Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 18th Aug 2012 10:27 UTC
Fascinating bit of news dug up by The Verge. AOSP's main man, Jean-Baptiste Queru, has announced that he is going to try to add support for the Sony Xperia S to AOSP - effectively turning it into a Nexus-class device. "Over time, AOSP has added files related to various hardware targets. [...] For a new challenge, I'd like to try to go one step further, and to target some hardware beyond the usual categories. I've added a git project for the Sony LT26, i.e. Xperia S. This seems like a good target: it's a powerful current GSM device, with an unlockable bootloader, from a manufacturer that has always been very friendly to AOSP." AOSP support is usually reserved for Nexus devices, so this is certainly a bold new step for Android to take. Coincidentally, I made a list yesterday of possible Android phones to replace my Galaxy SII if the need were to arise, and the Xperia S sits firmly atop that list because of its distinctive, angled design (as opposed to the rounded blandness of the SIII and One X). In other words, this is yet another reason to go with this one (since my SII is doing just fine, I'm actually holding out for a WP8 Lumia to replace my HTC HD7).
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RE[3]: Sony is the Acer of phones.
by zima on Sat 25th Aug 2012 22:31
in reply to "RE[2]: Sony is the Acer of phones."
Member since:2005-07-06
I think Manufacturers in the US are starting to figure this out. Motorola has recently committed to building less middle and low end phones and focus on building the best high end ones.
That might not work out too well for them overall, long term...
You might not see this, but during the last few short years Motorola retreated from most markets, worldwide; this "focus" on the few "lucrative" (& only those where Moto was somewhat strong) ones didn't really turn their fortunes - maybe what they're doing now is not really "less middle and low end phones and focus on building the best high end" (because all low and most of middle they dropped a long time ago), but "no middle, the same or less high end, more ridiculously ultra-end"...
Meanwhile, apart from Samsung, the most healthy Android makers are probably Huawei and ZTE (this one even having the most explosive growth overall, I think, likely the 3rd largest mobile phone maker by now)
In other news, workstations and "old" computer manufacturers didn't fare well against the onslaught of the PC & it's economies of scale, once it hit "good enough".
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.More Features »
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Member since:
2006-07-14
Yeah, obviously. With the wide variability of Android phone makers, I'm very careful with my recommendations. If someone gets a bad android as their first android phone, it will reflect badly on android rather than the manufacturer in many cases. The cost between the high end androids and the pieces of crap is practically zero in the US on a subsidised contract. ( If $100 is such a difficult amount to part with, you shouldn't be getting a smart phone plan which bumps up your bill ~$30 a month). So, I recommend the best, which will give the user the best experience. Currently that would be either the Galaxy SII or HTC one X for most people. No real reason to mess with any of the others for most people.
I think Manufacturers in the US are starting to figure this out. Motorola has recently committed to building less middle and low end phones and focus on building the best high end ones.