condemned the violent manner in which the government handled the peaceful protests in Douma, just north of Damascus: "We condemn this extremely violent and unjustified way the Syrian security services dealt with peaceful rallies in Douma where police used excessive force against demonstrators."

A customer service representative at Syria's mobile and Internet provider told the AFP that the outage "was due to an overload of connections". And given the level of unrest, and their greater dependence on mobile networks vs. landlines, that sounds realistic. But both major Syrian phone companies, Syriatel and MTN, have made their loyalty to the current regime clear by offering free minutes in honor of those who demonstrated on behalf of President Al Assad. Now don't we feel silly for complaining about miniscule dropped call rates?

ABI Research: Android will have 45% of the Smartphone market share by 2016

Last week it was research firm IDC stating by 2015 Google’s Android OS would capture 45.4% of the smartphone market share. Coming in a strong 2nd place is Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 OS with 20.9%. iOS and BlackBerry will be competing for 3rd and 4th place in a few years. However, competing research firm ABI has now come to the table with their own prediction of the future – but forecasting into the year 2016.
ABI says Android will take home top spot in 2016 with 45% market share, followed by iOS with 19%, BlackBerry will stay steady at 14% but foresee much dramatically different numbers for Windows Phone 7 than IDC with only 7% of the market by 2016.
Comparing both research firms there are some similarities: Android will be the leading global smartphone OS and Apple will continue to increase their market share. BlackBerry OS will unfortunately slide down in market share and the partnership between Nokia and Mircosoft will increase WP7 OS… it’s just mixed on how much impact they will have.

Google clamps down on Android fragmentation

According to multiple sources, Google is planning a crackdown on fragmentation of their booming Android OS. Specifically, they want to limit the UI tweaks which OEMs have been placing on their Android devices. They also want to eliminate the willy-nilly collaborations between OEMs and their Android partners.

DigiTimes reports that Google is aiming to heavily standardize the Android 3.0 operating system, in an effort to reduce the drawbacks of the unique tablet format. While there are about 250,000 applications in the Android Market, few of them work optimally on tablets. So Google is hoping to limit further fragmentation down the line.

Also, Google will negotiate with ARM to make ARM-type processors the standard for all future Android devices. This would reduce the difficulty of updating the vast number of Android devices on the market, and reduce the time it takes to bring OS updates to the consumer.

Sources are comparing Google's changing strategy to that of Microsoft, and we're not sure if that's a compliment or criticism. But the sources do say that this standardization will make them even more competitive (overall) with the Redmond giant.

Bloomberg's BusinessWeek says that Google's recent run-ins with OEMs like LG, Toshiba, Samsung and Facebook, have prompted filings with the U.S. Department of Justice. But Google insists that their enforcement is only for the sake of quality control and user satisfaction.

IPad 2 Scalpers Make Killing on eBay

The popularity of Apple's iPad 2 and shortages in availability are combining to create a boom in eBay sales and profits of the device.

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Online auction site eBay completed nearly 12,000 transactions of the popular tablet devices since they first went on sale last month. The figures indicate that these customers are willing to pay premium prices for the privilege.
The entry-level and high-end iPad 2s are doing the briskest eBay business. The basic 16-gigabyte Wi-Fi-only version fetches almost $200 more than its retail price of $500, and the premium 64-gigabyte tablet with 3G capability pulls in almost 50 percent more than its retail price of $830, making eBay reselling of the devices a pretty profitable pursuit.
The run-off on eBay sales may be an indication of uncertainty about whether Apple can meet the short- and medium-term demand for the iPad 2, especially in light of possible challenges to its supply chain, according to analysts.
Demand for the devices continues to soar since its introduction in March, which sold out within hours. Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple's online site now suggests a three-to four-week wait for shipping iPad 2 units, and distributors report depletion of new stock almost as soon as it hits their loading docks. Customers around the world are frustrated with the delays and flock to online auction sites to secure their must-have tablet device.
While the initial excitement of the iPad 2 may account for some spiking of demand, concern over March's earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the resulting nuclear power plant problems, may be fueling continuing demand. Analysts are concerned the on-going disasters will affect Apple's supply chain, especially in light of predicted shortages from closed factors and plants in Japan. With supply of critical parts like silicon chip wafters anticipated to run out in April, prices for devices could go even higher on resale sites.
Other responses to the demand include smaller retails in the U.K. marking up the price of their remaining stock in order to cash in on the short supply while they wait for the new shipments, which are scheduled to hit that country in late April.

Best Buy is selling the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 for a mere dollar on-contract

Don’t count out the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 just yet, especially when it’s positioned to get a solid dose of Gingerbread love in the near future, but Best Buy’s recent pricing structure for the handset makes it extremely appreciable.

If you’re planning on taking a stroll through your local Best Buy location, you’ll be shocked to find that some of them are selling the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 for a mere one dollar on-contract. Not only do new customers get the beloved pricing, but customers with qualified upgrades are included in the mix as well – so cheers to that!

However, it’s not found online, which means that it could very well be on the retailer’s clearance list. Meaning, you might not the $1 on-contract pricing consistent throughout all of its stores.

Regardless of that, this deal isn’t too shabby at all considering the still respectable high-end specs it’s packing, but let’s just hope that this version (AT&T) gets in with the Gingerbread update.

Luxury smartphone concept by Mobiado and Aston Martin makes you wish it were real

Mobiado is a Canadian company dedicated to designing luxury cellphones and Aston Martin is famous for its luxury sports cars. So what happens when the two companies team up to design something amazing? The result is a smartphone concept made entirely out of pure awesomeness, that's what!

Mobiado and Aston Martin introduced their conceptual luxury mobile device at BaselWorld watch and jewelry expo in Switzerland. Codenamed CPT002, the design sports a transparent sapphire crystal touchscreen that will probably have the ability to become opaque on demand. If the concept is to become reality, all electronics such as the battery, SIM card, chipset, and circuitry should be tiny enough to hide inside of the two platinum bars along both sides of the smartphone.

Besides being extremely beautiful, the CPT002 should also have the ability to lock and unlock your matching Aston Martin depending on how close to the vehicle it is. Furthermore, its tight integration with the car's computer is eminent and will probably enable features such as remote ignition and control over the vehicle's multimedia system.

Of course, you should not be too excited about the concept since many technical obstacles have to be resolved first if it is to become reality. Until then, we may only drool over the smartphone's photos and wish that it were real.