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ComScore's second-quarter U.S. smartphone study shows that Android went up two percent in June to 40.1 percent share, while Apple's iOS remained steady at 26.6 percent. Meanwhile, Jumptap released a study comparing usage state-by-state, showing iOS' strength in New England and the upper Midwest and Android's greater popularity in the South and West.
VisionMobile released a report evaluating the relative openness of eight open source projects, and found Google's Android project to rank the lowest at 23 percent, compared to leader Eclipse, at 84 percent. One trend that emerged is that more mobile-oriented projects — like Android, Symbian, and MeeGo — tend to be less open than broad-based projects such as Mozilla, Linux, and Eclipse.
Sprint will begin offering a WiMAX 4G-ready Android 2.3 phone for just $100 on Aug. 21. The Samsung Conquer 4G features a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 3.5-inch, 480 x 320 screen, plus Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and optional mobile hotspot capabilities, says the carrier.
Sharp announced a seven-inch, 1024 x 600-pixel “Galapagos A01SH” tablet running Android 3.2 on an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor — and its FCC approval suggests it's eventually destined for the U.S.. Meanwhile, the Toshiba Thrive “Honeycomb” tablet has received a sleep-and-resume bug fix, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 got a “magazine-like” TouchWiz UI update.
Pierre Cardin is shipping a seven-inch Android 2.2 tablet billed as “the … first designer tablet.” The Pierre Cardin Tablet PC offers a 1GHz Samsung “Hummingbird” processor, a front-facing webcam, Wi-Fi, and a tailored carrying case, and sells for 275 U.K. Pounds ($449).
Just a few days after Pandigital began selling a $170 Nova and $180 Planet tablet at BestBuy and Amazon, respectively, it introduced a third seven-inch Android tablet called the Star, for $160. What's more, the company disclosed that all three tablets include ARM Cortex-A9 processors, representing a price breakthrough for products based on the technology.
Stealth Computer announced a mini PC with a dual-core Atom D525 processor, a 55GB solid state disk (SSD), plus both Mini PCI Express and ExpressCard/34 slots. The LPC-125LPM works in temperatures ranging from 14 to 140 deg. F and via DC power ranging from 10V to 26V, according to the company.
Linux creator Linus Torvalds weighed in on the debate over the controversial GNOME 3.0 desktop environment, recommending that someone fork the “unholy mess.” Meanwhile, version 4.7 of the rival KDE environment has arrived with new touchscreen and OpenGL 2.0 support, and Netflix is said to be working on a Linux port.
Lanner announced a rugged vehicle computer that includes a GPS receiver and the ability to operate on power ranging from 6 to 30VDC. The LE-5xxx runs fanlessly with a dual-core Intel Atom D510 processor, resists shock and vibration, and includes both Mini PCI and PCI-104 expansion slots, according to the company.
Keynotes and tracks were announced for the ESC (Embedded Systems Conference) Boston, set for Sept. 26-29, including keynotes on embedded security and medical devices. ESC Boston offers a Linux/Android track, featuring a session on Android's Open Accessory Kit, as well as giveaways to “All Access” users of a BeagleBoard-xM board and a Texas Instruments programmable, wireless-enabled eZ430-Chronos sports watch.
Android malware affects from 500,000 to 1 million smartphone users, who are two and a half times as likely to encounter malware today as six months ago, according to a Lookout Mobile Security analysis. Meanwhile, security experts are debating the threat of an Android Trojan that records one's phone calls.
Qualcomm announced new branding and a roadmap for its “Snapdragon” family of mobile chipsets. With clock speeds ranging from 1GHz to 2.5GHz, the devices will be grouped into System 1, System 2, System 3, and System 4 tiers, and 28nm quad-core versions will start sampling early next year, according to the company.
Latte has begun shipping a five-inch, Android 2.3 portable media player (PMP) tablet for $190. The Latte Ice Smart uses a Telechips 8903 ARM11 processor to deliver 1080p video to an HDTV via a mini-HDMI port, and offers Wi-Fi and a USB On-the-Go (OTG) port, says the company.
Huawei announced a 3.7-inch smartphone that offers Android 2.3, a curved unibody design, and a new 3D user interface. Billed as Hauawei's “sexiest” phone yet, the Vision runs on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon, offers a five-megapixel camera, and measures just 0.39 inches at its thinnest point, says the company.
Axiomtek announced a rackmountable, 1U network appliance that runs Red Hat Linux on Intel Atom D410 or D510 processors and provides six gigabit Ethernet ports. The NA-320R includes both hard disk and CompactFlash storage, accepts up to 2GB of RAM, and has a PCI Express Mini Card expansion slot, the company says.