Wireless Archive

Two reports about mobile operating systems, both refuted by the companies the reports were about. First, there were persistent rumours Samsung wanted to buy or license webOS from HP - the company has now stated it has absolutely no interest in doing so. Another report surfaced today, stating Intel was temporarily backing off MeeGo - Intel, too, has refuted this report, stating it remains committed to MeeGo. Coincidentally, both reports originated from DigiTimes.

While US Android users are all full of glee that they're finally getting the Samsung Galaxy S II in the United States, a far more significant Android smartphone is being developed... In China. It's faster than any other smartphone, has a beautiful and fluid user interface, top-notch hardware quality, a dual-partition setup so you can keep using the phone while it updates... And will sell for a mere $310, no contract or whatever other nonsense. Hello Xiaomi Phone.

What happens when that "new gadget smell" wears off, though? The honeymoon effect with your new, heavily-discounted device wears off and you're left with a tablet that isn't likely to get any better than it is right now unless you do something yourself. The Preware community already has a nice collection of things you can do to play with any WebOS device, but even that has its limits. So, what are you to do with that shiny new tablet? Well, eventually, you'll be able to put Android on it.

Last week, HP killed its webOS devices unit. Over the weekend, the company slashed the prices on the TouchPad. The result? The TouchPad sold out completely in a matter of hours. This confirms what I've been hearing from friends and family: "I'd love a tablet, but I'm not paying laptop money for one."

Slashgear reports: "Hardware company Samsung today has been revealed to have acquired one of the single most notorious names in Android modification , that being Steve Kondik,aka "Cyanogen" of CyanogenMod 7." Could Samsung be planning to start working on a highly modified version of Android?

The beleaguered handset maker Nokia is setting itself up for what it hopes will be a lean and mean relaunch in the U.S. later this year: it has finally admitted that it will not launch its newest N9 device--the first and possibly only one based on the MeeGo platform--and that it plans to end sales of its Symbian-based devices as well as low-end Series 40 handsets, as it prepares for a generation of devices it is developing using Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform.

"Recently, we released the Android version of Meridian, our platform for building location-based apps. We didn't use one of these 'Cross Platform!' tools like Titanium. We wrote it, from scratch, in Java, like you do in Android So, we rolled up our sleeves, downloaded the Android SDK, and got to work."

Nielsen's latest smartphone numbers show Apple's iPhone by far the most popular device among mobile computing hardware, but Android in a strong lead as the most popular OS. But while it's great to have choices in hardware, it can certainly be maddening to have to choose, especially if you don't have the fortitude to keep up with what's new on the market. So, dear readers, for the benefit of those who might be in the market for an Android handset, which one is best?

MeegoExperts reports that NVIDIA just released a set of video drivers enabling MeeGo to run on the numerous Tegra 2 tablets, such as the Advent Vega, Adam, Asus Transformer, Motorola Xoom and also the new range of Tegra 2 handsets. This will enable MeeGo and potentially other Linux distros using hardfp video drivers to compete in environment previously dominated exclusively by Android OS.

"Research in Motion said today it is planning to cut 2000 jobs as part of a cost optimization program. The company gave other additional details on the program as well, which it first announced in June. The changes are aimed at creating greater alignment of the organization, and streamlining its operations to better position the company for future growth and profitability."

"Ailing Nokia on Thursday surrendered its lead in the global smartphone market to rival Apple and shed more market share as it reported a steep net loss for the second quarter. Nokia's outloook for its handset business to be profitable in the current quarter brought some relief to its battered share price but analysts doubted it would dispel fears about the future of the onetime cellphone leviathan. Nokia, still the world's largest phone maker by volume, has failed to come up with an attractive smartphone offering to compete with Apple's iPhone, Research In Motion's BlackBerry and a wide array of handsets using Google's Android software. Nokia said it sold 16.7 million smartphones in the quarter, falling behind Apple's 20.3 million iPhones." Hard to believe Windows Phone 7 - as great and fresh product I find it - can turn the tide for Nokia. Still, every phone maker today owes pretty much its entire business to Nokia (and Motorola).

Today, the technology world is gripped by what can only be described as a dirty war between iOS on one side, and Android on the other. While the parties in this war fight it out in the US court system, the web has latched onto this conflict like a starved leach to a nice juicy ankle, and this focus on just iOS and Android has had a rather unpleasant side effect. This effect was subtle at first, but now, it's everywhere. Yes, if you were to believe the web, iOS and/or Android invented everything when it comes to mobile operating systems. I will have none of that, and my PDA collection begs to differ too.

In Taiwan, Google recently stopped showcasing paid applications in its marketplace owing to the continuing fight that arose merely because of the change in the return policy, when it was dramatically reduced to just fifteen minutes from 24 hours. In related news, "Apple has rolled out a new refund policy in the Taiwanese versions of its App Store, Mac App Store, and iBookstore. The changes, reported by IDG News this morning, give app buyers the option to get a refund on paid applications and e-books within seven days of buying them from one of Apple's digital storefronts."

"The Lookout Security Team has identified a new variant of DroidDream Light found in the Android Market, which Google already removed from the Android Market. Fortunately the malware was available in the Android Market for a short period of time so the number of downloads was limited to 1000 - 5000. This is the third iteration of malware likely created by the authors of DroidDream; the first was discovered in early March (the original DroidDream) and the second in early June (DroidDream Light)."