"Does Android skew towards a younger demographic? The numbers might surprise you. According to comScore, 52.4% of all Android users are aged 35 years or older. That is five percentage points higher than the iPhone. Near 55% Android tablets users are also older than 35." How is this surprising? Younger people tend to be more brand-conscious, and there's no denying that the iPhone is still perceived as cooler than Android phones. Also note that the cited figures are for the US, Apple's strong home market. I think the figures will look very different for Europe.

The Verge reviews the iPod touch, and it's as good as ever. "This year's iPod touch is the best one ever, without question - Apple updated all the right things, and by giving the touch a big screen and good camera has made this mini tablet a more versatile device than ever. As a gateway drug into the iOS ecosystem, it does a great job of showing off all the iOS 6 features and apps, on a really solid piece of hardware. It's also a great way to get into the huge iOS ecosystem without putting an expensive data plan on your account - and thanks to iMessage, FaceTime, and Skype, there's a lot of communicating you can do just over Wi-Fi." The iPod touch rarely gets the spotlight, but I think it's actually one of the best and most clever products in Apple's portfolio. Not only is it simply a fantastic product, it also has zero competition. My best friend is pretty much in love with her iPod touch, and it gives her everything a smartphone has to offer without the burden of expensive contracts. For people like her, who do not want a smartphone and prefer a sturdy Nokia feature phone, the touch is a godsend.

Steve Ballmer's annual letter to shareholders makes it very clear Microsoft is at a point of no return - and in the middle of a transition into a hardware company. "This is a significant shift, both in what we do and how we see ourselves - as a devices and services company. It impacts how we run the company, how we develop new experiences, and how we take products to market for both consumers and businesses." Line. Sand.

As it turns out, new Verizon customers (although there are reports existing customers are getting notified too) have 30 days to opt out of something really nasty: Verizon will sell your browsing history and location history to marketers. Apparently, AT&T does something similar. Doesn't matter what phone - iOS, Android, anything. Incredibly scummy and nasty. I quickly checked my own Dutch T-Mobile terms, and they don't seem to be doing this.

Sorry for linking to a long picture (why this isn't an article I don't know, but bear with me for a second), but this is an excellent overview of some of the crazy hardware experiments Nokia has performed during its golden years. For me, this is the best device Nokia ever made - and also, my personal best and favourite mobile phone I've ever owned. You hear people talking about how solid the iPhone 5 or the HTC One X feels? Fisher Price compared to the 8800. They don't make 'm like that no more.

Previously redacted documents presented in the Apple-Samsung case do not support Apple's claims that Samsung issued a 'copy-the-iPhone'-order to its designers. It's pretty damning. Apple has very selectively and actively deleted sections of internal Samsung documents and talks to make it seem as if Samsung's designers were ordered to copy the iPhone. With the unredacted, full documents without Apple's deletions in hand, a completely different picture emerges: Samsung's designers are told to be as different and creative as possible. There's no 'copy the iPhone'-order anywhere, as Apple claimed. Instead, it says this: "designers rightly must make their own designs with conviction and confidence; do not strive to do designs to please me (the president); instead make designs with faces that are creative and diverse." I guess my initial scepticism about the documents was not uncalled for. What do you know - lawyers twist and turn the truth. Shocker, huh?

The failing US patent system is getting ever more mainstream - The New York Times is running a long and details piece on the failings of the system, especially in relation to the technology industry most of us hold so dearly. Most of the stuff in there isn't new to us - but there's two things in the article I want to highlight.

Contiki is a lightweight open source operating system designed for the 'Internet of Things': Networked, low-power embedded devices. It's been used for smart grids, smart streetlights, badger tracking systems and connecting a Gameboy to the Internet. Computerworld Australia recently caught up with its creator, Adam Dunkels, to talk about the system's history and future plans, as well as a new company he's founded, Thingsqure, which hopes to make creating applications for the Internet of Things as easy as creating apps for smartphones.

Beautiful video tribute and written message from Tim Cook regarding Steve Jobs, who passed away one year ago today.

"Just a few days ago we told you about Open webOS being ported to the Galaxy Nexus. Now, the WebOS Ports team has released the source code. They have been extremely kind to the open source community, and have provided everything you need in order to build the port for the Galaxy Nexus." I would be so delighted if it is ported to the Galaxy SII.

"Microsoft has started sending out invites to a special 'Surface Reception' event on October 25th. Alongside a Windows 8 introduction, the software giant will launch its highly anticipated tablet at midnight on October 26th - according to a company spokesperson. Some of Microsoft's holiday pop-up stores will open for the Surface launch at midnight, with other Microsoft Stores selling the tablet on October 26th." Very curious about pricing. That's going to be the key.

"A date and place has been set to reveal the new Jolla smartphone user interface and deliver the Jolla developer story and SDK. Jolla will demonstrate the Jolla user interface, based on the recently announced Sailfish alliance OS, at the Slush event in Helsinki, Finland on 21-22 November. Jolla is very excited to be able to share the user interface, and talk about the Jolla SDK and application ecosystem with the developers. Jolla will publish the device information, ID and expected availability before Christmas." Hell yes.

"Today a free software update has been made available for Wi-Fi BlackBerry PlayBook tablets. This release brings with it many new features for business customers and IT administrators that make the tablet a seriously enterprise-ready device and a productivity powerhouse. Combined with BlackBerry Mobile Fusion and the coming BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, managing BlackBerry PlayBook tablets just got a whole lot more functional."

Well known judge Richard Posner scores another home run. "I am concerned that both patent and copyright protection, though particularly the former, may be excessive. To evaluate optimal patent protection for an invention, one has to consider both the cost of inventing and the cost of copying; the higher the ratio of the former to the latter, the greater the optimal patent protection for the inventor."